(Friday) Morning Run: Record Labor Day Gas Prices, Day 7 for Clancy Jury, “Wheel” Scandal Deepens, Miracle in Nepal, Bartiromo Out at Fox, O’Donnell In at CBS, & MORE!

00:00:10
Speaker 1: Hey there, everybody, and welcome to Morning Run. It is Friday, September 5th. I'm Amy Robach.

00:00:17
Speaker 2: And I'm TJ Holmes. We've got a holiday weekend. How are you feeling about the holiday weekend? Everybody excited, right?

00:00:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, we have great weather here. It's the end of the summer.

00:00:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know I love the fall. I'm already in an autumnal... State of mind.

00:00:31
Speaker 2: Why is it we feel a bit of angst because of this Clancy trial, right? It's day seven. It feels like we can't, as a country even, go on a holiday weekend until this thing is resolved.

00:00:41
Speaker 1: You and I are actually putting all of our plans on hold.

00:00:44
Speaker 3: We thought we would have either a verdict or some sort of outcome, even if it was a mistrial.

00:00:50
Speaker 1: By today or yesterday or the day before.

00:00:53
Speaker 3: I actually laughed because I looked at last Friday where we were all talking about whether or not we were going to get a verdict. And here we are the following Friday and still saying the same damn thing.

00:01:03
Speaker 2: So it's hard to look forward.

00:01:05
Speaker 1: I don't know.

00:01:06
Speaker 2: The whole country's caught up in this. But yes, people are going to be having a good time this weekend. So wherever you are, I hope you're off to a good start to your holiday weekend. On this morning run, we'll be making stops, yes, in Massachusetts, but also in Nepal, Missouri, Fort Dix, New Jersey. We'll also make a stop in the Fox newsroom, the CBS newsroom, and the Wheel of Fortune announcers booth. But let's start at the gas pump. We didn't know this was going to be an issue for us. We actually canceled a trip. We were supposed to fly off to paradise, but we're so busy we can't relax. How stupid is that? We canceled a trip to relax because we're too tired and busy. to go relax.

00:01:46
Speaker 1: That is actually a true statement.

00:01:47
Speaker 3: That's a true story. Well, we have a bunch of travel coming up, and so we just thought, we can't travel three weekends in a row, but the weekend we traveled, the weekend we canceled was the only weekend we actually.

00:01:58
Speaker 1: Were just going to be chilling.

00:01:59
Speaker 2: Yes, it was.

00:01:59
Speaker 1: I don't know why we made that choice.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: We are too tired to go relax, and so this is where we are. But now, gas prices, prices at the pump could be a factor for us. Maybe we'll hit the road in robes. I don't know. I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention, but This could be a historic Labor Day at the gas pump.

00:02:19
Speaker 3: That's right, because gas prices, as we head into Labor Day, AAA will put it for us like this. We didn't even have to write it. They actually wrote the perfect way to put it.

00:02:30
Speaker 2: We do this our whole careers. People put out press releases, and then we take the information out of it, and we write the story. They wrote it for me. I couldn't do it any better, so I just included it.

00:02:39
Speaker 1: Here's how they put it.

00:02:41
Speaker 3: Labor Day weekend travelers are facing the highest gas prices ever for this time of year.

00:02:46
Speaker 1: The national average is $ 4.

00:02:47
Speaker 2: 14.

00:02:48
Speaker 1: That's up four cents from just last week.

00:02:51
Speaker 3: Continued volatility in the Strait of Hormuz has pushed crude oil prices in the $ 90 per barrel range. After a record-setting August, this Labor Day weekend is on track to also set a record at the pump. the national average has never been above $ 4 per.

00:03:08
Speaker 1: Gallon on Labor Day. I didn't know that. The current Labor Day record is $ 3.

00:03:13
Speaker 3: 82 that was set on September 3, 2012. Even though gasoline demand decreases this time of year, typically bringing down gas prices, this year is different due to the high cost of crude oil.

00:03:29
Speaker 2: Gross. There it is. They just said, yes, the war in Iran is costing you more at the gas prompt at a record level this later.

00:03:37
Speaker 1: I thought J.D.

00:03:38
Speaker 3: Vance said yesterday in the press conference that we actually, because of the war, are helping keep it.

00:03:43
Speaker 1: It could be even worse if we hadn't gone to war.

00:03:46
Speaker 2: The other line, I wouldn't call it a war. Is what he said when he was asked yesterday. Again, yes, a lot of people reacted the way you did by laughing.

00:03:54
Speaker 1: I'm glad everyone noted my sarcasm.

00:03:56
Speaker 2: All right. Well, let's continue on the run. We'll get away from the gas pump. Let's get to the courtroom. All eyes will be on that courtroom this morning in Massachusetts. Jurors backrobed to start a seventh day of deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial. And the end of day six was a doozy.

00:04:12
Speaker 1: It really was.

00:04:13
Speaker 3: Defense attorney Kevin Reddington made a motion to have a juror removed after the jury sent a note to the judge saying one juror was not following the judge's instructions.

00:04:23
Speaker 1: And that set off a full hour of activity. I guess that's one way to put it in the courtroom.

00:04:29
Speaker 3: Lindsey Clancy was actually rolled to the front of the courtroom where the judge then brought in each juror one by one, swore them in, and asked them if they were able to follow his instructions.

00:04:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, but the reports we were getting out of the courtroom at the time, it was a sidebar, so us watching at home on streaming couldn't see it, but folks in the courtroom, the reporters were reporting Kevin Reddington was limited. was literally throwing things, was yelling. And this was all in full view of people in the courtroom. And they just had it out, Robes. And we didn't know exactly what was going on. But turns out, yes, the judge is going to conduct now an inquiry this morning into this juror. We thought it was actually done. Reddington made a motion. The judge said, I deny the motion. I'm not going to kick off the juror. But then later, turns out there will be an inquiry this morning. Who knows how long that's going to go and what it's going to look like. It's possible. Robes, if he removes a juror, they have to start over.

00:05:24
Speaker 1: Wow. Oh, my goodness.

00:05:26
Speaker 3: Well, we shall see because Reddington claimed he said he hoped it would be conducted in open court, not in a sidebar. So we'll know soon enough if we will be privy to what happens before the jury begins deliberating again. If they continue with the same jury, they're at 36 hours and 22 minutes.

00:05:45
Speaker 1: So we shall see.

00:05:47
Speaker 2: All right.

00:05:47
Speaker 1: Next up on the run.

00:05:49
Speaker 3: Uh-oh.

00:05:50
Speaker 1: We actually appear to be getting a better idea.

00:05:54
Speaker 3: Of exactly why Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton was suspended from the show. And honestly, this was not on any of our radars.

00:06:03
Speaker 2: Oh, butt robes. Well, yeah, let's just explain here. You'll remember earlier this week, Sony announced that Jim Thornton was being suspended after it was revealed that a fellow passenger made a complaint about Thornton during a flight in May. Now, we didn't know the nature of the complaint, but it prompted the captain to call ahead to law enforcement, meet the plane at the gate where police spoke to Thornton, but let him go on his way. Now, Robes, that's all we knew over the past couple of days. And a lot of people were taking Sony to task. Wait a minute. What did he do if there was nothing illegal? What could it have been? You and I have been talking about this story for days. Sony must know something we don't. Because not only did they suspend him, Robes, they are pulling him, his voice, from the episodes that have already been taped.

00:06:49
Speaker 1: Exactly.

00:06:49
Speaker 3: So TMZ is now reporting that the passenger reported him because it appeared Thornton was in a chat room for pedophiles on his laptop, and TMZ released the photos. It actually, we did see that initial photo of his arm with Wheel of Fortune. Now it's pulled out, and you can actually see what's being talked about in the chat room. And look, this is not something anybody wants to hear, but there were discussions that clearly were pointing to pedophilia.

00:07:20
Speaker 2: It was gross. It was awful.

00:07:21
Speaker 3: Yes.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: Yeah, and if these pictures are accurate and true, and Robsy, you can see the screen clearly, and you can read the chats. Now, we can't tell who he might be in the chat or if he's actually responding. Robsy, this is some of the toughest and grossest stuff you'll ever see. You just cannot believe people are out there having these discussions with each other. And he's open, the laptop is open on the plane?

00:07:43
Speaker 1: That's what's crazy to me.

00:07:45
Speaker 3: He doesn't think someone can see what's on his screen. Now, his attorney has an explanation telling TMZ... Thornton has been a suicide prevention advocate and often visits some chat rooms to provide support, and apparently he claims that there was a link on one of the chat rooms, the suicide prevention chat rooms, that he clicked on that sent him to this other chat room that is a known pedophilia chat room.

00:08:10
Speaker 1: And the problem for him, though, he was on it for, what, 50 minutes?

00:08:13
Speaker 2: His attorney said once he realized what it was, he.

00:08:16
Speaker 1: It took him almost an hour to figure it out?

00:08:18
Speaker 2: TMZ claims there are time stamps that show he was on for at least 57 minutes. This is awful, and this is why, Robes, you cannot have the announcer of a beloved family show accused of being... I don't know if they gave him a chance to explain or if there is any explanation. Robes, this is.

00:08:34
Speaker 1: It makes sense now.

00:08:35
Speaker 2: This looks bad.

00:08:36
Speaker 3: We knew that there had to be an explanation, and we knew it was going to eventually come out and.

00:08:41
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:08:41
Speaker 3: Here it is.

00:08:42
Speaker 1: Yeah, unfortunately, this is just awful.

00:08:45
Speaker 2: All right, continuing on the run here now, just an update for you. Robes, this has become almost fodder. Diddy, Sean Diddy Combs, his release date has been moved up again. It's been moving around quite a bit since he was convicted and sentenced last year. Now, his new release date, Robes, is February 5th, 2028, the day before your birthday.

00:09:07
Speaker 1: Oh, yes, that's right. What would that be? That would be my... 55th birthday. Oh, all right.

00:09:14
Speaker 3: Well, he was originally sentenced to 50 months in prison after being convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. And his original release date was set for May 8th, 2028. This is pretty funny. Then it got moved to April 25th. then to February 23rd, then to January 24th.

00:09:31
Speaker 1: I remember that one caught my eye.

00:09:33
Speaker 3: But then it moved backwards to February 20th because of a prison fight, apparently.

00:09:38
Speaker 1: And now it's at February 5th. Well, stay tuned. I'm sure it will move again.

00:09:42
Speaker 2: It's just amazing. Yes, time for time served. He does different programs in there or gets in trouble. It can move around. This is common, but it's just everybody's keeping up with Diddy. And it's just here we got another one. It's moving around again. Continuing on the run here. Now, ropes, they say, never give up hope. And this is why. Two workers. have now been pulled alive. from that mud and muck in Nepal and roads. This is nine days now. after that flooding disaster.

00:10:06
Speaker 3: Can you imagine the two, at least they had each other, but my God, the two were in a hydropower tunnel along with hundreds of other workers. When the flooding happened, there was hope. Some workers were able to survive. And sure enough, this morning rescue crews heard voices. So there's even more optimism now that there could be more workers who are alive because they said, what, as many as 500 workers were trapped in those tunnels. So to find two alive is great, but the idea that there could be more is pretty remarkable and, So far, though, 1,300 people have been confirmed killed in that just wall of water that came through.

00:10:42
Speaker 2: You know, hope has been dwindling as the days go by. To get this now, just a little more pep in the step, a little more energy and hope. So that was great to see. Continuing on the run here now, let's go to Missouri, where one of my favorite stories of the day is more my what the actual hell story of the day. A Missouri Republican running for the state legislature has been charged. in federal court for trying to plant drugs on his political opponent robes.

00:11:07
Speaker 3: I mean, they say politics is dirty, but this is really just as low as it gets. Can you imagine honestly trying to send your political opponent to prison falsely and being okay with that? Like, how do you look in the mirror? Thomas Ross is charged with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. According to the Justice Department, Ross was busted after he gave his campaign manager a black nylon glove that had white powder, cocaine, inside and an Adderall pill. The campaign manager was supposed to plant the drugs in the purse or car of Ross's opponent, Louise Sucker. Thankfully, the campaign manager had a moral compass... went to police and actually was wearing a wire?

00:11:52
Speaker 2: Yes, they got him on tape ropes, apparently, saying this stuff. Now, he eventually actually won his race, but only by, I think, 30 votes. But the head of the state Republican Party is calling for him. obviously, to drop out of the race in November. Haven't heard his response, Robes. Maybe he has a perfectly good explanation for all of this.

00:12:10
Speaker 3: All right, next up on the run, the tributes keep coming for Gloria Steinem, the long, indefatigable champion of the women's movement. Actually, we found out about her passing just shortly after we recorded Morning Run yesterday, so we didn't get to get it in yesterday, so I want to make sure we give her a nod. She passed away at the age of 92. No cause of death, but a family statement said she passed away surrounded by her loved ones here in New York City.

00:12:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, and obviously everybody everywhere has been sending in tributes to her, only included two here. The Hillary Clinton one said her activism was rooted in optimism, and that's a moral choice she made every day. I thought that was great. But the Oprah one, I think, really nailed it, Robeson.

00:12:52
Speaker 3: Every woman who has ever walked into a room knowing she belongs there, every woman who has demanded equal pay, equal respect, ownership of her own body, and the right to make her own choices, every girl who has grown up assuming that her dreams are hers to pursue, whether she knows Gloria Steinem's name or not, is living in some measure inside the progress Gloria helped create.

00:13:14
Speaker 1: That's cool. That was a beautifully worded tribute to her.

00:13:18
Speaker 3: And I remember I was telling you, I read her book and, and she talked about one of her favorite things to do is to speak to a driver, no matter where she is, whatever country, whatever city, that you will learn more about people, humanity, and the place you might be visiting if you just speak to the person who's taking you somewhere. Everyone gets into either a taxi or an Uber or whatever, and I just thought that was such a cool thing, and so many times when it's happened, I think of Gloria Steinem.

00:13:45
Speaker 2: Robes, this is... I don't know. Maybe some I didn't know that story about that. She was a fan of that. But that is a really this is something we absolutely love doing. You go visit, especially a new place. Sometimes they just start talking to you. Sometimes you get in your car and you might even get annoyed. I don't want to talk to anybody. Man, strike up a conversation.

00:14:04
Speaker 3: It's true.

00:14:04
Speaker 2: We just learned about the guy and. Canada, who crossed the border illegally, and we learned the whole story.

00:14:09
Speaker 1: And that's what reminded me of Gloria Steinem. And the book, I know she's written several, but My Life on the Road, I read it cover to cover.

00:14:15
Speaker 3: I highly recommend, just as a journalist, but as a curious person, as a woman, she just has so many phenomenal stories, so many lessons to impart. And even in her death, she leaves behind a trove of books and just... the path that she created for so many of us. Oprah said it best. All right.

00:14:32
Speaker 2: Well, stay with us, folks, here on this Friday morning run. When we come back, a couple of major shakeups in major media. One network is bringing back a big name. Another network is getting rid of it.

00:14:55
Speaker 3: Welcome back to your Friday morning run. And next up on the run, yes, a couple of major shakeups in media. First, CBS has a new co-host of its morning show. New or maybe like a renewed host. Nora O'Donnell has been renamed host of the morning show along Gayle King and Nate Burleson.

00:15:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, she's making a comeback after seven years. She was anchoring the show seven years ago, and she left to be the CBS Evening News anchor. I'm not sure how long that ended up lasting, but she never left and stayed as a CBS 60 Minutes correspondent.

00:15:31
Speaker 3: And she just got, I think, newly named, or was that renamed to 60 Minutes correspondent, or at least she was more prominently featured in 60 Minutes after they had several departures, you might remember.

00:15:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, hey, but she's there. I just, we think, as soon as I saw this, I was like, we... Man, media, we don't know. I just, we just, I don't love it. Nora, this is not a thing against her. It's just, we just don't know what to do. We don't innovate. We don't do anything new. It's not that she's not deserving of the job. I just hear that and I go, wow, we are just a business that's nothing original, nothing new. Just keep on rehashing and keep on doing the same stuff. And we wonder why the ratings don't go up. This is amazing. I'm not, maybe she will be a ratings bonanza. Again, please don't hear me saying anything negative about her. It's just.

00:16:17
Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:16:17
Speaker 2: Got a new anchor. It's the old anchor.

00:16:22
Speaker 1: Yes, that's where we are.

00:16:23
Speaker 3: But there's going to be a new anchor on Fox News or, I guess, a series of rotating anchors to fill a spot. That's my favorite thing that folks do. When they don't have a plan, we just rotate anchors.

00:16:33
Speaker 1: That's what CBS has been doing.

00:16:35
Speaker 2: All summer, they've been rotating.

00:16:36
Speaker 1: Just rotate the anchors.

00:16:36
Speaker 2: And where they land. Back on the one from seven years ago.

00:16:39
Speaker 1: Seven years ago.

00:16:40
Speaker 3: All right, Fox News abruptly parted ways with one of its biggest and most recognizable stars.

00:16:46
Speaker 1: Maria Bartiromo is out at the network after 12 years. And here's the deal. No one is saying why.

00:16:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, this was for a star that big that's been there that long. Their statement they put out, Robes, is the thing that got attention. Quote, Effective today, Maria Bartiromo is no longer with Fox Media. We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 and a half years and wish her all the best on her next chapter.

00:17:09
Speaker 3: Effective today is always there's more to the story. Bartiromo had close ties to President Trump, was a defendant in that defamation lawsuit brought against the network over promoting false claims about the 2020 election. That suit was settled for $ 787 million. But look, if that were any reason, it would have happened a long, long time ago. There was speculation she was going to step in Carolyn Leavitt's position. J.D. Vance seemed to have shot that down, but was a little coy about it.

00:17:38
Speaker 2: And several outlets, New York Times including, are reporting there was an actual incident where she gave, I guess, inside Fox information over to the administration when she wasn't supposed to. And that caused all kinds of rift. But she's been as big of a star as she has been. She's been kind of a headache for them to a certain degree.

00:17:56
Speaker 1: That makes sense. That makes sense.

00:17:58
Speaker 3: All right.

00:17:58
Speaker 1: I'm sure she'll land somewhere. if not at the White House press briefing room. All right, your quote of the day on this Friday.

00:18:07
Speaker 3: If you feel like giving up because you're not seeing results, remember this. The last thing to grow on a tree is the fruit.

00:18:15
Speaker 1: Okay. I love that.

00:18:17
Speaker 2: You're right. You're right.

00:18:17
Speaker 3: You're right.

00:18:18
Speaker 1: You're right. You're right.

00:18:19
Speaker 3: Okay, fine.

00:18:19
Speaker 1: It's so true. All right.

00:18:21
Speaker 2: This is bear the fruit. It takes a little while.

00:18:23
Speaker 1: It does.

00:18:24
Speaker 3: If you feel like giving up because you're not seeing results, remember this.

00:18:29
Speaker 1: The last thing to grow on a tree is the fruit. And with that, everyone, never give up. Thank you for running with us. I'm Amy Robach.

00:18:37
Speaker 2: And I'm TJ Holmes. Please know we are keeping a very close eye on that courtroom in Massachusetts. Expected to start at 9 o'clock. We will be staring at that live stream. You can keep an eye on our feed. We will continue to update you. We appreciate you as always spending time with us. I'm TJ Holmes. Run soon.