On Today’s Show

➢ Winter days have less light than summer days, and even if you don’t have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) the grey days might leave you feeling a bit down. Clinical psychologist, Dr. Barbara Nosal says a simple way to feel better is to open up all your blinds and curtains first thing in the morning. She adds that spending time outside helps regulate hormones and neurotransmitters that have a strong effect on moods, behavior, and the body’s natural rhythmic patterns, so you’ll want to be exposed to as much natural light as possible during the day. For cloudy days you might want to invest in a light therapy box, which gives off light that mimics natural sunlight.

➢ A few weeks ago, the police in Murrieta, California pulled over a Little Caesars pizza delivery driver for a traffic violation.  And when the cops ran his name, they found he had an outstanding warrant, so they arrested him.

But there was still an undelivered pizza in his car.

So, the cops came up with a plan:  One of them took the driver to jail . . . while the other one delivered the pizza to the customer who was waiting for it.

➢ A cancer doctor in Arkansas named Omar Atiq recently closed his practice to start teaching.  And on his way out, he forgave $650,000 worth of his patients’ medical debt.  He sent letters to 200 people for Christmas to let them know they didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

➢ Proving once again that absolutely ANYTHING is fair game for a remake, a reboot, or a sequel . . . there’s a new “Little House on the Prairie” in the works.

This one will fall into the REBOOT category, and that’s about all that anyone knows about it so far.  But sources say several potential buyers are already interested.

The original “Little House” ran from 1974 to 1983 on NBC.  It was based on the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote about her life growing up in the 1870s and 1880s in Wisconsin, Kansas, and Minnesota.

➢ The Grammy Awards have officially been postponed until Sunday, March 14th.

The Recording Academy released a joint statement along with CBS on Tuesday (January 5th) announcing that the show would no longer take place on January 31st due to concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

They said, “The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do.”

According to Rolling Stone, Trevor Noah will remain the host of the event

TODAY IS……………….

• “Epiphany” (aka “Three Kings Day”), a public holiday in Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Puerto Rico. In Ireland it’s known as “Little Christmas”; in Italy the kindly witch ‘La Befana’ slides down chimneys on her broom to bring toys & goodies for kids; in Mexico, where it’s known as “Dia de los Santos Reyes”, kids leave shoes out to be filled with toys

• “Carnival Season” begins, which runs from today (“Epiphany”) until February 25th (“Shrove Tuesday”).

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

Don Williams reached #1 with “Tulsa Time” in 1979

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FROG BULL:
It seems like every year, there’s a new trendy kind of cleanse making the rounds. We’re not so sure this one is going to catch on, but some Silicon Valley executives and others on the West Coast are singing the praises of the Amazonian frog poison “cleanse”.

Kambo, a gluey substance secreted on the skin of the Giant Monkey Frog when threatened, is being taken by some for what they say is its curative physical and psychological properties – but it comes at a cost. How is it applied? Treatments begin with a person’s skin being burned and then the venom is applied to the wound.

It causes immediate and severe short-term symptoms including projectile vomiting, diarrhea, increased heart rate and a swollen face. Practitioners say that the intense sensations help create feelings of strength and power. They say it can cure anything from migraines to anxiety and can succeed when more traditional medicines or therapy are ineffective. How much? About $150 per session.

Oh, one more thing: Hospitalizations and even deaths have been reported among those who have received the treatment, a problem partly blamed on a lack of trained professionals able to administer kambo.

FOUR RANDOM FACTS

✓ 91% people skip the first slice of bread, just because it’s ugly.

✓ Your fingernails grow faster when you are cold.

✓ Your feet typically produce a pint of sweat every single day.

✓ People whose names start with ‘A’ have the longest life expectancy.

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GOOD NEWS

Small businesses are struggling BIG TIME during the pandemic . . . and an NBA player has a creative idea to help them out.  LARRY NANCE JR. of the Cleveland Cavaliers shared his address on social media, and asked his followers to buy a piece of apparel from any of their favorite local businesses, and send it to him.  He wears a size XL shirt.

And he said, quote, “I will wear each piece of apparel to a game this year, be photographed, and post about that business to help bring awareness.

“On top of that, I will be selling my worn jersey from said game, and also will match whatever price the jersey sells for, with 100% of the proceeds going to the business being represented that night.” He added, quote, “This is our city, these are our communities, let’s help each other in this time of need.  Go Cavs!”

And if that wasn’t enough, he made it clear that all apparel he receives . . . after being supported and acknowledged . . . will be donated back to local area homeless shelters.

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BIRTHDAYS

[66] Rowan Atkinson, actor (“Mr. Bean”)

[52] Norman Reedus, actor (‘Daryl Dixon’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2010)

[37] Kate McKinnon, comedian/actress (“Ghostbusters”)

AUSTRALIAN FRIENDS WIN $750,000 USING LOTTERY NUMBERS FROM A HAT

Two friends from Australia won a lottery jackpot of over $750,000 with numbers they literally picked out of a hat. The pair, a man and a woman, report that they have been playing the lottery together for several years using the same group of numbers, which they selected initially by drawing them out of a hat. Years later, their unusual number selection method paid off. From a TattsLotto jackpot, the two friends took home a total of $758,127.12. One of the winners says she is already making plans for her share of the money—finally replacing carpeting under her dining room table with floorboards, buying a new car, and helping her family.

WOMAN WHO DOESN’T PLAY LOTTERY WINS $800,000 FROM CHRISTMAS GIFT

Over a decade since she last purchased a lottery ticket, an Australian woman won over $800,000 from a ticket given to her as a Christmas present. The woman, who is from Hobart, Tasmania, received the gift from her family. She told reporters that it had been so long since she purchased a lottery ticket of her own that she could not remember how to check it, so she had to ask her husband to check it for her. The TattsLotto jackpot totalled a whopping $807,778.58. After realizing that she had won, the decided to share her winnings with her family, who had purchased the surprisingly valuable ticket. She plans on dividing the winnings between her children and using the remainder to fund her retirement.

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Can a hot toddy really help relieve cold symptoms? Experts say yes sort of

The folklore goes that a hot toddy the alcoholic drink composed of hot water, lemon juice, honey and whiskey or rum or brandy can soothe your sore throat or clear your winter cold-induced congestion.

Ginger Hultin, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of ChampagneNutrition, echoed Ascher’s point that “heat and hydration” are soothing. There also might be antimicrobial aspects of honey that could help with a cold, but Hultin warns “alcohol can irritate the tissues in the throat.”

Not to mention that alcohol can depress the immune system and cause dehydration. “”We prefer to filter the toxins already in our body when we are ill and not add unnecessary excess.” Instead, try a hot cup of herbal tea with lemon and honey Ð minus the booze, Hultin advised.

The Cast of “The Waltons” Is Reuniting This Week

The cast of “The Waltons” will reunite for the first “Stars in the House” reunion of 2021.

Nearly ALL the surviving original cast members are onboard, including Richard Thomas (John-Boy), Michael Learned (Olivia), Mary Beth McDonough (Erin), Eric Scott (Ben), Kami Cotler (Elizabeth) and Judy Norton (Mary Ellen).

That’s basically everyone except: Jon Walmsley, who played Jason, and David W. Harper, who played Jim-Bob.  It’s unclear why they’re not participating.

Most of the older cast members have passed away, including Ralph Waite (John), Will Geer (Grandpa), and Ellen Corby (Grandma).

“Stars in the House” is the YouTube series that started in the wake of the pandemic, which benefits The Actors Fund.  They’ve already done reunions for “Knots Landing”, “Frasier”, and “Glee”.

This episode will stream at 8:00 P.M. Eastern this Thursday on the Stars in the House YouTube channel and at StarsInTheHouse.com.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6^TH  

1. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, guard Joel Bitonio, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge and at least two assistant coaches will miss Cleveland’s wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend after testing positive for Covid-19. The Browns — who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002 — announced the news on Tuesday (January 5th). Stefanski can only coach virtually from home this week, and will be replaced by special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

There’s a possibility that the College Football Playoff national championship game may have to be postponed because of Covid-19 issues in Ohio State’s program, according to a report.

Third-ranked Ohio State, which is set to play top-ranked Alabama on January 11th for the title, had spoken with CFP officials about player availability problems due to positive Covid tests that could force the game to be delayed. But CFP executive director Bill Hancock said yesterday the title game is still on track to be played Monday night.

2. If you’ve missed traveling due to the pandemic you’re not alone, and it turns out travel really might make people happy. Washington State University researchers found that people who reported regularly traveling at least 75 miles away from home also reported being about seven percent happier when asked about their overall well-being compared to those who reported traveling very rarely or not at all. Researcher Chun-Chu Chen notes, “While things like work, family life and friends play a bigger role in overall reports of well-being, the accumulation of travel experiences does appear to have a small yet noticeable effect on self-reported life satisfaction.”

3. A 107-year-old woman in Minnesota named Tillie Dybing recently beatthe virus.  No one realized she had it until she started sleeping all day, every day.  She eventually tested positive, but she’s feeling great now.  She talked to the local news and said it reminded her of when her parents got sick with the Spanish Flu in 1918.

4. Here’s comedian Dennis Regan on how the media overuses the term “miracle.”

Walmart Has Apologized to Morgan Wallen for Leaking His New Album

Walmart owned-up to their mistake and apologized to MORGAN WALLEN for leaking his new album, “Dangerous”, which is officially coming out this Friday.  A handful of their stores started selling them about a week ago.

A spokesperson gave this statement Rolling Stone, quote, “We are deeply apologetic to Morgan for this unfortunate situation.  We appreciate Morgan as an artist and understand his frustration and disappointment.

“We have protocols in place to help ensure new albums are not sold before the release date, yet in this instance his album made its way to the shelf in a handful of stores early.  We’re removing any albums on the shelves until the official release date.”

Meanwhile, Morgan came through on his promise of leaking songs on his own.  He posted at least four clips on his TikTok page.

Things you might not know about Ashley McBryde

2.  If she wasn’t a singer, she’d be a teacher or a band director.
3.  She was “most starstruck” when meeting Reba McEntire.
4.  Her favorite food is mashed potatoes with lots of butter.
5.  Her biggest pet peeve is HER being late.  Quote, “If I’m supposed to be at lunch and there’s no place to park.  I’ll leave.”
6.  The one item she can’t live without are her boots.
7.  Her best Christmas memory was the year she got a drum kit.
8.  As for something people would be surprised to know about her?  Quote, “All the labels in the medicine cabinet have to face in the right direction.  I think I’m a lot tidier than people would think I am.” (Here’s the full list.)

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JAMESON RODGERS’ NEW SINGLE IS DUET WITH LUKE COMBS

Jameson Rodgers’ new single, “Cold Beer Calling My Name,” features Luke Combs. He co-wrote the song for his upcoming album, and as he tells us, it took more than one session to finish it. [“It’s a fun, easy song, but it actually took us two or three writing sessions to finish it up. Once we finished it up we knew it’d be a cool, or I thought it’d be a cool song, to have somebody on it. At the time, I was out with Luke Combs and so I asked Luke if he’d like to sing on it. I know he’s a cold beer drinker like myself and so it work out and I’m excited for everyone to hear it.”] 

“Cold Beer Calling My Name” follows Jameson’s chart-topping debut, “Some Girls,” which was the only solo male debut single to reach the top of the charts in 2020.

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TYLER HUBBARD, TIM McGRAW TEAM UP ON NEW SINGLE

FGL‘s Tyler Hubbard spoke of some upcoming collaborations in the duo’s New Year’s Day video where they talked about individual upcoming plans, and the first one is ready to be released. Tyler and Tim McGraw have teamed up on a new song called “Undivided” and it will be released to Country radio and all streaming services on January 13th.

That same day, a behind-the-scenes music video of the two friends in the studio will also be released. The song will be included on the Deluxe version of Tim’s latest album, Here On Earth, which will be released sometime this spring.

Tyler co-wrote “Undivided” during his quarantine period aboard his tour bus back in November after he tested positive for COVID.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer