JR Morning ~ April 30, 2026 ~ Full Show

605, good to have you on a Thursday morning here in the Motor City. Friday Eve, thank you. That's right, my apologies, correct? You're right. Friday Eve. I admit my mistakes publicly. No, yes, Friday Eve. I will say the things you do for your children. So we're going to be out of town on Saturday. We got to go to Grand Rapids for a graduation. Okay. And so we have our first baseball game for Jake on Saturday. Okay. And it's a big deal. It's like they take pictures and they've got bounce houses and they do hot dogs and chips and the whole deal, right? Okay. It's like opening day for our league. Yeah. Problem is we're not going to be there. I'm the head coach. Right? Yes. So I'm coordinating with my other coaches, what we need, what we got to do. I got to bring you some equipment. And then I have to bring them our jerseys because I get all the jerseys and equipment sent to me. Okay. So I got a, I got to. delivery yesterday. I'm going house to house to house delivering. You were door dashing? I was door dashing baseball uniforms last night. And so I'm, you know, I'm watching. I wasn't watching. I had it on my phone. Okay. In the car. And I was just. checking in every once in a while on the pistons. On the pistons, okay. And boy, did they start really well? Oh, man, on fire. Yes. They really looked good. They came out with exactly the tenacity that we had talked about. Yes. So I thought it was exciting. Now, did we catch a couple of breaks? Yeah. Yeah. You know, Orlando missed 14 free throws? They did, but they were sure hitting beyond the arc, and it just seems like we were not trying to. check them when they were behind the three point line. No. And they were just hitting left and right. But the thing is, we were answering a lot of those as well. I mean, so that, they didn't, they couldn't pull away. We were in front. We tried to pull away, but they just kept, they were like, like bugs, like little nets. You know what I mean? The whole series it's been like that, I feel like they just don't go away. They just don't. So I was good. And they extend the series. They go to game six. We go back to Orlando. Another must win. Where things have obviously gone very well for them there. But no, they did exactly what we wanted them to do. Yeah. Which has come out and act like you're about to be bounced from the playoffs. And Kay, you know, he basically put the team on his back, 45 points of a franchise record. The last person who did that was Dave Bing. Dave Bing in 68. Right. He scored 44 points. Isaiah Thomas in 88 scored 43. So in the elite company. Yes. For Cade Cunningham. I loved it. And we'll talk more about it. Eric Vincent's going to join us at 635 on the Pistons. But they came out with the fire that we wanted. It's all we can ask for. That's it. We got the W. On to game six. Let's go. Just do it. Meanwhile, Michigan Republicans are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to consider investigating Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

over this emblem that she had in a 2020 interview on Meet the Press. Okay. 2020. Six years ago. Six years ago. Okay. And it was an 8645 emblem. Okay. And so they're saying that she was threatening. James Comey posted this 86-47. Donald Trump says it's an 86-something is a mob term for, you know, get rid of it. Okay, he's right. That's true. But this is six years ago. How many people out there remember Gretchen Whitmer with this little tiny thing in the background of a video shot? Yeah. Never heard anybody talk about it? I remember talking about it at the time. I don't remember talking about it. Okay. Your memory is better than mine. I do. I remember talking about it at the time and I remember thinking that's crazy. What are we doing? But for those like critics of the administration of the president who are saying, well, you're just, you're using your justice department for political retribution or you're just trying to score political points, it's hard to argue with them in moments like this. Yeah. because you've actually had a pretty good relationship with the governor at this point. Like in terms of other Democratic governors around the country, they seem to be the most cordial. Sure. Sure. They seem to be the most cordial. So I don't know why we're re-digging this up because, well, it's because the Michigan Republican Party's digging it up. And they're making that request. And you got to, you know, you want to. you know, try to get some credence to this case against James Comey. You want to give, you know, some justification in there on that. You know, we'll see what happens. We'll see, you know, a lot of analysts that will, we don't even know if it'll even get before a judge and a jury. It's going to be so many arguments before it even gets to that point. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an interview that other instances of threats against the president could be investigated, but he said that it's a case-by-case basis. It's facts, intent, things like that. And he says this particular case has been thoroughly investigated, he says. So I don't know what we're doing here. It sounds like the Michigan Republicans are trying to score some political points here. That's what it sounds like. We got some more good news when it comes to hotels downtown major expansion plan for downtown Detroit's Huntington Place Convention Center District. A new hotel project set to bring hundreds of rooms and thousands of jobs to the area. Now, developers announcing plans yesterday for a roughly 600 room hotel to be built at the corner of Congress. Fort, Cass, and Washington streets. Construction expected to begin in early 2027. The project is part of a broader effort to expand the convention center footprint, which also includes that new J.W. Marriott Hotel that's being built right now and a planned pedestrian bridge. Officials say the new hotel will help attract larger conventions and events while boosting the regional economy.

Developers estimate up to $450 million in investment, about 1,000 permanent jobs, hundreds of construction jobs, roughly 100 million, an annual economic impact. And you know the city, we've always said we are down when it came to. hotel rooms. And so now, yeah, they're starting to build those hotel rooms. We've got a very nice convention center. We've got the JW Marriott going up on one side. We'll have a new one, another one going up on the other side. And we have the final four next year, and the J.W. Marriott will be open for that. So we'll have, you know, those rooms available. But for so many years, when we've had these big events, we just didn't have enough rooms here in Detroit proper. And many people had to stay out in the... suburban areas. It was kind of a metro kind of regional type of deal when it came to hotel rooms. So we'll see. Well, the, you know, the Claude Molinaris of the world will tell you that one of the ways that you get big events is by making sure that you've got enough accommodations in the place that you're trying to get events to. That's right. If you want big events to come to Detroit, well, you need rooms and you need food. Yep. And you need things to do. Well, we got a lot of all those things. A lot of that. And I just love the fact that more of these hotels are coming because it is, again, a testament to what we are doing here. And how far we've come? Yes. How far the cities come? Certainly. So while I was driving around... delivering jerseys yesterday. Doing DoorDash. I was cursing at all that I couldn't watch the Pistons. And I'm thinking, boy, I love my kids so much that I'm missing game five, an elimination game to go. No, it was great. But I was also driving around passing a couple gas stations, obviously. It was over $5 a gallon I saw at one gas station. Wow. And I'm like, well, I need gas, but I'm not getting gas right now. Yeah. I'm just going to hope that in the next few hours here, it's going to turn around. Well, it didn't. I got gas this morning, $4.99 is what I paid. This morning. $4.99 for gas. Why is that? Well, it's a perfect cocktail of issues. One of the major issues regionally is there was a power outage at BP's Whiting Refinery in northeastern Indiana. Okay. And it's the largest refinery that serves the Great Lakes. Oh, well, that'll do it. There was an unexpected shift in fuel production. So that's a problem. Flares went off, according to the Chicago Tribune. The I-D-E-M is monitoring it, and so they're just keeping a very close eye on that facility. But you've got this, you've got everything that's going on globally, right? Right. And now you have one of your major refineries. Refinaries.

in the region that fuels, pun intended, the region. And we're part of that. So that was a big part of it. So hopefully as they make this switch over from winter fuel to summer fuel, things get a little better. But it's just, it's like one-two punch. of issues that now are making your gas. I mean, people still have, you know, things that they have to do. They have to run errands and things, but probably a lot less, you know, errands run or run everything all at once and not take a bunch of trips. Because you know, it doesn't seem like this to you. I don't know. Maybe it's just me, Chris. When gas goes up and it's very expensive like that, that it burns faster. You see, I don't know, maybe psychological. I think it might be psychological. It's not something I've noticed. I just got gasped 20 minutes ago. Coming up on the other side, James Comey gets once again indicted. How does this differ from his first indictment, which got tossed? We'll be joined by Bart McQuay. Talk about it next on Jeremy. That's definitely the balance you have to find with my position, my job, and with the skill set that I have. You know, I know that I can get us points by me scoring, but also making sure that my team, you know, and I'm using my playmaking ability to get everybody going and just make the right play. You know, I got guys on my team that can finish players. So, you know, just making sure that I'm balancing and making sure I'm making the best play for my team. at all times. And he writes sometimes, you know, in the fourth quarter, the boss beat my hands a little more. But it's just about, you know, having that feel for the game and finding that balance. The killer instinct of Cade Cunningham. Sometimes you've got to take the game over. Yeah. And that's exactly what he did, scoring 45 points yesterday. You know, again, real quick, props to a sore Thompson to. Oh, that guy, man, was, you know, amazing yesterday. Hustle. Just hustle everywhere yesterday. I mean, I don't. particularly love the five turnovers. No. But 15 rebounds, 6 to 6. He had four offensive boards, had five steals. I mean, this is why he was... in the running for defensive player of the year. Yes. Because he is that type of player. You don't necessarily count on him to score 45 points. No. But you do count on him to show up. And he certainly did. He can become the X Factor. Yeah, yesterday. Eric Vincent is a Detroit Pistons reporter for ClutchPoint.com and joins us to talk about the game last night. Eric, good morning. It's good to have you. Good morning. Fellas, how's everything? Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. We're well. We're hyped this morning. Yes. It was, I think the way they got out. right away in that game. They got up and they were able to control the tempo for most of that game. They had a 17-point lead at one point, but they just got off to a much better start than they did in the previous four.

Yeah, and that's been the key really for the fences all season. When they play with the lead, when they play with a sense of urgency out the gate, they're a very tough team to be. When they got to play comeback and dig themselves out of a hole, that's when they really show the crack to the holes of who they are, especially offensively. But being able to come out right away, have a lot of good energy offensively, get some turnovers, you know, play really well off the glass, especially Jayland Duren. He really has had a tough series, but he was a key initiator for a lot of what was going good for them in game five. at LCA. He got some good offensive rebounds. I had a couple of dunks. He got a nice and one is the first bucket of the game. He had a really good job for the business to kind of open up the game and it really keyed them to the victory to start off. And when you talk about Cade, I mean, 45 points franchise playoff record, and you look at the other side with Paula Banchero, who matches him with 45. And, you know, Orlando, they're really not a really awesome shooting team, but they were getting these wide open looks, especially behind a three point line, and nobody seemed to want to check them, and they were hitting them. Yeah, that's been a problem for the Pistons really all season. And even with... Paulo going off for 45, you can live with that. The problem that they've been having defensively is when Paulo has been driving and collapsing the Pistons defense, and then they gave Desmond Bain for a wide open three, or Jalen sucks for a wide open three, which kills the momentum inside of LCA, which really got their crowd going outside in Orlando. So even with Paulo having the 45.9 that he had, do live with those performances from him because you don't want the other guys around him to get going, and that's the difference between him and a guy like Kay Cunningham. with another spectacular performance, but he has the ability to be a phenomenal playmaker as well and lift the floor of the guys to rock him as well, which means him such a spectacular MVP caliber-type player for the Detroit Pistons. And you saw the brilliance of it last night. I mean, it's the first game since, I think, the bubble where... Two guys going for 45 plus each, I think, since Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray back in 2020. So it was really spectacular to see and great to see the Pistons come out on the winning end with that. I'll play a little audio from J.B. Bickerstaff because when you're playing a back against the wall game, you've got to come out and perform. Here's J.B. Does it feel like you guys have some life back? I mean, I feel like we've always had life. Yeah. Until that fat lady starts singing, we got life. And that's been the mentality of this team through most of the season. So do they get a little more juice going back to Orlando? They've struggled there this series, obviously. But is there a little extra excitement on this team? 100%. I think even with them being in or coming out of the 3-1 holes they were in yesterday, the games, like you said, Orlando hasn't been shooting or playing that great. They've had some good performances by some good players. But even going back to like the ugly game in game four, like the Pistons lost, but they kept the game in an advantageable spot by being down by four, six points, really the entire game. The guys around in Orlando were not really shooting that well. It was more mental errors that the Pistons were allowing.

to have to keep the lead and to seize the control of the game instead of just being dominated by 20 plus points. So the Pins have seen that. I think they've played basketball. They've shown that they can really, you know, take control of this game and have been the better team in certain spots. And they don't have Franz Wagner healthy on their team, which is a huge break for the Detroit system. So, yeah, they absolutely have a bunch of life and they actually have a chance to really recreate some history if they can find a way to get out of the 3-1 deficit that they're in. Also, Tobias Harris, 23 points, big moments late. Does he need to be even more assertive going into this game on Friday? Yeah, Tobias has been fantastic. I think a big point of emphasis for him all season has been, if Tobias is doing too much, that means the other guys around him are struggling. But for how he's played, the consistency of his scoring, the help that he's given defensively, the great job that he's been doing on the glass as well, it's really been doing the wonders for when. knowing that a guy like Jalen Duren has been struggling offensively to get his game going. We talked about a start time, but there's not really much of a score, but when you have the consistency of a Tobias Harris, who has had a bit of a reputation of having the... I guess being kind of a ghost in terms of playoff performances. He's rewriting that right now for the Detroit businesses. He's been great for Kay Cunningham. Being that second option, you can rely on, he got his three-point shot going a little bit better than he has over the past few games. So, yes, he needs to keep that aggression going. I think it makes Palo Boncaro Guard, which is not one of his best. you know, suits as a player, and it keeps them off balance with how he can perform and play for the piston. So yes, it would be very beneficial for the business for him to keep that aggression going as a score. In the post-game interview that Assort Thompson did on Prime video was a very clear message. They're taking it game by game. Obviously, they have to. They can't be looking to game seven. But he was asked, like, what do they need to do in Orlando? to win that game. And he said basically the same thing that they did last night, which was get out to a hot start, that when they get down by double digits, they have to crawl their way back and fight for every point just to get back in the game. So like you mentioned, they play at a much different pace. They play at a much different confidence level when they're up to start a game. Certainly. I mean, if you look at how they play, you look at what Orlando has been doing well all series. They've been really killing the pincers at a lot of their own identity things. Yes. Scoring in the paint, rebounding, getting off to a hot start. That's exactly what the pistons need to do from the jump against Orlando in game six. They can't allow them to get hot and let that crowd get going early and find some balance as well. I mean, even with the great game that Kay Cunningham had, having 23 from Tobias, some timely shots from Duncan Robinson was. 12 points, 12 points from Jayland Durr as well, and even some big plays from guys like Karis Levert, B. Stu, who had a huge game four off the bench playing defense. Like, they need a lot of balance and a lot of assistance kind of go with that as well. So it's going to be a team effort. There's a lot of balance for Orlando as well. Guys like Wyndham Carter Jr. have really been giving them.

problems all series long so they can find a way to be the better you know depth team in this series i love their chances in a game seven but it has to start immediately if they really want to get this game going and pull off a huge shocking game six come friday eric vins appreciate your analysis we'll talk again very soon i hope Yes, indeed. Thanks, fellas. All right, you got it. Look, and, I mean, big block there at the end by Jalen Duren. And then Sir Thompson came up with a big rebound towards the end of that game. Yeah. And now we go to game six. Let's do it. Game six. You got to hold onto the ball, too. Force the game seven. Let's do it. Coming up on the other side, Donald Trump pushing aside, Iran's offer to end this war. What's next? It's coming up on Jair morning. So Iran said, hey, we'll relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz if you remove your blockade. And then later on, we can talk about the nuclear program and doing away with the nukes. We'll do that at a later time. And the president has basically said, I don't think so. Hard no from the president when it comes to this. Plus, there's a lot of economic pressure being put on Iran at this point. So what happens next? Lucas Tomlinson, our Fox News reporter, is in Dubai. Lucas, good morning to you. It feels like we're at a bit of a stalemate here, but there might be some military actions being planned behind the scenes. Well, good morning, guys, a lot like the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs. Probably not where you or the White House wants to be, but it's not over yet. That's right. That's right. You just summed it up nicely. Iran wants this blockade removed to open up the straight, wants the table, the nuclear issue for a bit, but that's not what President Trump wants. Remember, Vice President JD Vance's trip to Islamabad just a few weeks ago. He, that was the red line. Those were some of the red lines. They want no nuclear enrichment. When dismantle those enrichment facilities, want that highly enriched uranium all 1,000 pounds of it out of the country. And then Iran is warning, you know, unprecedented action, you know, and all of this. But I mean, really at this point, what capabilities do they realistically have to respond to a blockade? Well, as we're seeing, Lloyd, with the Strait of Hormuz being closed and the oil prices going up, I don't have to tell the good people, Detroit, as you drive by the gas station today in 55-degree weather, by the way, it's about twice as hot here in Dubai. They have some economic leverage, and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they're using the strait like a nuclear weapon economically. When you don't see, there's about 150 oil tankers still parked off in the distance in the Persian Gulf. By the way, today, Iran observes National Persian Gulf Day, so happy Persian Gulf Day, whereas the Arabs call it here, the Arabian Gulf.

The Iran is still wielding a pretty dangerous weapon and with the blockade, with their blockage of the Strait of Hummus. And this blockade that we're seeing, it's crippling Iran economically. There's no question. We saw the real their currency dropped to an all-time low, 1.8 million reels per dollar. You might need a wheelbarrel to go shopping right now in Iran. But as we've seen with other sanctions, we've seen in over 40 years in Iran, their pain tolerance is pretty high. And as we're saying with this blockade, it's not only affecting Iran. It's affecting global oil prices. At one point, Brank Crude, the international marker was over $120 a barrel. It was about a $10 drop, right as I was on hold with you guys in the last few minutes. Not sure the reason, but that is a very dangerous weapon that Iran is wielding. And it's a real stalemate right now. The talks are stalled. It feels like a stalemate. Both sides are looking at the other on what's your next move. The question is, who's going to... capitulate first is it Iran with its economy or you know as we get closer to the midterms people looking at the price of gas as we know presidential approval ratings over the years most often track with the price of gasoline you know you're in Dubai the UAE announced that they were going to be withdrawing from OPEC And part of the reason is they don't want to be shackled by the quotas that OPEC is putting on. And the UAE feels that they can do far more drilling. They can do far more production of oil. Do those decisions that are being made there, are those impacted by what we're seeing in Iran and particularly this blockade? There's no question. If you guys recall, UAE received twice as many drones and ballistic missiles fired from Iran than any other country, including Iran, over 2,800 in total. The Emirates, they were feeling a little slighted. They were not getting as much help as they wanted from their Muslim brothers. That's why we've seen Israel moving the Iron Dome here. Of course, UAE signed the Abraham Accords, the President Trump in his first term, along with... Bahrain, Morocco, some other countries. But UAE and Israel are growing tighter. UAE and the U.S. are growing tighter. And pulling out of OPEC, this nearly 60-year-old cartel dominated by Saudi Arabia. And not to get in the weeds here, but there's also a bit of a risk between Saudi Arabia and UAE. This is about autonomy. This is about free markets. And certainly something that's being applauded in the White House because UAE can now pump as much oil as they want. Like the Saudis, they have a pipeline that can bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Most of the oil fields are down in Abu Dhabi, but they can move that oil. They're not constrained by the Strait of Hormuz. They can move it to Pajara port on the Gulf of Oman side. Certainly not as much oils they like to be moving. That comes in the form of those tankers that can hold 2 million barrels, but the pipeline can move some oil to market. You know, and you said that Iran has this high pain tolerance. I mean, you know, who's going to blink first? Will they blink first? Will they break first in these negotiations? That's the big question. Yeah. It's not to make light of it, but so it's like the pistons in game six. You know, who's going to hit the big shot? And that's where we are now here in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuzes.

K with 45 points as well. And Orlando is not always a great shooting team. But last night, they were shooting, and they were just left open on that three point. And I think if we could have played a little better defense and stopped some of those threes, it would have been a bigger margin of victory. Yeah, magic shot 45% from the three point. So you take that. Right. You take that. Yes. Meanwhile, the man accused of shooting up the... White House Correspondence Dinner, you know, the new pictures have come out and things that he had with him, ammunition, knives, things that were on his person when he decided to leave his hotel room that he checked into prior to that event starting and go down and open fire. He was, of course, caught 31-year-old Cole Thomas. He is back in federal court today for a detention hearing. New documents have been released. Authorities say that he repeatedly checked media websites that were monitoring the president's schedule. Watch live footage of the motorcade as it was arriving. He sent, again, we knew that he sent. his quote unquote manifesto to family members right before before the attack they also say evidence shows that Alan was in his room roughly 30 minutes before the event taking pictures of himself selfies yeah with all of the stuff in so this is prosecutors are saying that this was weeks of preparation for him. They have a lot of evidence that, you know, to bring even further charges, which I suspect that they will do at a certain point. Also, James Comey gets indicted for this 8647 picture that he posted last year. There was an indictment already on him, but that got tossed. So now there's another indictment brought by the DOJ against James Comey. And now Republicans in Michigan want the DOJ to look into an appearance by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. I believe it was on NBC. Okay. I think it was on Meet the Press. Meet the Press. Okay. And in the background, there was a little chocky and it said 8645. This was back in 2020. Okay. Well, Donald Trump was still in office. And so they want to go back and. Investigate that. Michigan Republicans want the DOJ to look into it. I don't know why you would want to keep going back in time like this. You know, you got to make the... We knew this was a thing then. Yeah. But we got to, you know, you got to make the charges against James Comey legit. I think there's an element of truth to that. I think it's ridiculous. And amongst all the people, amongst all Democrats, really at every position, but certainly at the governor level across the country. Yeah. He and Governor Greta Wimmer have seemed to have found some sort of working relationship. Listen, they've done some things, great things. I mean, Selfridge and some other things have been done because of that relationship. Asian carp they've talked a lot about. Right. Different emergency funding. So there has been, I think.

A working relationship. I don't think they're friends. I don't think they're going to. No. They're not going to hang out. No. They're not going to go yachting together. Maybe cough? I probably not. Okay. But at least they work together, which is different than you can say from a lot of governors around the country. Absolutely. The Michigan Senate has approved a package of bills aimed at restricting how social media companies interact with children. But the proposal is already drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle. The Democratic-led kids over clicks legislation would ban platforms from... serving minors' addictive algorithm-driven feeds unless parents give consent. It would also restrict nighttime and school day notifications and limit chatbot features that simulate companionship or engage children using personal mental health details. Supporters argue tech companies are fueling a mental health crisis among young people, pointing to rising anxiety, depression, and self-esteem issues linked to constant online engagement. The bills passed narrowly. with a 20 to 17 vote and included support from a small number of Republicans, but GOP leaders say the plan doesn't go far enough, arguing for a stricter ban on social media use for kids under 16. Now, the legislation is heading to the Republican-controlled House, where the future of it remains uncertain. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling that limits how states can use race when drawing congressional districts. which narrows the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This is in response to Louisiana's 2024 congressional map. It created a second majority black district. They ruled that it amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. And this now escalates this national redistricting fight that we've seen. Because it's happening everywhere. Pop up all over the place. Started in Texas, went to California. Virginia. I mean, it is basically all over the place. Now, many states have just declined to participate in that. Yeah. But there is everybody's jockeying at this point. And, you know, where we used to do the redistricting every 10 years after the... senses and now everybody's kind of doing it early whenever they feel like it that's different too. It's different. It's completely unprecedented. It is. Yeah, we haven't seen that in, I mean, many years. But you always do it generally after the census because you get the best count of how many people you've lost, how many people you've gained, where you've gained people, where you've lost people. And that's how you create these these district, these seats. Seats, yeah. But yeah, I, it's.

And now there's these reports, well, maybe this isn't going to be as beneficial as Republicans thought. Because they didn't, I don't know that they necessarily thought that other states would be getting involved too. Exactly. They thought Texas was going to be the outlier. And then, yeah. So far, a lot of other states have gotten involved too. 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. You know who controls roughly 73% of the average household spend these days? It's moms, of course, and now media post has published information that underscores and more specifically defines why this is so. and how you can appeal to moms if you want to win their most important influence on consumer spending. By way of context, media post highlights that the modern mom is primarily a millennial woman, most often between the ages of 35 and 44, raising two or more children and living in suburban communities. Further insight informs that moms are balancing work and home life typically, digitally connected and selective about what and who she trusts. and is focused on efficiency, value, and emotional reassurance in her purchases. What this really means is that moms aren't just buyers, their decision engines for the household, and often for the broader network she buys for, including herself, her family, and often for her business as well. How to win them? The most effective way to market to moms is through trusted peer influence, real world validation, and content that supports a longer purchase journey. Data shows that moms rely far more on recommendations from other moms, reviews, and real life experiences than traditional advertising. Key friction points to address in order to win them, 69% of moms struggle with home organization these days. 56% struggle to find time for themselves. And 52% struggle with meal planning. Word of mouth is the single most powerful driver of purchase behavior among moms. 76% rely on recommendations from friends and families. 63% are influenced by in-store sampling. And 62% rely on those trusted online reviews. Where are moms discovering products these days? 78% use Google to search for products. 72% of mothers rely on Amazon reviews, and 81% of moms are active on Facebook being influenced by friends and those they follow. As the media post piece concludes, brands that win will address and solve friction points faced by moms not just sell features. Moms are not buying features. They are buying convenience and ways to gain peace in their world. Brands who earn moms trust have the opportunity to win the loyalty. of today's modern moms and all of the purchasing power that comes with them. I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of Startup Nation.com, and that's today's business beat on the great voice of the Great Lakes, WJR. All right, welcome back, 720 here on a Thursday, which means we get on the couch. Dr. Steve Craig pops in from Craig Consulting Group and Craig Counseling Services. Doc, good to see you. Good morning to you. Good morning, guys.

Funny, we have our own little therapy sessions with you guys. We do. And I don't think anything gets better. Right. Nothing actually gets done. You two. I need to come in about four. There's got to get started early. There you go. That's right. That's right. All right. What do you got dialed up today? Dr. Steve, I'm trying to get a promotion at work, but I feel like I'm never going to get it because I don't have the right pedigree and confidence. My coworker is also in line for the job, and I feel like he's going to get the job even though, by all accounts, he's an empty suit. He looks good, comes from the right neighborhood, went to the right school, and hasn't had to suffer to get here like I did. But he exudes confidence. I didn't come from a family with money, and I had to work during high school just to help our family pay the rent. And I had to work all through college for the same reason, and it took me seven years to graduate because I had to work so much and take care of my family. Now that I'm out in the real world, I can't help being resentful of those who have a silver spoon and have everything handed to them. Even though we both interviewed for the job, I feel like he's going to get it because he exudes confidence even if it's fake. Meanwhile, no matter how hard I try, I'm still damaged goods and I can't escape my past. How do I get over this resentment and how do I get anywhere more in my life with Chris Renwick hanging over me? No. With my past hanging over. What? Is that part of the story?

What he got, Lloyd? Well, you know, I don't know. I think confidence isn't something that you're born with. You've got to practice that confidence. And just because you've, you know, your past, you think you're damaged goods, I think it proves that you can endure and you can still move forward. I think you need to focus on some stuff. Focus on stuff you can control. You can't control this guy. You can't control the fact that he was. More with a silver spoon or whatever like that. And the boss, you can't control the boss either. No, no, absolutely. So, you know, you got to advocate, I think, for your own value. Let your story become your strength, you know, that you can do this, that you can make it. And don't let that weigh you down. You know, because it seems like he's letting that weigh him down. You can't let that weigh you down. So I think you go forward and use. how you came up and what you had to do as strength and not as a weakness. That's to me. All right. I'll be honest. I feel like you're kind of in my algorithm here. Oh, uh-oh. Uh-oh. Are we talking to you? What's up? So I was reading something the other day. And it was something that I'd never come across. And it was something called learned helplessness. Ah, okay. See, we're getting Chris to be real psychologically minded here. I'm having an impact. Well, just so you know, just so you know, when I graduated high school, I went to be a psychologist. I took Psych 101 and said, nope, I'm out of here. True, true story. True story. But learned helplessness is this idea, and again, maybe I'm totally wrong here, but this idea of other, you see other people. doing something that you think you should be able to do. And when they are doing it at a quicker pace or a faster pace and you're not quite there, you start to feel less than. You start to feel like you cannot do it or you're not able to do it. And even when you are put into positions where you both are doing the same thing, there's still that doubt there. It's kind of, I swear to God, I was reading this yesterday. Yesterday. That's what this reminds me of. That you both are up for a promotion, but for whatever reason, you feel like this other person is more. likely to get it over you. So that's... So I think you guys are both dead on today. I think it's great. And it's really, and we can use the term, learn helplessness, self-fulfilling prophecy. If you don't believe in yourself, you exude that. It comes out. And the irony here is that we know tons of these people who were born on third base and walk around after they hit a triple and they haven't done anything. Right. Where the irony is the people who actually... bunted their way to first, figured out how to steal second, grinded their way to third. Those are the people who actually are the good ones. Those are the ones who can solve problems, who you put something in front of them, because they've learned, they've done the work. They've just like you were saying, Lloyd. But the irony is, is those people feel like they're damaged goods because of the path they went on. They don't recognize it as that's what really makes you valuable. They think, ah.

You know, I can't. And look, and this guy, he's all great. So then they give that off. Like, man, it's always been so tough for me. I can't do anything. So they go into an interview, and they're filled with that, that sort of, I'm damaged. Instead of recognizing, and it's called Learn Help, there's other versions of Learned Helplessness, too, instead of realizing, wait a second, if anyone can handle this stuff, I can handle it. I can do it. I'm, I mean. Everyone should get out of my way because I'm the one who can handle everything. And this boss better figure out pretty quickly that, you know, you put a problem in front of me. I solve it. Yeah. And that's what we do in my office is I would tell this person, you don't understand. You don't understand. You don't understand this person. You don't understand that you don't understand that you should want you and you should want you and you have to stop thinking that. Because you came from the mud that the mud's still sticking to you. But is it harder to continue on when you've gone through the mud, when you feel like you've gone through the gauntlet? Exactly. It's exhausting. Yeah. Right. And then you resent the people who just breeze in like nothing's going on. And so I understand how this... scenario fits. It happens because it's like it must be easy for them. But we do have strength. You, you, you, you, by success breeds more strength and more power for you to do more. And this person has so many successes. Yeah. That it is exhausting, but life is exhausting. You, you, you can, you can get up and do it, but it's more exhausting when you think I can't. That's what's more draining is. It's always a problem for me and I always get the bad end of the stick. That's more exhausting than actually realizing that you have it and you did it. Exactly. And you can go through the work. Right. Yeah. Hard physical work is tough, but the mental strain of beating yourself up all the time is way more exhausting. We just have 30 seconds left here. How do you change the confidence mindset then? Oh, wow. You need to make an appointment. Sorry, maybe that's not, I'm saying, maybe that's not a 30-second question. This isn't about you. Exactly. Exactly. Well, it's very interesting. That's kind of what we're doing. It would take time, but it's continuing to realize that confidence comes from understanding who you are and what you can handle, not what anyone else did in life. Like, look at you and who you are and truly understand you. And just from the paragraph here, we can all read this and go, wait, you're somebody. Absolutely. They just don't see that. So we have to get them to see it. Right. Dr. Steve, I don't like being in your algorithm. It creeps me out. It freaked me out. You don't like it. I don't like it. I'm like this dude's watching my searches here. This is crazy. All right, Doc, thank you. We'll talk to you next week. Coming up next, should you want to see golf carts driving around the streets? Hey, man. You see everything else driving around the streets now. Today's three wheelers. Who knows? It's next on Jair morning. You see a lot more golf carts.

milling about these days. At least I do out in my neck of the woods. Do you see that where you live? Not really. Not in Southfield too much. Now I'm sure you probably see it, you know, in the city or a lot of golf, especially Detroit golf course. Yeah. Right there's a proposed bill in Lansing that would allow more cities and towns to permit golf carts on local streets, which all it would really do is expand a law that's been on the books for, what, 12 years or so? Mm-hmm. And it would raise the population cap of eligible communities. So it goes from 30,000 residents where you can make that decision locally. Or it jumps up to 65,000 residents. So bigger communities would be able to opt in if they wanted. And one of the legislators who is championing this bill is Alicia St. Germain and joins us this morning. Representative, it's good to have you. Yeah, thank you. Good morning. What have you heard that you feel like it's necessary to bring this legislation forward now? Well, sometimes in, you know, township, cities, and villages, things change. So to give me an example, in Finkler Shores, the nautical mile, there's, you know, tons of marinas and restaurants. Well, they're having challenges. because of ongoing construction. So it's difficult for those boat owners to get from, say, their marina by car to the restaurant across the street. So this kind of opens it up and allows that city, if they choose to, to allow, you know, go dine at restaurants. I'm going to look at the safety side of this. You know, these carts top out at about 15 miles an hour. Is that safe enough to mix with regular traffic? It really just depends on the location. You know, it's whatever makes sense for that community. And really that's their choice. But, you know, this bill just allows for local control, you know, get Lansing out of the way and let. How do you decide what's best for them and what makes sense. And it doesn't have to, a city or township doesn't have to just open it up to all of their roads. It could be a section of road or an area or even, say, a downtown area where you don't have a lot of traffic by car. So we won't see golf carts driving down Woodward or West Grand Boulevard or anything like that. No, absolutely that. No, they're not allowed on any M roads or highways, of course, you know. And this is, and this legislation doesn't, it doesn't automatically qualify everybody in the state who's got a city or a township or a community less than 65,000 people. It only expands that so more, more communities could opt in if they want it. Yeah, correct. It is not a mandate. Nothing changes unless a city or township or village decides to adopt or commitments. You know, and these carts can run anywhere from, you know, a few thousand to, I see like $30,000. Does this become practical for most people or more of a kind of niche luxury?

I suppose it would just depend on the situation or the city, you know. Where I live, you know, I don't have any M roads. We don't have any roads in Harrison Township. They're all dead end roads. Okay. You know. So in certain areas, it might make sense. Certain areas, it just doesn't fit. Yeah. Interesting. Well, keep us up to date on this. I think there are a lot of people out there that are going to be interested. Alicia St. Germain, thanks so much. We'll talk again soon. Yep. Thank you. Thanks, Representative. You know, and in those communities where she lives and stuff, I could see that. I could see it. I see a lot of them. Yeah. I see. And it's funny, I see more when in my area in southwest Oakland County, it's a lot of, like, driving on the sidewalk. Like, I'll see kids driving these things going to the grocery store. Yeah. To get Starbucks or whatever. You know what I mean? Sure. So they're not on the road. Right. And they're, you know, I would say they're probably 12, 13, something like that. In this case, you would need to be 16 years. You'd have to have a driver's license. Yeah. You know, if you're, if you are driving on the road. Mm-hmm. So that's the option here for counties that want to be involved. I was talking to my wife the other day. Now, you know, I don't like flying. I know that. I just, I mean, there's no better way to travel. You get to where you got to go. Yeah. You get there quick. It's anxiety-induced for me. But you do it. You got to do it. It's fantastic. I was telling her, I said, do you know what I've always wanted to do? I've always wanted to get my pilot's license. Really? I think that would be really cool. Now. And she goes, what are you crazy? I go, no, I just, I, I, I think that would be pretty neat. And she's like, you don't like to fly. Why would you want to get your pilots license? And I said, no, pilots license, helicopter license, something like that. I just think that would be pretty neat. And I think part of it is a control thing for me. Okay. Right? I don't have control. I can't see. I can't, you know, it's, I feel helpless. Helpless, right? But I think the other part of it, too, is I think it's really neat. Now, would I ever do that? I don't think so. I don't think I could actually bring myself to it. Just like I said, I wanted to go skydiving. And when somebody, when my wife bought me a ticket to go skydiving, I never did. Because I'm like, oh, now this is real. It's real. I'm not doing this now. Yeah. So I think that some, and then it got me thinking, what is something that you've always wanted to do? that you haven't done, or you finally did why? What made you, what either blocked you from doing it or let you kind of cross over and do the thing that you always wanted to do? I don't know. I guess I've always wanted, I've always wanted to like maybe write a book or screenplay.

And, you know, every time I sit down and I say, I want to do it, and I don't know, I just get distracted or something, and it just doesn't happen. But it's like, I don't have time. I want to do it, but I just don't have time. You just got to make time. I mean, you just got to make time to do it. Yeah. And so I just haven't done it. And not to say that I won't do someday, but that's something, you know, either write a book or a screenplay. 8008957, 800890-0 WJ. What's something you've always wanted to do, but you haven't? I used to when I was a kid. I liked to draw. I liked the idea of drawing. And I would, like, draw my action figures. I'd put an action figure. I was little. Okay. And I'd start drawing. And then I would, like, draw, like, the head. And I'm like, this feels hard. And I would just walk like, I can't do this. You know what I mean? So it's like there's always these things that are just stopping you from doing something. But I'm almost envious of the people that are just like doing, you just do whatever you. They do it. Whatever you set your mind to. Yeah. And I think more people are probably like us where you're like, boy, I really want to do this thing. And then you just can't, for whatever reason. Like, I'm not going to fly my own plane. Let's be honest. But I love the idea of it. You could. 8008899095. I don't think I can't. 800859-0-957. 800-8-590 WJR. 8 o'clock hour coming up. Lots to talk about. Don't go anywhere. At 8 o'clock hour, good to have you. We're talking free speech at 819 with the instances of what's happening with, say, Jimmy Kimmel, for example, or James Comey. We'll talk about it. Meanwhile, the Pistons get a big win last night. They beat the Magic at home 116 to 109. Cade Cunningham finished with 45 points. And collectively, their field goal percentage was 49% last night. That's the best of the series for the Pistons. It was by far the best game that they played. And yet it still felt like that game was up for grabs, especially later in the game. You know, and it still was a little, you know, disjoint it at times. And, you know, those turnovers, too. We did have some turnovers, and we just can't have that. Luckily, we were able to, you know, shoot better. Cade came alive. You had Tobias who did pretty well. JD came along. Assar Thompson. They, you know, they all really played and did hit specific areas very well. They kept us in front most of the game. But, you know, Orlando would not go away. They would get close. We would pull away a little bit. They would get close. I just think we need to guard a little better on that three-point line as well because they were hitting. Pretty freely had really open shots most of the night. Yeah, what, 17 total turnovers on the night for the Pistons? Again, you can't have that, but they shot much better. They did. Last night. And you mentioned to Sir Thompson, you know, 15 rebounds, six assists. He did have five turnovers, but he had five steals, had a couple of blocks, was active on the offensive board. So, you know, everybody's got a bit of a different role to play. They do. Sir Thompson is not going to score 35 points every game. Absolutely not. That's Cade's responsibility. And it's a responsibility that he says, you know,

it's part of this mentality that they have. Yeah, just never-died mentality. You know, just wanted to have a controlled aggression all night and, yeah, make sure they felt me. I didn't know. I don't want this season to end right now, so I got to put it all on the line. Did well. That's what the big stars do. They carry the team on their backs. Now, look, are you going to blow this team out by 20 points? Probably not. You know, you're going to play these tight games. That's what you get in the playoffs. I don't care if they're an eight-seed or not. They're playing much better than an eight-seat. Yeah. And the talent is better than an eight-seat. Absolutely. So they are, they being the magic. So it's a dog fight. It is an absolute dog fight. And so now they get back at it. Game 6 tomorrow. Can you imagine? 7 o'clock Prime Video. We beat them tomorrow in Orlando and bring that game 7 back to LCA. Yeah. It's all I've imagined all morning. That'll be so crazy. Yeah, it'll be crazy. And for a team to be down 3-1 and come back? Well, they did this against Orlando in what? 2003. 2003, they were down 3-1 to Orlando and came back and won the series. Oh, well, you know. So we have precedent. There's direct precedent. It's in every 20-year tradition. Yeah, you go. Well, if this is the year we bring it out, let's dust it off. Hey, so be it. Some new information on Iran this morning. Iran's supreme leader, Mushtama, hominy, has come out and in a written statement that was read by... regime TV over there. Okay, state TV. Said that it's a much more defiant tone than what we've seen over the last couple of days of even, you know, potentially trying to open the waterway and talking about nuclear down the road. He said that the only place Americans belong is in the Persian Gulf at the bottom of the waters and that a new chapter is being written in the region's history. By God's help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America. one serving the progress, comfort, and prosperity of its people. We and our neighbors across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice. There have no place in it except at the bottom of its waters. He continues to remain strong on their nuclear capabilities. He says that they're going to defend those capabilities. Okay. Which puts us at a stalemate. It really does. Meanwhile, Axios reporting that top commanders in the Trump administration are going to brief the president on new military options.

And this comes as Centcom says that there is a plan being prepared for short and powerful waves of strikes, likely on infrastructure targets, in hope of breaking this logjam of negotiations. Because, you know, something has to happen because we're filling it here, you know, at the pump. I mean, the average now, I believe, gallon is 439 this morning. 430 is the average. And some people are paying, you know, five bucks or better. So. Part of that is what's going on overseas. The other part is the Whiting Refinery in northwest Indiana had a power outage. So that is a portion of that. Plus, you start to change over from different types of fuels. You go from winter to summer fuel. Yeah. So that impacts things as well. But it's all coming together in the perfect storm. It is. I was driving around last night. It was five bucks a gallon. This morning when I stopped to get a little bit of gas. $4.99. Okay. Went down a little bit. Went down a little bit. Okay. I like to see it go down. Yeah. I think we all would. New survey shows parenting stress is nearly universal. And many parents are now worried that their stress is affecting their children's mental health. The Kids Mental Health Foundation found 97% of parents... report feeling some level of stress in the past month with nearly half saying they feel stressed often. Experts say the pressure doesn't just stay with adults. It can shape the emotional tone of the entire household. One Michigan mother says daily life can feel like a constant balancing act with small moments of discipline, sometimes carrying bigger emotional weight than expected. Psychologists say the biggest stress triggers are children's behavior and mental health concerns, and they stress a direct link. Between parent well-being and child well-being, experts recommend simple steps like short breaks taking up and talking with someone or building consistent home routines to reduce anxiety for the whole family. And even imperfect parenting moments, they say, can become teachable ones of parents' motto accountability and repair relationships afterwards. Are you stressed? Uh, no. No, okay. No. I'm just asking, you know, with the kids and stuff, you feel stressed? No, never. One of the 97% of your parents. I'm never stressed about anything. Why would I be stressed about anything? Lloyd, why would you think I'm stressed? I'm not stressed about anything. I'm not stressed. I'm not stressed. I'm not stressed. Why would you say? Okay. No, I mean, of course there's stress. They're stressed with everything. Sure. And especially when you have kids. I mean, I think the world demands a certain level of stress. Because there's attention on them all at all times. It's something that they need it all the time. It's always something. Well, we're in the process of moving. Yeah. And so we've got stuff everywhere in boxes and bins and all kinds of stuff. And we're like trying to tell the kids like, all right. We're putting stuff in here. Once it goes in here, we're putting the lid on it. And that's it. Okay. You won't see it for a few months. Can't go back and pull it out.

My stress level yesterday. Talking to the wall, right? Yeah. My stress level yesterday goes up because I walk over to the pantry, I'm getting something ready for dinner, and then the next thing I know I look over, there's blocks everywhere, everywhere. And I'm like, what happened? And Henry's like, oh, I just want to play with blocks. I'm like, remember. Remember what I said? That once it goes in there, that's it. We're going to put it away for a little while. He's like, I just want to play. I go, did you want to play or did you want to just throw them all over the place? He's like, I just want to throw them all over the place. I'm like, perfect. Yeah, great. Just give me the truth. Awesome. Just tell me. It relieves my anxiety. Just tell me what you really want to do. Whosah. Whosah. Yeah. Exactly right. Coming up on the other side, free speech once again, front and center. Is it under attack? We'll talk about it next on J.R. Moore. So interesting piece. I saw it in the Hill. A Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley says charging former FBI director James Comey would amount to a free speech trap. after a second indictment was secured by the DOJ against him. In a piece that was published by Fox News, James Comey will now likely create a new category of protected Shell speech, he said. The problem with this indictment will be the merits. The indictment concerns an image that was later removed by James Comey showing 8647 in shells on a beach. James Comey has a rather odd history of drawing inspiration from the shells, according to Jonathan Turley. This message, however, had a lethal twist since many interpreted the message as essentially calling for the killing of Trump. James Comey Shell Post may be crass, but charging him is a free speech trap. Is that something that the DOJ now finds themselves in? Jonathan Weinberg is a distinguished professor of law at Wayne State University and joins us this morning. Jonathan, it's good to have you. It's good to be here. Do you agree with Jonathan Turley's assessment here? Well, I will say that I think this indictment is a joke. This indictment has absolutely no legal validity. It's a travesty that is even brought. And I guess there are two reasons for that. First of all, 86 doesn't mean killing. The word is incredibly common in the restaurant industry. Everybody knows what it means. It refers either to cutting somebody off and throwing about at the bar or to... running out of a particular item and having to remove it from the venue. No one thinks it means killing somebody. And moreover, even if it did, even if it did, it would still not be a crime, there were very limited circumstances in which talking about killing somebody is actually a violation of the law. One of them, which is the theory the government's using here, is if it's a threat, meaning that is the person actually stating his own concrete intention to commit the crime. If commies were saying, I am going to go to Washington today and kill Washington today and kill the president, that would be an illegal threat. You could be prosecuted for that. But this isn't that. And the other is that in very limited circumstances.

If you're trying to get someone else to commit a crime and the circumstances are such that you're telling them to commit the crime makes it likely in the immediate term that you're doing it. Say you're standing in front of a mob and digging them on. And all it takes is that one statement to push them over the line and cause them to commit the crime. Then in those circumstances, too, that can be illegal. But this plainly isn't that either. This is a picture of seashells posted to social media. So there's no basis for this, you know, just whatsoever. And when public figures like James Comey or Jimmy Kimmel say something controversial, why does this spark debate about free speech even if the government isn't directly involved? Well, it's sparking debate about speech when Kimmel makes a joke about the president or when, you know, James Comey posts this because the president is incredibly thin-skinned and the vote, he orders his underlings to try and find ways to punish Kimmel or James Comey. But, you know, all of this is protected speech. You know, the history of making jokes about the president. is a really long and valuable one in this country. There's no basis in American tradition for punishing people when they joke about the president. Completely the opposite's true. I mean, I think we all understand what James Comey was trying to do. Now, whether or not he was saying that somebody should kill the president is a completely different story. And to your point, that isn't necessarily a crime. But when it comes to free speech and threats or some of the political violence that we've seen, do you think all of that plays a role? From a legal perspective. Well, from a legal perspective. The law prohibits threats because if James Comey had said, I'm going to go to Washington and kill the president, that would number one, have created the sort that would cause the FBI to, and the Secret Service to roll out, that would consume resources. So, of course, that's prohibited. But, you know, long ago, the Supreme Court. you know, raise the issue, you know, or address the issue, you know, back in the 60s, say, when we have a lot of political violence, you know, do we stop people from saying controversial things just because, you know, some not job out there, you know, might be on the margin slightly inspired to engage in political violence. And what the court said then is that, well, we can't have a system of free speech. if we can shut down people from saying controversial things just because there's a climate of political violence. Yeah. No, it's an interesting topic. Jonathan Weinberg at Wayne State. Thank you so much for your time and insight this morning. Appreciate it. Oh, it's great to be here. Yeah, yeah. Thank you. But the conversation continues. Yeah. And, I mean, I tend to be a free speech absolutist. Now, I don't like what this was. No. Because, again, I don't think he's saying somebody should kill Donald Trump.

But it's inflammatory. Not the first time somebody has said anything inflammatory. Yeah. Donald Trump has said lots of inflammatory things. Yes, yes. Lots and lots. And so have other lawmakers. And so have members of the media. And so have, you know, the Jimmy Kimmel's of the world. Yeah. It's all ridiculous. Doesn't mean you can't say it. Jimmy Kimmel has every right to tell jokes. I don't think it helps. And when... I think the hypocrisy comes in is everybody says, well, we got to do something about this. Well, then do something about it. Everybody across the board needs to do something about it from the president on down. And I think more attention is paid to some of these things because of, you know, where we are in this country now. You know, something happens. And then a comedian says something that was like, oh, see, you know, he said that. He shouldn't have said that because this just happened. And you shouldn't say that. And I think. And when I say that, I'm talking about the Jimmy Kimmel thing. Jimmy Kimball said this last Thursday before the shooting happened, you know. Yeah, in retrospect, you go out. Nobody, nobody heard, nobody said anything about it. But as soon as the shooting happened, then it's like, oh. Jimmy said that. He shouldn't have said that, you know, the whole James Comey deal with, you know, the last indictment being thrown out and everything. So now we're going to go back and get this because he said, you know, he had the seashells 86-47. That's a threat to the president. So we got to get him on that because we couldn't get him on the last one. You know, and I just think it depends on where we are at any certain time is when we decide we want to prosecute or do some investigation. Like they're doing that the Michigan GOP is doing with the governor. But that whole 8645 thing that they're doing. Mm-hmm. From 2020. From 2020. 800-859-0957, 800-8-5-9-0-WJR. It's there for you. I think, yeah, I don't have a problem with people saying what they want to say, posting what they want to post. If it doesn't break the law, I don't care. Yeah. But I don't know that then you're able to say, well, you know, we need to stop political violence. Not that they're directly correlated. But it's like. Building my kids Legos. When I get a box of Legos, it's just a bunch of pieces. Right. It's just a bunch of nasty things being said. But then you put it together and you're like, well, look, it's Mario's head. Right? So that's the culmination of it. Yes. It just builds and builds and builds. Love free speech. Free speech absolutist. And you're not going to like everything? But at some point, everybody needs to be on board. Yeah. and cool down the temperature. And I don't know that we've done that. I also don't think it's very important or shouldn't be a priority to go after people you don't like a la James Comey. I think that certainly doesn't serve your agenda. I don't think it serves the people. And it's not going to help you come midterm time. Oh, yeah, no. Absolutely not. More coming up next on J.R. Morning.

So it was a big visit for the United States, for the administration. Judging by the response from Congress at the joint address, I think everybody seemed to enjoy Charles III here in the United States. It was good to see them kind of interact with each other and laugh and smile and clap all together for once. Donald Trump at the dinner the other night said, you know, it was a great speech. I haven't been able to get Democrats to stand up. So well done, Charles III. It was, I don't know, it was, it was, it was felt like a little bit of a reprieve. It did. From everything that is going on in this country. Yes. And Jonathan Savage, our Fox News reporter and W.J.R. correspondent joins us to talk about it. Jonathan, good morning. It was very well received here. Went to New York as well on this trip. How was it being received in the UK? I think with some relief and with some satisfaction as well. Relief because before Charles III went to the United States, there was concern about the breakdown in relations between the two governments, between the leaders at a political level and the differences of opinion over Iran, over Ukraine, over British policy. Also concerned because Charles III has not had a great year for publicity, a lot of questions over his brothers. a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a lot of questions over his relationship with his son, Prince Harry. But this was a break from all this. It was a very carefully planned and orchestrated event that focused on the positive, that focused on the relations between the two countries, the long history of friendship, and it dared to look into the future with Charles III emphasizing the importance of a transatlantic alliance. And, you know, with disagreements over Iran and NATO and leadership friction, you know, between Trump and Keir Starmer, I mean, does the royal family still function as a stabilizing bridge or is it like the role more symbolic than real now? I think that what this visit will do is it will give evidence to those who say that the British royal family has a really important role to play in the 21st century. It was a far more political visit than we had anticipated, actually, if you look at his speech to Congress, and a far more political visit than I think. any other state visit has been for some time. You could not have imagined Queen Elizabeth giving the kind of speech to lawmakers where he discussed the essential nature of NATO, the support for Ukraine, the dangers of isolationism. It was longer than Queen Elizabeth's speech back in 1991 by a fair distance. So I think for all these reasons, this could set the template. for the future of the British monarchy when it comes to its diplomatic role. Do you think this actually changed the course of this relationship?

I don't think it's going to change the course in the short term. I think it provides a short term reprieve. But so long as you have a president in Washington, D.C., and a prime minister in Downing Street, who have such differing opinions on the way that things should go in the world in a number of levels and who are unwilling to sort of publicly push these differences aside to make nice, it's going to be hard for a two, three-day visit from the king. for all its pomp and circumstance, for all its good wishes to change that. I think what this is focused on was the longer-term outlook. Charles III gave this address to the entirety of Congress. It was meant to be a unifying speech. He was addressing the entire political spectrum, but also addressing the entire American people, reminding them of, in his view, the importance of alliances. Yeah, because I think at one point the president said, you know, if Charles were making those decisions, I think he would have come to Iran to help us, which felt like a shot at Keir Starmer. But again, I think that's the long-term play here of everything. Well, yeah, I shot at Keir Starmer, and I don't think one that will have gone in very well in Buckingham Palace, to be honest with you. Now, they may have expected something along these lines, but it's important protocol not to reveal the... subject of your private conversations with the king. It's considered a breach of trust in some ways. And I think that the king would be very careful with what he said to President Trump, knowing that President Trump is someone who does have private conversations and then they'd like to go on truth social and tell the world what was said. Yeah. How important do you think, you know, soft power in a visit like this is? I mean, you get the queen highlighting literature at a New York public library offering a... and gifting a Winnie to poo figure. You got the king feeding chickens in Harlem. I mean, are these carefully chosen stops meant to kind of reshape the perception of Britain and America right now? I think that is part of it. I think that it's important to the United Kingdom, that we have good relations with the United States for not just the political reasons, not just for security, but also for economic ties and relationships. Do our businesses want to do business with each other? Do our people want to visit each other and spend our pounds and dollars? on the opposite shores and spread tourist wealth that way. There's a big drop-off in British people traveling to America at the moment, and perhaps this visit will help. British people feel more comfortable and confident going to the United States and vice versa. Jonathan Savage, always appreciate your insight. Thanks so much for the time this morning. We'll talk soon. Thanks. Have a great day. Yeah, you do the same. I mean, you know, when I saw the king in Harlem, man, I'm like, the king is the king. It's in Harlem. The king. The king in Harlem. Right. You know, it's a lot of, you hear a lot of things about the king of New York and the king of this, but the real king. I mean, I think everything that they do is choreographed. Sure. It is planned out. It is thought over diligently. And there's a reason for all of it.

for everything that they do. Meanwhile, this $474 million rate increase is to be considered by the Michigan Public Service Commission, right? And Attorney General Dana Nessel is stepping in, and she says she's going to push back against this. DTE says if this rate gets approved and that data center in Saline Township gets approved, that they're going to put a moratorium on these asks for two years. Okay. But Dana Nessel just feels like this is corporate greed. This is continuing to, you know, gouge Michigan residents and that she's going to push back against it. Didn't they just get one? An increase? Borderline every year. Yeah. They asked for a rate increase. Yeah. Yeah. So it's not uncommon. No. That this happens. No. Okay. Well, I know that Dana Nessel is going to be all in this. And, you know, I know DTE's argument, you know, you've got infrastructure, reliability costs. They're trying to make sure that we don't have these power outages for long times once we have these big storms and things. They're doing some things. So we'll see. Dana Nessel says my office will scrutinize. their every rate hike and data center proposal as thoroughly as we always do and testify in support of protecting Michigan ratepayers. I expect the Michigan Public Service Commission to conduct their duties thoroughly and a transparent process. All eyes. Continuing to push back against it. But that's a big rate increase for people. 474. 474. Yeah. So it's a substantial amount. I think we said, what, nine bucks a month for the average? For the average? rate payer. So, yeah, pretty interesting. All right, that's going to do it for us. Have yourself a wonderful Thursday. We will see you tomorrow. Same time, same place. In the meantime, Kevin Eaton Altuck coming your way next here on WJRC. See you.