Tim Phillips Show, 10/30/26

A new survey by The National Retail Federation reveals that Halloween spending is expected to reach $13.5 billion. Other findings:

- 74% of consumers are planning to celebrate Halloween. Shoppers expect to spend an average of $115.14 per person, while 49% started Halloween shopping in September or earlier.

- Candy is the most popular purchase, with 96% planning to buy sweets.

-  71% of people will buy a Halloween costume

- Nearly half of consumers plan to use artificial intelligence tools for Halloween shopping.

- Discount stores are the top Halloween shopping destination at 39%, followed by specialty Halloween or costume stores at 32%.

- Among pet costumes, pumpkins are the most popular choice at 11.6%, followed by hot dogs at 5.9% and ghosts at 2.8%.

Spooky season is underway and that means it’s time to talk Halloween candy. While trick-or-treaters get the biggest haul on the holiday, grown-ups get in on the fun, too, and since they’re usually the ones buying the bags, they’ll want to know all the new varieties available this year. Thanks to the team at Mashed, we know the latest treats haunting the candy aisle.

Skittles Creepy Crunch Pop'd Freeze-Dried Candy - Skittles is playing around with texture, as the freeze-dried candy ruptures like popcorn, revealing the normally-chewy center that’s now super crunchy and it dissolves quickly in your mouth, so you quickly reach for more.

Jolly Rancher Gummies Trickies Minis - The trick with these gummies is that the colors and shapes don’t match the flavors, so it’s a guessing game to figure out if the smiling purple apple tastes like cherry or blue raspberry.

KitKat Ghost Toast - These are basically cinnamon toast in KitKat form, delivering a bit of childhood nostalgia in every bite.

Chocolove Milk Chocolate Apple Cider - Their pumpkin-shaped Milk Chocolates with Pumpkin Spice and Dark Chocolates with Peanut Butter are back, along with the new Milk Chocolate Apple Cider variety, with a cinnamonny apple filling that “works really well” with the sweetness of the chocolate.

Hi-Chew Mystery Mix - The fruity chewy candy’s Halloween mix includes four flavors: Green Apple, Cotton Candy, Orange Creamsicle, and the new Mystery Flavor. Taste-testers suggest it has notes of lemonade, and you can play a flavor mash game to guess the flavor for a chance to win candy or the ultimate $3-thousand prize package.

Reese's Sweet and Salty Mix - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the reigning champs of Halloween candy, and this mix combines five Reese’s snacks: Reese's Animal Crackers, Dipped Pretzels, Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels, Peanut Butter Cups, and Reese's Pieces.

Old favorites are releasing new treats - Snickers has a pumpkin shape for Halloween, Twix has a new candy skull shape and KitKat has a new witch shape this year. Twix and Snickers are both adding a new Ghoulish Green variety for the holiday, and there are all kinds of seasonal goodies coming, including Pumpkin Pie M&M’s and Pirate’s Booty Boos and Bites.⠀

Source: Mashed

Reynolds Market Deal of the Day -  Old Milwaukee 30-packs $16.99

Friday Flashback - EMOTIONS    MARIAH CAREY 1991
DO ANYTHING    NATURAL SELECTION
ROMANTIC    KARYN WHITE
HOLE HEARTED    EXTREME

1991
Major News Stories include: 
United Nations Coalition Force pushes Iraq military out of Kuwait and back to Iraq
University of Iowa Mass Shooting
Cyclone in Bangladesh kills 200,000
South Africa Apartheid dismantled
Balkan War starts
Terry Waite and Terry Anderson released, 
Freddie Mercury dies from Aids
Robert Maxwell is found dead floating in the sea
Lech Walesa elected as Polish President
Jeffrey Dahmer arrested
1 LB of Bacon $1.95
Dozen Eggs 85 cents
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Price: $199.95
Internet is made available to unrestricted commercial use and number of computers on the net reaches 1 million
Tim Berners-Lee introduces the web browser.
Airbag USA by Geoffrey L Mahon and Allen Breed
The release of Nirvana's Nevermind signified the start of the Grunge era that would dominate the music scene up to the mid-90's.
Popular Films
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The Silence of the Lambs
Hook
The Addams Family
Sleeping with the Enemy
Father of the Bride
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Beauty and the Beast
Backdraft
Beethoven
Thelma & Louise

Everyone’s afraid of something, even if they’re not willing to admit it, but thanks to new research, we know what people across the country fear most. The results of Chapman University’s 12th annual Survey of American Fears have just come out, revealing that a new fear has joined the top 10 for the first time: artificial intelligence.

The poll of 1,221 U.S. adults reveals that more than half fear AI could hurt the political process and nearly half worry it could harm the economy.

This was the first year researchers asked several questions specifically about fears related to artificial intelligence. Two AI-related fears made the top 10: AI harming the political process came in third (51.9%), and AI hurting the economy was seventh (49.7%).

But AI isn’t the biggest fear overall, fear of corrupt government officials holds onto that title for the 11th consecutive year.

"These findings make it clear that Americans are concerned not just about what AI might mean for their jobs, but about its potential impact on our political system and the economy," explains Christopher Bader, professor of sociology at Chapman University. "As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into everyday life, understanding these fears will be increasingly important. We expect concerns about AI to remain a significant part of the national conversation in the years ahead."

Americans’ Top 10 Fears of 2026

Corrupt government officials (61.1%)

U.S. becoming involved in another world war (58%)

Artificial intelligence harming the political process (51.9%)

People I love becoming seriously ill (51.8%)

People I love dying (50.6%)

Economic/financial collapse (50.6%)

Artificial intelligence hurting the economy (49.7%)

Government tracking of personal data (48.9%)

Biological warfare (48.2%)

Terrorist attack (47.3%)

Source: Chapman University