9am hour Thursday, 06/25/26

of downtown W-T-A-M-1100 Cleveland and I-Hart Radio Station. Download the free I-Hart Radio app for all your music, radio and podcasts. 9 o'clock, thanks for being there. Cleveland's morning news with the Wills and Snyder. This is Bill. In a minute, let's check a drive here first. Pat Butler is in. Got a little rain moving through this morning, Pat. Yeah, you have a few drops here and there. Thanks, Bill. From the Elkenal Traffic Center, Elk has won over $2 billion for their injured clients. Call 1-800 Elk, Ohio. Be careful. It's still a little bit... busy on your highway drive. Roadwork jams up 77 north in between 490 and east 30th. Downtown, there's an accident reported on Ontario northbound just before Huron. In Macedonia, a crash reported on the 271 south ramp to Route 8 south. And there's roadwork in Summit County, really jamming things up on 76 westbound at 532. The left lane is closed. Pat Butler, WTAM traffic on 1,100 a.m. and 106.9F. Scattered showers and thunderstorms in our forecast today. Cold front makes its way in from the northwest. We'll have some dry hours in between with some sunshine. Temperatures today in the upper 70s for highs. A little scattered light rain around 69 right now. It's a severe weather station. That's Cleveland 3 News meteorologist Matt Flint. Sports check, Mike Snyder. Bill, the guardians are back home with a day off at a share of first place, and the cabs abandoned a young guard from Arkansas, who they believe has a lot of upside. We'll hear from Kobe Sam Altman coming up in sports. All right, 902. Let's get to the news now. Here's Carmen Angelo. And good morning to you, Bill. We're learning more about Sunday's accident. at City Barbecue on Chagrin Boulevard and Beachwood in which a car backed up into and killed a three-year-old girl who was with her family on an outdoor patio. The call to 911 was made by Cleveland State basketball legend Ken Mouse McFadden, whose 18-year-old daughter Jasmine was driving. What's going on? City barbecue. There was an accident. We ran into a gate. Beachwood police say Jasmine McFadden, who didn't have a driver's license, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide. Her father is charged with obstructing official business for telling police that he was driving. Surveillance video shows him getting out of the passenger side of the vehicle. Members of Cuyahoga County Council looking for ways to further pay for maintenance, repairs, and renovations to Rocket Arena, Progressive Field, and Huntington Bank Field, as the fund that pays for all of that runs low. The county is bringing in less cash these days from the syntax thanks to fewer and fewer folks who smoke and drink. Cuyahoga County Councilman Marty Sweeney says it's a problem he and his colleagues must solve. The headache is a good way to put it. It's our responsibility, though. coming up. If we messed around too much, you know, the teams have the opportunity to do things. We can't lose any of our change. Sweeney says they are considering a 0.15% sales tax increase, but he says Kiahoga County residents already pay the highest sales tax rate in the state of Ohio. Cleveland, police continue to investigate a deadly vehicle crash. The accident involving a Jeep Patriot and a dump truck happened Tuesday afternoon, about 420 on State Route 176. Police say the dump truck hit the Jeep, forcing it into a pickup truck, causing the Jeep to overturn and catch fire. Two people inside the Jeep bounced dead at the scene. Two people from the pickup were injured.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio telling First Energy it will not be able to loosen its reliability standards. On Wednesday, the PUCO voted to deny First Energy's application for more lenient reliability performance standards, saying the current standards stay in place. The PUCO said it's not right for customers of Akron-based First Energy to accept longer and more frequent power outages. In its ruling, the PUCO noted that the significant number of complaints from First Energy customers, also elected officials, First Energy wanted to increase its average wait time for ending an outage to anywhere between three and 15 minutes. I'm Tom Moore. The death toll is climbing after two powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela last night. Correspondent Catherine Ellis has been speaking with people who experienced the tremors 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. People were telling me that things were just falling around the house. A lot of people have got injuries. Other people thought they were going to die, you know, worried about their kids, worried about their pets, trying to get out of the buildings. At least 164 people are dead, with that number expected to climb. As many remain trapped beneath rubble of collapsed homes and buildings. Nearly 1,000 people reported injured. Venezuelan President Delci Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency as the U.S. pledges to send search and rescue teams and humanitarian supplies. NATO's chief says European allies are supporting U.S. efforts in the war with Iran. In a meeting with President Trump Wednesday at the White House, NATO Secretary Mark Rutte said, Europe allowed U.S. war planes to use their airstrips to launch strikes. His comments come as the president grows increasingly critical of NATO. After Rudo spoke, the president again expressed his disappointment with the U.K., France, Italy, and others over what he sees as a lack of support with Iran. Just a horrific story to bring you this morning is a New York... judge has sentenced a couple whose three-year-old daughter died after suffering months of severe neglect inside a bug-infested home. Matthew and Samantha Dalewski were sentenced up to four years in prison after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide and the death of their daughter, Joyce Lynn. Investigators found the child suffering from a severe lice infestation, anemia, and extensive tooth decay inside a condemned apartment filled with garbage and debris. At sentencing, the judge called the tragedy completely preventable and said the parents had failed in the most horrific way. The couple is barred from contact with their surviving children until 2038. Ted Lindner, Fox News. President Trump kicking off the Great American State Fair on the National Mall last night with a patriotic celebration marking the start of the Freedom 250 events. Trump praising the country and said America is back while also highlighting his return to office. We have reclaimed our sovereignty, regained our liberty, restored our prosperity, and we have saved our country.

In all things, we're once again putting a thing called America first. The event featured military flyovers, performances, and attractions, including a giant Ferris wheel with organizers saying all 50 states and U.S. territories are represented, despite some Democratic governors declining to take part. For the latest headlines at the top and bottom of the hour, set a preset on the free IHeart Radio app to WTAM 1100. I'm Carmen Angelo. Why not use your smart speaker for Cleveland's News Talk and Sports? Why not? Just say play WTAM 1100 on IHart Radio. Best are us. My dreams sunk in. When you step into your bathroom, it should feel safe. It should feel beautiful. It should feel like you. At Baths Are Us, we don't just renovate bathrooms. We transform daily life. Safer spaces, easier to maintain, and built right from the start. On time, on budget, no surprises, just honest pricing, clear choices, and a local crew who treats your home like their own. We stand by our work for life. Because competent living starts with a bathroom you can trust. This is Baths R Us, your neighbors, your crew for life. This month, get $3,000 off your bathroom remodel. Call 440-48-2284 for your free estimate or visit bathsr-R-S.com. That's 440-48 bath. Restrictions apply.

Cleveland's News Talking Sports from the Claiband Ford Lincoln Studios. 50s are off, sort of homestead against the Seattle Mariners tomorrow night. Huntington Bank Field will not be quiet. Post-Malone jelly roll concert tonight. Big, coming downtown for that, get here early, giving itself plenty of time to get here and find a place to park. Cleveland's morning news, this bill wills. Content is king, and there's so many different ways we consume content when it comes to visual and... media now with, you know, at one point Netflix was a system that, you know, mailed you the DVDs and you mailed them back. Of course, everything's streaming and that sort of thing. But then our attention span has also been, as I say a little bit shorter. So there's a whole movement in entertainment. They're hot. They're called micro dramas. You follow some of these little 60, 90-second episodes, pop up on your smartphone. I read a fascinating piece in The New Yorker about them. And there's a local guy, a guy with local ties. He's been working in this industry a lot. So I want to talk about microdramas a little bit more with Ryan Ray Vincent. Kind of enough to join me, an actor, filmmaker, originally from Lakewood on the hotline, and it's early out in Hollywood, so I appreciate you getting up early. Ryan, good morning to you. Oh, good morning, my friend. It's a pleasure to be here. And, you know what, I have no problem getting up early for a good Cleveland opportunity. Give my voice out there. You're very kind. Now, you left Lakewood. We're talking a little bit off the year. You left Lakewood a few years ago. Let me just say this. More than a few years ago, yes. Well, let me say this. Congratulations on working, first of all. Because in a career in Hollywood, or you're trying to do films and all, I mean, you're always looking for something, but you've put together a nice career, so congratulations. Yeah, yeah, it's kind of a miracle. You know, I moved out here officially about 10 years ago, directly from Cleveland. I ended up in New York for a while, which kind of, it kind of was some formidable years. It was a bit tough, but it gave me a lot of grit and a lot of personality. And so when I got to L.A., I kind of already had a bit of momentum, a bit of understanding how to make it into an environment. It's just... naturally, generationally very difficult to be welcomed into. And so, you know, for years, it was just the struggle. You know, everybody's kind of stereotypical starving artist lifestyle. You know, you book a job here, but you've got plenty of side hustles to keep you going. Yeah, you land it's not like people are lining up to help you sometimes. You know, you've got a dream that you want to do, right? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, sometimes it feels like when you're not from here, they really see you as an outsider. But I was always up for the challenge. So about three years ago, I was simultaneously writing a movie and getting that going with the film festival. It's which you've got to wear a lot of hats to even get into that business.

But I saw on other people, colleagues of mine, friends, what have you, that were getting into this microdrama space. And so I had an eye on it, but I wasn't immediately like, oh, I'm going to jump right into this because it was young. It was easy to judge. It was kind of silly almost. It was for TikTok. It's for this younger generation, you know. Right. But as I kept going, I saw, I think there's an opportunity here. And I think there's potential. that this could become kind of just the next of hundreds of different shifts in this industry over the past hundred years. You mentioned films. I'm fascinated by the business. Our Cleveland International Film Festival is wonderful. Of course, we get to host. And they do a lot of short films, but they're not as short as these. No, not at all. In the industry, though, these micro dramas, as I said, it's all about content and delivery of content. I'm seeing more and more of these things pop up. Talk about the industry some. What has intrigued you about it? How has it become so successful so far? Well, from what I understand, if you would go ahead and do it, just a quick Google search of the average screen time of a Gen Z. It's about nine hours a day. So I think, you know, over time, people started to look at these numbers and say, we already have the eyeballs. We just need to make something that is going to work. So you can't put a 90-minute feature film on a phone. I don't think someone looked at it completely. But if you can, if you chop it up into these small, very short episodes with cliffhangers every 60 seconds, you can keep someone's attention. Same as like any other social media platform, things move very fast. So I think when they started to identify that, they started to get to writing. At first glance, it comes off kind of silly because it moves so fast in this dramatic sense, but that's what keeps people watching. So I think that's what they ultimately recognized and put it to the test, and here we are. Three years or so into it. taken over i've had a chance to talk to a lot of actors and actresses over the years and they always tell me that it's the script i don't care what how big you are in the business is there is it a script is it something that interests you when you're pitched on something and so if you're doing a short thing i would think it's even more of a challenge and an enjoyable challenge is an actor i guess is that fair does that I agree with you. I think the challenge is always going to be there. I mean, this is the equivalent, the acting equivalent of drinking from a fire hose. I mean, it moves incredibly fast. The pace is, you know, often one take on set. We do 12 hours a day, but upwards like 20 pages of dialogue to be memorized and performed. So that's definitely the challenge of it. Again, because it moves so fast, you don't always get the luxury of a script that you really want to be a part of. And sometimes because of that, it's...

It does become a job. But like any job, you're going to have a good day at work, and some days you're going to have a rough day, and that's okay. You've been doing some writing, too. That's fun, right? Putting stuff. I saw in one of the notes, I saw you working on something about Jay Giles Peter Wolf. Is that right? Wow, yeah. That's been a kind of a passion project of mine. You know, I recognize that it was always a big family. Obviously, being from Cleveland, you know, just a classic rock kind of energy growing up. And in the 70s, that was kind of the start of the Jay Giles band. And in 75, he, Peter Wolfe, who was the frontman for that band, had a relationship and was married to Fay Dunaway in 1975. And so I started reading about that, and then I found some tasty little things about their relationship. And I was like, oh, there's a story here. So, yeah, I ultimately started writing about that. Interestingly enough, I reached out to Peter Wolf and tried to get a dialogue going, just saying, I'm a big fan. I want to write something about you. And, you know, rightfully so. He was like, I have no idea who you are. Please, please move on. Stop bothering me. I'm not going to give you the rights to my life story, stranger. Ryan. So, you know, that was a lesson in life. Ryan, Vincent. We actually made some changes, though. I took the story initially that was written about him and he said, okay, you know, I got some money. I'm going to make this. But let me just. do what I know. So I changed all the stuff that he had done, which was mostly in Boston and moved to Cleveland and just wrote that way. There you go. So you got away with it. Yeah. I did get away with it. Changed the names. It was okay. And it did well. I won a couple film festivals. And so it's pretty amazing. Ryan Ray Vincent, get you out of here, another minute here and get you out of the, because I know you're busy. I see these things pop up with ads, but there are apps, real short, drama box, good short. If you want to look these up. There are apps out there that have all these, right? Oh, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the ads you'll see on TikTok, Instagram, et cetera, they're just trying to drag you towards the apps, and that's where you're really in their space. Look here. Have some fun. Look, as I say, congratulations on just keeping work. A friend of mine had a daughter getting acting. I said, how to go? She said, well, I waited tables for a long time, but you just got to always keep putting some work together. It's a real uphill battle, but, you know, I think about it sometimes that if I was picked up by a claw machine from the sky and dropped anywhere in the world, soon as I figure out how to eat. Find somewhere to sleep. I'm going to find a theater or get into some acting. Good for you. I'm a lifer. Good for you. Ryan Ray Vincent, originally from Lakewood, now doing well. It has been for years in the industry and microdramas, one of the hottest areas in Hollywood right now. Hey, Ryan, thanks for the time this morning. All the best. Good luck, okay? God, thank you so much for having me. Take care, buddy. My blood runs cold.

There are some in the industry that are predicting that these micro dramas, more people who are watching these than actually going to the theater in years to come. And boy, he's right, Pat, as far as our attention span, especially the younger you are, shall we say. A lot of people are following these things nowadays, and he's had one of the successes. It's good to him. Not everyone is in the mood for war and peace. You're exactly right. Things are quick. We've got to keep moving here. All right, traffic, you're out in the body. He's Pat Bowler. Thanks, Bill. From the Elkenau Traffic Center, Elkenalk has won over $2 billion for their injured clients. Call 1-800-Elk, Ohio. Light on the Interbelt downtown right now. A few raindrops here and there's a problem in Lake County, a crash being cleared up in Menor. Route 2 West is blocked in between 306 and Lost Nation. And in the Akron area, some left-lane. road work really slowing things down on 76 westbound at Route 532. Pat Butler, WTAM traffic on 1,100 a.m. and 106.9. And rain movements are a little scattered stuff. Cleveland 3 News meteorald as Matt Wintz says love another round of showers later today up for 70s for the afternoon. I got 70 right now. It's severe weather station, sports. Mike's night. Bill, the Guardians have played 81 games, so that means they're halfway through their season. Yesterday's outcome was going to be one of the more memorable games as this season plays out after the Guardians. Ace Closer Cade Smith could not close it out, and Cleveland had a 3-1 lead. It looked like they had a win in hand. He gives up back-to-back homers. Things look very bleak, but the Guardian's got a run in the top of the tent to go up 4-3, and then... Here's the O'1. Swung on a chopper to the right side. Manso has it. Racist's a bag. He dives in time for the out. And the Guardians escape somehow winning as they work out of the bases loaded jam in the 10th and win it for three. Exactly how we drew it up, right? Oh, man. So they salvage one from the White Sox. They keep a share of first place now as they come back home, have a day off today. Boy, the work of Sean Armstrong out of the bullpen and at the plate, the work of Khalil Watson, big keys for the guardians. How about Watson the rookie in the three? game series. He got his first major league hit, his first major league home run, and by the time the weekend, the series ended, he'd gone five for nine with a homer, six runs batted in. The guardians only scored 10 in the three games. Now the guardians off today, start the 10 game homestand tomorrow, three with Seattle, three with the Rangers, and then the White Sox in for four over the fourth of July weekend. Big homestand and some key action coming up. They are currently in a virtual tie for first with the White Sox. NBA draft is complete. The Cavaliers trading out of round one and getting the player they really liked how they stayed put, according to Kobe Alman. He's guard Malik Thomas. Just one year with Arkansas under John Calipari. They like him a lot, but there was another reason why it was good to get into that second round. Every million dollars counts where we're trying to navigate. And so trying to be smart and efficient at the same time. And look Listen, I also think that that second round pick that we had gotten this deal, right? So we got what we believe to be a first round talent in the second round and pocketed a distant second round pick from Sacramento. Yeah, that second round pick, it's distant 2032, but it's an asset, and the Cavaliers working through trying to get that apron you hear about it with the NBA cap. They like what they're hearing, though, about Malik Thomas, who comes to them with a strong endorsement from his college coach, John Calvert.

He's 6-3. They think he's a combo guard, can play the point and the off-guard, and he was a 49-percent three-point shooter in the SEC last year. World Cup played tonight, USA back in action. Really, this will be a tune-up. They take on Turkey. They'll kick it off at 10. You can hear it on Sports Radio 99.1, and then they can wrestle players tonight as well. The knockout round is next week, and it looks like it'll be Bosnia-Herzegovina as their first round opponent next week. Home of the Guardian. Dan Katz. Mike Snyder, WTAM Sports. Let's check on the 930 News. What's trending this morning with Carmen Angelo, Carmen. And good morning to you, Bill. County leaders looking at ways to fund future improvements to Cleveland's venues. Nearly 200 people dead, 1,000 injured after two massive earthquakes rocked Venezuela last night, and some major decisions may come out of the U.S. Supreme Court later today. Coming up, we'll go to the White House. Talk to White House correspondent John Decker. See President Trump arguing with some GOP senators yesterday? Two of them, though, changed their votes last night. John explained. And I'll talk about more soccer at 935. Jackson Feltz. I hearts Jackson Feltz will join us what to look for in that match with the U.S. tonight. And just looking ahead, how surprised is he that we're doing this well? WTAM 1100. Home of the Guardians. Identity theft could cost more than you think. Drained investment accounts, stolen tax return. Leave the rest to us. Avoid dealing with pushy real estate agents, the stress of showing your home, and the inconvenience of moving items you no longer want. Grandview Homes, the fastest and easiest way to sell your home. Get your no obligation offer at Granview Homes.com today. Your one stop for advertising? Call 844-844-I-heart. July 4th, 2026, the 250th anniversary of American Independence. The great American state fair becomes the center of it all. All 50 states, a national prayer moment. And that night, the largest fireworks display in the history of the world. There's never been a July 4th like this one. There never will be again. Plan your trip at Freedom250.org. Freedom 250. The Great American State Fair, July 4th. On New World Trade American State Fair in Washington, had a busy day yesterday, met with some leaders of nature. It also was up at the Capitol Hill. I had a luncheon with GOP centers. They got a little noisy. Let's go to the White House, bringing White House correspondent John Decker. I've seen this story, and I'm sure. Glenn will be talking about after 10 and Buck at noon Clay's on a little vacation. So, John, play out here. What happened yesterday this GOP luncheon? Yeah, that president said he likes the members of the Republican conference, with the exception of a few. Maybe one of those members is Bill Cassidy. He's a Republican member from Louisiana. He's a senator. But last month, he lost his Senate primary in large part because the president endorsed... Bill Cassidy's primary opponent. So he could be a little bitter by that. The president got into an argument with Bill Cassidy during their closed-door Republican Senate lunch, and there was some yelling between both the president.

and Bill Cassidy. So a little bit of a dysfunction happening yesterday during that closed-door luncheon on Capitol Hill. But I will note late last night, Senator Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy, I guess changed their mind in a vote too on the military thing in Iran. They did. So Rand Paul voted present, and Bill Cassidy did a full 180. He now voted alongside the president, rejecting that war powers resolution, which was voted on once again in the U.S. Senate. Interesting. Hey, get you out here on the big celebration. President, all excited. The whole country's, he kicked off the fair last night, too, right? He did. Yeah, it's like state fair. You've got a state fair in Ohio. This is a state fair times 50 because every state has their own exhibition. It's on the national mall and it runs for 16 days. So we're expecting a lot of visitors here in the nation's capital head of Independence Day. John Decker at the White House. Thanks, John. Thank you. Home of the Cavaliers and Guardians. This is the big one. News Radio, W.T.A.m. 1100. By the way, John, a great follow on the I-Hart Radio app with the Daily White House briefing room with John Decker. Check it out. 9.30. Cleveland's morning news with Wilson Snyder. U.S. playing soccer again tonight. We'll spend some time with our I-Hart soccer guy. Jackson Felts here in just a few. Talk more about World Cup on News Radio. W.T.A.m. 1100. Weather for us here around Cleveland, a little lights. Scattered rain moving through northeast Ohio. Cleveland 3 News meteorologist Matt Wins. Hi Bill. Happy Thursday to you. A cold front approaching from the northwest will bring some scattered showers and thunderstorms of the area today. Temperatures will get into the upper 70s. You'll also feel that increase in humidity. Good news, schools out. Bad news. Kids get bored. Great news. Cleveland Botanical Garden and Holden Arboretum now have the summer savings pass. It admits. Cavaliers play. The county-wide syntax instituted more than three decades ago to fund such as. is running low thanks to fewer and fewer people smoking and drinking alcohol these days. A sales tax hike is among the options to fill that gap. I asked Cuyahoga County Councilman Marty Sweeney, his counter to taxpayers who say let the billionaire owners pay. They are billionaires, but they're investing in our city, right? And we have to be fair. And if someone comes in and wants to invest in our city and our job is to assess the investment, if there's a good return, we participate. The county is looking at a potential 0.15% sales tax increase to generate the revenue. Cuyahoga County residents already pay the highest sales tax rate in all of Ohio. Beachwood's Police Chief is sharing new details related to Sunday's accident when a car backed up into an outdoor patio at City Barbecue on Chagrin Boulevard hitting and killing a three-year-old girl. Chief Daniel Grispino telling three news that surveillance video shows that it was 18-year-old Jasmine McFadden who was driving, even though her father, Ken McFadden.

First told police he was behind the wheel. Through our initial investigation, they're reviewing surveillance video. Our officers determined that was not true. They observed him getting out of the passenger side of the vehicle after the crash. Jasmine McFadden is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide while her father, who was on the 1986, Cleveland State basketball team, is charged with obstructing official business. The United States stands ready, willing, and able to help Venezuela after two devastating earthquakes struck the country last night. That message from President Trump. Venezuela's president says there are at least 164 dead, nearly 1,000 more injured, with those numbers expected to climb. Concern about aftershocks after two powerful earthquakes rocked Venezuela, hitting less than a minute apart. The first, a 7.2 magnitude quake, then 39 seconds later, and just miles away, a 7.5 quake. People fleeing into the streets of Caracas, buildings swaying, smoke blooms rising from the city. ABC Sophie Flay reporting the quakes are the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century. The United States Supreme Court could release some major decisions today. More now on that story from our Mark Mayfield. The justices set a self-imposed deadline to finish their work by the end of June. And there are decisions involving several high-profile cases yet to be released. They include transgender athlete bans, President Trump's birthright citizenship order, his ability to fire federal officials, the accounting of mail-in ballots that arrive after election day, campaign finance, deportation protections, and more. The court has indicated it will next release opinions at 10 a.m. Eastern. I'm Mark Mefield. Blood donations to the American Red Cross are usually down this time a year. So they are offering a special giveaway to those who donate blood between June 29th and July 12th. The Red Cross of Ryan Lang says blood donors during those dates will receive a limited edition, Patriotic T-shirt featuring Looney Tunes characters like Bugs Bunny and Deffy Duck. That really celebrates Looney Tunes and celebrates. America's 250th and comes together to celebrate the America Red Cross and the need for blood. Lang says blood donations are usually down this time of year because of busy summer schedules to find a blood drive near you. Log on to red cross.org or you can call 800 Red Cross. Gamers out there, listen up. The price for the long anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6 video game has now been revealed. Rockstar Games announcing it'll cost gamers $80 to buy the basic single-player version of the game. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto 6 Ultimate Edition will set fans back 100 bucks. Pre-orders for the game will open on Thursday. The game is set to drop November 12.

November 20th. For the latest deadlines at the top and bottom of the hour, set a preset on the free I-heart radio app to WTAM 1100. I'm Carmen Angelo. Now, do they have a third goal in them? Santa Jimenez was there. Elbrado trying to tee it up, and there is the third goal, and it comes from Alvaro Fidelgo. As they tire. Bruno Gouinara is here, Jumps. Strikes again and Brazil do now have a three goal advantage. A little World Cup soccer talk. We got 10 o'clock tonight, USA Turkey. But it doesn't matter, right? Mike Snyder, because we're already... Yeah, it really does. You don't want to keep momentum. But, yeah, they're already into the next round. Let's see if IHearts Jackson Feltz can confirm all this. Our soccer guy, Bill Wills, Mike Snyder alongside. Jackson, thanks for your time. First, let me ask you a broad question. I'm just curious overall, and you, you know a lot about soccer. I know you handle the Seattle Sounders out there. Is there a team right now that is advanced? that you think is playing better than you thought going in and one that has surprised you about not playing as well? Yeah, let me start with the latter. Canada is one that I really thought would play better. First off, I thought Alfonso Davies could potentially be healthy. Their star player plays over in Germany. He's not healthy. And in Canada, yesterday, with their loss... to Switzerland really surprised me. That's a team that, you know, they're playing out of Vancouver. Yesterday was out of their home stadium in their home crowd, and you really thought they were going to put together at least a decent performance in front of their home fans to advance and potentially win Group B. They did not look good. And they pretty much just sat back and let Switzerland stay on the front foot. The second goal that Switzerland had was very, very easy, a save that MLS goalkeeper, Maxime Cheneau should have gotten. Canada surprised me. They're going through, but very lackluster performances to get them through to the next level. Meanwhile, in terms of... a team that I think is doing better, guys, I honestly have to say the United States. I thought the United States would look solid. They would be able to win their group. But I didn't think that they would look this dominant in doing so. They have looked like a top, honestly, top six team in this entire World Cup, the way that they are playing. I don't think that there are seven better teams right now playing in the World Cup in the United States. And I think that... element is something that we can really take forward another round of 32 in Santa Clara on July 1st and then potentially back in the round of 16 here in Seattle and say, all right, the United States is poised for a big run. Very few teams are playing as well as they are. Jackson, from that point then, for tonight's match, we know they're in next week. What's the approach you expect them to take tonight?

I expect them to still try to go out and win. You don't want a train that's rolling down the tracks to just immediately halt and then have to pick back up when they face likely Bosnia coming up on the first. But in that, you definitely want to make sure that no players who have yellow cards play. You don't want them getting suspended for that July 1st game. You want to make sure that you rotate some of your team. You don't want to take any unnecessary risks. And to that point... I don't think you want to play Christian Policicic. Now, we may see Maricio Pochitino, our head coach, play Policic for maybe 10, 15 minutes just to get those motors run in. I think a player of Policic's level and how good he is and how long he's played at this high level, I don't think necessarily he needs that time. I think he can get up to speed playing and practice in those full team sessions. But... At the same point, if you feel like he needs a few minutes, I understand. I wouldn't do it. But at the same case, I think you go out and you play to win with your still half of best players, half of your normal starting lineup that we've seen in the first two games. It seems like, boy, they've really got something going there with, you mentioned the coach Portitino. It seems, I mean, they've been trying for years to really, I think, settle that spot. It seems like he's got a good handle on this team, doesn't he? He sure does. I tell you what, a couple of years ago when he was available and when the United States said, all right, we're moving on, we need a new coach. Greg Berhalter was not getting it done. We need a guy to come in and change the entire culture. And there was a number of names on the table and a number of very, very quality coaches on the table. You know, we assume that coaches of Mauricio Pochitina's level just simply wouldn't be interested. Hey, there's lots of big clubs and there's lots of big European jobs that are going to be available. Why would Mauricio Portatino want to take the United States and try to get us to our second quarterfinal in the modern World Cup era? And it's an amazing job by U.S. soccer. They convinced him. They showed him the exact outline for the program and credit to U.S. soccer and everybody with J.T. Batson and everybody else. They got it done. They hired the right guy. The right man is in charge. And yes, I know some people. He's not American. He's not a Burrhaler. He's not a Bob Bradley. He's not a Bruce Arena. But that different cultural change, that different inflection, that different view on the game. That has allowed the U.S. soccer program to take this next step that we are seeing right now. Fantastic. Great takes. Jackson Feltz with IHeart out in Seattle, the sounders that he does, and hopefully we'll get to some more action out there and get a chance to talk to you more as World Cup and the U.S. again tonight, but again, next week's the big time with the next round. Jackson, all the best. Thank you so much. Thank you. Great takes. By the way, when it comes to World Cup Sports Radio 99.1, Cleveland's home for World Cup soccer, 2026, coverage presented by BrewDog Cleveland.

It's 942 now. Cleveland's morning news with Wils and Steiner. You're out and about. Let's check your drive. WTAM traffic and Pat Boller, anything going on? Hey, thanks, Bill. Yes. From the Elkenal Traffic Center, Elkenal is won over $2 billion for their injured clients, call 1-800-O-Hol. There is an accident being investigated in Menard. Route 2 West is blocked in between 306 and Lost Nation. Some roadwork slowing things down on the west side on the turnpike westbound between 71 and 480. And then also an accident reported on Broadway. between East 37th and Dill Avenue. Pat Butler, W-T-A-M traffic on 1,100 a.m. and 106.9F. A little scattered rain moving through, and we'll have some more looks like later this afternoon. Kind of a muggy day. I'm for 70s. According to Cleveland, 3 News, meteoraldus, Matt. Went 72 right now at your severe weather station. Guardians off today, right, Mike? Yeah, they are off, and they need a day off. Long road trip, got a great win yesterday, and they are back home with the day off. They salvaged a win in Chicago, 4-3 and 10 innings, and they come home with a share of first place. They're at the exact midpoint of the season for them at 42 and 39. Day off today, start of a 10-game homestand tomorrow night with Seattle in town, followed by the Rangers and White Sox. What a stretch this is for them. and they go into it. sharing first place with Chicago. Cavaliers plan to develop Arkansas guard Malik Thomas. They look at him as a tombo guard, really. While he primarily played a shooting guard in college, they believe that he can play the point as well. In college, he was a 42% three-point shooter. They drafted him last night with pick 34 after trading out of the first round the night before. And at the World Cup, we just talked about it. The U.S. will meet Turkey tonight at 10. You can hear that game on... that match on Sports Radio 99.1. Again, the U.S. has already locked up a spot next week. You just heard from Jackson on how they should approach tonight, but you still want to win. Home of the Guardians and Cavs, Mike Smiter, WTAM Sports. Catch your buddy, Terry Pluto tonight, Cleveland playing dealer, Cleveland.com. Terry on tour, he'll be in Aurora at the Barnes & Noble at 630, taking your questions, talking about our teams, of course copies of all those great books. Terry Pluto, 630 tonight, Barnes and Noble Aurora. The Global State. Ohio State Water. Waterproofing customer. I had some water issues out in back of my house and had the guys from Ohio State waterproofing come out. And let me tell you something about peace of mind. You know, you've got quality people who have been doing this for decades, these great contractors that know what they're doing. And really, once the job is finished, that's when the good feeling happens and that's when you can finally sleep at night. You know, when you hear that rain on the roof or maybe it's snow melting or anything along those lines, year-round, Ohio State waterproofing can help out. 20-point inspection. They'll do an estimate, an air quality test, and make sure your basement's healthy and dry. Looking for all those warning signs, cracks, dampness, mold, musty odors, mildew, and the white chalky areas, all of that. All available by way of our friends at Ohio State Waterproofing again. It's 800-800-18. That's 800-800-18. Or just go to Ohio Statewaterproofing.com.

They're the real deal. Their people are trained and certified to waterproof your basement and stabilize your walls. Schedule a free inspection with Ohio Basement Authority, a groundworks company. Licensed in all states where work is performed. See website for details. Hi, it's Bill Wills with Rich Claibor to the Claibonado stores. Rich, tell me about employee pricing for all. That's right, Bill. You pay what we pay and a great selection of new cords. How about an example? 2026 F-150 Super Crew 4x4, America's best-selling truck. Lease for only $5.98 a month, 36 months, no security deposit, only $5.98 do it same. Simple and straightforward. Experience the difference at Claibon. We're closer than you think. The global stage is lit. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is on. New lives lost in a horrific crash Tuesday afternoon along the Jennings Freeway. The death toll now climbing after two powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela, at least 164 dead. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling leaders in the Middle East the U.S. wants peace with Iran, but not, quote, at any price. A little breaking news in the NBA this morning, Mike Schneider. Yeah, we've got a couple of stories right now. One involves the Cavaliers, actually. Gina Servetti of Bloomberg. reporting just a few minutes ago that Blue Owl Capital is in advance talks to buy a minority stake of the Cavaliers. And the size of the stake is expected to be between 5 and 10%. The Cavaliers currently valued at nearly $4 billion. Sportico has reported that Dan Gilbert had been looking to sell as much as 15% of the franchise since last summer. I think we've seen this happen before. I don't think this has much impact in terms of the fans. But it's news, though, that the... Cavaliers, again, a small percentage. It looks like they will be sold by the calves to this group that also has stakes in Atlanta and Sacramento and Minnesota. I mentioned now, Minnesota, a breaking story today. The Timberwolves are sending, making a deal with the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte will send Stargard Lamello Ball along with Josh Green to Minnesota for Nas Reid, a future first-round pick and three pick swaps. So Minnesota will have a back-court combo of Anthony Edwards and Lamello Ball going forward. So some big swings there, Bill, going out of the NBA. We are capped by the largest fireworks display in the world on July 4th. This is for every American. Admission is free. Plan your trip at Freedom250.org. Freedom 250. The great American style. State Fair, be there. Clean out your closet, donate your clothes, and earn rewards with trashy. Send your clothes somewhere better and get cashed. I'm with a birthday. 83. Oh, she's great in concert. Saw her years ago. She's awesome. Tomorrow morning we'll be doing stuff the truck for Providence House, Mike. Yes, we will be just outside, Progressive Field between the Arena, Rocket Arena and Progressive Field. Come on by as we get it down. Get paper towels, diapers. You know what we need for those little ones for Providence House. In advance. We're doing a little extra shopping today and dropping off something. Come down to the game tomorrow night. Make sure you bring something. We'll also have you gift cards we can do. And tomorrow we'll tell you more about how you can directly don't.

to the Great Cause with Providence Act. Onyx, I keep having stomach issues. Please make me a doctor.