Tim Phillips Show, 4/13/26

The Top 10 “USA Today Top Workplaces” for 2026

Fannie Mae

Fairway Home Mortgage Corp

Plante Moran (CPA firm)

Progressive Insurance

The Baldwin Group (Insurance)

Laitram Intralox (Machinery)

Mountain America Credit Union

Ally (Bank)

CHG Healthcare (Staffing)

Koniag Government Services (Federal government support services)

Source: USA Today

Monday Morning Mystery - A LOVER'S HOLIDAY -   CHANGE    #40 in 1980    LUTHER VANDROSS    C & C MUSIC FACTORY    ATLANTIC STARR

European-American dance band formed in Italy by producers Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavasi. Led by Paolo Gianolio (guitar) and David Romani (bass). Luther Vandross sang lead on several songs of group’s first charted album. The later group, based in New York, included lead vocals by James Robinson and Deborah “Crab” Cooper (later with C & C Music Factory). One-time band member Rick Gallwey married Sharon Bryant, former lead singer of Atlantic Starr.

Everything costs more these days, including having kids. Raising a child has always come with a long list of expenses, from diapers to child care to groceries, but new research shows just how much parents are spending now. A new estimate from LendingTree reveals the price tag is an average of $16,857 per year.

That adds up to a whopping $303,418 over the course of 18 years for one kid. That’s about 2% higher than last year and the first time the total has topped $300-thousand since LendingTree started the study in 2023.

Their calculation is based on the typical expenses for a couple earning the U.S. median family income, which is about $100-thousand.

But the $303-thousand doesn’t even include college, since it ends when a child turns 18.

The average of a U.S. college education is now about $38-thousand a year, which could raise the total by another $152-thousand.

Of course, where families live makes a difference. Costs in three states — Alaska, Kansas and Montana — spiked by more than 20% over last year.

Hawaii is the most expensive state for raising a child, according to the research. Families there can expect to spend over $100-thousand more, a total of $412,661 over 18 years.

Alaska comes in second ($365,047), followed by Maryland ($326,360).

Projected costs are lowest in New Hampshire ($201,963), Washington, D.C. ($202,115) and South Carolina ($204,213).

Source: CBS News

Tim's News You Can't Use 

Does it feel like summer starts earlier and ends later? You’re not imagining it. A new study found that summer is getting longer — and at a faster pace than scientists expected. Instead of sticking to the calendar, researchers looked at when temperatures actually feel like summer, and they found that since the 1990s, summer conditions have been stretching by about six days per decade. That adds up to roughly 30 more days of summer-like conditions now than in the 1960s. In some places, the change is dramatic, with summer‑like weather lasting weeks longer than it used to. Even more striking, the transition into summer is happening more suddenly, skipping a gradual warm‑up. That shift can throw off everything from farming schedules to ecosystems, making it harder for people — and nature — to adapt. 
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Sporked says a new BBQ Ribs Pringles flavor has hit store shelves. The cans promise a saucy, meaty taste.  Fans are rushing to get them for Spring cookouts.
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Oscar Meyer has just dropped its first new bacon flavor in five years! Maple Bourbon Bacon is made with Evan Williams Bourbon and creates a mashup of maple sweetness with a smoky bacon finish. Oscar Meyer is pushing the idea that the new flavor can be eaten from breakfast to dinner. Meanwhile, fans on social media are excited for the new bacon and are planning unique recipes to use it with. You can find the Maple Bourbon Bacon on store shelves now.
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KDVR says the Colorado Rockies are going viral because they have begun selling a $45 hot dog at home games. The Glizilla is two feet long and weighs a pound. It is the same size as two, foot-long Subway sandwiches or a four-month-old baby. It is served on a 19- inch bun. 
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There's new help in our cities' never-ending battles against potholes — robotaxi operator Waymo. The company has kept data on where potholes pop up on streets to make sure their driverless cars go on a smoother ride for passengers. And now there's a new program where they're sharing that data with cities so their transportation departments know where to send their workers. The program has already led to 500 potholes be filled in in Atlanta, with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin the next to use the data.
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Three suspects are in custody in California and accused of stealing about a million dollars' worth of higher end LEGO products in Fort Worth. Kern County deputies pulled over two suspicious box trucks in Mojave on Wednesday. Investigators determined that the two truckloads of Lego sets had been stolen while passing through Fort Worth. Deputies recovered the stolen goods and arrested the three men on the trucks. They're charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, cargo theft, and conspiracy. LEGOs are the hottest item for theft rings currently.
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A South Florida woman is facing multiple felony charges after investigators say she used fraudulent loan applications to purchase 10 vehicles, including a BMW i8, a Corvette Stingray, and three Harley-Davidson motorcycles, over just eight days. Thirty-eight-year-old Dunia Sierra of Miami Lakes allegedly listed herself on loan paperwork as a restaurant general manager earning more than $180,000 a month. In reality, she worked there as a waitress and cashier. She was arrested Thursday and is being held on a $26,000 bond on charges of organized fraud, grand theft, and vehicle-related fraud. Investigators say the scheme, known as a credit bust-out, exploited a timing gap in credit reporting and was part of a larger fraud ring involving dealership insiders and auto brokers across Miami-Dade County.
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KPIC says a Roseburg, Oregon man recently stole a motorized shopping cart from a Fred Meyer grocery store. Mark Anthony Pomatto drove it on an I-5 on-ramp. Pomatto admitted to the theft and told officers he did not want to walk. He was cited and released 
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The Smoking Gun says a St Petersburg, Florida woman  recently tore up a Subway because she was upset about getting peppers on her sandwich. I’munique Clark pushed a cash register and a printer off the counter. She then threw multiple trays of baked goods onto the floor, causing 37 cookie ‘deaths’. A Subway employee said, "The sandwich was made how she ordered it. Clark was told there would be no replacement.” Clark was charged with criminal mischief.