(Wednesday) Morning Run: "Disgusting" OH Attack Ad, FL Executes Vietnam Vet, Arrests for Threatening Trump, Actress’ Misdiagnosis, DWTS Absence, Prince Harry, LeBron/Party Crasher, Eliana Popular & MORE!

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Speaker 1: Morning Run with Amy and TJ.

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Speaker 2: An iHeartRadio podcast.

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Speaker 3: Hey there, everybody, and welcome to Morning Run.

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Speaker 2: It is Wednesday, October 21st. I'm Amy Robach.

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Speaker 1: And I'm TJ Holmes. And how many of you all know an Eliana? You got an Eliana in your life?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely not.

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Speaker 1: E-L-I-A-N-A is a skyrocketing baby name in popularity.

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Speaker 3: Eliana.

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Speaker 1: Eliana.

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Speaker 2: I guess I don't know enough new parents.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. There's a new list out today. It's interesting. Some things didn't change at the top, but they note that Eliana is now the number two most popular girl name.

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Speaker 3: Wait, that's just baby names. So we'll be knowing a lot of Elianas in the next few years.

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Speaker 1: In the future. But yeah, new babies that people like. And names that start with the letter E are also popular right now. We'll get into the rest of it. But also, Gilmore Girls, Odyssey... Heated Rivalry, all these popular shows are having an impact on the names. Isn't that interesting?

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Speaker 2: Gilmore Girls is a throwback, though.

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Speaker 1: It has a relaunch. It relaunched on streaming, and now it's become popular. Isn't that crazy?

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Speaker 3: I will say that both of my daughters are huge fans of the show.

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Speaker 2: How old is it now? It's like 23? Plus years old.

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Speaker 1: And I'm sorry to put you on this, but I certainly wouldn't. I don't know any names of the characters on the show.

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Speaker 3: There's a strange first name of the character, and I can't remember it right now.

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Speaker 1: Well, we'll know when that's coming back. But anyway, we're going to share the names. We'll have that for you on the morning run. But I thought it was interesting. Eliana would stay with us. Yes. What is this, Wednesday?

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Speaker 2: It's Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: It's the hump day.

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Speaker 2: It's hump day.

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Speaker 1: Morning run. We're going to be making stops in Ohio, Florida, Alabama, Kansas. We'll make a stop at the Dancing with the Stars ballroom as well as in Madison Square Garden last night. But Robes, if folks think, if they think politics is just nasty and can't wait for the midterms to be over, what's happening in Ohio right now is the very reason people hate politics. politics and just let's just get through the midterms and get this over with.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to say this.

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Speaker 3: This is the ugliest, most horrific campaign ad I have ever seen in my life.

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Speaker 1: It's going to go down in history. There are some classics you can remember. Over the years, Willie Horton, I remember the one out of Tennessee they did. Like there are some over the years you just know are just awful. This is going to go down in history.

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Speaker 2: My head was shaking.

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Speaker 1: My jaw was dropped.

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Speaker 3: I couldn't believe what I was watching. Republican candidate for Ohio governor Vivek Ramaswamy has confirmed that it yes was his campaign that's responsible for Okay, there's a reason we say birth mother and not.

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Speaker 2: Just her mother.

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Speaker 1: Now, in this ad, the birth mother calls Acton a liar who needs to seek help. Here's the thing about the ad and about the birth mother. Acton has been estranged from her birth mother since she was 12. That's when her birth mother's husband was arrested and charged for raping Acton. Yes, between the ages of 10 and 12. Robes, she says, the last time she has ever laid eyes on her mother. was as a kid in that courtroom when they were being taken away from her mother because of what was happening in the house. That is the relationship she's had with her mother. She's talked about this over the years and the pain and whatnot she's endured, Robes. And they have used and brought this woman out that she's seen since 1978 as if she's the expert and just dredging up the pain this woman has. has gone through in her life for the sake of a campaign. And Vivek obviously is down in the polls.

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Speaker 3: And honestly, after that move, that's where he should stay. Because that's as low as it gets. And look, I think this is kind of disturbing. I want information on how this happens. Because at that point, you mentioned 1978, the last time she saw her birth mother in court when she was a child. her birth mother and her stepfather left the area and he never showed up to face rape charges? How do you get that choice to just disappear and not show up to court for something that heinous, that violent?

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Speaker 1: 1980, around the 80s mark, 80, 81 is when they said the last record of charges or something that were against him.

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Speaker 3: To think they allowed, I mean, I'm sorry, at that point, a rapist and a pedophile to just be.

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Speaker 2: able to be free and on his own because, eh, can't find him.

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Speaker 1: But Amy Acton's mother chose to remain with that guy and left her kids behind. Okay. But, Rose, they brought that woman out to say, hey, don't vote for her and trust this woman. Her mom. Yeah. Who is not really and hasn't been her mom. No. In decades.

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Speaker 3: And her mom is what her mom says about her own daughter is so vile. If you watch this ad, your stomach will turn that a mother could even say those things publicly about her daughter. But then when you learn the backstory, it's all the more disgusting.

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Speaker 1: This is one you can look on our feed. We will have more discussion, Robes and I, about this one. You can check out that episode, but it will be coming up on our feed in short order.

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Speaker 3: All right, next up on the run, Florida carried out its nation-leading 18th execution of the year last night.

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Speaker 2: William Reeves Jr.

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Speaker 3: Was pronounced dead at 6.12 p.m. after he was given a lethal injection. He had been convicted for the 1986 murder of a 29-year-old sheriff's deputy, Richard Reskowski.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, 77 years old is what Reeves was, and he is the eighth inmate in the state of Florida over the age of 70 to be executed this year. He was asked last night if he had any last words, to which Reeves responded, no, I do not. And that was it. Florida has one more scheduled for this year. As of right now, it would be their 19th Robes of the Year. And the rest that are scheduled for this year are all in the month of November. No state has one scheduled for December. The only one in December that's scheduled is actually Nadal Hassan on December 3rd. But there's one, two, three, four, five, six that are remaining on the schedule for this year.

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Speaker 3: All right, but there is one that will not be going forward because next up on the run, this is a big deal, a big headline, and a pretty incredible story. An Alabama death row inmate has just had his sentence commuted after state officials have raised questions about his conviction. Governor Kay Ivey commuted to Forrest Johnson's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was convicted for the 1995 murder of a sheriff's deputy, but he has always maintained his innocence.

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Speaker 1: So what's behind the governor's decision? The governor said that while she had concerns that there wasn't enough evidence, direct evidence, to carry out the death penalty, she was not making a determination of guilt or innocence, but rather she's, quote, recognizing that the circumstances of this case justify commuting his death sentence.

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Speaker 3: Huh?

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Speaker 1: Not quite clear. Are they going to give him a chance to redo his case, right? It was odd to say that, I got new evidence or something here that says he shouldn't be killed, but he should still stay in prison. So if he's innocent, he shouldn't stay in prison either.

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Speaker 2: Well, yes, exactly.

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Speaker 3: And his attorneys are fighting to get him out of prison. This also is going to be later in our feed because there is a pretty remarkable backstory, and it suggests prosecutorial misconduct. The district attorney who actually prosecuted this man and ultimately led to his conviction and sent him to death row, he is now among the dozens... of lawmakers and former officials who want Johnson to get.

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Speaker 1: A new trial. All right. Continuing on this Wednesday morning run, now we'll head to Kansas, where a man there has been arrested for threatening to kill President Trump at his rally that was in Kansas this week. It was on Monday, I do believe, right, Robes? Police say a tip led them to threats being made online by 24-year-old Jaden Reed, and alleged messages were posted online. on facebook and how does he think he's gonna get away with this.

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Speaker 3: Yes these are some pretty incendiary posts he put up on facebook as uh we'll give you a few examples let's shoot trump honestly where's our shooter i'm tired of living this money life i just got a 308 and a 305 round and i'm killing this pedo can we shoot him in kansas please i will myself I know where your speech will be, already maps out roofs around finna get kirked.

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Speaker 2: Finna get kirked.

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Speaker 1: That's awful. Jesus. So, yes, authorities don't know exactly how serious he was. Excuse me. They haven't let others know, let us know just how serious Reid was or if he had taken any action toward carrying out a plan or if they retrieved any weapons from him. But the president's rally in Kansas on Monday did go off without a hitch.

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Speaker 3: Next up on the run, Christina Applegate has made a shocking announcement after five years of believing she had multiple sclerosis. Applegate now says her doctors have told her they misdiagnosed her with the disease.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, this announcement came on our podcast. There was no single test. There is no single test to confirm MS. She brought on a doctor who explained that nearly one in five people diagnosed with a neurological disorder don't actually have it. It's a disease where the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system, producing symptoms like pain, fatigue, and paralysis.

00:10:09
Speaker 3: And a misdiagnosis can apparently happen when your symptoms just aren't getting any better.

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Speaker 2: Then doctors will conduct more advanced tests.

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Speaker 3: Like a spinal tap or a spinal MRI.

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Speaker 2: Relook at the brain scans.

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Speaker 3: And so this is what her doctors did. And they came to her and apparently they said, congratulations, you no longer have MS or you'd never had MS. And she said she got emotional on the podcast saying she's now back at square one. It was actually terrible news because at least when you know you have something, you can fight it, you can research it.

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Speaker 2: She said now she has no idea.

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Speaker 3: There is no explanation for her debilitating symptoms that affect her daily life and mobility. She says she had every single symptom of multiple sclerosis. I mean, she's been an advocate. She's been outspoken. She's been one of the leading faces of MS.

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Speaker 2: So.

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Speaker 3: It's just, I'm sure, sent her world spiraling.

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Speaker 1: I guess it's supposed to be a good thing. It's weird to come in and say, you know that thing we told you that's debilitating that you've been fighting for all these years? You don't have it. I guess there's an upside to it, but that's tough, baby. All right, stay with us on this Wednesday morning run. When we come back, yes, the show went on last night. Dancing with the Stars was back minus one. We'll explain how they explained the... Absence of Val. Also coming up, Prince Harry does a sit-down. He is talking and he is making perfectly clear. Yes, he does want to make up with his big bro. Also, Madison Square Garden had a big party last night. LeBron James ruined it a little bit. And the most popular, new baby names. E's are making quite an impression.

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Speaker 3: Welcome back, everyone, to Morning Run, and the show went on without Val. Yes, Dancing with the Stars returned last night, minus longtime dancing pro Val Schmierkowski. He was suspended for the week after an inappropriate post about Judge Carrie Ann Anaba, and another pro dancer filled in for Val last night.

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Speaker 1: And we were hoping, Romes, I guess hoping, hopeful, maybe there would be some kind of... Well, maybe when he comes back, there could be a nice moment on the air to address it. But they moved on last night. Host Alfonso Ribeiro addressed the absence this way. Quote, as you can see, Alan Bernstein is with Jenna Dewan because Val is not with us this week. That was it. That gets it. Following last Tuesday's competition, Val went on TikTok after... Carrie Ann Anaba's critical comments about his pro dancer wife, Jenna Johnson's routine. Now, he got in trouble. He was trying to defend her, Roe, saying, you almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom last night. Clearly, you can understand why that might have been a problem.

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Speaker 3: Yes, and we know that Val did apologize. He put that out there publicly. He said he also reached out to Carrie Ann privately, but still not a peep.

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Speaker 1: From inapa and not last night neither ropes all right.

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Speaker 3: Next up on the run prince harry says he wants to work it out in a new interview with gq magazine harry was asked about his relationship with his brother william and said quote some people don't want it to work out i want it to work out of course i do with everything else going on in the world the most important thing is to reconcile the That's the key point.

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Speaker 1: He has mentioned this, alluded to publicly before, a desire to reconcile with his brother. But this is the first time he's talked about the relationship in detail in public since returning to the UK with his wife, Megan, and their two kids. But even Robes, in doing the interview, some of his people had to come back and clarify something he said. The line saying, some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out. Of course I do. He had to address that the some people he was talking about weren't family members.

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Speaker 2: Oh, see, I thought it was the royal family.

00:14:05
Speaker 1: No, he was talking about just a larger general in public, right? We're looking at it. We're looking at it this way. And some families have a lot going on that's similar to this. And I think that's why they're so invested and fascinated because other people are going through it. And some people in this situation, some people want it to work out. Some people... So they had to clarify, I'm not talking about even.

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Speaker 2: Then, right?

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Speaker 1: It's delicate, ain't it?

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Speaker 2: It's so delicate. That's a good way to put it.

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Speaker 3: All right. Next up on the run, the new NBA season is finally underway, and LeBron James came to New York, and dang, he crashed the Knicks championship party.

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Speaker 1: It felt good, though, right? To watch, not since the, I guess, championship night, or maybe that game... Which one was it, the 29-point comeback or whatever? The place was in a frenzy last night. It was fun. They got their rings. All the old Knicks were back. Every celebrity was there. It was really cool. And LeBron James ruined the night. Yes, it was a good game, but the score ended up 106-100. The Knicks did lose their opener. But, yes, LeBron joined the 76ers in the offseason. He would have been roped, they said publicly. He would have joined the Knicks had they not won the championship. Because they won the championship, there's just a cohesion there that that team works. How is he going to come in and say, I want to be on your team? He couldn't do that, so he ends up in Philly. So the fans let him know it last night. They were rooting, we don't want you. It was fun. Oh, wow, that's so funny. And then he won the game.

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Speaker 3: We watched the open to the opener was actually longer than the game it felt like.

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Speaker 1: It felt like it, baby. What did Mike, the commentator, he said, yeah, they waited 50 years for a championship. I feel like we waited 50 years for the game to start.

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Speaker 2: That was a really good line.

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Speaker 3: All right, for the final leg of our run, we're getting our first look at some of the most popular baby names in the U.S. And yes, there are a couple of surprises. Babycenter.com released its annual list of most popular names. Number one, they've stayed the same for a while, correct?

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Speaker 1: Number one on both lists have been there. I mean, it's five plus years that these two have been the top.

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Speaker 2: So number one, boys named Noah. Number one, girls named Olivia.

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Speaker 1: No surprises. I still don't know. I guess one, Olivia. Don't know. Do we know any Noahs?

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Speaker 2: I don't know any Noahs. These are newer. And I know a grown woman named Olivia.

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Speaker 1: A grown woman. All right, folks. So go through the rest of the list. The boys' names, I think, have been the same at the top. The top three, Liam, Oliver, and then Elijah, Mateo, Lucas... Elias, Levi, Ezra, and Leo. You do see a lot of Es in there, but Es make up, I think, 15% of the new names that babies get.

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Speaker 2: Levi is number eight?

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Speaker 1: You like Levi?

00:16:49
Speaker 2: I do like him, but I've just never.

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Speaker 3: I'm telling you, I don't know anyone named any of these names.

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Speaker 1: It's a new thing.

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Speaker 2: Okay.

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Speaker 3: And then on the girl's side, as you mentioned, Eliana has... risen to number two, which is just strange to me. It was number seven last year. So Eliana, Amelia is number three.

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Speaker 2: Four is Charlotte.

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Speaker 3: Five, Sophia, Isabella. Emma, Aurora is eight. Evelyn is nine. And Mia is ten.

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Speaker 2: That's interesting. We'll see. I guess we'll all hear these names in a few years.

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Speaker 1: I haven't talked about this with you, but I think we should do an extra episode on the names because... This website that does this, babycenter.com, and they also have a website, people are putting their names in and registering in real time. So they have more updated, quick information than the Social Security office that puts the official list out, the people's, the baby's names and whatnot. So they can predict the trends for the upcoming year. Robes, it is so interesting. I said Gilmore Girls and all these things, but the odyssey. is having an impact on baby names. Some names are moving up the list based on Greek gods. Oh my gosh. One name that is really interesting, Robes, that is plummeting down the list is Taylor. They say people are sick and tired.

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Speaker 2: Is it because of Taylor Frankie Paul?

00:18:14
Speaker 1: Taylor Swift, baby.

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Speaker 2: Taylor Swift.

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Speaker 1: We're sick of hearing Taylor, Taylor, Taylor. That's so funny. And it is plummeting on the list.

00:18:24
Speaker 2: Wow.

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Speaker 3: And the one that I'm curious about, because you mentioned Gilmore Girls, I said there was a strange name.

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Speaker 2: It's Lorelai.

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Speaker 3: And I just wondered if that was going to be one of these names, because it's the only time I've ever heard Lorelai is on that show.

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Speaker 1: Lorelai is up 12 spots.

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Speaker 2: I had a feeling it was Lorelai.

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Speaker 1: There's a Rory. There's a Luke. There's a Christopher, a Dean, a Richard, and Lorelai. Yes, all of those are up. That is funny. Yes, people have been re-watching. So a lot of these things are really, really interesting to see why people are checking names.

00:18:59
Speaker 2: All right. We've got your quote of the day on this Wednesday.

00:19:05
Speaker 3: Stop rehearsing disaster. If you keep imagining the worst case, you train your nervous system.

00:19:11
Speaker 1: To expect it.

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Speaker 2: And then you're in a constant state of anxiety.

00:19:17
Speaker 1: Okay. I ain't the one to talk to about that one.

00:19:20
Speaker 2: What do you mean?

00:19:21
Speaker 1: I'm always on alert. I'm always prepared for whatever emergency could come.

00:19:26
Speaker 2: But it does something to your nervous system. It actually affects your health.

00:19:30
Speaker 3: When your stress levels stay that high, it's actually a detriment to your health.

00:19:36
Speaker 1: Is there any chance I can relax because I am prepared?

00:19:39
Speaker 3: Yes.

00:19:40
Speaker 1: Because I'm not worried about this environment. I know this environment.

00:19:43
Speaker 3: Yes, that's fair. But stop rehearsing disaster. If you keep imagining the worst case, you train your nervous system. system to expect it.

00:19:51
Speaker 1: That is wild. Yeah. Yes. That sounds awesome. But there are some of us who have to train ourselves for this not going well as you walk through the streets.

00:20:02
Speaker 3: And with that, everyone, we always appreciate you listening to us.

00:20:06
Speaker 2: I'm Amy Robach.

00:20:08
Speaker 1: And I'm TJ Holmes. Remember... Hope for the best, but please prepare for the worst.