Born on this day!! Singer Englebert Humperdinck is 86. Country singer R.C. Bannon is 77. Actor David Suchet (TV’s “Poirot”) is 76. Country singer Larry Gatlin is 74. Singer Lou Gramm of Foreigner is 72. Actor Christine Baranski is 70. Singer Angela Bofill is 68. Actor Brian Tochi (“Revenge of the Nerds,” ″Police Academy”) is 63. Actor Elizabeth Berridge (“The John Larroquette Show”) is 60. Country singer Ty Herndon is 60. Actor Mitzi Kapture (“The Young and the Restless,” “Baywatch”) is 60. TV commentator Mika Brzezinski is 55. Wrestler-actor Dwayne Johnson is 50. Singer Jeff Gutt of Stone Temple Pilots is 46. Actor Jenna Von Oy (“Blossom”) is 45. Actor Kumail Nanjiani (TV’s “Silicon Valley,” film’s “The Big Sick”) is 44. Actor Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” ″The Office”) is 42. Actor Robert Buckley (“One Tree Hill”) is 41. Actor Gaius Charles (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 39. Singer Lily Allen is 37. Guitarist Jim Almgren of Carolina Liar is 36. Actor Kay Panabaker (“No Ordinary Family,” ″Summerland”) is 32.

THIS DAY IN GENIUS HISTORY

1885 – Good Housekeeping magazine went on sale for the first time.
1939 – Lou Gehrig established a new major-league baseball record when he played his 2,130th consecutive game. It would take another 57 years before Cal Ripken, Jr., broke it.
1945 – The Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin.
1955 – Tennessee Williams won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II departed on her maiden voyage to New York.
1994 – Nelson Mandela was victorious in South Africa’s first multiracial election.
1997 – The Labour Party’s Tony Blair became Prime Minister of Britain, ending 18 years of conservative rule. At 44, he was the youngest prime minister in 185 years.
2011 – U.S. troops and CIA operatives shot and killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by painter Edvard Munch, sold for $120 million in a New York City auction. The transaction set a new world record for an auctioned piece of art.

Today Is:  Life Insurance Day, Melanoma Monday, Pascha, Roberts Rule of Order Day, U.S. Capitol Police Day, World Tuna Day

TODAY ON TV!
Primetime TV (All Times Eastern)

CBS – 8:00 – The Neighborhood  /  8:30 – Bob Hearts   /  9:00 – NCIS  /  10:00 – NCIS Hawaii
NBC – 8:00  – American Song Contest  /  10:00 – The End Game
ABC – 8:00 – American Idol /  9:00 – The Good Doctor  /  10:00 – The Good Doctor
FOX – 8:00 –  911 Lone Star  /  9:00 – 911 Lone Star
CW – 8:00 –  All American  /  9:00 – All American Homecoming

TV Talk Shows

Jimmy Kimmel: Tom Cruise, Iliza Shlesinger, Parquet Courts
Jimmy Fallon: Norman Reedus, Paula Pell, Beeple, the Linda Lindas
Stephen Colbert: Jon Bernthal, Alton Brown
Seth Meyers: Laura Linney, Melanie Lynskey, Geoffrey Zakarian, Kristina Schiano
James Corden: Dakota Fanning, Jamie Bell, T-Pain
Watch What Happens Live: Vanessa Bayer, Paige DeSorbo
The View: Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns
The Talk: Kate Bosworth
Live with Kelly and Ryan: Jenna Dewan
Ellen DeGeneres: Serena Williams, Jay Shetty, Indigo Girls
The Real: John Salley, Gabrielle Dennis
Kelly Clarkson: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Sasheer Zamata
Tamron Hall: Dave Coulier, Gabrielle Bernstein
Drew Barrymore: Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, David Sedaris, Amy Sedaris, Clint Howard, Ron Howard

WHAT ARE YOU TALKIN’ ABOUT? Here are today’s PPM-Friendly Topics!

QUESTION: How’s AMBER HEARD feeling about that trial right now?? She just fired her ENTIRE P.R. TEAM just days before she’s set to testify!!! Team Depp is winning!

 

QUESTION: How did that trip to DISNEY WORLD go?? This family discovered their teen daughter being tracked by an APPLE AIR TAG!! (Here’s how to change settings…)

 

QUESTION: What is the ONE DRINK you should NEVER ORDER when you’re eating at McDonald’s?? This former manager tells you, and wait’ll you hear WHY!!!!!!!!!!

 

QUESTION: WHO just got canceled on NETFLIX before they even STARTED?? That would be MEGHAN MARKLE’S animated series, produced by DAVID FURNISH!!!!!!

QUESTION: WHO thinks the pandemic is going to get WORSE?? Party boy BILL GATES!! It’s gonna be “more transmissive” and “deadly!!” (Uh.. right before the ELECTION?)

Naomi Judd Dies

Naomi Judd, the beloved country singer and six-time Grammy Award winner, died Saturday. She was 76.  Judd’s death was announced by her daughters Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd in a brief statement posted to social media.  “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement reads.  “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory.”  Judd’s surprising death came just a day before she was scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with her daughter Wynonna.  The mother-daughter duo, together known as The Judds, had recently announced that they had reunited as a musical group and announced a final tour with special guest Martina McBride.
*********She died by her own hand. As someone said, “A lot of people are fighting a battle you nothing about.”
DID YOU KNOW.. Naomi was an ICU nurse before her music career took off!

Bill Murray Addresses Allegations

Bill Murray addressed a complaint of “inappropriate behavior” that led Searchlight Pictures to pause its production of “Being Mortal.”  The studio made the decision to pause production on the film after the complaint was made against Murray.  He responded to the complaint during an interview with CNBC at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and said he had a “difference of opinion” with an unnamed woman working on the film and “did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.”  “We’re talking and trying to make peace with each other, “Murray said. “We are both professionals, we like each others’ work, we like each other I think and if we can’t really get along and trust each other there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well. It’s been quite an education for me,” Murray said.  He said that the past week has been “quite an education” and said “I’ve been doing not much else but thinking about it for the last week or two.”  Speaking on the incident, Murray said the world is “different” than it was when he was a kid.  “What I always thought was funny as a little kid isn’t necessarily the same as what’s funny now. Things change, and the times change,” Murray said. “I think it’s a sad dog that can’t learn anymore. I think that’s a really sad puppy that can’t learn anymore. I don’t want to be that sad dog and I have no intention of it.”  He said that what would make him “happiest” is returning to work on the movie and having mutual trust with the woman.
******He called Donald Trump for some tips!! Bad move!!
******Alec Baldwin called him and said, “At least nobody died!! Did they??”
******The only thing that died was Bill’s career!!
*******Will Smith offered to come by and slap him!!!

Pete Davidson Honors Kim’s Kids

Pete Davidson was photographed leaving the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles over the weekend with a new tattoo on his neck that appears to read “KNSCP.”  Fans on social media speculated that the “K” stands for “Kim,” while the other letters could be a tribute to the four kids Kardashian shares with ex Kanye West: North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 2.  His latest tattoo wouldn’t be the first time he inked himself with a tribute to her.  He previously got Kardashian’s moniker branded on his body, and has a tattoo that reads, “My Girl Is A Lawyer,” among others.  “Yeah, he has a few tattoos — a few cute ones, you know, that he got,” Kardashian told Ellen DeGeneres in March.  “I think my favorite one, it says ‘My Girl Is A Lawyer,’ and that one’s really cute.”
********He’s gonna have a lot of plastic surgery when they break up!!
*******The Kardashian Koven hasn’t decided whether to ruin him.. or kill him! Jury’s still out on that one!!
*******How does Ye feel about it?? When a grown man is tattooing your kids’ initials on his neck, a lot of guys might have a problem!!!

Joe Exotic Gets Custom Tuxedos For Prison Wedding

Tiger King’s Joe Exotic snapped up custom $11,500 all-white tuxedos for himself and fiancé John Graham ahead of their prison nuptials.  He is making sure the pair will look as dapper as possible on their special day later this year.  He enlisted the services of Los Angeles-based designer Odain Watson of Otaingerous to create the unconventional wedding outfits.  The self-described “gay, gun-toting cowboy with a mullet” previously worked with the designer back in 2020 releasing his own line of clothing and accessories. Per TMZ, the pricy white suits will be made in Italy.  Exotic’s tux will feature a custom silk lining with a pink tiger print and a white cowboy hat, while Graham will be donning a more traditional look.  The pair’s actual wedding day is not set in stone just yet, but will not be taking place in the next four to six weeks while the tuxes are being made.  Exotic met Graham met in February of last year when they were both behind bars in Fort Worth, Texas.  See the tux HERE.
*******They’ll be honeymooning in the showers!!
******After the ceremony, Joe will throw a pack of cigarettes over his shoulder!! Whoever catches it will have the next jailhouse wedding!!
******Carole Baskin already sent a nice wedding gift: a portable meat grinder!!

Jennifer Grey On For Dancing Sequel

Jennifer Grey is set to have the time of her life once more in the sequel to 1987’s “Dirty Dancing.”  Lionsgate held a presentation at Cinemacon in Las Vegas yesterday where they announced the new flick alongside old clips from the original.  “Jennifer Grey returns to Kellerman’s in the next chapter,” a voiceover said.  Kellerman’s was the Catskills resort where Grey’s character Frances “Baby” Houseman and her family vacationed when she met and ultimately fell in love with dancing and Patrick Swayze’s Johnny Castle.  The world of “Dirty Dancing” was expanded with two other ill-received projects in the past.  Rumors of Grey’s involvement in a potential sequel first hit in 2020 when Deadline reported that Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer described the project as “one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood.”
********This time… she WILL be backed in a corner!! And she’ll love it!!
*******We’re thinking Ryan Gosling co-stars as her and Johnny’s son!!

Dan Aykroyd Splits From Wife

Dan Aykroyd and his wife of nearly four decades Donna Dixon have amicably split up, the couple announced on Friday.  They remain legally married and maintain a “loving friendship,” the pair said.  “After 39 years as a couple we are now on separate life paths. We remain legally married, co-parents, co-workers and business partners,” the pair told People Magazine in a joint statement.  “This is our choice in loving friendship.”  They got married in 1983 shortly after meeting on the set of the comedy “Doctor Detroit” the same year. Aykroyd had previously been briefly engaged to the late Carrie Fisher.  They starred in several films together including “Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983), “Spies Like Us” (1985), “The Couch Trip” (1988) and “Exit to Eden” (1994).
*******After 39 years, why split?? Is he angling after Amber Heard??
*****Sounds like someone got caught with their hand in the cookie jar!!

 

Ripping The Tabloids (Throughout the week, we’ll give you the stories from that weeks tabs!)
**Please Credit Publication!

Romance Report Card-(Life & Style)

 

Hugh Jackman-                                                                                

On their 26^th anniversary, the actor posted a heartfelt tribute to his “extraordinary” wife Deborra-Lee Furness on Instagram.  “You light up my life,” Hugh wrote.

GRADE:  A+

 

Maren Morris-

“We’ve had years where it’s been hard,” the country singer said of her four-year marriage to Ryan Hurd.  “We are better now at finding the balance of home time and work time.”

GRADE:  B

 

Ali Wong-

Say it ain’t so!  The Baby Cobra comedian and her husband of eight years, Harvard Business School alum Justin Hakuta, are officially calling it quits.

GRADE:  F

 

STUPID NEWS

Sheep Rescued From Rooftop

Firefighters in England came to the rescue of five sheep that ended up stranded on a rooftop after jumping across a gap from a neighboring field.  The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said in a Twitter post that its technical rescue officer responded to a property where five sheep had jumped across a gap from a field and ended up stranded on the roof of a building.  The tweet said the officer’s “specialist animal husbandry training came in handy” during the unusual call.  The officer and a member of the public were able to fashion a makeshift bridge for the sheep to cross back to the field from the roof.
*********That was a “baaaad” idea!!
******He had a sheepish expression on his face!!
****It was a wooly situation!!

Friends Themed Home For Sale

An unusual house listed for sale in Ohio is drawing attention online after photos were posted showing the house’s Friends-inspired decor.  The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Dayton was fully renovated and decorated to look like Monica Geller’s iconic apartment from Friends.  Each room of the house is painted to resemble its counterpart from the show, including the brick-walled kitchen.  The furniture and wall decorations are also coordinated to resemble those from the show.  The house is listed for $135,000 by Rachel Gannon of Home Experts Realty. It is also available for short-term rentals on Airbnb.  See the listing HERE.
*******$135,000 for a house?? In Dayton?? Sounds overpriced!!
*******If you go there, you’ll see why they didn’t use Dayton as the location for “Friends!!”
******If the world was getting an enema, Dayton is where they’d stick the hose!!
WAIT!! They’ve jacked the price up to $162,000!! Can we put a hitch on it and tow somewhere else?? Anywhere!!

Cracker Jack License Plate

The Clark County School District Police Department of Las Vegas stopped a driver with a fake license plate that authorities say had Cracker Jack stickers on it. Police referred to the female driver on Facebook as Fictitious Phyllis and uploaded photos of the license plate. The driver was also quoted.  “My vehicle is registered to a trust. If you cite me for such, you will be entering into a contract with the trust,” the driver said.  “Upon our short and sweet investigation, Phyllis was issued some citations and apparently we entered ourselves into a contract with a trust,” police continued.  The license plate had stickers on it that said “DOT” and “2022.” Valid registrations would have included a sticker with a month and year of renewal.  See the pic HERE.
********Is this “make your own license plate month??”
*******Good question for cops: “What’s the most lunatic thing you’ve seen on a traffic stop??”

Creepy Dolls Wash Up On Shore

Researchers who come a 40-mile stretch of Texas beach twice a week have been using social media to document some eerie discoveries — dozens of creepy dolls.  Jace Tunnell, director of the Mission-Aransas Reserve at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, said his team surveys about 40 miles of Golf Coast beach at the reserve twice a week, and they have frequently been finding dolls of various types that were given a creepy aesthetic by their time in the water.  “We’re actually doing scientific work, but the dolls are a perk,” Tunnell told McClatchy News.  Tunnell said the follower count on the Mission-Aransas Reserve Facebook page has skyrocketed since he started sharing photos of the disturbing dolls. He said about 30 dolls have been found since he started posting the photos.  “The creepiest are the ones that have lost all their hair,” he said. “The first one we had found was a sex doll, the head of it. I posted a picture of it and I didn’t realize that’s what it was. We got a lot of followers on the page after that.”
*********Maybe a ship full of dolls sank off the coast???
****We searched for www.SexDollsOnTheBeach.com.. we wouldn’t recommend it!!

 

STUFF THAT’S COOL AND VIRAL

VIDEO: DRONE FOOTAGE OF TORNADO.

VIDEO: CAT’S TAIL CATCHES FIRE.

VIDEO: GOTTA SCRATCH THAT ITCH.

 

A LIST FOR MONDAY

7 Questions to Ask Before You Stop Paying Student Loans in Forbearance
The Penny Hoarder

Before you start celebrating that your student loans are going to disappear, let’s do a reality check and figure out how forgiveness might affect you.

1. Should You Make Payments If You Have Both Federal and Private Student Loans?

If you have a mix of private and federally held student loans, your best strategy may be to use the money you’d normally pay toward federal student loans to pay off more of the private loans that are still actively accruing interest.  Not all student loans are eligible for forbearance — and it’s highly unlikely they will all be eligible for forgiveness.  The federal forbearance covers all loans owned by the U.S. Department of Education, which includes Direct Loans, subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, Parent and Graduate Plus loans, consolidation loans and Defaulted FFEL Program loans.

If you have private student loans, these loans are not covered by the administrative forbearance period and there’s almost zero chance they’ll be wiped out by a mass forgiveness.

2. How Could Your Balance Be Affected by Student Loan Forgiveness?

If you owe more than $10,000 in student loan debt, you should aggressively be saving additional money to chip away at the balance. Even if $10,000 in forgiveness is on the horizon, you’d still be responsible for any remaining debt over that limit.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be writing checks every month, for now. It might not earn you much in interest, but if you can put the amount that you plan to pay toward your student loan in a high-interest savings account, you can withdraw it as the forbearance deadline approaches and pay off as much as you can of your student loan principal.  If you have less than $10,000 in student loans? Then it might pay to wait out the forbearance period, since forgiveness could potentially be approved in this time period.

However, you should continue to set aside the extra amount you would’ve paid and make the lump sum payment at the end of forbearance — if forgiveness doesn’t end up panning out.

3. What Should You Do if Your Loans Were in Default Before the Pandemic?

The latest forbearance extension included an important change for those borrowers who were in default when the pandemic began: The government will allow delinquent borrowers to re-enter repayment in good standing so they won’t have to anticipate collections activities resuming — including garnished wages and tax refunds — as the deadline approaches.  This is not the time to wait it out. Reach out to your loan servicers now, particularly if your income has changed during the pandemic. Ask about income-driven repayments plans so you can be ready to resume payments when the forbearance period ends and avoid ending up in default again.

If widespread student loan forgiveness becomes a reality, it can be a welcome surprise for you. But since you previously had issues with making on-time payments, forgiveness should not be part of a realistic financial strategy. Start planning now to make payments.  If you default on student loans again after forbearance ends, the loans can be sent to collections, and your wages, tax returns and Social Security benefits may be garnished up to 15% for repayment.

4. Should You Wait for Student Loan Forgiveness if You’re on the PSLF Track?

If you’re pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness — you have a direct loan, you’re on an eligible repayment plan and you work for a qualifying employer — then you can and should take advantage of the relief period by making no payments.

Those zero-dollar payments still count toward your total to earn forgiveness, and if your loans happen to be forgiven during this period, all the better. In fact, the Department of Education announced in January that up to 550,000 borrowers will see “accelerated forgiveness” of their loans.  But if you’ve lost your job or have had your hours cut to less than the 30-hour minimum, your non-payments will not count toward forgiveness (but you still don’t have to pay while in the forbearance period).  PSLF does not require consecutive payments, so you can still pause on payments if you think you’ll return to your non-profit or public sector job.

However, if you think it’s unlikely you’ll get eligible employment again, you may want to take advantage of the forbearance period to start paying on the loan. At the very least, you should update your income (if you’ve lost your job) on your income-driven repayment plan.

5. How Does Your Degree Affect Your Chances for Forgiveness?

If you have loans that you took out to get an advanced degree, don’t expect to benefit from any type of student loan forgiveness.

“People with advanced degrees are unlikely to get mass forgiveness, if any forgiveness, from the government because you’re seen as part of a society that has greater upward mobility,” said Steve Muszynski, the founder and CEO of Splash Financial, a student loan refinancing marketplace.  Although undergrad loan debt may still be eligible for forgiveness, your graduate Plus loans are less likely to be included in a forgiveness plan. They’re also likely to have higher interest rates, which means the forbearance period is a good time to be putting a dent in that debt.  However, as with all federally held loans, you’re still likely better off holding onto them rather than refinancing into a private loan, according to Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a non-profit organization that offers free student loan advice and dispute resolution assistance to borrowers.  Besides the income-driven repayment plans and forgiveness programs already out there, you’ll lose out on this interest-free period.

“I’m running into a lot of people right now who are kicking themselves because in the last couple years they did refinance their federal loan into private,” she said. “Now they can’t get the 0% and if [the government] does forgiveness, it’s not going to happen for them.  “They’re begging for a way to take it back, and you can’t.”

6. How Close Are You to Retirement?

If you’re nearing retirement and paying on student loans — whether it’s your own loans or those you took out to pay for your kids’ education — forgiveness may potentially help you wipe out some of your loans. Focusing on saving as much as you can for retirement may be the better bet during this forbearance period.

“Retirement should always come first as far as deciding where your money goes,” Mayotte said.

But solely relying on forgiveness is probably not the best strategy, especially if you have more than $10,000 in loans or took out loans to get an advanced degree. In that case, you should start preparing for a future with a fixed income by aggressively paying off the student loan debt and looking into an income-driven repayment plan.

“Understand that you might be 80 years old when the loan is finally gone but at least the payments are going to be affordable and [they’re] not going to change,” Mayotte said.

7. What Does the Rest of Your Financial Situation Look Like?

All of these strategies for getting the most bang for your buck may not mean much if you’re struggling to pay the bills. If you are in a situation where you need the money to pay for your basic needs, take advantage of the forbearance period to get yourself back on your feet and to start building an emergency fund.

 

What Should You Do While You Wait to Find Out What Will Happen With Student Loan Forbearance?

1. Find out who your loan servicers are and how much you owe. Do it now — some servicers dropped outduring the pandemic and you’ll want to make sure your lenders have your updated contact info. You can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at (800) 433-3243 and check out this guide to help you get organized.
2. Determine if you can make the payments when they are set to resume. If not, sign up for an income-driven repayment plan. Do it sooner rather than later, as there will likely be a lot of people trying to apply — and potentially overwhelming the system — as the deadline approaches.
3. Make payments to yourself.Save up what you would’ve used for payments for now. If the forbearance period is not extended again, make a lump-sum payment toward your student loan prior to the deadline. That way, you’ll receive credit for paying down any principal amount before interest starts accruing again. If the forbearance period is extended again, keep holding onto your money. If your student loan does get canceled, you’ll have a nice chunk of change to spend on a house down payment, shore up an emergency fund or invest for even more earnings.
4. Even if forgiveness happens, you still might owe money. The federal government could decide to tax any amount that’s forgiven on federal student loans. Save your money now, just in case.

 

The preceding material was compiled and edited by Brandon Castillo.  The Editor-In-Chief is Gary Bryan.  The Radio Genius Show Prep Service is licensed for use on-air only by subscribing radio stations.  Other means of redistribution is forbidden.
© 2022 – Radio Genius Show Prep