On Today’s Show

➢  CHARLIE DANIELS died yesterday after suffering a stroke.  He was 83.  He’s survived by his wife Hazel and their son, Charlie Daniels Jr. The world knew him as a brilliant fiddle player and for his classic song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” . . . but his list of credits is a mile long.  He put 34 singles on the “Billboard” Country Songs chart and sold over 13.5 million records.

Charlie Daniels shares that you’re never too old to chase your passion.  He’s a good example of that because he didn’t move to Nashville until he was in his 30s.

➢ A New Zealand town built in 2006 as a tribute to the U.S. Wild West is for sale with an asking price of $7.5 million for the 10 buildings and a Manuka honey business. Mellonsfolly Ranch was built on 900 acres of New Zealand’s North Island in 2006 by John Bedogni and the 10 themed buildings were designed to resemble an 1860s frontier town in Wyoming. The town includes a licensed saloon, a courthouse that features a cinema, a sheriff’s office, a billiards lounge and three residences. Mellonsfolly Ranch is currently used as a boutique hotel for nightly rentals that start at $5,000.

➢ A town council member in northern Spain offered to resign from his position after accidently broadcasting a video of himself showering during an online council meeting that was being livestreamed. The meeting ran long he  began to worry that he would not have time to shower before heading to his other job.  He decided to multitask, and as residents and journalists watched, jumped into the shower without remembering that he was on camera. He wrote on social media that it was an innocent mistake but that he was at “complete peace” with what had transpired.

➢ According to a new study out of the University of Georgia, doing a little bit of drinking every day is GOOD FOR YOU.

The researchers found that people who have one or two drinks a day were 29% less likely to show signs of mental decline as they got older than people who never drink.

So if you have somewhere between eight and 15 drinks a week, according to the researchers . . . it might mean good things for your brain.

➢ “Die Hard” has been named one of the most re-watched films of all time. The 1988 action flick – starring Bruce Willis – as well as “Dirty Dancing” and “The Wizard of Oz” are the most popular films for viewers to revisit, with Brits reporting having seen them twelve times each, according to a poll for streaming service NOW TV. “Star Wars” movies also stand up well to repeated viewings, with people seeing “A New Hope”, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi’ 11 times each. Viewers says they’ve seen “The Sound of Music”, “The Lion King” and the 1980s classic “The Breakfast Club” on ten occasions. (Uh, “Christmas Vacation?”…Helloo?)

TODAY IS……………….

• “Chocolate Day”. Some say chocolate from the New World (mostly Mexico) was introduced to Europe on this date in 1550. Suggestions for today’s menu …
  – Breakfast: Chocolate cereal; chocolate cream-filled donuts; hot chocolate.
  – Morning Snack: Chocolate bar to give you a boost until lunch.
  – Lunch: A big tall glass of chocolate milk; chocolate pie or pudding for dessert.
  – Afternoon Snack: Chocolate covered raisins, which contain both vegetable and fruit.
  – Dinner: Chocolate liqueur aperitif; chocolate-flavored coffee; chocolate cake.
  – Evening Snack: Chocolate ice cream, of course!

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PLANE BRILLIANT:
If start-up company Zephyr Aerospace has its way, double-decker airplane seats could become a staple for economy travel – particularly in a post-coronavirus world, where airlines will need to comply with social distancing requirements.

The San Francisco-based company hopes to make seating more spacious and comfortable for passengers, while also giving them plenty of privacy. Zephyr has designer a seat they describe as a “lie-flat seat designed for everyone” which allows passengers to choose whether they’d prefer to fly in a flat, lounging, or sitting upright position.

And by using a ‘stacked’ seating configuration, the company has created a double-decker-style seating plan that fits a second row of seats where an airliner would usually have space for overhead baggage storage.

They say their design increases seating capacity by 20% and reduces costs, allowing airlines to offer the lowest price in the industry for a lie-flat seats.

FOUR RANDOM FACTS

1. Portland, Oregon was named by a coin flip . . . the other name option was Boston.  The two guys who founded the city were from Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine.  The guy from Maine won the toss and named the city Portland.

2. The reason baseball and basketball teams wear dark jerseys for road games is because the away teams originally didn’t have access to washing machines, so they needed the darker jerseys to conceal dirt.

3. Hot Pockets were called Chunk Stuffers when they debuted in the 1970s.

4. The “CR-V” in “Honda CR-V” stands for “Comfortable Runabout Vehicle.”

GOOD NEWS

A nurse in England who’d been living apart from her two-year-old for 11 weeks finally reunited with him the other day, and the photos are going viral.

He lived with his grandparents, just to make sure she didn’t get the virus and give it to him.

(She told a reporter he’s a lot taller and heavier than he was a few months ago.  Her husband says it was a sacrifice, but they had to do it to keep their son safe.)

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BIRTHDAYS

[80] Ringo Starr

[54] Jim Gaffigan, comedian

[25] Maddie Marlow, country singer (Maddie & Tae)

ESCAPED BULL LASSOED AFTER WANDERING ONTO ILLINOIS HIGHWAY

This is not something you expect to see while sitting in traffic. The Columbia Police Department in Illinois said officers had to respond to Interstate 255 on Wednesday (June 24th) after drivers reported a bull wandering into the roadway. Authorities say officers were eventually able to guide the bull away from the highway and then it was lassoed by its owner. The animal was not injured and was returned to its owner’s farm.

MOUNTAIN LION REMOVED FROM CRAWL SPACE UNDER CALIFORNIA HOME

You never know what might be lurking below your house. Monrovia, California police caught a mountain lion that had been spotted wandering the city for four days yesterday morning (June 25th.) The animal was found hiding in a crawl space under a house on Wednesday evening (June 24th.) The animal was spotted leaving the home Wednesday night and wandering the neighborhood before returning to the crawl space. It was shot with a tranquilizer dart and removed from under the home early Thursday morning. Wildlife agents loaded the mountain lion into a truck to remove it from the area to relocate it to a wilderness area.

ALLIGATOR WITH MISSING LIMBS SHOWS UP ON FLORIDA FAMILY’S PORCH

Talk about having an uninvited guest. An 8-foot, 9-inch alligator was spotted on Tuesday (June 30th) at the front door of a home in Tampa, Florida. The alligator was also missing two limbs. The home owners called Croc Encounters to come capture the alligator and remove it. It’s thought the missing limbs are due to an encounter with another alligator. The animal will have a new permanent home at Croc Encounters.

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76% of Us Have Really Packed on Some Pounds During the Quarantine

If you’ve found yourself eating and drinking more during the quarantine and exercising less . . . well, you’re in good company.  That company is:  Pretty much everyone else.

According to a new survey, 76% of people say they’ve gained weight since the quarantine began . . . with some people gaining up to 16 pounds.

One of the things making it easier to gain weight is . . . we don’t have to wear real pants.

About half of people say they’ve basically only worn sweatpants or yoga pants during the quarantine . . . and 28% can’t remember the last time they put on real pants.

But, I’m sorry to say the days of good eating may be coming to an end.  63% of people say they’re trying to go the other direction now and start dropping some of the delicious pounds they’ve packed on.

Group Is Busted with a Truckload of Illegal Fireworks, and Three Dead Alligators

Cops in Staten Island, New York arrested a group of ten people this week, after they were caught with a truckload of illegal fireworks they were planning to sell.

And along with the fireworks, they were also hauling three dead ALLIGATORS.

We assume they were planning to sell them, or turn them into belts.  But we haven’t heard anything else about it.

Police tweeted out a photo of the fireworks, but not the gators.  They did mention them in the tweet though, and specifically said they were NOT joking.

The people they arrested are facing charges for fireworks trafficking and “unlawfully transporting three alligator carcasses.”

TUESDAY JULY 7^TH   

1. CHARLIE DANIELSdied yesterday after suffering a stroke.  He was 83.  Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.

He’s survived by his wife Hazel and their son, Charlie Daniels Jr.

The world knew him as a brilliant fiddle player and for his classic song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” . . . but his list of credits is a mile long.  He put 34 singles on the “Billboard” Country Songs chart and sold over 13.5 million records.

Charlie was a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Grand Ole Opry.  He performed at the Super Bowl and at President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural.

2. Legendary film composer Ennio Morricone died yesterday.  He was 91.  He’s best known for his soundtrack to “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” . . . which includes “The Ecstasy of Gold”, also known as the song from the Modelo beer commercials.

3. • “What Would You Do?” (ABC): Season 15 premiere

• “Dirty Jobs” (DISCOVERY): Series premiere. Mike Rowe and his dirty crew hit the highway to see the sights and reminisce about classic American infrastructure jobs from the show’s history.

4. Here’s Patton Oswalt talking about one of his earliest jobs . . . working for a party DJ service, that had low-quality sound.  (From his 2020 Netflix special, “I Love Everything”)

Patrick Mahomes Just Signed a $500 Million Deal with the Chiefs

To say the Kansas City Chiefs made it a priority to lock down quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES would be a HUGE understatement.

They just signed him to a massive contract extension that’ll pay him at least $450 million over the next 10 years . . . and potentially more than HALF A BILLION DOLLARS.

And Mahomes Tweeted a highlight video with the caption, “Here to stay!”

MLB RELEASES 2020 SCHEDULE, PLAY TO BEGIN JULY 23RD: MLB released the schedule for its shortened season on Monday (July 6th), which shows that opening day will be Thursday, July 23rd, with two high-profile match-ups between the World Series champion Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, and the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants. There will then be 14 games on July 24th. Games will be played without fans.

NHL GAMES TO BEGIN AUGUST 1ST AFTER LABOR DEAL REACHED: The NHL and the Players’ Association on Monday (July 6th) announced a tentative deal on returning to play after its suspension, as well as on a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. It was both ratified by owners and players, games would resume on August 1st, with the NHL going straight to its expanded 24-team playoff format. The hub cities for play will be Canada’s Toronto and Edmonton for the qualifying round and at least the first two playoff rounds

CHARLIE DANIELS DEAD AT 83

The music world is mourning the passing of Charlie Daniels, who died yesterday (Monday, July 6th) at the age of 83. Daniels died at a Nashville area hospital after suffering a stroke. According to his publicist, funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days. Daniels is survived by his wife, Hazel, and son, Charlie Daniels, Jr.

Daniels and his Charlie Daniels Band were most widely known for the chart-topping hit, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2009 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.

The Hall of Fame induction was particularly meaningful to Daniels, who at the time he thought it was an unachievable dream. [“The best way I know how to describe it is…This is a dream you don’t even let yourself dream. You may dream it, but you never get to the point of thinking it’s ever gonna come true, because it may not. And if it does, it may do it after you die and you not know anything about it. So you know that in advance and just go ahead with the rest of your life and just hope that it happens.”] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: hope that it happens)

An outpouring of love and memories came from artists within the country music world as soon as Daniels’ death was announced.

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GARTH BROOKS, TRISHA YEARWOOD DELAY CONCERT DUE TO POSSIBLE COVID EXPOSURE

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have postponed their scheduled Facebook concert set for tonight (Tuesday, July 7th). In a statement from Garth’s spokesperson, the move was made “out of an abundance of caution” after they were possibly exposed to COVID-19. The statement reads, “While Garth and Trisha are fine, the Garth/Trisha camp has possibly been exposed to the Covid-19 virus. To be smart about this, they are all quarantining for 2 weeks and thank everyone for their concern.” Both the concert and Garth’s weekly Inside Studio G series have been delayed for two weeks.

Garth and Trisha played their first live acoustic Facebook concert together back in March. Fans were able to request songs via social media.

COLE SWINDELL RELEASES VIDEO SHOT DURING QUARANTINE

Cole Swindell has released the video for this new single, “Single Saturday Night.” The clip was shot in Nashville during the current quarantine, and as Cole tells us, it was an unforgettable experience. [“It’s just me and the band guys. We got us all together, not in one place, but we all went by at separate times. It looked like a schedule all day long. We were in front of a green screen and it was awkward filming it. We wanted to have fun with it. That was our whole thing. We didn’t want to shoot a little video of me in a bar seeing a girl. We wanted to just have fun, and that’s what this video is. As different as it was, I’ll never forget it, I know that. I’ll probably never shoot another video like it, so . . . “]

“Single Saturday Night” is the lead single off Cole’s upcoming album.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer