On Today’s Show
Beer drinkers who have accumulated a mountain of empties during the COVID-19 pandemic will be able rid themselves of the bottles and cans as of next week.
The Beer Store has announced it will resume accepting empties at 71 of its 450 stores as of Monday. A bottle shortage at some breweries has prompted the Beer Store to reinstate the program. Customers are also being limited to bringing back only one cart of empties per visit and are advised to drop off during off peak times. Store hours at the 71 outlets that will be accepting empties have been modified to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sunday hours are unchanged. Southwestern Ontario Beer Stores that will be accepting empties include the following: Chatham – 132 Richmond St., N7M 1N9
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As the outbreak continues, people are being forced to work from home, which means more people are having to attending online meetings via video chat. This week, Lizet Ocampo, the Political Director at People For the American Way accidentally used a potato filter on her face during a video meeting and she couldn’t figure out how to turn it off. One of her employees got a screenshot of it, and shared it on Twitter where it quickly went viral. She captioned her photo, “My boss turned herself into a potato on our Microsoft teams meeting and can’t figure out how to turn the setting off, so she was just stuck like this the entire meeting.”
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OPRAH is tossing her hat into the CELEBRITIES FIGHTING COVID-19 RING . . . and she’s NOT messing around. Yesterday, she announced that she’s dropping a whopping $10 million to help Americans during the pandemic. (And yeah, Oprah is worth $2.6 billion, but you can’t say $10 million isn’t HUGE, because it’ll help a LOT of people.)
She’s also specifically hyping a GoFundMe called America’s Food Fund,” which aims to help feed the country’s most vulnerable populations . . . “children who are out of school and rely on school lunch programs, low-income families, the elderly, and individuals facing job disruptions.”
Oprah didn’t launch it . . . it was actually started by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs, along with Apple and the Ford Foundation.
Other billionaires are also chipping in: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, announced a $100 million gift to Feeding America, which supports food banks across the country. Bill Gates has also committed $100 million to the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, to find treatment and a vaccine . . .
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Shark Week is set to swim onto screens this weekend on Discovery channel for a special marathon featuring a line-up of fan-favorite episodes. This collection of the best bites from Shark Week is being called Shark Week in a Weekend, and the shark-centered marathon will, take viewers to oceans around the world with a team of renowned marine biologists and science institutions. The marathon will begin on Saturday, April 4 at 9 a.m. EST and run through Sunday night. Though Shark Week normally airs annually mid-summer.
TODAY IS……………….
“National Walking Day”, The Heart Association sponsors this day to remind people about the health benefits of taking a walk.
Today is National Find a Rainbow Day. But since that’s not really an “essential” reason to go out, here’s a throwback. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the “Double Rainbow” guy. In January of 2010, Paul “Bear” Vasquez saw a “double rainbow” in Yosemite, California and got VERY emotional about it. The video went viral later that summer. Now it’s been viewed almost 50 million times.
You can’t keep your hands too clean these days. Now there’s a way to keep them clean AND keep your hands away from your face.
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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE
APRIL 3RD, 2004 Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker took “When The Sun Goes Down” to #1
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COVID UPDATES
Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates gave a TED Talk, almost exactly five years ago, and warned that the U.S. was not prepared for a pandemic. Here’s part of his speech on April 3rd, 2015. Sadly, most didn’t heed his advice. He even went on to mention that it could be an undetectable virus people wouldn’t realize they were carrying until a later time.
A World War Two vet in Oregon just celebrated his 104th birthday after BEATING the virus. It looks like he’s the oldest person in the world to survive it so far.
A movie theater near San Antonio turned an outside wall into a movie screen, and started hosting FREE drive in movies in their parking lot. Apparently, every screening so far has been sold out.
A university in Japan used robots as stand ins for students at its graduation ceremony. And a couple in Michigan who are getting married on Saturday are using cardboard cutouts as guests.
A 7 year old kid in Virginia got a shout-out from President Obama this week, after he went around to hotels asking for hairnets, gloves, and face masks. He ended up donating more than 6,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to hospitals.
A mom shared her 5 year old’s drawing of her that was maybe TOO accurate for the current situation . . . it really emphasizes all the hair on her legs.
A Police Officer in Boston saw a single mom sitting on a curb crying, because her debit card for food stamps wasn’t working, and she couldn’t get groceries. So he took her back inside the store and bought $200 worth of stuff for her.
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FOUR RANDOM FACTS
- In the first year of their life, puppies grow 10 times faster than human infants do.
- According to Guinness, the heaviest dog on record was an English Mastiff named Zorba who weighed 343 pounds (155.5kg).
- The famous fire scene in “Gone With the Wind”was filmed with seven Technicolor cameras . . . and they were the only seven of those cameras in the world at that time.
- The first bathroom stall is usually the cleanest because most people, seeking privacy, skip it.
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GOOD NEWS
The owner of a local hotel and restaurant is giving back to Chatham-Kent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peter Tsirimbis, owner and operator of Retro Suites Hotel and the Chilled Cork restaurant, has pledged $10,000 to spread across several charities in Chatham-Kent.
Tsirimbis said it all started when he decided to check in with local charities to see how they were during with the current situation, knowing that needs may be higher right now as many people find themselves without work.
Tsirimbis worked with the Chatham-Kent Women’s Centre, the Chatham-Kent Salvation Army, the WISH Centre and Community Living Chatham-Kent to find out what items they were most in need of. Besides the donations of food, Tsirimbis is also donating 10 per cent of every Chilled Cork gift card purchase to local charities. He said he was inspired by what other restaurants are doing across the globe.
As a self-described community advocate, Tsirimbis knew he had to help out during these uncertain and challenging times. Now, he’s hoping his actions inspire others to do something similar.
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BIRTHDAYS
[86] Jane Goodall, zoologist
[62] Alec Baldwin, actor
[59] Eddie Murphy, actor
[48] Jennie Garth, actress (“Beverly Hills, 90210”)
[38] Cobie (Jacoba) Smulders, Vancouver BC, actress (“How I Met Your Mother)
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Poll: Favorite Streaming Service for Quarantining Is . . .
Last weekend, “Morning Consult” surveyed 2,200 people about their streaming habits while quarantined . . . and when it comes to which service they’re using the most, there’s a clear winner.
35% of us are doing most of our streaming on Netflix. 10% said Hulu, 9% said Amazon Prime . . . and farther down the list were Disney+ (4%) and Apple TV+ (1%).
Of course, social distancing could continue for months, and there are more streaming services hitting the market in that time, including: HBO Max, which debuts next month . . .
NBC’s Peacock, which debuts on the 15th for Xfinity customers, and in July for everyone else, and Quibi, which is launching on Monday.
Finally if you’re curious, 55% of people said they have 1 or 2 streaming services . . . 34% said they have 3 or 4 . . . 8% have 5 or 6 . . . 1% said 7 or 8 . . . and 2% have “more than 10.”
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EVERYDAY THINGS THAT COULD CHANGE FOREVER AFTER CORONAVIRUS:
⇒ Handshakes will be out: Shaking hands, high fives, hugs, and kisses could all become frowned upon even after the pandemic is declared over. Social greetings may entail a hand on the heart, a head nod, or other actions which do not involve direct touch or contact.
⇒ Hand sanitizer will be more readily available in public places: It will be more common in offices, public spaces, and entertainment events. While many venues, stores, and gyms already provide hand-sanitizer dispensers, we’re likely to see this expand to more restaurants, churches, and other establishments.
⇒ More companies will permit employees to work remotely: Now that businesses and employees are seeing that working from home is not only doable, but that it might even be more productive, it could cause a big shift in office cultures.
⇒ Schools and universities will be more prepared for distance learning: Many school districts and universities/colleges have moved to online courses during the pandemic, and this could prompt more schools to invest in the resources needed to move classroom learning online.
⇒ We’ll get better at washing our hands: I’m sure you know by now that you should vigorously wash your hands as often as possible for 20 seconds, or use a hand sanitizer with an alcohol content of at least 60 percent. Ideally, once the outbreak has been contained, we’ll keep up these good habits.
⇒ We may stop getting into crowded spaces: There’s a good chance that when the pandemic is over, people will reconsider smooshing themselves into a crowded elevator or subway car—and even think twice before attending large public events.
⇒ It may be the end of communal foods: Those bowls of pretzels and nuts at bars are nice, but how sanitary are they? The coronavirus outbreak will cause more people to rethink eating out of communal food containers. Buffets and salad bars might get the cold shoulder as well.
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FRIDAY APRIL 3RD
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
[86] Jane Goodall, zoologist
[62] Alec Baldwin, actor
[59] Eddie Murphy, actor
[48] Jennie Garth, actress (“Beverly Hills, 90210”)
[38] Cobie (Jacoba) Smulders, Vancouver BC, actress (“How I Met Your Mother)
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- Beer drinkers who have accumulated a mountain of empties during the COVID-19 pandemic will be able rid themselves of the bottles and cans as of next week.
The Beer Store has announced it will resume accepting empties at 71 of its 450 stores as of Monday. A bottle shortage at some breweries has prompted the Beer Store to reinstate the program. Customers are also being limited to bringing back only one cart of empties per visit and are advised to drop off during off peak times. Store hours at the 71 outlets that will be accepting empties have been modified to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sunday hours are unchanged. Southwestern Ontario Beer Stores that will be accepting empties include the following: Chatham – 132 Richmond St., N7M 1N9
- Dr. Sanjai Gupta now says EVERY U.S. state should have a stay-at-home order. As for why some states STILL don’t? Quote, “I don’t understand why that’s not happening.”
And Doctor Anthony Fauci was asked about homemade face masks
- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft senthis team jet to China to bring back 1.2 million N95 masks . . . those are the ones that are the real-deal.
Kraft negotiated with several companies around the globe to get the masks, and once the deal was done, he sent the plane to Shenzhen, China to pick ’em up. And even better, the plane is already back. It landed in Boston yesterday afternoon. Kraft initially negotiated for 1.7 million masks, but they could only fit 1.2 million onboard. The others ARE on the way, and could come as early as next week.
- The New England Patriots’ plane brought medical supplies, L.A. recommends face masks for all, testing kits in the U.K. test positive, alcohol sales are way up, “NBA 2K” video games to be broadcast on ESPN. (From Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, David Spade, and Jimmy Kimmel’s home shows on Thursday, April 2, 2020)
DID YOU KNOW?
A global shortage of condoms is looming because the world’s biggest producer has been forced to shut down due to coronavirus. Malaysia’s ‘Karex Bhd’ makes one in every five condoms globally. It has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories in the past 2 weeks due to a government-imposed lockdown. While it may be tempting to make jokes about an impending baby boom of “Coronials” or “Quaranteens”, the shortage could seriously affect humanitarian programs in Africa, where condoms are desperately needed to prevent disease and overpopulation.
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LADY ANTEBELLUM DELAY START OF ‘OCEAN’ TOUR
Lady Antebellum have pushed back the start of their Ocean 2020 Tour, rescheduling all May and June dates for later in the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tour will now launch on July 2nd at Sacramento, CA’s Toyota Amphitheatre with special guests Jake Owen and Maddie & Tae. Tickets previously purchased will be honored for the rescheduled dates.
Lady A shared the information on social media yesterday (Thursday, April 2nd) writing in part, “Like so many of our friends, we have made the difficult choice to reschedule some of our #Ocean2020Tour dates out of consideration for the safety of our fans, our band and crew and venues nationwide . . . Stay safe and we can’t wait to see you out on the road.”
Lady A’s latest single is called “What I’m Leaving For.”
FAST FACTS
Here are the revised Ocean Tour dates:
8/21/20 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
8/22/20 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
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SAM HUNT’S NEW ALBUM REPRESENTS THE NEXT CHAPTER
Sam Hunt‘s new album, Southside, arrives at retail today (Friday, April 3rd). It’s only his sophomore album, with a whopping six years having passed since the release of his multi platinum 2014 debut, Montevallo.
Sam tells us EXCLUSIVELY that Montevallo was a reflection of his early 20’s, while the songs on Southside represent his latest chapter – 26-30 years of age and definitely more mature. [“That was the guy who had a big life change, had gotten out of a relationship and was figuring out what to do next in life. I had a little more understanding of what the future meant and what the consequences of today, decisions made today had on the future. A guy who started to see beyond this afternoon, tonight, this weekend and started to see next year, next five years. That’s the mindset that I was in when writing this record.”]
Sam is climbing the charts with the second single from Southside, “Hard To Forget.”
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JASON ALDEAN AND WIFE HELP THOSE STRUGGLING DURING PANDEMIC
Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany, are doing their part to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brittany offered to help as many people as she could via Instagram over the weekend, and those struggling responded. One pharmacy in Hamburg, New York was rewarded for, as their technician commented on Brittany’s page, “working their tails off” with lunch from Panera. The technician had asked for “a nice meal, because we don’t really get to sit down and eat anything. We’re eating on the fly; we’re eating candy and chips and stuff like that.”
Brittany and Jason also received comments from those needing everything from help with rent to diapers and other necessities.
In her post, Brittany wrote, “We want to help (yes, we’ve given money to organizations and people) BUT we know a lot of you need essential items right now. Please comment below and we will try to help some of you ASAP.”
