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CONNECT SELECT
A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em and post
                                       ‘em!
                     THURSDAY, AUGUST 12th, 2021
TODAY IS…
  •   NATIONAL VINYL RECORD DAY
      Something about the pandemic made us crazy for vinyl records. Last year, vinyl sales grew
      by about a third, to 626 million dollars - more than compact discs. You can thank hipsters
      and millennials for bringing them back from the dead in the early 2000s. Some audiophiles
      even claim vinyl sounds better than digital files (but those people are just fooling
      themselves).
      CLICK HERE FOR THAT CRACKLING RECORD SOUND

  •   WORLD ELEPHANT DAY
      The annual event aims to bring people together to save the mammals from ivory poachers
      and hunters.

  •   NATIONAL MIDDLE CHILD DAY
      No need to announce yourself, we’ll just look for the loudest person in the
      room. Psychologists have determined that there really are ‘middle-child’ traits: they tend to
      be more independent and self-motivated, more successful (more than half of all U.S.
      Presidents were middle children) and are better under pressure. They also like
      attention. Studies also show middle children tend to be more artistic and creative than other
      kids.

  •   TRUCK DRIVER DAY
      Breaker-breaker, good buddy…Today we celebrate America’s long-haulers; they make it
      possible for you to eat fresh vegetables in the winter and play with the new Baby Yoda doll
      you got at the store. Here’s to finding yourself a ‘clean shot’ (that means no cops on the road
      ahead in ‘trucker talk’).
      CLICK HERE FOR ‘CONVOY’ BY C.W. McCALL

BIRTHDAYS:
    •   CARA DELEVIGNE (car-uh del-a-veen), 29: Model/Actress. Oooh, the eyebrows.
        After years of modeling for high-end brands, she started acting, with roles in “Suicide Squad”
        and Amazon’s “Carnival Row.”

    •   SIR MIX-A-LOT (Anthony Ray), 58: Rapper. The rapper is best known for his 1992 hit
        “Baby Got Back,” the song that calmed down baby Emma on “Friends.”
        CLICK HERE FOR “BABY GOT BACK” CLEAN
        CLICK HERE FOR ROSS SINGING THE SONG TO EMMA ON “FRIENDS” (00:39)

    •   DIXIE D’AMELIO, 20: TikTok star. Along with her sister Charli, she gained a massive
        following after posting dance videos on TikTok. She released a single last year called “Be
        Happy.”
        CLICK HERE FOR HER SONG “BE HAPPY”

    •   TYSON FURY, 33: Boxer. The UK Heavyweight Champion competed for Ireland in the
        Olympic games. He was named Fighter of the Year in 2015 by The Ring.

    •   MARK KNOPFLER, 72: Musician. He’s the British songwriter, guitarist and singer with
        the band Dire Straits, who hit it big with “Money for Nothing” in 1986.
        CLICK FOR “MONEY FOR NOTHING”

TRENDING/ODD

‘CARNIVAL’ DEBUTS WORLD’S FIRST CRUISE SHIP ROLLER COASTER (00:24)
If cruise ships don’t make you sea sick enough, maybe Carnival’s latest gimmick will. They’ve just
finished building the world’s first cruise ship roller coaster. It’s called ‘the Bolt’: the thing has an 800-
foot-long track, goes more than 40-miles-per-hour and gets you 180 feet above sea level. Two riders
straddle it ‘motorcycle-style’ while it whips around the ships smoke stack. They recommend riding it
before you hit the buffet.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ‘BOLT’ IN ACTION

TIKTOK JOKE ABOUT FORCED COVID VACCINATIONS HAS PEOPLE FREAKING
OUT (00:23)
No, there’s no such thing as roaming teams of ‘Vaccine Bandits’ but TikTok sure fell for it. A
comedian posted fake surveillance video showing people in L.A. getting vaccinated by vigilante
nurses who then ‘throw a vaccine card at you’ and run away. After 6 million views and hundreds of
freaked out responses from people who thought it was real, the comic has deleted his ’intentionally
ridiculous’ clip.
HERE’S HIS RESPONSE

BEYONCÉ IS A QUEEN BEE (SHE’S RAISING HONEY BEES) (00:21)
This might get confusing, but Beyoncé is now raising honey bees. ‘Queen B’ tells Harper’s
Bazaar she’s building a honey farm on the roof of one of her homes. She says she decided to take
up more ‘healing’ hobbies during the pandemic. ‘BEE-yoncé says she’s also growing hemp and has
gotten into CBD oil as a treatment for the sore muscles and insomnia she gets when she’s on tour.

MATTEL APOLOGIZES FOR MAKING ASIAN BARBIE THAT DOESN’T LOOK ASIAN
(00:17)
It looks like Mattel’s Olympic Barbie collection didn’t exactly stick the landing…The dolls were
supposed to represent ‘inclusivity and innovation’ but customers complained that the Asian Barbie
didn’t look Asian at all. Mattel has responded to tons of social media roasts by admitting they ‘fell
short’.

‘CUOMO-SEXUAL’ MERCH PULLED OFFLINE (00:20)
Now that New York’s governor has been forced to quit, they’ve taken down all the Andrew Cuomo
swag from a bunch of online stores. (Seriously, how dumb would you look wearing a ‘Cuomo-sexual’
t-shirt anyway) The merchandise popped up at the beginning of the pandemic, when - for some
reason - Cuomo became a sex symbol. Sellers on Etsy and Amazon have pulled ‘Cuomosexual’ T-
shirts, bags, mugs and even a $400 cashmere sweater.

EXTREME HEAT HAS HALF OF THE COUNTRY SWEATIN’ BUCKETS (00:17)
Nearly 175 million Americans are under heat warnings or advisories - that’s more than half of the
country’s population. A heatwave in the Pacific Northwest will have people roasting until the
weekend. Another blast of hot weather in the east has people sweatin’ buckets from St Louis to
Philadelphia.

OBIT: HALL OF FAME NHL GOALIE TONY ESPOSITO HAS DIED (00:30)
The hockey world has lost a giant. Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito has died. He was 78 and died
of pancreatic cancer. ’Tony O’ played most of his 16-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks. He
still holds the NHL’s best record for a rookie goalie. He was also a trailblazer - creating the ‘butterfly’
style goalies use today, as well as the first modern mask (instead of the old ‘Jason’ style ones). But
some of his innovations didn’t jive with the rules, like when he sewed netting between his legs to
make sure nothing would get past him. The league made him stop doing that.

NEW YORK GETTING FIRST EVER WOMAN GOVERNOR (00:22)
Major changes coming to the Empire State! Now that Governor Cuomo resigned over sexual
harassment allegations, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will take Cuomo's place as the state's
highest official. Manhattan Council Speaker Christine Quinn says, "It's noteworthy that the first
woman governor is being brought in to clean up a mess made by a man." Cuomo will leave office in
two weeks.

LAW & DISORDER
ANTI-VAX NURSE INJECTED THOUSANDS WITH SALINE NOT VACCINE (00:18)
A Red Cross nurse in Germany is suspected of injecting thousands of people with saline instead of
the COVID vaccine. More than 86-hundred people may have gotten stiffed. Police say they found a
bunch of anti-vax views on her social media accounts. They’re now asking people she vaccinated
to go back for another shot.

AMERICAN AIRLINES CREW DUCT TAPES KID TO SEAT (00:22)
What’s with airline crews duct taping unruly passengers? An American Airlines crew was forced to
tape a 13-year-old kid to his seat after he had a meltdown and tried kicking out his window. The
Maui to LA flight was re-routed to Honolulu where the kid was taken away by police. Last
week, some guy had to be duct taped to his chair after punching a flight attendant on a Frontier flight
to Miami.

MASK MANDATE BATTLE HEATS UP IN FLORIDA (00:30)
Some Florida school officials are fighting back when it comes to the Governor's "no mask mandate"
for state schools. As the Delta variant keeps sweeping across the Sunshine State and more children
are getting sick, South Florida's Broward school board voted to make masks mandatory for the
upcoming school year. The move openly defies an executive order from Governor DeSantis banning
school districts from requiring students to wear face masks. He has also threatened to withhold pay
from school leaders who implement mask mandates for students.

WEIRD SCIENCE & TECH
FDA DECIDING WHETHER TO GIVE SOME PEOPLE COVID BOOSTER SHOTS
(00:12)
The FDA will meet on Friday to decide whether some people should be allowed to get a third COVID
shot. It would be for folks with a compromised immune system - like cancer patients or people with
organ transplants.

CALIFORNIA MANDATES COVID VACCINES FOR ALL TEACHERS AND
STAFF (00:21)
California has become the first state to mandate COVID shots for all teachers and staff. California’s
governor says those who refuse will have to get tested weekly. Meanwhile, in Florida, teacher and
parent groups are fighting to make masks mandatory in schools but Florida’s governor is totally
against it, even banning local governments from issuing their own mask-wearing rules.

CDC: PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD GET VACCINATED (00:20)
The CDC is now recommending all pregnant women get vaccinated against the coronavirus. They
say new safety data shows the vaccines do not increase the risk of miscarriage when administered
before the 20-week mark. Pregnant women have a higher chance of getting severe COVID and
possible complications from it. They recommend either the Pfizer or Moderna shots.

PERSEID METEOR SHOWER RETURNS (00:16)
Okay eager stargazers, get ready for fireballs to light up the night sky! The annual Perseid Meteor
shower is in full effect and will continue through August 24th. It does require staying up late to catch
it, if the weather cooperates. At its peak though you can see up to 100 meteors an hour.

YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING
ALCOHOLIC MOUNTAIN DEW COMING IN 2022 (00:13)
Mountain Dew is coming out with an alcoholic version. Each can of ‘Hard Mountain Dew’ will have
about as much alcohol as a beer but is sugar free. They’ll hit stores next year and come in Classic
flavor, Black Cherry, and Watermelon.

LIFE/SURVEY SAYS…
HOMEMADE ROBOT IN INDONESIA VISITS COVID PATIENTS (00:18)
Some very crafty villagers in an Indonesian town have designed a homemade robot to visit sick
residents who are battling COVID. They made the "bot nurse" out of an old tv monitor and a bunch of
pots and pans. They use the robot to deliver food and hopefully a smile to those trying to recover
and get back on their feet.

ENTERTAINMENT
JEOPARDY ANNOUNCES NEW HOST(S) (00:24)
Jeopardy has announced they’re hiring 2 new hosts and neither of them are Levar Burton. The
show’s executive producer, Mike Richards, will take over when Jeopardy’s 38th season starts in
September. And ‘Big Bang Theory’ star Mayim Bialik (PRONOUNCED: my-AM bee-AH-Lick) has
been named as host of primetime specials, including the College Championship. She’s a pretty
smart cookie herself…she’s got a PhD in Neuroscience. Twitter isn’t happy about it…but when is it
ever?
HERE’S MAYIM BIALIK’S RESPONSE

DOLLY PARTON HAS WRITTEN A MYSTERY NOVEL (00:24)
Looks like Dolly Parton has been working ‘9-to-5’ on a ‘mysterious’ side hustle. The 10-time
Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, actress, producer, theme park tycoon and humanitarian has
added ‘novelist’ to her LinkedIn profile. People Magazine says the new book: ‘Run, Rose, Run’ is co-
written by James Patterson and follows a woman who moves to Nashville to make it as a singer,
while trying to escape a traumatic past.

EMMYS WILL BE HELD OUTSIDE (00:17)
Next month’s Emmy awards will be held outside. They’d planned to hold the September 19th
ceremony indoors with a limited audience but with COVID running wild in California, CBS figured
doing it outside might be better for everyone. They’ll set up a stage and tents behind the Microsoft
Theater in Downtown L.A.

STEVIE NICKS CANCELS FESTIVAL APPEARANCES (00:22)
There are lots of bummed out Stevie Nicks fans out there right now. The singer has canceled
appearances at five music festivals over covid concerns. Some of the appearances included the
Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado and the "City Limits" Music Festival in Austin. She released a
statement saying while she is vaccinated, she still wants to be extremely cautious, and looks forward
to a brighter 2022.”

ELVIS WEEK KICKS OFF IN MEMPHIS (00:22)
Graceland is certainly the place to be right now for hardcore Elvis fans. Elvis week is off to a roaring
start and runs through August 17th. There are tons of events scheduled to celebrate the music,
movies and legacy of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. There will be special guests (like Priscilla Presley),
live concert events and incredible fan experiences. Tickets to some events are still available, so grab
'em while you can!

TV PREVIEW (00:14)
    •   Tonight at 8pm ET on CBS, it's an all-new, 'Big Brother.'
    •   At 8pm ET on ABC, check out 'Holey Moley 3D in 2D'
    •   At 8pm ET on NBC, it's the premiere of the last season of 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'
    •   At 9pm ET on CBS, watch an all-new, 'Love Island.'

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