March 19, 2026
Morning Run: Unidentified Drones in DC, TSA Food Banks, Retaliatory Iranian Strikes, Tulsi Gabbard Refusal, DHS Fiery Hearing, Cesar Chavez Allegations, Missing Alabama Student, March Madness and Happiest Countries
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RSS Feed Robach and Holmes cover the latest news headlines and entertainment updates and give perspective on current events in their daily “Morning Run.”
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00:00:01
Speaker 1: Morning Run with Amy and TJ and iHeartRadio Podcast. Good morning everyone, Welcome to Morning Run. It is Thursday, March nineteenth, aka a national holiday for a lot of you out there. I'm Amy Robot and I'm TJ.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Holmes. Yes, march Man is getting underway today. There will be sixteen games today, sixteen games tomorrow. A lot of people. I'm not going to be very productive at work today, It's understood, and that is okay. Productivity at work. People are working at airports, but not as many. Yes, march Man is going to be a big whoop to do, but a big whoop to do every single day. And we're starting with this and talking about this and begging and pleading with you all. Please pay these TSA workers, please please do. And it's not just a matter of the public. We should not have people who are working to protect this country from a possible terror attack or attacking the skies in our airlines robes. They should not be in line at fucking food banks. They should not be in line and people making donations to try to feed the people that we say are the most important and one of the first lines of defense in this war on terror and literal war with iron rod. This is so unfair to see a food bank line for tsa work.
00:01:11
Speaker 1: That is horrific, and to think about them now having to take on other jobs. DoorDash drivers, uber drivers anything to pay the bills. While yes, we are at war, the timing would never be good for this to happen, but certainly given where we are in the world, this is just horrific. And yeah, there are typically six security checkpoints at the Philly airport. This is just to give you some perspective. Three of them were closed yesterday.
00:01:40
Speaker 2: Okay, fine, that's an inconvenience for travelers, and travelers are getting pissed. You all as pissed as you are. All of those people you're looking at and your frustration at the airport have not gotten to check it over a month. These are not people who are making six figure salaries who got you know, plenty of rainy day funds. These are folks who own average and making forty fifty sixty thousand dollars the most basic. This has got to stop. This is awful. The food banking thing got me ropes. These folks that important we created them to keep from so they can find a shoe bomba This is why we created this whole force. Because they're so important and they're lining up, we have to make donations to feed them. Stop it's increasing.
00:02:24
Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine and think about it. Look for the folks who do have to call out sack, who do have to go find other work. Imagine the folks who were left behind with these hours long lines and yeah, angry passengers, what they're having to deal with and then not come home with a paycheck. It's unthinkable.
00:02:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have their limits. Also, I should mention adding to look any day, if everything was working fully and fully staffed, you don't want to hear anything about a ground stop in an airport based on a power outage. Just happened at Denver. Bro that's a bad day if with full staffing. So you consider what's happening at the air and then this happened at Denver, you can imagine how awful that was. But we're seeing the national raid. They say it's ten percent robes, the call out rate. It's normally what was it to think normally, But you got airports that are up parts of forty plus percent up the TSA staff calling out and we are not mad at them for it we have. Please don't be mad at the TSA agent. They're trying to find other work to feed family. So we just want to start with that. And we you know, we're going to beat that drum every day until this is over. But this is absolutely absurd. On this was It's Thursday, Thursday morning run. We're gonna be making stops along the way today in Barcelona on Capitol Hill. Certainly Iran making a stop in Orlando today, and we have to make a stop at the Federal Reserve. But yes, let's start with what we're seeing. This continued war in Iran robes. What are the days? I haven't keep keeping up, you know, people like to keep count what day of the war. This isn't I don't have the accuracy.
00:03:56
Speaker 1: I believe it's day nineteen. We just heard from Pete's Hegsath, who is actually as we're recording this, giving an update on the war with Iran. But here's what we know. The latest significant strikes launched in the war have been focused on energy sites. Iran has kept up its attacks on some of its neighbors, in particular Saudi Arabia and Cutter, where national natural gas refineries were hit by Iran.
00:04:19
Speaker 2: Now, Iran is making the claim that they did this in retaliation for their own energy infrastructure being attacked. President Trump has now weighed in on this. He's threatened to blow up a key gas refinery in Iran if they continue attacking their neighbors.
00:04:34
Speaker 1: And speaking of natural gas refineries and resources and energy, yeah, let's talk gas prices. They are now at three dollars in eighty eight cents, that is the national average. Prices were around or just under three dollars when the war with Iran started. So they are going up and it looks like they're continuing in that direction.
00:04:52
Speaker 2: Yes, so it's causing a TSA agent even more to put gas in the car to get to a job that you're not getting paid for. Continuing on our run here now left interest rates unchanged yesterday, but the FED chair express concerns about the impact the Iran war could have on the world economy.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: Now, the Fed cut interest rates on three separate occasions last year. But here's the deal, the honest and scary assessment coming from the Fed. The thing I really want to emphasize is nobody knows how the war will ultimately impact the economy. That is what we're hearing in uncertainty, as we've talked about, is never ever a good thing for the stock market. They don't like it.
00:05:32
Speaker 2: You know what I appreciate his honesty with that one scared the hell out of me. Is he knows everything about the economy, and this dude said, don't know what's going to happen. Continue on the run here now. US officials considered relocating Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Heseth after unidentified drones were detected flying above the army base where they live.
00:05:54
Speaker 1: The Washington Post is reporting the military does not know where those drones came from. The base. We're talking about folk Fort McNair in DC. It serves as residents for both of those secretaries, and according to the Post, Rubio and Hexseth have yet to be relocated. Despite this disturbing news.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: Debate, there are leaders fair games. Since we are taking out everybody who's in a position of power in Iran, it seems right now want to turn into another air Force base.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: Now.
00:06:20
Speaker 2: McDill in Tampa on lockdown Wednesday for a bit with a shelter in place order after a threat was received that just days after a suspicious package was found to the base this.
00:06:29
Speaker 1: Week, and apparently this wasn't just any suspicious package. The FBI is now saying they believe that package contained an improvised explosive device, or saying a possible improvised explosive device. We don't know if it would have gone off or not, but the agency didn't want to go into any more details, saying it was still an active investigation.
00:06:50
Speaker 2: And McDill Air Force Base home to the US Central Command, Yes, Sentcom, you hear so much about. They are the hub of so much kind of gone activity and right now operate Epic Fury is being run out of there. Continuing on this run notable moment from yesterday's must see intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill.
00:07:08
Speaker 1: Yes, the hearing was for the country's top intelligence officials to give an update to Congress on global threats. As you might imagine, a lot of that focus was on Iran. The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, refused to say whether the intelligent community determined Iran was in fact an imminent threat like the President has been saying for weeks now.
00:07:29
Speaker 2: So Gabbard and her prepared remarks said that last year's US led attack obliterated Iran's nuclear program. She testified the US obliterated their program. So some Democrats followed up by asking a natural and pretty simple question. If it was obliterated, then how is it possible that the intelligence community concluded that Iran has already become such an imminent threat so quickly that we had to attack. That is a natural question. The President has been out there saying that, yes, they an imminent nuclear threat. Even she was asked directly, did you all in the intelligence community report to the president that there was an imminent threat from Iran? Robes her answer and give Georgia Senator Ossof credit for this. He wouldn't let her go on this. I was stunned by her answers to him.
00:08:24
Speaker 1: Yes. And this is a cabinet official who six years ago had shirt saying no war in Iran. So there's a lot of questions as to how she personally feels and where she is in terms of her transparency.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: She's the head of the intelligence who's saying it's not my responsibility to assess tell the president whether it's an imminent threat. She actually said that under oath, in which point OSSOF called her on it. Of course that's her responsibility, but she said, ultimately the president does sides if it is an imminent threat, and not her. It was bizarre.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's weird to act as if an intelligence official isn't in charge of assessing a situation and then giving that information for the president. Yeah, that was tough, all right. Next up on the run, the counter terrorism guy who very publicly resigned from his position in the Trump administration in protest of the war with Iran is now reportedly being investigated for media leaks.
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, Joe Kent is the name. He wrote that pretty damning letter saying that Iran was no imminent threat to the US and that he couldn't in good conscience continue to serve the administration. Now, of course the White House and the President as well, they immediately went after him and started to discredit him and said they're glad he's gone. But there's more to the story.
00:09:42
Speaker 1: Yes, because now multiple media outlets we're talking CBS, New York Times, etc. Are all ciding sources that say the FBI has now opened an investigation into Joe Kent for possible intelligence leaks. We see where this one is going. We will follow up on that one, but next up on the Run. Democrats walked out of a closed door meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday.
00:10:06
Speaker 2: It was supposed to be a briefing on the Epstein files. Bod Democrats didn't stick around after they say she refused to commit to honoring the committee's subpoena of her, which calls for her to give sworn testimony next month.
00:10:19
Speaker 1: Republicans are accusing the Democrats of staging this whole thing and grand standing. Bondi has in response to the subpoena said quote she is committed to following the law vague.
00:10:31
Speaker 2: Next up on the Run here more for our work on Capitol Hill yesterday, as President Trump's pick to replace Christy Nolan as Homeland Security Secretary faced senators during his confirmation here.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: Yes, Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen most notably clashed with fellow Republican and Chair of the Committee Rand Paul, and this got personal. Paul used his opening statement to call Mullin out for referring to him as a freaking snake and saying he completely understands why a neighbor assaulted Paul several years ago.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: Paul said Mullin has anger issues. Well, there was what there was a confirmation hearing, yes, you have anger issues. And he said also that Mullan applauds violence and question his ability to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits proper use of to proper use of force. He is not going to get Paul's quote, No question about that. As well. He did do something I thought Rhobes that Christina On wouldn't do, which was walk back some of his early comments about Alex Pretty in Minneapolis.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: Yes, he said initially that he called Alex Pretty had deranged individual and it was nice to hear finally someone say under oath, he said this, those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that. I was responding immediately without the facts. That's my fault. That won't happen. As secretary, he stopped short of apologizing to the Pretty family, but he said once the investigation comes through and if it's proven all that he would be open to it.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: You know, I'm remembering a quote that said, sometimes the most powerful, hurtful, impactful words are the ones that aren't said. I don't know why DC officials. Why it's such a weakness to say I made a mistake and I apologize to you for it. To see him, we were giving him credit like wow, okay, but he's still refused, refused. I don't know why that is seen as such a weakness to say I apologize.
00:12:21
Speaker 1: I don't know, because he yeah, he took responsibility, said that's my fault too, fat. I shouldn't have said that, but he wouldn't say I'm sorry anyway. There are fifty three Republicans in the Senate subtract ran Paul from that. He only needs fifty of them to be confirmed, and most people think that will happen.
00:12:35
Speaker 2: Well, I can tell you on the run here now. He is one of the most celebrated and iconic labor leaders in this country's history. But now plans are being made to remove, says Oar Shavez, his name from streets and buildings that honor him after accusations that he abused and even groomed young girls and women during his time as a prominent labor leader.
00:12:56
Speaker 1: These stories are chilling to the bone. The accusations were revealed in a major New York Times investigation. It also included an accusation from Dolores Huerta, who co founded the United farm Workers Union alongside Chavez. She says she was raped by Chavez multiple times, bore children by Chavez, who she's just recently revealed that information to. He died in nineteen ninety three.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Yes, several local and state officials are now scrambling to scrap, saysar Chavez's name from damn there everything, and his name is everywhere. There are even Saysar Chavez days in some places, including in the state of California. They're going to try to immediately change countless street names, building names in his honor. Of the Chavez family did respond, did put out a statement, and quite frankly, they seem to quite acknowledge and not try to fight, if you will, for his labor legacy, but instead said these people deserve to be heard and complimented them for their bravery and coming forward.
00:13:57
Speaker 1: It is a shocking story that I'm sure will still have much more to come out of it, as women are now still coming forward, all right. Next up on the run, Pulse nightclub in Orlando was torn down yesterday. It took more than two hours to demolish it. But this has been a long time coming. It's been sitting there for ten years, and finally the decision to tear it down.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: I don't know why. I don't know. It was kind of difficult to watch it being torn down. I don't know, as a grave site, almost in a lot of ways where so many people were killed. It was forty nine that were killed in that shooting. It was was it the deadliest at the time. I think something has surpassed it.
00:14:36
Speaker 1: Which is so sad to think, but I think it.
00:14:38
Speaker 2: Was at a time. But the city bought it a couple of years ago, and the plans to put a memorial, more permanent thing there. But I don't know. To see a big crane and bulldozers and this construction of women tearing this thing down, I don't know. It's almost stung. But it should probably come down anyway. I don't know something about it yesterday.
00:14:54
Speaker 1: To have the memorial there will be so impactful. I know. There was so much just outrage over the DEI wiping away of that. There was a rainbow cross walk right in front of the Pulse Nightclub, a storied gay nightclub, So just there's been so much back and forth. I think this is a way forward for there to be a place for people to pay respect and honor the folks who died there.
00:15:15
Speaker 2: All right, folks will stay with us here on this Thursday Morning run. When we come back, the search is on. We have a University of Alabama student who is missing in Spain. The latest they're also coming up. This is a big day, of course in this country. Every year. Productivity is going to go down in offices everywhere because the official kickoff to March Madness. Already though some history has been made. We'll explain, and we have the official list of the happiest countries in the world. The question is just how far down the list is the United States. We are not in the top ten. In fact, ween in the top twenties.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: Theyre continuing our Thursday Morning run. Next up on the run, this is an ongoing and developing story. A University of Alabama student has gone missing in Barcelonay.
00:16:14
Speaker 2: Family, friends and the university community getting word out and pleading for any information about twenty year old James Paul Gracie. Last scene on Tuesday. This was in the early morning hours on Tuesday. He's in Spain with a group of friends visiting other friends who are they're studying abroad. This of course is spring break, but robes of development and thrilling in the overnight hours, this went from a missing person to now they do believe and have a reason to believe this might be foul play.
00:16:38
Speaker 1: Yes, so we actually did an entire episode on this right before morning Run, so please check that out. We have all the latest information on the search to find Jimmy Gracie. Next up on the Run, though, Today is the day that TJ waits for all year long. March Madness begins at noon today.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: At noon goes through midnight. This really is a national holiday. This is really is something I have done. There are parts of my parts of my career I have taken vacation days to be off on these days. Lately it was working morning shows so I didn't have to. But this is the day. There will be sixteen games today, sixteen games tomorrow. It all gets going. But also other history already, robes have been made. You were wondering why the hell a game was on last night. They do this thing with the first four. So there were two games on Tuesday, two games last night. But Rose Miami of Ohio, that team that was undefeated all year, but then lost in their conference tournament. A lot of people said they shouldn't have been in the tournament. They won their game.
00:17:38
Speaker 1: Last night, all right, so they're back at it.
00:17:40
Speaker 2: They are doing fine. But then Howard and Prairie View also won in the first four of those two schools robes. First time in their school's history, they won an NCAA tournament game. They're not gonna win the national championship, but they have a reason to absolutely celebrate right now. So that's the cool part of the tournament. It's not just Final four. Every single day there's a storyline that you, even though you don't watch a tournament, you end up getting into in a major way. No matter what it is. You're like, Oh the coach's wife, Oh I know her, we met at this thing. Oh see that player, Oh my goodness, he did what There's always some storyline. This is the most beautiful time of the year.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: You always provide them for me, which helps give context to what I'm watching. And you know that I always love the last two minutes of any basketball game. I do like watching basketball, but it's just a lot of games, so I'll pop in and out throughout the day does feel.
00:18:31
Speaker 2: Free too or or not too? I'm gonna be fine. You.
00:18:34
Speaker 1: I know you've got this all right. For the final leg of our run. The University of Oxford's annual report on the World's Happiest Countries is out and turns out not much has changed in a year. Finland is the happiest land in the world for the ninth year in a row, and its Nordic neighbors are right behind him. I'm so happy, I think they say they take They literally give people a survey and ask them to rate how they feel on a scale of one to ten. They also take into account healthcare squa.
00:19:05
Speaker 2: Why the Nordic folks got it right? How do they get it right?
00:19:07
Speaker 1: We visited Sweden. You got a sense of order and contentment and structure. There isn't chaos in these countries.
00:19:14
Speaker 2: There isn't diversity either.
00:19:16
Speaker 1: So you might have a lot less disagreement. That is true, though that's a point to make. Costa Rica, though, did enter into the top five for the first time, so that was interesting. I can understand why Costa Ricans might like it, but it's funny because they're the outlier. Here's the group. Finland number one, Iceland number two, Denmark number three, then you got Costa Rica and then go back to Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, that's an interesting one, Luxembourg and Switzerland, just with the war torn they say war torn countries obviously tend to be less happy. Interesting that Israel is in the top ten.
00:19:48
Speaker 2: Huh. A lot of cold, very white places on this list.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know how to explain it other than this is what they report. Feelings.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: It just I agree, But doesn't every year we have with Switzerland is somewhere on this list. I think Sweden, Yeah, they're always on the list. Shelthcare.
00:20:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a big part of it, like just your financial security, your like safety, crime, all of this is taken into consideration, and it makes sense. Look, we've been to we went to Sweden on the list, right, but I we should just start ticking off these countries just happy? Yeah? Why not? By the way, no English speaking countries in the top ten for the second year in a row. How insane is that? Now? The US came in twenty third, damn, Canada came in at twenty fifth, and Great Britain came in at twenty ninth and Afghanistan ranked as the unhappiest country once again this year.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Yes, twenty three, damn twenty we got a lot of work to do. Twenty three. Yeah, who is right about? Do you have a listen in front the whole thing? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorm sorry, you don't have the whole project. I'm so curious. Like we're happier than Canadians. Yep, we're happier than the Brits. Okay, that makes sense.
00:20:58
Speaker 1: Fazing to be, you know, dissatisfied a lot.
00:21:01
Speaker 2: They have one note, I love y'all. It's consistent.
00:21:06
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. And then they did say they found so this was something interesting that they hadn't seen before. Among twenty five year olds in western civilized countries, they say that happiness has dropped significantly twenty five. Yes, like they said among twenty five year olds specifically in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And they say that they asked why and the best their best key factor behind the happiness.
00:21:32
Speaker 2: Twenty five year olds Western countries. Let me ask they I got three guesses. Does social media, politics and relationship have anything to do with it?
00:21:44
Speaker 1: Well? Probably all of the above. Yes, because it is long hours scrolling through social media. Gosh, so you're looking at all of that.
00:21:52
Speaker 2: Okay, so it is, Oh, it's directly social media related.
00:21:56
Speaker 1: Correct, correct? All right, how about this, let's lighten things up, liven things up for the quote of the day on this Friday Eve, until death, all defeat is psychological.
00:22:10
Speaker 2: All defeat is psychological. Yeah, but that's a tough one to That's a tough one to figure out. It takes. Man, I'm in my late forties and I'm still working on that. That's a challenge every single day. It's true.
00:22:25
Speaker 1: I think it's a challenge for everyone. But I liked the way it's phrased, and a good way to look at how we approach life and successes and failures and all that. Look, we have so much more power than we give ourselves credit for, but we oftentimes focus on physical power, but really it's that mental strength of being able to stay positive, to stay hopeful, to stay productive, to not let yourself get in your own way. We're our own worst enemies. We know this. But I just like the way this was put. Until death, all defeat is psychological. You can find your way to rise up again and with that, everyone, we hope you feel empowered. Thank you for running with us.
00:23:07
Speaker 2: I'm Made Me Robots and I'm TJ. Holmes. You go out there and try to move us up on that list of happy countries. Twenty three is just a shame.
Speaker 1: Morning Run with Amy and TJ and iHeartRadio Podcast. Good morning everyone, Welcome to Morning Run. It is Thursday, March nineteenth, aka a national holiday for a lot of you out there. I'm Amy Robot and I'm TJ.
00:00:16
Speaker 2: Holmes. Yes, march Man is getting underway today. There will be sixteen games today, sixteen games tomorrow. A lot of people. I'm not going to be very productive at work today, It's understood, and that is okay. Productivity at work. People are working at airports, but not as many. Yes, march Man is going to be a big whoop to do, but a big whoop to do every single day. And we're starting with this and talking about this and begging and pleading with you all. Please pay these TSA workers, please please do. And it's not just a matter of the public. We should not have people who are working to protect this country from a possible terror attack or attacking the skies in our airlines robes. They should not be in line at fucking food banks. They should not be in line and people making donations to try to feed the people that we say are the most important and one of the first lines of defense in this war on terror and literal war with iron rod. This is so unfair to see a food bank line for tsa work.
00:01:11
Speaker 1: That is horrific, and to think about them now having to take on other jobs. DoorDash drivers, uber drivers anything to pay the bills. While yes, we are at war, the timing would never be good for this to happen, but certainly given where we are in the world, this is just horrific. And yeah, there are typically six security checkpoints at the Philly airport. This is just to give you some perspective. Three of them were closed yesterday.
00:01:40
Speaker 2: Okay, fine, that's an inconvenience for travelers, and travelers are getting pissed. You all as pissed as you are. All of those people you're looking at and your frustration at the airport have not gotten to check it over a month. These are not people who are making six figure salaries who got you know, plenty of rainy day funds. These are folks who own average and making forty fifty sixty thousand dollars the most basic. This has got to stop. This is awful. The food banking thing got me ropes. These folks that important we created them to keep from so they can find a shoe bomba This is why we created this whole force. Because they're so important and they're lining up, we have to make donations to feed them. Stop it's increasing.
00:02:24
Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine and think about it. Look for the folks who do have to call out sack, who do have to go find other work. Imagine the folks who were left behind with these hours long lines and yeah, angry passengers, what they're having to deal with and then not come home with a paycheck. It's unthinkable.
00:02:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have their limits. Also, I should mention adding to look any day, if everything was working fully and fully staffed, you don't want to hear anything about a ground stop in an airport based on a power outage. Just happened at Denver. Bro that's a bad day if with full staffing. So you consider what's happening at the air and then this happened at Denver, you can imagine how awful that was. But we're seeing the national raid. They say it's ten percent robes, the call out rate. It's normally what was it to think normally, But you got airports that are up parts of forty plus percent up the TSA staff calling out and we are not mad at them for it we have. Please don't be mad at the TSA agent. They're trying to find other work to feed family. So we just want to start with that. And we you know, we're going to beat that drum every day until this is over. But this is absolutely absurd. On this was It's Thursday, Thursday morning run. We're gonna be making stops along the way today in Barcelona on Capitol Hill. Certainly Iran making a stop in Orlando today, and we have to make a stop at the Federal Reserve. But yes, let's start with what we're seeing. This continued war in Iran robes. What are the days? I haven't keep keeping up, you know, people like to keep count what day of the war. This isn't I don't have the accuracy.
00:03:56
Speaker 1: I believe it's day nineteen. We just heard from Pete's Hegsath, who is actually as we're recording this, giving an update on the war with Iran. But here's what we know. The latest significant strikes launched in the war have been focused on energy sites. Iran has kept up its attacks on some of its neighbors, in particular Saudi Arabia and Cutter, where national natural gas refineries were hit by Iran.
00:04:19
Speaker 2: Now, Iran is making the claim that they did this in retaliation for their own energy infrastructure being attacked. President Trump has now weighed in on this. He's threatened to blow up a key gas refinery in Iran if they continue attacking their neighbors.
00:04:34
Speaker 1: And speaking of natural gas refineries and resources and energy, yeah, let's talk gas prices. They are now at three dollars in eighty eight cents, that is the national average. Prices were around or just under three dollars when the war with Iran started. So they are going up and it looks like they're continuing in that direction.
00:04:52
Speaker 2: Yes, so it's causing a TSA agent even more to put gas in the car to get to a job that you're not getting paid for. Continuing on our run here now left interest rates unchanged yesterday, but the FED chair express concerns about the impact the Iran war could have on the world economy.
00:05:08
Speaker 1: Now, the Fed cut interest rates on three separate occasions last year. But here's the deal, the honest and scary assessment coming from the Fed. The thing I really want to emphasize is nobody knows how the war will ultimately impact the economy. That is what we're hearing in uncertainty, as we've talked about, is never ever a good thing for the stock market. They don't like it.
00:05:32
Speaker 2: You know what I appreciate his honesty with that one scared the hell out of me. Is he knows everything about the economy, and this dude said, don't know what's going to happen. Continue on the run here now. US officials considered relocating Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Heseth after unidentified drones were detected flying above the army base where they live.
00:05:54
Speaker 1: The Washington Post is reporting the military does not know where those drones came from. The base. We're talking about folk Fort McNair in DC. It serves as residents for both of those secretaries, and according to the Post, Rubio and Hexseth have yet to be relocated. Despite this disturbing news.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: Debate, there are leaders fair games. Since we are taking out everybody who's in a position of power in Iran, it seems right now want to turn into another air Force base.
00:06:19
Speaker 1: Now.
00:06:20
Speaker 2: McDill in Tampa on lockdown Wednesday for a bit with a shelter in place order after a threat was received that just days after a suspicious package was found to the base this.
00:06:29
Speaker 1: Week, and apparently this wasn't just any suspicious package. The FBI is now saying they believe that package contained an improvised explosive device, or saying a possible improvised explosive device. We don't know if it would have gone off or not, but the agency didn't want to go into any more details, saying it was still an active investigation.
00:06:50
Speaker 2: And McDill Air Force Base home to the US Central Command, Yes, Sentcom, you hear so much about. They are the hub of so much kind of gone activity and right now operate Epic Fury is being run out of there. Continuing on this run notable moment from yesterday's must see intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill.
00:07:08
Speaker 1: Yes, the hearing was for the country's top intelligence officials to give an update to Congress on global threats. As you might imagine, a lot of that focus was on Iran. The Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, refused to say whether the intelligent community determined Iran was in fact an imminent threat like the President has been saying for weeks now.
00:07:29
Speaker 2: So Gabbard and her prepared remarks said that last year's US led attack obliterated Iran's nuclear program. She testified the US obliterated their program. So some Democrats followed up by asking a natural and pretty simple question. If it was obliterated, then how is it possible that the intelligence community concluded that Iran has already become such an imminent threat so quickly that we had to attack. That is a natural question. The President has been out there saying that, yes, they an imminent nuclear threat. Even she was asked directly, did you all in the intelligence community report to the president that there was an imminent threat from Iran? Robes her answer and give Georgia Senator Ossof credit for this. He wouldn't let her go on this. I was stunned by her answers to him.
00:08:24
Speaker 1: Yes. And this is a cabinet official who six years ago had shirt saying no war in Iran. So there's a lot of questions as to how she personally feels and where she is in terms of her transparency.
00:08:39
Speaker 2: She's the head of the intelligence who's saying it's not my responsibility to assess tell the president whether it's an imminent threat. She actually said that under oath, in which point OSSOF called her on it. Of course that's her responsibility, but she said, ultimately the president does sides if it is an imminent threat, and not her. It was bizarre.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's weird to act as if an intelligence official isn't in charge of assessing a situation and then giving that information for the president. Yeah, that was tough, all right. Next up on the run, the counter terrorism guy who very publicly resigned from his position in the Trump administration in protest of the war with Iran is now reportedly being investigated for media leaks.
00:09:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, Joe Kent is the name. He wrote that pretty damning letter saying that Iran was no imminent threat to the US and that he couldn't in good conscience continue to serve the administration. Now, of course the White House and the President as well, they immediately went after him and started to discredit him and said they're glad he's gone. But there's more to the story.
00:09:42
Speaker 1: Yes, because now multiple media outlets we're talking CBS, New York Times, etc. Are all ciding sources that say the FBI has now opened an investigation into Joe Kent for possible intelligence leaks. We see where this one is going. We will follow up on that one, but next up on the Run. Democrats walked out of a closed door meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi yesterday.
00:10:06
Speaker 2: It was supposed to be a briefing on the Epstein files. Bod Democrats didn't stick around after they say she refused to commit to honoring the committee's subpoena of her, which calls for her to give sworn testimony next month.
00:10:19
Speaker 1: Republicans are accusing the Democrats of staging this whole thing and grand standing. Bondi has in response to the subpoena said quote she is committed to following the law vague.
00:10:31
Speaker 2: Next up on the Run here more for our work on Capitol Hill yesterday, as President Trump's pick to replace Christy Nolan as Homeland Security Secretary faced senators during his confirmation here.
00:10:39
Speaker 1: Yes, Oklahoma Republican Senator Mark Wayne Mullen most notably clashed with fellow Republican and Chair of the Committee Rand Paul, and this got personal. Paul used his opening statement to call Mullin out for referring to him as a freaking snake and saying he completely understands why a neighbor assaulted Paul several years ago.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: Paul said Mullin has anger issues. Well, there was what there was a confirmation hearing, yes, you have anger issues. And he said also that Mullan applauds violence and question his ability to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits proper use of to proper use of force. He is not going to get Paul's quote, No question about that. As well. He did do something I thought Rhobes that Christina On wouldn't do, which was walk back some of his early comments about Alex Pretty in Minneapolis.
00:11:29
Speaker 1: Yes, he said initially that he called Alex Pretty had deranged individual and it was nice to hear finally someone say under oath, he said this, those words probably should have been retracted. I shouldn't have said that. I was responding immediately without the facts. That's my fault. That won't happen. As secretary, he stopped short of apologizing to the Pretty family, but he said once the investigation comes through and if it's proven all that he would be open to it.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: You know, I'm remembering a quote that said, sometimes the most powerful, hurtful, impactful words are the ones that aren't said. I don't know why DC officials. Why it's such a weakness to say I made a mistake and I apologize to you for it. To see him, we were giving him credit like wow, okay, but he's still refused, refused. I don't know why that is seen as such a weakness to say I apologize.
00:12:21
Speaker 1: I don't know, because he yeah, he took responsibility, said that's my fault too, fat. I shouldn't have said that, but he wouldn't say I'm sorry anyway. There are fifty three Republicans in the Senate subtract ran Paul from that. He only needs fifty of them to be confirmed, and most people think that will happen.
00:12:35
Speaker 2: Well, I can tell you on the run here now. He is one of the most celebrated and iconic labor leaders in this country's history. But now plans are being made to remove, says Oar Shavez, his name from streets and buildings that honor him after accusations that he abused and even groomed young girls and women during his time as a prominent labor leader.
00:12:56
Speaker 1: These stories are chilling to the bone. The accusations were revealed in a major New York Times investigation. It also included an accusation from Dolores Huerta, who co founded the United farm Workers Union alongside Chavez. She says she was raped by Chavez multiple times, bore children by Chavez, who she's just recently revealed that information to. He died in nineteen ninety three.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Yes, several local and state officials are now scrambling to scrap, saysar Chavez's name from damn there everything, and his name is everywhere. There are even Saysar Chavez days in some places, including in the state of California. They're going to try to immediately change countless street names, building names in his honor. Of the Chavez family did respond, did put out a statement, and quite frankly, they seem to quite acknowledge and not try to fight, if you will, for his labor legacy, but instead said these people deserve to be heard and complimented them for their bravery and coming forward.
00:13:57
Speaker 1: It is a shocking story that I'm sure will still have much more to come out of it, as women are now still coming forward, all right. Next up on the run, Pulse nightclub in Orlando was torn down yesterday. It took more than two hours to demolish it. But this has been a long time coming. It's been sitting there for ten years, and finally the decision to tear it down.
00:14:20
Speaker 2: I don't know why. I don't know. It was kind of difficult to watch it being torn down. I don't know, as a grave site, almost in a lot of ways where so many people were killed. It was forty nine that were killed in that shooting. It was was it the deadliest at the time. I think something has surpassed it.
00:14:36
Speaker 1: Which is so sad to think, but I think it.
00:14:38
Speaker 2: Was at a time. But the city bought it a couple of years ago, and the plans to put a memorial, more permanent thing there. But I don't know. To see a big crane and bulldozers and this construction of women tearing this thing down, I don't know. It's almost stung. But it should probably come down anyway. I don't know something about it yesterday.
00:14:54
Speaker 1: To have the memorial there will be so impactful. I know. There was so much just outrage over the DEI wiping away of that. There was a rainbow cross walk right in front of the Pulse Nightclub, a storied gay nightclub, So just there's been so much back and forth. I think this is a way forward for there to be a place for people to pay respect and honor the folks who died there.
00:15:15
Speaker 2: All right, folks will stay with us here on this Thursday Morning run. When we come back, the search is on. We have a University of Alabama student who is missing in Spain. The latest they're also coming up. This is a big day, of course in this country. Every year. Productivity is going to go down in offices everywhere because the official kickoff to March Madness. Already though some history has been made. We'll explain, and we have the official list of the happiest countries in the world. The question is just how far down the list is the United States. We are not in the top ten. In fact, ween in the top twenties.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: Theyre continuing our Thursday Morning run. Next up on the run, this is an ongoing and developing story. A University of Alabama student has gone missing in Barcelonay.
00:16:14
Speaker 2: Family, friends and the university community getting word out and pleading for any information about twenty year old James Paul Gracie. Last scene on Tuesday. This was in the early morning hours on Tuesday. He's in Spain with a group of friends visiting other friends who are they're studying abroad. This of course is spring break, but robes of development and thrilling in the overnight hours, this went from a missing person to now they do believe and have a reason to believe this might be foul play.
00:16:38
Speaker 1: Yes, so we actually did an entire episode on this right before morning Run, so please check that out. We have all the latest information on the search to find Jimmy Gracie. Next up on the Run, though, Today is the day that TJ waits for all year long. March Madness begins at noon today.
00:17:00
Speaker 2: At noon goes through midnight. This really is a national holiday. This is really is something I have done. There are parts of my parts of my career I have taken vacation days to be off on these days. Lately it was working morning shows so I didn't have to. But this is the day. There will be sixteen games today, sixteen games tomorrow. It all gets going. But also other history already, robes have been made. You were wondering why the hell a game was on last night. They do this thing with the first four. So there were two games on Tuesday, two games last night. But Rose Miami of Ohio, that team that was undefeated all year, but then lost in their conference tournament. A lot of people said they shouldn't have been in the tournament. They won their game.
00:17:38
Speaker 1: Last night, all right, so they're back at it.
00:17:40
Speaker 2: They are doing fine. But then Howard and Prairie View also won in the first four of those two schools robes. First time in their school's history, they won an NCAA tournament game. They're not gonna win the national championship, but they have a reason to absolutely celebrate right now. So that's the cool part of the tournament. It's not just Final four. Every single day there's a storyline that you, even though you don't watch a tournament, you end up getting into in a major way. No matter what it is. You're like, Oh the coach's wife, Oh I know her, we met at this thing. Oh see that player, Oh my goodness, he did what There's always some storyline. This is the most beautiful time of the year.
00:18:15
Speaker 1: You always provide them for me, which helps give context to what I'm watching. And you know that I always love the last two minutes of any basketball game. I do like watching basketball, but it's just a lot of games, so I'll pop in and out throughout the day does feel.
00:18:31
Speaker 2: Free too or or not too? I'm gonna be fine. You.
00:18:34
Speaker 1: I know you've got this all right. For the final leg of our run. The University of Oxford's annual report on the World's Happiest Countries is out and turns out not much has changed in a year. Finland is the happiest land in the world for the ninth year in a row, and its Nordic neighbors are right behind him. I'm so happy, I think they say they take They literally give people a survey and ask them to rate how they feel on a scale of one to ten. They also take into account healthcare squa.
00:19:05
Speaker 2: Why the Nordic folks got it right? How do they get it right?
00:19:07
Speaker 1: We visited Sweden. You got a sense of order and contentment and structure. There isn't chaos in these countries.
00:19:14
Speaker 2: There isn't diversity either.
00:19:16
Speaker 1: So you might have a lot less disagreement. That is true, though that's a point to make. Costa Rica, though, did enter into the top five for the first time, so that was interesting. I can understand why Costa Ricans might like it, but it's funny because they're the outlier. Here's the group. Finland number one, Iceland number two, Denmark number three, then you got Costa Rica and then go back to Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, that's an interesting one, Luxembourg and Switzerland, just with the war torn they say war torn countries obviously tend to be less happy. Interesting that Israel is in the top ten.
00:19:48
Speaker 2: Huh. A lot of cold, very white places on this list.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know how to explain it other than this is what they report. Feelings.
00:19:57
Speaker 2: It just I agree, But doesn't every year we have with Switzerland is somewhere on this list. I think Sweden, Yeah, they're always on the list. Shelthcare.
00:20:05
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a big part of it, like just your financial security, your like safety, crime, all of this is taken into consideration, and it makes sense. Look, we've been to we went to Sweden on the list, right, but I we should just start ticking off these countries just happy? Yeah? Why not? By the way, no English speaking countries in the top ten for the second year in a row. How insane is that? Now? The US came in twenty third, damn, Canada came in at twenty fifth, and Great Britain came in at twenty ninth and Afghanistan ranked as the unhappiest country once again this year.
00:20:41
Speaker 2: Yes, twenty three, damn twenty we got a lot of work to do. Twenty three. Yeah, who is right about? Do you have a listen in front the whole thing? I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorm sorry, you don't have the whole project. I'm so curious. Like we're happier than Canadians. Yep, we're happier than the Brits. Okay, that makes sense.
00:20:58
Speaker 1: Fazing to be, you know, dissatisfied a lot.
00:21:01
Speaker 2: They have one note, I love y'all. It's consistent.
00:21:06
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. And then they did say they found so this was something interesting that they hadn't seen before. Among twenty five year olds in western civilized countries, they say that happiness has dropped significantly twenty five. Yes, like they said among twenty five year olds specifically in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. And they say that they asked why and the best their best key factor behind the happiness.
00:21:32
Speaker 2: Twenty five year olds Western countries. Let me ask they I got three guesses. Does social media, politics and relationship have anything to do with it?
00:21:44
Speaker 1: Well? Probably all of the above. Yes, because it is long hours scrolling through social media. Gosh, so you're looking at all of that.
00:21:52
Speaker 2: Okay, so it is, Oh, it's directly social media related.
00:21:56
Speaker 1: Correct, correct? All right, how about this, let's lighten things up, liven things up for the quote of the day on this Friday Eve, until death, all defeat is psychological.
00:22:10
Speaker 2: All defeat is psychological. Yeah, but that's a tough one to That's a tough one to figure out. It takes. Man, I'm in my late forties and I'm still working on that. That's a challenge every single day. It's true.
00:22:25
Speaker 1: I think it's a challenge for everyone. But I liked the way it's phrased, and a good way to look at how we approach life and successes and failures and all that. Look, we have so much more power than we give ourselves credit for, but we oftentimes focus on physical power, but really it's that mental strength of being able to stay positive, to stay hopeful, to stay productive, to not let yourself get in your own way. We're our own worst enemies. We know this. But I just like the way this was put. Until death, all defeat is psychological. You can find your way to rise up again and with that, everyone, we hope you feel empowered. Thank you for running with us.
00:23:07
Speaker 2: I'm Made Me Robots and I'm TJ. Holmes. You go out there and try to move us up on that list of happy countries. Twenty three is just a shame.