The Mark Arum Show 07-22-26 HR 3

A snarl, and they're upon him. An ancient forest spirit at his heels. The only escape is in the Toyota BZ Woodland. John Cho stars in Camping. Test drive Toyota's new all-electric family today. Toyota, let's go places. You know, I'll run this town to be near. Live on a very busy Newsday, Wednesday. Welcome back, friends, Mark Airman crew with you till noon. Coming up in 30 minutes, Deborah's got tickets to see ACDC, and we'll play a bit of my interview with rock band Foreigner yesterday. That was a pretty cool experience. I have pictures up in my Instagram story, whatever, at Mark Air. M-A-R-K-A-R-U-M. In just a minute, we're going to go to the White House and check in on a couple of big stories there, previewing President Trump's visit to Georgia here this afternoon. And speaking of President Trump, approving a deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow them to enrich nuclear fuel. A big story that popped this morning. Right now, though, this story, it fascinated me when you send it to me, Deborah. Shoplifting facts. All right, before we get into the story, who here on the Mark Am show? staff will admit to shoplifting at least once in their life. I'm sure I did it as a kid. I agree. I'm sure I did it as a kid. As an adult, never like I, not that I can consciously remember doing it, but I know as a kid, I'm sure I picked up something put in my pocket. I know as a college student. I don't think I did it, but I was tempted to food insecure, no money, and razor blades are really expensive. And I remember going to Price Chopper, which was the supermarket in New York where I went to college, and being like, I could just slip these into my pocket now. Now they, apparently I wasn't the only that because now they're like under. Now they're locked up. Yeah, they're under lock and key. Vinny, have you ever shoplifting in your life, bro? It's shoplifting only in like... Uh, retail stores? Stealing anything from any store. Yeah, I've done it. All right. What about you, Ocean Spray? Of course I have. You have. All right. But as kids, I'm assuming, not as grown. Uh, no, I've done it, I guess, more grown up than I would care to admit. Are you serious? Yeah. All right. Trent, what did you shoplift, if you don't mind? A lot of it would just be, like, kind of food things. I would also do dumpster diving as well. No, I wouldn't eat the grapes in the grocery store. I wouldn't be that obvious with it, but sometimes I would change the stickers. Oh, all right. So that's a criminal activity. Vinny, what have you shoplifted? I'm very learning a lot about the staff here. I don't scan produce, produce. To this day? How you get all your food free, don't you? How did you guys pass the background checks here at WSB? All right. So apparently this backs up the statistics, Debra. In 2026, what percentage of Americans are shoplifting? 30% of Americans report, self-report, to shoplifting, which is up from 24% in the past. And 90% of those people that do admit it say, hey, it's just financial strain. Groceries are more expensive. Gas is more expensive. Everything is more expensive. That's insane to me.

30% of Americans are shoplifting. Ocean Spray called that. That's crazy. That's unbelievable. Three in 10, and I was about to do an exercise. What, who, what three coworkers? Well, we already got two of them. Yeah. And these things, and they're saying the big differences in some of this isn't, you know, like before when people shoplifted, it might have been things that you didn't necessarily need so much, small things that you could pocket, like, oh, I'll take this because I can. More people are reporting needing things like necessities. I get it, yes. Basic food, hygiene products, what you said, rather than fun things that they don't need. Yeah, you know, steal a little for bread to feed. I get it, right? But that to me was crazy. And that's just folks that admit it. Yeah, that is just the percentage that admitted. That's all right. We've got to have to come to Jesus meeting here for a second on the Mark Aaron show. I got to talk to Vinnie Drip and Ocean Spray here. Now, listen. You guys get a lot of food for you. Listen, I will forgive your past grievances, your past dalliances, but you are now under the umbrella of the Mark Aram show. Vinny, you got to scan your produce, sir. Yes. Yes. No, no. Don't shake your head. Ocean spray. You can continue to dumpster dive. That's fine. That doesn't reflect poorly on us. But no more shoplifting, guys. Come on. We're pillars of the community here. Thank you promise. I got you. All right. Wow. First off, Vinnie, you're full time now. I feed you four times a week. There's no need for anyone associated with the show. And that goes to you, Stephen Lawson. If you're still listening, Bill Crane, Peter Greenberg, Jeff Foxworthy, anyone associated with the, stop. This is official cease to desist. No more shoplifting. I mean, if you were nine and you stole a pack of gum, all right. Yeah, kids are kind of dumb. They want to see what they can get away. Oh, I regret bringing up this story. Thanks, Deborah. All right, let's go. I'm not the one shoplifting, is those two? No, you gave me the story. Because I was like, oh, what three? Who would shoplift here? Oh, Drex from B98. He looks like a shop. But I didn't even have to go down the hall. Five feet away. All right. I'm sad. I'm sorry I brought that up. Well, don't worry. Listeners, don't worry. We will come correct here on the broadcast to make sure no, the shoplifting ends. We're going to drop that 30% number down. There goes your birthday present venue. Yeah, exactly. Heard. All right. More serious stuff. Let's go to the White House now. Correspondent John Decker joining us on the show. John President Trump coming to Georgia this afternoon, Wheeler High School, the first, I would imagine, of many trips that the president's going to make to the Peach State during this election year.

Well, I think that's right. You know, there are two very important political races happening this November in Georgia, governor's race, a Senate race, and both of the candidates for the president has now endorsed as the general election candidates will be on hand for the president's event in Marietta, Georgia. And of course, Republicans are hoping to flip a Senate seat, they're hoping to knock off Jon Ossoff. So that will be one focus of the president's trip for sure. The other focus is the president heading. down in Georgia to talk about what the administration is doing to help Americans with their everyday lives, you know, that lower the cost of living. And the president will tout those Trump accounts. which just went live just a few weeks ago on July the 4th. So the president will certainly talk about that as well. And I know that's a welcomed sign for all the candidates, Republican candidates on the ballot that the president focus on the economy and what regular Americans have been dealing with. I would imagine that's a Susie Wiles program for the president to get on the campaign trail and talk about the economy. Oh, absolutely. I think that every Republican is running for re-election this year. Once the president to really focus like a laser beam on the economy, some of the extraneous issues don't really move voters or compel voters in any way. So if you focus on the economy, that's the number one issue for most Americans. And we'll see if the president sticks to the script today during this event that will happen in the afternoon. John, during my show yesterday, President Trump hosted the president. of Lebanon. You were in the Oval Office there. We weren't able to get much coverage during the show, but you were there. What were your big takeaways of that meeting yesterday? Well, I asked the president two questions, and the president's answers making some news. I asked the president his level of concern about the threat coming from the Houthis to essentially shut down the Red Sea, and that would be punishing. Saudi Arabia. That's their reason for doing so and creating potentially another front in this war in the Middle East. The president said they may do that, but he said he wasn't concerned. He said, you know, we'd react accordingly if that happens. But just the threat is already compelling some oil companies to essentially avoid the Red Sea altogether, just the threat coming from the Houthis. And I also asked the president about politics. You know, I asked the president about whether he believes the Iranians are just dragging this. this conflict out in order to impact the midterms and hurt the president and his party. And the president said, perhaps they are. But he said his focus really is on trying to make certain that Iran never possesses a nuclear weapon. Yeah, that was a great question there, John. You know, any big takeaways on the future of Iran and Lebanon and the ongoing battle with Hezbollah? Was that discussed at all? Well, it was. That was really the focus of the meeting with the Lebanese president.

Wildcards here is Hezbollah, the terrorist group, the Iranian proxy that operates out of southern Lebanon. So, you know, you can't get anything really solved in one meeting. It's an ongoing process. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been successful in at least getting Israel and Lebanon to agree to have a truce. The problem, of course, really isn't Israel and Lebanon. It's Hezbollah. And Hezbollah has not agreed to that truce. And that's the reason why that conflict rages on in southern Lebanon. Updates on the Iran situation. the day here on 95-5 WSP. White House correspondent John Decker. John, great stuff. Have a great day, my friend. Have a great day. Thanks so much. Bye-bye. 1114 on the Mark Aaron Show. Earlier in the broadcast, in case you missed it, WSB radio reporter Mary Ryan Howarth is stationed at Wheeler High School in Marietta. She is going to be covering President Trump's visit. 2 p.m.-ish, you know, presidents, not just President Trump's, tend to run late. So obviously keep it locked at 95-5. USB for coverage of the President's visit. And... could impact you the traffic implications. But I think it might be minimized. If you live on the south side, east side, northeast side, President Trump apparently is going to land in Dobbins, which is a short ride to Marietta and Wheeler High School. But in that general area, traffic could be a mess. Another big story this morning, as I mentioned, President Trump, he might talk about this today at Wheeler High School, approving a deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich nuclear... Fuel. This is a really big story. Betsy Klein at the White House. Thank you, Betsy Klein. New reporting in both New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on what could be a major win for Saudi Arabia from the Trump administration that could be announced as soon as today. President Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal, has formally signed off on this deal that would allow Saudi Arabia to have a civilian nuclear program. Now, this could allow Saudi Arabia to make the material necessary to build a nuclear weapon. CNN reported last week that this agreement tentatively would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium without enacting the international safeguards. to prevent nuclear weapons development. Now, the New York Times has described these concessions made to Saudi Arabia as significant. And as you mentioned, this is likely to be controversial both across the globe and here on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will be raising a lot of questions. This agreement has to be sent to Congress for a review. It is possible that it could face a disapproval resolution that could ultimately prevent it from going into effect. they have a veto proof majority, which seems unlikely as of now. But experts have raised questions about what safeguards the U.S. is putting on the deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was pressed on that by our colleague Kit Maher just a moment ago. Listen. Well, I'm not going to opine directly on that agreement. We're going to put out a...

Even when the moment is appropriate, we'll put out that in writing. We have to do it with Congress anyways. So we'll certainly do it publicly. But suffice it to say the U.S. is not going to reach any agreement with any country in the world. That leads to the risk of proliferation. Now, this agreement, according to the Wall Street Journal, would last 30 years and provide tens of billions of dollars to U.S. companies that could help shore up Saudi Arabia's nuclear infrastructure. Now, this deal really bolsters U.S. Saudi relations after some strain due to President Trump's war with Iran. But it really underscores how the Trump administration has taken steps to shore up this key alliance. Betsy Klein at the White House, I'm dubious that this deal actually comes to fruition. There is going to be, never mind the Israeli pushback, European put, like we don't need more folks, more countries having nuclear proliferation. And I don't even know why Saudi Arabia would need if they're using it like a nuclear power plant to start enriching Iran. I don't know. I understand what the president wants to do and what he's trying to do, but I don't. I think there'd be massive pushback to have that happen. But obviously a big story. Any updates on that, we will bring it to you live here on 95-5-WSB. Enlightness has a call that's hard to hear. And I wrap my fear around me. What was the name of that all-female music festival back in the 90s? Lilith Fair. Never went to Lilith Fair. Sort of back now, like Daisy, something. Olivia Rodriguez kind of doing her own version. Reminds me of that. Happy birthday to Decatur's own. Emily Saylars of the Indigo Girls turned 63. Really great band. I never went to Lilith Fair. I don't know why. What a great place to meet women as a single dude. Maybe not all the women that you would have wanted to meet. Yeah. No, and I went to Willa the Fair once. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have a good time? I mean, I enjoyed the music. Like I loved the old roster of the female McLaughlin, Fiona Apple. Yeah. Fiona Apple. Oh, big fan of Fiona. Anyway, welcome back to the Mark Aram show. What was I going to say? Oh, Chick-fil-A. Yeah, this is, I did. But when the boss texts me, he's like, have you heard about the Chick-fil-A hack? And I was like, what is it? You're thinking chicken sandwich. Yeah, like you get the special off-man, no, apparently there was a cyber attack on Chick-fil-A, and it may have exposed customer data in 10 states. Now, the good news, none of those states is Georgia. It's Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Go and change your password on the app. It's not in Georgia yet. That's amazing to me. that Chick-fil-A is now in all of those states. Because when I first moved down here... Just in the South. Yeah. Massachusetts has a Chick-Lay... I think they're going to Europe, too. Rhode Island, Vermont, New Mexico. So anyway, a Chick-fil-A hat... I wish I had a Chick-Fleigh hack like a secret off-the-menu item. Yeah, let me get the Down South Vinny chicken sandwich. It's a special with pimento cheese or something. I don't know. But different kind of hack. So if you have the Chick-fil-A app like I do, just change your password or...

your payment method, I don't know. But if that does impact Georgians, we will certainly lay new. All right. When we come back, Deborah's got tickets to see ACDC. And we're going to play part of my interview yesterday with foreigner. Yes, foreigner. Social media is active through the broadcast at Mark Airman at WSB Radio. Two by two, ox the camel and a kangaroo. 738 on the Mark Aram show, just a second. You'll hear a snippet of my interview with foreigner yesterday in the WSB Live Lounge. But first and foremost, Deborah's got tickets to see Akadaka, also known as. ACDC. Yes, they're going to be at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with the Benz, August 27th for the power-up tour. Speaking of the Benz, we got some new data from Mercedes-Benz folks about when it was the Atlanta Stadium during the World Cup, but a really successful event there. But... That is after giving away these tickets. Let's do the eighth collar to Ocean Spray. Caller number 8 to 404-8720750. Eighth caller to 404-872-0-750. Wednesday, a pair of tickets to see ACDC at the Ben's, courtesy of the Mark Aram Show, at 955. WSB. All right, yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to interview two members of the band of foreigner, singer and guitarist. Jeff and Luis. So here's a portion of the interview yesterday in the WSB Live Lounge, me and foreigner. First off, thank you. Very much. Thank you for having us. Oh, our absolute pleasure. This is like a bucket list item for all of us here. I want to also thank you for your generosity. So foreigner donated this amazing VIP prize pack to the 26th annual WSB Carathon. So meet and greet pictures at the concert backstage. It was a lot of money and it got scooped up like this. And you're going to help us over the 25 years we've done the WSP Carathon raised over $30 million for the kids and children. Wow. Thank you. Thank you. So Jeff and Louise, let me start with this. I need to know your, you're like superhero origin story, your foreigner origin story. How did this come to be? Okay, well, I was, I did a movie in 2000, that came out in 2001. It was called Rockstar. Awesome movie. And in the movie with me was Jason Bonham, son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. And Jason and I just kind of hit it off in the movie. We had a good chemistry, musically, personally, everything else. So in 2000,

before when he was working, he was working with Mick Jay Jones. And he had kind of, he and, you know, he and Mick weren't sure, is it going to be a solo project, whatever. But they called me up. And they just said, would you be interested in? There was a show that they had booked. And they asked me if I'd be interested in doing it. So I came out there. We practiced for a week. It was great. The chemistry was fantastic. Mick was on fire. Jason and I were having a blast. I mean, it just really was a good thing. So we ended up doing the show. After the show, Mick was like, I've got to do this. And so he. decided he was going to revamp foreigner but once that happened we put the band back together and i've been there ever since so oh four is the origin story for me and you got officially into the band 2004 what's your origin story um well i was um i was working in a band called train i was playing the guitar there the keyboard player of foreigner i've known him since the 90s in san francisco we came up in music together so we've been you know many years friends he called me out of the blue one day and i'm like hey what's going on and he goes i know you're in train but would you ever would you ever consider it right And all those songs I'm hearing while he's telling me all this stuff. And I'm like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah, I go, give me a little bit of time to think about this, right? And I called him back in about five minutes. I'm like, give Jeff, you know, give Jeff my phone number. And pretty much right down the line, we got in a room and we were all kind of like, this is magic. I mean, everybody was there. You know, Phil was there. And even Tom, God bless him. He was part of the process too. And everyone was like unanimous. And after that. you know Mick Mick you know just basically came and said a thing I'll never forget he goes Louise I'll commit to you if you commit to me and I thought that is the most incredible thing to say to somebody just on the human level you know like not you're hired you know he goes I'll commit to you if you commit to me I'm like absolutely absolutely and so that's how I came into the band I have not a musical bone in my body And I can't relate to what you do. But I'm trying to think of a comparison, like, because you've obviously had successful music careers prior to foreigner. But it's foreigner. It's like you're getting called up. The Atlanta Braves call you up and you're like, hey, we'd love to have you as part of our team. I kind of think that's right because, you know, you know, when you're, I was just talking about this when we were in the room, I go, you know, I was around a lot of my peers, you know, the bands like train and matchbox and all. And like, and when this came, it was just like, oh, wow, you know, and we were just talking about, about looking at the CD. I'm like, look at that. We did that. We did. We were part of that. You know, you mentioned the rock and roll. We got to play on stage on the Rock and Roll of Fame and experience that whole thing. And because Mick Jay Jones. Mick Jay Jones believed in us and Mick Jay Jones handpicked. He's like, he's the dude, he's the dude, he's the dude, this is our band. And it's like there's no casting. There's no call. It was like you were hand selected. Correct. To continue this legacy. Yeah, for the most part. For the most part. And it's wild because, you know, it's not like that in our industry. Most of the time it's like, okay, you're one of number of this year. You're 100.

of 108 you go and it's like the you know the big casting call you know I looked at your tour you don't have a second to breathe till the end of August like you are well maybe breathe but we don't really you don't have a break like I mean that's exhilarating but also exhausting how do you maintain doing these the meet and greets the concerts like What's your secret to loving what we did? Is that it? Yeah. That's a big part of it. That's a big part of it. Because if you were, if this was like, okay, you know, work, like your body, your body responds to that. And when you love something, your body also responds to that. So it kind of keeps you going. And, you know, of course, sleep, you know, and trying not to wear out, you know, not to start trying to eat, right? All those basics. But it's really that. Like, you absolutely love what you do. And it gives you everything. I mentioned eating right, but I'll imagine, like, especially, you know, your voice. Do you do anything special? Is there a routine, like tea and honey? No, none of that. Actually, the best thing that you could do is not talk. I'll wrap this up. I mean, I know it's funny, it's funny, but honestly, like, the voice is a very... It's a multi-geared instrument. I mean, and so where you sing and where you speak are from two different places in your vocal chords. And where's it out the most is talking. Right. So there's a lot of times in silence, you know, a lot of times. Avoid Taco Bell lettuce till the end of August. Have you ever in, you know, either during the foreigner days or prior, had an issue on stage where you said... My appendix blew on stage. Oh, my God. So I... I used to play a guitar for John Way, and we were in Europe, and we were about a month into our tour, and I just was getting sicker and sicker. I'm like, I don't know, maybe I'm getting food point. I just, I was trying to find out why I was getting worse, and then one day it hit really hard right before we were playing. Like, did anybody eat that salami? I was like, oh, my God. And I just kept going like this. I didn't really know. You know, you don't know what your appendix hurts like or whatever. So we got up on stage, and I, you know, I remember looking at, Tim, John's bass player, I'm like, I don't know. And that's all I remember. I just, and then I remember waking up backstage, puking into a bucket. And there was these, these German, you know, paramedic. Yeah, they're coming. They're like, they're like, you know, talking to each other. They're like, what's going on? I said, oh, well, it hurts. And I was going like this, right? I go, oh, it hurts really bad. And I just got food poisoning. And the guy took his fingers and went, you mean right here? And when he did that, I saw like, I was like, ah, he goes, we got to get him to the hospital now. His appendix is blah. Oh my God. And short, you know, long story short, they went in, got my appendix. That's insane. And I spent like about three or four days, but we were almost done with the tour and I got out of the hospital earlier because like, you guys aren't going to finish the tour without me. I got to make this, you know. Jeff Louise, thank you again. Thank you. I'm excited for this. Thanks for your generosity with the Carathon and our listeners. Ladies and gentlemen, foreigner.

Warner tomorrow night at Ameris Bank Amphitheater. Congrats to all the listeners of our show that won tickets to see. I'm having a little fomo. But we got the Carathon tomorrow and Friday. Got to focus. Stay rested. Stay hydrated. Stay focused. W. SB Carathon incentives are active, including the Mark Aram Show listener lunch and a night of comedy with WSB Radio and Jeff Foxworthy at the Punchline and Buckhead. Scoop up those tickets right away before they sell out online. WSbrador.com slash. Carathon. Gee, try not to show the 751st. My car looks like a turd now. You're an idiot, too. That's Albert Brooks in one of my favorite movies of all time defending your life. Mr. Brooks turns 79 years old today. Happy birthday. His real name, Albert Einstein. I understand why he would want to change it. Yeah. His brother's Bob Einstein from Marty Funkhauser. in curbinger enthusiasm. Oh, yeah, that's right. Thank you. Happy birthday, Mr. Brooks. Got out an email from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, just doing a quick World Cup recap at the Ben's, which was then Atlanta Stadium. 175,000 bottles of water sold, 44,000 burgers, 42,000 bags of popcorn, 8,500 pounds of food recovered and donated to Atlantans in need through Second Helpings Atlanta. Everyone rave reviews about Atlanta's performance at the World Cup. and Mercedes-Benz as a venue. Speaking to World Cup, apparently there's going to be a World Cup baby explosion coming in about nine months, Deborah. Well, actually, they're already being born. So if you were pregnant during the World Cup and you've had your baby, there is a new wave of names from the players. So remember we were kind of watching the Norwegian player, Erland Harland. There are a bunch of babies in Peru, specifically, have been named Holland in his name. Also in Argentina. Of course, Lionel has also been popular. Christian is popular for Christian Rinaldo. You've got Brazil using Namar. So all the big players, too. But then some of the other ones are Enzo and... But you can't name your kid Messi in Argentina. No, not in Argentina, but they don't say it in Peru. All right. Cheers to all the World Cup babies we're going to see popping out in eight to nine months. Now you know, because of the Mark Aram Show. We're also expecting that there's going to be some support for midterm campaigns as well. We're going to see Mike Collins and Rick Jackson kind of accompany President Trump for this. The basis of this visit is definitely to talk about Trump accounts and just president's investment plan for kids under 18. WSP radio reporter Mary Ryan Howarth joined us live from Wheeler High School. She is going to be locked and loaded and ready to cover President Trump's visit in just a couple hours there. highlighting those Trump accounts in front of a bunch of adoring fans, I am sure. Now, you know... Trump said in the true social post that he intends to impose a 100% tariff on generic drugs, which would be effective August 1st of 28. And that would be if companies don't return manufacturing to the U.S. That was Naomi Kiesaj from Bloomberg News. She joined us live from Berlin, Germany. President Trump threatening tariffs on generic drugs, not taking place for another year or two. Good stuff from her. Now you know.

Taylor Farms has a separate plant in Mexico for a lot of their processed lettuces. And that's where this outbreak is centered on. That's where the focus is centered on. It's mainly shredded lettuce, which is generally distributed to Walmarts. Atlanta Radio's only produce expert Bobby Marlowe's breaking down what you need to know about shredded, Taco Bell, and Taylor Farms. Now you know. of Pete Hegseth was just how measured it was. He never lost his school, never really raised his voice until the very end, just repeatedly asking Pete Hegseth. You saw that sort of juxtaposition of styles compared to a Senator Gary Peters of Michigan who... basically yelled at Pete Hegseth called him a failure. That was Corey Smith from News Nation. Join us live in the nation's capital, recapping what happened in the big hearing yesterday. Secretary Hegesith and gang were trying to suggest or request $1.5 billion for the Iran War. Now you know, because of the Mark Haram show. I ran out the bed, the music bed. And now. That just takes me out of the star of the show running. Great stuff. We had the Bloomberg lady in Berlin, Germany, Corey and John Decker up in D.C. Stephen Lawson, political analysts, fantastic stuff from him as always. I'm giving out three stars of the show today. One to Mary Ryan Howarth, her first appearance on the Mark Aaron show. The second to Bobby Marbles, our produce expert. And third. I believe this is the second win in row. Smiling Mark McKay. Key to my heart, he brought in the new chicken palm sandwich from Chili's. It's sitting in the fridge. I'm about, I'm about to eat. So smile on Mark McKay, two in a row. Good job, Squeezy. Social media is active at Mark Aram. Don't forget tomorrow the WSP Carathon. Donate and get the incentives now online to WSBRadio.com slash carathon. Stay safe. Have a great Wednesday, Atlanta. that's right.