To-Go Cocktails, Counterfeit Coupons, & Class Action Pop-Tarts
Kathleen opens the show drinking a Waterslides IPA from 3 Sheeps Brewing in Wisconsin, and a Skrewball peanut butter whiskey shot.
“GOOD BAD FOOD”: In her quest for new and delicious not-so-nutritious junk food AND in continuing her search for the best Ranch, Kathleen samples Lays Wavy Funyuns Onion flavored chips, which she thinks just taste like a “mild” sour cream-n-onion flavor. She moves on to taste Sir Kensington’s Pizza Ranch Dressing, which she likes but thinks is WAY too tangy, and then she finishes her tasting menu with Hellman’s Spicy Dipping Sauce, which she summarizes with an “umm, No.”
KATHLEEN’S QUEEN’S COURT: Kathleen provides an update on the Court, reporting that although it’s been a quiet week, Cher is commenting on the Twitter account @cherdoingthings.
UPDATES: Kathleen gives updates on Facebook’s company name change, the duping of Betsy DeVos’s family by Elizabeth Holmes, the whereabouts of the missing zebras in Maryland, more bad news for supporters of Christopher Columbus, the release of a flying motorcycle in Japan, and South Dakota becomes a notable tax shelter.
CLASS ACTION POP-TARTS: Kathleen laughs as she reads an article advising that a class-action lawsuit has been filed by plaintiff Anita Harris claiming that Kellogg’s advertising misleads consumers about the amount of actual fruit in the food and that the presence of Red 40, a synthetic food dye, makes the product’s filling “look bright red like it has more strawberries than it does.”
THE LEGEND OF POLAND’S SOLDIER BEAR: Kathleen is thrilled to share the story of Wojtek, a Syrian brown bear cub who was by Polish II Corps soldiers who had been evacuated from the Soviet Union and aided in fighting the Nazis. In order to provide for his rations and transportation, he was officially enlisted as a soldier with the rank of private and was subsequently promoted to corporal.
KROENKE ABANDONS NFL LAWSUIT: Kathleen isn’t surprised reading an article advising that LA Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke has informed NFL team owners that he will no longer pay legal fees associated with the Rams move from St. Louis in 2016. Kroenke originally agreed to cover legal fees involved in the relocation, and those bills have stacked up as the NFL has lost multiple motions to the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority.
EXTREME COUPON SCAM: Kathleen reads an article about a couple arrested by the FBI in Virginia Beach over their $31.8 million counterfeit coupon scheme. They have been handed a prison sentence for nearly 20 years, combined.
TO-GO COCKTAILS BY STATE: Kathleen loves a cocktail, especially one that she can wander with. She updates listeners on a study from the National Restaurant Association, reporting that 26 states – most of the ones that permitted to-go cocktails during the pandemic – have allowed the practice to continue.
PANDORA PAPERS: Kathleen reads an article outlining the structure of a new trove of 11.9 million documents, dubbed the Pandora Papers, that contain explosive details about how global elites and billionaires hide their assets. The Pandora Papers are the result of extensive research by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which expose 600 celebrities and world leaders who stalled their money – or had it done for them – in tax havens.
HOMESTEAD ACT – Kathleen is excited to read an article detailing where efforts are being made to take advantage of the growing work-from-home culture to try to revitalize rural communities that are in decline. Financial and tax incentives to new residents are proving to benefit many towns seeking to reverse population loss and rejuvenate their economies.
JD SALINGER VOICE RECORDING BURNED: Kathleen reports that the only known recording of J.D. Salinger’s voice, created during a 1980 interview with the writer, has been burned.