The Great Smoky Mountains are one of my favorite places to visit. Renting a place with a porch and a hot tub on a cool morning, getting a soak in and admiring the scenery.
Apparently humans aren’t the only ones who enjoy such things.
Todd Trebony was vacationing at a house in Gatlinburg when they noticed a black bear on the property. First, it knocked over the grill. Then the bear leisurely checks out the surroundings, sees a hot tub full of nice warm water and says “don’t mind if I do.”
I have been to the Gatlinburg area quite a few times and have yet to see a bear, let alone see a bear relax in a hot tub. According to The Herald Sun, the bear population is growing in Tennessee. The National Park Service estimates 1,500 bears live in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Bears are active during the spring and summer months. They usually avoid people but they have an incredible sense of smell and are often attracted to food.
The Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted for the first time in 800 years over the weekend in Iceland, after a ton of small earthquakes were reported in the country. The good news – the eruption has been small enough to not put anybody in any danger.
It has created some incredible images, including some volcano drone videos that are blowing up all over the internet. Here’s one of them….
The photographer is Bjorn Steinbekk. He has a YouTube channel where he has posted a bunch of videos like this. Somehow, he was able to get his drone right near the crater without losing it from the extreme heat. The result is some incredible footage that’s being shared all over the world.
You can follow Bjorn on his YouTube channel here. I’ll post more of his videos below … really amazing stuff ….
Over the last year or so, we’ve seen some major advancements from private companies looking to get into space.
This week brought us the team at Virgin Orbit, who were ready to test their air launch system. They basically modified a 747 jumbo jet and put a rocket on board. Once they reach a certain altitude, they launch the rocket, which was carrying ten shoebox-sized satellites into space.
The mission was a success.
According to CNBC, there is a market for companies looking to get smaller, more affordable satellites into orbit. Seeing that Virgin would be able to launch a rocket from pretty much anywhere an airplane could take off, it could be a lucrative business for them.
Check out the highlights from the Virgin Orbit test launch this week….
Business in the front. Party in the back. The USA Mullet Championships are here to show us the best mullets across the country.
Yes, this is a real organization. Back in September, they put out a call to kids across America asking for pictures of their mullet haircuts. More than 20,000 people submitted their votes, and a winner was crowned.
8 year-old Jaxson Crossland of Celeste, Texas was the top winner. CNN talked to his mom, who said Jax has been ecstatic since he was announced the winner. He says he has been asked to sign some autographs, but he can’t because he hasn’t learned cursive yet.
In addition to the title of USA’s best mullet, Jax gets a $500 cash prize and a gift card package. Runner up was Noah from Illinois who gets $200 and some sunglasses. Third place went to Jude from Colorado who gets $100 and some sunglasses as well.
You can see all of this year’s winners on the USA Mullet Championships website. The site is full of all kinds of mullet information and past history. They say the mullet has been around since at least Ancient Greece…
..where the style was as much for function as it was for fashion. Cropped hair around the face with longer locks in the back allowed for both visibility and a protective layer of hair for your neck. Homer even described a haircut that sounds eerily familiar in The Iliad: “their forelocks cropped, hair grown long at the backs.” The Greeks weren’t the only ones sporting the mullet, though. There is evidence that Neanderthals and our oldest ancestors would wear this ‘do, as well.
They also say the mullet is seeing a resurgence in popularity like so many other things from the 1980’s.
It’s Halloween season! With almost all of the official “haunted houses” closed around Chicagoland, we thought we would check out some of the great Halloween Houses in the area. We’re talking about homes with amazing Halloween decorations.
Every Friday in October on WGN Morning News, I will be LIVE at a different “Halloween House” around the area. We’re asking you all to send in your submissions – do you or somebody you know have an amazing display in your yard? Something that has tons of people coming out to check it out? You can post a submission on my Facebook page, or on the WGN Morning News page.
Last Friday, we went to check out the display at Creepers on Carlton, it’s on Carlton Street in Crest Hill, Illinois. Two Neighbors, Cheryl Callender and Paul Wike, set up this display over three yards every year. It’s a mix of animatronics, skeletons, tombstones, audio and video effects and more.
There are a ton of really impressive details here. Cheryl hand carves all of the tombstones herself. In one spot, she created a woman weeping over a tombstone, with a full dress and hair that looks like it is frozen in time.
Here are some photos from the haunt! You can find it at 21526 Carlton St. in Crest Hill, Illinois.
Does anybody look graceful getting onto a raft? Jack Black sure does.
Here’s a video of Jack Black in a speedo trying to jump onto a T-Rex floatie in a pool. And once again this proves that the outtakes are often better than the finished product.
Walt Disney World has re-opened to the public, but not all of it. Yesterday we learned that one of the most popular resorts will be staying closed for a while.
The Polynesian Village Resort has had its re-opening postponed multiple times. It was supposed to re-open on October 4, but yesterday guests were told the resort would stay closed until Summer 2021. I heard reports from people who were planning trips in the coming months like this…
They sent emails out to guests with reservations this morning. They indicated they will be contacting us in the next 4 weeks to discuss options. ☹️
Now these guests will have to figure out another place to stay during their Disney World trip. Things haven’t quite picked up in Orlando after the COVID-19 shutdowns. According to stats in this USA Today report, hotel occupancy in Orlando continues to be among the lowest in the country – just 29% occupancy compared the national average of 48%.
Do you have a Disney trip coming up? Do you feel comfortable or ready to go back to the parks yet? I would love to hear from you.
Also, when the Polynesian DOES re-open, I highly recommend visiting Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto and Tiki Bar. It’s a tiny bar inside of the Polynesia with all kinds of surprises in store. The less you know before you go there, the better. Unfortunately it isn’t open at the moment, but put it on your list of places to visit someday.
Every once in a while, I get a comment from one of our WGN Morning News viewers asking where they can find a story or video I talked about in my Trending News segment on WGN Morning News. In this post, you will find links or videos that I have featured on the segment all by date.
So if you missed something I talked about from a specific show, look no further! I will post them down below. And please be patient…I’ll get them up here as soon as I can.
Thanks for watching!
8/27/20
Kenny Smith walks off NBA on TNT set in solidarity with player boycott. VIDEO:
Kenny Smith just walked off ‘Inside the NBA’ in solidarity with the players
Italian Coast Guard saves people from burning yacht. VIDEO:
#GuardiaCostiera di #Olbia coordina soccorsi a 17 persone che si trovavano su unità con incendio a bordo, poi affondata.
Alle operazioni hanno preso parte due motovedette e un elicottero Guardia Costiera. Naufraghi, intercettati e scortati in porto.#SAR#SicurezzaNavigazionepic.twitter.com/UASll7DQQs
We’re not here to sway your #FatBearWeek vote, but consider the facts: it’s only August and 747’s rotund butt is already on the struggle bus. pic.twitter.com/TCBBEYGmAa
On Sunday in Estes Park, Wildlife Officer Rylands responded to a bull elk stuck in a swimming pool. With the help from Estes Park Police Officer Watson, they were able to rescue the elk and send him on his way. https://t.co/ll4mswSrm1pic.twitter.com/3yhid91Ffa
It was 1992 and I was 11 years old. The line was gigantic. Pretty sure it was the biggest line I had ever seen for any kind of amusement park attraction. And this was an amusement park attraction unlike anything else. I’m talking about BATMAN: THE RIDE at Six Flags Great America.
At the time, this was the only inverted roller coaster in the world. The story goes that Great America’s General Manager Jim Wintrode came up with the idea and the great designers at B&M made it happen. All I knew the first time I saw it was how CRAZY it looked. And how it ROARED as it flew by.
I wasn’t there on opening day. That whole summer, the line seemed to go on forever. I had never seen anything like it. It snaked around the East River Crawler and even further than that. I remember waiting for almost three hours the first time we rode it. And I remember not minding at all.
That’s most because of the tremendous amount of detail that went into the theming of Batman: The Ride. When you walk into the queue, you are stepping into Gotham City Park. Speakers disguised as rocks play the peaceful sounds of birds. As you moved through the park, things got darker. It felt gritty. There were discarded hunks of metal. A police car was destroyed. The sound got creepier. After you went through that area, you entered a storm drain with an odd, musty smell and this pulsing sound of a large fan. You climb a set of stairs to get to the station that feels way too close for comfort. I was 11 years old and freaked out!
By the time you left that tight space, you were inside the Batcave, and it was glorious. Train after train of the coaster came in with the clicking sound of all of the riders playing with their safety belts. There is so much detail in that station and all of it adds even more intensity to the ride. You aren’t in Gurnee, Illinois anymore – you are in Gotham City in the elusive Batcave. To this day, it remains one of my favorite themed attractions.
Then there was the actual ride. To me, Batman is a mandatory front seat ride. I remember the feeling of getting on it for the first time, feeling my feet dangling from a coaster car. It was exhilarating. You’re in the station, the floor drops, and people were yelling WHOA! This was a new experience.
This remains one of those great coaster moments. You twist down, gathering speed before that first inversion, a loop that whips you back into your seat. Then….THE ROLL.
I love this roll. You’re floating in your seat, and if you pay close attention, you can look down at the end and see that smashed cop car that was in the queue. Just brilliant design here! After all of that you enter that absolute bat-crazy portion of this ride.
I have no clue how they crammed all of these maneuvers into that tight space. And I swear, this ride gets faster every year. Either that or I’m getting older. This moment here, this insane inversion nearly blacks me out every time.
The roll comes out of nowhere! This whole section of the ride is like a blur to me. I’ve been on it so many times, I should know what’s coming next. But for some reason it surprises me every time.
And of course, who can forget the slam-on-the-brake run at the end that throws every rider into their harnesses? You still look at the person next to you after that happens like “what the heck was that?!”, don’t you? I do! Then I kick my feet wildly to empty out all of the adrenaline pumping through my body, and play with that harness seatbelt flap until we arrive back into the station. Just like I’m that 11 year old kid, again. Although this time I’m a lot dizzier.
Today, there are many more inverted B&M coasters all over the world. People from outside of Chicago might come to Great America and walk right past Batman, thinking “I’ve seen that before.” I’m so thankful my home park got this ride first, that I had that moment to look up at something the world had never seen before.
Even though it gets harder and harder to ride it multiple times the older I get, Batman still holds a special place in my heart. Today it turns 28, nearing three decades of craziness. Yet it still feels like yesterday when I took that first ride I will never forget.
Do you have a Batman: The Ride memory?
Did you get a chance to ride BATMAN BACKWARDS at Six Flags Great America? I did a few years ago! Here’s some video of that…
Here is some classic video from the day the ride opened..
And here is the latest and greatest official POV. If you haven’t been to Great America in a long time, the ride is yellow now…
With quarantines happening across the country because of the spread of COVID-19, more and more reporters and anchors have been working from home. That includes me! While I’ve had my share of hiccups figuring out this process, I didn’t make the best news bloopers of the month.
The people over at News Be Funny once again put out their monthly video of the best news bloopers. It includes many at-home mixups and just funny moments. Being on live television for hours at a time every day leads to some interesting moments, for sure. You have to laugh at them when you can.
