On Today’s Show
A pseudo space satellite, called the Samsung “SpaceSelfie”, fell out of the sky and landed on a Michigan couple’s property about 45 minutes west of Saginaw during an earlier-than-expected soft landing. ______________________________________________________________________________
An apartment building in Colorado had to be evacuated after some idiot set an entire field on fire while using fireworks to blow up pumpkins. Here are some of the tenants.
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ENTERTAINMENT
As fires continue to rage across California, John Cena is helping out first responders. Cena, who plays a firefighter in the upcoming film “Playing With Fire”, out Nov. 8, has announced that in honor of First Responders Day, he’s donating $500,000 to two charities: Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and California Fire Foundation. In a video posted to Twitter, he says: “California is in dire straights. It is burning. It is under siege from massive wildfires statewide. Which means our first responders are working around the clock and they need our help.
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Christopher Lloyd hopes there will be a fourth “Back to the Future” film. The 81-year-old starred as Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in the iconic film trilogy between 1985 and 1990, and now says that he would love for there to be a new installment to the franchise, although he doesn’t think it will happen. Lloyd says that although he always hoped the franchise would be successful, he never expected the magic of the series to last for over three decades.
“Back to the Future – The Musical” is set to debut in February.
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TODAY IS……………….
- “Halloween”, a longtime tradition in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the USA. Some believe its origins come from a Celtic festival for the dead called “Samhain.” Celts believed the ghosts of the dead roamed Earth on this holiday, so people would dress in costumes and leave “treats” out on their front doors to appease the roaming spirits.
- “International Magic Day,” traditionally a day for magicians to meet, celebrated on the anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death on October 31st, 1926.
- “International UNICEF Day”, observed on October 31st since 1967, the reason many trick-or-treaters collect donations in UNICEF coin boxes.
1892 [127] Arthur Conan Doyle publishes “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”
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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE
Jamie O’Neal‘s debut album, Shiver, was released in 2000
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Raking Leaves Is for Suckers! This Easier Option Is Better for Your Lawn
Some people enjoy raking leaves. Maybe your kids like to jump in the piles, and that’s fine. But if it’s just work, there’s an easier way to deal with them. And it’s actually better for your lawn.
“Popular Science” just did a big write-up on why it’s better to hit all those dead leaves with your LAWNMOWER a few times.
The idea is to basically turn them into mulch. Then over the winter, tiny microbes eat the carbon and create nutrients, like nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur. Which are all good for your grass. The technical term for it is “mineralization.”
You might have to mow over them more than once to really chop them up. But if you do, you’ll end up with a thicker, healthier lawn in the spring. And it might save time, especially if you have a big yard and a riding mower.
People in areas with a lot of snow just have to make sure they do it before STEADY snow starts to hit. Because when full, un-mulched leaves get covered in snow, it can KILL your grass.
Once they’re wet, they matte together. Then sunlight can’t get in, and it’s like a permanent layer of shade. So you just can’t wait too long.
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Random Halloween Facts, Stats, and Stories
Here are random facts, stats, and stories about Halloween for you . . .
- For all the hype around Halloween, now that it’s here, only around one-third of adults are actually going to wear a costume today or tonight.
- Random fact: The candy company Mars has the term “fun size” trademarked. And they’ve even sued other companies for using it to describe their smaller-sized Halloween candies.
- The CIA has some tips for putting on a really good Halloween costume. Well, they would know about disguises.
- Do you like haunted houses? 48% of people say yes . . . 28% say no . . . and the rest aren’t sure or have never been to one.
- Some people in a neighborhood in Brigham City, Utah are upset with one family’s Halloween display that includes baby dolls in guillotines.
- The website Jezebel held a scary story contest and compiled the “10 scariest stories you’ll ever hear.”
- And finally, good news if you’re scrambling to get out of work early today and/or worried about how you’re going to feel going into work tomorrow morning: Next year, Halloween is on a SATURDAY.
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GOOD NEWS
Here’s someone who knows what gratitude is: 15-year-old Jackson Barber lives in Utah, and he’s a cancer survivor. He got diagnosed with leukemia when he was just three years old, and he’s been cancer-free for several years now.
He had to go through about four years of treatments though. And while that was going on, the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent him to Universal Studios in Florida. He says it’s still one of the strongest and BEST memories he has from back then. And he wants to make sure other kids continue to have their wishes granted.
So for the last six years, he’s raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by doing a HAUNTED HOUSE for Halloween. It was a one-night-only thing this year, and happened on Saturday. He posted some videos on Instagram, and it looks like it was pretty good.
No word yet on how much money he raised this time. But his haunted house last year brought in about $10,000.
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BIRTHDAYS
[58] Peter Jackson, filmmaker (“The Hobbit” films, “Lord of the Rings” trilogy)
[56] Rob Schneider, actor (“Deuce Bigalow”, “Hot Chick”)/ (Saturday Night Live 1990-94)
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Haunted Mansion in Australia on the Market for Only $1M
A stunning historical mansion is up for sale in Australia — but it looks more like a something out of a horror movie.
The current owners of the 28,000-sqare-foot Adelaide home, called Woodforde House and built in 1856, are huge Halloween fans who packed some of its rooms with terrifying mannequins and fake creepy crawlies — and the realtor is keeping them there as he attempts to sell the property. “If you are a scaredy-cat, don’t come.
Watch the cobwebs, and don’t wear a suit,” warns the listing for the house, which contains a small chapel, a roof-top viewing deck and two cellars.
The creepy décor was kept intact before an auction— where the five-bedroom house is expected to go for just over $1 million. The two-story, blue-stone mansion is huge for the neighborhood and could prove a dream buy — for someone who can get over the nightmare decor.
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58% of People Who Live in a Haunted House Didn’t Find Out Until After They Moved In
According to a new survey, 58% of people who say they live in a HAUNTED HOUSE didn’t know it was haunted when they moved in. Meaning 42% of people living in haunted houses DID know . . . and moved in anyway?
- Overall, about a QUARTER of people say they’ve lived in a haunted home at some point.
- The top paranormal things that make us want to move out are: Levitating objects . . . the feeling of being touched . . . items moving . . . strange noises . . . and ghost sightings.
- And if people inherited a haunted house, only 20% would move in. 51% would sell it . . . 24% would renovate . . . and 6% would tear it down.
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CHECK THIS OUT:
Canadian grocery chain Sobeys is testing a computerized shopping cart that lets customers scan groceries and pay for them without having to line up at a checkout counter.
The machine, called “Smart Cart”, operates like a self-checkout on wheels, with a built-in scale to weigh produce, and a scanner plus a screen to show the price total and a card reader for payment.
The customer scans their groceries, pays, and leaves. Soon, Sobeys hopes their carts will be able to analyze what a shopper has put in it without the need to scan a barcode.
It will also be able to take a customer’s grocery list and plan a route through the store, guiding them to each item using an on-screen map.
Or, a customer could choose a recipe and have the cart show them where to find the ingredients.
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HALLOWEEN RANDOM REPORT
✓ The first Jack O’Lanterns were actually made from turnips.
✓ Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas.
✓ Fifty percent of kids prefer to receive chocolate candy for Halloween, compared with 24% who prefer non-chocolate candy and 10% who prefer gum.
✓ The average bag of candy that one child will collect on Halloween contains about 11,000 calories.
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THE CLOCKS FALL BACK SOON– HERE’S HOW TO AVOID THE ‘WINTER BLUES’
It’s nearly time for the clocks to “fall” back, which means winter is just around the corner.
For some people, the darker days ahead trigger seasonal affective disorder (SAD.) Experts say SAD is a type of depression that is experienced more at particular times of the year, and sufferers may feel persistently sad, teary, guilty, or hopeless.
They might also lose interest in activities they used to enjoy, and avoid socializing or having sex. Some blame lack for light for SAD, others associate it with the holidays, which can leave many people feeling sad, rather than joyful. To overcome SAD, experts say sufferers should get outside as much as possible and be exposed to natural light, eat a balanced diet, and even consider using light therapy.
Also, for many years people have turned to the herbal remedy St. John’s Wort to boost their mood, especially during winter. You can always talk to your doctor about your options.
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THURSDAY OCTOBER 31ST
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
[58] Peter Jackson, filmmaker (“The Hobbit” films, “Lord of the Rings” trilogy)
[56] Rob Schneider, actor (“Deuce Bigalow”, “Hot Chick”)/TV actor (Saturday Night Live 1990-94)
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- MLB
The Washington Nationals won the World Series last night . . . after beating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game Seven. Stephen Strasburg was named the MVP. The Astros had been big favorites coming into the series . . . especially considering the Nationals lost Bryce Harper to free agency last winter.
One of the strangest things about this year’s World Series is that home field advantage was actually a DISADVANTAGE. The home team LOST ALL SEVEN GAMES in the series. This is the ONLY time in the history of professional sports where the road team has won all seven games of a playoff series.
- The Nationals are the 2ndteam in MLB history to win the World Series after being at least 12 games below .500 during the regular season. The 1914 Braves were the first to do it.
- The Nationals were the oldest teamin baseball this year.
- Max Scherzerstarted for the Nationals, while Zack Greinke started for the Astros. This was the first time ever that two former Cy Young winners started a World Series Game 7.
The Astros were HUGE favorites coming into the series. ESPN had reported that they were the biggest World Series favorites since 2007.
The Nationals had never won a single playoff series until this year . . . while the Astros have been good for a while. They won it all two years ago.
Plus, the Nationals had a ROUGH start to the season. They were 19-31 on May 23rd, and were in second-to-last place in the National League.
The Nationals also lost their star Bryce Harper in the off-season, when he left to sign a $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies didn’t make the playoffs.
- • “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): Miranda Lambert
• “The 13 Scariest Movies of All Time” (CW): Host Dean Cain counts down the scariest movies of all time.
• “NFL Football” (FOX): San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
- A 23-year-old woman in New Jersey named Teresa Deleski loves Halloween. So she and her fiancé decided to getmarried today in an old prison that’s supposedly haunted. And he says that if there are any ghosts, they’re welcome to attend.
- Teens saying “OK, boomer”, the new version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”, a man with a fake $1 million dollar bill, and vending machine calorie information. (From David Spade and Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, October 30, 2019)
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A Kid in a Wheelchair Got Another Epic Halloween Costume from His Dad
There’s a 15-year-old kid in Massachusetts named Tommy Hardy who’s autistic and has cerebral palsy, so he uses a wheelchair. And he loves Halloween. So his dad Tom always makes him an elaborate costume to trick-or-treat in.
Past costumes have included a police car . . . an X-wing fighter from “Star Wars” . . . and one of the dragons from “Game of Thrones”.
And this year, he’s going as a FIGHTER JET. Specifically, an SR-71 Blackbird, which the Air Force used from the mid ’60s through the late ’90s.
His dad and some buddies spent about 100 hours on it over the past month. They mostly used random parts from his garage. So the whole thing only cost about $75.
This costume’s special though, because it’s dedicated to Tommy’s grandparents who both passed away this year.
They both served in the Air Force during Vietnam. So their names and ranks are printed on the tail. And their photos are right next to the control panel in the cockpit
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HALLOWEEN WITH A BANG:
The residents of Vancouver, BC have a longstanding tradition, not typically seen in other parts of the world, of setting off fireworks at Halloween.
But now that tradition could be extinguished after a city councilor put forward a motion proposing to outlaw the sale of fireworks in the days leading up to Oct. 31.
Though response from the public on the matter has been divided, one of the strongest viewpoints was put forth by a historical researcher, who wrote that the ritual has been associated at times with “mayhem, hooliganism, riots, severe burns and the occasional death” since its inception more than 100 years ago.
According to the motion, fireworks in urban areas can cause anxiety in wildlife, pets and humans and their use should be limited to large public events. The motion is set to be voted on Nov. 5.
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LUKE BRYAN GETS SPOOKED BY HALLOWEEN WITCH
Luke Bryan‘s family has been in the Halloween spirit for a while now, with their house decorated to the hilt. It’s one of Luke’s wife, Caroline‘s, favorite holidays, and she also loves a good prank. Luke tells us that one of her Halloween decorations scared the life out of him late one night. [“My wife bought those little things where the witch taps on the glass. Well so I’m at the house, like I get home off the road. It’s like 12:15 at night and I’m brushing my teeth and I hear something go (tap, tap, tap) and this witch, you stick it to the outside of your glass and look up and there is a witch tapping and . . . yeah, so . . . that’s what my wife does to me during Halloween. (I) choked on my toothpaste.”]
Luke wrapped up his Sunset Repeat Tour on Friday (October 25th) at Ford Field in Detroit, and he’s got one last makeup date on his Farm Tour to play this Wednesday (October 30th) in Louisburg, KS.
His brand new single, “What She Wants Tonight,” was just released to country radio.
THOMAS RHETT AND FAMILY CONTINUE HALLOWEEN THEME TRADITION
Thomas Rhett and his family will do Halloween as a group again. The foursome trick-or-treated last year as characters from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. This year’s plan is to take things under the sea as they continue this new themed tradition.
Thomas tells us: [“We’re all gonna be Little Mermaid. So, Lauren’s Ursula and Willa Gray is Ariel, Ada is Flounder, I’m Prince Eric and our dogs are Flotsam and Jetsam. We started that trend last year, and there’s a lot of great Disney Pixar superheroes to pick from, and hopefully we can just continue on that trend.”]
Thomas is off the road for the remainder of the year.
His next appearance will be at the CMA Awards on November 13th in Nashville where he is nominated for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Center Point Road. The show will air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
LUKE COMBS IS NOT A ‘TRADITIONAL HALLOWEEN FAN’
Luke Combs is not quite anti-Halloween, but it’s not his favorite holiday. He tells us that one obstacle in particular has tainted his view: [“Luke Combs is not a traditional Halloween fan I guess you would say. When you were a 3X there’s not a lot of cool costumes that come in your size. So, I usually just tell people I’m being an adult for Halloween and then I just kind of wear the clothes I would normally wear. I think if you are not trick or treating, don’t wear a costume, you know? If you’re not- If you’re not (makes knocking sound) If you’re not getting Kit Kats you know, wear some jeans or something, you know? Anyways, I don’t wanna be the grinch of Halloween either though. If I could wear cool costumes I would, I’m just mad that I’ve eaten too many hamburgers, but anyways.”]
Luke has a concert tonight (Thursday, October 31st) in Nampa, ID with special guest Morgan Wallen, Jameson Rodgers and Dee Jay Silver.
His new album, What You See Is What You Get, will be released on November 8th.
OLD DOMINION’S TREVOR ROSEN’S MELTAWAY MUMMY
When it comes to Halloween costume mishaps, Old Dominion‘s Trevor Rosen has one that still sticks with him. What began as a “creative” idea quickly went south. He tells us: [“I had a terrible costume one year. I thought I was gonna be creative and I wanted to go as a mummy and so I had this idea I was gonna wrap myself in toilet paper and my parents let me. They shouldn’t have. It started drizzling and by the time I got back from trick-or-treating all the toilet paper has sort of . . . (Matthew Ramsey) Yuck! (Trevor) Melted off my body . . . (Matthew laughs) so I probably won’t do that ever again.”]
FAST FACTS
Old Dominion is nominated for Vocal Group of the Year at next month’s CMA Awards. They currently hold the title.
The band is also nominated for Favorite Country Duo or Group at the American Music Awards on November 24th.
Kane Brown and His Wife Katelyn Are Parents
KANE BROWN and his wife Katelyn welcomed their first child into the world on Tuesday. He posted an adorable photo of the three of them and captioned it, “KB3, welcome to the family, Kingsley Rose Brown.”
The KB3 is a reference to her name. All three of them have first names that begin with a “K” . . . and it sounds like they’re going to continue with that theme.
