JR Morning ~ July 13, 2026 ~ Full Show

Hello, happy Monday. Good to have you here. Lloyd, hello. I'm glad to see you, brother. I mean, I'm always glad to see you, but today I'm especially glad to see you. I'll be honest. I didn't know if I was going to be seen this morning. It's been one of those weekends. It was a touch and go weekend. Touch and go, huh? Boy, so you got the. I got it. I got it. You got the stain. I got it. Cyclosporiasis. You know, I got it. And I said last week, I've sworn off fruits. I've sworn off vegetables. Yes. I'm not doing it. Brian's nodding his head in agreement. We are. I had pizza yesterday. I feel great. We are. I know. That's right. You see? Hear that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.? We're going pizza diet. And we also thought you swore off fruits and vegetables like 10 or 15 years ago. I don't want the green peppers on it. I don't want the mushrooms. You can save it. Yeah, well. Meat lovers, baby. Meat lovers. Let's go. I know that's right, Jace. It is continuing the last count of what we have here in Michigan, about 1,500 cases, 1,562 cases now been reported. And that was up, but that was as a Friday. We didn't get any numbers over the weekend. I'm sure we'll get some numbers today. Health officials have to be like half a million at this. Health officials have not identified the specific food source, but previous outbreaks have been linked to contaminated produce, infectious disease. Expert Dr. Tina Chopra says tracking the source can be difficult because symptoms may not appear for up to two weeks after exposure. Right. So you've no idea. Like, I have no idea. Like, Brian said, do you remember what you ate two weeks ago? And I'm like, I don't remember what I ate yesterday. Actually, I do. Nothing. Right. Well, no. Nothing was happening. It was coming out, but not going in. Ain't nothing eaten. Yeah. No eating happening. So, I mean, look, I went to the doctors on Saturday. Yeah. And it was weird because I was feeling kind of off late last week. And then my son had his All-Star game for baseball on Friday night. I got home. I had 102-degree fever. That's a clue. And it would only, I only had the fever for a few hours. Okay. And then that went away. And then I just kind of felt crummy the rest of the weekend. Went to the doctor and they're like, yeah. Yeah. Here's the, here's the antibiotic and get after it. Number 20 who came in there. I'm sure they were getting them left and right. Well, right before the doctor came into my room, I heard him going, yeah, if you cook the vegetables, you're probably okay. So, yeah, uh-huh. You know, it is making its way around. So I got it. And we push through. We persevere. Well, listen, brother, I'm glad to see you. Yes, it's good to be here. Meanwhile, yesterday we got the unfortunate news that Lindsey Graham died at 71 years old. His crew called it a brief and sudden illness, although later on we found that he had an aortic tear. Yes. Due to heart disease. And due to heart disease, years of, you know. Yeah.

build up, plaque, build up, things like that. Exactly. And that's what ultimately took his life. That's according to the medical examiner in D.C., although they say this is a preliminary exam. More is going to be done. Got to do toxicology and all of that stuff. Correct. And so, I mean, really a shock because Lindsey Graham just 36 hours before was in Ukraine. Yeah. They were talking about, he held a press conference. I saw that. about a potential Russian sanctions bill that he's like, we're going to get this passed. Yep. And gets back to the president when he came home. He had talked to the president. He had talked to the president. President said he was tired because of the long flight. But other than that, he said he sounded great. And then dead. I mean, look, the realities are that's unfortunate. But the unfortunate part in all of this, too, has been the reaction to this. Just ugly, man. Like, I got people that people are like journalists. or claim to be journalists. Yes. Out there like, I'm glad he's dead. Now look, Donald Trump has said things like this in the past, which is also gross. Yes. Who's the producer who died, who got killed by his kid? Oh, whatever. Rob Reiner? Yeah. And he's like, ah, it wasn't really my fan, so whatever. Like, it's gross. Yeah, it is. It was the same thing when Charlie Kirk got shot. Same thing. Gross. But then I got it here. Oh, Lindsey Graham, the scourge, I hope he's rotten in hell. What are we doing? Yeah. But then here's the other problem is then here's Adam Schiff. on the news of Lindsey Graham's passing. I think we're all trying to wrap our heads around this giant loss. He was one of those figures that was really larger than life that was so filled with energy that it's hard to imagine him gone. Now, that's an appropriate response. Sure. My problem with that, though, is you spend every other day on the calendar ripping this guy. Yes. So that seems. Again, that's the appropriate response. It is. Adam Schiff had the exact correct tone. But the problem is you demonize every other moment of every other day. That now I hear that and I go, what? Come on, man. Yeah. No, I agree. It's unfortunate all the way around. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell says a fall led to his hospitalization and ongoing recovery. The 84-year-old Kentucky Senator revealed Sunday that he has undergone extensive medical tests as doctors work to determine what caused the fall. Mitch McConnell, who is now in a rehabilitation center, says he is not ready to return to the Senate quite yet, but continues working with his staff on legislative matters. His statement came.

After weeks of limited information about his condition fueled public speculation, including rumors about his health, Mitch McConnell said people of his generation often hesitate to discuss the vulnerabilities that come with aging, even while serving in the public eye. And there was a lot, there were a lot of pictures, AI and stuff. It was pictures and stuff, AI pictures and everything, man. And it was, you know, so I'm glad he came out and just said, hey, this is what's going on. And maybe hopefully people quiet. It feels like also on the Iranian front. We are moving in a different direction now. Yeah. Three night total, 300 targets hit by the United States in Iran. Sentcom confirmed those numbers. And again, this is the... Iranians and the IRGC saying that the straight is shut and they're going to continue targeting these vessels until the United States ends its influence in the region. Okay, but again, this is an international waterway. You have no authority over any of that. And again, it just feels like we're moving in a different direction. Now, there's been other... Things that have been happening, these negotiations are allegedly still going on. But this is where I almost think that this, whatever this conflict is, it's almost unwinnable for the United States. Because Iran has this mosaic defense strategy, which basically is a decentralized military. So if the government and the president and the Ayatollah are saying one thing or they're willing to work on the diplomatic front, the IRGC is going rogue. They're doing whatever they want to do, which means they're attacking these ships in the strait. That's right. They are causing the havoc because there is no centralized command. There you go. Yep. It's not like the president says, we're going to strike whatever. Yeah. You know, we're going to hit these drone facilities along the coast and Iran. Yeah. That's an order. You follow the order. That's not what Iran is. No. No. No. And so it's havoc. So that's why the president feels like they have made progress on the diplomatic front. But on the other side, the IRGC is doing whatever they want to do. That's right. So, yeah, it feels like, boy, it feels like Iran's just pushing this things towards November because it is going to be so politically unattainable to stop this beforehand that they're just going to make this very difficult for Donald Trump. going forward into the midterms. We had a shooting at Great Lakes Crossing outlets in Auburn Hills over the weekend. It left a 20-year-old man dead, a 19-year-old woman injured. Police say the gunfire happened around 520 Saturday evening in the Ball's food court following an earlier confrontation between the victim and a 22-year-old man who police say is the shooter.

Investigators say the dispute began in a full court bathroom before escalating into the common area where the victim and another man allegedly confronted the suspect before shots were fired. Police say the suspect who has a concealed pistol license is in custody. Authorities are calling in an isolated incident and the case will be reviewed by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office. We'll have the Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard on in the 7 o'clock hour to talk more about what happened out at Great Lakes Crossing. Yeah, that was unfortunate in some of the videos that were coming out. Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. Yeah. Meanwhile, we are in the MLB All-Star break. Jason, how you feel at the, at the break? You know, the series with the Phillies is kind of everything this team is. Yeah. Because. They can beat up on the athletics of the world, but when you run into two of the best pitchers in baseball, this is what happens. Well, and they did have a nice outing in that first game. They did. Yep, then they faced, what, Sanchez on Saturday, Wheeler yesterday, and that's when Sal, two hits yesterday. The Wheeler's scoble duel is a good one, though. Oh, it's great. It's must-see TV. Absolutely. And despite the two losses, still three and a half games back in the wild card. Also, the home run derbies tonight, I believe. Is that on Netflix? It's on Netflix this year, yeah. Netflix. Boy, I'm telling you. Take it over the world. They are. Netflix, Netflix. I pay $8.99 for Netflix. It is the best entertainment deal out there. I'm sorry. Meanwhile, Gordy Howe Bridge is going to open. We'll talk about it on the other side. It's Chair of Morning. All right, well, we finally have some good news on the Gordy Howe Bridge. It's all part of our conversation with Mike Lee, the managing editor at Cranes, Detroit Business, which is brought to by Mercantile Bank. Looking for a new business bank, mercantile can help drive your business forward. Learn more at Merckbank.com. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Chris. How are you? We're good. What was the breakthrough here? After about a month of talks between the Canadian government and the U.S. government, they reached a conclusion to break the logjam to open the Gordi Howe Bridge. It seems like much of the discussion centered on tolls. They're going to open the bridge July 27th after these talks for the last month. The Trump administration had blocked a planned opening back in June. Trump wanted the U.S. to be fully compensated, and they have reached a deal by which the U.S. will be compensated. One interesting wrinkle in the statement is that it implied that talks are ongoing about certain non-market-related toll charges. So I think it's a safe assumption that the final toll to cross the bridge might be more than the $5.75 they had originally planned, but that's not clear yet. The one perfect one one one

One person that's good for is the ownership of the Ambassador Bridge, which higher tolls would mean a less competitive market for border crossings. So we'll see where that shakes out. But by and large, it's good news for international trade and for connections between the U.S. and Canada. Well, you know, Mike, we've got some empty storefronts and abandoned buildings that really have been turned around in the last 20 years in downtown Detroit, but there's still more work to be done, isn't it? Yeah, we've seen building after building in downtown Detroit go through some really stunning makeovers. You know, people think about the book tower or the... you know Michigan Central most most prominently but there are number of quite a few others and it's a it's a different downtown than it used to be you might think that there might not be very many buildings left to renovate but that is not correct We identified Kirk Pinho, our senior reporter, identified a list of about 19 of those buildings downtown that still are waiting for their turn in the sun, so to speak. Some are, you know, some are owned by, you know, Dan Gilbert. bedrock including Cadillac Tower and the in the in the Wayne County building others are sort of underused the Penobscot building which once was the city's tallest building is is still in use but it's only 40% occupied and it has some really widely reported maintenance troubles Over the years, it really is a sign that, you know, even though so much progress has been made, it's redevelopment is still hard. It's very expensive. Construction costs are high. Labor is hard to come by to work on these sorts of projects and the money, the capital, to make them happen is still tricky to put together. Often it doesn't come without some sort of government subsidy. So the momentum in downtown continues. But if you're looking for an opportunity to redevelop a building, I would check out Kirk's List. and look into acquiring one of those. You want to go in together on one, Lloyd? Yeah, just, yeah. Everybody kick in 10. Snatch one up and go get it. I mean, you know, a hotel or, you know. That's right. That's right. And, you know, we have been, like, talking to Keith Baldwin, the owner of the Regal Eagle and Southwest Detroit throughout much of the World Cup here. And it's wonderful to have like a true soccer bar here in our city because, I mean,

It ain't no time to be excited like soccer than it is right now. No, they picked a golden opportunity to start this bar in southwest Detroit. A group of local business leaders, really, Keith Baldwin, as you said, Glenn Stevens of Michado is one of the ownership group. It's opened this regal eagle bar, and not only does it take advantage of the timing of the World Cup, but it is ahead of the planned construction and opening of Detroit City FCs. New soccer stadium in Southwest Detroit, 15,000 seat stadium. It's going to bring a lot of people down there. Detroit didn't really have a center for the world's most popular sport. And now it really does. And it seems like there are a lot of stars lined up to make the right time to open that sort of venture. Mike Lee, always appreciate catching up on a Monday. Thank you. We'll talk again next week. Thank you. Yep, you got it. When it comes to redeveloping those buildings downtown, you know, as Cranes has said in their report, I mean, many of those buildings are eyed for hotels or apartments right now because people are living downtown, they need places to stay. And boy, do we need still hotel rooms downtown. And the exciting part, too, is hopefully you get to the point where we are adding buildings, not just renovating. Renovating is good. It's good. It's great. I'm not, we got to do it. Yeah, because if not, they'll just crumble and we can build new buildings, but the old ones are just fall down. Right, right. But once you get to the point where all of them are renovated, then you start adding? Adding. Yeah, that's good stuff. Coming up on the other side, we're going to talk about the death of Lindsey Graham, what it means, what it means for the midterms. All coming up next here on, J.R. Morning. So Lindsey Graham, shockingly, dead at the age of 71, the senior senator from South Carolina. An aortic tear is the early preliminary explanation for this sudden and quick passing, unexpected passing. And, you know, he was a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. He was a staunch supporter of Israel. He was a staunch supporter of Ukraine. You know, he, in the modern Republican Party, probably what you would consider a bit of a hawk. He was more willing to engage in military conflict than maybe others were than maybe than Donald Trump talked about during the campaign even. And his perspective on things changed over the years. He wasn't always that guy. He was more moderate in the early parts of his career. And so what do we make of Lindsey Graham now? And then what happens now going forward? Ken Coleman is the... Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan and joins us this morning. Professor, it's good to have you. Good morning. Thank you for having me. What do we make of Lindsey Graham's legacy of his history at this point in the early aftermath of his death? Yeah, well, he, I mean, he epitomizes the contemporary...

Republican Party in his trajectory for the last, you know, two or three decades. He was initially very, very skeptical about Donald Trump and his rise, and he was a critic of Trump. He ran against him and really attacked him quite vocally, but then made his peace with Donald Trump and, in fact, became quite loyal. and became a, you know, a major person in the Senate who advanced Trump's agenda. And this epitomizes the trajectory of the party. This is what's happened to the party over the last 11 years. And he was really the, you know, a major figure as part of that transformation. So he's also someone with enormous. legacies on policy in tax and judiciary and of course foreign affairs. Professor, Democrats who often disagreed with Linda Graham still praised his willingness to negotiate. You think Washington has lost some of its capacity for bipartisan dealmaking as figures like Graham leave the stage? Well, certainly early in his career, he did a lot of bipartisan legislating and working with Democrats. This was – he was considered to be someone who would, you know, reach across the aisle to find compromises. And, you know, yeah, I mean, Democrats would, you know, looking back, would praise that part of his career. And perhaps at a personal level within the Senate, I think he got along with Democrats. But, you know, again, towards, you know, the last 11 years, as it's happened in both parties there. is a lot less bipartisan cooperation in a lot of areas. And there's more, at least open public animosity. And, you know, Graham is, again, emblematic of that change. But that's, you know, it takes two to tango. It takes two to be bipartisan. And so, you know, both neither party has been, is spending a lot of their energies trying to advance bipartisan legislation. What are the political ramifications for this now? Yeah, I mean, it's certainly not going to change which political party represents South Carolina. You know, I think the Republican Party is facing a complicated moment about the degree to which it is an internationalist or isolationist political party. And Lindsey Graham was definitely more on the internationalist side. I think the implications are probably going to be most felt in foreign affairs.

The kind of stances that Graham represented within the Republican Party will be you know, maybe reduced in its weight towards more isolationism. That's a distinct possibility. And I was wondering, too, is there another Republican senator today who, you know, naturally steps into Graham's role as the party's chief voice on defense of foreign affairs? Or is that influence kind of difficult to replace? Well, certainly for his stance on the Ukraine-Russian War, I think he'll be hard to replace in the moment. It's hard to tell who will step in. There are certainly, you know, a set of Republicans in the Senate who are still, you know, more isolated, I'm sorry, more internationalist and, you know, favor. you know, strong, strong support for Ukraine. But, you know, in the Senate, there's not a lot of people. So, you know, losing one person can matter a lot. And on key votes, for instance. Interesting thoughts. Ken Coleman with the University of Michigan. Thank you for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. I mean, he was running for re-election now. Yeah, right. He just won the primary in June. Yes. You know, and his opponent, the Democrat in this race, who is Annie Andrews, she had released a statement. My deepest condolences are with the family of Senator Lindsey Graham, his friends, his devoted staff, and all who are grieving his sudden and tremendous loss from a small town, South Carolina roots to the halls of the U.S. Senate. He was a man of great faith who proudly served our nation as a JAG officer and Air Force colonel. She went on to say that she would like all South Carolinans to put aside, you know, bipartisan ship and thank Lindsey Graham. Again, good thoughts, the right thoughts, the appropriate tone. But there is going to be now a bit of a vacuum that you have to fill. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, I mean, you know, he was. kind of the Senate's old guard. I don't know, you know, we're kind of watching the end of an era where these personal relationships across these party lines carried more weight than these ideological battles. Ralph Norman. who was a congressman, said that he is considering running for Lindsey Graham's seat. We've heard from Nancy Mace that she would be interested in the seat. Nikki Haley, according to Bloomberg, is not interested in running for Lindsey Graham's seat. So we're going to already kind of start to see a little bit of who comes into that picture.

But there's going to be pretty quick, though. Yes, yes. Whoever it is. Correct. Correct. So, again, a sad situation. Politics aside, sad situation. This guy's in Ukraine talking about, you know, a Russian bill to put sanctions on the Russians. 36 hours later, he's dead. He's gone. Yeah. It's absolutely unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. And again, he was, I think he was booked for Meet the Press Sunday morning. Sunday morning. Yeah, I know he talked to the president when he came back. Yeah. Quick and sudden this was. Coming up on the other side, Lomas Brown joins the show. He's got his golf outing today to help benefit children in our community. We'll talk to him coming up next. But first at 644. Time for ion engineering brought to you by the CSP, rethinking composites for a lighter sustainable future. Learn more at the CSP.com. Researchers say they've shown that holding a lithium-ion battery packs cells under constant pressure can double the lifespan of an EV battery. The novel approach by a team at the University of Cambridge tested commercial pouch cells in an adjustable pneumatic environment. Using sensors and bellows, the study held the pressure at 12.5 bar despite the expansion and contraction of the electrodes during normal cycling. The team found that more than 12.5 bar would risk lithium plating, while too little pressure led to cracked cathodes. Doubling the lifespan of a battery pack is much more than the incremental gains typically one with small changes in cell chemistry. That kind of lifespan could affect EV service life, used EV values, and even raw material demand. Cambridge's IP arm has filed for a patent. The work was first reported in the journal Nature Energy. For SAE International, I'm Chris Klotz, and that's an eye on engineering. Well, for a long time, Lomas Brown has been helping the community. Yes, sir. For a very long time. And he's been doing it through the Lomas Brown Jr. Foundation. And today, his annual golf classic kicking off. And they do everything to support academic success or physical wellness. They offer scholarships and career readiness for kids in the Detroit area. It's an incredibly worthy cause and so many rally around Lomas to make this thing happen and to help those in our community. And Lomas Brown, the co-hosts, a sports rap here on WJR, Lyons Legend, Super Bowl champ joins us this morning, Lowe. Good morning. Yes, sir. Is the putter warmed up today? How are we feeling? Hey, look, Chris, Lloyd, I have a very, very important job. I am in charge of hydration and nourishment. So I'm going to keep you hydrated and nourished out there today. That's my job, and that's an important job. I'm telling you, last year, I was on the green, one of the greens, and he was, Lomas was maybe.

30 yards away from me. And I yelled to him. I said, Lomas, I need a celebrity, a guest putter here. And he goes, no, you don't. Oh, man. You know, we just try to have a lot of fun out there. It's a lot of fun. And like you said earlier, a lot of people come together to make this possible. So I'm thankful for the opportunity to be able to do this. And you know, Lomas, we all know you've had, you know, tremendous success in football and broadcasting. But what is giving back rank among, you know, your life's accomplishments? Yeah, I'm glad you asked me that, Lloyd, because when I first got here, right, as an offensive line back in 1985, yeah, I wanted to make my name on the field, but I knew it was just as important or maybe more important to make my name off the field. And that's what I did. I just started doing charitable events. started getting out more and more in the community. And, you know, it's just grown from now. So it's natural now. I mean, it's just part of life for me to get out there and give to whoever, you know, we can. And like they say, too much is given, much as expected. Last year, the tournament raised over a quarter of a million dollars. And talk about how that directly benefits the foundation. Oh, my gosh, man, the programs, Chris, that we're able to put on. And look, everything I do from my camps to the reading program, to the enrichment program, any and everything we do is free for the kids and their families. The foundation takes on the financial responsibility of that. And like I say, from the good people here raising money, that enables me to keep these programs going for these young kids. And that's what we got to get them. We got to get them while they're young, man. And that's what we're trying to do here at the foundation. No, when you look back at your own childhood, who invested in you? Was there someone who changed, of course, kind of like of your life, the way you're hoping to do for these young people? You know what? That's a great question. Not for me. I was lucky, right? I had both of my parents in my house, my father and my mother there. So, you know, you get that both types of love. You get that tough love from your dad, but you get that nourishing love. from your mother. And so I was lucky. A lot of kids not like that. You know what I'm saying? So I knew the situation that I was in, and I know the situation that a lot of kids are in having single family, single parents, households. So I wanted to be that kind of that, that's not surrogate father, but almost that surrogate that can feel in.

say financially if you need that. If you need a father figure, if you need advice, I want to be that person that can do that. And through my foundation, that enables me to do things like this. So you guys are getting ready to tee off here in a couple hours. And, you know, last year we're getting ready to play. And oh, Barry Bernie Sanders just walking by. Oh, there's Calvin Johnson just driving around on a golf cart. Yeah. That Lomis is just bopping around. I mean, this dude brings out everybody. And, you know, talking to Calvin or Barry or whatever, it was like, we're so happy to be here for Lomas. We're so happy to be here for the foundation. I mean, you guys do everything right. Yeah, we do. We try to. I have to thank those guys, man. Like I always say, man, once you put on that Honolulu blue and silver, it's in your blood. And I'm so happy these guys come out. They support me. And guys, even that you don't see out there, I still get that support that I need to get out in the community and do what we need to do. So yeah, man, I'm looking forward to having a great, great day today. And Lo, we always hear like it takes a village. We hear that all the time. Is this golf out and kind of becoming that village now? Oh, man. Tell me about it. Man, so many moving pieces, man. There's so many pieces that are part of that village. Yes, it is, man. It's like a whole bunch of little ones of us just running around, man. Yeah, so it does take a lot to make this happen. Kim Knight, Tamika Carthane, those are my people from my foundation. They did an awesome job of helping to put this event on. And, yeah, hopefully we're going to have a good day out the other day. And all the sponsors, all the volunteers that help make this thing possible. Yes, yes, Myers, all the big sponsors. Yeah. Lomas, make sure people are hydrated. Yes, sir. It'll be warm today. Keep them full. Yes, I will. And have them spend as much money as possible on the auction items. Just keep them lubed up. I love that formula. I love that formula right now. Hydrate them, nourish them, and just dig in their pockets. That's right. That's right. The big three, right? Play that man, his money. All right, Lo, we appreciate you. Congratulations on, again, the culmination of a lot of hard work, and then you restart again tomorrow. But enjoy today with everybody out there. It's going to be fantastic. Thanks, guys. I really, really appreciate it. All right, though. See you, buddy. You got it. They do so many great things. Oh, my goodness, man. So many, so many great things. And, again, like, this is, it's fun to be in these golf outings and things like that. But then once you get down to what happens afterwards. And what it's all for. You know, and again, it's, you're going to spend a couple thousand bucks and have a foursome. Right? So if you're at work.

Right? And you want to bring a couple clients out or whatever. Money well spent. Oh, and then let me show you. Let me introduce you to Calvin Johnson. Let me introduce you to Lomas Brown. I wonder how many deals get done out too. A lot. Sure, a lot. You know, some deals going down. Absolutely. Maybe they'll figure out who our, you know, starting corner is going to be now that Terry Arnold's gone. I don't know. All kinds of stuff gets talked about in the golf course. 7 o'clock hour coming up. Get you caught on the headlines. Mike Rogers also next hour. It's next. 7 o'clock hour here on a Monday. Good to have you. We are dealing with the Lindsey Graham news and Lindsey Graham dying at the age of 71 years old just back from a trip from Ukraine where they were talking about sanctioning Russia once again and that it was going to have support back in the United States. He comes back home. It suffers from an aortic tear, according to the medical report, the preliminary medical report. And Lindsey Graham, dead at 71. It sent shockwaves through Washington, certainly. And the reality of, well, what happens next? What happens now? Yeah. Because he was running. Because he was running. He just won the primary in June. I think it was June 9th in South Carolina. So South Carolina is now open for a Senate seat. And now they're going to try to figure out, A, who's going to. finish the rest of the term, if that's even necessary. But who's going to finish the rest of the term? And then who's going to replace them on the ballot? Absolutely. So the political ramifications are there. Also, this was somebody who was a staunch supporter of Israel, a staunch supporter of Ukraine. And now those go away in a time when these are, in Washington, D.C., these are all the everything everybody's talking about. Yeah. At this point. And, you know, Lindsey Graham, while, you know, some on the other side of the Democrats may not have cared much for him, they, I believe, respected the fact that he would reach across the aisle and negotiate. Sure. Not all that, you know, some of that doesn't happen. Yeah, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't necessarily reaching across the aisle. No. You know what I mean? Exactly. Lindsey Graham at least tried. Tried. At different points. And so, yeah, it becomes a real now flashpoint in Washington to figure out what's next. So that shooting at Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills left a 20-year-old man dead and 19-year-old injured. Police say the gunfire happened around 520 on Saturday evening in the mall's food court following an earlier confrontation. The victim and a 22-year-old man who police say is the shooter. Investigators say the dispute began in a food court bathroom before escalating into the common area where the victim and another man allegedly confronted the suspect before shots were fired. And police say the suspect had a concealed pistol license. He is in custody. Authorities are calling it an isolated incident. We'll get more information from Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard when he joins us 749 today. Also, on the Iranian front, this continues to escalate on the war side of things. Centcom conducting a new wave of offensive strikes yesterday, according to Sentcom. Hit a dozen or so targets at multiple locations that brought 300 targets in total over the last three days or so. And the United States says these are...

in an effort to keep the Iranians from attacking these ships in the strait. Yes. And the Iranians are saying, well, we're going to close the straight. And the United States is saying you don't, it's not your straight to close. Correct. And now the IRGC is saying that they will continue to keep striking these ships in the straight until, quote, the end of U.S. interference in the region. So are these two, I mean, there's. Iran have some type of issue with communicating to each other. You know, one doesn't know what the other is doing. No. I think that's exactly how they want it. Yeah. It appears. There is no centralized command. No. And so when things like this happened, it's the reason that this defense strategy, this, they call it the mosaic defense, the reason it exists is it is almost like it's, it's. It's almost impossible to overthrow the regime. Because if you think about it like an octopus, one of the tentacles can move in one independent direction. And then the others can do their own thing. It's not like... There's no one person saying... It's not a mirror image. Exactly. So it's... That's what makes it particularly difficult because while the leadership, the president... the defense leader, the military leaders, the Ayatollah, can engage in some sort of diplomatic discussion to end this. The IRGEC is out doing their thing. Doing whatever they want. And they're out attacking ships. They're out sending drones to Kuwait and Bahrain. They're out doing their own thing. And so it makes toppling the country more difficult. And so I think that's what's happening here. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the cyclo-spiracist outbreak continues to grow. Now, last count. It was 1,562. I think we can say 1,563 now. Add another one to the list. I'm on it. Oh, Chris is on it right now. You know, health officials still have not identified a specific food source. Previous outbreaks have been linked to contaminated produce. Infectious disease experts, Dr. Tina Chopra, says tracking the source can be difficult because symptoms may not appear for up to two weeks after exposure. The illness is not spread person to person, and health officials are urging residents to carefully wash fresh produce and consider cooking items when possible. You're not doing any type of fruit or produce or anything right now, are you? No. Maybe never again. I'm not entirely sure. I'm not sure. They'll track it. They'll get it together. I'll never eat a piece of romaine again. It's over. Pizza for life. It's just pizza for... We're on the pizza diet. Pizza and sandwiches. I don't know. Oh, man. Yeah, I don't... You know, the other crazy part, too, is... So they're saying, like, you could eat... Whatever you ate, like, two weeks ago. A week ago, whatever it is. I don't know what I ate two weeks ago. They're like, what'd you eat? Where'd you eat? I'm like, I don't know. Yeah.

I don't know. I just got out of this blur where I'm, you know, moving. I have no idea what I was eating. Oh, yeah, cool. Doing all kind of stuff. Yeah. So I, you have a little fever for a while, too. I had a fever this weekend. Yeah, it was, it was, it was nasty. It wasn't quite what I expected, but it was for real. Yeah. It was for real. So, yeah, we're on the pizza diet now. And yesterday, I had to get out of the house. Okay. So my wife and I went to the store. and probably couldn't go far could you no no can't go far can't stray too far you can't stray too far at least go someplace where there's a bathroom yeah yeah right right so we go out and we go to the store and we walk in and I'll tell you there is significantly less produce in the produce section oh I bet so and I should have asked somebody there I didn't I was focused on doing what you got to do. Just getting from point A to point B and then back to point A, whatever. But, yeah, significantly less produce. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, you got places. Like raspberries. I don't think I saw any raspberries. And some stores have, you know, taken out, fast food places are taken out there shredded lettuce. Yeah, it's a Taco Bell? Taco Bell. Was it Taco Bell that took out? They're not selling or they're not. Yeah. They've removed all that. Interesting. So hopefully we get an update on these numbers. We can tell you that there will be, there is one more. There's one more. To the total that that was reported Friday. Coming up on the other side, we're going to talk to Mike Rogers. Good news. The Gordyhow Bridge is set to open later this month. We'll talk to him. as to how that got done. But first at 712, time for WDJR's Business Beat, brought to you by shelving.com. We rack your world. Here's Jeff Sloan, the founder and CEO of Startup Nation. It's the spotlight the entrepreneurial tech and startup community on WJR. Good morning. It's no secret that with all of the inflationary pressure facing consumers these days, we're cutting back on spending. But one area that is actually benefiting from the current economic circumstances is that... of private label goods, specifically private label groceries driven, of course, by the cost savings associated with private label versus big brand goods. FMI, the Food Industry Association's new annual private label report, finds that 92% of U.S. shoppers now have private label products in their home. That's up from 89% last year. Private brand dollar sales increased 2.8% for the year. compared to a gain of 2.6% for national brands, that according to data from Sircano. The data further shows that almost half of consumers increase their store brand purchases over the past year, while only 31% say they've purchased more national brands. And of course, given the economic conditions today, it's no surprise that people are shopping with a cost-conscious focus. But what is surprising is that consumers are making the choice to switch to private label not just because of lower prices. Nearly all shoppers, 94% to be exact, say they are likely to keep buying store brands, those private label brands, even if grocery prices begin to decline. Improved quality and perception are cementing the new preferences for private label brands with 37% of shoppers saying they buy these products based on quality and they're going to stick with them.

Perceptions of quality for private label brands have risen from 30 to 39% over the last year. Now, Tom Cosgrove, director of industry relations for FMI, offered this comment with the report. Consumers aren't just choosing store brands out of habit or necessity. They're choosing them because they've earned the trust and loyalty of American families. I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of Startup Nation.com. The source for everything you need to start and grow your own business? And that's today's business beat on the great voice of the Great Lakes, WJR. So on Friday... U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers was on focus with Paul W. Smith. Yes. And said that he had recently spoken to Howard Lutnick and said that a deal to open the Gordy Howe Bridge was imminent. And as a matter of fact, we now know that the Gordy Howe Bridge will in fact open on July 27th. If my math is correct, that is two weeks. Two Mondays. Two weeks from today. Two weeks from today. So that's. Or no, yeah, two weeks from today. So that's great news. In fact, the president on social media, on true social, said, I was able to cut a much better deal for America. And by doing so, we'll be allowing the new and spectacular Gordyhow International Bridge spanning Detroit and Windsor to open July 27th as scheduled. The original deal made was unacceptable to me. The new deal is great and fair. Thank you and congratulations to the Canadian government. May we both have many years of success with this wonderful new development. I mean, we look out the window here on the eighth floor. It's ready to rock. And it's ready to go. We look at it every day. Let's talk about it. Mike Rogers, the candidate for U.S. Senate, joins us this morning. It's good to have you back. What was the ultimate deal made here, Mike? Well, let me talk about some of the top line issues and why I think it was right to use the period of an opening for a negotiation. So we were going to get – we – the United States were getting no revenue from that bridge. Probably, someone told me, 100 years. The way the Canadians had set up the finance of it, all that money goes to service the debt up front, and then they get a piece of the bridge proceeds. America would get – literally nothing for a very long time. And so what the deal that they stretched back was, is, listen, that's just not fair. So let's do this. We're going to split the fees. Then you service your debt out of half of the proceeds, which I love. And secondly, you don't get to set the tolls by yourself. We're going to do that jointly, which I think is also fair. That would give Canadians an extra leverage on us if there was ever a dispute in the future about any...

goods or services traveling across that bridge. So I think that in and of itself is a great deal. And remember why that revenue is important. We're still going to have costs associated with the bridge. We ought to at least be able to cover some of that. And you're going to lose some revenue from the taxes that was paid on the Ambassador Bridge. That revenue is certainly going to go down. So I thought that part of it was a great deal. And in working with the secretary, got that commitment about Chinese cars coming across that bridge. And remember, the Canadians have allowed, they've up their quota on Chinese cars, 100% built Chinese cars going into Canada, and they took their tariffs on those cars from 100% to 6%. And American content providers provide about 30% of all the cars built in Canada. That's a huge risk to our American manufacturers. So I thought it was a very, very good deal for America, and it just cost a little bit of tough negotiating while everyone was, you know, fluttering around in a sheer panic. I just thought there was a right thing to do. America got a much better deal. It was great working with Secretary Howard Lutnick on this, and the president finalized. There was a great deal. Mike, I understand the agreement also includes a 15-year economic development fund tied to bridge profits. What opportunities could that create for communities on both sides of the river? Well, anytime that you have a pot of money that you can use for development for either small business or other businesses associated with bridge traffic, huge opportunity. And, you know, that could mean property development. It could be small business loans. It could mean a whole myriad of events. I don't know if they've worked out all the details yet of access to that money. But it's, to me, it was a great idea because you're, you know, you'll have impact, obviously, by those, that bridge opening. And that money can go to fray any of the. either a lost opportunity or new opportunity. I think it's going to be really exciting. What do you make now in hindsight of some of the criticisms to hold this up? Listen, this is the problem. If one party does it, it's got to be absolutely 100% wrong. I think if the Democrats had stopped for a minute, they tried to make this a political issue. They wanted to thump their chest and talk about how the world was coming to an end. What they should have done is stop for a minute and say, is that the right deal for America? And let's see if we can't get a better deal. Nobody did that. Nobody reached out to the White House. Nobody reached out to the administration trying to help get this thing fixed. I just, it's disappointing. And this is exactly what's wrong with politics today. We have real issues facing a country, real issues, real issues facing Michigan, both manufacturing. I mean, the Chinese car thing is so significant in an existential threat.

Tyler, everybody takes a deep breath and say, what's good for America? I mean, so many people want Donald Trump to fail. They don't care if Michigan wins. And I think that's wrong. I mean, we ought to work together where we can work together to try to fix these things. And this was a great example to me. Yeah, it was a little tough up front, you know, some hurt feelings. All of that happened. But working through it and continuing to talk got us to a much better deal for us. That's where we ought to be. And that's, candidly, that's the kind of people you ought to send back to the United States Senate. We haven't had somebody that can actually work with the White House in a very long time. I guarantee when I go back, I can pick up the phone. When we have disagreements where Michigan's getting the short end of the stick, I can probably get it worked out other than just trying to gouge the president's eyes out every day. Mike, we've got about a minute left. Your thoughts on the passing of Lindsey Graham. What a loss, I think, to the United States, certainly for South Carolina. I had the great privilege to work with Lindsey Graham, wonderful guy, very committed to American security. He always knew where he stood, and he always did it with a little bit of sense of humor. I just think it's just such a huge loss. My condolences go to his family and certainly the people of South Carolina. Mike Rogers, we appreciate your time. Thank you for the update on this. Thanks for breaking the news with Paul. Yeah. That was nice. And we'll talk again very soon. Sounds great. Thanks, guys. You got it. That's Mike Rogers here this morning. I'm glad now we can look out the window and actually see cars going back and forth across the bridge starting on July 27th. The issues around Mitch McConnell brought up this idea of age limits or term limits. in congress and now Lindsey Graham has died at the age of 71 let's talk about it on the other side because is there something to that should there be some sort of guardrails on age put into place we'll talk about it next here on jr morning all right i don't know what am i 37 i don't know what i am anymore it's all a blur But I'll tell you, I used to have these, these, as you get older, your perspective changes, right? Yeah. Like before I had kids, I'm like, they're never going to watch a screen. They'll never play games. They will read books and color and, first of all, none of that's happened. Well, I mean, come on. These kids, they don't have the attention span of color. I'm like, can you just need a minute to, can we color? I just got to do the dishes, just to sit down in color and they're like, how about we break every cram? And I'm like, okay. I said, yeah, it's got to be some destructive stuff going on. Haven't helped me. But your perspective changes. Yeah. And so when we really first started talking about, you know, maybe a decade ago about like term limits or age limits in Congress, I always thought, yeah. Yeah, because at some point you become out of touch. At some point, your ideas become stale. It's like a coach in pick your sport. Pick your sport.

At some point, your message becomes stale. If you've been at a, you know, if you're Mike Tomlin and you've been at the Pittsburgh Steelers, shout out, Jamie, and you've been at the Pittsburgh Steelers for more than a decade, well, all of a sudden, the success that you had earlier in your career isn't there anymore. Why? Sure, maybe it's because of the players, or maybe your message is stale, and you need an influx of ideas or fresh, you know, innovations. Yes. Yeah. That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is, boy, they make the playoffs every year. They know exactly what they're doing. They know exactly the type of players they want. And they have some modicum of success. No, you're not reaching the pinnacle, but neither are the other 31 teams. Right. Right. There is a case to be made for that stability. Now, you juxtapose that with what we're seeing in Washington, where the Diane Feinsteins of the world, or the Nancy Pelosi's of the world, or Chuck Schumer, or Mitch McConnell, where these guys are so, I mean, Bernie Sanders. Yeah. Right. These folks have been around for so long that, like, we know, Bernie, Medicare for all. Thank you. It's not even, it doesn't resonate anymore. No. So you pick up the Abdul El-Sayed's to refresh in it and give a new, giving a new face. Yeah. You can add some different things in there. But what I've come to realize personally, and we were talking a little bit about this in the break, is one person 70 is not another person 70. It is not. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are darn near the same age. Yep. Ain't the same people. No, they're not. Right? So you make the case of, yeah, could it be a good idea to get some new fresh ideas in the mix? Yes. But the cost of that. is if you've got healthy, vibrant people that are older, all of a sudden you throw away experience, you throw away the wealth of knowledge, the institutional knowledge, and then where does that leave? Well, I mean, even look at a lot of the governors, I mean, there are term limits on there, you know, two terms, and that's it. You know, we don't have term limits here in the city of Detroit, like for mayor. Coleman Young was the mayor for 20 years. And had he, you know, not began to start getting ill, he probably would have continued to be the mayor. Was that a good thing? I think a lot of people felt like Coleman Young was what was needed in Detroit in the early part, but maybe he stayed a little too long. And things started, you know, going a different, you know, way that they didn't like. And, you know, so, yeah, I mean, listen, Chris, for the second time this month, you know. an ambulance was sent to the home of a sitting U.S. Senator. This was the second time in the month. First was Mitch and then Lindsey.

Yeah, and apparently Mitch McConnell's okay. He sent out a social media post and whatever. Yeah. But it does bring around this idea of should there be some sort of guardrails on age? 8008-9-05957, 8008-590 WJ. And, you know, if we're going to do that, should there be someone that is being groomed to take your place? And I don't think that's happening. I don't think much of that is happening, grooming someone to be able to take your place when you decide to retire or leave. Yeah, and unfortunately, I think there's too much ego for that to happen amongst many lawmakers. No, no. I can't speak for everybody. No. But at some point, you're the person. Yeah. You're the guy. You're the lady. You're the one in charge. You're running the show in your office. But you've got to do what's best for your constituents, too. Ah. Are we doing that anymore? I don't know. Sometimes I don't know. Sometimes I think, you know, a lot of these folks, like, what is Nancy Pelosi done for her district? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, all I know is because at some point you get to the, if you get to that level, like you're your speaker or you get to leadership, all of a sudden it feels like. There is a cost to that, which is you, it's less in the district. You're just doing less. You are, you are facing bigger things. Bigger things. You got a bigger fish to fry. Yeah. But I don't know. I think my perspective has changed a little bit. And part of it is because, part of it is because everybody's a little different. And it's the same like driving. Like one 70-year-old driver is not the same as another 70-year-old driver. Absolutely. Or a 90-year-old. I mean, my goodness, my great aunt was 92 when I got married a decade ago. She was out there cutting it up on the floor. She almost made it to 100. Listen, my grandfather, I know we didn't quite know how old he was because she couldn't find his birth certificate. My father gave him a birthday because he said I know, I remember my mom saying I was born in the fall. But he was about at least close to 100 when he passed away. He was still doing pull-ups. He was driving. It's still doing pull-ups still. Right. You had to, you know, but it's different. Yeah. So my perspective certainly has changed. What about yours? 800859-0957, 8008-590 WJR. Should there be some sort of guardrails in place, whether they are term limits, whether they are age limits to being able to serve at the federal level? It's different for me now. But these things that pop up are not unusual. It's unusual that Lindsey Graham just dropped dead at the age of 71. Yeah. But an aortic tear is, it's uncommon in young people, but it's not impossible. No. We've seen it. Yeah. There have been others who have. So this is like a medical issue, so it's not quite apples to apples. But again, I think all of these things play playing.

Yes, Brian. Well, you were talking about losing institutional knowledge. Yeah. Well, maybe these guys that are old guys, but they know, maybe they could be on as an advisor. Instead of hanging onto the power like it was your dying breath, we bring a young guy in and go, let me teach you how to do this. Nobody's being groomed. That's what I'm saying is like I can teach you how to do it. And then when I can finally completely step aside. Do you know what that sounds like to me? That sounds like, oh, the good old days. It sounds like that's what people used to lead. People used to be leaders or politicians, not because they wanted it necessarily. No. Because they felt the duty. They needed to serve. Correct. That is not the case anymore. No, now they're doing it to line their pockets. It doesn't feel like he needs to serve. He wants a power. Wanted. Well, he gone. In the past. Well, we have a president who's made $2 billion in $2. He got! Fine. They all do. Everybody does. And that's my point. And I think the public service aspect of it is gone. And it's more of an ego trip. Now, once you get elected, and now you're the, you're the man or the woman. You're the senator of the great state of South Carolina. We need to change how we think about stuff. I'm bringing somebody in to groom to be my successor. Not a chance. I got great benefits. I got great access to information. What am I doing? You're still probably going to have that. But that's the pessimistic, unfortunately. Coming up on the other side, a shooting leaves one dead at Great Lakes Crossing. We'll talk to Sheriff Mike Bouchard next. It's Jared morning. Well, deadly shooting at Great Lakes crossing on Saturday left. One person dead, a 20-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman injured in that altercation. Stemming from some incident in the bathroom of the food court, the shooter was a CPL holder. But what exactly are the details around this? Because it sounds like the altercation may have started from the guy who was shot. And was this self-defense? What exactly happened at Great Lakes Crossing? Let's talk about it with the Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. Sheriff, good morning. It's good to have you back here. Another tragic incident. What can you tell us this morning? Yeah, but I guess. Kind of taking it back up to 20,000 foot because this is still obviously under investigation in terms of all the details and how it played out. And Auburn Hills police are doing a great job and they're the lead on this. But it raises the point of what do you do, you know, when you're at an event, whether it's a mall or whether it's fireworks or fairs. I mean, we've seen this play out time and time again where.

There's a shooting that's related to an interpersonal conflict. And usually there's an ignition, and it's kind of a slow role. And the best suggestion I have is, you know, a lot of people just kind of stand around and worse. Some people even start, you know. when they find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation, instead of taking action, they start filming with their phone. And I would encourage people if they see something start to develop. Those are the situations, as I said, where we've seen numerous shootings across the country, not just here in Oakland County, but we've seen, you know, them in this area, too, with fireworks in Detroit, State Fair and Novi, you know, where conflict that's preexisting comes to a venue that has nothing to do with that venue. And it starts as a disagreement and then a fight and then escalates and somebody pulls a gun. Sure. That's kind of the warning sign when, okay, I need to find myself. Yeah. One of the best defenses is space. There's a deputy chief, deputy chief Scott McGraw. He said, fists don't equal bullets. Do you think we've reached a point where, you know, just too many people are willing to escalate everyday conflicts to shootings and deadly violence? 100% yeah we just don't have a society anymore that seems to understand how to de-escalate and how to peacefully resolve conflict that you know we've seen again the excuses in different situations he disrespected me or he said something or he looked at me or he whatever it is it doesn't rise to the level of of physical violence and even deadly violence. And that's what we're seeing where it just literally a disagreement over nothing gets in a physical violence and then someone oftentimes who's on the losing end of that fist fight then pulls a deadly weapon. The one benefit you talk about, you know, people who end up just pulling out their phones and filming this. The one benefit is then there is more evidence. It does put people probably in danger because they're not fleeing the situation. But at the same time, how do then investigators look at that evidence? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's a third party kind of independent, almost a body cam, which obviously is helpful for an independent observation of how things played out. But, you know, in different venues like this, whether it's malls or other things, there's more than likely cameras already there. So I wouldn't say, you know, it's your civic duty to...

state put when there potentially is going to be violence. Report it. Absolutely. Use that phone to call the police. Say, hey, something's breaking out here. And I removed myself because I didn't want to find myself in the middle of it. But again, you just. We've seen that actually shootings where people are taking out their phones instead of trying to remove themselves. At airports, I saw people literally on film with their phone out trying to film something where people are shooting. I mean, it's not a video game. There's no respawning. If you're in that situation and you get hit. by stray rounds, and that's where we've seen a lot of innocent people at these kinds of conflicts where they're in close proximity. They get hit and sometimes killed, just being in close proximity. Sheriff, you know, there were two deadly shootings. I mean, within eight days, you know, it was the Fair Lane shooting and then Great Lakes Crossing. When people hear about, you know, these two deadly mall shootings in such a short period, a lot of people wonder whether they're safe taking their family shopping. What's your message to those listeners today? Well, I would say that it can happen anywhere, but statistically the possibility is low. That doesn't diminish the fear or diminish the impact when it does happen, but it does raise the concern. And my answer to them is don't live in fear, live prepared. So live situationally aware. See something like this start to develop. Give yourself some distance. Time and distance are one of the best safety measures you can do. Know where your exits are. Know what you'll do in that situation. Know where your family is. Have a plan when you're going out. If you're here and something happens, where do you meet up? I mean, it could be something like this or it could be, hey, somehow you just got separated. and maybe your cell phone's not working in whatever the venue is. If that happens, where do we meet? We meet by, you know, the flagpole or we meet by, you know, whatever it is. Have a plan for any scenario, any situation. Yeah. It could be, you know, an active situation like this. It could be a tornado or a fire. So like when you go in a theater, you know the door you came in, but there's always a door at the front of the theater. Which side that makes a difference? Yeah. Having having that plan always important. Sheriff Mike Bouchard, thank you. Thank you. We'll take a break. More next.

8.05 here on a Monday morning. By the way, M&M. Surprise appearance at Jay Z's concert in New York. In New York. This weekend. I think he got a bigger pop than Jay Z did in his hometown. Yeah. That was pretty cool. Anytime he comes out. I'll tell you, my wife and I went and saw Ed Shearren a few years ago. And Ed Shearing, and he's like a huge Eminem guy, big fan, but they did a couple songs together. And when Ed Shearne was playing Ford Field, he brought Eminem out to do like a little montage. And I have never heard a building. go from like you can hear cheers yeah like you can hear a crowd cheer right sure but then it goes to another level like a roar almost it was like a buzz like there was it was like just a frequency It was, I've never experienced anything like that before. Well, one thing I have to say about Eminem, too, he doesn't oversaturate himself. No. So when he comes out. He's out touring. Exactly. Exactly. It is. Yeah, exactly. Meanwhile, we're following the news of Lindsey Graham passing at the age of 71, the preliminary autopsy and an aortic tear that developed over years. And that's what caused the sudden. quick passing of the longtime senator from the state of South Carolina. And it was just a couple of days ago. He was in Kiev. Yeah. Yeah. Had a press conference. Had a press conference talking about new Russian sanctions because of the war that's going on there. And the president is speaking with Fox and Friends right now. We were trying to listen in at the break. We'll try to get you some of that audio as we move on this morning. But certainly surprising news. to hear the passing of Lindsey Graham. And now the political nominous follows. Okay, well, what's next? Who fills the seat? Who could potentially be running now? The South Carolina governor, Henry McMaster, is expected to appoint an interim replacement until voters elect a new senator later this year. Later this year. He had just won the Republican primary last month. Yeah. And let me tell you, too. And I remember to Lindsey Graham. Just recently, at least a several times this year being on with Sean Hannity. And it seems like right before the end of the interview, he always says, you know, they're getting us, they're outspending us, we need help. You want to help you, send money to, you know, Lindsey Graham.com or whatever. I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But he was always, he was always asking, you know, because he was like, we got a fight, we got a fight, you know. Certainly was a committed politician. He definitely was. Speaking of politician, Senator Republican leader. Mitch McConnell says a fall led to his hospitalization and ongoing recovery. The 84-year-old Kentucky Senator revealed yesterday that he has undergone extensive medical tests as doctors work to determine what caused the fall. Mitch McConnell, who is now in a rehab center, said he is not ready to return.

To the Senate, quite yet, but continues working with the staff on legislative matters. His statement came after weeks of limited information about his condition. It fueled public speculation, including rumors about his health. Mitch McConnell said people of his generation often hesitate to discuss the vulnerabilities that come with aging even while serving in the public eye. He also said he was treated for a mild case of pneumonia as well. Yeah. And he's now in a rehab facility there. Yes. But yeah, that's another tough break from Mitch McConnell. Again, older guy has had some health issues over the last couple of years. And some of them we've seen actually happen. live when he's speaking. Yes. Which is scary. Particularly scary. Yeah. Because he just kind of like, I mean, just freezes. Just freezes kind of zoned out. Yeah. Scary stuff. Meanwhile, 300 targets have been hit over this three-night barrage against the Iranians. Sentcom confirmed that these strikes continued even as this. Quote unquote ceasefire is in place. The president said that the memorandum of understanding and the ceasefire are basically over. But negotiators are still trying to back channel a deal. Yeah. Which we don't have yet. But the Strait of Hormuz continues to be the flashpoint of the Iranians attacking vessels in the strait, threatening to close it. And... the United States saying, well, you don't have the ability to close it. B, you're not going to continue to fire on these vessels. And so we're going to take action against, you know, these drone facilities, missile launch points, things like that along the coast. And it hasn't necessarily escalated from that, but that doesn't mean we won't get to that point. We just haven't gotten there yet. The U.S. Department of Justice investigating United Auto Workers President Sean Fain over allegations that he sought favors for his fiancé. Fane denies any wrongdoing. It says the investigation is a political attack tied to his upcoming Union election battle. The controversy follows a report from the federal monitor overseeing the UAW, which found Fain improperly retaliated against Vice President Rich Boyer. after Boyer objected to approving bonuses at a UAW training center where Fane's fiancé works. Fane says he has hired a law firm to fight the allegations while the federal monitor says further action will be considered after consultation with the Department of Justice in the court. There's always something going on, man. Always something in the UAW. We still haven't got the latest numbers yet. No. But we're at the last count was 1,562. So we know it's at least 1,563 now. Your boy got it. The poop parasite. We're on it. We're on it. Yep. I may never eat a vegetable again, guys. I don't know. I'm not entirely sure. I may be off forever. Oh, God.

Well, I mean, we're still having, you know, found out specifically the food source which is causing this. But previous outbreaks have been linked to contaminated produce. Usually we get 50 cases a year. It is odd. Here's the odd thing. And this is, as you can imagine, this was a topic of conversation at home this weekend. I'm sure it was. And the odd thing is that if there is some sort of outbreak. They generally are pretty quick to track it down. This they don't know. And it's different because like if there's a salmonella outbreak at a factory. Yeah. Right. At a processing factory, say. Well, they know. They know. They know what store, with state. Right. The numbers on it. This is different because it's a parasite. And they don't know where it's originating from. Right. So they're like, don't eat lettuce. Also maybe raspberries and cilantro. Don't eat cooked or raw vegetables. Yeah. Like they just, it's all over the map. They just have no idea. And it is because they don't generally have a ton of cases every year. Oh, 50 cases. It's been hard to nail this thing down. Yes, Brian? I'm wondering if Jake and Henry are completely on board with no fruits or vegetables in the house? They seem to be. I'm sure they are. They seem to be. I could hear the announcement. Dad says no fruits and vegetables and the cheer goes up from the room. Yeah. That's the buzz that you hear in your house. Here's the one exception is Henry loves broccoli. Loves broccoli. I love broccoli. Me too. Cooked broccoli. I do. So every time we make broccoli, we're like, can we have some too? Like he'll eat all the broccoli. It's crazy. Good for him. It's the only thing. Okay. Like it might be his favorite food. Wow. Other than that... Broccoli is delicious. Other than that, we're just... Other than that, we're down with a pizza diet. We're just trying to... What are we having today? Five guys today. Yeah, there we go. Let's go. No tomato on the burger, please. Meat and cheese. And bacon. Oh, that's meat and cheese. And bacon. Exactly right. Coming up on the other side, Perry Johnson joins us on the heels of those back-to-back gubernatorial Republican gubernatorial debates. That's coming up next on J.R. Morning. Well, it's a three-horse race. in the Republican primary for governor, and they were busy last week. Yeah, like two nights in a row. A couple of back-to-back debates. Yeah. And there was a lot of, I don't know, I guess I would call it a little more mud slinging. I think they call it drawing the contrast between each other. And we did talk to... Mike Cox, we also had John James on the show. And now we welcome back Perry Johnson to the show. Perry, good morning. It's good to have you back. Well, good morning and it's great to be back. I got to tell you, you are a busy dude. I see you all around the state on social media. You are getting out there. What are you hearing for people? And how did then that message from folks translate into your debates last week?

Well, if you went with us wherever we go, you would see we have the momentum. I don't think anybody's going to deny that. In fact, it's very hard for me to believe that we really could be down in the polls because wherever we go, we are mobbed. And I think the message is clear. I really believe that sticking to the major issues is the key. People are tired of the government throwing away your money. and they want to be able to have a leaner government, a cleaner government, and they'd like to be able to keep their money. My message of eliminating the state income tax, reforming the property tax, has resonated. In fact, I was at the baseball game on Saturday night, and while I'm at the game, they are yelling out, Perry Johnson, Perry Johnson, 47, 47. that was literally resonating right from his seats all the way up through the entire crowd. So the bottom line is people realize that the government has been a little reckless, and the only way we're going to be able to eliminate our state income tax, reform our property tax, is if we can lean the government. I think they also like the fact that I don't have any commitments with anyone else. because I didn't allow people to donate, and I was concerned primarily about people donating large chunks of money, like DTE, who gave 39,000 to John James, 107,000 from the people who built the data sites who gave it to John James. When you have people donating money to you, they typically give something. I think people called it an investment. But that's what politicians do. They spend their time collecting money from other people. so that they can run for re-election. And they use other people's money for their campaign. In John James's case, he even used taxpayer money because he took $250,000 from the taxpayers to run his commercials. So the bottom line is this, I think that they want to have a cleaner government, leaner government, and since I've spent my entire life bringing quality and efficiency to companies and organizations, the Navy, DOD. That is my skill set. I am the one guy that has really spent his life bringing quality and efficiency to organizations, companies, and I can do that for the state. Now, I'm not asking for anything. I want my kids to stay in this state. I don't want my kids going elsewhere. I want this state to explode. I don't want to stop the declining population. I want people to be able to keep their homes when they're 65 and not have the onerous tax, which is really forcing them to get out of their home because now they don't have the same income they had before, but taxes have gone up enormously. It's not fair, particularly when you consider that the government has things that are so absurd. I can just cite a few things off the top. This isn't even my mega audit, my Michigan efficiency government audit.

that will in very short order identify the weaknesses. That's what we do with all the companies. So we identify weaknesses where we can save money, where we can become more efficient, where we can have better quality. Now, at $1.8 billion was literally invested, so called an MEDC to try to get us additional jobs. That was the goal. They were going to get 25,700 jobs. It turns out they got 602. That's $3 million a job. What a waste. Now, we pointed out in the debate that John James Company got $2 million. He said he was going to create over 100 jobs. They actually lost 32. So when you get situations like that, you say enough is enough. What about the fact that we're trying to improve the quality of reading for fourth graders and under? That was our goal. One billion per year was spent to try to achieve that. Not only we not achieve it, we went from 26th in the country to 44th in the country. Why? Because we didn't evaluate the situation ahead of time to see what should be done. And we took away phonics. Perry, let me ask you, you often describe yourself as a conservative outsider. If you elected governor, how would you work with a legislature that you may not always agree with? Well, there are two issues involved. You have one issue you have is the Congress, because you have to work with them and get them in place. Obviously, a number of the people running are going to be very valuable because you need people that have been out there and can work with those people. But the other end of the stick, the money, is the actual civilian workforce. And that sometimes people don't realize is that civilian workforce is just like any other workforce in any large organization. You know, in any large organization, you can't get rid of people. It's not like you can fire people because you can't. So it doesn't matter whether you're talking about General Motors, Ford, IBM, any company that's large is very similar to the government in that way. These civilians are there year after year, administration after administration. That money is already allocated. That doesn't mean they have to spend every penny in that budget. I wrote a book, Two cents to Save America. The concept is quite simple. Instead of having people spend every penny in their budget every year, you have to change the way the government's run, and you have to make it more efficient. So you incentivize people to become more efficient. Nothing is going to stop me from making it more efficient so that we have the money to eliminate its state income tax. If I go and lean the government. I can on my own eliminate that state income tax. I don't need anybody's permission. In fact, we have something in our Constitution that if you do save the money, you're supposed to give it back. And you're supposed to lower the income tax. The bottom line is we don't follow that because we don't even bother to see what we're going to do. We had a $6.3 billion surplus, and what did we do? Retch and Gretchen Whitmer decided to bonus this to the people instead of giving it back to the citizens or the residents of the state in a reduced income tax. What about the gas tax? Think about it. We have a gas tax, sales tax, income tax, property tax, corporate tax.

Let me ask you this really quickly. One word answer, because we've got to go. Whether you or John or Mike wins this primary, is there going to be a coalition of Republicans supporting each other? Absolutely. Okay. Fair enough. Perry Johnson, we appreciate your time as always. Thank you. We'll talk again very soon. Okay. And enjoy life. You got to do the same. More next on Chairmore. All right, one of the best parts about a Monday is we get to catch up with Jamie, who is... Jamie Jane. Yay! Last treatment tomorrow? Yep. Is it today or tomorrow? No, it's tomorrow. It's tomorrow? Last treatment tomorrow. And then we're ringing a bell. I don't know if I'm going to go like constant ring or like three rings. I've been thinking about this. I don't know how I'm going to do the ringing. That's a good point. I didn't even think about that. Like what's the, what's the protocol here? Yeah. I don't know. I've been thinking about this day for five months. Yeah. Of course. And I just can't wait for it to happen tomorrow. We already got a text. Good luck tomorrow, Jamie. Yeah. How about that? Already? Already. Already. Oh, thank you, everybody. Yeah. So things are good. Getting ready for tomorrow, feeling good. Yeah, I'm feeling good because it's like the last moment before you get the drug again. So I feel like myself. And I'm just like just so excited. This has been such a journey. I just remember looking out the window in February at the barren tree and thinking if I could look and see leaves out there and sun shining, then I'm going to be in a better spot. And that's true this morning. You spent some time with family over the weekend, didn't you? Were you in Pittsburgh this weekend? Yeah, I was in Pittsburgh this weekend. My dad always invites my husband to play in a golf tournament. And I, at the beginning of this, didn't know if I was going to be able to go and if I was going to be able to go to the little party. You look so happy. I felt okay. Yeah. You looked so happy. And you were with your dad to picture with you and your dad, man. It was just great. I just loved it. Yeah. He and I were dancing to my girl, which we danced at the wedding. But the song, you know, I will survive from the live band came on. I went to town with that. Oh, I know you. I will. I will survive. Oh, I know that's right, Jamie, Dave. And so the podcast continues as well. And we've got a new episode coming or out. Yeah, my passion project, my journey, angels along the way, is with, we talked about this on Friday, with this consultant that we all know that's in our orbit at WJR. We talk to her all the time. Her name's Jennifer Mefford. And I interviewed her at the auto show and had no idea she was going with something, going through something that I'm now going through. And so we chatted about it. Listen, I had no idea you too were going through something very, very personal. And tell us about it.

Yeah, so in September our, you know, our whole kind of story started and I was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma, which is a different type of cancer than you have. And it functions a little bit differently, but our whole journey with cancer really started in September and I say our because, you know, my family's in it with me just like your family and your friends and, you know, everybody's in that journey that's in your circle. With lobular carcinoma, so it's, you and I have talked about this, you know, I think we're told, you know, our whole lives as women, right, that, you know, you're always trying to feel for lumps. You're always trying to, you know, get your mammograms, but always do yourself breast exams. Lobular carcinoma does not make a lump. So it grows very differently, which really, in essence, is just different. So I think when I first had this diagnosis because I couldn't find it anywhere, like I was like, I don't know anyone that has this kind of cancer. Is it more serious? Does that make it harder to treat? Were you like me? I thought it was just breast cancer. Correct. And I had no idea there are these subtypes. And then I started doing a little bit of Googling. I'm like, well, great. Mine's really aggressive and I got really scared. Did that happen to you too? Yeah, it really did because I, again, I had no idea that I thought, you know, when you get breast cancer, you find a lump or they find a lump in a mammogram or it shows up. So with lobular cancer, it grows more flat. So it's been explained to me by medical team that it's, if you think about it almost like an octopus where it has a tiny little head and then all these tentacles that grow out flat, makes it really difficult to see. Mammograms generally don't pick it up. And that was concerning to me because I didn't even know, one, that there was more than one kind of breast cancer, but two, that a mammogram wouldn't see it. So that makes, you know, people listening saying, well, how do I protect myself? Because you were doing all the right things just like I was. Like when you turn a certain age, you start with the mammograms. And you were getting screened more frequently than me, actually. Yeah, I was. So, you know, very dense breast tissue, a history of breast cancer in my family. You know, interestingly, the folks that had breast cancer in my family don't have this kind. So it was completely spontaneous, not genetic, not hereditary. And so I, you know, I had no idea that I wasn't, it wasn't that I wasn't doing all the right things, just that this was even an option, that this could even happen to me. So dense breast tissue, they didn't see anything. I got callbacks all the time over probably the course of 15 years because of the tissue. They would see shadows. They would see cysts. Everything, every callback, ironically, was in my right breast. My cancer was in my left. I mean, I know, right? The ironic parts of this are just everywhere. Wow.

So I just like I'm so proud of Jennifer Meffert because she's a private person, but she, you know, heard about me, heard about this like podcast and how we're trying to help people. And she's like, I want to help someone. Maybe they have lobular breast cancer, which is a little bit more rare. And I want them to hear my story. And it's just, it's so great. Was there something that Jennifer shared that, you know, gave you hope, Jamie, or changed the way you're thinking about your own journey? Well, sure. She's farther along than me. She's already had the surgery and she's more in surveillance mode now. So yeah, I want to get to that point just like her. I want to be like Jennifer. Well, again, first of all, what a what a scourge. It's just, it's so terrible. And the fact that you do all the right things. And still it goes undetected. And still there's another version. And still there's another way that it can manifest and you do all the right things. That's the, that's very scary. It is scary, but I hope the message isn't, well, then let's not bother with mammograms or anything. No, no, no, no. They know so much right now. They're doing everything they can. You have to keep up with your own surveillance. Even if you don't have history with your family like me, you just got to keep going because the earlier you find it, the better, obviously. And Jamie, you know, if someone has just received a cancer diagnosis and they're feeling overwhelmed today, what would you want them to hear? that this is the worst time. This is the dark time where it's really, really scary, but there are some brighter days ahead and you will feel better once you start actually fighting it and you have a plan and you start treatment. I swear, I promise you. That's the message. Okay. We did get a text. I don't remember if we got this on Friday when we spoke, but from the 5-8-6 number, I was going to ring the bell at Bruce Hill's golf course yesterday for Jamie. Either somebody stole it or the course removed it. Hey, I like the message, though, A for effort. That's right. Rod and Plymouth, Jamie's bell moment. We're all so excited for you. Yeah, we're so excited. There's going to be a video. You're going to be able to see it. But I just, I can't believe them at this moment. I hope that brings hope to other people. And I have Lloyd been getting messages from people like, my friend just got diagnosed and I told them about your podcast. And hopefully that's the purpose of the podcast that it's going to help some people. Yeah, but I told you from the beginning how this was going to turn out, didn't I? You did. I did. And I continue to think that. But you also said the Pistons were going to win the NBA championship. Oh, but God didn't tell me that. That was me. I'm flawed. All right. All right. You want to cry this morning, Jamie? Oh, sure. Okay. Godspeed and good luck, Jamie. You are a true hero and super brave. You really uplift a lot of people with your program.

Oh, that is so nice. And we got to go. No. I just really appreciate. Honestly, I appreciate everybody. I got cards to the station. I get emails. I get messages like that. And I hear you. And thank you so much. Yep. We love you, girl. We love you. We can't wait for tomorrow. Go get them. Yep. Thanks, guys. Yep. Wear your pins. We got it. We got them. We got them. All right. That's Jamie Edmonds. We'll take a break. Monday. Munchies on the other side with a twist. It's next on Jare morning. All right, how is your breakfast, Lloyd? Oh, my goodness, the breakfast of champions. Are you kidding me? On a Monday? I mean, Wagyu and Wagyu pastrami and Wagyu meatballs and steak and pasta. Oh, my God. And the pasta had a little fire on it, a little kick on it. Yeah, man. You can find all of these and a heck of a lot more at sexy steak. And they're actually partnering with the Legal Aid and Defender Association. There's going to be a fundraiser there coming up in just a week or so. And to talk about it, Alicano is the operating partner at Sexy Steak and the general manager. It's good to see you this morning. Thanks for popping in. Thank you, Chris. Thank you for having us. And Michelle Johnson, the CEO and attorney at Legal Aid and Defender Association. Lata, thank you. It's good to see you too. Good morning. Good morning to you. First of all, let's talk about the restaurant. Let's talk about the food. You brought in quite a spread this morning. Tell us about sexy steak. Sure. So sexy steak, we are a fine dining Italian steakhouse. A little bit of twists here and there. So you got a very modern, intricate atmosphere. While the service and food is very traditional, very by the book, very old school. We got a great chef. We got a great team. And we take pride and, you know, certain things that happen within the restaurant of, you know, people, food, service, and atmosphere. Michelle, many people have heard about the legal aid and defender, but they don't really, I don't think some of them really fully understand the scope of what you guys do, the scope of your work. What does the organization do every day for people across the Metro Detroit? Well, thank you for the question. What we do is we provide free legal services to those who aren't able to afford free legal services. We have a heavy focus right now on homelessness prevention and housing stability and services to veterans. We represent tenants in landlord-tenant situations. They may be non-payment. Sometimes they don't know what their rights are. We represent them that way. We've represented people with criminal records and expungements. A lot of people are... There's been a lot of legislation lately where it's expanded the people who are eligible for expungement and expungements opens up housing and employment opportunities so you can check the box. You don't have to check the box saying you have a conviction. So we do a lot of those things. We're on site representing. We do partnerships with other agencies. We've represented tenants in all three counties. So we do a lot of different types of work. We've had services for domestic and violence victims. So there's a lot of different things that we do.

within the community. And all of our services are free. We're grant funded. We rely heavily on pro bono support. So we have attorneys and law students that volunteer to work with our office and I represent our clients. So it helps us expand services. We partner with other organizations as much as possible. We're on site with in the community doing a lot of outreach. So we just have a heavy focus on that. So the fundraiser is going to be on July 1st and evening of wine jazz and support. for these vulnerable residents that you talk about. How did this partnership come about? Yeah, so we were blessed. We received a lead from Leda and we said this is something that we want to host because sexy steak is broken up into two different essentially businesses. There's sexy steak, which is the restaurant, and then there's Castle Hall, which is on the third and fourth floor of the building. And those, that's our banquet space. So it really shows the character, history, and integrity of the building. So we thought, you know, being within the community and laid up being downtown and working within Detroit. We would love to host them, and they came in, they saw the space, and we both said this would make a great partnership for really anything that we can, anything that they're looking for. Sorry, I think I said the event was July 1st. That doesn't make any sense because we're past that. July 21st. 21st is the event at sexy stake. Michelle, you're seeing greater demand for legal services today, and what are some of the biggest challenges families are bringing to Lata at this time? We, there's always been a great demand. I've been with legal aid for more than 24 years now, and there's always, always been a great need. I think the biggest thing right now is housing stability and resources. There's so many different programs that are being cut and dialed back that is really more important than ever to be able to be that, what we call bridge into justice gap, standing in for those people who can't stand in for themselves. We do a lot of services for. people who are have disabilities for seniors like I said for veterans veterans who come back and you know have a multitude of issues and everybody doesn't always realize that there's an additional layer of circumstances that they face in terms of trying to get their lives back on track and just to move forward and be stable in the community. So I think the biggest issue, the most important issue right now is a lot of housing. It's a lot of housing stability work and things that go into that. And with our veterans work, we don't just do housing. We may do, we may need to do a family law issue that may need to be addressed or it may be a consumer issue. Maybe somebody's being garnished, which is making it difficult. for them to maintain their housing and pay the rent. So there are a lot of different ways that we try to support the community. But a lot of it, I think the biggest of it right now is a lot of it dealing with housing and how can we help people stay stable and maintain their housing. And so if people want to attend this event, are tickets still available? Yes, tickets are still available. They can purchase tickets through our website, www.l-l-a-D-A-D-Droit.org.

The fundraiser, as you indicated, is July 21st. So even if someone is not able to purchase a ticket, every dollar makes a difference. Every dollar that we get, a lot of it goes right back into serving more clients. And we're always looking for how can we do more? How can we do more for the community? And what if someone needs your help? legal aid. How can they get in contact with you? They can. We have an online intake system at our website, www. la da Detroit.org. We also have an online intake portal. We have a phone queue is 313-967-580-0 is our intake line. Can you tell me about this Wagyu pastrami? Yeah. I mean, blew my mind this morning. I see. Yeah, so it was something that we always wanted to do because it was totally different. As I mentioned you guys earlier, it comes in a smoke close. It's brine for five days, smoked for six hours. It really took our chef about six months to really perfect it. But now it's one of our staples, and it's something that, you know, we really take pride in something unique because it's not only just the Wagyu Pastrami. It takes so much that goes into it. So we really call it a labor of love because it took our chef so long to really come up with it. And everybody that tries it, they love it. So, yeah, every once in a while, I make a sandwich in the back with it. Yeah. Is it your hope that this event becomes more than just, you know, a one-night fundraiser in it? becomes like a long-term partnership between the Detroit business community and Atlanta. Yeah, absolutely. We host all different kind of events. And, you know, this being the first year, we really are, you know, expecting a lot of people to come in. And we really want to provide excellent service, showcase the space. Because what it does is it lets a lot of people into the Grand Army of the Republic building that may have never seen it before. That's right. It's an incredible building from all four floors. So really getting that exposure out there for... you know, Detroit residents or anybody within the community to see the space is really something new and something that we want people to engage in. Well, we appreciate you both so much. It's going to be a wonderful event. Alecano at Sexy Steak and Michelle Johnson at Legal Aid Defender Association. Thank you both so much for coming this morning. We appreciate you. Thank you so much. So win-win, man. Win, win. Is that a win-win? Great food, great service. Yes. All the way around. All right, Lloyd, that's going to do it for us as well. Make sure you're, you know, take care of yourself now. Look, I'm just doing what I can. No fruits and vegetables. That's it. Trying my hardest. That's it. Trying my hardest. No fruits and vegetables. I'm abstaining. Okay. I'm abstaining. All right. All right. We will see you tomorrow. Kevin Deets and I'll talk. Coming your way next here on W.J. Have a good one.