Handel on the News

When Democrats are messing up, I say it. When Republicans are messing up, I say it. I'm S.E. Cup, a journalist and political commentator. And on my podcast, off the cup, I help you make sense of the often nonsensical news. I do this on cable news, too, but on my podcast, I can really let loose and be my honest, unfiltered self. I just want to talk about something that happened this week because it's so bonkers. So stupid. Such. incredibly bad politics. We have to talk about it. Come for the hot takes, stay for the sanity. Listen to Off the Cup on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fair warning. Bring home one Minky Couture blanket and suddenly everyone in the house will claim it as theirs. That's the Minky Couture difference. 17 years ago, Minky Couture created the original luxury Minky blanket. And ever since, we've been bringing comfort, connection, and softness to families everywhere. Crafted with premium quality and thoughtfully designed styles, our blankets are made for real-life cozy moments, from movie nights and afternoon naps to slow mornings at home. Shop now at minky couture.com. That's m-I-N-K-Y-C-O-U-R-E dot com and discover why Minky quickly becomes everyone's favorite blanket. You're listening to Bill Handel, on demand from KFI AM 640.

Isn't it like more rational to think I'm going to get hit by lightning than the thing that I'm going to get the haunt of virus? Yeah, pretty low. Unless you were on that ship. Personally, I think a bigger deal is being made of this than should be. Oh, sorry. That was perfect timing. That was speaking of a virus. That's a promo. That's a promo. And now, Handel on the news. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Bill Handel. And good morning, everybody. Handel morning crew, Hump Day, Wednesday, May 13th, as we plugged around along. Okay, it looks like the A-Team is here. Kono, good morning. I do start off the A team, don't I? I know. Thank you, no, you don't. I just, I go around. See, the way it works on the monitor is I'm going around clockwise. That's all. Are you sure it's not the best to least best? Yeah, I'm sure. I'm the best. Will, good morning. Good morning. All right, there you are. And Amy, there you are. I'm here. I'm here. Yeah, you are. Ann? Here I am. Oh, yeah, you sound excited. Neil. Morning, Neil. Hi there. Okay. A couple of things I want to talk about. First of all, the president is in China. And so we'll talk a lot about what's going on with him in China probably over the next couple of days. China. Yeah. And I think you're going to find that what he wants and what he is going to get are two very different things. I've got a bunch of things to say about that. Personally, I think he is out of his league when it comes to President Xi Jinping. It's that simple. The Chinese are very much the long game. President Xi Jinping is, he thinks things out very carefully. There is nothing immediate about what he does. And our president is shoot from the hip. We'll change his mind from 8 o'clock in the morning until noon. He goes another way. Same day will change everything. And it's my opinion, a lot of people defend him saying, oh, he keeps people on the defensive. I don't think she gives it down. I think he's just go plottingly, methodically to where he wants to go. That's what I think is going to happen. Okay. So with that being said, oh, also, Amy, this was for you. The story about that guy who jumped the fence and was on the tarmac at Denver who got hit. Who got sucked in. And they don't say that. They do not say he got sucked in. They just say... Apparently it was pretty gruesome, though. I understand. No, no, there's no question that he disappeared instantly as soon as the engine came in contact with him. And there was a photo of the engine. It looked like a mess in there. But they have not said that he did commit suicide, which is obvious, but they don't say he was sucked into the engine.

I find that fairly interesting, just run over. That's weird. Don't you think that they keep on leaving that out? That it's been sanitized? Yeah. There's apparently, and I have not seen it because I choose not to see this, but I've also heard that there is video. You know, because sometimes. Of course there is. Of course there's all kinds of video. Yeah, that's from a passenger who was filming the landing and look at it. There he is. Yeah, so a couple things. Obviously, the authorities are saying do not jump the fence at airports, and I wouldn't order hamburger anytime soon on Frontier Airlines. Oh. Okay. Are you guys ready to do it? Do you think Trump is going to order airplanes along the fences at the border now? Yeah, wouldn't that be something? No, just vacuum clean cleaners, big ones, industrial ones. Wow. Okay, let's do it, guys. It's time for Handel on the news on this Wednesday morning, May 13th. Handle on the news with Neil, Amy, and me lead story. And not particularly good for Americans and the administration that inflation has, well, it's hit us, and we knew that it was going to. First time in three years, wages are no longer outpacing inflation. Right now, the annualized rate is 3.8% per year. And a lot of reasons for it. The strikes, the war in Iran, you also have just in general the... Cost of housing. It's just, it's a mess. And it's going to get worse, by the way. The longer the war goes on, more importantly, the longer the blockades go on, the Strait of Hormuz being closed down. And as a result of that, the ports in Iran being shut down by the U.S. military. But I think it doesn't bode well for the Republicans, although Republicans are doing great in terms of that redistricting stuff. Man, they're scoring big time. is that the administration came into power on the premise that prices were going to be lowered. And it's going the other way. And you're going to see the president staying away from that. He's going to be pulling back, which you just did. As a matter of fact, that's our second story. Amy? The president's not thinking about the people. President Trump told reporters he's not weighing the economic burden of the Iran war on everyday Americans. He said when asked a question about it, he said the only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran is they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. Yeah, now he's going to be hit big time for that. I'm not going to nail him for that. He is there to negotiate the issue of the war. That's what he's there to do. He has said the premise of this, even though there are going to be some trade talks in Taiwan and asking China to put pressure on Iran because China buys virtually all of Iranian oil.

these hearings are. They used to be, yes, senator, yes, congressperson or congressman, and they were differential. People used to be deferential in these hearings. Now it's a fist fight that happens between the Republican. This was, and Chris Van Hollen is a Democrat. So we'll see. Well, that's part of the committee. I didn't see video. Did he look shaken or sturt? No, he looked pissed. Now, he was, no, he wasn't shaking. No, he did. Shaken or stirred. Oh, got it. Oh, got it. Oh, right. Yeah, no, I missed it. I missed it. I missed it. Fair enough. Who's leaking? The Justice Department issued subpoenas to the Wall Street Journal. Looking for information related to its coverage of the conflict in Iran. The paper reported in a story. That legal requests were dated March 4th related to a February 23rd article that was published before the war started describing internal Pentagon concerns about an extended military action in Iran. The acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said prosecuting leakers who share our nation's secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security in the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration. I don't know. Are people tired of this yet? Where anybody who does, says anything against the administration goes is an immediate target of an investigation and arrest. It's being fired. As I've said many times before, I don't blame the president for this. He is who he is, and he was legitimately elected. It's the Republicans in Congress who back him up, and it doesn't matter what he says or does. It doesn't matter. If he were to put in front of the White House a 40-foot statue of himself, which, by the way, there already is one going up, then all the Republicans would vote absolutely yes. They would. It's insanity. I just, I don't understand it. I really don't understand how this is going. Okay, now let's talk about a legitimate, what I think is a legitimate arrest. Operation Volcano was what this thing was dubbed. This took place in Riverside County and their child exploitation team targeting individuals suspected of sharing illicit materials online dealing with children. This dealt with abuse, child porn. All these different things. The thing is, it would be much easier if everyone just looked like a monster that was a monster, but they found a child psychologist, a doctor during this massive suite that were involved in this, retired law enforcement employee, two corporate vice presidents, a U.S. Postal Service worker, all tied in with this of 500 suspects.

being identified 42 arrests. This deals with stings on the dark web and a year long from March to March investigation. I'm going to give Lindsay a plug here. She has a podcast called The Pain Game Podcast. And two weeks ago, she released an episode called Pimps and Pastors about a pastor who became an FBI agent. And it is, and it's about this topic. It's about people who are involved in these sex rings. And it is so scary and so disturbing and so depressing as to how many people are involved. And he became an FBI agent, right? Her guest? Yes. And ended up, yeah, I, I, yeah. It's worth listening to because, first of all, it's a great episode. And second of all, it's, I just was shaking my head yesterday. I listened to it. And, you know, it not very much affects me, as you probably know. I mean, you have to go to a long, long way to affect me. But, man, you know, so if you want to take a listen to something along these lines, pimps and pastors is the name of the episode, the Pain Game podcast. Okay, legitimate plug, by the way, that was not gratuitous. No, now. Now let's do some gratuitous plugging, okay? No. Let's move on. This was no accident. Bill mentioned this a minute ago. The guy who jumped a fence at an airport at Denver International and crossed a runway in front of a frontier airlines jet that was trying to take off died by suicide, according to the medical examiner. Chief medical examiner, Dr. Sterling McLaren said a post-mortem examination of the 41-year-old man revealed the manner of death was suicide. The guy's injuries were caused by the plane's engine. They didn't say it was sucked into it. Post-morto. It catches on fire. Smoke is in the cabin. If he was just run over, he would have just been run over. What are you, as a medical examiner, what are you examining after that incident that tells you it was a suicide? Well, I don't think he left a suicide note, but he was just saying it's like what while he hopped the fence. I mean, are you examining, it's not from the body that tells you that. No, no, the body is a body at that point. Yeah, well, no, there's a body. It's just, it's very hard to put together again. It's, oh, how's that for a puzzle, you know, that you buy one of those puzzles trying to put together someone. Ooh. Okay. Anyway, you're right. All they can do is surmise that it was a suicide, jumping the fence, running out to the, to the, to the tarmac on the runway in front of a jet. Okay. And I think he was facing the jet, if I'm not mistaken, the airplane. Well, it was weird watching the video because after he scaled the fence, he was just sort of strolling. He wasn't running. He was just walking toward the runway.

Uh, looked very nonchalant, at least leading up to it. So reminds me of that fight in Indiana Jay Jones, like a big bald guy gets taken out by the propellers. Oh, and Raiders at the last arc? Yeah. Yeah. That was okay. No, it was very good. Oh, fingers crossed here. I love the Cinerama Dome. If you've been in L.A. for any amount of time, you know this wonderful theater originally or last overseen by Arklight and just fantastic. While the city had a hearing this week and they were looking for to continue their on-site alcohol sales, you have to renew that license and the like. And this gave the public a chance to air their opinions about the possible reopening of the Cinerama Dome and Arklight Hollywood there just Tuesday. And people like me and Amy, I'm sure, have crossed our fingers since 2020 in March. With the onset of COVID-19, the pandemic shut it down in April of 2021. And it's not been open since, but it was the premiere theater. Oh, magic place. A couple things about it. How the West was one, a really neat film opened up, and I saw it there as a kid, and I still remember it. It's cinnorama, which means it's basically 180 degrees, the screen, but they used, it was three projectors that they used. And it was, and the film was 70 millimeters, twice as big as a 35 millimeter film. And you'd watch it, but you could see, you know, the seam. The periphery and everything. Yeah, you could see it. And the Cinerama Dome, at least there was an event a few years ago that I went to, they have the last 70-millimeter Cinerama projection system on Earth. And it's still working where it was a few years ago where I saw how the West was won. And it was a special event. And the projectionist who was involved with this and he was part of refurbishing it. We all went up to the projection booth and he explained how the projectors worked. And it was just one of the most magical events of certainly cinematic events that I've ever been to. So I hope they bring it back. And then the old Cinerama, that was the first widescreen and IMAX, if you look at it. That was basically yet. Of course, they didn't have the technology they do today. So it's fun to see the three, basically three screens. that are put together. And they have to, oh, it's great. I hope they do it. And if you ever chance, I don't know if they're ever going to show Cinerama because the projectors are there. They use other projectors too, but that was neat. I hope they go for it, truly. Business isn't booming just yet.

The promised economic boom for the World Cup is not meeting expectations, at least not for hotel owners. Room bookings have been lighter than expected in most of the 11 cities that are hosting World Cup events. A majority of hotel owners say bookings are actually running behind, typical season demand. In Los Angeles, demand apparently is pretty flat so far compared to a regular spring and summer. But... They're not filled to the rafters just yet. So does that mean nobody's coming? No, no, it does. But it's way different than the anticipated. And I'll do a story coming up at 8 o'clock on what the hotel owners are dealing with, what the host cities are dealing with. And the real winners here is FIFA. That's it. Is it FIFA or FIFA? FIFA. FIFA. FIFA. FIFA. Fife. Fum. Fem. Fem. Motherblood of an Englishman. Yeah. I think I have to look at this and go, who do I want listening in on my calls? China or Trump? Trump mobile phones are being shipped this week. The company exclusively confirmed a USA today in an email a couple days ago. Trump Organization launched Trump Mobile. It's a new cellular service and smartphone company. And on June 16th, the company's first smartphone, the T1 phone, was originally supposed to be released back in August. It is going to be delayed, I think, until October. Now, what is the T1? What does the T stand for? I think it's totally mobile. Okay. Yeah. Can you imagine any other president doing this stuff? No. It's impossible for any other president ever to do the stuff that's going on. I mean, the last one is probably Lincoln with those cars. No, the last one was Lincoln when they came out with a $5 bill that he came out with. And originally, yeah, so, yes. All over everything. Yeah, it's, yeah, go figure. Honest, honest, Abes. Yes. Yeah. Unintended consequences. A union funded attack ad against Spencer Pratt, who's running for mayor of L.A. may actually get him into the top two. It's a 30-second spot listing criticisms against Pratt, but seems kind of like a roster of his selling points. He wants to add more police officers, rein in the power of public employee unions, and spend less money on new housing for the homeless. The LA County Federation of Labor, which is backing Bass, spent $221,000 in connection with the ad. The Labor Federation denounced Pratt, but didn't respond when asked if the new ad was tried, was aimed at boosting his appeal to Republicans in the race. Okay. So maybe there is a conspiracy. I think it's all a conspiracy. I think it's a conspiracy from beginning to end. Have you seen any of Pratt's ads? Oh my gosh. His internet ads?

No. Oh, I'm so happy that Pratt's in. When I step in poop, I know it's not human. Things like that. They're really interesting. If he, let me ask you. If he fails and falls short, is it a Pratt fall? Oh. Okay. That was pretty well done. Thank you. All right. Former private prison official to serve as acting ice chief. So what is David Venturella? Venturea? Yeah, that sounds right. Venturella. Yeah. Is he Italian or Hispanic? Is expected to be the next acting director of the Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency. This comes from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. And... You know, his law enforcement background is basically private prison official. Yeah, no, he has the credentials. But the part that a lot of people have trouble with as I do is he worked for the government in the world of prisons. Then he goes and works for the largest private prison company in the United States. Then he comes back to ICE. It's the old revolving door. argument uh yeah he previously worked for ice during the obama and george w bush administration not all it's cracked up to be oh the windshield on a southwest airline's flight cracked forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in oklahoma the plane took off from albuquerque it was headed to baltimore washington uh It took off Monday afternoon. Someone said, hmm, there's a crack in that windshield. So they diverted to Tulsa International Airport and landed safely. The FAA says the windshield is comprised of multiple layers of tempered glass. Those are pretty strong windshields. I mean, they're several inches thick. So that's not a huge, huge issue. Okay, let's do one more and then we'll bail out of here. Safe light, replace, safe light, repair. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. That was the one I was looking for. I was like, what's that windshield replacement? The guy's on the front while it's flying. We can go anywhere. We'll come to you. Okay, Russian cargo ship, but likely carrying two nuclear reactors for some Marines, possibly destined for North Korea, suffered a series of explosions and sank. They don't have any...

Exploration for these circumstances. About 60 miles off the coast of Spain. And that's about what we know. Yeah, I'll tell you what we know. They're carrying a couple, even the captain said, a couple of components for nuclear reactors, probably for submarines. And all of a sudden, okay, it disappears. And then another ship shows up. Oh, okay, it disappears too. So go figure. All right. It sounds like a movie. Doesn't it? Yeah. It sure does. All right. Let's get out of here. We're done with the first hour coming up. Inflation. First time in three years, wages are no longer outpacing inflation. Inflation is here and it's coming with a vengeance. And I'll share that with you when we return. This is KFI AM 640. Most stimulating talk radio. I know, you weren't ready for that, Cono. Smooth. Smooth. Okay. You've been listening to the Bill Handler Show, catch my show Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and anytime on demand. On the Iheart radio app. Remember, always be generous with the nutmeg. Just eyeball it. Okay. Mom's wisdom has served you well, but now it may be your turn to guide her. Hey, I'm worried about mom. She keeps forgetting her famous sweet potato pie recipe. Some things come with age, sis. And some don't. Knowing the early signs of Alzheimer's and a loved one will help you make the best decisions for your family. Visit 10Signs.org to learn the signs. Brought to you by the Alzheimer's Association and the Ad Council. I'm Jake Brennan, and on my podcast, Hollywoodland, I revisit some of the biggest stories from Hollywood history, separating the myths people want to believe from the reality underneath them. Like how the story of Marilyn Monroe isn't just the story of a Hollywood icon. Marilyn Monroe has become so iconic that her death can only be explained through conspiracy theories. And for some fans who can't let go, these stories have metastasized from conjecture to accepted fact. So on August 4, 1962, Marilyn Monroe died. Then the rumors started, and she died again. And now, we're going to set the record straight and learn about the way Marilyn Monroe actually died. The Third Way. Learn more about what happens when fame, media obsession, and conspiracy collide. Listen to Hollywoodland on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We've all been there. We've had seasons that have shaken everything. The question is, what remains when the shaking stops? Hi, I'm Gary Valenciano. And on my podcast, Unshaken with Gary V? I sit down with amazing personalities and we talk about the seasons that nearly broke them, the lows that carried them to their highs. Listen to Unshaken with Gary V on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My loyalties lie with no party, only with what I think is good and right and fair. So when Democrats are messing up, I say it. When Republicans are messing up, I say it.

I'm S.E. Cup, a journalist and political commentator, and on my podcast, Off the Cup, I help you make sense of the often nonsensical news. I do this on cable news, too, but on my podcast, I can really let loose and be my honest, unfiltered self. Sometimes I still can't believe we keep electing men to run the country. Yeah, here we are. Each week, you'll get my hot takes on the news and insider knowledge and insights from my smart friends and colleagues. I think our politics has shifted away from left versus right. The new paradigm that drives our politics is front versus back. People who feel like they're stuck at the back of the line versus everyone they see in front of them, keeping them at the back of the line. Come, find some sanity in the weekly news. Listen to Off the Cup on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When Democrats are messing up, I say it. When Republicans are messing up, I say it. I'm S.E. Cup, a journalist and political commentator. And on my podcast, Off the Cup, I help you make sense of the often nonsensical news. I do this on cable news, too, but on my podcast, I can really let loose and be my honest, unfiltered self. I just want to talk about something that happened this week because it's so bonkers. So stupid. Such. incredibly bad politics. We have to talk about it. Come for the hot takes, stay for the sanity. Listen to Off the Cup on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.