On Today’s Show

A New Year’s Eve road race in Brazil offered an “electrifying finish”—though the competitor who came in second likely isn’t looking at it that way.

That’s because 19-year-old Olympic runner Jacob Kiplimo started celebrating his “win” by raising his arms in the air right before he crossed the finish line of the 9.3-mile race with 23-year-old Kibiwott Kandie uncomfortably close behind him.

And that’s when Kandie saw his opportunity and rushed right past him. Not only did Kandie win the race, but he also set a record as the first man to break 43 minutes in the race, with a time of 42 minutes, 59 seconds. Kiplimo came in at exactly 43 minutes.

Plus if he hadn’t started celebrating prematurely, he, too likely would’ve gained a second and broken the 43-minute mark.

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The changeover from 2019 to 2020 caused a software glitch for parking meters in

New York, so they haven’t been accepting credit cards.  People have had to pay with quarters instead, and a lot of businesses have been running out of them.  The owner of one pizza place said he had to make multiple trips to the bank in one day, just to get more quarters for customers to park.

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ENTERTAINMENT

JOKER                                                  Joaquin Phoenix

It’s the highest-grossing R-rated film in history with more than $1 billion in global receipts.

THE LIGHTHOUSE                               Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson
Plot: Follows the story of two lighthouse keepers who operate on a remote island in the 1890s who must contend with a series of strange events.

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Lori Loughlin is finally getting prepared for the possibility she may be heading to prison — she’s hired experts to train her how best to survive behind bars. An insider says: “She’s knuckling down, learning the lingo and practicing martial arts to give off the impression she’s tough and to ward off potential bullies.” Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, honest services fraud, money laundering and federal programs bribery. She could spend up to 45 years in jail if convicted on all charges.

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TODAY IS……………….

• “Orthodox Christmas” in many countries worldwide. Why? Both Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches still use the old Julian calendar.

2019 [01] Amazon overtakes Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable listed company for the first time, worth $797 billion

2018 [02] It snows in the Sahara Desert – 15 inches reported in Northwest Algeria

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

“Take This Job And Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck began two weeks as the Number One single on the country chart in 1978

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RANDOM REPORT

1.  Play-Doh was originally a wallpaper cleaner before it was discovered that teachers were using it in class for arts and crafts (it didn’t contain any toxic chemicals). Over 430 million kilograms (900 million pounds) of it have been sold since its re-branding from wallpaper cleaner to toy.

2. Les Paulis the only person in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame, thanks to the electric guitar.

3. There was a sequel written for “Beetlejuice” called “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian”, but it fell through.

4. The time when the largest percentage of the world is sleeping is 5:00 P.M. Eastern.  Approximately 57% of people in the world are sleeping at that hour . . . even though very few of them are in the U.S.

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GOOD NEWS

A Quebec family is laughing off a mistake on their 8yr old son’s birthday cake.

They had requested a cake with the Toronto Maple Leafs logo for Jacob, a diehard Leafs fan  — just like the cake he’d received for previous birthdays.

Jacob’s stepmother, Tania Lévesque, said the bakery told her it didn’t have a Maple Leafs template on hand, so she suggested doing a Google search for an image that could be reproduced with icing.

Jacob’s father, Mathieu Bertrand, picked up the cake from the bakery on the way to a Montreal hockey arena for his son’s party Saturday. To his surprise, instead of the NHL team’s logo, atop the cake was the logo for Maple Leaf Foods. With no time to find a new cake, they continued on to the party.

She declined to name the bakery as she is a regular there and does not want to give them negative attention. Lévesque said the other kids in attendance ate the cake but were a little confused about the logo. While his father and grandfather cheer on the Habs, Jacob wears his Toronto Maple Leafs toque and the jersey of his favourite player, John Tavares. She says Jacob and the family had a fun birthday despite the mix-up.

Maple Leaf Foods said on Monday it would send the family to a Maple Leafs game, and offered Lévesque a choice between going to Toronto or Montreal. “I’m going to choose Toronto because the kids want to go there,” she said. “And also they gave us $300 of Maple Leaf Foods. The kids love baloney from Maple Leaf.”

Not only will Jacob see his favourite team play in person for the first time next month, it will also be his first time seeing Toronto.

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BIRTHDAYS

[56] Nicolas Cage, actor

[49] Jeremy Renner, actor

[46] John Rich, country singer (Big & Rich)

[38] Lauren Cohen, actress (‘Maggie Greene’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2011)

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TRENDS WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE THIS YEAR:
(According to Facebook’s 2020 Topic and Trends Report, using data collected from Facebookers in 13 countries…)

⇒ Flexitarianism (USA):  With methane emissions in mind, but not wanting to give up meat entirely, flexitarianism is a majority plant-based diet that occasionally incorporates meat and fish.

⇒ Milk baths (USA):  A form of self-care that is supposedly moisturizing for the skin as well.

⇒ Green rooms (Canada):  Greening up living spaces with indoor plants and sharing the results. “Plant parent” influencers are encouraging their followers to get greener.

⇒ Gut-friendly foods (Australia):  Expect to see a surge in foods like kimchi and ghee, or clarified butter. They’re packed with probiotics that strengthen the “gut biome” (good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract).   Also on the radar: Chickpea and lentil pasta.

⇒ Astrology (Argentina):  Here, Facebook users are considering how their birth charts impact their emotional intelligence, with a hospital even incorporating astrological personalities into its workshops for mental health patients.

⇒ 1980s nostalgia (Brazil):  Millennials and Gen Zers are embracing the nostalgia of a time they never lived in. Facebook says 1980s cultural touchstones, like neon and lamé clothing and

vintage tech like cassettes and 8-bit video games, “harken back to a “simpler time.”

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NEW TOILET

A company in the U.K. called “StandardToilet” has a new type of toilet with a seat that SLANTS FORWARD to prevent workers from taking longer-than-necessary bathroom breaks.

It’s on a 13-degree slope so some of your weight is on your legs, and you literally CAN’T sit there for too long.  They say your legs should start getting tired after about five minutes.  It’s supposed to mimic what you do during a squat thrust.  So if you’re out of shape, you might find yourself in trouble. They also claim it’s good for your posture and puts you in a better position to do your business.

But even if that’s true, the main selling point is it gets people back to work as fast as possible. They cost between $200 and $650 depending on features.  And they might be selling a model with an even steeper slope.  Their website mentions one with a THIRTY-FIVE degree tilt.

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BUSY PARENTS SPEND FOUR DAYS EACH YEAR BATTLING TO GET THEIR KIDS INTO THE CAR

Wrangling kids is not for the faint of heart. A poll of 2,000 adults finds 30 percent of parents say they’re late for work at least once a week because they’re getting their children ready, and that it takes an average of ten minutes to get their child ready to go.

Over the course of a year this adds up to 96 hours, or four whole days. More than 25 percent admit they bribe their kids to speed the process up, and 47 percent agree that two-year-olds are the most difficult to deal with.
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STUDY SHOWS YOGA MAY BOOST BRAIN FUNCTION

If you’re resolving to do more exercise in 2020, you might want to consider trying yoga. Researchers found a link between yoga’s movements, meditation and breathing practices and an increase in the size of key brain areas involved with thinking clearly, decision-making, memory, and regulating emotions.

The scientists say the benefits are similar to those you’d get from doing aerobic exercise, but it isn’t clear why yoga offers those same benefits. More studies would be needed to figure out just why yoga is so beneficial.

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TUESDAY JANUARY 7^TH                                             

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

[56] Nicolas Cage, actor

[49] Jeremy Renner, actor

[46] John Rich, country singer (Big & Rich)

[38] Lauren Cohen, actress (‘Maggie Greene’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2011)

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1. NHL

EDM 6 – TOR 4                    WPG 3 – MTL 2                   NYI 1 – COL 0                       CBJ 4 – LAK 2

2. • “Ellen’s Game of Games” (NBC): Season 3 premiere

• “Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” (ABC): The three highest money winners in the show’s history compete — with a $1 million prize on the line.

3. There were a lot of inventions and electronics that had a huge impact in the past decade.  Many futuristic things became a reality.

Here’s a look back at the gadgets and the years they came out.

4. Beyonce and Jay-Z showed up late, the new bachelor, a Coca-Cola truck crashed into a house, and a naked Florida man bit a police dog.  (From David Spade, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel)

JOHN RICH 46 TODAY…..

Born on this day was John Rich, country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist.

In 2003, he joined Big Kenny to form the duo Big & Rich, who released three albums as well as ten singles, including the #1 hit “Lost in This Moment”. In addition to his work in Big & Rich, John has co-written singles for Faith Hill, Keith Anderson, Jason Aldean and Gretchen Wilson.

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DUSTIN LYNCH’S HIT INSPIRED BY SOME OF HIS ‘GREATEST MEMORIES’

Dustin Lynch co-wrote his latest chart-topper, “Ridin’ Roads,” which he tells us was inspired by his own life experiences. [“Ridin’ Roads” is about some of the greatest memories I’ve had in my life and that’s just riding in the middle of nowhere, wanting to get a little closer to the girl next to me. That’s what that song’s all about. It’s not worried about the party going on in town or being out in a social setting. It’s just enjoying one another, driving around, listening to music, and making memories.]

“Ridin’ Roads,” as well as his previous Number One hit, “Good Girl,” will be included on Dustin’s new album, Tullahoma, due out on January 17th.

Dustin kicks of 2020 by playing Luke Bryan’s sold-out Crash My Playa event in Cancun, Mexico beginning on Jan. 22nd.

He plays his first headlining show of the year on Jan. 30th in Detroit with special guest Travis Denning.

FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE ‘STRATEGIZE’ TO STEP THEIR GAME UP – (01/02/2020)

Florida Georgia Line members Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley‘s resolutions for 2020 as a duo were set at least a year ago. The guys strategize about their career goals long in advance of making them happen. Tyler Hubbard explains: [“We talk about what the goal is, how many shows we want to do. Obviously, we just want to continue to write songs every year and try to continue to better ourselves in each area of our life. That’s kind of broad obviously, but I’d say we strategize pretty hard – everything from single choices to album rollout plan to tour and production and who we’re going to bring out. You’re always kind of planning a year in advance for everything. So we stay a year ahead of it and continue to try to plan and strategize and step our game up along the way.”]

Some of FGL’s early 2020 plans include continuing to promote their latest single, “Blessings,” preparing for the release of their fifth studio album, and heading out on the Kenny Chesney-headlined Chillaxification Tour this summer along with Old Dominion.

• Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini – are rumored to be in line to host this year’s CMA Awards after Carrie Underwood announced that she is stepping down after 12 years. It is reported that Rhett and Ballerini, who have hosted CMA Fest together for several years, have been “quietly primed for the job”.
• Willie Nelson — A woman in Virginia has created a 15-foot-tall replica of him … made of hay. While she previously made characters from The Wizard of Oz, the Nelson replica— dubbed “Will-Hay Nelson” — is among her most notable. Quote: “I…had to make a nose out of chicken wire because Willie has a very prominent nose and I wanted to get that right.”

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer