Alabama's Morning News for Friday August 7th, 2026

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Love the, what I call the big, the four D's. Dylan, the Doors, the Dead. I'm missing one, but anyway. And I was into classic rock at a very young age. But for me, the questions surrounding these legendary musicians were almost as important to me as the music itself. You know, why did all of these... great musicians like Brian Jay Jones and Jimmy Hendricks, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Peter Hamm from Badfinger. Why did they all check out at the age of 27? There must be more to this story. And that eventually led me to a podcast in 2018 called The Rock and Roll Twilight Zone. And I produced 40 episodes of asking these big questions, suspicious deaths, like... Kurt Cobain, who was also 27, Elvis Presley. Well, it's amazing how many have died at the age of 27. When I think about these artists, I wouldn't have said, what are they having common? Not that they died at 27. Some of them seem younger than that. Some seem older than that. Isn't that crazy? It is. And the list. I mean, we're familiar with Brian Jay Jones, Jimmy Hendricks, Janice, Joplin, Jim Morris, and now more recently, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse. But the list, J.T. is... is long, long, long, it's as long as my leg. You know, add to that list, Ron Pigpen McCurnan, who was a founding member of Grateful Dead, died at 27. Peter Hamm, I mentioned, from Badfinger, 27. Alan Wilson, that great voice from the band Can't Heat that some of us remember from Woodstock. 27. Kristen Papp, the bassist for Whole, that's Courtney Love, Kurt's widow, her band, accidental overdose. age 27. Incredible. So when all your research and you're looking at any of these artists, I mean, what do you think it is about 27? Unlike most people, rock stars, they become famous extraordinarily young. And, you know, by 27, they've experienced almost a decade, maybe more, relentless touring, wealth, celebrity. creative pressure, constant public scrutiny. They've gone from playing bars to headlining stadiums before most of us have even started a career. And also the same traits that produce great artists, emotional intensity, sensitivity, obsession, a willingness to push boundaries can also make them vulnerable to things like addiction, depression, anxiety, self-destructive behavior. Add to that deadly cocktail, easy access to drugs and alcohol, money, and hangers on in an entourage that rarely say no to them. And so the risks multiply dramatically. And by their late 20s, let's say the bill comes due, years of excess, begin taking a physical, psychological toll, the pressure to create another masterpiece, live up to impossible expectations, maintain a public image. It can become crushing. And many artists.

also face what psychologists call a quarter life crisis, and they're asking themselves profound questions, you know, about their identity and their purpose, just as their career is peaking. You've certainly done a lot of research and a lot of study on this, and you've been all about this for quite some time, but it is amazing how many artists have died at age 27. And I think you're right, at that point in their lives, they've been through a lot, and it added it up, and boom. Your body can only take so much. Richard Serrett, thank you so much. Interesting conversation. I really appreciate you. My pleasure, J.T. anytime. The Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. on this Friday morning, August 7th. Here we go. I'm so glad you're with us. John Decker joins us now. Our White House correspondent, catch up with the president and what he's been up to. John, welcome in. Thanks for being here. Paul, thanks a lot. Thanks for having me on today, J.T. Yes, it's Friday, but, you know, for the president, it's been a very busy week, you know, focusing on all kinds of issues related to the war in Iran and signing a very consequential executive order yesterday as well in the Oval Office. Yeah, let's talk about then. Then I want to get your thoughts on what's happening with the Attorney General's... Confirmation, if you will, Todd Blanche, but first yesterday, round two, I guess. The Supreme Court shut him down before on the birthright citizenship executive order. So what's different this time with the redo? Well, the focus is on a specific type of individual that comes to the U.S., not to obtain citizenship for themselves, but to obtain citizenship for their newborn child. That's individuals who come here solely to give birth and allow their newborn to obtain U.S. citizenship. There already is a law on the books that focuses on that very thing, and it's illegal to do... what I just described. This executive order will focus on greater enforcement to make that instance that we're just describing one of those instances that is few and far between. So that was really the focus of the president's executive order that he signed yesterday in the Oval Office. I was there when the president signed it asked the president a few questions in regards to that. And the president believes that this executive order, if it's challenged in the federal courts, will pass constitutional muster. Well, I got to tell you, John, great job yesterday. You had, what, five or six questions with the president. He clearly likes the job you do, and we're proud and honored to have you with us every morning to go over with us. You do a great job with that. So let's talk about what's going on with Todd Blanche. Now a lot of discussion about him, a lot of pushback. First, it was Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, and now they've come on board. Now Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins are saying, forget it. We're not doing this. So are we to standstill again? Well, it's up to one senator. You know, yesterday in the Oval Office, I asked the president if he's lobbying those undecided Republicans, and he said he was. And then I mentioned two senators in particular, two senators who, when I asked these questions, they were still undecided. One that you just mentioned, Senator Lisa Murkowski, the other, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. Now, Lisa Murkowski this morning.

says she is a no vote. So now the future in terms of whether or not Todd Blanche will be confirmed as the next Attorney General comes down literally to one U.S. Senator. It's Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. He's the senator that Donald Trump did not endorse in his Republican primary. And as a result, he essentially ended the career, a political career of Bill Cassidy. So it's going to be really interesting to see what he decides to do on the Senate floor when that vote comes up today. Wow, that is a tough spot to be in, you know, for Todd Blanche. I wanted to get your thoughts as an attorney, kind of separate ourselves from the politics of this. Is there a conflict of interest with him being the attorney general in that he was the president's personal attorney? And, you know, the look might be, well, you know, can he really make a good judgment call unbiased? Oh, not at all. I mean, I could go through a list of all types of attorney generals, Republican and Democrat, who've had a relationship in some way with the president who ultimately nominated them to be the attorney general. You know, you go all the way back to Ed Meese. who worked for Ronald Reagan, you know, this is common. So, no, it's not a conflict of interest at all. However, you know, when you're the attorney general, you do have to look out for the best interests of the United States. That is your client, not necessarily the president of the United States. And just like the Supreme Court, you've got to stay kind of in your lane there and not be influenced by the politics. And hopefully, if this, in fact, does come down, he can do a good job on that. All right, John Decker, thank you, buddy. Don't forget, check out John Decker all the time on the IHeart Radio app. daily with his reports on the White House. Thank you, John. I appreciate you. Well, as we know, the president has been trying to do his best to avoid a major attack in Iran. He has said that the ongoing negotiations with Tehran are the country's last chance before the U.S. escalates this conflict. Now, Also, Iran's top Revolutionary Guard, commander declared just a couple of days ago on Wednesday that Tehran will continue working on nuclear weapons as long as the United States and Israel possess them. I'm going to stay at even keel, but, you know, the difference between the United States and Israel and Iran were not terrorists. They are. They should not have a nuclear weapon, and that is the bottom line in all of this. So with that said, the Strait of Hormuz is also a major discussion and sticking point in all of this. Yesterday, the president speaking to reporters about it. So they asked us Iran specifically, but the other three said we really, I asked them, I asked Saudi Arabia the king, and said the crown prince. I said, what would you rather do? Would you rather have us do this around? They said, we would much prefer a deal as opposed to.

an attack because you don't know where these attacks lead. I mean, will they be flooded with people pouring into their country and disaster? A lot of bad things can happen. And with that said, General Jack Keane retired and also the chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, weighing in on where he thinks we are right now. So where are we now? Well, let's start with President Trump himself. I mean, as noted here. The Iranians have told him something privately that obviously hasn't been disclosed publicly in terms of making a deal. And publicly, they're saying quite something else. They're actually saying there are no negotiations planned for today, which was the day the president said they were going to start. But I'm making the assumption certainly that the president has heard something that's different that motivated him to stand down that military attack. And the two issues clearly on the table are the straits of a moose and also a nuclear enterprise. And the straits of a moose, what we're talking about is going back. to international navigation waterways prior to the war beginning on February 28th. We're not talking about Amman maintains some level of control and Iran maintains some level of control. That is not what the deal will consist of. The administration's position is go back to where it was prior to february to 28th recognition of it being international waterways nobody has uh control of it and nobody has the right to interfere with it well and hopefully that's where we're going to end up with all of the straight hormoos discussion and efforts here but uh once again still you know these private little secret attacks with the drones and underwater and it's just still continuing to go on so Well, did you happen to catch Mayor Zohran Mamdani yesterday in New York City? This was beautiful. I mean, oh my gosh, this guy is so out of touch with the majority of Americans. I know he got elected there, and I don't get it either, but he was humiliated yesterday. He got booed off the stage there while he's attending one of the city's biggest pro-police celebrations on Staten Island. Yeah, he attempted to address about, I don't know, what, 3,500 residents and families attending the New York Police Department's 43rd patrol borough. It was national night out, you know, against crime events. This was all, you know, to support our law enforcement. And this guy who wants to defund the police, this guy who's, you know, taxing everybody can think of in New York City or at least trying, even the governor said, I don't know how you're going to afford these programs you got going. I'm only approving a billion, and you need about $6 billion to get this done. So good luck. I mean, it's going south quickly as we knew it would when it comes to socialism. It doesn't work. You just can't tax everybody to get her done.

People don't like it. People are leaving in droves. And this was just so typical of, I think, where most of Americans are when it comes to Zohran Mamdani and his policies. Listen, as he goes on stage in a pro-police gathering yesterday. And it continued until he said, okay, I'm out. It was less than 60 seconds on stage. And he's smiling through the whole thing like, hey, thank you so much for having me. Okay, great. Listen, have a great day. That'll do it. And he turns around. He starts shaking everybody's hand like he just won an election or something. No, people don't dig you, Zohran Mamdani. It's time for you to go. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. Gusty. Goal has dropped by in this Friday morning. How are you? I'm good. I'm good. You're up early, moving houses, making money, making it shine. I'm always up early. I love being up early. So how is it right now? Everybody's going back to school. Was it a robust spring and summer and now it's chilling again? Where are we on this? Spring was great. Had a great spring. It could have been better if we weren't at war, in my opinion. You think the war impacted real estate? It impacted interest rates. So rates went up like half the point. So it definitely impacted us. Well, the Fed didn't raise rates, but the mortgage rates went up. The mortgage rates went up. Scareddy cats over there at the banks. Yeah. See, the Fed's not nervous. The Wall Street's not nervous. Yeah, well. It's booming. But all right, well, let's talk. Different story on the interest rates. So whenever interest rates move up, it kind of just throws a little, you know, makes some folks scared a little bit. So, wow, the war is affecting real estate as well. Yeah. I would have never thought. But when it comes to money, I guess that's, you're right. It does impact. Now, I will say we've been either at or above what we did last year in terms of homes sold as a team. Okay. I do think typically July, our contracts aren't as high because there's so many people going in and out of town for vacations, last minute before they get kids in school. But. I'll tell you what. The rest of the others could be good, though? I think, you know, I mean, I think so, because people are back in town. Yeah. So if they're back in town, they're actually looking at houses again. So we've seen in the last probably week and a half two weeks that people are now coming back in town. We've seen more show-ins on properties. School next week, is it? Yeah. Thank goodness. Unbelievable. I'm so excited. Yeah. All right. Well, how about the inventory? Is lots of it out there? Yeah, so we've seen inventory up 8%. So there's more inventory out there for our greater market. And when I'll say our greater market, I mean Jefferson County, Shelby County, and St. Clair. Right. That's what I look at as our numbers. But overall, 8% increase in inventory. And also, even when you think that...

Closings are happening at either about the same pace as they were last year or maybe a little more or a little less. And an inventory is up 8%. You would think that probably prices would come down. We've actually seen average of price is still going up. Still holding their ground. Still holding their ground. Yeah. So buyer's market or seller's market or not so much either way? You know, it depends. I think some areas it's considered a seller's market. I think a lot of the area is considered a balanced market. And then I think that there are some areas that are probably a little bit more. Yeah, the more inventory, the more it's a buyer's market. That's right. That's right. You know, it's very supply and demand driven. But, you know, I'll have people ask me like, you know, this seems like a... buyer's market. And I said 40 days average on the market is not a buyer's market. That is what I would consider a balanced market. Your average home doesn't sit that long. It's less than that. You move pretty quick. Yeah, we're in the 30s in our average days on market. And then last month, our actual average days was 18. Yeah. So, you know, again, that's part of the season. Talk to me about the availability for kids that are coming out of college, young people just starting their careers. It's, you know, you hear time. And time again, they're scared. They're still living at home. It's not a failure to launch because they're playing video games in the basement. It's because everything's so expensive these days. And are there programs with mortgages and, you know, the whole housing industry to help young people incentives to get in because they're staying away right now? Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think you. To buy a house, you've got to have somebody to kind of mentor you to buy a house or, you know, you've got to see other people that have bought houses to kind of get your mindset of buying a house. But there are 100% financing options that are out there. There are low down payment, like 3.5% options down there. If you're a veteran, you've got the VA 100% loan. Right. There are low down payment options that are out there that can get somebody into a home. So like anything, one of the things that I look back, what should I have done earlier in my career? And 100% was I should have bought a house as soon as I could have. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Yeah. All right. Talk to me about the... the incentive for a different type of loan that, you know, I guess you call them balloons or whatever, but maybe the first three years of that mortgage. And you kind of give the younger folks an opportunity to have a lower payment while they're growing their career. And then it bumps up after three, five, eight years. I'm seeing this a little bit more on some of the new construction options that are out there. Some of the new builders that are out there have loan amounts that are fixed for, say, five or seven years. And then they have a balloon where... the interest rate either starts going up or they have to refinance the house. And so they've got some very low introductory rates at like four and a half and five percent where our, I would say our average right now is about six, seven, five on a 30 year fixed note. So there are some like specials that are out there that are geared. And what's happening is the builder is paying a significant amount of money to pay down that rate so that the buyers can get in on an entry at a lower rate.

rate. And we've seen, in one instance, we have a builder that, a buyer that bought with a builder, and they were able to get a four and a half percent interest rate, and it saved them literally $800 a month in savings. Well, there's more than one way to skin the cat then, obviously. And if you're in the market or you're young and you're thinking, I can't afford it and I can't do it. Have you talked to Gusty Gools yet? I mean. Call them, talk to them, sit down and see what your scenario looks like. You might be surprised that you can get in where you thought you can't. So don't forget about bought, borrowed and sold Sunday morning right here, right with you. Sunday, it's 8 a.m. Up and early for you. Oh, yeah. All right. Gusty Goulas, thanks, buddy. Good to see you. Alabama's morning news. I'm Chachy's summertime. Kenny Chesney here with us this morning as well. I love that song. summertime just about over for kids as we get back to school. Joining us now, it is Jonathan Savage, our Fox correspondent in London, and the big talk now with the president in Iran and everybody concerned, the Strait of Hormuz. It seems to be the sticking point, but back here on the back burner, let's not forget, no nuclear weapons. That's still the bottom line here. So welcome in, Jonathan. Thank you so much for being here. Where are we in all of this? Yeah, I think they're hoping to get the straight reform was reopened, and then they can move on to the things that were actually the reason why the conflict started in the first place, Iran's nuclear program. The US isn't directly involved in these talks. In fact, there's a message from Iranian spokesman, essentially, saying butt out, saying that a deal could be agreed as long as certain parties don't obstruct the process. Iran and Oman are the ones conducting these talks. They have the coastlines of the Strait of Hormuz. And it appears they've agreed the basic routes for ships to go back and forward, but the biggest sticking point is money. Iran wants to charge ships of percentage of the value of their cargo. Oman's suggesting a lower percentage. The United States and the global shipping industry say there should be no tolls at all. Yeah, it's like Mexico and the United States are arguing over the Gulf of America. We're going to charge now if you come into ports. Hold on a minute now. These are international waters here. And, you know, it's important, obviously, for the Strait Hormuz to be completely open and stay out of the mess going on between the countries. I mean, this is water that everybody can navigate in and everybody needs in the region. to be able to do business properly. So for once again, Iran, to jump in here like this and just try and own everything and, you know, be over everybody's head on it is just so typical of Iran. And secondly, the deal. I mean, they're not ready to cut any kind of deal. They say they not publicly, but the president says they're doing some things in the background that they don't want to, you know, put out to the public so they don't seem like they're caving. But even if they say, all right, we got a deal. Let's get together and they make it public. Does anybody really buy that that deal is going to last more than 10 minutes? By the time they get out of the room, there'll be more missiles flying.

Well, that's one of the things, isn't it? I mean, here's something that's going to make things even more complicated. We talk about this being international waters, because a lot of these ships are not going to Iranian ports. They're going to Saudi ports, Qatari ports, Iraqi ports. The Iranian parliament is reviewing a draft law that would ban American, Israeli, and other vessels deemed hostile from using the Strait of Hormuz at all. with fines of up to 20% of a ship's cargo value on vessels that violate the restrictions. So now you're looking at a waterway which was considered international waters with free movement. I'm kind of giving toll subjected to it and a ban on certain countries. That's very, very different from where we were before and what most countries want to see. Yeah, absolutely. Nobody wants a big ban here. But I wonder if the president wouldn't say, fine, you know, the U.S. I mean, I don't know how much, you know, we care about having ships in there. Does the United States use the strait as much as those countries? I would think not. Same with Israel, right? No, they don't use them so much. I mean, partly this is performative, I suppose, from Iran, but there will be shipping companies that have links to the United States or maybe American-owned companies or linked to American-owned oil firms. And Iran could look at those and say, hang on a second, that goes past, that violates our rules. Yeah, well, this whole discussion is like dealing with a barking dog that's in a crate. And compared to the gorilla that's over here that weighs 2,000 pounds, this nuclear situation here, there doesn't seem to be much discussion on this because the president says absolutely not. Iran says we're staying in it as long as Israel and the United States has nuclear power. I mean, yeah, I mean, that's another thing, isn't it? I mean, we haven't even touched on the nuclear issue yet. And that is the reason why this whole conflict started in the first place. Iran is... I suppose, managed to push this down the road by creating the straight of foremost situation. Yeah, yeah. And I know there's no doubt that at some point the president's patience will run out there. I predict there'll be a monster attack. And who knows, you never know when it's going to happen. And we'll be, we'll all be caught off guard and wake up or hear about it, you know, as it's already, you know, been launched, I think. But who knows, you know, maybe this weekend or maybe this drags on another week or two or month or two. Good Lord. All right. Thank you, buddy. I appreciate you. Jonathan Savage in London. Have a great weekend. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. You heard Leah talking about there. The outbreak of Salmanilla has hit Alabama, and it's hot, hot, hot. Those Mexican alipinos are the source of this. So we're going to be talking with our Fox correspondent. Evan Brown coming up here in just about seven minutes about what's going on with this. And as she mentioned, Chipotle.

Could they be elsewhere as well? We'll get this update once again in just about seven minutes. Well, you know, who doesn't love a little, you know, cold beer on a Friday night? I mean, seriously, let's go. You know, well, I'm a chicken fried. That's right. Come on a cold beer on a Friday night. A pair of jeans that fit just right. And the radio. Oh, whoa. Aren't you glad the weekend is here? And you know what today is, by the way? It is International Beer Day. That's right. Ah, yes, today is the day that we celebrate, and here are seven myths about beer you might still believe. Drinking a lot of beer gives you a beer belly. Beer on its own doesn't cause that beer belly. It's a combination of too many calories in general, maybe two cheeseburgers instead of one, and a sedentary lifestyle. That's right. Dark beers are stronger than light beers. Not true. Light beers are lighter in color and body, but that doesn't mean, you know, dark beers have more alcohol. For example, Guinness, 4.2% alcohol by volume while Budweiser, 5%. Here's another myth for you. Beer should always be served ice cold. I don't think that's a myth. I agree they should. I mean, I've had too many hot beers at fraternity houses in today that I'm done with hot beer. But in some countries, you know, they serve at room temperature, ice cold temps, can actually ruin the flavor of a good beer, they say. Draft beer gives you a hangover. That myth. Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol no matter what the type is causes the hangover. Beer before liquor, never sicker. Whiskey on beer, have no fear, but beer on whiskey could be risky. Are these things true? Really depends on how much alcohol you're drinking, not the order. From a scientific perspective, alcohol is alcohol. That's right. All right, IPAs are always bitter. I'm not a big IPA guy. I'll be honest with you. I don't like them. I just don't. IPAs are a wide tent with a lot of varieties and flavor profiles. I mean, all kinds. But these West Coast IPAs are bitter, but juicy IPAs have a tropical fruit note. You know, milkshake IPAs? Thick and sweet. Milkshake IPAs? What? I've got to find one of these. I love a good milkshake. Beer is unhealthy. Okay, it is not healthy for you. Nothing about alcohol screams anything good, okay? Moderation. Everybody says, yeah, moderation. But alcohol itself, poison, not good. Even red wine. I was talking to my cardiologist about this. I said, what about red wine? He goes, well, it's funny you ask that because I'm doing a study with some doctors, cardiologists in Europe, about the components of the red wine, except the alcohol. He goes, forget. Alcohol itself in the red wine, not good for you. There may be other components in that red wine that might be okay. But he goes, the problem with that is, as a cardiologist, I don't mind you having a drink every once in a while. But if you're trying to lose weight and keep weight off, quit drinking any kind of alcohol. It's got a lot of sugar in it.

Beer is unhealthy. There are studies that can say it can have some of those benefits, as I mentioned there. So, yeah, enjoy your international beer day. It is 737. Alabama's morning news. You getting ready to fly anytime soon? We'll keep this in mind. Frontier Airlines now has launched its 2026 Go Wild fall and winter pass for an introductory price of $199. This offers nearly seven months of unlimited travel through the end of the next February. What? Passholders pay just one cent in airfare per flight segment but still cover taxes fees and extras like chick bags and assigned seats. Travelers can start flying immediately and those who booked by August 17th can reserve select trips farther in advance through January 4th with early booking fees starting at $29. Holiday blackout dates can also be bypassed for peak days fees starting at $79 there. Yeah, Frontiers got something going on here. Might be worth checking out if you're going to be traveling anytime soon. But hurry. It's not going to last long, and those holiday rates are going up before you know it. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. Who doesn't love a nice little chapolet, burrito, or salad? Mm, quite tasty, a little spicy, and oh, yes, there's jalapeno peppers in there. Careful now. Joining us for the update on what's going on with the Salomon and you say that fast three times, Evan Brown. Our Fox correspondent now on this, good morning, sir. Town Manila. There you go. So 27 states now affected here in the U.S., including this one right here in Alabama. There has been, it's kind of isolated to Sinola, I'm sorry, Sinola State, Mexico, where the, is the source of these jalapenos, and they have been predominantly been tracked through the Chipotle and Kodoba restaurant chains. Now, they've removed these jalapenos, and chances are the jalapenos you would get at your local grocery, they're fine. You should always wash anything, you know, produce-wise, right? But, yeah, this was sort of identified and traced pretty quickly. Salmonella, perhaps not the worst of the food poisoning you can get. Certainly not fun. If you are generally healthy, you'll probably be fine in a week and a half. But you should talk to your doctor anyway. And if you do have underlying health problems and you think you have it. because you had some jalapeno somewhere. Yeah, talk to your doctor. Just, you know, touch base. You know, they treat...

mostly the symptoms more than anything with something like this. But otherwise, you really, you know, you wouldn't want to have it if you don't have to have it, right? No, no. I mean, it is a nice weight loss program. You got to go to a wedding and drop a couple of pounds. I think the treadmill might just be a better idea. Right, right. Well, I understand, you know, restaurants like Chipotle and Kudoba ended up having some of these come through there. Were they the only restaurants? Has this been widespread in restaurants? Should we all be careful? Those are the only ones that, you know, again, the supply chain on this has been identified, so, you know, it's being handled. And again, the, if you're buying jalapeno somewhere today, you're probably fine. But again, you know, it's a concern that you should have, that you should be a bit mindful of. And remember to wash the produce that you buy, make sure your food prep areas at home are clean, your countertops, your cutting boards, your knives. And don't forget to spot check, you know, produce. There's some produce you really have to inspect before you try to cook with it. Brussels sprouts comes to mind. They have sand and soil inside the sprout. That's just how that happens. What? So, yeah. Yeah, you got to look for it and you got to wash it out before you cook Brussels sprouts. Yeah, you got to careful the jalapinos, your lettuce, and those little pesky pesticides and those little things getting in your, yeah, too, Evan, thank you so much for the update, buddy. I appreciate you. But it looks like, as Evan said, they've identified the source, and as Barney Fife would say, we're nipping it. in the bud before it gets really crazy. But 27 states, I mean, that's something to think about. Skip your jalapinos this weekend. Thank you, Evan. 746 now. Alabama's morning news. All right, everybody seems to be a bit fearful of AI. We love it. There's some great benefit in our jobs, and it can help us with health diagnosis and maybe some research moving forward. Lots of positives when it comes to AI. But... Now, the job situation, you've heard it numerous times, right? Different commencement addresses with people graduating in May. And they mention AI, and the crowds go, boo. No. I mean, there's a bit of a fear of AI taking our jobs these days. But there are some jobs that are AI resistant here in the United States. For instance, here's a top 10 that's been put out by a visual capitalist. The top 10 in-demand U.S. jobs most resistant. to AI. Number 10, an accountant. I could see using AI as a tool for accountants, you know, looking at numbers, crunching numbers. Always got to double check, though. Teaching assistance. Pretty safe when it comes to AI. A maid or a housekeeper. Yeah, I'm not sure I want a robot going around, you know, cleaning my house. No. Construction workers, of course. Although there is some AI applications, I would think, in engineering and perhaps when it comes to architectural design, things like this, but the actual building of the structure, yeah, you've got to have human beings.

Of course, watch out. They may find a way to do it. General maintenance and repair worker, absolutely. Senior software engineer. AI? Pretty AI proof there. Nursing assistant. Elementary school teacher resistant to AI. They tried this thing in upstate New York with Sally, the AI assistant robot. Didn't last long. Sally's gone. Home health aides as well. I don't want a robot coming to take care of grandma. Most resistant to AI number one, registered nurses. Thank God. I don't want a robot talking about what medicine they're going to put in me or even coming near me with a needle, right? Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. and joining us now, Paul A.C. from Focus on the Family and Unplugged to take a look at some movies this weekend. Is there anything better than Spidey out there right now? Absolutely not, J.T. Absolutely not. Have you seen the entire movie yet? I know you get previews and you watch the extended trailers, if you will, but have you seen the entire movie? So I have not. No. I... Yeah, I was on vacation last week. Why did I take off Spider-Man week to go on vacation? That seems like that was an oversight on my part. It is so good. We took our grandkids to see it, and they had a ball, loved it. Two hours and 20 minutes, every minute of it was just fantastic. So, yeah, when you get a chance, go see that. So let's talk about what is opening up this weekend. Is there anything that might come close to moving Spidey to the back seat? No, there's absolutely nothing. You know, Spider-Man did make, like, it literally made $360 million in North America alone and made nearly a billion dollars worldwide. And there's no way that anything else is going to challenge it for this weekend, at least. A couple of pretenders that might be trying to edge up into the top five. We've got a couple of movies that some people might be going to. Super Troopers 3. This is obviously the third movie in the Super Troopers series. It's about state troopers in Vermont. And this time you have one of them getting married to another one's sister. And the brother does not want this guy marrying his sister. And that's sort of where that's the core plot of Super Troopers 3. There's also a drug ring. But I tell you what, these movies are just... silly and stupid and in my opinion just not really worth the time to watch them doesn't even sound like it's worth the time to even talk about this um but an r-rated comedy i guess i didn't see super troopers one and two let alone going near this one. So, all right, let's move on. Talk about one night only, kind of a sci-fi romance. What's going on here? Yeah, so this takes place in a reality where essentially premarital sex is legal only one night out of the year. And that makes that one night a very, very big deal for a lot of unmarried people. It's really a story about a couple who is trying to find actual romance, trying to find actual connection.

on this one night. The fact that it's all based on kind of this, this, you know, this tawdry conceit, that that'll make it a problem for probably a lot of this is probably not a movie that you're going to want to take your family to, but I do think that it might have some sweetness for some couples who might want to go to this. So this is an R-rated romantic comedy containing just probably some strange elements that probably a lot of folks will want to avoid. A dash of sci-fi, if you will. Okay. Yeah, exactly. What's going on with this one here? You, Me, and Tuscany released on Peacock soon. What's happening? Yes. Now, if you're really interested in a nice rom-com, this might be the place to go. This movie was released a couple of months ago in theaters. It did quite well. It's really about this woman named Anna, who's encouraged to go to Tuscany. She is a cook. She is encouraged by this guy named Mateo, you got to go to Tuscany, learn all the cooking techniques there. So she decides to do that, even though she doesn't have any money. There's no place to stay. But she realizes that this guy who she talked to has this villa in Tuscany that's supposedly deserted. So she basically... camps out there and then this guy's whole family comes and they mistake her for Mateo's fiancee. So hijinks ensue from there. She falls in love with a totally different guy, but it does have some sweetness. It does have some lightness to it and you can't beat. That Italian scenery, right? It will make you want to go to Italy. And, you know, I don't need a lot of encouragement on that. My wife will tell me, you had me at Tuscany. Yes, we're going to watch this. She loves those Tuscany movies. They're always romantic comedies and write up my wife's alley. So you can count me in for that. I would imagine probably Saturday evening unless we go out somewhere. All right. One last one. Yeah. Well, how about Netflix's last house? What is the last house all about? For the last house, this is a very different sort of movie. It's essentially about a family that is trapped inside their house by some unknown, terrifying entity. They must learn how to survive trapped inside their house as their food runs out, as they're dealing with dwindling resources and still deal with the terrifying thing outside their front door. So for sci-fi fans, for horror fan, for anybody else. Hey, go see Spider-Man again. Exactly. Paul A.C. with Focus on the Family and Unplug. Paul, great job. Thank you, buddy. Hey, thank you. Appreciate it, J-T. Paul DeMarco joins us in the studio this morning. Good to see you. How are you? Good morning. Good morning. And you brought your son with us this morning. Jack, good morning. Good to see you, too, buddy. Good morning. So you're getting ready to go back to school next week? Yes, sir. And what grade are you going to be in? Seventh. And at Homewood Junior High, right? Middle school. Middle school? Well, do they have junior highs? They don't call junior high anymore? That's a sign. Whatever? Am I show my age? When I was in Mounted Brook at a running camp? Yeah? The middle school was called junior high. See, there you go. I guess it's just depending on where you live and what's going on. You're excited to go back to school? You fired up? Yeah, for history. You like history? Awesome. Well, I'm glad you're here this morning. You get to play the secret sound game with us coming up. And I got a present for you. Oh, what you got?

Are you going to do it now? Yeah. What is it? Lego Vulcan. Oh, I love it. This is really cool. A Lego Vulcan. This little pointy thing at the top fell off, though. Is pointy thing? The spier. Oh, yeah, there it is. Where is it? Under your bed and a carpeting somewhere? I don't know. Somebody will step on it over the weekend. You'll find it. Well, thank you very much. Yeah, set that right there next to my gecko. Okay. The Gecko Geico. Geico. All right. Well, welcome. Secret Sound Game with Jack coming up in just a minute. Did you see Paul yesterday, Zohran Mamdani going to this pro-police rally, a Staten Island, and about 3,500 people are there, and here's the warm reception he got. They can't stand him. They wanted him off that stage and in less than 60 seconds. And he's smiling through the whole thing before he did finally walk off and then start shaking hands like he just wanted an election or something. This was not a well-received mayor in New York City at Staten Island. He wants to defund the police and he has the gall to show up to a police event. What did he expect? Tickets coming home to Roos. The reality is starting to set in in New York. They were so excited about electing the sky, and they're starting to see what it comes when it comes to public safety and taxes and how he is going to run this city. And he's more worried about international politics than taking care of the day-to-day needs of the city. Well, how about the taxes and stuff he wants to continue pushing? Tax the rich, tax the rich, and everybody will get free stuff. Well, Governor Kathy Hochul says, time out there. Not only can you not arrest Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes to town, you cannot just free will raise taxes. That's the governor's office, okay? So no, I've already given you $1. Whatever billion, and you need $6 to carry on with your craziness? Not going to happen. Like you said, it's coming home to roost. Well, especially, you know, all these bodega owners that he's talking about having these free grocery stores that's going to put them out of business. And they're all over the city if you've been to New York. All these little small mom-and-pop bodegas and serve food. And he wants free groceries for everyone. It's having an effect on everyone. And they're finally starting to see what this guy's doing. It's not safe there either. I mean, the crime's up. You know, people are just disgusted with it. My sister and my brother-in-law live right outside New York and Connecticut. And I said, how bad is it? She goes, it's changed drastically from the days of Rudy Giuliani when things were safe. He wants everything to be free, but somebody's got to pay for it, right? Not going to happen. This guy's, I mean, just a laughing stock, but. Hopefully he'll be gone soon. All right, coming up next more with Paul DeMarco.

The trucking sector's complexity stands well beyond what's visible on our highways. On the road, keeping operations running requires more than equipment. It demands reliable, trustworthy partners at every turn. That's why logistics professionals have turned to U.S. Bank for nearly three decades. Their freight payment platform connects shippers and carriers seamlessly, supporting accurate invoicing, on-time payments, and smoother operations across every mile. U.S. Bank, small enough to care. big enough to make a difference. An interesting case here about what's happening with a defense attorney in town. I want to get your thoughts on this who's now been arrested for drug trafficking. going to need a defense attorney of his own, I guess. Paul DeMarco is in the studio with us. A couple of things I wanted to talk to you about, Paul. And one being a fellow comrade, I guess you would say, in the business, a defense attorney here, as Paul is also an attorney. But you don't do defense work, Paul, do you? I don't do any criminal work. Well, this guy's going to need a criminal defense attorney. So get busted. I guess you're charging with drug trafficking as he took. drugs into the jail. I mean, what in your right mind as an attorney says, hey, you know what, I think I can pull this off? And this lawyer, he has taken on some very high profile cases. He's taken on, you know, former mayor Birmingham, Larry Langford's case. Correct. The infamous Harvey Updike, the Tumor's Corner. Right, I remember that. And then he's got the case right now that's going to be going to trial. The individual was accused. of killing 18 people in Birmingham. That trial's coming up. He's part of that. Yes. Oh, was part of that? I would say he's over. Yeah. Yeah. I would think. So you probably, anything's possible. So he has to be tried and go through the process. You know, yeah, yeah, allegedly. But I think it's making the news because of where it occurred with the jail and the accusations. And again, he's a, he's taking a client drugs or you're just spreading the wealth with a bunch of jailers in there? Who knows what? He'll have the opportunity to plead his case. But again, I think it's making news because he has taken on these, as a criminal defense lawyer, he's taken on some very high profile cases himself. If he's found guilty, automatic disbarred, right? No. There would be a process. But yeah, I think, you know, if you were as the Alabama State Bar, if you are convicted of a felony that you can lose your bar, your bar license. Can or do? I think you would, but I think there's a process. I don't think it's just, I think there's a process regarding, but obviously you cannot have attorneys who violate the law to the extent of a felony. What if they serve their time and do probation? And can they still, or is that? I think you can go back and ask. Can you really? I think you can go back and petition the bar to get your license back. Not any time soon. So I think it depends on what when and where. All right. Also, let's talk about, you know, Tommy Tuberville is in the news, obviously. Talking about what's going on around the country when in it comes to the Democrat Party move to socialism, to communism. And, you know, I guess when he'll be on the campaigning next year or this year for governor. He's coming in this year for governor, the elections in November. Where were Alabama Democrats be when these kind of positions? Are they going to say, wait a second, that's not us?

But how do they separate themselves from what's going on with the National Democratic Party? Moderate Democrats are in for big war right now. I think that they're not going to take this lying down. And you saw what happened again in a primary where some crazy got in. You saw what happened with this El-Sayed guy. You see what's going on in New York with Zohran Mamdani. I mean... One thing after another, it's starting to show these crazy voters that are putting these people in office that this is bold. You can't pull off socialism. It's never been done. It's not going to happen here. And the policies are just horrific. I mean, who wants this in America? Nobody. Well, this is going to be a big. Except them. Michigan has become a purple state because it went for Donald Trump. They've got Republicans in the state. They've kind of gone back and forth. So it's going to be very interesting. They've won in New York and some of these far-left districts, but can this far-left socialist win in a purple state? And if so, watch what happens around the country. We were founded on Judeo-Christian values. I don't know if you've seen some videos of the Bronx or Dearborn, Michigan with the influx of the Islamic world coming into our country, right under our noses. So you get these many people in here, and they start electing their own. Next thing, you know, we're going to be flooded in our government operations in Congress. I mean, wake up America. And this will lead into the presidential election a couple of years. No doubt. All right. It's time for the secret sound, I do believe. John Mounce is here to help us out. That's right. And so we've got a secret sound here. We're going to play it. And usually we go in a circle. Well, yeah. And Jack, Paul's son is here, too. How old are you, Jack? 12. Okay, going in seventh grade. And so he's going to play. He plays along with his dad every week. And now he's going to be here to beat his dad. In studio. So he's going to go first? Yeah. Do you want to go first or last? Or last. I think I want to go second. Second. Okay. All right. That's a strategic. Well, I got to tell you, he's up to something. I can see that. Okay. Paul, you go first then. All right. All right, here we go. Okay. So I'm going to play the sound twice. We'll start with Paul goes first, then Jack, then you. Okay. All right, here we go. Listen carefully. What? One more time. Okay. Paul, what do you got? A drill. It is not a drill. Jack. Probably some like spray paint. Not spray paint, J.G. Oh, wow. I was going to go with some kind of spray an aerosol can spray or something. No. No, no, no. Okay, well, we're going to need a clue on this one. Okay, but you still got a guess. You got a yes. Then we do a clue. Okay. Quit cheating. So, okay. I'm going to go with a voting machine. Here's my clue. It's a clue and a half. This sound will be heard a lot next week. Number one. And you are kind of sort of in the right vein with an aerosol can. It is kind of an air-related thing. All right, let's play it again. One more time. One more time. All right, Paul. Something at a school.

Well, that's pretty broad. That's pretty broad. I don't think I can give that. Okay, what do you think? It means it's related to something with a school, but it's... Get real close, buddy. Well, before he said it was related to air, I thought it was going to be host, but now he said it's related to air, so it's not going to be... No, it's related to a school. Oh, it's related to a school. As kids go back to school next week. It goes like, shh, or something. Yeah, what do you think it is? I have no idea. You have no idea? J.T., you might actually be able to guess this one more easily, I think. Can we hear it one more time? Not yet. Is it like... Something like getting... Cushed? What? A teacher saying hush. It is not hush. That's a good guess. That's a good guess. Paul thinks he has something, but J.T. is still your turn. All right. So you think we'll hear this next week. Some students will. Some students will. Here's a huge clue. Students of Vestavia Hills will probably not hear the sound. That's pretty big. But students in Hoover probably will. Oh. I think Paul's nodding, so I think he knows what it is. It's two or two. Okay, hold on me. I'll play one more time for, and then I think Paul's got it. Paul looks like he's. He's not going to know it. I do. School bus. He is correct. It is the sound of a school bus. That's right. Best baby doesn't have school buses, do they? Exactly, because Bistabia doesn't do buses. Oh my gosh. This is the whole sound.

Oh, the air brakes. The air brakes being released. That's the, that is the sound. Very good sound there. You, you even. edited the air compression down. You didn't give us the full context. Well, if I gave you the whole sound of a buzzpolling up right squealing that we would have got that right away. You would have known him for certain. Yeah, Judy driving. I was like you would call and go, I hear that down. All right. Well, gosh, nobody, well, Paul got it finally, but I mean. When the light, when I said the Vestavia versus Hoover thing, I saw the light bulb go on. Yeah. Does Homewood do buses? No. Okay. No. I couldn't remember. I walked to school. No, I mean, my mom and dad, my mom and dad drive me. Well, Homo's so small, I think you can get away with that, whereas Hoover is big. Yeah. All right. Nice job, Paul Jack. I was really pulling for you, buddy. But maybe your dad will get your breakfast anyway. All right. Jeff Manasso joins us now, our Fox correspondent, and following this story, which is kind of interesting as the president and Illinois's J.B. Pritzker, the crazy Democrat, yeah, are both asking oil CEOs to return some of that big Iran-war windfall profit. to Illinois consumers. You know, you owe it to the people, they say. And I got to tell you, Jeff, welcome in. Those guys are making gobs of money, billions every quarter. So I'm kind of on board with this, too. Good morning. Yeah, one's president and one is presumed to be running for president. So why not do something that everybody agrees with? But it seems to be pretty common sense. that the topic in which these two, Governor J.B. Pritzker and Trump are agreeing on, it's the massive profits. It's the $93 billion in profits that the world's eight largest oil producers raked in in Q2 just between April alone. April and June. That's three months. That's incredible. Yeah, $93 billion. And so J.B. Pritzker is accusing these companies of using the guise of supply disruptions from the war to collect record-setting profits. He wants, he's demanding they give some of those profits back to consumers. And he's calling it the very definition of profiteering. He's calling on each company to give the money back through price cuts or direct refunds. Also wants them to provide transparency around pricing and profit margins since the war began. And he's called on them to make public how executive... Has there been any response from the oil companies on this? Ask from these two guys.

No, but J.B. Pritzker is giving the CEOs until August 21st to respond. Don't know what that would even mean if they, I don't think people are holding their breath. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. You've got the president who this letter, this letter from J.B. Pritzker came days after President Trump railed against Chevron and Exxon Mobil for high profits amid the conflicts saying they should give the money back to the public. The president last month also said he wanted the Justice Department to investigate whether customers are being gouged. Gas prices here in Illinois, it's that we pay the second highest gas taxes in the nation. And, but the gas prices have shot up about $1.30 per gallon. Well, I kind of like the idea, but I'm not on board with, you know, having the government force a company to give profits back to the people. I mean, this is a slippery slope, but you're right. Billions in profit while we're all paying high prices at the pump, at least work with us a little bit, Exxon and all the rest of you, and help us lower some prices for the time being anyway. Jeff Manasso, thank you, buddy. I appreciate you.