On Today’s Show
➢ A guy in Colorado beat COVID-19 after several days in a coma. Now he’s fighting his insurance company after they denied his claim and sent him a bill for $139,254. He says they’ve finally agreed to review his case
➢ Two members of the Jamaican bobsled team are keeping fit in lockdown by pushing a car around their hometown. Shanwayne Stephens, 29, and Nimory Turgott, 27are isolating with each other in the U.K. The athletes have been living together since lockdown in March and their training mirrors the plot of hit 1993 comedy film Cool Runnings.
Stephens says, “Since the lockdown we’ve had to make do with the things that we have got to keep fit. Of course, none of the gyms are open so we are having to improvise.” “The car is a similar weight to our sled which can weigh up to [496] so it’s helpful for training”
The next Winter Olympics is due to be held in 2020 in Beijing, China, but the pair are currently in training for the North America Cup in Vancouver in November.
➢ And you thought it took your package forever to be delivered. A man in Toronto, Canada says the Canada Post recently delivered a package to him that he ordered online nearly eight years ago. Elliot Berinstein says he was initially confused when the package was delivered because he hadn’t ordered anything from the particular website in years. He says inside there was an invoice from 2012 and a tube of cream he had ordered. Berinstein says at the time of his order he had been living in Ottawa and the cream arrived there, but he asked Well.ca to ship the product to his home in Toronto because he thought it might be easier. He said he never followed up to see if there was a tracking number as the cream was inexpensive. A Canada Post spokesperson said on Tuesday (May 26th) that they would investigate the delivery further.
➢ James Corden says it’s impossible to do “Carpool Karaoke” without being in ”close proximity” to a celebrity in a car. He says it’ll be a long while before he can do another installment of the segment on “The Late Late Show” – which sees musicians join him in the passenger seat for a sing-a-long – because filming virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic wouldn’t have the same effect as him being inside his Range Rover alongside a famous face.
➢ Just a few weeks ago, Netflix confirmed that the dark comedy “After Life” will be returning for a third and final season. But they can take comfort in the knowledge that Ricky Gervais already has an idea for another show. Gervais confirmed that he has been working on another series, while also making progress writing the last season of After Life while in lockdown. He has a deal with Netflix to “produce both scripted series and stand up comedy”.
TODAY IS……………….
- “Cheese Day”, celebrated on the anniversary of the creation of Roquefort cheese, made from ewes’ milk and ripened in a cave near Roquefort, France in the year 1070. It’s the perfect excuse to indulge yourself with a slice of your favorite. (If I could just get this wrapper off…)
- “Shopping Cart Day”, invented in 1937 by Oklahoma’s Sylvian Goldman
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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE
Kenny Chesney‘s No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems album went gold and platinum the same day in 2002.
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HYDRO RATES
Ontario announced a new COVID-19 “recovery rate” for electricity Monday and it’s 27 per cent higher than the initial relief offered in March.
In March the government scrapped Ontario’s time-of-use electricity rates and imposed a fee of 10.1 cents per kilowatt hour at all times on the clock.
Since Nov. 1, 2019, the time-of-use rates had varied from 10.1 cents (off-peak) to mid-peak and on-peak rates of 14.4 and 20.8 cents.
Starting Monday, rates move to 12.8 cents, or 2.7 cents higher than the all-day cost for the last 10 weeks. The government says the new fee gives customers “stability” in their budgeting and flexibility in terms of using electricity throughout the day.
It failed to mention, however, that the off-peak cost as recently as May 1, 2019 was 6.5 cents, or about half of today’s new “recovery” rate.
The government said the 12.8 cents represents the average cost of hourly electricity, as determined by the Ontario Energy Board. Monday’s new rates will remain in effect until Oct. 31. On Nov. 1, a new system will offer consumers the choice of sticking with time-of-use plans or going with so-called “tiered” service, where rates vary according to total consumption.
The government also announced $9 million to help strapped consumers with one-time payments to offset hydro-bill and the winter disconnection ban, both for natural gas and electrical service, is extended until July 31.
FOUR RANDOM FACTS
- Why does “Canadian tuxedo” describe wearing jeans with a jean jacket? In 1951,
Bing Crosby wasn’t allowed in a hotel in Canada because he was wearing a “double denim” look, so Levi’s made him a denim tuxedo as a publicity stunt.
- When Disneyland opened, it had a lingerie shop on Main Street. It lasted less than six months.
- The Wright Brothershad two older brothers, Reuchlin and Lorin. But they didn’t get included in the whole flying thing. (They also had a sister named Katharine.)
- James Cameron’smain motivation for making “Titanic” was to get the studio to pay for him to dive down to the real Titanic’s wreckage. If it hadn’t been for that, he says he didn’t, quote, “particularly want to make the movie.”
GOOD NEWS
There’s an engineering student at Georgia Tech named Kentez Craig, and both of his parents are paramedics. He’s been helping provide thousands of face masks to hospitals all around the country. And his team has also built 200 “intubation boxes” that protect doctors and nurses while they put people on ventilators. Here he is explaining the boxes a little more.
A 16-year-old kid named Stefan Perez helped lead a peaceful protest in Detroit, and prevented people from rioting. He dropped to his knees with a megaphone . . . pleaded with people to follow the 8:00 PM curfew . . . and it worked. He did some interviews afterward, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan called him to say thanks while the cameras were still rolling. He said watching him on TV brought tears to his eyes.
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BIRTHDAYS
[84] Bruce Dern, actor
[45] Russell Brand, actor
[45] Angelina Jolie,
[42] Josh McDermitt, actor (‘Eugene’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2014)
70% Would Rather Watch New Movies at Home
As COVID-19 restrictions are being eased in parts of the country, some people are so desperate that they’re running into the streets . . . but there’s still plenty of anxiety over health and safety in public.
A study by Performance Research asked if they’d rather see a new movie in a theater, or as a digital rental at home . . . and people are NOT ready for theaters.
Only 13% said they’d brave a theater now. A whopping 70% said they’d rather watch from their couch, while 17% said they’re not sure.
Some of those who are “not sure” might make their decision based on social-distancing policies . . . like capping the number of people in the theater. The survey didn’t specify whether or not there’d be any policies in place.
It may take a while for some people to feel comfortable. 37% said they plan to attend movie theaters less often, and 10% say they may never go again.
As for face-masks, it seems like people are more comfortable WITH them than without.
1% say mandatory face coverings at live events would increase their likelihood of attending, as opposed to just 16% who say it would decrease it.
But ultimately, sports and entertainment venues might not have that much control over putting attendees at ease.
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HOLIDEALS:
In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, some countries are so desperate for tourism dollars that they are offering to pay people to come and visit.
According to a report from the UK, Italy has a fund of $55 million (US) that will be used to encourage travelers to visit Sicily.
That stimulus will pay for half of travelers’ plane tickets along with 1 out of every 3 nights spent in a hotel.
And Mexico is offering to foot half the hotel bill for Cancun tourists. In Japan, a campaign is being considered to pay for half of traveler’s airfares (domestic only) in an effort to get locals traveling.
NBA Refs Worried People Will Hear Everything That They Say During Games
Last month, JOE BUCK speculated that Major League Baseball would use fake crowd noise to make broadcasts feel more natural in the absence of fans.
It’s unclear if they’d also do that for the NBA, but referee SCOTT FOSTER says without live fans, the referees might hear more . . . feedback . . . from coaches on the bench . . . and viewers
might hear more colorful language from the players, coaches, AND even the referees.
Quote, “I don’t know who I’d be more worried for, the players or referees at this point. I know I don’t want everything that we normally say to each other going out.
“There’s going to be some assistant coaches, that we haven’t really heard from before, sitting in the second row that we’ll be able to hear now, so there’s going to be some adjustment there.
“And . . . we’re going to need to really talk about and analyze what is okay for the public to hear and how we’re going to go about our business.”
THURSDAY JUNE 4TH
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
[84] Bruce Dern, actor
[45] Russell Brand, actor
[45] Angelina Jolie,
[42] Josh McDermitt, actor (‘Eugene’ on “The Walking Dead” since 2014)
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- Jimmy Kimmel talked about the term “white privilege,” and the reality of black people being judged all the time, just because they are black. (From “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, June 2, 2020)
- In an interview this week, Dr. Fauci said that we might have hundreds of millions of doses of the coronavirus vaccine by early next year. He explained that it’s only possible because they’re going to risk the money it costs, and start manufacturing it before it’s been proven effective.
- • “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Luke Combs
- “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC): Season 1 finale. Celebrities Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen play for charity.
- How the NBA may begin playing this season, office workers are worrying (From Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, on Wednesday, June 3, 2020)
Drew Brees Is Under Fire
DREW BREES of the New Orleans Saints said that he’ll NEVER agree with kneeling during the National Anthem.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, he said, quote, “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.” And he talked about how the anthem brings him to tears when he thinks of all the sacrifice that soldiers like his grandfathers have made.
Drew did also say that America isn’t perfect, and that we have a responsibility to respect and love each other . . . and to work together to “provide opportunities for one other to continue to move our country forward to a bigger and better place.”
(Here’s video. Drew’s comments start 1 minute in.)
But some other athletes can’t get past the anthem part.
LEBRON JAMES Tweeted, quote, “WOW MAN!! Is it still surprising at this point? Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has [absolutely] and our soldiers.”
Other athletes have also expressed disappointment, frustration, and anger over Drew’s comments.
MIRANDA LAMBERT RECHARGES WITH ‘QUIET’
Miranda Lambert says that her 30s have allowed her to slow down a bit and actually be happy about it. The 36-year-old has experienced some big ups and downs over the past few years but Miranda tells us she has learned to handle it completely differently than she used to. [“I truly think pain sort of resets you a little bit in a good way. I mean, it sucks at the time, obviously, but then it forces you to sit in the quiet and face yourself, and I’ve not ever been comfortable in my 20s with silence and quiet. I was just constantly filling space with things or people or projects. That’s how I used to recharge was noise and things to do, and now I recharge by quiet.”]
Miranda and her husband, Brendan McLoughlin, have been spending a lot of quiet time together during the quarantine. The two recently bought a new Airstream and have been traveling the country, camping and taking in the sights.
FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE’S NEW EP IS SIMILAR TO UPCOMING ALBUM
Florida Georgia Line’s brand new 6-Pack EP is a good representation of what fans can expect on their upcoming studio album. Tyler Hubbard tells us: [“Yeah, I think the 6-Pack is an indication of what’s to come on this album. It’s kind of diverse, it’s well-rounded, still has a little something for everybody, and that’s kind of what this album is. It’s also kind of a throwback to where FGL started, with our first album, Here’s to the Good Times, and we kinda think it sort of takes us on a journey, and it was a lot of fun to kinda take that together in the recording process, and we hope the fans enjoy it as much as we do.”]
FGL’s 6-Pack EP was released on Friday (May 22nd) and is available wherever you stream or download music. A new studio album is due out later this year.
DIERKS BENTLEY JOINS ‘GEEKS WHO DRINK’ FOR TRIVIA NIGHT
Have you ever wanted to drink with Dierks Bentley while playing trivia? Well here’s your chance! Dierks will be a guest on Geeks Who Drink TONIGHT at 8 p.m. ET.
Guinness has teamed up with Geeks Who Drink for the occasion, which promises Live Virtual Pub Trivia on Facebook every other Thursday featuring “special guests, challenging pub trivia questions and more!”
There’s also a charitable aspect to the fun. For every participant who joins the trivia event, Guinness will donate $1 to support Team Rubicon, whose mission is providing disaster relief to those affected by natural disasters.
To join the fun, visit geekswhodrink.com, facebook.com/geekswhodrink or facebook.com/GuinnessUS/.
- Kenny Rogers — Jimmy Capps, the guitarist who played on his classic ‘The Gambler’, has died at 81. The member of the Musicians Hall of Fame also played on George Jones’ ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’,” George Strait’s ‘Amarillo by Morning’, and many other country standards. Capps was also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, playing lead guitar in the house band.
