JR Morning ~ May 26, 2026 ~ Full Show

Happy Tuesday. Good to have you. We are ready to roll, Lloyd. We're going to get on the road. I got to tell you, this is a fun week because the Mackinac Policy Conference is fun because you get everybody together. Yes. And we have been talking for a long time, and this is kind of the chambers theme this year, is basically unity. It's basically how do we work together? How do we find common ground? And I think we need it more than ever now. Absolutely, we do. And I just, you know, look forward to seeing all of the people up there. A lot of the people who are on this show who come on this show, you know, we hear them on the phone. We don't get to see them. So we'll get to actually see them. And then we're going to be broadcasting live. A lot of those people will be at our broadcast site on our show tomorrow and Thursday. And then they look at us and they're like, you have a face for radio. Can I just call in? I'm just stand over there. Yeah. No, it's a great time. And a lot gets talked about. As it pertains to what's going on in the state, where the directions are going. There's been a lot of big things that have happened there. The insurance bill was signed there by Governor Gretchen Whitmer a number of years ago. So big things go on there and we're excited to go up there and cover it for you to make sure that you're caught up on everything. Meanwhile, yesterday was a memorial day. Did you have a nice relaxing Memorial Day? Kind of. Okay. Kind of. I was doing a little work yesterday. Yeah, sure. But. The grill was going. Yep. I had, you know, nice little dinner, some leftovers waiting for me. I'm good. There you go. I remember, you know, it's funny because over the last few years, the kids just don't care. I mean, they don't, it's like a day off for them. They have no. They're seven and four. Yeah. Right. This was the first year where Jake was like, what's Memorial Day? And I was like, well, Memorial Day is a day where, and again, little kids, right? So you got to kind of be careful how you... Sure, yeah. I try not to sugarcoat stuff, though, so I'm like, well, you know, there are people who served our country in the military who died. And we remember them for their bravery, for their willingness, for them to put it all on the line and all of their families that supported them that, you know, ultimately led to their passing. That's a good way to explain it. And they're like, oh. Like, it's pretty bleak dad. And I'm like, well, but that's, it is. That's what it is. Yeah. And so they're like, dude, does every, you know, and then I start getting the deeper life questions that I'm like. We're going to put a pin in that for now. We'll circle back around. You ask what today is about. That's what today's about. But you get inquisitive kids and that's how it goes. Meanwhile, the latest on Iran, so the United States conducted what they're calling Centcom says was self-defense strikes on some missile launchers, some boats that were laying mines in the strait of Hormuz.

All the while, Israel had taken some military action in southern Lebanon. So these ceasefires, these packs to stop the fighting, are just, I mean, we've said it over and over again. They're very fragile. Oh, no, thin line. Yeah, very, very, very fragile. All the while, Donald Trump says that a deal with Iran is, quote, largely negotiated. and that he's either going to sign a great and meaningful pact with Tehran or there will be no deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz could be announced as early as Monday. Okay. So we'll see what happens today. One of the sticklers is the enriched uranium. Yeah. And the U.S. was like, you don't get rid of that. Well, and one of the things that we'd heard out of Iranian state-run news sources was that that was not even being discussed, which of course is not true. Of course it's not. It's being discussed. Whether or not they're serious about it is a whole other ball wax. Exactly. But it's being talked about. Also, there was the scary situation over the weekend. where a suspect fired shots outside the White House. They hit a bystander. Secret Service ended up taking out Nassir Best, who had been identified as the gunman. He had been in a number of incidents with Secret Service before. He was kind of, he had some mental issues as well. Yes. Yeah, there was an incident in June 2025, so almost a full year ago. And there was a situation with Secret Service then, and he was sent for a mental evaluation after that incident as well. But some of the videos that were coming out of the, like the news reporters, the White House correspondents that were outside. Ducking and the White House. Yeah. Very, very scary situation. But thank God Secret Service was there. Michigan homeowners facing more frequent tornado, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds may soon get some help protecting their homes. The federal safe room rebate program is now accepting applications, offering eligible residents reimbursement for 75% of the costs to build a FEMA compliant storm shelter up to about $7,100 after construction is completing. Only 50 homeowners will be selected through a randomized process based on... County risk levels and participants must attend a required safety briefing to qualify. Officials say Michigan has already seen multiple tornado outbreaks in flooding this year with severe weather becoming a growing year-round concern and the program is designed to make storm protection more accessible as extreme weather continues to intensify across the state. We have seen a lot of tornadoes recently here in the state. Yes, certainly. In flooding as well. Yeah, so it's interesting that they might throw you a couple bones to build a room like that. Hey, you know, every little bit helps. Team takeover events that have disrupted parts of downtown Detroit. Well, they're now being promoting Pontiac, prompting some concern from local leaders and a Metro Detroit attorney who warned that gatherings could carry serious safety and legal risk. In Detroit, similar, large, unpermitted.

Teen gatherings have led to street closures, theft, and even a shooting involving a 14-year-old. Pontiac Mayor Mike McGinnis says police move quickly after seeing social media posts advertising a planned event deploying deputies at major downtown intersections as a precaution. No arrests were made. Officers focused on engaging with teens who showed up. But attorney, Renette Jackson, warns that even teens who attend out of curiosity. could face loitering charges, court appearances, and long-term consequences that follow them into adulthood. City leaders say that they are also exploring safer structured activities for young people, while Jackson is hosting a parent and teen seminar this week focused on the risk of participating in these events. So it seems like they want to try to do something like Detroit is doing by getting these structured activities for young people. There was a teen takeover in Chicago over the weekend. A lot of kids got shot. Yes. Yes. You know, it was pretty violent. So they're trying to not make it that. Exactly. Yeah. And that's not what Pontiac needs. No. Pontiac is trying to do a little something here. They are. I mean, you got a lot of the Oakland County offices. Yep. You know, they're going to be moving into downtown Pontiac. The county offices are going to be moving down to Pontiac. So, yeah. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert is back on TV on Friday. I saw that. Hello. Also welcome. It's time for another edition of Onlya Monroe. I'm your guest, host, Stephen Colbert. Long time viewers of Only in Monroe may remember that back in July of 2015, I filled in for the usual hosts Michelle Bauman and Kalani Ray Rafco Wilson. Still not sure how many people that is. Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, which came to an end last night. It's been excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount. Did you see any of this? I saw online. I did. I saw it. It's very funny. Jack White was in it. Jeff Daniels was Eminem. Eminem was in it. Eminem was in it. They were one of the big stories about this, obviously, initially, was that he returned to Monroe. Yeah. So he did do a local access TV show in 2015. It was very funny. It's all local stuff with... His humor in it, right? It was very funny. And this one was no different. They did a lot of the same similar things and brought some big names out to do this little TV show on cable access in Monroe. But what was striking in the aftermath of it as it was being posted and circulated on social media, CBS said that there were copyright issues with this. And there was an effort to try to. Stop it? Yes. Yeah, to stop it. And one of the reasons why they went that route is because CVS produced it. They produced the show. The Monroe Show? Yes. So CBS produced it. They're like, well, wait a second. Hold on. You can't air this. Like, I guess then my question is, why did you produce it then? Exactly. Right. If you knew that you knew this was going to happen.

right there on Lake Huron, but it's become a second home for some business names, including David Derrida of the Roxbury Group. Patty Lynch, the man who's bought the Schwarzana, Dutch Girl Donuts, and the Dakota Inn in Detroit, opened a Schwarz North in Lexington a couple of years ago. Local country club is owned by a Warren family. The city also has its own sort of policy conference, a small group of... Detroit, real estate and policy types, Massachusetts agent invite only, invite only day where they talk hardcore policy issues. and sort of formulate strategies. Some of the, some proposals have come out of that. But Lexington is the Roxbury Group has redeveloped the Historic Cadillac House Hotel, now rehabbing market into Detroit City Distillery Tasting Room for Lexington. So there's a... There's a lot of Detroit flavor in the town of Lexington now. Interesting. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan has been, well, they've been reluctant to have any sort of advertising in stadium. That's something they've pushed back against for a long time as that has become more prolific in college football. But they have officially named the beverage sponsor for campus. Yep, they're kind of late to the party, but U of M has chosen its horse in the great Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola debate. And U of M will be a Coke campus. It's the first time U of M's ever made an exclusive beverage deal. Others in the running, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Red Bull, for across all, this covers all three campuses. So Coke will have the only right to sell, serve, and advertise its products in. dining halls, hospitals, athletic venues, and vending machines. So if you're a Pepsi fan, you're a little bit out of luck in Ann Arbor. But it's something most Big Ten schools have already done. You know, most public venues have something like this, saves the money, gives the Coca-Cola's of the world better advertising. So they're still negotiating this contract. I suppose that if you really wanted to protest the... the lack of Pepsi you could, but very, very, very soon it's going to be. No, very, very soon it's going to be a Coke world in Ann Arbor. Mike Lee, always appreciate the time. As always, thank you. We'll talk again next week.

Thank you. Yeah, you got it. And, you know, up at the McAnon Policy Conference, the chamber is calling it, you know, a house on fire type of moment. And some people say, well, you know, being negative, this is an election year. This is the, we're going to pick a new governor. And we need to talk about what's going on in the state. Okay, but see, I can understand why politicians would be upset about that message. Okay. Right, if you're the governor, you're like, wait a second. Hold on. We did a lot of good stuff here. Yeah. Right. If you're Democrats, you might not like that. But the numbers are the numbers. The numbers are the numbers. You look at some of these numbers in how we're doing in, you know, third grade reading, reading, math, all of that. I mean, the education side of things is a huge problem. Per capita income has fallen to 40th out of all of the country. It's unacceptable. It is. This is something we got to deal with. But see, this is where I hope, because in my utopia of a political landscape is everybody takes responsibility, whether you mess up or not, whether you do something good or not, take responsibility as a collective. We have failed. Yes. Our kids or our, the amount of money coming into your bank account is not enough. Yeah. Right. Exactly. And that's okay. Because if you admit that we are, we've been laxadaisical on certain things. Yeah. Like it's up to us to commentate on your actions. Yes. Right. That, that, you can leave that to us and then you can leave that up to the people, Michigan, to decide how they're going to make. They're going to make the final decision. Right. But you're the one who has to do what you want to do. Yeah. So you stand behind it, but if things have slid to where they seem to be sliding, then it's okay to call it out and go, well, wait a second, WTF. You got to, right. What's the fix here then? You got to talk about it because if you don't, how do you fix it? You just think, you know, if you don't talk about it or just go away. Well, and the chamber, again, it's the overarching theme, a quest for common ground. Yes. And then you can. also say, because that's a noble route. It is. How do we come together and work together? But then also, things are kind of messy here now. Yeah. So how do we fix it? And we're going to have to work together to fix it? I got no problem with it. Yeah. So for people being critical of that, it's not something I under. I totally understand. Meanwhile, coming up on the other side, Ryan Duffy of Enbridge is going to join us. There's been a number of interesting movements in that case. Also, a huge deal up in the Straits of Mac, and I will talk about it. Coming up, a jam morning. And of course, Enbridge has been a great partner of WJR for a very long time. And it's always good to catch up with our buddy, Ryan Duffy, the head of corporate communications and media relations at Enbridge, and joins us this morning. Ryan, good morning. It's good to have you back, my friend. Good morning, guys. Thanks for having me on. Well, it's policy conference week. So what are some of the focuses now for Enbridge as we shift towards what's going on up north?

Yeah, well, it's a great event every year and great to be able to get out and talk to everyone there. We're proud to be a sponsor of it. Of course, we're really going to be focused on energy and energy security for Michigan. And I think most of us, we don't really tend to think too much about energy security until everything really starts getting more expensive. And, you know, we see the gas prices. We're paying more for deliveries, more expensive at restaurants and groceries and things. I think we're all seeing clearly now more than ever that all industries, businesses, manufacturing, agriculture. It's really all impacted by the availability and the cost of energy. And so we really believe that energy security is about building those systems where you have the oil, the natural gas, the solar, and wind, working all together to keep things moving along. And we've seen even small disruptions can really ripple into daily life. So you need that energy, but you also need to access and the delivery. And so that's really where we come in, and that's our role. Energy has to move efficiently to get where it needs to go and go through pipelines. And so there has to be that infrastructure, too, to connect the places where you have the abundant supply over to the areas where you have heavy demand. And, you know, Ryan, talk about how the tunnel fits into that idea of energy security. Sure. I mean, we're seeing that demand grow, so we have to have those pipelines transporting, and we have to really maintain those pipelines and upgrade the existing infrastructure where we need to. So that's really what the tunnel is all about. I mean, infrastructure is what makes that energy. usable. If you don't have that reliable delivery, you can't get that energy to the people who really need it. So the Great Lakes Tunnel is designed as a long-term infrastructure upgrade. It's going to house that replacement section of Line 5 deep below the lake there at the Straits of Mackinah. And moving the pipe into that tunnel, it's really going to significantly reduce any environmental risk, eliminate the chance you're going to have any kind of anchor strike issue or release there. So the tunnel's really making sure we can beat the demand that's out there. We've seen how these different events happening can impact energy availability. Most of those things really are out of our control. So it's important to control the things we can. And it's important to make sure there's not going to be any disruption to that critical energy line five delivers that so many people really count on and need. I can't tell you how many times I've talked about. the Information Center in St. Ignis to people. It is amazing. Because it's hard to really understand it until you see it. But then, boy, when you see all of the effort that is going in to ensure the safety of these pipes to make sure, I mean, the money that would be allocated for just the equipment to carry out this project is absolutely just unbelievable. So where do we sit on this project now? Yeah, there continues to be a lot going on, a lot of positive things happening. I mean, permitting is moving forward. Our focus really is on quality and having the highest standards as we do this work every step of the way. And, of course, safety guides us. I mean, where we are now is that the Army Corps is continuing to do its work in reviews, moving toward a decision there. At the state level, we're renewing two permits that we had previously, but now we need to renew those. So those reviews continue.

And so hopefully in the next few months here over the summer, we know a lot more and have a lot more certainty on all these permits. As you know, it's been a lengthy extended process here, but our tunnel team really remains focused on the work because we know the tunnel is the best way forward, and it really does continue to have a lot of support. And, Ryan, talk about a safety milestone that Ambridge reached up in the streets recently. Yeah, yeah. In March, our East Mock in St. Ignat, and that's the Enbridge Straits Maritime Operations Center. It recorded its 10,000 shift passing through the straits that we've been able to keep an eye on there since 2022. So, you know, we've talked about the East Mock. It's staffed up there around the clock by our team. It's really the control center for all the safety systems we have in place at the straits to prevent an anchor strike. The Eastmac watches every ship, and he contacts every ship captain that comes through, sends an electronic message, and it's all to make sure everything is safe and looking good there before the ships pass right above our line-fight pipeline. So we hit 10,000 vessels crossing, and it really was a big moment for us and a big moment for all that we've been doing up there. Well, and that's something that you guys take very seriously, and we even saw some of the radar. that they're evaluating when we were up at the information center and saying Ignis. And again, I would urge people to go check that out because when you talk about 10,000, I mean, that's a lot of traffic in that waterway and that extra level of security is, I think, really important there too. Yeah, it was great to have you up at the Information Center last summer. And so, yeah, we'd like everybody to stop by, you know, on the way out to the island when you're going to get the ferry. It's right there on State Street in St. Ignace, 214 State Street. Can't miss it. It's open regular business hours. No charge to get in, of course. So, yeah, there's really a lot to see and do there. And it gives a really nice overview of the whole project. And, you know, before we go, Ryan, you know, the Mackinnell Policy Conference, you know, it brings together, you know, leaders from business and government and labor. What message is in bridge hoping that these decision makers walk away with this year? Well, I think, you know, you've been talking about coming together. I think energy is really a place where we can all do that. We know how important it is, how much it's needed. And the Great Lakes Tunnel Project is not really a partisan issue. It's something that will benefit everybody in the state and something that will truly enhance safety there at the Straits. So we know the Straits are really a special place. So this really will be a special project. And of course, safety at the forefront. And we've done all we can to minimize impacts during construction. So that's that's our focus for sure. And we're ready to go to start building it. Ryan Duffy at Enbridge, always appreciate your time. Thank you. Hopefully we'll see you up there.

All right, anytime. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. You got it. Yeah, that place is amazing that tunnel projection project information center. It's amazing. I mean, you just look at the boring machine model that they have there. Yes, yes. I mean, it's the size of the roadway. You know, but that's what's required for it. And then they're going to go out and get the special equipment needed. I think it's built in Germany. In Germany, yeah. So they got to have it shipped over in these big freighters. Yeah. Yeah. Look, but that's what it requires. And there's been a number of projects like this around the world where they've bored through the earth under something. Yeah. And everything is safe and secure. And that's something I, you know, I'm not quite sure what the, what the issue is. It doesn't make any sense to me. I don't get it either. I think you have a lot of extra safety measures if you put it underground. Yeah. But that's just me. I don't know how we get past that. Yeah, I think it's just politics. At this point. But then because it's in the waterway, you still have all of the measures that they take to make sure that all of these vessels passing through are doing so safely. Coming up on the other side, a hotly contested Senate race. We'll talk about it. It's Jeremy. Well, Kimberly Not Hill has been active in the Detroit political scene for a very long time. Long time. Decades. And now she is running for state Senate. And she says that she's bringing all this experience, 30 years of connecting the government and community to Lansing. And Kimberly Hill not joins us to talk about it this morning. It's good to have you. Yes, thank you so much for having me on your program this morning. I am excited to talk to you and your listening audience about my campaign. I think this is an exciting time, but a very important time to have the right leadership in Lansing. Well, why was the time now to try to head to Lansing? Well, you know, it's interesting. I used to teach political science at the collegiate level, and what you're seeing right now is that there is really a shift in terms of many of the issues that are being addressed. So many of the issues that are addressed in Congress are now being shifted to state government. And so the Voting Rights Act and many of the cuts that have taken place in Congress, the states are now responsible for filling those financial gaps or budget gaps. And so you have to have someone in office who understands both policy and people, and that is why. I am running for office because I believe that I have both that, particularly running in Congress or working in Congress for several years. And, you know, your resume, Kimberly spans Capitol Hill to Detroit neighborhoods. How have those experience kind of shaped the kind of leader you want to be for District 3?

Yeah, that's an excellent question. Well, you know, one of the things that I have learned from Congressman Conyers is that I believe in bringing government to the people. So being a legislator is so much more than just sitting behind a desk and writing bills. It is also engaging with your constituents and letting them know about the resources that are available, talking to them about different legislation and regulatory issues that may directly impact their lives. And so that's what I plan to do. So when I look at my platform and I look at my campaign priorities, like ensuring dignity, support, and respect for senior citizens and strengthening education and lowering costs, and, you know, strengthening public safety and small businesses, these are all issues that really require engaging, actively engaging constituents. Really interesting. And we're going to continue to watch your race. You are certainly hitting the ground hard and we'll continue to watch Kimberly Hillnott. Thanks so much for your time this morning. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. You got it. It's true. I mean, there's a lot of movement towards the states. The government is trying to push. I mean, even look at the Department of Education, for example. Yeah. Right? They're talking about closing up, shuttering the doors. Shipping everything here. Moving some things around to different federal overview, right? Different departments would take different things. But for the most part, a big chunk of what the Department of Education does would be shifted towards the states. And, you know, the money that's spent there. And I mean... Do you trust the state to spend the money the right way for education here? I don't know. We spend a lot per pupil here. We sure do. And we're not really seeing results. And look at our results. Correct. So, yeah, no, it is an interesting perspective that things are shifting more towards the states, which puts the onus certainly more on state lawmakers. Yeah. Pope Leo has issued the long-awaited Magnifica humanitas, which... translates to magnificent humanity. And there was a number of things in this that he talked about. And one of them being slavery. And the church's role in the slave trade, and they have apologized before about this. But this was the most direct kind of correlation that a pope has made towards this. Absolutely. And, you know, besides the slavery aspect and what he talked about, he also talked about the rapidly advancing AI systems, including autonomous weapons. He says it may already be operating beyond meaningful human control. And he urges robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, and stronger protection for workers and children affected by these AI-driven industries. Yeah, so these were a few of the warnings that he gave. AI can erode human judgment by offering instant answers that weaken creativity, discernment, and the patients needed to seek truth. AI can simulate care without relationship, making vulnerable users, mistakes, artificial empathy for genuine human connection, or can destabilize democracy by amplifying disinformation, can make war easier by speeding up lethal decisions, and distancing humans from responsibility.

which I think to a certain degree. Yeah. A lot of that can be true. Absolutely. A lot of that can be true. And he's calling for, essentially at this point, is more oversight to this technology. Yeah. And he also criticized the, what it says, the weakening of global peace systems. And he says he rejects the traditional just war theory, saying modern conflicts are increasingly driven by power and distraction rather than defense. So this is going to be. I had been reading a little bit about this. And one of the things that I'd seen from some of the Catholic, the Catholic side of things, not just the news reporter side, was that this is a pretty significant document. It's 43,000 words, first of all. And that this could be. one of the more consequential documents, new age documents that the church has put out in a long time. And the guidelines for artificial intelligence, some of that is stuff that I've been saying for quite some time. You know, what happens when this technology becomes so, A, available, I mean, which it already is, but it's only getting more available. People are leaning into it more every day. Yeah, every day. And it is, I mean, what happens when it replaces that human-to-human connection? Right? I'm somebody who likes to talk on the phone. Mm-hmm. I like to talk to a person. Talk to you. Instead of the, you know. Yeah, if I have a, if I have a call customer service and I get an automated message, I'm like, live person, give me somebody to talk to. I do the same thing. You know what I mean? Yes. So there is still that, but we're getting further away, and younger generations are going to lean into this more heavily. Oh, yeah. But there are a number of really good things that AI is going to bring. Well, it's just like the Internet. You know, when the internet came about, you know, everybody was so excited, such, you know, it was going to help us so much. But, you know, some people use the internet for nefarious things as well. Well, sure. Yeah, certain. Coming up on the other side, we'll get you caught up on the latest headlines. Are we headed towards a deal with Iran? We'll talk about that. Also, Northville volunteers are helping clean graves and tombstones of veterans. And we'll talk to them next. On J.R. Morning. I thought you got that root canal fixed. Apparently not. The construction continues outside of our window here at the Fisher Building. Oh, boy. It's a little earlier today. Usually they start around 8 o'clock, yeah. Yep. But it's a... I guess it was since it was the holiday yesterday, they say that's just... Get started early. That's right. That's exactly right. They got to get to it. So that's what that sound is in the back. And we pushed through. Yes. Meanwhile, I hope you had a nice Memorial Day holiday. I did. It was beautiful weather. You couldn't beat it. Absolutely beautiful. You couldn't beat it. It was the best day out of the weekend, really. No, it really was. Yeah. We had a, you know, it's funny. We had a water balloon fight with the kids. Always fun. They just like it when I throw balloons at them.

They don't like to throw back at you? Well, because then they get closer. And then they're like, oh, he's definitely going to hit us. Gotcha. But then I hit him and then they cry. It's a no-win situation for me. And we get the balloons that you put them on the end of the hose and then you fill them up and they just drop? Yes. First of all, whoever came up with that, good on you. I used to have to fill water balloons up. Oh, man. Oh, go. Over the little, you know, spring thing. Yeah, it's crazy. Oh, yeah. So whoever did this, great. But they don't pop as well. So when you hit them, I mean. It kind of hurts a little bit. It doesn't. Chris. I don't know. What are you going to do? You want to play or don't you? You just need to do old school, man. Just fill them up like we used to as kids, man. I don't have the patience for that anymore. I really don't. I really don't. But I hope you had a nice memorial day. Meanwhile, the CENTCOM announced yesterday that the United States launched self-defense strikes on Iran. This was, according to Navy Captain Tim Hawkins. He said that the shots were fired to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. Those targets included missile launching sites and Iranian boats attempting to set mines in the Strait of Hormuz. So does it does nothing for, does it do anything to the ceasefire? They say it does not. They say that they, being Hawkins, says that sent com. continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire. So again, it's fragile enough as it is. Israel's taking shots at southern Lebanon, so that's happening as well. But again, the president says that we're close to a deal, that things are progressing nicely. We're either going to have a deal that's going to be beneficial and a partnership with Tehran or not. Yeah. And the or not is where I think most people have the fear. Yeah. Because, I mean, part of the deal is them giving up their enriched uranium. Iran says that's not going to happen. And I know the U.S. was like, well, it's no deal unless you do that. So. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Correct. A Washington County apartment complex is under intense scrutiny after reports of dangerous living conditions forcing residents from their homes. U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell urging the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to intervene at Sackmore Meadows in Superior Township. where tenants have reported sewage backups black mold rodent and insect infestations and repeated maintenance failures the 262 unit section 8 complex managed by texas base

Tarantino properties has been cited for ongoing neglect, with township officials saying it is out of compliance with rental inspection standards. After a recent sewage incident, some residents were forced into temporary hotel housing, while others continue to face issues like broken heating systems, plumbing failures, and unsafe conditions. Dingle is demanding answers from HUD, calling the situation despicable and pressing for a timeline to fix what she describes. as long-standing failures in oversight and management. I mean, you can't, you know, sewage backups and mold or yoga. Run people out of their homes that they're paying for. Right. You know. partially anyway. Yeah, no doubt. General Motors says that they're going to donate $50 million over the next five years to Michigan, science, technology, engineering, arts, and math education program, STEM programs here in the state of Michigan. Mark Roy's telling the Detroit News the goal is to improve results in Michigan school systems, especially the pipeline to steam jobs at General Motors Technical Center and Warren. We want to draw and invest in that education and opportunity. Grants will be available by application. And he said the goal is to keep that pipeline strong. Yeah. Yeah, really interesting. A major energy deal in Michigan drawing sharp debate as consumer energy seeks approval to sell 13 hydroelectric dams across the state's lower peninsula to Maryland-based private equity firm, Whole Street Energy LLC, and its subsidiary, Confluence Hydro-LLC, They want to sell them for $13, like a buck apiece. The century-old dams located on rivers, including the Muskegon, Manistee, Oscebo, provide power, but require hundreds of millions in repairs and upgrades. And the deal also includes a 30-year power purchase agreement that critics say could cost above-market rates. And supporters argue that the sale preserves the dams and local economies while opponents warn it could shift environmental risk and long-term liabilities to less accountable private operator. Interesting. Sell them off, 13 bucks. All 13, 13 bucks. Be done. Out of the game. Yep. Yeah. Stephen Colbert was on Monroe County Public Television. Was that a shock? Friday. It was a shock. Yeah. He showed up and here's what he said. Hello. Also welcome. It's time for another edition of Only a Monroe. I'm your guest, host, Stephen Colbert. Long time viewers of only in Monroe may remember that back in July of 2015 I filled in for the usual hosts Michelle Bauman and Kalani Ray Rafko Wilson. Still not sure how many people that is. Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, which came to an end last night.

It's been excruciating 23 hours without being on TV, so I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount. Jack White was there. Steve Buscemi was there. Jeff Daniels, Eminem, All-made appearances. Eminem was on his appearance back in 2015 when he did it then. Try to bring him back. It was very cool. I thought it was very funny. Actually, I thought it was funny or the most of the stuff he had been doing on the late show. But CBS had backed off copyright claims because at least they were saying that... that there was copyright notices being sent out to different YouTube channels that were sharing the episode. And now they're holding back according to the USA Today story. As is our regular practice, we send copyright notices to unauthorized websites that post copyrighted content from CBS and our network studios, talents such as Stephen Colbert. So they're just, uh, So he's still under contract with them? Well, they produced this piece. And they produced the piece. The only in Monroe. Monroe. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, our. But people were freaking out. They're like, they're censoring them again and all of these things. But, again, CBS produced the thing. 713, time for WJR's business. We brought you by shelving.com. We rack your world. Here's Jeff Sloan, the founder and CEO of Startup Nation, to spotlight the entrepreneurial tech and startup community on WJR. Good morning. This morning on the business beat. We're taking a look at a hot retail category to see who's winning and who's fading. The category, athletic apparel, a near universal category in which Nike leads by a wide margin. They own a 22% mental market share, the broadest occasion footprint, and a new study conducted by Morning Consult. Now, for reference, mental market share means a brand's mental availability. How often it comes to mind compared to competitors when consumers think of buying in a given category. Following Nike, which has more than double market share over the next competitor, that competitor, Adidas at 11% and Under Armour at 10%. Nike is recalled across more purchase occasions than any other brand, including triggers like replacing worn out gear, stylistic triggers like athleisure, and utilitarian triggers like everyday wear. Awareness is highest among 65 plus adults, 93% and remains strong. among 18 to 34 year olds as well at 76%.

Now, there are new challengers emerging in this category. Allo Yoga leads the Yoga Pilates category at 39% ahead of Lulu Lemon at 32%. When it comes to gym training wear, the leader is Jim Shark at 36% ahead of Under Armour at 35%. And brands not doing as well as expected. Reebok is at 6.5% mental market share while champion. sits at 5.2% well-known brands, but those brands get left behind when consumers are about to make purchase decisions. All in all, the athletic apparel category showing strong retail results for brands and retailers alike. No doubt one which aspiring entrepreneurs should take a close look at if you're thinking of starting or growing a business of your own. I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.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 yesterday was Memorial Day, and of course we paid tribute to those that paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country. And others were taking service to a different meaning. And in this case, the VFW Post 4012 in Northville Cemetery Renewal Task Force focused on the Rural Hill Cemetery in the northeast corner of 7 Mile on Sheldon Roads in Northville ahead of Memorial Day. And what were they doing? They were... kneeling down in front of these gravestones, cleaning them, making sure that they were looking nice. Yeah, yeah. And it's a great thing. And it's something that I don't think we think about until around this time. But these things need to be done. David Merrill is the chair of the Cemetery Renewal Task Force and joins us this morning to talk about all of their efforts that went into the culmination yesterday on Memorial. Dave, it's good to have you. Thank you. Is it Chris since I don't see you or is Lloyd? Chris, this is Chris. And I'm Lloyd. And that's Lloyd. Yeah. So it's good to have you this morning. So where did this start? When did you guys get together, create the task force and start attending to these gravesites? Well, Northville is celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2007. And our mayor, Brian Turnbull, decided to form two task forces. His families had like five generations here in Northville, I believe. And one was the task force for the bicentennial, and one was to restore. our tombstones in two cemeteries. The oldest is Oakwood, which is right downtown, and the one that you were talking about rural hill is a little way out of town. They're both historic cemeteries. The one goes back to 1835, and the other is in the 1880s. And the oldest one really needed a lot of repair. Cemetery went out of business in the Great Depression. They went bankrupt.

A lot of work. So that's when it got started back, actually back in August of 25 was our first team meeting. David, you said that these are our ancestors that went before us. When you're kneeling in front of a gravestone, cleaning the name of someone you never met. What goes through your mind? Well, just for me, when I grew up in Iowa, across the street from us, was an abandoned cemetery. And we young boys would play in the cemetery. And so I'm used to that. And then our family has a long history. Memorial Day was a family reunion. So to answer your question, it's just something that you do. I don't always, sometimes you're cleaning the back of the stone. Yes, veterans have... more meaning and you think a little bit about well I guess it's what's really sort of shocking is the really old cemetery some of my younger people say oh ha ha look at this person had three wives well back before penicillin back in the 1800s women died in child's birth yeah the two most two most uh uh uh interesting photos that we have one is called a baby crib so it's it's made out of stone and that is where you put your dead babies and when we started this at oakwood the crib was all broken in pieces on the ground. It's fairly big. It's probably about eight foot by four foot. And then a donor, Northville Lumber, gave us money to hire a restoration professional. They put it back together. So this black crib is now white. And that's one of the things that's most recognized. And there's two babies in that. Yeah, and you work with the preservationists to make sure that these are are tended to properly and taken care of and it's just that extra step, I think. Yes. Yeah, it's Carter Cemetery Preservation and we try and follow National Park policies on. cleaning the stones. We have had a couple of complaints, actually. People say, well, mostly it's all gratitude, but, and actually a friend of mine said, I don't want you to clean my family's stones. And the reason for that is maybe the stones are only 30 years old or 40 years old and they still look good and maybe they like the patina on them. So, so, you know, we're very careful. We don't want to damage anything. That's why we use the very soft brushes, you know. Dave, one thing that stands out about this effort is that you called it non-political. And in today's divided climate, as you know, what does it mean to have people come together simply out of respect and service?

Oh, Lloyd, that's, I think that's really something because there's, as you know, so much division. And we're there for one purpose. And there's people, you know, there's people, well, one of our task force members is, I think he's 16, he's going for his Eagle Scout, and then there's people into their 80s. We don't talk. I've never heard anyone talk politics. It's just you get the joy, whether it's from removing the invasive species that our grounds gang do or cleaning the stones. And you come away. You come away happy. None of this other stuff bothering you. Yeah. Well, it's really special what you guys do and paying tribute in the way that we can for those that we lost, culminating in Memorial Day. David Merrill, thank you so much for your time this morning, what you do. And we'll talk again soon, I hope. Thank you. By the way, one of our volunteers is the wife of one of your former stalwarts. They're Tom Campbell's wife, Sue Campbell. Oh, Sue. Yes, absolutely. Oh, very good. Very good. David, thank you. We appreciate everything you do. Okay, thank you very much. Talk to you both. All right. You got it. That's great what they do. It's great. And, you know, every Memorial Day, I always take a moment to try to watch the videos as well out of the Normandy American Cemetery in France. Yeah. So the French gave the United States that plot of land. So it's American land there. And that's where those white crosses are for people that lost their lives in Normandy. And I always get very emotional watching them take the sand from the beach and spreading it across the names of those soldiers to give it that the names really stick out then. And again, it's just a very special moment. They clean it up and it gives kind of their names that golden hue, which is spectacular. that they still do that. Well, thank God and, you know, for the soldiers that gave up, you know, the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to do what we do here every day. Yeah, certainly. To talk on the radio. Meanwhile, a stamp is coming back. And this is a fan favorite. This is a fan favorite. It is Mr. Rogers. The Mr. Rogers Stamp is a fan favorite, and it's coming back this summer. The winner of the Stamp Encore Contest is the 2018 Mr. Rogers Stamp honoring the beloved host of Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, which aired for more than 30 years. USPSS, more than half a million votes were cast in this nationwide contest with Mr. Rogers winning by a wide margin over dozens of other popular designs. Originally, 12 million of the stamps were printed in 2018.

They sold out in weeks. That's cool. I mean, look. Mr. Rogers was cool, man. I mean, he was cool. I mean, it was just great. And the fact that that legend still lives on. Yeah. Right? It's really cool. It does. And it's probably sentimental for some folks, right? So you bring that back. It makes people feel good. And the reprint, the stamps are going to be available starting June 1. So. Right around the corner. Right around the corner. Yep. Coming up on the other side, Rocky Roscovsky is going to join us, the retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army about the latest out of Iran. Are we headed towards a ceasefire as military action? Resumed at least briefly. It's next. Israel taking some military action in southern Lebanon, the United States, targeting missile launch sites, Iranian boats attempting to set mines according to U.S. Sentcom. And they say that they were... in self-defense to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces. And you've got Navy Captain Tim Hawkins with CENTCOM saying that the United States continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire and certainly the ceasefire negotiations that are ongoing. Rocky Richkosky, the retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Army, joins us to talk about it. All, Rock, good morning to you. Hey, good morning, Chris. Good morning, Boyd. Before we get into the negotiation side of this story, let's talk about what we saw this weekend on the military side. Does this ceasefire still hold as a result of the actions that were taken? You know, Chris, I would say it's still a fragile ceasefire. We're still closer to a negotiated pause than a permanent peace. And it's... Highly unstable, I would say. And the agreements between the United States and Iran are still technically holding, but the tensions remain extremely high, especially after this U.S. self-defense strikes in southern Iran, which attacked one of the major Iranian naval and military bases in that southwestern portion of Iran called Bandar Abbas. We now see that Iran has responded to their supreme leader, and the supreme leader said that the U.S., no U.S. base. in the Middle East or U.S. operations will be safe. So, again, your question asks, are we holding the ceasefire? We're technically holding it, but the tensions are extremely high and the words, even though there are negotiations, they're taking place between the two nations and GETR, it's... Very unstable. You know, Rocky, Iran still reportedly maintains about 70% of its missile launchers in stockpile. Does that surprise you, given the repeated claims that Iran's military capabilities have been severely degraded?

No, and you mentioned missile launchers. They maintain about 70% of their missiles and their drones, but they're launchers. And to launch a lot of these missiles, to give the missiles their proper guidance or their trajectory, you need a launcher system or a launching system, and the launch systems are predominantly taken out. Again, a lot of their based... Launching systems have been destroyed. Now we're talking about mobile devices, Lloyd. So these are more like what you've seen in the old Russian parades where they've got missiles on these vehicles. So the mobile ones are a lot harder to strike, and obviously they're mobile, thus the name for them. But, you know, there's a lot less of them than there were before. And the based launching systems and the base launching... sites have been destroyed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that they are continuing to pursue this diplomatic solution, which we know is true. Talks are ongoing in Qatar as we speak. But he also said that Donald Trump is committed to either making a good deal or no deal in the straits who have to be open. They're going to be open one way or the other. What do you read into that? I think that's, you know, one of the things that we heard over the weekend, this Memorial Day weekend, was a lot of criticism on this administration saying, hey, they're moving towards this agreement that is very similar to what the Obama administration had. And technically, No, it's not because there is no agreement, number one, yet. And number two is the president did draw some specific lines in the sand. And these are lines in the sand that even regional countries, including cuts out of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt, Jim Jordan, and the UAE were heavily involved in these mediation efforts. And they even concurred with Washington that Tehran needs to support some of these. And yes, Marco, Secretary of State Marco Rubio did say that there is progress, but he had also acknowledged major issues still remain unresolved. And the biggest one, Chris, I'm going to shift a little bit here and say the biggest one is still the unenriched uranium stockpiles. And, you know, we can talk all we want and we can talk about gas prices. And the reason we have... higher gas prices in the U.S., even though we really don't rely on the oil coming out of the Straits of Hormuz or out of those nations, is because now the international market needs oil. So where are they buying it from? They're buying from the U.S., therefore creating more tension on our markets in the West, in the Western Hemisphere. So we're seeing this, and it is affecting us. And it's a major issue to the President when he looks at this regarding... the midterms and the feelings of the United States with the inflation rates. But the issue still comes down and the president has drawn a line in the sand. And this is one thing that Donald Trump will not do. And if you've looked at his background, if he does draw a line in the sand, he will not cross it. Unlike other administrations, Republican or Democrat, and now the Iranian officials.

are drafting this 14-point memorandum of understanding, and the president has basically said, no, if we're not discussing enriched uranium or coming back to discuss the enriched uranium without opening up the straits or removes, those two topics are becoming synonymously tied together over the next 60 days. And Rocky Israel now signaling it plans on intensifying attacks against Hezbollah and Lebanon. And how much does that kind of complicate any possible U.S. Iran agreement? Well, it does because Iran has said multiple times that if you remember back about, what was it, a month and a half ago, the original ceasefire that took place that was allegedly broken, they said that Israel's attacks on Hezbollah broke the ceasefire. But again, if Hezbollah is doing attacks on Israel, Israel has a right, a sovereign right to self-defense. And just like Iran has a right to self-defense, but it doesn't have a right to build a nuclear weapon nor strike or threaten nations in the area. But again, Iran has tied Israel's actions to this ceasefire. Right or wrong, it has. And the United States has played some role in discussing with Israel and using Israel's... How shall I say, allowing them to hold back a lot of their attacks on the Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon as an issue. We just have 30 seconds left here. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz has come out and said that this actually, if this plan goes into a place as they're talking about it, it could make Iran more powerful over the time. Do you agree with that? You know what? I'm not a war hawk, but I am a hawk regarding decreasing Iran's power. I do believe that if it's how it was displayed in the news media, but I don't believe that's what President Trump will actually sign. And the issue here is the president will work on the enriched uranium as well as opening up the straits of our moves and decreasing the Iranian military strength. Rocky Richkowski, thanks for your time. As always, we'll talk again soon. Thanks, gentlemen. Let's pray for peace. God bless you. No doubt about it. See you around. The Grand Prix coming up this weekend. Meryl came joins us on the other side. It's Jair morning. Well, IndyCar racing returns to the streets of Detroit once again this weekend. Sunday is the big day, 1230, the IndyCar Grand Prix, the Detroit. Grand Prix once again returns. And it's going to be a fantastic weekend of racing downtown. Merrill Kane, the Detroit Grand Prix joins us to talk about it. Merrill, good morning. It's great to talk with you. Good morning. Great to talk with you. It's a beautiful day. Great start to our race week here for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. No doubt about it. And I'll tell you, what a lead in to have the Indianapolis 500 just ahead of us. And it was an incredible finish. Team Penske just got eked out. This was the closest finish in 500 history, wasn't?

Yeah, it was. And you got to think about 110 years of the Indianapolis 500. That's a lot of races and a lot of dramatic finishes over the years. But yeah, to see that on Sunday and to kind of reward the fans that stuck through a couple short rain delays and it's a long 500 miles, but man, the guys put on a great show. And, you know, you really got to give it to Felix Rosenquist, who did a magnificent job all months and really, you know, turned it on when he needed to made the path that he needed to make that gives him a piece of history right and you feel really bad for david maluccas from team penske who uh who also had a great day great month uh looked like victory was in his sight yeah for those last like 50 yards and You know, but David, he's a really, really talented driver, great personality, and he's going to get another chance. He'll get another opportunity. But that was a great finish. And we love having all that momentum coming right here into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, presented by Lear this weekend, you know, the entire racing world and kind of everyone who... tuned in to Indy, hopefully gets a chance to see what we can do here in Detroit and put on a great spectacle of ourselves. Yeah. And it's a, it's a different vibe of a race, right? Because you're in the city streets. It's not the oval. And to me, I am more drawn to the type of race that we have here because it, to me, it tests the drivers in a completely different way. Yeah, I agree with you. And I'm glad you feel that way. But it's something that we're very proud of. But I think that's a credit to IndyCar and the other series that race with us, too. You've got to be a really talented, diverse driver to succeed in these racing series. So, you know, they go from 240 miles an hour in a circle on a very high-speed oval. You know, going 180 down Jefferson Avenue, making right and left turns and, you know, facing the bumps and the potholes that we drop every day, right? And still being able to try to compete for a win, you know, with cars on either side of you and walls on either side of you, too. It's a very high risk, high reward race, and there's a lot of pressure that's associated with it. But when you're watching it, it's great as a fan to be able to see that and to enjoy that. So we're looking forward to bringing that to the Motor City this weekend. Well, and obviously, it all culminates on Sunday. at 1230. But there are so many different races Friday, Saturday. You're talking qualifying. You're talking about different practice sessions for these guys to get a feel for the track. And that to me is what I love about this is, yes, we want to see the race. We love to see our city front and center. But it's all that goes into it that I find to be so fascinating to and exciting, quite frankly. Yeah, it's really it's really we call it a free festival, right? It really is and it just happens to be a real of it But yeah, I mean there's so many things for people to do and there's so many ways to experience this event for free you know over half the venue is open and accessible to fans for free all weekend long You know we have viewing platforms all up and down Jefferson Avenue heart plaza spirit plaza the river walk

All are open for free for fans to come and check it out. And there's activations and related to the race that will be part of it. You know, but be. Oh, did we lose Merrill? Hold on, Merrill, let me put you on hold real quick. We were just getting a blip on your phone. Let me put you on hold. We'll reconnect here in just a minute. But yeah, so the race, of course, Sunday, but Friday you've got different Bill Gates open at 8 a.m. You get to see the practice sessions. a number of different autograph sessions for these drivers as well. And we got Merrill Kane back. Pick up what you were saying there about all of the different possibilities for fans to take in this event. Yeah, I'm sorry about that, Chris. Yeah, it's a great weekend in terms of, you know, we have Indy Next, who are the rising stars of IndyCar that are going to be racing over the course of the weekend, along with the MSAweather Tech Sports Car Championship, you know, some of the top sports car racers in the world that will compete what we call sports car Saturday on Saturday this weekend. And then obviously we have IndyCar, the NTCRs series, which will take kind of center stage on Sunday. So, yeah, all these racing series will be in action throughout the course of the weekend, pretty much from... when the Bill Gates open at 8 a.m. until late afternoon on each day. But we want people to come down and check it out. And not only watch the great racing, but we have our fan zone that's in campus, Marsha Park, Cadillac Square, for people to take advantage of. That's free and open to everyone. We have activation in Hart Plaza. And, of course, if you're down here and you have a ticket for the race and you can come in the race paddock, you'll be able to. Meet the drivers, see the drivers. Yeah, autograph sessions on Friday and Saturday from IndyCar and MSA and Indynex. So, yeah, there's a lot for people to see and do and we're excited to bring it all to Detroit this weekend. Well, and I think that's the other important part, too, is in some of our professional sports leagues, sometimes these athletes can be out of reach, right? But that's not something that you guys have here. It's very interactive and you give guys, you give fans. a lot of opportunities for them to come, come down, meet the drivers, get their perspective on what it's like driving through the city. I mean, every driver that I've talked to absolutely loves this track. So having that fan interaction, I think, is a really cool feather in the cap, too. Yeah, it's pretty unique, I think, for both IndyCar and IMSA, very, very open, welcoming. You know, you mentioned, you know, where else could you, you couldn't go to a, you know, a tiger's game and get in for free and get a chance to get an autograph from one of the players. And that's something we're very proud of is the openness, the accessibility, the inclusiveness, really, of being able to be a part of this weekend and being a part of this event. So, yeah, fans can get free autographs. Like you said, if you have a ticket, you can go through the paddock.

see the different garage areas come up to the different race teams who are very welcoming and are happy to talk about what they do and the passion that they have for the sports and everything automotive. And it seems to be a great fit here in the Motor City, obviously. And we love doing it and giving back to the community too. Because this is one of those events that. You know, when we brought the event back downtown in 2023, we met with so many different people from across the city and groups and organizations. And they all wanted it back, but they wanted to be able to be a part of it. And that's why we've kind of designed it like this with the openness, the free access. And being able to engage with all the fans is something that we're very proud of. Yeah, certainly. It is the 2026 Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear. It's going to be an absolutely fantastic weekend. We cannot wait for it. Merrill Kane, thank you so much for your time, as always. And we'll see it down there in the pits. It's going to be fun. Thank you. I appreciate it. Tickets are still available, DetroitGP.com. So I hope to see everybody down this weekend. You got it. Thank you, Merrill. We'll talk. Very cool. Meanwhile, the Tigers actually got a win. How about that, Jason? Over the O's. They tried to blow it in the 9th. Yes, they did. Yes, they did. They have been on an absolute tear in the wrong direction. They're like one game off from the worst record in the American League. Yeah, they're 21 and 33. Now, you heard, though, Terrick Scoobam is going to have a rehab assignment in early June here. He's going to come back a lot sooner than we thought. So I was reading that. I was reading that and Justin Verlander is progressing in a positive direction too. I have a hard time believing the school news. Well, me and a buddy that and I were talking about it. It's like they're not going to rush him back. No. If they, you know, it means he could really hurt himself. Correct. There's a lot on the line for his career and for this team. Eight o'clock hour coming up. It's your morning.

8 o'clock hour, good to have you. Still a lot to do this morning. The latest out of Iran is the United States military carried out self-defense strikes in northern Iran Monday. And these missile launch sites, Iranian boats, that's according to SendCom Monday their time. U.S. forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces according to Sentcom. Targets included missile launch sites, Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire. According to Fox, a number of officials. said that this does not mean the ceasefire with Iran is over. Yeah, that was going to be my question. You know, how, you know, it's already fragile. How much more fragile is it now because you had this strike, this defensive strike? Well, and this is while in Qatar, negotiations are ongoing. Donald Trump says that the talks are proceeding nicely. Despite these defensive strikes by the United States, Donald Trump saying that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium would either be handed over to the United States for destruction or eliminated under international supervision as part of a potential nuclear agreement. with Tehran. So again, the nuclear dust, as he calls it, this enriched uranium, which is near weapons grade. Yep. Is, of course, at the heart of all of this. And, you know, you can make the argument over some of the sanctions being rolled back by the United States. But if the president maintains this stance of, we do not want Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. Which is his number one deal. Yeah. then you deal with the other stuff and you try to sweeten the pot on the other side. And maybe the hope is that you have some sort of cordial relationship with Iran and the officials there and the regime there. Whether or not that actually comes to fruition is not. It's a fair criticism. Yeah. But Donald Trump wants to do away with the enriched uranium. Well, in Israel's saying they're going to, they're going after Hezbollah and Lebanon, and that's not going to stop. And I'm wondering if that. causes issues with the negotiations as well. Sure. Meanwhile, the suspect who fired shots outside the White House on Saturday hit a bystander Secret Service shot and killed Nasir Best. He's being identified as the shooter. There was a number of incidents that he has had with Secret Service, run-ins that he's had with Secret Service. But he was identified by the Metropolitan Police in D.C. previously obstructed a White House entry lane in June of 2025 and told Secret Service agents he was Jesus Christ.

He underwent a mental evaluation at that time. But it was a scary situation outside the White House. And particularly from the vantage point of the White House reporters that get, you know, if you've ever been to the White House and you look off to the right side, you see those green tents. Yes. That's where the TV stalls are. That's right. And so the reporters will stand up and do their live shots from that spot. They get the White House in the background. It's a beautiful picture. But. The videos of them swirling around social media at the time of those shots fired, very scary. They didn't know what was going on. It was a very scary situation, but thankfully, Secret Service was there. Michigan homeowners facing more frequent tornadoes and severe thunderstorms and damaging winds. Well, they may get some help protecting their homes. The federal safe room rebate program now accepting applications offering eligible residents reimbursement for 75% of the cost to build a FEMA-compliance storm shelter up to about $7,100 after construction is completed. Now, about 50 homeowners will be selected through a randomized process based on county risk levels and participants must attend. A required safety briefing to qualify. Officials say Michigan has already seen multiple tornado outbreaks and flooding this year with severe weather becoming a growing year-round concern. And the program is designed to make storm protection more accessible as extreme weather continues to intensify across the state. We've seen a lot of it so far in just, what, five months of this year. Yeah, certainly. Yeah. Meanwhile, these teen takeovers have hit Pontiac, too. Oh, man. Yeah, downtown Pontiac being promoted for these teen takeovers is prompting some concern from local leaders in Metro Detroit's attorney who warned that the gatherings could carry serious safety and legal risk. In Detroit, similar huge, unpermitted teen gatherings have led to street closures, as we know, theft, and also a shooting of a 14-year-old who's doing well. He's going to be okay. But Pontiac Mayor, rather, Mike McGinnis, says police move quickly. After seeing social media posts advertising a planned event in Pontiac, deploying deputies in major downtown intersections as a precaution. No arrests were made. The officers basically focused on engaging with the teens who did show up. Attorney Renette Johnson warns that if, you know, these teens who attend out of curiosity, well, they could still face loitering charges and court appearances and long-time consequences that follow them into adulthood. City leaders say they're also exploring safer, structured activities for young people. the attorney is hosting a parent and teen seminar this week focused on the risk of participating in these events. Seems like they're trying to do a little something similar to what Detroit is doing by having these structured activities for young people. But there still has to be a law enforcement police element as well. Yeah. And I mean, it's not like it is at the level in Chicago. Oh, Chicago was five officers were hit by a driver during a teen takeover event on Sunday on the West Side. 19 people were shot and wounded on Memorial Day in Chicago. The teen gathering happened at around 2, excuse me, 3.20 a.m. officers shut down the street. They tried to dispense people, but an 18-year-old driver hit five cops, hit a curb, hit a police car, a pole, and a fence. Okay.

You know, as a teenager. I mean, you're 18, you're considered an adult, but teenagers out at 3 o'clock in the morning. You know, come on. All the police are in fine condition, it sounds like. Good. But again, this is where the policing element has to come in. It has to come in, yeah. You just cannot allow. this to spiral. Yeah. And that's the worries, I think, of officials here is you don't want it to spiral. And we haven't gotten anywhere near that. No, absolutely. But we can see that it could escalate as we saw that 14-year-old, you know, be shot. Luckily, he's still alive and he's okay. The mayor put out a Instagram post over the weekend, basically saying, listen, we have these. things for you to do, and we have all these nice things, but we are not going to tolerate you coming downtown and causing a problem. Yeah. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert was back in his old stomping grounds on Monroe Public Access Television. I'm sure people were like, what? On Friday. Hello, also welcome. It's time for another edition of Only a Monroe. I'm your guest, host, Stephen Colbert. Long time viewers of only in Monroe may remember that back in July of 2015 I filled in for the usual hosts Michelle Bauman and Kalani Ray Rafko Wilson. Still not sure how many people that is. Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I spent 11 years as the primary host of the late show with Stephen Colbert on CBS, which came to an end last night. It's been an excruciating 23 hours without being on TV. So I am grateful to be able to be here on Monroe Community Media before they also get acquired by Paramount. A number of Michigan elite. Jeff Daniels was there. Jack White was there. Eminem was there. Marshall, the Fire Marshal. Oh, okay. Yeah. So there were, Steve Buscemi was there as well. Okay. Yeah. So a number of cameos because he did. host this local access show in 2015 in between his stints before he started on the late show. And I thought it was very funny. I thought the only in Monroe was very funny. It was funnier than most of the stuff he did on the late show. Yeah. But it was, I thought it was very funny. But then we started seeing more people share it around social media. And one of the things that was rolling around was that CBS had put copyright blocks on people that were sharing this. They had posted this on YouTube channels, CBS, things like that. They had posted this on their social medias. Yeah. but it was other people that were that were sharing it as well. And so they were sending out these copyright notices. But then they came out and said, as our regular practice, we send copyright notices to unauthorized websites that post-copyrighted content from CBS and our network studio talents such as Stephen Colbert. But they are backing away from that at the moment. They're reviewing their process and things like that. But CBS did produce this. A little piece. So he's still counting under contract.

with them i guess i don't know what his contract situation or when he filmed it i don't know right but but it did air friday after his last show well good timing on cbs uh coming up on the other side andy arena joins us the former head of the fbi here in detroit to talk about that shooting at the white house it's next to jr morning It's WJR's Tim McGraw, VIP experience. It's your chance to rock when country music legend. Tim McGraw brings his poncho guitar tour to Pineau Music Theater, August 28th, and you could win a pair of premium pavilion tickets, transportation, courtesy of metro cars, and $100 to Buddy's Pizza to enter. Download the free WJR mobile app, find the secret keyword, and then text it to 800859-0957. That's 80085590 WJR. And for more information, you could visit WJR.com. It's all there for you. It's going to be a great show. It's going to be a great show. Meanwhile... The investigation continues to do that shooting at the White House. Gunman opened fire and Secret Service eliminated Nasir Best. He did strike somebody, a bystander in the area, but Secret Service did eliminate him. He's at a number of run-ins with Secret Service in the past. Andy Arena is the executive director of the Detroit Crime Commission, also former head of the FBI here in Detroit. Andy, good morning to you. Let's talk about this. When this initially broke, obviously there was a lot of confusion, a lot of panic at the scene, but Secret Service stepped in. Was there any protocol that you felt like was missed at that point or was things done by the book? Andy? All right, hold on. We'll work on reconnecting with Andy. But Best is accused of firing these shots outside of the White House on Saturday, and there were a number of reports that were going on on the TV stations, and reporters were ducking and covering. Oh, man, it was a scary situation. Yeah, inside the Bill Gates at the White House. There are court documents that show in June 15. Best had an incident in Dunklin, Maryland with Secret Service. He told agents he wanted to be arrested. He had a mental evaluation a month later in July when he tried to enter the White House again. He was arrested by Secret Service then for that second incident, charged with an unlawful entering of federally controlled property, according to court documents. But he was released after being... arraigned on those unlawful entry charges in August of 2025. And then that led eventually to what we saw at the White House. So this is somebody who had a number of run-ins with Secret Service in the past. And has anybody said anything about family members or his family or anybody, you know, talking about the fact that he has an issue and have they tried to help him? Yeah. We do have Andy Arena back. Andy, good morning.

Hey guys, good morning. Good morning. Were things done properly here as far as you can tell? You know, guys, this is going to, I think this is going to be a mental health issue. You know, I think that's pretty obvious what's going on here. And, you know, my time in the FBI, you would get, you get these people that just get an obsession with something, right? This guy, the obsession with the White House or the Secret Service or whatever, and they just, you know, that's it. That's their focus, right? And so this is not the first running that Secret Service had it with this guy. And I do. I think things were done right. He was on their radar. There's only so much you can do to track these guys, right? But, yeah, I think when he approached, you know, he quickly pulled the weapon and they were able to neutralize it. But, yeah, I think this is a little bit different than kind of what we've been seeing. This is just going to be, I think, a pure mental health issue. How difficult is it? Andy, for security agencies to kind of distinguish between someone who's kind of simply acting out erratically versus someone who poses a real threat and immediate threat. Well, Lloyd, that is, that is, you know, that's a $64 million question. That's something you've, it's very difficult for these agencies to do. You know, individuals like this, they're just, it's a continuing drumbeat, right? They just keep popping up. They just, they don't go away. And that's what it sounds like it was with this guy. It was just whatever this obsession was was driving him to focus on the White House and or the Secret Service. And so, you know, I think this one was probably a little bit easier than most of them to kind of distinguish what the issue was here. But, you know, this guy just. You know, whatever, whatever was going on, I mean, you know, they just couldn't get him, seemed to get him the right help. And I think it's going to come out in the next couple days with the family, did he have family, you know, who was involved and really what went wrong with him on that side. What are the protocols that go into effect when something like this happens? Well, you know, and I think that you saw at that checkpoint, right? I mean, you know, from that exact moment, you know, this guy came up and they reacted quickly, right? He pulled a weapon and they were able to react quickly. When you have somebody who's obsessed like this, you know, they do the best they can to keep an eye on it, right? To keep tracking them. They may be looking at his social media activity if he had any. But, you know, these people tend to move around, right? They tend to kind of go on and off the radar. I think you guys are probably, well, most of them are going to be shocked. How many people are there are like this out there? I mean, they get these obsessions. And, you know, it's almost impossible to track them 24 hours and all the time. So as I said, they kind of pop on and off the radar from time to time.

And they got to ask you about these teen takeovers. You know, we have them down in Detroit. They haven't been so bad, but it kind of escalated about a week or so ago when a 14-year-old was shot. Chicago had a lot of issues over the weekend. Five officers hit by an 18-year-old driving a car. A lot of people shot. And these teen takeovers are, you know, kind of spreading around different cities across the country. What do you see is the issue, and how do we deal with these team takeovers? Yeah, well, these are really, they are kind of taking a life of their own, really. And I think that, you know, when they get on social media, when the media starts picking up, right, they really, really start to gain traction and people start to mimic them. So, you know, I think we're starting to see more and more of these around the country. You know, look, you... Part of it is kids looking for something to do, right? When I was a kid, they hang out at the mall, right? Yeah, right. So there's no malls left, right? So there's no malls left, right? So they're looking for a place to, and this is something to do, this is something to be seen, you know, and you're there with your friends, you're there with people who are like, whatever, right? And so I think, but I think we're really what contributes to this is the social media aspect, right? People are following this. People are going to see it, be a part of it. So that is part of it. It's a double-edged sword. I mean, you know, I understand providing these kids with something to do, getting them off the street. But you also have to, you know, you've got to react accordingly as law enforcement. So it's really a double-edged sword. But I really think the social media aspect is really playing a big part of this. Yep, certainly. Andy, Irene, always appreciate your insight. Thank you so much. We'll talk soon. All right, guys. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. You got it. Yeah, I mean, it's a big deal. And it's escalating in certain places, you know, not to the point here, but, you know, the police and the mayor trying to get on top of it, providing places for kids to go and things for them to do to keep it from escalating to a point like Chicago over the weekend. The state house has passed its plan to cut property taxes. What's next? It's J.R. Morning.

Well, the Republican-led Michigan House approved a plan to cut more than $5 billion in property taxes. It eliminates or reduces multiple taxes like the six-mill state education tax, the pop-up tax, which deals with the assessment value after you sell a home. real estate transfer tax, personal property taxes on business equipment. It does lower the taxes or take it away in some instances, but there isn't a plan in place as far as I know to replace that loss revenue. So what happens next? Well, of course, it's going to go to the democratically controlled Senate, and there could be some roadblocks there. But Matt Hall, the Speaker of the House of Representatives here in the Good State of Michigan, joins us to talk about it all. Mr. Speaker, it's good to have you back. Thanks for having me. You know, we've been talking about this for quite some time. You guys voted on it. But the question is remaining out there. Well, what happens next? Is there a funding hole if this does get to the governor's desk and the governor's side? So what happens now? No, there's not a funding hole. And I'm disappointed that you guys are buying into the Democrat talking points here. I've been very out there and transparent about the replacement. And if you look at the bill that we've tied barred all these bills to, meaning the significant property tax reform cannot take effect. unless we hold the schools harmless and we hold the local, you know, and we take care of the local governments, and we do that with the luxury tax. And I've been on your show talking about the luxury tax. And what we're going to do is we're going to extend the 6% sales tax to certain luxury services, including lobbying, telemarketers, junk mail, political ads, collection agencies. sports agents and things like that. And what we're going to do is because it's very complicated, I'm working with the Treasury Department, just to make sure that it is perfect. Because if it was $10 less than revenue neutral, the Democrats would attack me. And so we're going to make sure that we balance it. And I'll tell people, you're not going to get a deal. unless it's a balanced deal in divided government. But the point here is we need significant property tax relief for the people of Michigan. And the House Republicans are charging ahead to do it. And you have all these naysayers and haters in the Democrat Party that are just trying to obstruct real relief and get to an election without solving the big problems facing the people of Michigan. You know, there's also a significant shift involving the pop-up tax and how property values are assessed after the sale. What problem is that change intended to solve for homeowners? Well, it's a big problem. You know, you buy a house and many people can't move out of their houses because if they sell their house, they have to move into a much smaller house in order to afford the property taxes.

And, you know, that's why we want to get rid of the pop-up tax, which is the tax that occurs when you sell your home and then the taxable value becomes uncapped. And your taxes could double or triple. It makes it harder to sell a home. It makes it harder to buy a home. And it's one of the reasons that the property taxes are so high in Michigan. We want to eliminate that so that, you know, the taxable value of your home now remains the taxable value when you buy and sell your home. How much money would this save folks? This is going to save folks. Well, the regular one, you know, that we're eliminating the state property tax. That's going to save the average homeowner $900. a year. And then we're going to force utilities to lower their race by a billion dollars, and that's going to save the average person another $250 a year. So you're looking at about $1,200 a year that you're going to save. And then with the pop-up tax, you know, that's going to be big savings as time goes on. We can backfill this very easily. We just have to have the will to do tough things. And what I'm doing is I'm challenging Gretchen Whitmer and the Democrats. You know, I know this is your last year, but we still have got to solve these big issues of property tax and energy bills. And so I'm hanging in there to do it. I'm proud of the House Republicans and move this thing. And I look at it just like last year. The Democrats made these same arguments about roads. Oh, oh, how are we going to do it? How are we going to do it rather than put solutions on the table? And in the end, I made a great deal with Gretchen Whitmer to put $2 billion into roads. Yeah. Biggest roads deal in Michigan's history. And we'll do it again on this budget. And every one of those Democrats crying about it are going to vote for it. You watch. Beyond the tax policy itself, Mr. Speaker, the debate also touches on a larger philosophical type of question, like who should shoulder the burden of funding schools and local government, homeowners, businesses, or consumers of services? Well, we just, you know, in politics, you just got to cobble it together, however you can get the votes. And, you know, we dealt with the same issue on roads. So that's what we're going to do. And I think that I looked at this. There's over $18 billion of services. That's how much revenue you could get if you taxed all services. We're just proposing the luxury services. I went over those. Similar, the lobbyists, the telemarketers, the political consultants, they're going to pay this tax. And you're going to get huge property tax cut as a result of that.

There's been a number of states that have been thinking about or examining whether or not doing away with the property taxes in their state, Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, just to name a few. Have you talked to anybody in those states about what you're doing here as almost a roadmap? I have talked to some of the other leaders in the other states. I will say that it gets very complex. And so. You know, because not all states use their property taxes to pay for roads and education and local governments like we do. Right. But I've been talking to them, and this is a movement across the country. You're seeing a lot of states see you save a lot more money by cutting your property taxes than you do by cutting the income tax. And that's why we're trying to focus on property taxes to give people real meaningful relief that they'll feel. And, you know, when you step back from the policy details, Mr. Speaker, what's the long-term vision for the state's tax system that you're trying to build through this package? Well, it doesn't make sense to tax your property. You know, I think it really makes more sense as tax policy to charge based on, you know, goods and services that people use. I think it's a more fair tax system than, you know, you pay off your home, but you're still paying property tax every year and it goes up and up and up. Well, it's an interesting plan, and we're going to continue to watch it. Certainly, Speaker of the House, Matt Hall. We appreciate your time. As always, we'll see up on the island. Thank you. See you there. Yeah, you got it. All right. But you're talking about, you know, over $1,000 a year in savings for a lot of folks. That would be substantial. Every little bit helps, especially now. Yeah, no doubt about it. Coming up on the other side, the Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear is this weekend, and we're going to chat about it. It's next, the J.R. Morning.