You may’ve heard that American Idol contestant David Cook has a brother Adam who is suffering from cancer. Adam has wanted for while to come to the show to watch his brother perform and, tonight, he finally gets the chance. Doctors initially said his condition was too delicate, but friends got together and were able to get Adam and his wife a chartered medical jet, along with medical staff and a hotel room for the trip. Adam’s wife says, “The excitement of seeing his spirits lifted so high has been wonderful.”
Fritz (Jeff and Annie's Dachshund) is a talented little guy. Last week, he began his own blog! You'll find it at TheCelebrityPup.com! Fritz says he plans to use his new-found interest to give pets and humans alike his "unique insights into the world." You've heard of dogs that talk? Well, this one can type!
As you may’ve noticed, gas prices aren’t the only thing going up. We are seeing the worst food inflation in 17 years. And the people who analyze these numbers expect new data out tomorrow to show it’s getting worse. It’s putting the squeeze especially on poor families, and at the same time, forcing bakeries, bagel shops and delis to have explain price increases to their customers. Still, if there’s a bright side, we spend a smaller chunk of our expenses on food than in any other country.
There’s been a lot of turmoil in the airline industry with the FAA crackdown on wiring issues. Yesterday, Delta and Northwest agreed to merge, in part because of fuel prices and the economy. The combined airline will be called Delta and it’ll be the world’s biggest airline company. There will be a number of job cuts or transfers through the consolidation process.
As you know, today is the day. Yes, it’s that awful deadline that creeps up on us every year. TAX DAY. Of course, to avoid a late filing penalty, you gotta make sure your return is mailed by midnight with a Tuesday, April 15th postmark. Throughout the country in fact, there are a number of post offices that will stay open late and of course there are also several ways to file your taxes online. Another option is filing for an extension which gives you until October to get your taxes in.
Pope Benedict the 16th has a packed schedule for his first-ever trip to the U.S. He’ll hook up with President Bush this afternoon when he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC. One of the President’s aides says he and the Pope share a lot of common values including advancing freedom and human rights around the world.
If you’re trying to lose weight, maybe you should try a baked beans diet. It worked for one person. Neil King lost 140 pounds in nine months on a diet of mostly baked beans. In fact, since June, he’s eaten more than half a ton of them or about 1,500 cans. He eats about six cans a day, and has them with rice for lunch and with a potato in the evening. He says his high fiber diet has been gas-free since he stopped having toast with his beans.
You might’ve heard yesterday three Midwest colleges found threatening messages on the stalls of men’s bathrooms. The messages were enough of a concern that all three canceled classes yesterday. Two resume classes today but one remains closed. The wording on the threats were similar but they’re not sure yet if they are related. In light of what happened at Northern Illinois University exactly to months ago, and the fact tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings, school officials felt the messages needed to be taken seriously.
Given a choice, most of us prefer a dollar bill over a dollar coin. But at the same time, many of us are against getting rid of the penny. A new poll also shows that more than two-thirds of us feel paper money should be more colorful to make it easier to tell them apart. Those new dollars coins that came out last year – only 1 in 4 people in the survey said they’d seen one.
If you’re a fan of former American Idol contestant Kelly Pickler, you’ll be glad to know she made out all right at last night’s CMT Awards. She won three trophies for breakthrough video, tearjerker video and performance of the year for “I Wonder,” song about a daughter’s feelings for her mom. Miley Cyrus and her dad Billy Ray seemed to have a blast hosting the show.
Wednesday on the Family Name Game we'll call out the name Christopher. If you're the immediate family member (mom , dad, brother, sister, son, daughter, husband or wife) of Christopher, listen then for your chance to make him the STAR of the show. KNOW a family with a Christopher. Don't just sit there - call them NOW so they can play! If you want to suggest a name, just send it to jeffandstace@aol.com.
Links to things heard on today's show:
If you've found your way to our blog, you may be searching the internet to find out what happened to "Jeff & Stace in the morning." See the "Final Post" below for more details. 
