On Today’s Show

➢ A Wisconsin family was saved from a holiday disaster by an honest man who found their $3,000 in cash on a sidewalk and turned it in to police. The Wausau Police Department reports that a resident walking along a street found a bundle containing the cash, along with some gift envelopes and a bank receipt. The resident turned the package over to the police, who were able to trace the rightful owner. The anonymous man was given a gift certificate for his kindness.

➢ If you thought the snowstorm in the Northeastern U.S. was bad, you should know there was also a very bad snowstorm in Japan recently. Authorities there said Friday (December 18th) that more than 1,000 people were stranded on a highway there, some for more than 40 hours, by a snowstorm that began late Wednesday (December 16th). Authorities say the traffic jam stretched for more than ten miles. The military handed out food, gas, and blankets as they worked to dig out the vehicles one by one. At least two motorists were hospitalized.

➢ It’s the go-to excuse for not having your homework done, but this time, it was true. A pair of pups in the Philippines were caught in the act – of eating their human brother’s homework. In video captured by security cameras, Darren Lamban and his cousin are asleep when a hungry husky creeps into the room — where his pug pal is snoozing on one of the boy’s chests. The larger dog, named Sam, comes across a few sheets of paper on a desk, drags them to the ground and begins digging in. Soon, Sam and the smaller dog, Mayor, are seen chowing down on what turned out to be the teenagers’ homework.

➢A huge, nine-pound goldfish was recently discovered in Oak Grove Lake in South Carolina. The Greenville County parks department director Ty Houck told The State he wasn’t sure how long the fish had been in the lake, but guessed it was someone’s pet that they no longer wanted to care for. Given the fish’s large size, it could be very old. Houck says that though most goldfish are tiny, their size can vary greatly and “they grow to the size of their environment.” Goldfish are not native to South Carolina lakes, but are not considered invasive.

➢Christopher Walken says he doesn’t have any moral or philosophical objections to modern communications technology he just doesn’t use it. The 77-year-old actor told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Monday that he has never owned a computer or sent an email or text message. “Somebody had to come and set this up because I don’t have a cellphone or a computer,” said Walken, who was appearing via Zoom. Technology “just passed me by,” Walken said, per the Hollywood Reporter. “And I never got involved in it because it would be strange to have any 10-year-old be much better at it than I am.”

TODAY IS……………….

• “Abilities Day”, honoring disabled people and their care-givers. It is also a time to recognize that we all have abilities and disabilities of various kinds.

2001 [19] Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempts to destroy American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami using explosives hidden in his shoes (due to this attempt, passengers are forced to remove their shoes at security)

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

1986  George Strait released “Ocean Front Property” which gave him his tenth  #1

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GOOD NEWS

An off-duty lifeguard in New Jersey is a real hero after he took off his prosthetic leg so he could jump into Newark Bay to save the driver of an SUV that had plunged into the water.

Anthony Capuano says he was leaving work recently in Bayonne when he saw a crowd of people running toward the shore. He spotted an SUV sinking in the water about 50 feet off shore, the driver appeared to be trapped inside the vehicle and was yelling out the window.

Capuano says he removed his leg and then jumped in the water and was able to help the 68-year-old driver to shore. He lost his leg when he was struck by a train 11-years-ago.

Police said the driver of the SUV had been pulling over to answer a phone call when he accidentally pressed on the accelerator and the brake at the same time.

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LEARNING ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Growing up Muslim, Mohammad Hussain has long avoided Christmas shopping, tree-decorating and gatherings during the month of December.

But, like millions of others across the country, he won’t be headed home for the holidays because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, he will be with his “amazing roommates” in Ottawa and learning what it means to have a “proper Christmas,”.

And his tweets, which talk about the holiday have gone viral.

“Do you want to sleep in on a Saturday? Too bad. Go put up some lights inside the house. Oh, you want to sleep in on Sunday? Too bad. Go put up some lights outside the house,” he tweeted.

Observation 2: People have very strong feelings about their Christmas traditions. If someone is insisting that *certain food* is what you have to eat Christmas morning, because that’s their family tradition, DO NOT SUGGEST ALTERNATIVES.

Observation 3: You can buy yourself a gift but you can’t stuff your own stocking. I don’t understand this one but I told my roommate I bought stuff for my stocking and they said that’s not a thing. I don’t care. I bought myself mint chapstick and I will fake surprise.

He poked fun at how his friends were “agonizing over the gifts you must buy”

“You can set this budget as high as you want but the perfect gift will always be $10 too expensive. There is no winning. Just give up,”

Hussain, who described himself as a political staffer in Ottawa, says the attention has been overwhelming. He said some of the praise came from people who, like him, didn’t grow up with Christmas and loved his take.

But he’s also enjoyed hearing from others who know firsthand how the holiday is a “an absolute affair.”

Scores of people have admitted to doing things Hussain pointed out, including even,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He replied saying, “that about sums it up” before thanking Hussain for sharing his findings.

“Sophie and I are sending you and your roommates our best wishes this Christmas, and we’re glad to hear you’re enjoying it all so far,” read Trudeau’s tweet.

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BIRTHDAYS

[75] Diane Sawyer, news anchor

[58] Ralph Fiennes (***PRON: Rafe Fines***), actor

Five Tips for People Who Are Afraid of Needles

The vaccine has arrived.  And even if you believe the science, a fear of NEEDLES might make you hesitate before you get it.

Around 1 in 4 adults are at least somewhat afraid of needles.  (It’s called trypanophobia.)  And 7% of us avoid vaccines because of it.  So here are five tips from experts on how to get past that fear . . .

1. Be open and upfront about it.  Doctors and nurses are used to people who don’t like needles.  So they’re sensitive to it and pretty good at calming people down.

2. Think about why you’re doing it, and how much worse COVID would be.  Just comparing one to the other can calm you down long enough to push through it.

3. Try some deep breathing.  Take a few breaths, visualize yourself in a comfortable place, and remember it’ll be over fast.  You might even want to start doing some deep breathing or meditation in the car on your way there.

4. Distract yourself.  Talk to someone else in the room about something totally unrelated.  The idea is to just not think about it for a few seconds.

5. Don’t look.  Watching tends to make you more anxious.  So even a lot of people who aren’t “afraid” of needles prefer to turn away.

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MORE MILLENNIALS ARE USING END-OF-YEAR VACATION TIME

Most Americans usually don’t use all of their paid time off, but millennials are actually taking more time off for the 2020 holidays than they did in years past.

Amex Trendex’s December 2020 report found that 20 percent of millennials say they plan on taking more time off from work this month than in previous years.

Fifty percent of millennials also report planning to take this time off to de-stress after a tough year, but that’s also unique to millennials, as just 31 percent of all adults surveyed said the same.

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TUESDAY DECEMBER 22^ND  

1. With the growth in new COVID-19 cases showing no signs of slowing down, Premier Doug Ford has announced that the entire province is going into lockdown.

The Premier announced Monday afternoon that, as of 12:01 a.m. on Boxing Day, Ontario will be in lockdown for 28 days in the southern portion of the province, while the north will be in lockdown for 14 days.

This will mean a ban on indoor social gatherings with anyone outside of a person’s household and the closure of non-essential businesses. Fitness centres will close and bars and restaurants will only be allowed to offer take-out and delivery service.

Elementary students will not return to class on January 4. Instead, a week of remote learning is planned before class resumes on January 11. High school students in southern Ontario will learn from home for the entire 28 day lockdown period, returning to class on January 25.

In person shopping at most retail settings will be prohibited during the lockdown. However, businesses will be allowed to continue offering delivery and curb-side pickup service. Big box stores will be limited to 25 per cent capacity for in-store shopping, while supermarkets, grocery stores, and pharmacies will be limited to 50 per cent capacity.

2. No winning ticket was sold for the $40 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw.

That means the jackpot for the next draw TONIGHT will grow to approximately $50 million, and there will also be two Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each up for grabs.

A ticket holder in Quebec claimed Saturday night’s nearly $30 million Lotto 649 jackpot.

And the draw’s $1 million guaranteed prize went to a lottery player in the Prairies.

The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw TOMORROW will be approximately $5 million.

3. • “The Bachelorette” (ABC): Season 16 finale

• “NEXT” (FOX): Season 1 finale
• “Saturday Night Live Christmas Special” (NBC): A collection of Christmas-themed sketches including D… in a Box, Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, Adam Sandler’s ‘Chanukah Song’, Martha Stewart’s Topless Christmas and more.

4. • Carrie Underwood – You may have heard (no pun intended) that she asked her husband for – and received – 2 cows for Christmas. Why? She told Seth Meyers: “I grew up with cows and I love them…They’re probably my favorite animal…they make me so happy.”

CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S CHRISTMAS ALBUM HOLDS FIRM TO TOP OF CHARTS

Carrie Underwood’s first-ever Christmas album, My Gift, hangs on to the top spot on the charts this holiday season, following its chart-topping debut across multiple global charts.

Carrie tells us that recording the uplifting songs on this album during one of the most unsettling times in history proved cathartic. [“I knew I was going to make this album at the end of last year before we had any idea what this year was going to look like and we started doing this. The spring and the summer, I’m getting to go in and I’m getting to sing these joyful, happy, hopeful songs. It was therapeutic in a way.  You can’t be sad singing these songs, and for me to have that gift myself of getting to sing songs that I love and just to sing in general it really was a gift.  It was a blessing in 2020.  So I hope people get that when they listen to it.”] 

My Gift features a combination of traditional favorites as well as several new originals, two of which were co-written by Carrie.

If You Invite Darius Rucker Over for Holiday Dinner, You Better Have Sweet Potato Pie

DARIUS RUCKER gave Architectural Digest a tour of his new Nashville home.  Darius and his wife split last summer and this is where he and his 16-year-old son Jack are living.

It’s a beautiful place, but it’s two guys who don’t cook much so the kitchen doesn’t see a lot of action.  In fact, he’s been using the dining room as a stage.  He shoves the table out of the way and does whatever virtual concert he has going on.

When it comes to food he says there’s a certain dish that you better have on the table if you ever invite him over for a holiday meal.

Quote, “If you don’t have sweet potato pie, I can’t come to your house.”

RUSSELL DICKERSON SURPRISES DISABLED UTAH TEEN WITH SPECIAL SUV

Russell Dickerson recently helped to surprise a fan with a special early Christmas gift, new handicap-accessible SUV. Seventeen-year-old Sarah Frei was paralyzed from the waist down and had to have her legs amputated after being a passenger in a car that was hit head-on by a drunk driver back in July.

Despite the tragedy, Sarah was determined to push through and continue being a cheerleader for her local high school. She documented her road to recovery on her Instagram account via her #sarahstrong campaign. One of her posts was her in her hospital bed doing the arm portion of a cheer to Russell’s hit “Home Sweet.” He was tagged in the post and it caught his attention.

Russell learned about Sarah’s story and heard that the first question she asked after surgery was “Will I ever be able to drive again?” The singer teamed up with Chevy to present the 2021 Chevrolet Traverse via a Zoom call where Sarah thought she was going to be interviewed by a magazine about her story. Russell joined the call, during which he and Sarah both got emotional.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer