Before his weight loss journey began, Jelly Roll didn’t just feel unhealthy—he genuinely believed he might not survive the night.
According to his health coach, Gary Brecka, the country star’s condition was so serious that Jelly would sleep propped up on his side, wedged between pillows, because lying on his back meant he couldn’t breathe. In fact, every morning, Jelly Roll would wake up and thank God he hadn’t died in his sleep.
The Grammy-nominated artist has been open about the emotional toll behind his health struggles, often tying it back to childhood trauma and ongoing battles with mental health.
But this new peek behind the curtain gives us a sense of just how dire things had gotten before he made a change.
Brecka shared more details in a recent interview, saying that when Jelly Roll first reached out, he didn’t sugarcoat a thing. His first message? “Do you work with fat people?” That blunt moment sparked a full-on partnership that changed Jelly’s life.
Jelly Roll at the 2023 CMT Music Awards held at Moody Center on April 2, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images)
At the time, Jelly Roll weighed around 500 pounds. He couldn’t even turn down the volume in his car without hearing himself wheeze at red lights. It wasn’t just about appearance or fitness, it was survival.
These days, Jelly has a full team supporting his transformation, including trainers and a personal chef. But Brecka says the biggest factor was always Jelly Roll himself.
From day one, it was clear Jelly was ready. “He was committed,” Gary said. “You could see it in his eyes.”
Jelly has also been using his platform to inspire others, showing that real change doesn’t always start with a perfect plan—it can start with one brutally honest question and the willingness to face it head-on.
As his story continues to unfold, it’s clear that Jelly Roll’s health journey is about a lot more than weight loss. It’s about healing, redemption, and proving that it’s never too late to fight for your life.
Congrats, fast-food chains – you tried to make drive-thrus smarter with A.I., and somehow made them dumber.
According to the latest annual Drive-Thru Study from Intouch Insight, the average fast-food drive-thru experience lasts a little longer than it did a year ago. We’re now clocking in at 5 minutes 35 seconds per visit, or nine seconds slower than last year. That may not sound like much, but when your french-fry-fueled serotonin levels are crashing, it’s a lifetime.
To be fair, they added more chains to their study this time around. If you only look at the ones they tested last year, the average drive-thru time was actually flat – or technically 3 seconds faster than it was in 2024.
Intouch Insight Drive-Thru Study
Taco Bell has the fastest drive-thru
Taco Bell took the crown for fastest service, at just 4 minutes 16 seconds. Probably helps that every single item is some variation of a tortilla and cheese. KFC, Tim Hortons, and Arby’s weren’t far behind, keeping things moving and the curly fries flowing.
Chick-fil-A had the longest wait times at over 7 minutes. But before you cancel your waffle fry plans, there’s a good reason for that wait. They also had much busier lines, and still managed to rank first in friendliness and customer satisfaction. So yes, it takes longer. But Chick-fil-A customers feel it’s a worthwhile wait.
Burger King and Wendy’s are the most accurate
As for order accuracy, Burger King and Wendy’s tied for first among non-coffee chains, both hitting 88% accuracy. (Am I the only one who thinks that’s pathetic? The best of the best still get 1 in 9 orders wrong?)
The most common flubs overall? “Ice” issues, like ignoring requests for “no ice” or adding too much of it. Next on the list was forgetting an item or giving customers the wrong food.
A.I. screwed up more orders
When drive-thru A.I.’s worked as intended, they did make things go a little quicker. The problem is they’re still not as good at asking “would you like fries with that” as the average 16-year-old employee who does it while scrolling TikTok.
Drive-thrus using A.I. were less accurate, getting orders right just 83% of the time. That’s lower than the overall industry average of 87%.
One in every three customers also had to repeat themselves to A.I., and a human had to take over 21% of the time.
Pro wrestling legend The Macho Man Randy Savage died at the far-too-young age of 58, after suffering a heart attack behind the wheel and crashing into a tree.
That was in 2011, 14 years ago.
But about six months before he died, Randy adopted a cat. A three-legged cat. Or, as his brother, fellow wrestler Lanny Poffo called it, a one-armed cat.
Randy named it Junkyard Cat, in honor of his late friend and fellow grappler The Junkyard Dog.
And that cat, we have just learned, is still kicking.
Randy’s estate recently posted a picture of Junkyard Cat, still alive in 2025.
Kenan Thompson of “Saturday Night Live” fame is working on a Randy Savage biopic. There’s no word if Junkyard Cat will make a cameo.
Junkyard Dog died in 1998. “Leapin'” Lanny Poffo passed in 2023.
“Wheel of Fortune” just made history… and it came with a seven-figure payout.
Christina Derevjanik of Stamford, Connecticut became the biggest winner in the game show’s 43-season run, walking away with a jaw-dropping $1,035,155 in cash, plus trips to Montana and Tokyo.
All of that after solving the puzzle phrase “Pack of Coyotes.”
This wasn’t just a lucky spin. Christina is only the fourth contestant in “Wheel” history to hit the million-dollar mark, and notably, the very first to do it since Ryan Seacrest took over as host. (Technically, she’s the fifth if you count “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune”, where Melissa Joan Hart snagged the prize in 2021, but that’s its own lane.)
Fans have been quick to point out that this is a milestone moment for the show, proving the million-dollar wedge is more than just a shiny piece of cardboard. In fact, it’s so elusive that fewer than five people have ever made it happen since it was added for the 26th season in 2008.
The win adds a little extra shine to Seacrest’s first season at the helm.
Viewers have been curious whether the long-running show would feel the same, following Pat Sajak’s retirement, but Christina’s historic night was the kind of buzzy TV moment producers dream of.
For fans of the game, “Pack of Coyotes” is already trending as one of those legendary puzzles people will be talking about years from now, much like the infamous “Flamenco Dance Lessons” or the viral clip of “A Streetcar Naked Desire” (yeah, that one still haunts the internet).
Christina now joins an exclusive club of contestants who didn’t just win big but changed Wheel of Fortune history. And let’s be honest, if you’re going to have your name forever linked to the show, “Pack of Coyotes” is a pretty epic way to do it.
Forget buzzing alarm clocks or the terrifying ring of a hotel wake-up call.
Holiday Inn Express is testing a brand-new way to get you out of bed: a scent-based alarm clock. Instead of beeping at you, it releases a delicious smell of your choice, like a high-tech diffuser.
Right now, it’s only being tested in a handful of countries. People in Australia and New Zealand can wake up to the breakfast-y smells of coffee, bacon, or blueberry muffin. In Japan, they’ve added nashi pear, and in Singapore and Thailand, you can start your morning with mango.
Sadly, the U.S. isn’t on the list yet, so American travelers are stuck with the classic “housekeeping knocking at 8 a.m.” method.
But the food-inspired scents aren’t just a cruel tease. They do offer an actual free breakfast, so that bacon smell might lead you straight to the real thing.
Of course, if you’re the type who could sleep through an entire kitchen operating in your hotel room, don’t worry. Old-school wake-up calls and door knocks are still available.
The scented alarm clocks are just an extra option for people who want to rise and shine with a smile… and a sudden craving for carbs.
So if you’ve ever dreamed of literally waking up and smelling the coffee, Holiday Inn Express is making it happen… just not for Americans, yet. Figures.
Trying to have a heart-to-heart with your kid these days is damn-near impossible, since you’re competing with TikTok, Snapchat, and whatever’s trending on YouTube.
A new survey found that kids under 18 are holding a phone 52% of the time their parents are trying to talk to them. That’s right… half your valuable wisdom is probably getting drowned out by memes and cat videos.
And before you roll your eyes at “these kids today,” let’s be real: parents aren’t much better. The same survey says partners are glued to their phones 58% of the time during conversations. So basically, everyone’s ignoring everyone.
But at least we’re ignoring each other together.
Only 74% of parents could say they’d had a real, device-free conversation with their kid in the past week. Which means a quarter of families haven’t gone even seven days without someone scrolling mid-sentence. No wonder 78% of parents are worried about losing face-to-face time with their kids.
Some households are trying to fight back with “no phone zones” during dinner, family outings, or movie night. You know, those rare times when you actually want to see each other’s faces instead of the glow of a screen. But enforcing those rules is easier said than done.
So yes, the internet is winning. But the silver lining? At least when your teen pretends to listen while glued to their phone, they can say they “learned it from watching you!” (Gen X’ers will get that reference, if they’re even listening to me.)
Even though the 50th anniversary celebration of “Saturday Night Live” aired in February, October 11th is the real anniversary of the first show back in 1975.
But some markets shouldn’t really be celebrating, because they didn’t carry the show for the first few seasons. Some, even longer!
In a handful of areas around the U.S., the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” weren’t ready for late night either. So, Chevy Chase’s only season on the show – with his classic phone calls going into the first ever Weekend Update segments – were never seen in some big markets. 26-year-old Bill Murray’s debut season? Same.
Missed were the sketches and commercial parodies from John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Lorraine Newman, Garrett Morris and Jane Curtin – as well as special guest hosts, comedians, and musicians performing live on television. Trailblazers.
Some stations found the show too edgy, or downright unfunny
If you’ve seen the 2024 movie “Saturday Night,” you’ll recall some of the affiliates weren’t too amused, and they made sure their local viewers weren’t either. One of the stories that would eventually make those poor un-entertained souls curious about the show was when Johnny Carson commented negatively about the humor, at one point calling it mean and tasteless. (Lorne Michaels asked Carson to host for years, but he always refused.)
Viewers in spots all over the country couldn’t tune in
So let’s review some of the markets that didn’t see the need to air satirical comedy sketches, commercial parodies, and live performances from some of the most famous musical artists of the time. Here are a few that are noteworthy – according to the “L.A. Times,”as many as one-third of NBC affiliates around the U.S. didn’t air the first episode.
Not blazing the trail? Let’s begin with the NBC affiliate in Syracuse, New York. Even after receiving irate calls and letters from viewers wondering why they couldn’t see the show, WSYR kept it off the air for the first two seasons.
WNDU in South Bend, Indiana also opted not to air the show initially. But after seeing its success, they eventually relented and picked it up.
According to the “Daily Oklahoman,” KTVY-TV in Oklahoma City (now KFOR) didn’t air the first two seasons (during which ratings had doubled), but eventually decided to pick the show up in July 1978 for summer reruns.
Their program manager at the time, Bill Thrash, said, “We received constant requests to carry the show, [and] they were very angry with us because we didn’t carry it.” He continued, “I now think the show will do very well in Oklahoma City.” (Ya think so, Bill? You’re three years late to the party!)
An affiliate in Tulsa also passed for two years, but people there could apparently see another state’s feed if they had cable.
Even major markets like Detroit and Pittsburgh couldn’t watch
Oklahoma is one thing. But certainly major markets like Detroit and Pittsburgh got to see it, right? Wrong. They missed the first several seasons as well, although another station was somehow allowed to air it in Detroit on a fuzzy UHF channel. (Kids, ask grandpa what “UHF” was. You could sometimes see the people through the snow.)
One station refused to air it into the mid-2010s
Salt Lake City’s KLS-TV gets the “Modern Era Hold Out” award, not airing the show from 1995 until 2013! That was Season 39, with Tina Fey hosting the premiere. So, she’d completed her entire run on the show before the NBC affiliate allowed her to show her face in SLC.
The Mormon-owned KSL opted to stop airing “SNL” when it switched from CBS to NBC in 1995. The station manager’s explanation at the time was, “SNL’s’ content is frequently objectionable, not to mention its overall quality has been in decline for years.”
An affiliate for the WB aired “SNL” in SLC from 1998 to 2013, but it was fully unavailable for about two years in the mid-90s. Most didn’t have internet access then, and YouTube wouldn’t be born for another decade anyway.
So if you lived in the Salt Lake City area during those dark years, you were just out of luck. But at least you now know that if you ever got iced out of “SNL,” you most definitely weren’t alone.
A “TV Guide” ad for the very first show in 1975. A couple things would be different by the time it aired – namely, it could only be called “Saturday Night” because Howard Cosell already had an ABC show called “Saturday Night Live.” Also, Billy Crystal got cut for time and never appeared. He became a cast member nine years later in 1984.
Brick Taylor has been covering entertainment since the ’80s. He lived in one of the aforementioned markets and was caught in the “SNL” void. One of the first “SNL” musical artists he ever saw was David Bowie singing “TVC 15” in a dress. Sorry if you missed it, South Bend.
October is here, so it’s crunch time for parents who promised to make their kids’ Halloween costumes.
A new survey says 52% of parents are going the DIY route this year, especially in Colorado, Iowa, California, Maryland, and Arkansas. Somewhere out there, a mom is already crying into a pile of felt.
Money is the big motivator. Store-bought costumes are averaging more than $70, while a handmade creation usually runs under $40. That’s a huge deal if you’ve got more than one kid, because nothing says “spooky” like spending $210 on matching polyester jumpsuits… that get worn once… and disintegrate before next Halloween.
But it’s not just about cash.
Parents say homemade costumes feel more creative, unique, and sometimes just… necessary, since the store-bought options are either flimsy, overpriced, or completely sold out.
For some families, it’s even a tradition. (The tradition being: panic-shopping at Michaels on October 29th.)
Then there’s the social media pressure. A whopping 81% of parents say they feel the need to make costumes Instagram-worthy. Idaho parents are the most stressed about it, followed by those in Missouri and Connecticut. Nothing says Halloween spirit like comparing your kid’s glue-gun disaster to a Pinterest mom’s hand-stitched masterpiece.
As for what kids are demanding, Pokémon is still going strong, Taylor Swift costumes are in the mix, and Labubu is unfortunately a thing.
You’ll also see the classics (witches, skeletons, vampires, werewolves) and of course superheroes.
And then there are “unique creations,” which is code for “your kid saw it on YouTube once, and now you’re up at 2 a.m. turning a cardboard box into something unrecognizable.”
So here’s wishing all the crafty parents good luck. May your glue sticks last, your sewing machine not jam, and your child not suddenly decide they actually want to be Elsa… the day before Halloween.
If you’re planning a family movie night, you’ll want something festive without accidentally giving your toddler nightmares. Here’s your ultimate guide to the best Halloween movies for kids of every age group.
Little kids, ages 2 to 7 At this stage, “scary” means maybe a pumpkin with slightly pointy eyebrows. Classics like “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” and Disney’s “The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad” bring cozy nostalgia with zero trauma. If you’re looking for something newer, “Hotel Transylvania” gives you a monster mash with Adam Sandler’s voice leading the way, while “Monsters, Inc.” proves once and for all that even scary creatures can be lovable.
Big kids, ages 7 to 11 Now we’re talking about kids who actually want a little fright with their fun. Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is the ultimate spooky-but-sweet option, while Disney Channel’s cult favorite “Halloweentown” is peak ‘90s kid magic. “Casper” keeps things ghostly but friendly, “Frankenweenie” lets Burton flex his black-and-white quirkiness, and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” may not be a “Halloween movie,” but between the costumes, the candy, and the aliens, it earns its spot.
Tweens Middle schoolers live for chaos, and these movies deliver. “Hocus Pocus” is basically required viewing if you want to be allowed into spooky season. “The Addams Family” nails that goth-but-funny energy, while “Goosebumps” (with Jack Black as R.L. Stine) is scarier than it has any right to be. For straight-up silliness, there’s Adam Sandler’s “Hubie Halloween.” And if your tween wants a comedy that also features a truly disastrous party, “Fun Size” is the pick.
Teenagers The training wheels are officially off. “Beetlejuice” and “Poltergeist” are classics that bring the perfect mix of creepy and campy. “Gremlins” proves that small pets can, in fact, destroy your life. “Ghostbusters” is always a crowd-pleaser (and yes, the special effects are gloriously retro), while “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” finally puts those haunting childhood book illustrations onto the big screen.
So whether you’ve got a toddler who thinks pumpkins are hilarious or a teen who insists they’re “too cool” for movie night but secretly still wants popcorn and ghosts, this list has you covered. And if you’re the parent who’s on their 87th rewatch of “Hotel Transylvania,” just remember… it could be worse. At least it’s not “Caillou: The Halloween Special.”
So you should celebrate by ordering pumpkin-spice-something… just like you’ve been doing every day for the past month now.
A while back, researchers from Montclair State University combed through nearly 20,000 social media posts to find out if we actually love pumpkin spice as much as it seems like we do. Yes, it’s a weird thing to “research,” but whatever.
They found that 55% of posts mentioning “pumpkin spice” or the hashtag #pumpkinspice were positive in nature… 37% were considered neutral… and only 8% were negative.
They also found that pumpkin spice fervor surged from 2011 to 2017, when it peaked.
For the next four years, the hype was a little subdued, but it’s trending again of late… so apparently, pumpkin spice is as popular as ever. Unfortunately, or not!
Who knew people paid so much attention to pumpkin spice trends?
