JR Morning ~ May 14, 2026 ~ Full Show

All right, welcome in on a Thursday. I told you. Yeah. It must have been what last week, maybe the week before. My biggest flaw is a fan. When my teams get into the postseason. I am so invested. Yeah. And maybe it's not a flaw. It's a fan. You're a fan. Fan is fanatic. I am fanatical about my team. Absolutely. I love them. I love them. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that. Well, it's probably not the healthiest relationship. Well, listen, you're a fan, man. It's your team. You're just, you know, you're going for your team. But I get very invested. And I love this Pistons team. I do too. I really do. And because I think they're deep and I think they're really good. And I think they like each other and play well together. There isn't really much of a rift unless it was, you know, Duncan Robinson not getting into the altercation with beef stew. Right. Right. Which I love that little byline throughout the season. But that's okay. It's nothing. I, I was physically, physically, like could not fall asleep last night. because they blew a nine-point lead with under three minutes to play, get forced into overtime, and the Pistons lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five, 117 to 113. I watched it until overtime because I was so ticked off that we had to go. Well, good thing you didn't watch overtime. Oh, I just watched it. I just watched overtime. And I said, oh, if I would have watched it, I would have been up. You would have been like me. All night. I would have been, because my adrenaline would have been up and I would have just been ticked off. It was tough. It was tough. Oh, my God. Here's what Kid Cunningham said after the game. Definitely stains. It doesn't feel good. Home court, you know, I thought we did a lot of good things tonight to put us in position to wear, just didn't close the game, you know, didn't play at the level that it takes to win this game. So it stinks for sure. So now they got two games left. Down three, two in the series. They got to win them back to back. And one of those games there in Cleveland. And they haven't been real lucky in Cleveland. No, no. And look, here's the thing. Here's the frustrating part. Because if you watch the game, if you didn't, here's what ended up happening. They blow the nine point lead. Yeah. And with maybe. I guess I don't remember exactly when it occurred, but it was under three seconds. Assar Thompson was tripped as he was going out of bounds to retrieve the ball that he stole. And they didn't make the call. Now, you could make the argument that it was. Because he would have went to the line if they had to make the call and he could have won the game, right? Yeah, because they were in the bonus. So he would have gone to the line, shot three throws, and they would have taken the lead with under a second. Yeah. My, the bigger issue that I have here is systemically, which means you blew a nine point lead. Yeah.

That's the problem. It shouldn't even got to that point about being filed. It shouldn't even got to that point because if, you know, we were ahead 10, 15 points, whatever, 9 points. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. I don't care if Sark Thompson gets stripped. As long as it isn't blow out his MCL. There you go. Right. You know what I mean? It doesn't matter at that point. So the fact that they blew the lead late in the game. and then got pushed to overtime. And look, God love Cade. I do love Cade. I don't want to turn this into a Cade Fest. But, you know, yes, finished with 39 points. Yes, nine assists. If you stop there, it looks really good. Turn the ball over six times. Can't do that. They turned the ball over collectively yesterday. I'm sorry, 10 times. Six of those were from Cade. Now, I told you. Cut down on the turnovers. You'll win the game. Yeah. You had a nine-point lead with under three to play. You turn the ball over 10 times throughout the entire course. And turn it over doing overtime. Inbound passes. Oh, the Donovan Mitchell three in overtime, the inbound pass to Cade, he gets his pocket picked, and then they dish it back to Donovan Mitchell for an easy lay-in. You just can't have that. No. You can't. You just cannot. have that. And here's the problem is on those, on those, oh, I guess they, I'm sorry, 15 total turnovers. They're leading to important points for Cleveland. Points that are coming down in the clutch. Yes. It's, it's different if you turn the ball over to start the game. Which is what Cleveland did a lot. Correct. And it's different from what the Pistons did. Layton game turning the ball over that cost them. Yes. So it's the timing of it too that really makes a difference. It's bad. And so now, again, back against the wall. They've lost three in a row. They were up to nothing in this series. And Cleveland has been playing with the desperation ever since they had game three in Cleveland that... I'm kind of looking for it from this team. Yes. No desperation. Well, they have to, I mean, you know, it's when I go home Friday. And so. Speaking of that foul on a Sir Thompson at the end of the game, J.B. Bickerstaff weighed into. He failed a sir. It's bad, I mean. Clear. He trips him when he's going for a loose ball, in the game situation. You know, that's tough. Now, I don't know what the situation is with these rafts. Now, again, I can put blame on my team because they didn't do what they were supposed to do and close the game out up there. But at the same time, I got James Harden fouling all game. James Hardin is jumping up shooting ball and falling on the ground. And he's like elbowing people and stuff. But he's getting, you know, he's getting the foul. He is pushing with his off arm the entire game. And I'm like, okay, I guess we're just not calling it. But, but I mean, tickety-tack stuff that. Oh, flopping around. It's just crazy. Look, this is what you're going to get in Detroit on a day like today. We're not happy.

We're not happy with the way it's being officiated. We're not happy with the product because, again, you're blowing leads late in games. And again, God bless Karis Lavert. Love him. Loved him when he was at Michigan. He had a really nice game. Had a couple good games in series. I don't need Caris Lavert with the ball in his hands late in the game. Jacking up, threes. I just don't need it. Yeah. I need the ball in Kate Cunningham's hands. I need killer mentality. Yeah. And unfortunately, we didn't get that last night. One good thing out of the whole Pistons situation is that they're bringing their games back to free TV. The team announcing new local broadcast rights deal with script sports that begins in the 20-26-27 NBA season under the agreement. Channel 20, TV 20, Detroit, will become the official local home for the Pistons basketball airing all preseason and regular season games available locally free over the air. And Pistons owner Tom Gore says the decision is about expanding access to fans. especially during a resurgent for the team. The partnership will also include pre-game and post-game coverage, a weekly team show, and additional original programming. So free TV for the Pistons. I absolutely love it. I love it. Yeah. Go old school. Old school, man. Old school. Everybody gets to see. I absolutely love it. And this is where I think the Pistons got it right. Now, they could have gone a different route. They could have started their own network and the whole thing. Of course, of course. Yeah. But how you build this thing, in my opinion, because the Pistons were terrible for years. Oh, my God. Three years in a row, they were bad. I mean, really bad for a long stretch. Really bad. Right? Yeah. And. How do you build this thing? Well, you've got a little bit of momentum on the court, right? You've got some good foundational pieces. How do you continue to engage the fans making it so that they can watch it? Making it available to them. I agree. Because then you're going to watch it and go, oh, I can just turn on 20. Yep. I can watch the game. Yep. And you know what? I'm going to go to a game. It puts you more in the forefront of sports watching here in this town. It does. It gets you more involved. Because you can. Yeah. Because you can. I didn't expect to do the entire segment on the pistons. No, but I mean, listen, that's what they- That's the story today. Everybody's talking about that. No horn today. We don't get the horn today. Everybody's in their car. Everybody's on their way to work, and they're going to talk about these pistons today. And yes, the meeting with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping is ongoing. We're going to talk about that coming up next on J.R. Morning. We have Fox News on, right? Yeah. And they're at a state banquet right now, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and a whole bunch of people. Yeah, and Xi Jinping is speaking. And Ping is speaking. And there's no interpreter.

So we flipped it on to hear what was saying being said. And I, unfortunately, I can't bring any sort of color to this because I have no idea what's going on. But they're having a sit down right now at dinner and we're continuing to watch that. Meanwhile, Will Chu is also watching it. The senior fellow and deputy director and Japan chair at the Hudson Institute because this meeting between Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, it's a high stakes meeting. There's a lot to be talked about. Obviously, they're looking for some sort of stability, particularly economically, between the two countries. But also, Taiwan is at the forefront as well. And Will Chu joins us to talk about it. Will, good morning. It's good to have you. Hey, morning guys. What have you taken thus far out of the conversations? It seems like they're trying to be as friendly as possible. Donald Trump got a nice reception yesterday as he deborded Air Force One. But Taiwan continues to be kind of bubbling under the surface here. Yeah, I mean, so, so look, obviously for the Chinese side, they care a lot about the Taiwan issue. They've already made it very clear that, you know, they're essentially trying to push the US to halt its arms exports to Taiwan. I think there was like about 11 billion that was agreed to earlier this year. And also, I think they're trying to change the American stance on Taiwan, right? So officially. We are, we are, you know, we do not support Taiwanese independence, right? We support the one China solution. But what China, what Beijing is pushing Washington to do is to officially oppose Taiwanese independence. And so they're constantly trying to push the Americans into harder stances, more aligned with Beijing on Taiwan, because that's really a priority for Xi Jinping, because that's part of his legacy. And, you know, what would mishandling Taiwan look like from China's perspective? I mean, how narrow is that margin right now? Well, I think that's something that's we're still not quite sure, right? So, I mean, China obviously sees Taiwan as a major, like, top tier one priority issue for themselves. But, I mean, I think the question of like, hey, look, if we were to export our arms over to Taiwan, right, if we were to, you know, like more strongly opposed Chinese forces like surveillance, you know, around Taiwan. you know, it's kind of hard, it's kind of questionable as to how they're going to react. They're certainly going to bluster a lot. I think that's really a major sort of like, they tend to bluster a lot, right? And so I think that's a major tool for them. And so it's a question of like, well, you know, how far did we want to push them and just test to see how much, how real are their threats? And obviously, you know, I think last year we saw them unleash the

critical minerals a rare earth's tool against us as economic coercion. So it's always kind of a test to see exactly how hard they're going to push back. And this meeting from the United States's perspective, like I don't get the feeling that this is about a win, that they're going in to talk and Donald Trump is going to come away with some deal that is going to be incredibly beneficial to the United States and is going to stick it to China. This feels more like a stabilizing meeting as opposed to something that they're looking to kind of get out from under China. Yeah, definitely. I think both sides are trying to create this image of stability, right? On the U.S. side, I think we're trying to stabilize trade. We're trying to achieve progress on fentanyl. We're trying to ensure continue access to rare earths. On the Chinese side, I think they're, you know, pushing hard on Taiwan. And actually what they're really trying to do is trying to dangle the prospect of greater market access for American companies. Right. There's a reason why, you know, Jen Sim Huang of NVIDIA and, you know, Tim Cook of Apple are all over in China. But at the same time, I think we actually hold a pretty strong hand in the sense that. they're really dependent on foreign investment to keep their economy going because their own companies are not actually doing all that well. And so I think both starts are trying to create this image of stability. On the Chinese side, there's a lot of internal domestic messaging going on, the fact of, you know, like having Donald Trump visit them, showcasing the forbidden city to show off, you know, Chinese historical legacy and resilience. There's a lot of, um, There's a desire for stability, and there's also a lot of internal domestic messaging that both leaders are trying to project. Well, the Iran situation is hanging over all of this as well. And if the U.S. is urging China to help reopen the straits, could this be an area where the U.S. and China generally cooperate or are their interests just too far apart? Well, so I think for the Chinese, it's kind of a double-edged sword, right? So, yes, they are hurting from the Iran situation, right? I mean, they're also dependent on Middle Eastern energy, but they're relatively less exposed than a lot of other countries in the region, right? Whether it's Southeast Asia or India or whatnot. I think, look, this is the same thing that we've said before about Ukraine and Iran, right? Like, yes, like China, if China really wanted to end the war in Iran or in Ukraine, it would have really leveraged its way to do so already, right? Because China is the one that's propping, you know, economically propping up Iran. China is the one that's economically propping up Russia in terms of the Ukraine war. And so if they wanted to, they would have done so. I think their view is like, hey, like.

Let's just bog the United States down and, you know, let's just see what happens. I don't think they're in any real rush to do so. In fact, rather, the energy crisis because of the Iran War, China is now pitching its own green energy to its neighbors as a long-term energy solution, also ensuring that they are dependent on Chinese renewable energy. So it's a double-edged sword here. Yeah. Really interesting stuff. Will Chu, thank you so much for your time. And we'll talk again soon because I imagine we're going to get more out of this meeting as it continues on. So thank you this more. Appreciate it. All right. Talk to you guys soon. Yeah, we'll talk. But again, when you look at where these two countries are at, obviously at odds, Taiwan is a major flashpoint, which really has been for some time. The Taiwan issue has been kind of pushed away. It has. At least from the American perspective, because there's been so many other things going on. But that doesn't mean that it's not a major issue. It doesn't mean that it continues to be an issue that. our administration is focused on. And now with this meeting, because of the back and forth with the tariff issues and the trade policies, and I think Will is exactly right, it's not a coincidence that Naviti is there. It's not a coincidence that Apple's there. There's a reason that they are there. And so I just, I think this is a pretty important meeting. Nothing. I don't think it's about a win. I don't think it's about a win. Like you said, more of a stabilization of the two. But it's stability. Yeah. I think that's exactly right. Coming up on the other side, we're talking Pistons. Eric Vincent joins us as they fall on that series down three to two. It's next to Jair morning. Pistons lose 17, 117 to 113 in overtime. They blew that nine point lead in the fourth quarter and couldn't get it done. And now they trail in this series three to two. Eric Vincent, the beat reporter at clutch points for the Detroit Pistons joins us once again. E, that was a tough one to watch last night, especially down the stretch. Yeah, I mean, the Pins have really had a bad repetition of playing bad basketball in the second half, especially the third quarter, you know, playing with such a big lead early and just kind of fumbling after the Cavs, you know, giving their best punch in the third. And we saw a lot of that again last night, very unfortunate that it had to end the way it did. And now they got to pull off a miracle performance in a place where the Cavs have been undefeated all postseason at home in Game 6. You know, Eric. This wasn't just a loss. It was a 9-0 run at the end of regulation. Cleveland striking first again and overtime. I mean, what does this say about Detroit's late game identity right now? I mean, are we looking at a young team kind of learning hard lessons or are these mistakes that shouldn't be happening at this stage in the game?

I think it's a mix of both. The Pistons or the Cavaliers, however, I think they did a good job of getting the ball out of Kay Cunningham's hands late. They started doubling him whenever he tried to drive. They still picked him up full court 94 feet to make sure he was tired by the end of the game, which it maybe looked like he was. And a lot of other guys outside of maybe Paul Reed kind of struggled to get things going late when the Pistons needed it the most. So, I mean, this is. This is still a young team. I know maybe sounds like an excuse because, you know, they're still the number one seed and still play good basketball in certain stretches. But this is a team that's still learning and figuring out how to make or not make crucial mistakes. And I think, unfortunately, for a team like the Cavaliers, they've been prepared. They've done a good job adjusting to what the business have thrown at them. And I think they're learning in real time what it takes to learn and win playoff games and club situations. It just sucks to happen, you know, such a dramatic fashion, especially in a place where they play it so well at home throughout the postseason, even against the Cavs. I do want to give a couple of guys some flowers. I thought of Sir Thompson yesterday. I mean, he didn't score enough, but defensively, I mean, he was really good, had the seven boards, had the five assists. but had four steals, three blocks, had a couple of turnovers, but I thought he played really well yesterday. And then Dennis Jenkins filling in for Duncan Robinson. I thought he was kind of the spark plug on the night. He was full till 100% that whole game. Yeah, both of those guys deserve a lot of credit, especially ASAR doing a phenomenal job against Donovan Mitchell. The last play before regulation or the other regulation, I think, kind of tipped a lot. He did a good job stripping him on that last shot, and he got tripped and filed by Jared Allen, no call by the refs. I don't know if they just didn't want to let the final play be decided by a whistle. But it was clear that there was contact and they definitely should have made a call. maybe it's going to start to the free throw line to put that game away as they were tied 103 103. And Danish thing is, yes, they did a really good job filling in for Duncan Robinson. The calves have really hunted Duncan a lot defensively, putting him on an island, putting him in mismatches in situations where he was getting exposed and it was creating advantages for other guys to get open. And Danes did a really good job offensively, and I think defensively as well against James Harden, Dennis Schroeder, in situations where he wasn't. really fouling and, you know, just getting able to be hunted out the way he has been with Duncan. So, yes, definitely tip the hat off of those two guys. And, you know, even though that you had that no call involving Jared Allen, even beyond the call, Eric, I mean, Detroit shouldn't have put themselves in a position where one whistle decided everything in the first place. I do agree. I kind of like to separate the two, though, just because I don't want to let the referees off the hook. I agree. I understand. Neither does J.B. Bickerstaff either, by the way. Absolutely, yeah. I think it's pretty clear ever since game one after Donovan Mitchell, you know, say what he had to say after the game for the officiating. The referee has completely changed in the series. Over the last three games,

The Cavaliers have shot 100 free throws over the last three games. The Detroit piss is a team that does not predicate themselves on jump shooting or playing finesse from the outside. They play a physical style on the inside. They've only shot 54 free throws. And if you look at a lot of the replays, a lot of flopping from James Hardin where he's kicking his legs out. Oh, my God. He's using constant off arms. He's really baiting and getting away with a lot of physicality. Same with Donovan Mitchell. So to me, I think two things can be true. Yes, you cannot. in any ways they performed blow the lead that they had. But I think the officiating is 100% a valid story worth talking about because it's just clear when you watch the film and you watch the replays. Like you got James Hardin's shooting jumpers and just kicking his legs out and falling. He's getting to the free throw line 14 times. I think that 100% does matter. Jalen Dernel only played 25 minutes last night. Why do you think that is? He was terrible. There's no other way around it. Jalen Duren is really just, he's costing himself a lot of money. It's really confusing to see that he is struggling on both ends of the floor the way that he has. I think it was early in the game. He passed up an easy dunk again. He's like second or third time he's done that. He seems to be out of position quite a bit on defense. So looking at what they got from beef stew who had a couple early threes. And then Paul Reed, another unsung hero who was fantastic, who helped close the game for them and help keep the game and manage the position. I will say that, you know, they were able to build their lead while Dern was on the floor. But in a closing situation where it's basically do or die and you want to play with your best guys, Paul Reed did a great job of being active, playing, you know, awesome defense, getting blocked shots, doing a really good job clearing the glass with rebounds and making huge shots in the brids at the same time. JD has really been an enigma. I don't really understand why it's been such a tough series for him. But good thing to have Paul Reed to help keep the game close. But JD is really going to have to wake up on game six on Friday if they're going to have a chance at this. And, you know, the numbers are tough. Cavs undefeated at home, pissed and struggling on the road. What has to change immediately for Detroit to extend this series? I think we're going to see a lot more of what we saw last night. Assarck Thompson is going to have to stay out of foul trouble and really play key role on Donovan Mitchell. You cannot let him get going. Another big key piece that I think falls on Kay Cunningham's shoulders, he has to be much better defensively. If you watch back on the film, Max Struce had five triples, and a lot of them came from Caves sagging too low and just letting him get open for open shots. You have to be able to trust your teammates and your defenders that they can match up on James Hardin and Donovan Mitchell with the defensive depth that they have. You sagged too long and let them be playmakers and you let Sam Merrill and Strews get open. Those threes are killing them, especially late in the game. It really helped them rally. and open opportunities for them. You can't let them hammer you on the offensive glass. I think the James Hardin free throw where he got the ball back, even though he stepped in the lane early before this ball hit the rim. That was crucial, but there were also other moments where they were allowing offensive rebounds a second chance looks as well. The Pinsons have to be better at that, especially on the road. You cannot let this crowd get fired up. They really showed up yesterday with Dan Gilbert buying, I think like four buses. Yeah, yes. Show up at LCA. So the Pins is.

going to have to find, you know, their best, their best strength to overcome all that because Cleveland's going to be ready to go. They smell blood and they're trying to get to the ECF. Eric Vincent, always appreciate the time. Thank you. We'll talk soon. My pleasure. Appreciate it, fellas. All right. See you. You got it. Coming up on the other side, new polling showing Jocelyn Benson is surging. We'll talk about it at Chair morning. I'll tell you, this new polling by the Glenn Garrow group in the Michigan Chamber. Yeah. Really something. Really something. Jocelyn Benson surging in this new poll. It looked like. Boy, was Mike Duggan going to take votes from Jocelyn Benson, right? Was she going to continue to hold on to the votes that maybe Mike might move to Mike Duggan? That was a really interesting dynamic. And now even as John James kind of being the lead on the Republican side, Jocelyn Benson surging past that, it's a very interesting poll. And Richard Zuba is the owner of the Glenn Gariff group and conducted the polling and joins us to talk about it. Richards, good to have you back. Hey, good morning. Let's talk about this. What were some of the questions that you posed to the participants in this poll that led to these results? Well, I think the most important question and the most important number in this poll, and frankly, this election, is Donald Trump job approval. It shouldn't come as a shock to anybody that a midterm election is a referendum on the incumbent president in most cases. It certainly is here. And what we're finding is Donald Trump's job approval is now at 37%. And just to give you some context, that's exactly where we saw Joe Biden in 2024. And so what we're seeing is voters absolutely galvanizing, particularly on the Democratic side, into a vote against Donald Trump. The strongly disapprove, not just people who disapprove, it's at 57%. The strongly disapprove is now at 48.5%. And that's driving all of these numbers. Richard, Mike Duggan essentially tied earlier this year. Now he's clearly trailing. What's happening with his coalition? Well, two things. You know, pollsters like to say polls are a snapshot in time, and everybody ignores us when we say that. But we need to think back to January when we did the survey. And Mike Duggan was just coming off a very successful mayorship. He was dominating the headlines. The gubernatorial campaigns really hadn't started up yet. So his number, he was locked in a tight three-way race. Since then, the campaigns have moved. We've gotten into a war. Gas prices are at $5. And voters, again, Donald Trump's job approval is driving voters.

to Jocelyn Benson right now and galvanizing them. So for Mike Duggan, he's going to have to find a new pitch to peel away those voters and become much louder because he doesn't have the pulpit of the mayorship anymore to talk. Interesting. I was going to ask you about the affordability issue and how much of a role. Obviously, that kind of falls under the umbrella of Donald Trump at this point and whether or not people feel like we're headed in the right direction. But the cost of gas certainly can't be helping Republicans. The ongoing issue with Iran can't be helping them at this point either. Well, you know, voters were well before, you know, April were upset about prices. Food prices. Increasingly, they were focused on the costs of running their household. Things like insurance, utilities, those things were really weighing on people. Gas prices have... kind of thrown gas on the fire now. And so the voters are very, very angry now about costs. And frankly, we're just kind of at the beginning of this. So we're not quite sure where these numbers are going to go because if this isn't rectified in the next month, we're heading into the tourism season, the heavy driving season. What's going to happen to those prices and how are voters going to react then? And you've got a notable chunk of undecided voters. What do we know about them? Well, the undecided voters are really interesting because particularly U.S. Senate race, which we haven't talked about, when we look at those undecided voters and there's less of them in the gubernatorial race than the U.S. Senate race, we took a look to see how they view Donald Trump because Donald Trump is driving so much of this. In the Senate race, 70% of those undecided voters disapprove of Donald Trump. In the governor's race, it's 65%. And so we see that those people who aren't focused on the races aren't making decisions yet. strongly disapprove of Donald Trump. So that's just going to drive, frankly, I think the Democratic campaigns, and certainly if I were a strategist, I'd be doing this, make Donald Trump the issue. focus, make this a referendum on him. Real quickly, we have just a minute left here. The demographic breakdown, there's been a lot of talk about how are black voters leaning, how are young black voters leaning, how are older Michiganders leaning in this race? Do you have a demographic breakdown on this particular poll? Well, we do. This poll, and it's through the Detroit Chamber. They put the entire thing out there. You can look at all the demographic breakdowns.

What we're seeing is it isn't, you know, in the general election, it isn't age that's driving things. It's party affiliation that's really driving these numbers. In the primaries, there are certainly huge differences by age, by race. You know, the U.S. Senate race in particular, if you're a political junkie, that democratic U.S. Senate race is. really interesting to watch right now. Yeah, there's no doubt about that. Interesting stuff. Richard Zuba, thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll talk again soon. Thank you. Yeah. Look, there is, there's no doubt. And this is the, it's the double whammy for Republicans and certainly no different here in the state of Michigan. You've got the midterms, which is always difficult for the president, the sitting president. Always. Always. Yeah. Always. Yeah. But then you've got the cost of gas. You've got what's happening in Iran. All of these things are piling on each other. I've talked to a couple of Republicans off the record. And they've said, look, we're worried. Like this is going to be, this could be really bad. And that's. One opinion, one way of looking at it. It might not be. There might be some outliers. And then what the president said yesterday about, you know, the only thing I care about is Iran not having a nuclear weapon. I'm not really caring about the American finance. Yeah, yeah. It's tough because Democrats are going to glob on to that. Absolutely. As they should politically. 7 o'clock hour, get you caught up on the headlines. More next. You ain't supposed to lose that lead like that, man. We got to be better. We got to execute better. Defensively, we gave up too many timely threes. So that's all I could think of. That's Dennis Jenkins last night as the Pistons lose 117 to 113. They fall behind in that series. Now three to two, familiar position for them to be in this postseason. Yeah, and then, you know, losing the balls, you know, the turnovers, man. Turnovers, those late threes, as he said. And then you got, you know, the beard, you know, who just jumps in the air and falls down every time. Like, dude, the. It's like a fish. A flopping fish. Right. I'm glad that's the F word that you said. A flopping fish. Very nice. Yes. Brendan Carr, everything's all good here. Jason's finger was on the button. Yes, he was. That's exactly right. So now we go back to Cleveland Friday night. Game six. We haven't been very good there. And they've been very good there. Got to get it done. Meanwhile, Donald Trump in China, he was at a dinner just a few moments ago. And he talked about the welcome that he got from the Chinese delegation when they landed. I want to thank President Xi Jinping, my friend, for this magnificent welcome. And it really was a magnificent welcome like none other.

And also the conversations that are being had, because obviously a lot on the economic front, a lot on the trade front, Taiwan continues to be a major talking point, but there are productive conversations happening. We had extremely positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier. And the Chinese are saying that Taiwan continues to be the biggest risk between this relationship between the United States and China. Yeah. So that's not going away. And I know automotive will come up, I'm sure, during this. discussion. Well, they've also said that they have, like, a lot that they want to talk about. And it's probably not all going to be accomplished in this one meeting. So they're talking about further meetings, secondary, third meetings that they're going to have. So where all of this falls in to the puzzle, we'll see. But everything seems to be copacetic at this hour. Water restrictions have now been lifted across Auburn Hills, Orient Township, Rochester Hills, and the village of Lake Orient following the completion of major repairs to that broken water main. Officials say a new 42-inch pipe has been installed. Water pressure has returned to normal operations, marking a significant milestone after days of emergency measures. The Great Lakes Water Authority credits the coordinated effort along multiple agencies for restoring service ahead of schedule. However, Residents are still under a boil water advisory expected to last through the weekend. Leaders stress that while water can now be used for everyday activities like showering and laundry and cleaning, it should not be consumed until further notice. Crews will continue flushing the system and testing for bacteria in the coming days. And residents may notice temporary discoloration in their water. Authorities say... That's normal during the process. In the meantime, bottled water distribution continues for those impacted as businesses and communities began returning to full operation. Stalantis workers, you got to go back now because they're like, hey, waterback, come on back, guys. Let's go. Got to come on back. Got to get back to work. Did you see the news of Alex Murdoch? Yes. So this was a huge story out of South Carolina. He was convicted of killing both his wife and his son at their home. He was a prominent figure in the community. former lawyer, prosecutor, somebody who had been very well known down in South Carolina. And this case was a few years ago. And he was convicted. Well, yesterday.

Alex Burdahl won his appeal with the South Carolina Supreme Court overturning his conviction from 2023 and ordering a new trial in the killings of his wife and son. The court found. improper actions by a court clerk, including influencing jurors and which violated Murdo's right to a fair trial. He'd been serving two life sentences after being found guilty in those 2021 killings at his home. And prosecutors say they plan to retry the case and will continue to pursue justice despite this ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court. You know, they'll retry. I don't think it'll be a different outcome. Well, true. I mean, this was, they were calling this the trial of the century. Yeah. Yeah, it was a massively, massively covered. case. The the documentaries that came out in the wake of it, yeah, it was something else. The Detroit has continued this rare turnaround, adding about 5,000 residents last year, marking its third straight year population growth after decades of decline. New U.S. Census Bureau estimates show Detroit's population climbed to just over 649,000, a nearly 1% increase from the year before. It's a notable shift. For a city that's lost residents every year from 1957 until 2023, Mayor Mary Sheffield says the growth signals renewed confidence in the city with plans to build more housing and attract new residents. And across Michigan, growth is concentrating in major cities like Detroit and Grand Rapids, as well as suburban townships offering more space and lower taxes. Meanwhile, some inner ring suburbs in Wayne County are seeing population declines. Experts say younger, educated residents are increasingly choosing. vibrant urban centers helping fuel Detroit's ongoing comeback. That's good news. That's good news. We would like to see. some residents maybe come from outstate. Yes. That would be even better. Yeah. But, I mean, you got to start somewhere. And after the decline from 57 to 2023, I mean, you know, and we've had three increases over three years. It's a, no, no, it's a great start. It's a slow burn, though. It is. Right? It's a slow burn. And I think you make a great point, just the kind of the depth that it had fallen into. And they've, step by step, have gotten themselves out of that. Yeah. Got in a lot of business downtown, which is great. Because it's going to take time. You know the reputation of the city for years. Yeah. No, you know what they should do is they should take some of their budget. They should shoot commercials. And they should run in L.A., New York, Chicago, Atlanta. Yep. That's where you should run these things. Try to get people from those cities. And go, yeah, how much you paying for rent there? Yeah. Oh, why don't you come downtown? Yeah. And, oh, you shop a Gucci there? Oh, we got one of those two.

Yeah, exactly. But that's a good thing. It's a great thing. 5,000 people moving downtown or to the city of Detroit is a great thing. 712, time for WJR's business. Be 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. As you head into work this morning, one thing that is on a lot of our minds is AI really coming for my job. I mean, it's a reasonable concern, right? And data already shows that indeed, at least for some of us, the concern is real. It's really happening, as many name brand big tech companies, for example, have already dismissed large portions of their workforces in favor of AI alternatives. And so how are these AI alternatives actually faring in place of a human workforce? Well, our companies seeing actual positive results, those they hope to see. when making these layoffs. Well, a new study from Gartner provides some insight. Fortune Magazine reports that the research and advisory firm surveyed 350 global business executives whose companies are pulling in at least a billion dollars annually to investigate whether all these AI layoffs are really paying off in the real world. Here are some insights. The first takeaway is that the trend is real, with a total of 80% admitting to trimming their human staff to make investments in AI or autonomous technology. But they say they had no idea if AI would actually generate any benefits. They were simply buying into the promise of automation via AI. That's where things get interesting. The Gartner survey found that attempting to replace workers with AI isn't showing any detectable returns for these companies. And to make matters worse, many of these businesses specifically reduce their headcount to free up the cash needed to support AI technology in its place, meaning they sacrifice valuable institutional knowledge and employee goodwill for very little or nothing in return. Now, other studies also corroborate the Gartner study showing similar results. An MI study conducted last year found that AI is, quote unquote, failing to generate meaningful revenue growth at the vast majority of companies that embrace it and for which employees were replaced by it. Now, one positive note, the Gartner survey did report some positive outcomes, including when companies leverage AI as a form of people amplification. rather than as replacement, meaning that they give their employees AI tools to boost efficiency instead of replacing them outright. So interesting insights here. No doubt AI is a great tool, great tool for efficiency and productivity. The question still remain. Is replacing human workforce with AI as a business strategy, one that's going to hold up? I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com. And that's today's business beat on the great voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.

All right, it is Thursday at 719. Of course, means we welcome in Dr. Steve Craig, the president of Craig Consulting Group and Craig Counseling Services. Doc, good morning. Good morning. How are you guys today? We're good. Well, you're also, you've also got a big event coming up, two out at the Vibe Credit Union Showplace this show. Yeah, yeah. Just what, less than a month? Yeah, there's a conference there for women in technology, and it's a conference speaking about how AI is really impacting the world coming. And, you know, I think we've been talking about that. Right. They're going to get new players for the Pistons, I think. It's really what it's about to get AI players, right? They'll probably turn it over to. But it's a great conference because they're really talking about how people can get out ahead of identifying what's coming in AI and getting out in front of it. And I'll be there speaking about how to embrace the changes and be ready for all the things that are coming. Absolutely. So you do all the therapy stuff. You're a tech expert. Can you replace some carpet at my house that I need replaced? It won't be very good. But I'll be there on Saturday, right, right. Many talents. All right, here we go. Dr. Steve. This is not from Chris, but it sounds like it. Dr. Steve, I am the coach on my 13-year-old son's baseball team, and I am doing everything I can to help him be better. But he's incredibly negative and is getting more and more frustrated when he makes a mistake. Last night, he struck out twice, but he also hit a run-scoring double. But when we got in the car to go home, all he could do is complain about how he couldn't do anything right and how bad he was at hitting and how he just couldn't get his stance right. I spent most of the ride home telling him that that wasn't the case at all and trying to explain to him that he did have a good stance and strikeouts happen. But that got him more and more mad and he slammed the door of the car and screamed in his room and wouldn't come out. His mom and I went into his room and offered to get him a hitting coach, but that just brought tears to his eyes. Is this team just too much pressure for him? Is the problem that I'm his coach? Is it just a phase? I don't want him to quit, but I don't know how to make him better when he has such a negative attitude. Chris, I'm Chris. Yeah, this is a Chris one. I'm going to let you handle this with Mr. Coach. Coach. All right, so I have six, six nights of baseball a week. Okay. I'm coaching Jakes. Coach pitch team. Uh-huh. And I'm coaching Henry's tee ball team. Okay. All right. So Monday I had Jake. Tuesday I had Henry. Yesterday I had Jake. Tomorrow, tonight I got Henry again. We're back and forth, right? Okay. Okay. Here's what I've done with Jake because he's almost eight and he's had a lot of these same things. And I've said, here's what I tell him. I go, look, you are just starting here. You're going to go through these. I said the tiger strike out. Why is it not okay for you to strike out? The Tigers make mistakes. Why is it not okay for you to make mistakes? Those players practice all the little fundamental things that we practice too.

They do it just like you are. That's how you get better and better and better. Now, he's on a little bit of a heater, actually. And that's helped his confidence. But I told him on the ride home last night because he's like, oh, dad, I got six hits in the last two games, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, okay. But when you don't, I want you to have the same excitement, the same energy. Why? Because your team's counting on you. That's right. You made a commitment. You wanted to play. You got to show up every time and try your hardest no matter what. And so I think the dose of reality has helped kind of not sugarcoating the situation, not, you know, you're not going to get a hit every time and that's okay. But you've got to try your hardest and cheer on your team. So I think it's more about switching the mindset of, okay, you struck out, but then you made a great play at first base. Overall, really good effort. You had fun with your friends, and that's what's important here. So I think for me, it's yes, about the game and the fundamentals, but more about trying to usher in this mentality of, I don't really care if you strike out 10 times. Are you doing the things that you need to do to help your team? That's kind of how I always approach you with him. You know, I would say just give him a little space. instead of correcting him in the moment to kind of focus on his effort and not the results. Now, you know, if the negativity continues, I don't know, Doc, what would be a good thing? Should the parent kind of step back and you bring in somebody else to kind of coach so maybe the kid doesn't feel so, you know, evaluated or something all the time? I don't know, you know. I'm not a coach. This is the coach here. That's the coach. Well, that's what I'll talk about. But I did notice that Chris left out that as a pitcher he beamed three players. No, of course. That's not going to come out. I did. It was cold last night. I hit three kids. I hit three kids. Don't let them crowd the plate on you, man. You own the plate. Oh, my God. I thought it's so bad. Seven-year-olds. I own that plate, man. Yeah. I think one of them was five. All right. So. Yeah. The way I look at this is that people are always asking for tools. Come in my office, I want tools. Please give us tools. But the problem with tools is when you use them in the wrong way or at the wrong time, they can be detrimental. So I'm going to say something pretty similar to Chris, just in a different way to say it. What you have to hear is what this kid's main issue is. And the kid's not asking for tips. The kid is saying, I do everything wrong. And what's dad's response? You're wrong.

Okay? Okay. You're wrong. You're doing it right. And you can hear it play out in the car. And the kid says, no, I do everything wrong. No, you're wrong. You do this and this and this right. No, I do everything wrong. I mean, he's not hearing that what the kid is debating with is how he feels like everything's wrong. So it's too soon to start giving him all the tips. You have to, like Chris said, meet him in a different place. And so what I would do is you've got to recognize. The feeling that he's having. So I would be saying something like, yeah, buddy, I know it feels terrible when you feel like you can't do something right. I hate that feeling. So we're acknowledging that's how he feels because that's what's palatable in the car. Okay. I hate that feeling. The bad things always feel so much worse than the good things. And that's one of the big struggles of being a good athlete is he got to deal with the bad days along with the good days. But... man, I know that that feels terrible. You know, I've been in your shoes many times and you, you know, it's just awful to feel that way. But that's what we got to learn with. When you're a good athlete, you learn that. So validating those feel. And acknowledging the feeling. Spencer Torkelson feels that way right now. Two weeks ago, he hit five home runs, one every day. And now he can't even see the ball. Right. You know. Yeah. So this is what good athletes deal with. You're dealing with the right stuff. But it does. You're validating the feelings. It feels terrible. But then we would also say, but hey, let's make sure when we get home, we tell mom the good and the bad stuff. Because she's going to want to know about that double you hit because, man, that was something. Yeah. But overall, you're really learning the right stuff because you've got to learn how to handle this stuff too. But I'm with you, but it feels terrible. Yeah. So you've acknowledged it. You took care of it. But you can't just get in the, no, you're wrong, no, you're wrong. That's just the spiral. Because we do that in the parents. We immediately get into correcting him. And all he hears is I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Even my dad thinks I'm wrong. Always good advice. I'm taking that to the mound next week. Dr. Steve Craig, thank you. We'll talk soon. More next. We've talked a lot about the concern of growing credit card debt. that we've seen, not even just here in Michigan, all across the country. And there is an interesting piece, the hamster wheel of... credit card management and the rising costs. And people who are, you know, tight in the budget, right? Things are more expensive now. Gas is more expensive. People are leaning on their credit cards to get by. And I'm no financial guru, but I would tell you that's probably not the greatest way to manage your money. No, it's not. You're living above your means. You are. Something that the federal government does. Yeah, quite often. David Sowerby, the managing director and portfolio manager at Ankora joins us to talk about it. David, good morning. It's good to have you. Terrific to be with you. How has this evolved over the last, you know, 10, 15, 20 years? More people are leaning on those credit cards as a way to get by or afford things that they just can't.

In some minor cases, I think so. But the majority of individuals are just using their credit cards as a substitute for cash, and 40% of individuals still pay that entire balance off every month. the remaining amount keep a very modest balance. So out of the items that keep me up at night, and there are plenty, it's less and less the consumer debt relative to their income were in relatively good shape. I mean, you know, David, a lot of people listening will recognize this story, good income, paying the bills, but still fall behind. Are we looking at a spending problem or a cost of living problem? It's a cost of living problem between the two. I mean, Lloyd, inflation rates, ideally we know should be at 2% or less, price stability. They're over 3% today. That's cost of living. We know so much of it is $5 gas at the pumps that have contributed mightily to the most recent inflation numbers. It's the problem. Not discipline for the average household. The average household. really exhibits superb discipline when it comes to their debt management. The outstanding credit card debt in the United States in 2016, so just 10 years ago, $779 billion. As we sit here in 2026 through the first quarter, $1.25 trillion. So when you're talking to your clients, And you're looking at money management. I don't know that this is something that you deal with often. But I have to imagine that has to be somewhere of a focus that when you guys are talking about portfolios and the such. Sure. Now, first to the absolute level of debt going up. That's accurate. But going up even faster is the level of real income or personal income, so that the ability to service taking on that higher debt is solved by rising income levels. So back to the important part of for your long-term goals and objectives and investing. It's pretty simply. The biggest issue any household has is, am I going to outlive my investments? Are my investments going to run out before I leave this earth? And there's simple ways to do that on how you control your spending, how much your income is needed, what's realistic it returns in the market. Your biggest long-term threats is and always will be inflation and taxes. So the inputs to get to the output that the majority of individuals are not going to outlive their money. It can be a pretty simple but sleep at night process.

How much of this is psychological? I mean, people trying to maintain a certain standard of living and how much of it is simply unavoidable costs like food and housing and health care? Well, Lloyd, it's a good point. If you look at what I call consumer discomfort, which would be what's the cost for a mortgage rate? What's the cost for an average gallon of gasoline? And then what's the cost of good food that you consume at home? It absolutely has ticked up in the last few months, primarily because of $5 gas prices. So it can be worrisome. And psychologically, I may not be able to exactly tell you. what a gallon of milk costs every time I go to the grocery store. But when I go fill up the gas pump and I see the price right there front and center and the time it takes me to fill it up, it can impact your psyche. Could you foresee a scenario in which this could be a big economic problem down the road, not to the rising of maybe 2008 or things like that? But how big of an issue could you see this becoming down the road? I suppose if I was to rank it today on problems, I think it's about a three. The overall economy reigns in a very resilient shape. We're just more than 80% of the way through corporate profit reporting. Corporate profits are growing 15% a year compared to a year ago levels. They're quite healthy. Estimates have actually gone higher. despite the problems with gas prices in Iran, but estimates keep going higher. I worry about the economy at points in time. I don't worry as much about it today. Longer term, I'll always be concerned on inflation because it's a tax on consumers. If someone feels stuck in the cycle right now, David, what's the first move you think they should make? I mean, it's about cutting spending? Is it increasing their income, restructuring the debt? Maybe all of the above? pay down your debt, which is what I wish the federal government would show more discipline. Yeah. Households Lloyd get a B plus a minus on debt management, government D minus on that same score. That's really what it comes down to. It's just manage your debt levels. Pay yourself off first. David Sauerb, always appreciate the insight. Good talking with you this morning. And we'll do it again very soon. Appreciate it. Terrific. Thank you. Yeah, you got it. Meanwhile, the Senate narrowly rejected an effort to limit Donald Trump's military actions against Iran as a war powers resolution failed by just a vote. The interesting thing here. Is three GOP senators joined with Democrats? Who are they? You probably would think they're the usual suspects. Rand Paul has been on that side. But Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have joined the fray. Now, John Fetterman.

the Democrat voted against it. Yeah. And it failed by just one vote. So we're starting to see a little bit of a break in the coalition amongst Senate Republicans on this issue. Yeah. Well, these are more moderate. In the case of Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, more moderate Republicans, Rand Paul obviously has been a. a vocal critic on some of the things that Donald Trump has been doing. Well, I mean, it just kind of signals that these concerns about executive war powers are not strictly partisan. I mean, it's also about constitutionality and authority and, you know, all of that. It's National Foster Care Awareness Month. And the author of the book, Healing the Foster Care Child from Within, joins us to talk about her story and the importance of highlighting foster care. That's next on J.R. Morning. So May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, and there's an event coming up on May 23rd, and LaShawn Davis will be there. She's a former foster child. She's also a member of the State of Michigan Foster Care Review Board, and she's written a book, Healing the Foster Child Within. And it's not a topic we talk about very often. Yes, and LaShawn joins us now on J.R. Morning. LaShawn, good morning. Thanks for being here. Good morning. Thank you for having me. You know, when people hear your story, they hear resilience, but I want to start at the beginning. What was it really like for you as a child moving through the foster care system yourself? It was horrible, horrible. I always felt as if no one wanted me and being moved from home to home to home. There was no real stability. And I had emotional issues due to the trauma that I experienced. And I always felt unlovable. And there are some great foster parents in the system, but then there are those who are not great foster parents. And we don't hear a lot about the kids who have to deal with foster parents who are not great parents to them. And, you know, was there a moment even in the middle of all that instability that you went through where you realize I'm going to survive this?

Um, yes, because of my faith in God, I knew that this was not a life sentence for me. And I was rooted in Christianity and exposed to Christianity in the foster care system. So I always held on to my hope and God. But to say that you felt unlovable, it just broke my heart hearing that. And, and so how did you? How did you manage that as a young girl going through that situation, going through, you know, different homes? How did that manifest itself in you as you got older? Well, I'm going to be transparent with you. It manifested through me receiving and accepting any type of attention, especially for men. And I thought that men gave me attention, whether it be good or bad, that they loved me. They liked me. And that wasn't the way I should have been. So it manifested in accepting and overcompensating in relationships, all because I wanted to feel wanted and loved. Your book is called Healing the Foster Child Within. What does that inner foster child represent for you today?

It represents resilience, triumphant, and overcoming and beating the odds because the odds were against me. And sometimes I have to go back to the book to read it when I'm triggered. I always felt as if someone rejected me or abandoned me that they didn't like me. They didn't want me. So that foster child. feeling would raise up. But now I know if someone doesn't want to be bothered with me, they're lost. They're lost. There's nothing to do with me. I have to imagine. recounting all of this was very difficult for you and then putting it in the book. Was it cathartic, though, at the end of the day? Very. Yeah. Yes, it was very cathartic because I wrote the book during therapy, individual therapy. And I thought I was going to therapy for one thing. But in therapy, it came out that my issues stemmed from me being in the foster system. So writing it. I wrote it during COVID every day for two years. And it was very, very painful, very painful. But I did it. I know you went on to Excel at Wayne State University, despite everything you experienced. And you volunteer at the orphanage that you once lived in. That's really powerful. I mean, what was that moment like, you know, the first time you went back as an adult?

I pulled up in the parking lot and it was just euphoric. That's all I can say. It was because God said, in order for you to heal, you need to go back. And I went back. And I was welcomed. And I found my purpose by volunteering with the children. And I said, you know what? I wish I had a me. I wish someone would have came back to mentor me. And I think I would have had a different outlook on life. So now I'm a vision of hope for children who have experienced trauma. You are obviously very active in foster care. You're a member of the foster care review board here in the state of Michigan. When you started that, what surprised you about that process and what were some of the things that you noticed pretty quickly that needed to be either adjusted or just from your perspective living through it, that you said, boy, this would be much better if we did it. this way or if we reviewed it this way. Walk us through that. What surprised me was that there are so many children that are just lingering through the system. And there's no, in my opinion, there's no real accountability, no real oversight. They have oversight committees, but I mean, the children are just lingering. A lot of times there are no trauma assessments. The children, they have voices, but they're not really being heard. So I just feel as if the system is flawed. And when I speak, I speak from a... from the perspective as a former foster child. And I just feel as if the system is just not really, they don't really care about the children's voice. No one asked the children, what do you need in order to heal? And we need more, the kids need more funding, especially for youth who are aging out of foster care. They're not ready when they age out. So. What surprised me is that the lack of transparency and there's a lot of money that's being spent on the wrong things. Well, LaShawn Davis, author of Healing the Foster Child Within, we appreciate you coming on and giving us some insight on the foster care system. Where can we get your book? I'm on Amazon, Ann Burns and Noble. The big spots. Yes. The major spots. Leshaun, thank you so much for coming on this morning. Can I also let you know that we are having, it's called Healing Children with Love, and we are honoring foster parents.

Next Saturday, May 23rd from 11 to 2 at the Bridge Center, and we're going to have foster care recruiters, child welfare organizations in the house to answer questions. We're going to have live music raffles and just community engagement. And again, it's at the Bridge Center next Saturday, May 23rd from 11 to 2. All right, Leschal. Thank you so much for coming on. Appreciate it. I appreciate it to having me. All right. Talk to you soon. Yeah, the Brits Center is a 9928 Grand River in Detroit. Unbelievable powerful story. Isn't it? And to push through that and come out on the other side and then get right back into it to help others. We just don't hear a lot about what foster children go through. Yeah, certainly. Coming up on the other side, we'll get you caught up on the latest headlines. Update you on the China trip with Donald Trump. It's next. Tough loss, obviously we wanted to protect our home court. We failed to do that. You know, being up 3-2 is an advantage for them. It's first to four wins, though. We know that. We've had our back against the wall before. At the end of the day, I mean, if we can't win a game on the road. How far are we really going to get in the playoffs? How far we're going to get in this league? So you got to go in the game on the road. That's what we're going to do. Fair assessment for Cade. And Pistons lose last night, 117 to 113. They blow a 9.4th quarter lead, force it into overtime and Cleveland runs away with it there at the end. I mean, again, Kate cutting him at 39 points. Dennis Jenkins at 19. Yeah. And Dennis Jenkins was starting for Duncan Robinson, who was injured with a back injury. Right. So you just didn't get enough. I think it's very... very obvious that they're cutting back on Jalen Duren's numbers. He only played 25 minutes last night. He was the only starter not in 40 minutes. So they just had a hard time holding on to the lead. They had a hard time holding on to the ball once again. Obviously the lack of calls on Cleveland is impacting things. But again, I make the argument. Don't blow a nine point lead. Don't get in that point. Yeah. Don't get in that situation. You don't worry about the ref deals. But, you know, hurting. The stuff he's doing, really. I mean, he's fall. Every time he, it seems like every time he shoots the ball, he's got to fall down. Yeah, he does fall quite a bit. You know? He's just making sure to see the hardwood's good. Okay. He's just, it's quality control. Yeah, right. Make sure you get that whistle. That's what it is. Yeah. That's what it is. The Pistons are bringing their games back to free TV.

Thank you for that. The team announced a new local broadcast rights deal with Scripps Sports that begins with the 26-27 NBA season under the agreement. TV 20, WMYD, will become the official local home for the Pistons airing all their preseason and regular season games free over the air. I love it. And Tom Gore says, listen, this is about expanding access for fans, especially during the resurgence of the team. Yep. You know, and so he says he wants to make sure as many fans can watch these Pistons as possible. Yeah. Now, I think that's exactly right. Again, the Pistons were really bad for a lot of years, right? And then they fell to the depths, I think, well, they win 14 games that one year. 14 games at one year. It's just, 28 in a row that they lost or something like that. Crazy. It's just, it was unbelievable, unthinkable, really. But. They've they've crawled their way back into the psyche of sports fans in Detroit. Yeah, right? And so how do you continue that progress? You make sure your games are available to everybody. And that's what I love about this. And he could have did what a lot of the others. He could have came up with his own broadcast, you know, way to do it, or he could have came up with his old broadcast line or whatever. But he decided, let's just. Old school. Yeah, and I think there have been other NBA teams that have gone this route again, teams that had deals with the fan duels that have gone away. They've tried to rework things. Some of them have gone to a paid-for. Streaming or something like that, you know. Yep. Some have taken it in-house. This is going to be completely, I think, produced by. Yes, TV20. Yeah, by scripts. So I love that they're going to be able to handle that. I love it's going to be available to everybody. And you're just going to continue to put the pistons at the forefront because it's available to everybody. I absolutely love it. Meanwhile, the president is in China, just with a dinner a short time ago was Xi Jinping and the delegations there. And the president says that this could be the most consequent, such an important relationship in all of world history, the United States and China. Two and a half centuries later, that first connection has grown into one of the most consequential relationships in world history. And that's probably true. And also to the extent of continuing to build, what needs to happen going forward, something the president also hit on. Together we have the chance to draw on these values to create a future of greater prosperity, cooperation, and happiness. Can I play you one other cut? Yeah. This is from Marco Rubio on the flight over, on Air Force One. He was asked on his positions on China, the United States relationship. My read has been what I think has been for a while, and that is China has a plan. I mean, they clearly view themselves. They believe they will be the world's most powerful country. They'll surpass the United States, and they have a plan to do it. And they're executing on that plan. And I don't blame them. If I were the Chinese government, I'd have the same plan. We, on the other hand, don't view it that way. And we don't want to see anything.

We're not trying to constrain China, but their rise cannot come at our expense. Their rise cannot come at our fall. So there's an area where we're just going to have a difference of opinion. But my view of them and of the government in China is they're very confident. They have a plan, and they're trying to execute on that plan, which is fine. I understand that from a nation-state perspective, but when that plan is in conflict with the national interest of the United States, we need to do what's right for the United States. And that'll come up on this trip, but more importantly, that'll be a feature of this relationship for a long time. I absolutely love that answer for Marco Rubio. We're not trying to hinder your growth, but... It can't come under our expense. Don't think that we're going to fall because of it. Right. No, I think, and I'll tell you what, just again, reading between the tea leaves a little bit. I know what you're going to do. Yes, that absolutely speaks to this trip. That is Marco Rubio positioning himself. Yeah. That's positioning himself to be the man. Man, yes, absolutely. And I think that's a heck of an answer. Yeah, no. I'm telling you, when it comes down to it after these three years are done. I know that everybody's focused on the midterms. Yeah. For somebody like Marco Rubio, who's kind of, you know, they're jostling for position between he and J.D. Yeah. Right? I think that was a heck of an answer by Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. Water restrictions now been lifted across Auburn Hills, Orient Township, Rochester Hills, and the village of Lake Orient, following the completion of major repairs to that broken water main. Officials say a new... 42-inch pipe has been installed. Water pressure is returned to normal operations, marking a significant milestone after days of emergency measures. The Great Lakes Water Authority credits a coordinated effort among multiple agencies for restoring service ahead of schedule. They have been talking about two weeks before. However, residents are still under a boil water advisory, expected to last through the weekend. And leaders stress that while water can now be used for everyday activities like showering and laundry and cleaning, it should not be consumed until further notice. Crews will continue flushing the system. and testing for bacteria in the coming days and residents may notice temporary discoloration in the water authorities say that's normal though during the process you can also there are communities currently relying on water tower reserves but once again those supplies run out, customers could lose running water entirely. The Great Lakes Water Authority has deployed water trucks to assist distributing thousands of gallons at three locations, Wildwood Amphitheater. That's on Jocelyn Court in Orient Township. The Auburn Hills Department of Public Works at 1,500 Brown Road and at Water Park, at 426 at Water Street in Lake Orient. So you can pick up water there. It's good news. Good news. They talk about two weeks.

They did two weeks of work in about two days. Yeah, it's really impressive. I mean, it's a lot of people over in that area that are affected, obviously. It is. And just seems like everybody was on the same page. You got the Great Lakes Water Authority, but then you have all these community public works. They have to be on the same page for this to work. Yeah. And again, it's such a disruptor. Huge. It's such a disruptor. You know. Meanwhile, Alex Murdoch, in the case of the century, it was dubbed in South Carolina. He was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife and son. He's won his appeal in that case. The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his murder convictions. The court found that there was improper actions by a court clerk. There was alleged influence on jurors, which violated his right to a fair trial. So that is going to go back to trial. Yeah. Do we expect a different outcome? I don't know. I don't know. But it's notable that it was overturned because there was some tampering essentially in that case. That's a big deal. Pretty unbelievable. Coming up on the other side, as we mentioned, Donald Trump in China with the delegations there, we're going to talk about what the purpose of this meeting is and what we expect to come out with on the other side. It's next on J.R. Morning.

So according to AAA, the national average for a cost of a gallon of gas is 450. Michigan up almost to 490 this morning. But Donald Trump has talked about a gas tax holiday at the federal level. Would that help? Patrick DeHan is the petroleum analyst at gasbuddy.com and joins us to talk about it. Patrick, good morning. It's good to have you. Good morning. Finally, I get to talk about prices maybe going down instead of up. Yeah, that is a nice change of pace. Would that really help things? Well, you know, to the point, Congress has to approve this, right? Congress is tasked with federal taxes, and so this would be an issue that needs to get through Congress if it gets sent to President Trump's desk and he signs it. it would roll prices back slightly, about 18 cents, since the federal gas tax is 18.4 cents. We'd see just about all of that passed along. And because it's not on the wholesale side of gasoline, a lot of stations, by the way, have to prepay taxes when they buy the fuel that can hold up the onset of lower prices. But the federal gas tax... is something they collect at the retail level. They remit it to the federal government, meaning that if it's signed, it should be something that you could see pretty quickly. But then let me go back to see. You may not necessarily see your pump price go down exactly 18 cents because there are many different things that impact the price of gasoline and oil all at the same time. But yes, it would have an impact of rolling prices back 18 cents. whether or not you see it, it's really a function of if oil prices go up the same day that this is signed, you probably wouldn't see the full 18 cents, right? In hindsight, if prices were to suddenly drop for oil the same day this is signed, you'd probably see a little bit more than the 18 cent drop. If global supply issues are the main driver, is there anything really a policy like a tax holiday can realistically do? I mean, only eliminate tax. You look at a state like Indiana, and by the way, if anyone's traveling through Indiana, they've waived their excise and their use or gasoline tax. And that is cutting prices down in Indiana, falling about 60 cents in last week. Michigan average 490, Indiana 425. So I filled up over the weekend in Indiana for 394 a gallon. So. If you're headed down that way, certainly advantageous to fill up there. But hopefully, some of the refining issues that did cause the price to jump, especially for diesel, by the way, Michigan has set a new all-time market high for diesel. It's about $6. Refining issues are primarily to blame for the huge jump in gasoline and diesel, and those are starting to improve. So I think we may start to see prices rolling back soon. Interesting, as always. Great insight. Patrick DeHan with GasBuddy.com. Always appreciate you. Thanks for your time. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you got it.

Interesting. You know, and we got to understand, too, that those gas tax funds, you know, the highway trust fund. So, you know, you got to start thinking about, you know, roads and infrastructure if that revenue suddenly disappears or for how long. I mean, you know, it's long term. It could be an issue. If it's short term, maybe not so much. Yeah. So it would be a blip. Yeah. You know, again, not ideal. None of this is ideal. No, it's not. None of it's ideal. Have you been following, again, I'm sure. you know, most of you are busy with your lives and your work and your home and your whatever you're doing, your schedule. Uh-huh. Have you been watching what's going on out in L.A.? With the mayor's race? Oh, my goodness, man. So there are a lot of people that have been very unhappy with Karen Bass, the mayor, right? Especially after the, the, the Palisades wildfires? Yes. But Spencer Pratt. is in the mix. Now, you might be saying, who is Spencer Pratt? And you probably wouldn't be the only one. Spencer Pratt was on a reality TV show. Yeah. On MTV. The Hills. The Hills. Yeah. The Hills. I know that name. Yeah. Now, I only know of the Hills because I'm a huge fan. No, no, because. Tell the truth. Because my wife, when we were growing up, would watch it. I was. But, you know, I said I didn't want to watch it. She said she did. So we compromised and we watched it. And so. That's usually how it works out, Chris. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Shout out to Mike Parsons for that. Paul W. Smith on Focus is producer. But Spencer Pratt is actually gaining a lot of momentum here. And his house was burned down in the Palisades fires. I think he's still married to one of the other characters on the show. Whatever. But he just came in with 22% of support in a new poll from Emerson College. Karen Bass is at about 30%. And there is one other of a... socialistling democratic councilwoman who's also running for mayor and she's at 19%. Spencer Pratt. is sitting with a legitimate shot to get through past this June 2nd primary. He's running as independent, right? Yeah, yes. And he's like, I am not, I think everybody's crazy. Like the policies have gone way out of control. The money that was supposed to be allocated for people who lost their entire lives in these fires is not helping. They're going to different areas. It's not going to the people. It's not helping. expedite this process any faster. And he's called out a lot of the media for the way that they've handled his candidacy as opposed to Karen Bass's candidacy. And it's created this storm of like, is this guy actually for real? And I don't necessarily care if he's for real in LA. That has no barrens on me or you. Right. But it's this idea of can anybody just rise up? Obviously, he's some notable public figure.

But if you're not doing the job, like to me it sends a clear message. Karen Bass, if you're not doing the job, people unhappy with you, you could be unseated just like that by a Spencer Pratt. I mean, listen, we do kind of have precedent with Donald Trump. Well, and even before that, I mean, you had Jesse Ventura out in Minnesota. He was the governor. You had Arnold Schwarzenegger out in California. So it's not, I mean, Ronald Reagan. I mean, you have, there are, there is something there. Yeah. But. It's very odd to me that we're seeing it more and more. We're seeing it more and more. And to me, it's like you're not, if you've got a good idea and people like it, they're willing to give you a shock. Because they're just, you know, a lot of people are just tired of the norm. They just don't want to, they just don't want the norm. They want someone who thinks out of the box, someone who feels their pain more like them. He lost his house too. Right. You know, so in that fire. So, yeah. So I, there is a relatability factor there too. Exactly. But I think it's, I think it's very interesting what's happening. And I've been keeping an eye on it because I find it so unbelievable that somebody like Spencer Pratt, who by the way, hasn't been in the main, in the limelight in forever. Ever, yeah. Forever. And yet, here he is challenging. Karen Bass, and he's getting a huge boost from independent voters. Yes. Very, very fascinating. All right, that is going to do it for us. Have yourself a wonderful Thursday. We will see you tomorrow. Same time, same place. And Kevin Dietz and all talk coming to your way next here on WJR.