On Today’s Show

➢ A 62-year-old former drug addict who spent half of his life in jail just graduated from college with honors.  Joseph Valadez made the dean’s list at Cal State Long Beach, and hopes to get his master’s in social work.  He got emotional talking about how his mom never gave up on him, and how proud she would have been.  And he doesn’t care if people know his backstory, because maybe it’ll help someone.

➢ A guy in Virginia swam over 5 miles in handcuffs to break the World Record.  

➢ The Center for Inquiry Los Angeles has been running a contest for a few years called the Paranormal Challenge, and the rules are simple:  If you can prove you have a super power, you’ll win $250,000.

They say they’ve had tons of people from all over the world apply saying they have an ability that can’t be explained by science . . . but so far, no one’s been able to prove their ability.

There’s a running list online of the people who’ve attempted the challenge.  Some recent ones were a telepath who said he could project images into people’s heads . . . and a man who said he could make a top spin in strange ways on a table. 

➢ Tuesday night’s game was the first time fans had been allowed back into their when they hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Mask mandates and limited capacity efforts have been put in place.

But it was a post on Twitter following the game that has social media up in arms.

The team posted a photo of fans in the stands saying, “Thanks for the continued support Penguins fans. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.”

It didn’t take long for social media sleuths to discover that the photo the Penguins posted may have been manipulated. 

In the original Getty Images photo, one of the fans wasn’t wearing a mask, and others weren’t wearing them correctly. The version that the Penguins posted on Twitter showed fans all wearing masks properly. The Penguins issued a statement saying that it shouldn’t have happened and the staffer has been disciplined. 

➢ A woman tells her real life “21 Jump Street” story from back in high school.  A transfer student turned out to be an undercover cop.  After the student left there was a giant drug bust at the school.  Listen to her talk about it, here.

TODAY IS……………….

• “Poutine Day”, the dish comprised of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Poutine is a particularly popular dish in the Canadian province of Quebec, but it is enjoyed in many other places as well. 
• “Dress in Blue Day”, to raise awareness about colon cancer, to celebrate survivors, and to help patients in need during “Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month”.

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

Gretchen Wilson‘s debut single, “Redneck Woman,” was released to radio in 2004.

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Things That Usually Go on Sale in March

Most of us don’t have money to waste right now.  But if you’re in the market for any of this stuff, now might be a good time to buy.  Here are six things that go on sale in March . . .

1. TVs.  Manufacturers are getting ready to release new models.  So it’s the second-best month of the year to buy a TV.  November is the first.

2. Jewelry.  There’s always a lot left over from Valentine’s Day.  So jewelry stores drop their prices.

3. Winter sports gear.  Things like skis, snowboards, and heavy coats get discounted as we get closer to spring.

4. Mattresses.  Again, new models are on the way, so stores are trying to get rid of last year’s stuff.

5. BBQ’s.  It’s the last chance to get a deal before prices go up ahead of summer.  They usually don’t drop back down until July or August. 

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FOUR RANDOM FACTS 

1. The shortest street in the world is Ebenezer Place in Scotland.  The street is six feet, nine inches long and has one address.

2. Bubble gum is pink because that was the only food dye available in the factory where it was first made.

3. Some of the early top casting choices for “Speed”were originally Stephen Baldwin and Ellen DeGeneres.  It would’ve been a very different movie.

4. Sweden has a ski-through McDonald’s.

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GOOD NEWS 

Quite a find for a Canadian man whose Grandparents were married for 77 years and he just discovered hundreds of his Grandparents love letters from the 1940’s. 

Their grandson, Jason McDowall, says “We were moving my grandma into a residence. We had to sell their house in East York and while we were cleaning out the house, we came across this little blue suitcase,” McDowall said.

The little blue suitcase was filled with roughly 450 love letters his grandparents sent each other between 1941 and 1946.

“My grandmother was in Toronto and my grandfather was in Trenton and then Ottawa and then Halifax and then was eventually sent oversees where he was serving in the air force.”

The Lewis’ had been separated by the Second World War but used letters to stay connected.

He has organized the letters in chronological order, is reading them one-by-one, transcribing them, and posting them on a blog for others to enjoy, as well. He still has hundreds of letters to get through but hopes they will serve as a source of hope for anyone who needs it.

His Grandfather passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 98 and his Grandmother who is almost 100 says she can’t believe anyone is interested in reading the letters, but the outpouring of interest proves otherwise.

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BIRTHDAYS 

[66] Penn Jillette, Las Vegas magician (Penn & Teller)

[47] Eva Mendes, actress 

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A Billionaire Wants Eight People to Go with Him on a “Fun Trip” Around the Moon . . . 

There’s a guy named Yusaku Maezawa in Japan, and he’s a multi-billionaire.  

Back in 2018, he bought the rights to SpaceX’s first passenger trip to the moon.  The amount he paid is confidential, but it’s estimated to be around $250 million.

Well . . . that flight has been scheduled for 2023.  And now, Yusaku is looking for eight random people to join him.

Quote, “It will take three days to get to the moon, loop behind it, and three days to get back.  I will pay for the entire journey . . . I hope that together we can make it a fun trip.”

He says he’s looking for two main things in the people he chooses:  People who want to “push the envelope” to make a better society, and people who are willing to support others.

If you’re interested, you can apply on his website DearMoon.earth by the 14th, which is a week from Sunday. 

FRIDAY MARCH 5TH  

1.   NYI 5 – BUF 2 NYR 6 – NJD 1 CAR 5 – DET 2 PHI 4 – PIT 3 

WPG 4 – MTL 3 OT TBL 3 – CHI 2 OT FLA 5 – NSH 4 CBJ 3 – DAL 2 

CGY 7 – OTT 3 VAN 3 – TOR 1

2.   A bakery in Austin called Crema hasbeen handing out thousands of dollars’ worth of food and groceries to people hit hard by last week’s winter storm.  (Here’s owner Jessica Tomberlin.)

3.   A 27-year-old woman from L.A. crashedher car into the front of a store in Miami Beach last week, almost crushed a woman . . . then casually gathered her belongings and left in another car.  Cops caught up with her nearby, and she’s facing hit-and-run charges.  An excited tourist named Brian Prahl got some of it on video, and also ID’d the woman for the cops, then talked to the local news about it.

4.   Jim Gaffigan on people with cats

MERCURY, JUPITER TO APPEAR SIDE BY SIDE IN WEEKEND SKY (03/04/2021)

The smallest and largest planets in the solar system will meetup as the first week of March concludes. Friday morning (March 5th), Mercury and Jupiter will appear side by side in the sky in an astrological event called a conjunction. This type of conjunction is not particularly rare, and it’s the second time this year that Mercury and Jupiter are converging in the night sky. To see it, you’ll need to look southeast about an hour before sunrise with the two eventually fading away as the light from the sun brightens the sky in the approach to daybreak. Saturn will also be glowing nearby, above the duo and off to the right. The event will be visible around the entire globe, but the placement of the planets will look slightly different for those skygazing from south of the equator. If cloudy conditions obscure the sky on Friday, people can check out the event Saturday (March 6th) or Sunday (March 7th) morning, as they’ll still be close to each other, but not as close as they will be on Friday. 

DAN SMYERS and his wife Abby did a good thing.  They adopted a 16-year-old chihuahua that was “emaciated, had no teeth, and was terrified at the shelter.”  Quote, “She was dealt a tough hand in her previous life, but we’re going to make up for lost love the rest of the time she has left.”  It’s their fifth dog.  (Full Story)

CHRIS YOUNG WAS STARSTRUCK OVER THIS ‘FAMOUS FRIEND’

Chris Young‘s latest single, “Famous Friends,” mentions a few of his real life longtime buddies, but he has his share of truly famous friends, like his collaborator on the song, Kane Brown. Chris has also rubbed elbows with famous people he would like to be friends with, and at the top of that list is actor and comedian Bill Murray.

Chris tells us: [“I played golf with Bill Murray and that was just surreal cause I’m just such a huge fan of him and his movies. I’ve probably watched the original Ghostbusters movie at least a hundred times, I think, over the course of my life so it was really, really awesome getting a chance to do that. I was just looking around going, ‘Is this real life? What’s happening right now?'”] 

It’s the third single from his upcoming Raised On Country album, which has not yet been released, and no release date has yet been announced.

MIRANDA LAMBERT INSPIRED BY ‘SETTLING DOWN’ WITH HER HUSBAND

Miranda Lambert is climbing the charts with her latest single, “Settling Down,” which was written prior to the pandemic but struck a real chord with Miranda over the past year. She tells us: [“So what inspired the song ‘Settling Down’ was really falling in love with my husband. You know I got this travelling bone that keeps me on the road and I love what I do and I love to go camping and take my Airstream around the country, so falling in love and sort of realizing in 2020 that I was nesting a little more than I ever have been able to. ‘Settling Down’ couldn’t resonate more with me than at a time like that.”] 

Miranda’s husband, Brendan McLoughlin, stars alongside side her in the video for “Settling Down” which was filmed at their Nashville area home.

The Time Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, and Tracy Lawrence Were Bridesmaids at a Wedding

Would you like to hear about the time GARTH BROOKS, TIM MCGRAW, and 

TRACY LAWRENCE were in the same wedding party, as BRIDESMAIDS?  This was about 30 years ago, but Tim recently shared the story. 

Quote, “When I first moved to Nashville, there was a girl named Tammy Rose who took new artists under her wing and Garth was a friend of hers.  I was also a friend and [so] was Tracy.  When she got married, she asked [us] to be her bridesmaids.” 

He brought this up because of what happened AT the wedding.  He wasn’t famous yet, Tracy had some hits, but Garth, he had just “blown up big.”  Tim adds, quote, “So we’re all bridesmaids for Tammy and I’m standing there.  I’m sort of in awe. 

“I [said] to Garth, ‘I just want to thank you because you knocked the door down for the things that I wanted to do.  I wanted to record songs with a broader melody and appeal, and do shows that were like the rock [concerts] that I saw growing up.'”

Garth responded in his usual humble way by saying they all moved to town for that reason, he just got there first.  

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer