On Today’s Show

Despite a promise by the Ontario government to keep auto insurance rates in check, some drivers may be in for a shock.

On average, it works out to an overall increase of 1.5 percent but individually some insurance companies have been approved for a higher rate hike.

More than 20 companies have been given the green light to hike their rates by the province’s financial service regulator and rate changes which could see some prices jump up to 11% compared to last year

Even though Ontario has some of the lowest accident rates in Canada, on average drivers pay the most for insurance in the country.

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A teenager in Illinois went to Walmart with a facemask on, and a sign on his back that said “I have the coronavirus.”  Apparently, it was a YouTube prank, but he sprayed a bunch of produce with Lysol . . . caused about $10,000 in damage . . . and he’s facing a felony charge.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Did you know that Jeff Garlin, star of “The Goldbergs” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, used to be roommates with Conan O’Brien?  (They had an apartment in Chicago when starting out.)  Garlin also explained how he got in the “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” but was barely in it.

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Clint Eastwood says he has no plans to retire as a director – he wants to keep making movies into his 90s. Why? He told an interviewer: “I like doing it, it’s nice to be able to have a paying job.” He says that he knows the exact moment he knew he could direct – it came when he was shooting the western TV series “Rawhide,” which debuted in 1959. The 89-year-old released his latest movie, “Richard Jewell”, late last year, and vows it will not be his last stint behind the camera.

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TODAY IS……………….

• “Darwin Day”, commemorating the birth anniversary of Charles Darwin (February 12, 1809). The day is to highlight Darwin’s contribution to science and to promote science in general.

2011 XXI Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver BC

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

FEBRUARY 12^th, 1998  Alabama picks up three multi-platinum albums: “Mountain Music” is certified quintuple-platinum, “Roll On” hits quadruple-platinum, and “Greatest Hits, Volume III” reaches double-platinum

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A Guy Will Pay You $25,000 to Find Him a Girlfriend

If you’ve been using dating apps for a while with no real luck, you know how FRUSTRATING they can be.  And here’s a guy who finally had enough . . . so he’s trying a VERY different route.

He’s a 47-year-old guy named Jeff Gebhart who lives near Kansas City, Kansas.  And he’s offering $25,000 to anyone who finds him a girlfriend.

He put up a website DateJeffG.com and a video and some info about him.  He’s a successful entrepreneur, he’s in really good shape, and he’s been in a lot of long-term relationships . . . but he’s never been engaged or married.

So if you suggest a potential girlfriend to him and it works out, he’ll send you $25,000.

And after he pays you, he says he’ll also make a $25,000 donation to an animal shelter or other animal charity. Oh, and you can’t nominate yourself to try to pocket the money . . . women who nominate themselves aren’t eligible.

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RANDOM REPORT

1. Cats have no collarbones.

2. The first photo ever posted on Instagram was a picture taken by one of the founders of a golden retriever.  He posted it in July of 2010.

3. American Express got into the communications business in 1979, and founded MTV, Nickelodeon, and the Movie Channel.  They sold all of them to Viacom about five years later.

4. The guy who created “Super Mario Bros.”and “The Legend of Zelda” wasn’t allowed to bike to work at Nintendo, because they thought it was too dangerous for someone so valuable.

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GOOD NEWS

R.J. Vail was in Grade 4 student at a New Brunswick school when he asked his teacher what a million looks like. She didn’t know just how to answer the 8 yr olds’ question so they decided to collect one million of something as a project.

After years of collecting bread tags the teacher, Susan Weaver has finally fulfilled her promise in memory of R.J. who sadly was killed in a car accident in 2006 when he was 16.

Weaver says she was still collecting bread tags, but she had only collected one or two bottles at that point. Vail’s death gave her extra motivation to keep collecting — now, in memory of the student who started the project.

She started a Facebook page to spread the word, and provided a list of drop-off locations in New Brunswick.  Soon, the small elementary school was inundated with cards, letters and notes from all over the country. Some contained a couple bread tags, while others contained thousands.

It was a unique black bread tag, which arrived last week, that marked a million tags, helping Weaver achieve her goal. As for Vail’s family, they say they felt “overwhelmed” when they learned that Weaver had collected the millionth bread tag. They say they knew she would keep her promise.

Weaver hasn’t decided what to do with all the bread tags just yet. Right now, they will continue to be a math lesson for her students, and a reminder of how valuable a promise can be.

Her next project is to build a pod so her students have computers to use.

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BIRTHDAYS

[64] Arsenio Hall, TV host

[52] Josh Brolin, actor

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YOU CANT’ MAKE THIS UP…………..
➢ A bank robber who wore a pillow case with no eye holes as a disguise was arrested after fleeing “very slowly,” then stopping to pet a dog, a court has been told. 47-year-old Matthew Davies robbed a Bank of Scotland branch in Dunfermline, Scotland, armed with a meat cleaver. But, according to the prosecutor, he was forced to remove his makeshift mask because he “couldn’t see…due to a failure to create eye holes.” He escaped with almost £2,000 before momentarily stopping to pet a dog. He pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and robbery.

➢ A man making a court appearance on a possession charge was arrested after lighting a marijuana cigarette in the courtroom. Spencer Boston was called to discuss his case before a Tennessee judge. While speaking about how marijuana “needs” to be legalized, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a joint, placed it in his mouth, then pulled out a book of matches and lit it and began to smoke it. The courtroom erupted into laughter at Boston’s action, before he was taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct and simple possession…again.

➢ A guy was hired at a gas station in Hamden, New Jersey last month.  And on his first shift, he stole $17,183 worth of stuff.  That included lottery tickets, 89 cartons of cigarettes, and cash.

Then he disappeared.

The cops have released a picture of him from the gas station’s surveillance cameras to try to get help in identifying him.  They don’t know his name his name, because he also stole his employment folder.

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Former MLB Pitcher Is Suing the Astros Over the Cheating Scandal

A former Major League pitcher is   suing the Houston Astros . . . claiming that his career was ruined because of their cheating.

His name is MIKE BOLSINGER, and he hasn’t pitched in the Majors in two years.  His last appearance was on August 4th of 2017 against the Astros in Houston.  He was on the Blue Jays at the time. And he was BAD . . . giving up four runs in just one-third of an inning.  He coughed up four hits . . . including a home run . . . and walked three batters.

Bolsinger claims the Astros were stealing his signs.  The fact that the Astros did this to visiting teams has been confirmed by an MLB investigation and independent research.

He was demoted after that game, and wasn’t able to find another job in the Majors, so he moved his family to Japan and played there for a few years.

Bolsinger is seeking unspecified damages.  He wants the Astros to forfeit the roughly $31 million they got in bonuses from their 2017 World Series title . . . and for the money to go to charities focused on bettering kids’ lives.

He’d also like to set up a fund for retired baseball players who need financial assistance.  The Astros haven’t responded.

Meanwhile, a poll has found that 52% think baseball should strip the Astros of the 2017 World Series title, compared to 35% who say it should not.

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HIGH IMPACT:
The type of music on your playlist can make your workout better, according to a new study.

The report, published in the journal “Frontiers in Psychology”, found that listening to high-tempo music can reduce the amount of perceived effort of a workout, and boost cardiovascular benefits compared to slower tempos.

Researchers say that for benefits to occur, music should be at least 170 beats per minute (ie: ‘Take on Me’ – A-ha).

They also found that music can boost your mood before exercise, and inspire bursts of effort, performance and endurance, while minimizing perceptions of pain and fatigue.

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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 12^TH                                              

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

[64] Arsenio Hall, TV host – Actor

[52] Josh Brolin, actor

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1. NHL

Toronto 3  Arizona 2        Buffalo 3  Detroit 2  Florida 5  NJ  3  NYI 5  Phil 3

Tampa Bay 2  Pitt 1 (OT)    Minn 4  LV 0  NYR 4  Winnipeg 1  Dallas 4  Carolina 1

St. Louis defenceman Jay Bouwmeester was conscious and alert after suffering a cardiac episode and collapsing on the bench during the first period of Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks. The 36-year-old Bouwmeester crumpled over after a long shift and during a break in play. They cancelled the rest of the game and according to one report a defibrillator  was used on the bench. He was taken to hospital where he remained overnight undergoing further tests.

2. • “Survivor” (CBS): Special two-hour premiere. The 40th anniversary “Winners at War” season features 20 returning contestants who have previously won a season of Survivor.
3. The owner of a place in Ohio called East of Chicago Pizza likes to put up funny signs.  But he got in trouble for his newest billboard that told people to eat more pizza because, quote, “Fat people are harder to kidnap.”  Someone complained it was in poor taste, especially because January was National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  So he decided to take it down.  But a lot of people didn’t think it was a big deal.

4. Seth Myers talks about rushing to the hospital before their first baby was born . . . his wife in labor, in the backseat of an Uber, in New York City.  (From his 2019 Netflix special “Lobby Baby”)

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$500 Million Mansion in L.A. Could Be the Most Expensive House in the U.S.

There’s a real estate developer in Los Angeles who’s putting the finishing touches on a house that COULD be the most expensive house in the U.S. . . . IF anyone buys it.

The house is a 100,000-square-foot mansion in Bel-Air with four pools, a bowling alley, a nightclub, a 30-car garage, a 45-seat IMAX theater, a 5,000-square-foot master bedroom, and a moat. And the developer is pricing it at $500 MILLION.  The current record holder for the biggest real estate deal in the U.S. is a penthouse in Manhattan that sold for $238 million . . . so this is double that. Of course, finding someone to spend $500 million on a house isn’t easy.  But there WERE six homes sold in the U.S. last year for more than $100 million.  I take ketchup packets from restaurants to try to save $3.

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CARLY PEARCE’S LOVE-THEMED ALBUM IS PERFECT FOR VALENTINE’S DAY RELEASE

Carly Pearce‘s self-titled sophomore album will be released on Friday (Feb. 14th), which also happens to be Valentine’s Day. It’s also her first Valentine’s Day as a married woman — she and Michael Ray tied the knot in October — and the two will share the stage Friday night in St. Louis to celebrate the album’s release.

Carly tells us: [“I feel like the only way to release my album was to be on Valentine’s Day because love is such a theme of the album.  And to be able to release it on Valentine’s Day, and to be able to play a show with my husband, celebrating my album celebrating our first Valentine’s Day married, it’s just gonna be really fun and will be a very, very special night for me for a very huge number of reasons.”]

Carly joins the We Are Old Dominion Tour later this month.

BILLY CURRINGTON – VALENTINES DAY

Billy Currington was reminiscing about his earliest Valentine’s Day memory.

“Yeah, I remember my first girlfriend. I was in first or second grade, but anyway, I remember it was Valentine’s Day and your mom going, ‘You’ve got to give your girlfriend something, and you’ve got to go give it to her.’ I’ll never forget — we got her a box of chocolates or whatever it was. I remember going down to her classroom and knocking on the door, getting her to come to the door. I remember handing it to her, and then I took off running.”

JON PARDI SHARES VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT ADVICE

Jon Pardi has got the perfect tip for guys looking for that special Valentine’s Day gift for their special someone. He tells us it’s something he learned from his fiancee, Summer. [“Probably the least expensive and the biggest price you can give her is just to write and tell her how much you love her on a card. That’s what she taught me for Valentine’s Day. So, I just do that; it’s way cheaper (laughs). And of course, I always say to her, I say, ‘Babe, every day is Valentine’s Day for you’ (laughs).”]

Jon is climbing the charts with his duet with Thomas Rhett, “Beer Can’t Fix,” which is featured on Thomas’ Center Point Road album.

Jon recently topped the charts with “Heartache Medication,” the title track from his latest album.

GEORGE STRAIT ADDS STADIUM DATE, VEGAS SHOWS THIS SUMMER

George Strait has added some concert dates this summer, playing a stadium show at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium on Aug. 22nd with special guests Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town and more.

He will also return to Sin City for more “Strait to Vegas” shows at T-Mobile Arena August 28-29. George will be joined by special guest Caitlyn Smith.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer