(Friday) Morning Run: Dangerous Smokey Skies, Trump Primetime Address, Trump Threatens Networks, Cyclospora Source Identified, Nolan Wells Grand Jury, Deadly TX Flooding, Disney Death , Today Show Arrest and RIP Hal Williams”

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Morning Run with Amy and TJ and iHeartRadio Podcast.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: Good morning everybody. We made it to Friday. Welcome to Morning Run. Yes it's Friday, July seventeenth.

00:00:12
Speaker 1: I'm Amy making it sounds like we're just barely surviving, like we just barely got here. We should applaud ourselves for just making it sounds like a hard week.

00:00:23
Speaker 2: You know, we've been through quite a bit here, just with the headlines and the skyline.

00:00:30
Speaker 3: I mean, it's been it's been tough here, at least in the.

00:00:33
Speaker 2: Northeast with all of this haze and the Canada wildfires coming down. It seems like armageddon, or at least it's felt like it in moments.

00:00:43
Speaker 1: You know what it. I swear sometimes every day you wake up in the headline can make you feel like it's Omageddon. But yes, we have made it through Friday. You're saying, Hey, folks on TJ Holmes here, appreciate you spending some time with us on this Friday Morning Run. We're gonna be making stops at Rockefeller Center in New York, make a stop at a farm in Mexico, and also another leg of our run will take us to DC to Pensacola, Beach to Orlando, Mississippi and Texas. But let's start with, yes, Roades what everybody is talking about, at least one hundred and twenty million plus Americans are talking about when they look up in the sky and when they take a breath. It is really stunning that we could be this far away from these fires and it's having the impact it's having on them.

00:01:23
Speaker 2: That's right. Yesterday we actually could smell it in our home and we looked at the quality alert.

00:01:30
Speaker 3: We were at four point fifty at one point was it even higher?

00:01:32
Speaker 1: Oh, she showed me five hundred a one point, Sabina.

00:01:34
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, Sabine, I've never ever seen an air quality alert that high in my life. But yes, all that smoke coming from more than one hundred wildfires burning in Canada. People being warned to limit their time outside, to not exercise outdoors because yes, it's actually dangerous and that could lead to asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and the haze unfortunately expected to stick around at least through We've got rain coming this weekend here in the Northeast and that is hopefully going to help.

00:02:04
Speaker 1: It's incredible that this is possible that we could have this impact. We have the forecast as sunny skies and we can't see the sun. It is remarkable that this is happening. But yes, the fire is sending on robes. Nobody's necessary's a brook in this down. For me, it's that simple. All these fires, you got so many of them. All that smoke goes up into the air. It gets caught in the jet stream. That's it.

00:02:27
Speaker 2: Wow.

00:02:27
Speaker 1: And a jet stream just is doing its thing, so it's carrying whatever's in it over toss And here we are.

00:02:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, Anna, Lisa is back in New York City, and she showed us a picture from our apartment where we normally can see the Statue of Liberty. It's probably one of our favorite parts about the apartment. Couldn't see it, Just a wall of haze, she said. It's so weird, Mom, It's like you're floating in this just smoke.

00:02:51
Speaker 1: And as we give you those warnings, we are actually sitting outside as we are recording this morning, Ryn. But let's get to you here on the run.

00:02:58
Speaker 2: And WHOA.

00:02:59
Speaker 1: That was something night, wasn't it. President Trump made a much anticipated thirty minute speech from the White House last night in which he cast doubt robes. He cast serious doubt on the integrity of US elections four months from the midterms. He made it sound like we can't trust what happens in A lot of people are telling you. This is the playbook he is setting up in case things don't go well for him in November, that it was all stolen.

00:03:23
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness. Yes, he actually said that US elections are worse than elections in third world countries. He said that the president also made accusations about China meddling in US elections. He claimed a deep state within the government worked to keep information from him about Chinese involvement. He said, voting machines are vulnerable. He said two hundred and seventy eight thousand non citizens are registered to vote. Andy said China had obtained data on millions of American voters, and so on and so on and so on. To summarize what analysts have said about his claims, it's mostly.

00:04:00
Speaker 1: S A lot of this information was already out, they said, some of it, even if it had a grain of truth to it, he blew it up into something it was not, so take it for what it is. Zeller to go through all this stuff, robes and just tick and tag and this is right, and this is wrong, and this is a lie, and this is it's just it's just a mess. But nothing necessarily new, is what we were told we heard last night. Continuing though, well, the President made his speech, all important speech last night. He was without his longtime teleprompter operator Rose. How in the world does a teleprompter operate? This is this is the administration. Even the teleprompter operator is making himines uh yes.

00:04:37
Speaker 3: And it's not because he didn't do a good job.

00:04:39
Speaker 2: In fact, he's out of a job because he reportedly won one hundred thousand dollars betting on the president's speech on the prediction market Calshet. Is no one reading the news, is no one understanding that you will get caught. If you have inside information, you cannot bet on said information. So the company said Gabriel Perez, who's worked as a technical assistant to the president, would place wagers on certain words or country names that would appear in Trump's speeches.

00:05:10
Speaker 1: This is so odd that you think your place you on one hundred grand. All that someone had to do is say, how did he get this? Right? He works where now? It's bizarre, But you know what I give Calshi and some of the they're catching this stuff and they so they caught it, they flagged it. He had advanced knowledge, of course, with the president's speeches. Don't know exactly how long he's been doing this, but right now wrote they say, yes, federal authorities are looking at him. He is discussing a settlement with authorities at this point.

00:05:38
Speaker 2: Oh all right, next up on the run will stay in theme, President Trump saying NBC and ABC should both lose their broadcast licenses. This after both networks chose not to carry his primetime speech live robes.

00:05:54
Speaker 1: We applauded both of these networks for doing that. It's surprising, maybe given all the threats that come, that this would be considered a brave decision, But maybe it is because they robes And what do you think, is he about to go after them?

00:06:07
Speaker 3: I do think so, yes, absolutely to.

00:06:10
Speaker 1: ABC put out a statement ahead of the speech explaining that they cover the speech on their streaming services. NBC streamed the speech as well, CNN, MSN MS Now.

00:06:21
Speaker 3: It's so hard to know what the network is.

00:06:24
Speaker 1: Ms the network formerly known as MSNBC, chose to dip in and out of the speech against CNN did that as well, and then CBS covered the speech. They were trying to thread a needle there and not sure what they were doing, but they played part of it and then disgusted and then tried to justify, well, it's the president, no matter if he's lying or not, it's gonna make news, so we're here to cover the news.

00:06:44
Speaker 2: And look, the reason why these networks chose not to break into prime time is because these presidential addresses are usually something that you would cover or that you would allow time for, because the president's giving an important bit of information to the US public. This was known to be spreading falsehoods, and there is a responsibility by a news network not to promote or disseminate things they know not to be true. So it was a conundrum for these networks and they made their choices. Now, the President only specifically mentioned ABC and NBC in his speech, he actually went really far.

00:07:19
Speaker 3: This is where my jaw dropped.

00:07:21
Speaker 2: He claimed that NBC and ABC are part of a plot to cover up election interference. We can tell you, having worked at both networks, that is absolutely impossible to believe.

00:07:35
Speaker 1: Maybe we weren't high enough up the chain about the experience.

00:07:39
Speaker 3: I think we were pretty high.

00:07:40
Speaker 2: We were in meetings about political coverage and discussions. I can say that that is categorically false, And I feel very confident saying that.

00:07:48
Speaker 1: You know where, you know what, if they had covered the speech, would he have included that line.

00:07:53
Speaker 3: No, he would not have. No, he would not have.

00:07:56
Speaker 2: And look, we were there covering the twenty twenty elects, we were at ABC. We I think can say this with a pretty high level of confidence. Now, after laying out those accusations, the President once again pushed for passage of this Save America Act, which he says is necessary to protect US elections.

00:08:16
Speaker 1: Now, of course, the President went AFTERBC, went after ABC, went after China. China did put out a statement to defend themselves. They said, quote, China has all along adhere to the principle of non interference in others internal affairs. The US election is an internal matter the US. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people. China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the US. That was pretty direct. Nobody trusts anybody, I suppose Robes. But one of the big accusations was that China had obtained millions and millions of voter data of their names, address party affiliation. It turns out it's publicly available information that campaigns use all the time. You and I can get online and pay for it right now and have it. So it was it sounds ought when he says it, and you go, what China did? What the You go, well, yeah, because what would they do with that information. That doesn't mean that they can interfere with your vote. They can't change your vote. No, So it didn't really make a lot of sense. Moving on now, another big big headline. Next up on the run. Health officials believe they have.

00:09:23
Speaker 2: Tracked down finally the source of the nationwide cyclist bora outbreak. Lettuce supplied too and served by Taco Bell is now the focus.

00:09:35
Speaker 1: That's devastating. Yeah, you know, this is one of those things where actually the company, they didn't do anything for their fault. They bought the stuff, but they're gonna take heat for this and suffer for this. The lesson lettuce was packaged and supplied by Taylor Farms, and they're actually based in California, but they have a plant in Mexico, California. Several places so the one in Mexico, I believe is the focus right now. It's believe to have been used by restaurants in at least five states. Michigan, which has been the epicenter, is now reporting forty three hundred cases robes. It still can't quite figure out. They say this let us was supplied in at least five states. We got thirty four states with issues. That doesn't matter where there, I don't know, a separate outbreak at the same time, did they send this let us to another restaurant as well?

00:10:19
Speaker 3: It seems like the latter of the two makes more sense.

00:10:21
Speaker 2: And yes, my dad, who we've had on the podcast explaining cyclospora, look there, it is possible that people who handled the food could also have spread it. It can go person a person. If you don't have good hygiene practices.

00:10:34
Speaker 1: You have to have terrible hygiene practices better.

00:10:36
Speaker 3: And it does happen.

00:10:37
Speaker 2: It certainly happens that way on cruise ships, et cetera. But yeah, it's still there are still some holes to fill in how this all spread the way it did all right. Next up on the Run, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with several Epstein survivors yesterday. This is a first for such a high level member of the Justice Department.

00:10:55
Speaker 3: And they met for about an hour.

00:10:58
Speaker 2: And by the way, Blanche did not do this out of the goodness of his own heart.

00:11:02
Speaker 1: They've been begging for a meeting with this guy forever, so why now, Well, because he needs the vote of Republican Senator Tom Tillis, who is on the committee that needs to vote him out to get him approved as Attorney General. Tillis said he would require Blanche to meet with victims before he'd vote for confirmation to be Attorney general.

00:11:21
Speaker 2: I kind of love that, but it's sad that it took that. There it is, Robes, a one hour meeting. Why wouldn't you give me one good reason why you wouldn't sit down?

00:11:32
Speaker 3: Don't have to and face and just don't I don't have to oof.

00:11:36
Speaker 2: Well, not surprisingly, Blanche said the meeting wasn't all cordial, that is how he phrased it. The survivors reported that the meeting wasn't productive at all. At least one survivor this is so sad, describe Blanche as condescending and abrasive.

00:11:55
Speaker 1: Just sit and listen and let them let you let them curse you out, let them call you all kinds of names. They've earned it.

00:12:01
Speaker 2: I mean, this is they've waited too long for justice, they've waited too long for answers, they've waited too long for transparency.

00:12:08
Speaker 1: There should be no pushback. They shouldn't walk out of that meeting feeling like he was condescending. I mean, I know it's one person's opinion, who knows how that, but robes just sit there and listen. They haven't been listened to. And you finally got a high government and from a person in front of you, and he was.

00:12:27
Speaker 3: Just forced to be there.

00:12:28
Speaker 1: You will.

00:12:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you're already thinking, okay, where is this going?

00:12:32
Speaker 1: Was all right, continue on the run here. Now, let's go back down to Pensacola, Florida, where, uh, this has been a huge story all week and I don't know how it became what it became. But the Blue Angel pilot who did the flyover in Pittacole. You've seen that video by now, that really low flyover that was deemed even by the Blue Angels themselves Robes unsafe and too low. Well, that pilot who performed that thrilling stunt is not going to be facing any disciplinary action. We got that rope that got that word yesterday, which was about twenty four hours after the incident.

00:13:02
Speaker 2: Uh yeah, that was the thorough investigation that apparently took place at lightning speed. The Acting Secretary of the Navy posted this on X Flight did brief, complete, no reprimands, no firings, no problem. That's the sound of freedom. It also sounded a lot like some of the social media posts we saw throughout the day from Pete Hegseth, Eric Trump, And there was another one, oh the White House, the White House themselves.

00:13:31
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they echoed the same thing. Shut up, this is patriotism, this is freedom. Carry on, Yes, let's continue on the run. Here Now it's head to Mississippi, where the result of the death investigation into what happened to eighteen year old Nolan Wells will be handed over to a grand jury. Officials said this is standard procedure for suspicious or unnatural death and should not be taken robes as a suggestion that a crime was committed.

00:13:51
Speaker 2: And this news comes after Nolan's family met privately with the district attorney that Nolan's family described as respectful. At least, it's a step in the right direction. They're talking, they shared some of the phone information, and they're trying to coordinate their independent investigation with the polices now. Nolan's body was found two days after he was reported missing, following a day of partying with his friends on an island off the Gulf coast of Mississippi. Nolan's visitation and funeral are scheduled for Monday morning. That is going to be a hell of a day. And of note, I just this was so gutting. I think you came up when I was listening to it. But Nolan's mom, Christine put out a pretty emotional video on Instagram talking about her grief.

00:14:28
Speaker 3: She wanted to acknowledge all the people who have.

00:14:30
Speaker 2: Been writing her and posting about her, sending them her love and support, and she talked about her grief in a real raw way.

00:14:38
Speaker 3: It was powerful to wash and to listen to.

00:14:41
Speaker 2: But our hearts are certainly with them and their family as they try to figure out what happened to their son.

00:14:45
Speaker 1: All right, continue on the run here. Now, let's head down to Texas, where two people have died in that catastrophic flooding there. Rescue operations continue two hundred and thirty rescues have already been performed. And this is in the area they call hill Country down there, central southern Texas. I have gotten a year's worth of rain in just the past three days, and so it's an ongoing search and rescue operation happening there right now, all.

00:15:08
Speaker 3: Right, and next up on the run. Rest in peace.

00:15:11
Speaker 2: Hal Williams the actor best known for his roles in the nineties sitcoms two two seven. I loved that show and in Sanford and Son. He has passed away at the age of ninety one. What a beautiful man. Saw his face on the screen today. I went straight back to my childhood.

00:15:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, this was uh two two seven was mid eighties to early nineties, and this was when I was a kid and there was few and far between to see successful black folks and shows on TV. This was a family, This was love, This was so I This was something that you have to end what Regina King sticking out the window all the time? This remember, it was just a great, great show. He played Lester Jenkins if you don't remember, on that show, he was husband to Marla Gibbs character and the father to Regina King's character. He had countless TV credits was a mainstay for much of his career. This is a guy who he looks like my family. All the guys in my family, now my dad's side, look like this this dude. To hear ninety one, I smiled.

00:16:11
Speaker 2: I did to you when you know it's you know, obviously it's always sad when someone passes, But to look up and see his face, and to see his career, and just to hear some of the words of wisdom he part along the way, just about how much he loved acting and how he didn't mind getting older because he could just keep acting and just play older characters like he just had a sunny outlook. His energy, it just pops off the screen. It made me smile when I saw his face and knew that he lived such a long and beautiful life.

00:16:38
Speaker 1: All right, Well, folks, stay with us when we come back. A death at Disney, a security issue at Rockefeller Center, and a quote that it looks like robes pulled out specifically for President Trump. Why we continue here on the morning run? I usually don't. I just accidentally looked down at your quote.

00:17:04
Speaker 3: You still don't look at it.

00:17:05
Speaker 1: You just don't look at it, And I caught a glimpse of it, and immediately I had some thoughts and you all will hear it in just the moment and you'll probably have the same thoughts, but we'll continue here.

00:17:14
Speaker 2: Now.

00:17:14
Speaker 1: We are just learning that a Walt Disney World guest died on one of its most popular and this is one of the oldest rides. Probably there isn't it. It's a Small World ride. The man, fifty four year old, experienced cardiac emergency and later died at the hospital.

00:17:28
Speaker 2: Yes, the unidentified man apparently had a pre existing condition, but the bigger headline may be that this all happened back in April and we're just now hearing about it now. Disney has not responded to the obvious media reports that came in and inquiries that came in about the death, and it was only revealed in a quarterly Florida Theme Park injury report that was released. That's the only reason why we even knew about it. And by the way, this is I thought interesting, this is the second person to die after writing the iconic attraction and we're talking about a ride. If you haven't been on It's a Small World that is a ten minute gentle boring ride. This is not thrilling, but she also had a pre existing condition. This was back in twenty fourteen. A twenty two year old woman's that ride, right, I just thought it's weird that two people have died on that ride. That ride is again a gentle boat ride where you have animatronic people from around the world singing.

00:18:25
Speaker 3: It really is not thrilling. It's not scary.

00:18:29
Speaker 1: It's yeah, it's nuzz for parents, it's an annoyance because the little kid you have to take the little ones, and they are all into it. It is I'm not it is not for adults to be thrilled by, so to think two people died on that one? Right, all things, my goodness, all right, continue on the run here? Now, what in the actual hell is happening at the Today Show? A man was arrested after somehow getting past security and onto the set. Now, I say, what the hell is going on? Because we spend so much of our time around networks and around network security and morning shows, this does not happen.

00:19:00
Speaker 3: For nine years, I walked into Studio one A. I mean, I.

00:19:04
Speaker 2: Can't imagine someone making it's it's a closed set too, GMA. We had a lot of people coming in and out. I could actually almost see how that could happen. Today's show has a closed set. They're very strict about it. So, according to NBC, an individual entered an unauthorized area in a vestibule near Studio one A. The person approached anchor Craig Melvin, who alerted security. Oh, I can't imagine what that was like. The individual was detained and taken into custody by law enforcement without further incident. There was no altercation and no one was injured.

00:19:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was. There's some differing reports out there about what happened, but the official word is that that was somehow they were passing each other on a stairwell.

00:19:43
Speaker 3: Wow, that is scary, and Craig thought that, like.

00:19:46
Speaker 1: Thought something was wrong and thought to himselut and then continued to follow the guy into wherever he was going. So yeah, and then they had there were reports that there was lunging going on all this stuff. So but according to NBC, that official word is that there was no altercation.

00:20:00
Speaker 3: Are hearing that he used a racial slur and.

00:20:01
Speaker 1: That's why he's being charged with hate crime right now. He's facing several charges. The man was identified as forty one year old Andrew good Love.

00:20:08
Speaker 3: What an ironic last name?

00:20:09
Speaker 1: Good Love charged with a hate crime.

00:20:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was just gonna say, that's a headline that writes itself.

00:20:17
Speaker 1: And the other thing is that the man came in looking for al Roca Well can't find him. So I'll take this in word right here. What the hell? My god, what the hell is going on? But who is a thing? Because the TMZ is reporting that the security guard has been fired?

00:20:32
Speaker 3: Yes, I did see that.

00:20:33
Speaker 1: This does not happen. You pull up and you open your door and you're surrounded by two security guards who are making sure you get the few feet from your car door inside the building. Yeah, it's it's bizarre to think.

00:20:48
Speaker 2: It's hard to get family members that you've cleared with their name sometimes into the studios. So yes, and truthfully, if that is your one job, to be the security guard, I can understand why you would be fired.

00:20:59
Speaker 1: What a line there? You had one job?

00:21:01
Speaker 3: Who had one job?

00:21:03
Speaker 1: All right?

00:21:03
Speaker 3: For the final leg of our run?

00:21:04
Speaker 1: You know what I just thought about? What so Vannah Guthrie works there?

00:21:08
Speaker 2: Yes, you cannot have wait a minute, Yes, with all that's going on and around and I believe is she she might be off shooting.

00:21:16
Speaker 1: I believe she's not in studio.

00:21:18
Speaker 2: She's not in studio right now, but obviously she could have been at any point, and that has to be alarming to her given everything her family has been through and knowing that she was specifically a target, and it would not be far reaching to think that her life is constantly in danger.

00:21:33
Speaker 1: That would make sense now because it was pretty swift action to fire a security guard.

00:21:37
Speaker 2: If you're Savanna Guthriuer, you don't want to go back to work after hearing that.

00:21:40
Speaker 3: I absolutely, you know what. I hadn't thought about that.

00:21:42
Speaker 1: Either, just to this moment.

00:21:43
Speaker 2: Wait a minute, Yeah, that's an extra layer of fear and that needs to be in place, at least for security guards to keep in mind.

00:21:51
Speaker 3: All right, for the final leg of the run. In case you.

00:21:54
Speaker 2: Forgot, which I doubt you have, but heads up, it's the final of the World Cup this weekend.

00:22:00
Speaker 1: It's the final World Cup weekend. This is it after a month?

00:22:03
Speaker 2: Oh you mean like here in the United States? What's the final game? I guess I read that wrong.

00:22:08
Speaker 1: It's the final. Well, there's a game Saturday. In this game Sunday. Oh, Okay, this is why I do the sports reads. The third place game.

00:22:17
Speaker 2: So I wait, I thought we already knew who the finals were. Okay, the third place game, that's thanks.

00:22:23
Speaker 1: See what I'm dealing with, folks, No, you knew that obviously. You knew this already.

00:22:28
Speaker 3: We forgot that. They have to determine who's third.

00:22:30
Speaker 1: Yes, the third place game between England and France can be good. If that was the final, though, that would have been awesome.

00:22:36
Speaker 3: Well, we can just kind of pretend it is.

00:22:38
Speaker 1: I don't know how hard they're going to play in a third place game.

00:22:40
Speaker 3: I think you still want the ranking of third versus fourth the worst.

00:22:44
Speaker 1: But you don't want to leave the World Cup on a loss either.

00:22:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, this would be a good game because at least it's like getting the bronze.

00:22:50
Speaker 1: You know.

00:22:50
Speaker 2: I know people talk about that all the time at the Olympics, but you still would rather have a medal than none at all.

00:22:54
Speaker 1: Hey, man, if you're not first, your last.

00:22:56
Speaker 3: Okay, Ricky, Bobby?

00:22:58
Speaker 1: All right? The final be played on Sunday three o'clock, and of all places, New Jersey.

00:23:04
Speaker 3: No, it's New York slash New Jersey.

00:23:06
Speaker 1: Does anybody notice this at all? I get it. Nobody wants to come to the World Cup from all from from Europe and go, Wow, where we get to go for the final? New Jersey. So every time you see a game being played over at MetLife, they say New York, New Jersey. They start with New York.

00:23:24
Speaker 2: This so hard, it's ridiculous. And look, it's the final insult in New Jersey. They already feel like the redheaded step child. And now it's like, oh, a final insult. You have to put New York ahead of Heaven. It's actually in New Jersey physically.

00:23:39
Speaker 1: And all the people around the country might not know this. This thing actually where the New York Giants, where the New York Jets play, is not in the city or state of New York.

00:23:51
Speaker 2: It's hilarious, but it's three pm Sunday, Argentina versus Spain, gonna be amazing, all right, quote of the day. Like I never even actually didn't think about Trump at all, but this is hilarious. The most dangerous form of blindness is believing that your perspective is the only reality.

00:24:12
Speaker 3: But damn that reads.

00:24:14
Speaker 1: And that's a problem. That's dangerous as hell. If you actually think you are the only one who is right. And that happens with religion. This happens in politics. You have to be open to somebody else possibly being right and also having something to contribute if they don't agree with you. Robes.

00:24:30
Speaker 2: It happens you think about. It happens with race, It happens with gender wars. We all get collectively assembled and say we're right, you're wrong, And that is the problem patriotism exactly, that's been hijacked. I'm sorry, but I guess so has religion. The most dangerous form of blindness is believing that your perspective is the only reality that is a good one. All right, And with that, everyone, we hope you have a wonderful Friday.

00:25:00
Speaker 1: I'm Amy and I'm TJ. Holmes, and we need to, yes, be careful out there the hey, it is dangerous stuff for people who have asthma, who have issues. Really be careful. We got enough going on. We don't need to be losing folks to heart attacks, stroking asthma attacks because of the stuff coming from Canada. So wherever you are, please take care of yourself, take care of those you love. We always appreciate you spending some time here with us. Thanks for running. I'm TJ Holmes see soon