Alabama's Morning News for Friday July 31st, 2026

Hey guys, it's Ryan. I want to tell you about my new pastime, Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has been around for over a decade delivering the most fun you can have online. Play social casino style games for free, anytime, anywhere. So sign up at chumbacino.com. No purchase necessary. PGW. Boy, prohibited by law. See terms and conditions, 21 plus. The general election is coming fast, and if you're working on a campaign, you need every smart way to reach voters. IHeart delivers trusted audio at scale through AMFM radio, podcasts, and streaming, helping campaigns connect with voters at home, in the car, at work, and on the go. Whether you are building awareness, reinforcing your message, or extending your TV by, IHeart can help you reach the voters that matter. Put audio to work for your campaign today. Call 844-844-I-heart. That's 844-844-I-heart. Alabama's morning news. I'm J-T. Get a look at the economy here. What's happening with some housing issues here and also some earnings report from Apple and Amazon. Roy, O'Neill, our correspondent, been following this. Roy, welcome in. Happy Friday to you. Hey there, JT. Happy Friday. Woo! Here we go. You're excited. It reminds me, let's get my second cup of coffee. All righty. Let's talk about first home buying. It seems to be slowing down just a bit. Yeah, we are noticing that. The folks over Redfin say that home buying is actually slipping by about 1.7% to their lowest levels since early April. Now, they're saying that tours of homes are actually up. So the looky-lose are there, but people are not signing the dotted line. In part, we think, because the mortgage rates have climbed to their highest levels of the year as well. A lot of people look and just not a lot of people signing the dotted line hoping something gives in the weeks ahead. Yeah, and we saw the Fed hold off on interest rate hikes or, you know, cuts. But the economy seems to be strong. At least that's what I keep hearing with the Iran situation. Obviously, it slows some areas down. Is it still on track to be pretty good? Are we slowing a little bit? Well, we got the gross domestic product number yesterday, too, showing that the GDP grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in April, May, and June. That's weak. You normally want it to be almost double that amount. So that shows that the economy is not really growing or expanding as much as we would like, but consumer spending continues to power through. It was up a solid 2.1% that exceeded expectation. You and I keep spending, but yeah, the overall economy is still, it's okay. Yeah, yeah, it's not as bad as Democrats are paying this. And, you know, the gloom and doom in the world is ending type of reports that they keep coming out with. Speaking of money, Apple and Amazon, their earnings report came out. Any shock here?

Well, Amazon reported some strong cloud growth in their numbers. So shares of Amazon are up 12%, but Apple shares were down as much as 7 or 8% for a while. They're saying that, look, the cost of making these phones and the computer chip shortage is a real struggle for them. But Amazon's surging, in part also because they confirmed they have claimed $600 million in refunds for tariffs. So remember, the Supreme Court declared that the president's tariff plan was unconstitutional, so companies are getting refunds. And Amazon has taken in $600 million in refunds of tariffs. Now, whether or not that money ever goes to us. the ones who paid it, that's a little questionable. Yeah, almost laughable. It's like when the airlines have a quarterly profit of $40 billion, and yet we're going to have to raise those prices because we just... Oh, you want the full soda. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, you mentioned the chips, too, being a problem in the lack of availability here in the United States. You would think by now, knowing the need for these chips and also the fact that China's kicking our butt with this that we might have built a couple of... more chip plants around here somewhere in this country? The problem is it takes about a decade to build one plant when it comes to that. That's how complex these chip plants are. And then it's one of those things of if you build it for the chips that they're making today by the time you cut the ribbon on the thing, it's out of date. Oh my gosh. You're going to have to build. Well, that's the nature of these chips are expanding and changing so fast that it's tough to build them. What's the old line about building an airplane while it's still in the sky? Like it's one of those things. You never catch up. A decade to build that's outrageous. Get the Amish to come build them. They'll do it in a week. Up like nobody's business. All right. Speaking of crazy stories here, this spinning out of control, I guess, satellite is run amok here. What's NASA doing? What happened? Yeah, so this is a fun story. So there's this thing called the Swift Observatory that's been in space since 2004 studying gamma ray bursts and everything else. 2004. I thought you were talking about Travis Kelsey, the Swift Observatory. Yeah, right. Well, if they. If they renamed it, we'd all be paying attention to this thing. I'll play that right now, too. But so Swift is up there, has been since 2004. It was only supposed to last a year, and it's still working. But its orbit is degrading. So they said, hey, we have an idea. This company out of Arizona called Catalyst says, we'll launch a robot up to Swift, grab onto it with three arms, and then have our rocket motor sort of thrust it up and put it back in a good orbit. Well, it's the rescue ship that is spinning out of control as it reaches the Swift Observatory. NASA is saying, this is really a technology test. Whether or not we lose Swift almost isn't really a big deal. But if they can get this technology of rescuing satellites, that's what's important. Because this mission costs only, air quotes, $30 million. To save a billion dollar satellite, that's good money.

Well, yeah. So that's why they're saying that this may be worth it long run. It's all relative. And it's amazing, too. I don't know the exact number. But actually, how many things in space are just floating around? Oh, right? You know, they've just been lost or we just leave them there. I don't know. Is it getting to be. Traffic jam up there? I know it's pretty big. It is. Well, no, that floating debris is a problem. Eventually, all that stuff, gravity does its thing and eventually pulls it all back to Earth and it burns up in the atmosphere on reentry. But a lot of times that can be a real danger. Yeah, it's, the space station is always, you know, looking out for that stuff because one wayward part and that causes the space station to actually maneuver away from stuff that may be floating in orbit. Well, buddy, you have a great weekend. I appreciate the update this morning where we'll chat on Monday. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. and Beth Davis joins us now from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation here in Alabama. Beth, welcome in. Good morning. Thanks. Thank you. I appreciate you having me. So I wanted to touch base. You've got some initiatives going on now and some drives happening as far as grants and fundraising that you're heavily into this time of the year. But also, I want to talk about what's coming up this fall. You've got some really good events happening. Why don't we start with the Raven4 Research motorcycle ride? What's this all about? This is our annual motorcycle ride. We start and finish at Hardy, Hardy Dixie Harley Davidson. And you know what? It's taken place on Sunday, September 13. People can register. And this year we're doing a poker run, which is new for us. us. We've never done that before. I love poker runs. They're fun. I've never actually ridden in one, but I've been around them before. And yeah, what a great group of people that come out for these things too. They're just, just amazing on how well, you know, those things come off. So how do people get signed up for it? It's coming up September 13. So it's, yeah, kind of around the corner. It is. People can visit Reven, R-E-V-V-V-I-N, number four, research.com. To sign up, registration is 35 for a single or 60 for a two-up. And, you know, it's really, this event has started in 2009, and it's raised over $265,000 for a week. So we look forward to having everybody come out and join us in September for Reven for research. All right, a lot of fun happening in October as well. Let's start with Kahaba Q, the big tailgate challenge down once again and our friends there at Kahaba Brewing. Always fun. I can't wait to come back with you and be a part of the judging. So good. But yeah, that's Saturday, October 3rd. Tell us about this. This is our tailgate themed one. So, you know, in Alabama, we're all about football and beer.

and barbecue. And for this event, people, teams will be competing and shep presenting their best tailgate bites. So think dips and meats and meats and sides and desserts. You can get. Pons of amazing food. And your ticket, you know, you're coming out and getting great food, great drink, but supporting it for a great cause. So people can find out more at cahabacue.com. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 day of event. or VIP tickets are 50, and that comes with a couple beverages of your choice. Of course. Very good. Saturday, October 3rd for the Tailgate Cahabacue Challenge. That'll be a lot of fun. How about the Kalera Goes Pink Golf Tournament also October 8th, just about a week or later? What's going on? This is... the 16th year. We partner with the city of Kalira, and it's a huge citywide partnership. You know, they're high school, does a pink out football game. They sell t-shirts for, you know, to raise money for research. And then, of course, they hold a golf tournament. And it's at Timberline Golf Tournament. And it's really, it's $125 a golfer or $500 a foursome. Yeah. You get to come out, have lunch, go golf, come back for an awards reception. and know at the end of the day, you're helping fuel breast cancer research right here in Alabama. So that's coming up on October 8. Timberline Golf Course is a fun course too. I love playing that. And also in October Sunday, October 11th, and the Bolt for Breast Cancer 5K. Where's this happening? It is taken place in Mountain Brook at Crestline Elementary Field. That's where the start and finishes. It's on Sunday, October 11th. This is an event that was organized by our junior board of the BCRFA to help us raise money. And it started a few years back. And since then, it's raised over $260,000. So we've got a 5K. We've got a fun run. And people come out. It's really family-friendly. you know, you've got some serious runners, and then you've got some strollers, you know, people who are just meandering, you've got some survivors out there, people going through treatment. You know, it's just a wide variety of people. So people can just sign up at boltforbreastcancer.com and really just, whether you're a serious runner or just want to support the BCRFA and research, come on out. There's face painting for the kiddos. There's an inflatable. course and all of that, you know, just, and you get a T-shirt, you know, super foot. It's a great time. And I got to tell you, all these events are always fun with you leading the charge and all your staff and your helpers and the volunteers. And I mean, over the years, you guys have invested, what is it, over $17 million in breast cancer research. It's just incredible. It is. You know, our last investment from 2025 fundraising efforts was $1.2 million. We funded 25 research projects from

across the state. You know, and so what's unique about the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama is that everything we raise here in Alabama stays here in Alabama, fueling research across the state. So from Hansel at Hudson Alpha down at University of South Alabama in Mobile, everything that we're doing and everything in between, you know, we're funding research across the state. to ultimately save lives. Well, if you'd like to be a part of it, make a donation. BCRFA.org is the website, Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, BCRFA.org on how you can be a part of this and also get some more info on all these great events coming up. Beth Davis, thank you so much. I appreciate you. Thank you. I hope to see you this fall. Alabama's morning news. I'm JT. Weekend right around the corner and a big movie opening up this weekend. Joining us to talk a little bit more about this from Focus on the Family and Unplugged is Brett Eccleberry. Brett, welcome in. Thanks for being here. Hey, JT. Thanks for having me on, man. So Odyssey, let's start with that. It's gotten so big and did so well last weekend again and two weeks in a row at number one, clearly. What a great job Christopher Nolan has done. I mean, the guy touches anything. It's automatically gold. usually. So Spider-Man opens up, but let's talk about Odyssey. Do you think this is a long run of making big money like this, or do they typically fall after three or four weeks? You know, what we've seen with a lot of movies is recently, I would say, is they start to fall off after a few weeks. I don't think that's going to be the case with Odyssey because with the Odyssey, not only is it getting generally very good reviews, I think people are really talking it up as like a movie theater experience, right? You want to see it in IMAX or just talk. with a guy this morning who wanted to see it an iMac 70 millimeter right that's what the movie was technically shot for you don't have to see it in that but it's become such an experience that I think people are going to see it and they're going to see it again in the movie theater so I think this I think the Odyssey's got a lot of legs you know it'd be really cool if you could show this in the sphere in Vegas Oh, man, that would be pretty impressive. I mean, just having seen it, some of the practical effects, man, I do think that would be something. I would say, you know, you might sell the place out, at least for one showing and really promoted it. I mean, that'd be so cool. You'd feel like you're actually there. All right. Well, let's talk about Spider-Man, yeah, flying in to hopefully, you know, do very well. I would think it may end up owning the box office. What do you think? I think so. I think it will probably knock. the Odyssey off its perch from the box office at the top spot. I believe the Odyssey made about 87 million this last weekend. Obviously nothing to sneeze at, especially for like second weekend opening. But with how big Spider-Man is, all the Spider-Man movies are big events. I would expect it to take the top spot over the Odyssey. But oddly enough, Tom Holland features in Spider-Man. He also features in the Odyssey. So he's doing pretty well with his movies this summer. Yeah, not a bad couple of movies to be a part of. So let's talk about the previous.

as Spider-Man's. I was talking to a buddy of mine here. I work with, and he loves all these types of movies. He's all up on him. And he said, yeah, probably a good idea to go watch the first Spider-Man movies to just kind of know the background. Does this movie standalone or is my friend correct? Well, I would say it will really help you to know maybe what happens. in the previous Spider-Man movie. So that would be Spider-Man No Way Home, which dealt with kind of a big multiversal chaos, right? They brought back old Spider-Man, Toby McGuire, Andrew Garfield. They brought back old Spider-Man villains to kind of mingle with the new Spider-Man Tom Holland and the new characters and new stories there. So at the end of that movie, there was a spell, Dr. Strange from the Marvel universe. cast a spell to make everyone forget who Peter Parker was. That solved the multiverse issue. So that's really where the movie is kicking off now is. Peter Parker, he's being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that everyone knows and loves. But now everyone who knew who Peter Parker was has forgotten him. So it's a little lonelier this time. So if you don't necessarily know that context of why has everyone forgotten Peter Parker, you might be a little bit lost. But in general, I think it's pretty standard Spider-Man fair. And you liked it, right? You got to see a little preview. So I didn't see it. We fell on the team who saw it, and he liked it quite a lot, who's going to be doing the review for us. He said the action was great, some of the practical effects, the stunt work, just the characters as well. He really enjoyed. He did say that the emotional element that a lot of these Spider-Man movies have had in the past didn't connect quite as much as some of the previous ones, just with Peter dealing with, okay. having to make new friends or remake some of the friends that he had before. But overall, he liked it quite a lot. Awesome, awesome. All right. One streaming option here called The Dink about pickleball. What? Who's in this? Yeah, so The Dink is an Apple TV original movie. It stars Jake Johnson, Mary Steenbergin, Ed Harris is in it as well. Yeah. This movie, The Dink, is about the sport of pickleball. It's about a former tennis pro who gets injured and he has to pick up pickleball as a way of recovering and trying to, ideally, for him, work his way back into tennis shape, but along the way he discovers that, you know, I actually kind of like pickleball and the people that are playing this. So there's a lot of conflict between him and his father in that where the movie derives a lot of... the humor. It's a PG-13 sports comedy, which is kind of rare, I would say, nowadays.

But, yeah, pickleball is a big thing. So we knew a movie was coming eventually. Well, don't miss the dink then. Once again on Apple TV, right? Brett Echleberry, thank you, buddy. I appreciate you. Thank you, J.T. appreciate the time. Alabama's Morning News. I'm J.T. and John Decker joins us now. Our White House correspondent, just a busy little schedule for our president. Just a couple things happening today. One, he's trying to get Mr. Todd Blanche, Todd Blanche, confirmed as our attorney general. But that may be on pause, depending on what the president decides. do here at the last minute. But first, John, welcome in. I want to get your thoughts on this quote-unquote deal with Hamas, the president, apparently, is cut. Ryan Crest here, so every great barbecue takes a little patience. And while the food does its thing, you can enjoy a little Chumba Casino. The perfect recipe. Chumba Casino, always good to have you back. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, void were prohibited by law. CTs and C is 21 plus sponsored by Chumba Casino. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with iHeart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio hosts product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan today. Visit iHeartadvertising.com. Again, that's iHeartadvertising.com. Well, it's not a deal just yet. A deal would involve both parties, both Israel and Hamas agreeing to something, and they haven't agreed to anything. It's a plan. And so as the president often says, it takes two to tango. Well, Hamas has not agreed to this plan to disarm. And Israel has not agreed to withdraw its military from Gaza. So until that happens, there will be no plan enacted. It's a good idea. But the idea has not come to fruition and there's no timeline for it to come to fruition unless those two things happen, unless Hamas disarms, and unless Israel withdraws its truths. And if you believe you can trust Hamas, well, congratulations on being born yesterday. Welcome to the world. Right. I mean, it's just, is it really getting to the point where it's the boy who cried wolf and we're just like, a deal? Okay, yeah, we heard the deal with Iran. Yeah, okay. Until we see this, I don't trust any terrorist on this planet any time to make a deal with the United States. ever. All right, let's talk about what's going on with Mr. Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche. It looks like a couple of folks are not really on board with this. Thom Tillis and who's the other guy that's John Cornyn. Yeah, these guys are out in January and they're opposed to this. So what's the president thinking?

had claims of excessive force by DOC officers. And our report sort of, you know, we name the 12 officers with the highest frequency of being named in those claims and that have at least a 50% rate of settlement as far as the end of that case. But then also we look at some patterns that we see, you know, retaliation for speaking out against officers or even just the possibility that you might file a lawsuit. And then, you know, a lot of officers that have multiple settlements against them, some six-figure settlements, and they're still working at DOC, some of them in, you know, higher up supervisory roles. Well, you know, our Attorney General Steve Marshall is weighed in on this. I've talked to him about this before when this documentary came out. And he says, look, the people, the majority of folks in prisons in Alabama are not, you know, people that have been pulled over for having some weed in their car. These are violent criminals. 80% of them are violent criminals that need to be in prison. But with that said, there are a number of issues that go on in these prisons. And Steve says, yes, we've got problems. We've got to work on some things here. But he also said, you know, staffing is an issue. Nobody wants to become a corrections officer. God bless these people that do this. But you're right. It's not the best of conditions. And, you know, if there is violent activity going on, you know, obviously it came out and there's some things that need fix. So if you're brought in to the governor's office and you're sitting at a conference room table and the attorney general's there and you say, well, look, let's talk about this movie. What is your suggestion to fix this? Because it really comes down to money. Yeah, I mean, I'll say, you know, DOC has had an increasing share of the general fund budget. I think something like one out of four dollars of the general fund go to DC, you know, and it's only gotten higher over the last while. And, you know, some of that ostensibly was to be able to hire more staff, you know, and there was, you know, I think what was a reasonable positive step to increase the starting pay for some DOC to try to, you know. address some of those that understaffing. But despite all of that, you know, we've seen DOC now has this boondoggle, like, you know, over a billion dollar prison that's been delayed and delayed and delayed that, you know, one prison costs, what, two mega prisons were supposed to cost. And I think that more money for DOC is really proven to not address the real issue. I think a key thing is that there is what we found in the report is that there's this culture of abuse that. you know, is pervasive across the system. And yeah, we, we name a few officers that, you know, are, you know, earning all of them more than $100,000 from the state, you know, each year. Right. They, they rack up, you know, hundreds of thousands more dollars in just legal costs to Alabama taxpayers. And they still work at DFC. And you can imagine, you know, I think it's fine. And it's okay. And, you know, that's required in statute that. You're a state employee and you get sued for something in your line of work that the state provides a defense. But at what point do we say enough is enough? And, you know, these people don't need to necessarily be working in our prison. Yeah, how do you slow this down? How do you start to, you know, remove this type of abuse in these cases? And, you know, it's a lot of money going out. What's the solution inside? More cameras to keep you an eye on what's happening? How do you handle this?

Yeah, I mean, I don't think that cameras are a silver bullet, but I do know that, you know, when criminal activity on the part of officers has happened and has been, you know, criminally charged and, you know, prosecuted in court, it's almost always because there was camera. you know, evidence. And the reality is that people don't tend to believe incarcerated people when they say, I've been, you know, beaten in jail. But if the, if the camera says clearly they were, then, you know, prosecutors have an easier job of doing that. And, you know, unfortunately, that's just not the reality in most of the prisons. And also, you know, we've seen throughout these lawsuits, too. you know many officers know where the blind spots are in the cameras and sometimes will take guys over to that area so you know what we found in the report is you know in this research is that there's a big culture of abuse and part of that is promoting and protecting these officers that have a clear history of this right um and so you know one of my initial recommendation or our initial recommendations is if if an officer has multiple you know settlements or substantiated claims of excessive force against them. I mean, number one, they shouldn't be training or supervising other officers. Otherwise, you're just going to reproduce the same, you know, behavior. But there's, there's nothing to say that you can't put that person on, you know, perimeter duty or tower duty or something like that. Yeah, change their position inside and then ultimately get rid of them if they don't, you know. step up and play the game the way it's supposed to be played. Well, Chris, I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much. And, yeah, let's stay on top of this in connection with each other as, you know, they're moving forward to build some prisons, but they've got to work on some of these other problems too. Thank you, Chris. Absolutely. Thanks, J-T. Hey, guys, it is Ryan. For years, Chumba's been set in the bar for online social casino fun, and it just keeps getting better. With new games released every week and daily bonuses to collect, the fun never stops. So claim your welcome bonus now at chumbacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW. Boy, we're prohibited by loss. See terms and conditions, 21 plus. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with Iheart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio hosts product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan today. Visit iHeartadvertising.com. Again, that's iHeartadvertising.com. Joining us now for Magic City Harvest is Lydia Estes, who I met the other night at the big kickoff party for, I guess, Birmingham Restaurant Week is underway. Lydia, good to see you. Good to see you, too. I'm glad you came. It was nice to meet you the other night. That was a fun time, and it goes now through next Saturday, August. I'm going to guess the 8th. Right, yes, there we go. So get out and enjoy Birmingham Restaurant Week. So you work with Magic City Harvest. And what a cool organization. You're the development, community, engagement, management.

That's a big title there. It is. I bet you're busy. So tell us about Magic City Harvest and how long have you guys been around? Yeah, so we've been around since 1990s, so over 35 years. And our mission is to end food waste and food hunger in Birmingham. So we collect excess food from food distributors, event spaces, restaurants, and we work with over 21 feeding agencies in Birmingham. Wow. Do you know Don Lupo? I mean, he is Mr. City of Birmingham. Yeah. Yeah. Great guy and does a lot of the work that helps folks as well. But with Magic City Harvest, I've always wondered why so many restaurants and fast food places, they just throw stuff away. Yeah. And it can go to good use. Yeah. And that's what really we were created for. We have six female founders who saw an issue. They were leaving an event. Food was being thrown out. They walked past people on the street who were asking for food. Yeah. And they saw two issues that they could solve with one organization. And here it is. Here we are. How do you get around the health department laws and rules that, oh, no, you can't take that. Now there's a liability and risk involved of contamination and yada, yada, yada. Yeah, so we are registered 501C3, so we follow government rules. We work with restaurants diligently. We have a truck driver and a transportation manager who checks all the food, make sure it's edible. Our kind of motto is we would never serve food that we would not ourselves eat or feed to our families. Well, if you need a taste tester, let me know. Yeah, okay. We'll keep you in mind. So, well, that's great. So you work with how many different organizations? We work with over 21 feeding agencies and around 30 food donors. That's incredible. So great success. Is it still growing? Are you looking for more food donors and restaurants? Yeah, we always, you know, our mission is to end food waste. So any restaurant or event space or grocery store that has food that's close to the sell-by date. Or just misprinted and they can't sell it. We would rather food go to our hungry neighbors rather than the landfill. I mean, when you go out and you talk to folks to be a part of the organization as far as donors of food. You batten 1,000? Or do you get some pushback sometimes? Or is there any, you know, issues that come up and say, well, we would, but our corporation says we can't? Yeah, we do sometimes with the health, you know, are we allowed to give this away rather than throw it away to feed other people? And we really show them, you know, what we've done for the past 35 years. And we really show them that we follow government regulations. We make sure all food is edible safe. We have refrigerated trucks, so it keeps it fresh. We really go straight from food donors basically to. the feeding agency. So it's a quick turnaround. It's efficient so that... Do shelters and places like that also work with you? Yeah. So that's part of our feeding agencies. It's homeless shelters. It's women's shelters who are facing domestic violence issues. Wow. Anyone who needs it in the community, yeah. Well, you went to school and you just got your master's in teaching English from the University of Alabama. What got you...

associated with the Magic City Harvest. You have a heart for this? I do. So I have grown up in Birmingham, grown up in the nonprofit world. My parents have been in these circles forever. While I was getting my master's and my undergraduate degree in Spanish, I worked with other organizations, nonprofits like Hika and ALIRP. And so I just knew I wanted to go into the nonprofit space in Birmingham, help grow my community. And food is at the... bottom of everything. You can't do anything without food. Right. And it could be easily overlooked if you're not, you know, facing food insecurity. So this just has my heart. That's awesome. That's great work you're doing. Well, so you've got a big event coming up very soon, a couple of weeks. August 13th. The Magic City Bingo Bash. What's going on? Yeah. So we are going to have a night of neon bingo. We're going to have prizes, a DJ. It's kind of a retro night. Cool. Where's it going to be? It's going to be at All Good Beverage Company. Money goes to a good cost to fight food insecurity in Birmingham. You get tickets on your website? How do you get a ticket? Yeah. So you can buy tickets now. Magic City Harvest.org slash fundraisers. Okay. $30. You get three bingo tickets and a drink ticket. We're going to have another opportunity to win through our alcohol ring toss. Gotcha. So it's going to be a great night. Yeah. Magic City Bingo Bash starts at 7 o'clock. It goes about 9.30 that night. It's going to be August 13th. So come on out and support. this great organization, Magic City Harvest doing such great work here in our area. Well, Lydia, it's great to see you again. Thank you so much for coming in. Thank you so much for having me. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. and joining us, Jay Radla from Daytradefund.com to take a look at the economy briefly, and then we'll talk about a couple of airline stories out there in the news this morning. Jay, happy Friday. Welcome in. Oh, pleasant to get morning, my friend. So I guess the Fed said, nah, we're not going to do anything right now, but he didn't give much more than that. Very little future guidance. I mean, he is really tight-lipped. Drew McIntyre here from WWE. Wheeling the Claymore can be a life of chaos. When I'm not dominating in the ring, Chumba Casino is how this warrior takes a wee break. With hundreds of online social games and new weekly releases, there's always something fresh to try. And those daily boosts, next level. Even my free time feels like Valhalla. So when life feels like a battle, kick up your feet, have some fun, and let's chumba. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law, CTs and Cs, 21 Plus, sponsored by Chumba Casino. The general election is coming fast, and if you're working on a campaign, you need every smart way to reach voters. IHeart delivers trusted audio at scale through AMFM radio, podcasts, and streaming, helping campaigns connect with voters at home, in the car, at work, and on the go. Whether you are building awareness, reinforcing your message, or extending your TV by, IHeart can help you reach the voters that matter. Put audio to work for your campaign today. Call 844-844-I-Hart. That's 844-844.

Or I heart. Which he said he was going to be, which is why I'm shocked that people are shocked. Yeah. I'm like, wait a minute, time out here. He told you he was going to do this. So when he does it, you're acting like a toddler that's thrown a two-year-old temper tantrum. It just, so what they're saying is, you know, they want something, but he's made it clear that, you know, he's going to hold his cards tight to his chest and he's going to. relay information as he thinks it's needed and go from there. So it's going to be interesting to see if he continues in this mode, seeing the pushback on Wall Street. But the bottom line is you have the Fed that's kind of equally divided between should we increase interest rates or should we reduce them. And you've got more people kind of thinking maybe an increase might be the best way to go because if inflation continues to give us the battle it does. Perhaps that's what's needed. The problem is it's such a balancing act. You know I've talked about this quite a bit with Jerome Powell. You can't do too much too soon because that can cause some adverse impact. You don't want to be late to the party because that can be bad too. So here you've got to try to time it in such a way that you can. you know, move your policy in just slightly ahead of whatever might be happening. And I tell you, it's really causing a lot of people on Wall Street to be flustered because they want to get some sort of an idea of, okay, Fed Chair, what is your criteria? What are you looking at? What are you concentrating on? What's going to tell you that it's time for? Whatever, whatever, whatever. And he's... He's simply not providing it. And it's just, again, causing these people to go absolutely bananas. I mean, while you've got the president of it going, come on, let's go, Florida. Time to get moving here. He's over there with a pair of scissors going, cut, cut, cut, cut. That's all he wants to do. Make a move. And the Fed chair, the new one, who's now, this is the second Fed chair meeting that he's overseen. Yeah, he said, look, politics are not going to come into play here. Nope. All right, let's talk about the airline. It's kind of crazy now. They're moving towards premium seating, I guess, to help offset that higher cost of oil price. They've got to make more money because I guess those billions they make every quarter is not enough profit for them. What's going on? Well, you know, some of the low-cost carriers, though, need these premium seats. Frontier has had first-class seats. We have a legiont now that's going to have first-class seats. Southwest has got the premium... first premium coach seats and they're looking at the possibility of first class. They're finding more and more people on the low-cost carrier side that's willing to pay more to sit in these nice seats. That's giving them an opportunity to make more money. Frontier just announced their earnings and what we're finding is Wall Street said goodness with the increase in fuel costs. It's going to be horrific for Frontier. They're probably going to show a loss of close to 50 cents to share. Their loss was 10 cents a share. They did much, much, much, much better than anyone thought. And a lot of it ties into some of the premium seats that they're making available and how many people are responding. And we're not only seeing the low-cost carriers adopt this, but more also on the large legacy carriers as well. Because passengers are just absolutely sick to death of sitting in these small...

Coach seats, especially if you're crammed back in the middle seat, and you're saying, hey, I can get a coach premium seat where the seating configuration is two and two. There's no middle seat, a little bit extra leg room, maybe treat it a little nicer, some amenities. Yeah, I'll pay a little bit more for that. And I tell you right now, airlines can't sell enough of them because the demand is through the roof. Wow. Are they going to go ahead and replace the old seats with new, more comfortable, wider, comfortable seating? Well, what they're doing is they're ripping out a few rows of coach. and replacing them with a few more rows of these premium seats. Okay. And it's really working out well. And, you know, before. I like to see, you know, a little back massager, perhaps, in some of these. Yeah. Yeah. I think you and I'd be long gone before that rolls right. Right, right. And airlines in the United States are not known for customer service in any regard whatsoever, ever. And it's simply a matter of which airline would you like to endure the best. Because travel is something we endure these days. We no longer. Enjoy it. It's been a long time since that. Boy, I'll tell you, Jay, I used to love to fly. Now it's like, okay, all right, let's go. What a pain this is going to be. But, you know, sometimes. Every month we go somewhere. But now, I mean, it's been probably a year and a half since I've stepped on an airplane simply because, look, I'll drive. And, you know, if I've got to go somewhere long range, I'll do that. But no, I just, I'm just tired of being crammed into, you know, airports and airplanes and being treated like we're treated. Well, let me see what's going on with this. I saw a little snippet about United Airlines approaching Delta. This happened last year about a possible merger. Is that still playing around? Well, this was a very quiet kind of behind-the-scenes conversation where United did approach Delta last year and said, what would you think about a merger? I'm thrilled to death. Big time this didn't happen because you're talking about if we base everything on available seat miles and some other criteria the number one size and the number two size airline on the planet. If they came together, what a juggernaut that would be. I suspect the Trump administration would probably allow it because they're very pro airline. But what that would have meant would have been lower fewer seats, higher fares, big time. So I'm glad Delta said, no, baby, nah, we'll stay over here. Because Delta's making more money than anybody in the world. And I'm glad that's the case. Of course, United made news a couple months ago when you and I were talking about them floating around the idea of them and American getting together. That I don't think would be too bad. And I know the shareholders. for American would absolutely love to hook their wagon to United because United is making a whole lot more money than they are. Yeah. But, yeah, Delta and United, we're told it's no longer a thing. Wall Street Journal came out with a report that it happened sometime last year and again. I'm thrilled it. It went nowhere. All right. Jay Ratliff, Trade Fund.com. Jay, thank you. And have a great weekend. We'll talk to you next week. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. I've got to tell you, pharmaceutical drugs are a big expense for a lot of people. And there's a new report from the pharmaceuticals. Reform Alliance that says these rising prescription drug prices are a major driver of America's affordability crisis going on right now. And joining us to talk about this is former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, who is very aware of this report. J.D., welcome and thank you so much for being here. Let's get right to it. What's the biggest takeaway from the report that everybody should know about? Well, the bottom line is,

that President Trump had the right instincts when he issued that executive order last year for most favored nation status. And in true Trumpian fashion, he flipped the script. When I was serving in Congress, we vote on most favored nation status for foreign nations. The president is saying, look. Americans are paying roughly three times the amount for prescription drugs that are European cousins and the rest of the developed world are paying. Something's wrong with that picture. Let's bring down the prices in America. Put Americans first. Put it on a par with what the rest of the developed world is paying. So the president issued that executive order. About 19 big pharma companies went and shook hands and did a couple of high profile things to knock down some of the prices. But basically they're into a delay game, like the old days of basketball with four corners, delay. Right, right. And the best way to get this done, JT, is to codify, have Congress put into law. what the executive order says. And the good news is there's a bill in the house, HR 3493, the Global Fairness and Drug Pricing Act. Hey, it is Ryan Seacrest here. If you love great games and a little extra excitement to your day, I got something fun for you. Chumba Casino and I have teamed up to create an exclusive online social casino game. It's called Ryan Sechrest 10K ways. It's fun and free to play.

by Trumpa Casino. You know what your customers are doing right this second? The exact same thing you are, listening to me, which, let's be honest, is kind of flattering. But my point is, ads on IHeart Radio actually get heard. In the car, at the gym, on the couch, while people are walking their dogs. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? You're a good boy, that's right, you're a good boy. So why not make the next ad about you? Get started today. Call 844-844-Ehart or go to IHeartadvertising.com. That's 844-844-Ehart or IHeartadvertising.com. And this is one occasion. You know, you hear about all the polarization and how Republicans and Democrats like cats and dogs and everybody fighting. The fact is this is one issue where the American people get it. And it's not a pro-Republican, pro-demican. It's a pro-American issue, right? Very bipartisan. Yeah, we've got Andy Biggs, my neighbor out here in Arizona, now the Republican nominee for governor out here. He co-sponsored this along with Ro Khanna, the very left-leaning California. Yeah, well, let me ask you this. With all of this going on, and you were part of this report, you know, some people are actually... doing things like skipping a day or cutting their pills in half and, you know, these high drug prices are there because lobbyists for Big Farmer are keeping them up there. So what do you say to people that think that Big Farmers being run by lobbyists and vice versa? Well, what's going on is that Big Pharma is using its funds. And remember this year, given the fact that they jacked up prices on about a thousand prescription drugs, just as 2026. started and there was no reason to do it. It wasn't, didn't match the inflation rate or anything. It just was they did it because they could and because they've always been able to do it. And indeed, they've gone in right now. They've got three lobbyists for every member of Congress. But to those who are cynical, I'll just tell you what would go on when big hot issues would come up. In the final analysis, members of Congress and the U.S. Senate are wise to listen to their constituents. Yes. Not K Street. And look, the K Street gang, they're always going to be there. They have a right to advocate. It's a free country. We all have a right to advocate for our certain policy priorities. But in the final analysis, with an election coming up, and with 91% of Republicans, 70% of independence and 64% of Democrats, a landslide margin across the political spectrum, saying they want to see most favored nation status for the United States.

United States. When you have that, moreover, when you have 94% of the American people saying big pharma and high prescription costs are the prime driver of the increased cost in American health care, the handwriting's on the wall. Yeah, well, let me ask you this, J.D. How close are we for Congress and or the president together to getting some reform to happen? and get some changes done where the prices will come down. What's the reality and how close are we to that reality? Well, the reality is that members of Congress of both parties are going to look and they're going to see, wow, the American people really don't like the job we've been doing. And they really don't like the argumentation, which to the casual observer appears one side says dots, so the other side says stripes. Here is one issue to do what the people want and restore our institutional credibility to a certain degree and also make a case for re-election. And just speaking candidly, nothing. What was that? President Reagan says when they feel the heat, they see the light. And that's why I'm hoping those listening to our conversation today will go to the website, pharma reform alliance.com. And right up there at the top is a way. for average Americans to sign the MFN petition, most favored nation status petition, and get it in the hands of their congressmen and senators. Well, I love it, and I'm glad you took some time to explain this to me and our listeners as well, and I appreciate the Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance getting the report together. And let's stay in touch and follow this and see where it goes. J.D. Hayworth, former Congressman, thank you. We'll do it again. Absolutely, J.T. Thanks for the time. Joining us now is Evan Brown, our Fox correspondent, and following what's happening in Florida as the officials now are urging doctors not to prescribe mental health medication for kids. Evan, good morning. Welcome in. What's going on here? Good morning. It's not that it's from the Surgeon General here in Florida, Dr. Joseph Latipo, who's not telling doctors not to or never prescribe these medications, but that other things could be better the course. for treating children with some mental health issues. So we're talking about depression, anxiety, ADHD, things like that. Dr. Latipo is encouraging to explore things like behavioral and cognitive therapy, addressing matters of nutrition and sleeping patterns and things like that before reaching for those kinds of medications because they do have side effects. And they're not always the most helpful. if a actual pharmacological reason behind the issues isn't there. So that's ultimately the gist of this. It's not a banning of any of these medications. It's not anything like that. It's not telling doctors they must not do this. But we'll call it some guidelines or guardrails or even just an urging to physicians, pediatricians and pediatric specialists to say, look.

If a child is presenting with something like anxiety or depression or maybe ADHD and something else, that they ought to try these different therapies first before. Looking for excitement, Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train. Play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win. And get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, slingo, and more. Live the Chumba Life at Chumbacasino.com. If you're part of a political campaign, you know media plans are under serious pressure right now. TV alone is not reaching everyone. Digital is crowded, and every dollar has to work harder. That's why political advertisers are adding IHart. With broadcast radio, podcasts, and streaming, IHart helps get your message in front of voters with trusted voices, efficient frequency, and scale across local markets. If you need to reach more voters before election day, let's talk. Partner with IHart today. Call 1-84-844-4-I-Hart. putting the child on some very potent medication. Yeah, I completely agree. I think we over-medicate our society as it is anyway, and I'm not downplaying the need for more mental health interest and helping folks out. I think we've got a major problem with homelessness and what's going on. You see these kids that pick up guns and go in schools, and, you know, there's signs just dad just went to... prison for 15 years because he knew his kid was showing red flags and he also helped supply the gun, not for that purpose, obviously. But, you know, I'm just really not everybody, like I said, is looking for that magic pill and, you know, we're so quick to just, okay, I feel anxious this morning. Okay, well, let's get you a prescription. No, no, no, no. I mean, I'm just feeling it's, what happened to, you know, roll up your sleeves, talk about it? Talk to somebody else and bite and tough it out and rough throw it. I mean. And in some cases, it needs to be a combination of both. Right. Let's say your child is having truly trouble at school in terms of concentrating. And we see it. We see kids that just simply cannot get their stuff together. Right. And maybe the answer is, of course, some medication. But even if you're medicating them and you're not giving them the skills to stay organized, that it's kind of wasted. Yeah, I mean, I just think we're so quick to do it. Yeah. Well, I mean, again, the urging here is to try these other things first before reaching for the medication. And then if it's necessary, use the medication. But you may find that it's not necessary or you may find that they don't need as much medication. Well, so that's.

Well, that's the matter. That's what's being addressed here. No, I agree. I'm with that option, too, as well. And before you jump into dosing your kids with meds and just, you know, here, take a pill, I'm going to be on my phone for a while. You know, I understand some kids need it. Absolutely. There's a need for much more mental health care in our society for sure. Evan Brown, thank you, buddy. Have a great weekend. Alabama's morning news. Some other medical news, Zach Brown bands, one member there. His name is John Driscoll Hopkins. was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2021. He's opened up about it. I'm almost busier now than I was before because I'm trying to get so much done. I'm trying to fit it all in. I'm taking more family vacations. I'm in the studio more than I should be. I'm still on tour. With Zach Brown band, I hope that my progression continues to be slow and that I can sing for a long time. Yeah, he says he's kind of stuck between a catch-22 situation. Rocking Hard Place loves what he does, but it's starting to really wear him out. And prayers for that man right there. And anybody else struggling with ALS, it is brutal, and we still don't have a cure for it. Some good news. 11-year-old leukemia patient in Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. Emily Wilkins is going viral because she hung a bunch of funny signs outside her hospital window. They said, I need pizza and donuts. And she even included a Venmo handle, too. Well, local business got word of this. Oh, it's so much fun. Hooked her up with a bunch of goodies. Here is Bourbon House Pizza owner, Mary Brandsteller. A little girl asked for pizza on a poster board in her window. So we were like, of course, of course, you know. It makes you think that the little struggles that you have in your life right now don't even compare to what this mom, that's her only child, 11 year old, Emily. It just, it makes you feel so good to be a small part to help them. Absolutely. Way to step up. Nice job. Alabama's morning news. I'm J.T. The one and only. Paul DeMarco joins us in the studio now, former state representative, Jefferson County Republican chair, attorney. My gosh, what are you not doing these days? Good to see you, buddy. You and your well today. Everybody's good. Everybody's good. Now, we got a few stories to talk about here, and I thought we kick it off with this dandy this morning. Apparently now, it looks like, am I correct in this, that there is a new, I guess, UAB is going to receive $750,000 from the feds to study vaginal health of transgender men? So what this is, transgender men, this is birth woman, decides, wants to be man, goes through the transition, and now you're a transgendered man. Okay. With that said, yes, you still have a vagina.

But $750,000 from feds to study the vaginal health of transgender men, I don't think the Vag Changes. Is it me, Paul, or don't you still have a vagina, even if you want to be a man? It's called an OBGYN, make an appointment. Go, they get research all the time for this. So we have to have a special category? I'm just going to put it this way. Folks getting up going to work. They're already at work. They've been at work at 7 o'clock this morning. They'll get their paycheck. Federal taxes are taken out of it. And they're asking, and I work hard, and you're taking my federal taxes and you're turning around and sending it to UAB for this? I mean, that's what gets people just infuriated how are our tax dollars that we all work hard every day to make our income to support ourselves and our families. And the federal governments turn around and is spinning it on this. It's outrageous. It's horrible and it's ridiculous. I wish there was a website where we could look at every item where tax fed tax dollars go. And if I've got, let's say, $1,000 in taxes, I've got to pay, you know, whatever every month. I'd like to be able to pick where my money goes. I'm certainly not sending it for vaginal research on transgender men. You're a woman. Okay, so there's already services for that and research going on for that. So why a special cat? It's just mind-boggling to me. Is it a different vagina after you're transgender? I don't know what's going on when they do that, but I'm assuming there's a reason that they're going to have the research because the vagina still exists. I just know that President Trump... tried to make some of these cuts. And there was so much pushback. And it was like, wait a second. Again, you get back to people work hard. They want to make sure that their tax dollars are spent in the best interest, the United States of America. And then you see stories like this. And that's what's so frustrating. And it's happening right here in Birmingham. Are we really having this discussion? We are. I mean, it's a headline. It's for real. You can't make this stuff up. And I think it was more than that. I think it was closer to a million dollars. Well, you know, sure, why not? I mean. I just, I have no words. I mean, it's just insanity. JT's left speechless. I mean, all right. Let's take a look at this case here. Apparently now, a convicted killer who drove a bus in a crash that killed six children, back behind bars after a new arrest. Okay, first of all, what was this person doing out if they were a convicted killer, repeat offender now. This happened in Tennessee. And apparently on Wednesday, records from that Davidson County Sheriff's Office convicted this Jonathan Walker in Nashville, jail, facing seven new charges relating to this incident now.

What was going on here? I mean, seriously, why is this guy out? First of all, and what happened when he killed these people? Yeah, he was the school bus driver and was speeding at high speeds, like, was just, and killed these poor children, and then gets out and was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. I mean, it's just horrible. Four years. Four years. And gets out and... Back in jail. Once again, I just... And what we see again is weak sentences for people who, for kill killers. And that's another situation this time in Tennessee. He was convicted, I guess. You know, since four years in prison, this two years in 2018, two years after the deadly bus crash in 2020, he was back out after two years. So, I mean, he only did two years to begin with for something. I mean, those poor families, parents. That's horrible. For that situation, completely unnecessary. And then, I mean, he's back out again. And this time he's... was booked into jail for aggravated assault, including strangulation, child abuse, interference with emergency call, and three charges relating to sex offender violations. You watch. He'll be out in a few years. No worries. Oh, well, you know, who are we to judge? I mean, he's got mental problems. So just let's work with him, let him out again. All right, coming up. We're going to take a quick break. We'll come back, Paul. A number of stories in the news. I want to talk to you about this father over there at Appalachie High School. in Georgia, his son, Colton, killed four people, had a gun, had red flags of flying about mental problems, and dad didn't do much about it. In fact, he actually bought the gun for him and made it accessible, even after the red flags were flying everywhere. So the judge says, hmm. This is the first time this has happened where a parent is going to prison for the action of their children. First time this has happened, Paul, where a father or any parent has been sent to prison for the actions of their children. Colin Gray is the father of the team who carried out the deadly shooting at this high school in Georgia. Sentenced yesterday, 15 years in prison, he was convicted earlier this year, second-degree murder and manslaughter, forgiving his son the rifle used in that 2024 attack that killed four people. All right, he also was aware. Tyler Reddick here from 2311 racing. Game night's fun until someone spends five minutes lining up one shot. Chalk, breathe, rechalk, still aiming. While they figure it out, I fire up Chumpa Casino. I can spin anywhere, anytime, and there's always a new social casino game every week. Spins happen way faster than that shot.

Play now at chumba casino.com. Let's Chumba. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law, 21 plus, terms and conditions apply. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with Iheart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio hosts product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your future customers. Make IHeart Media a part of your 2026 plan today. Call 844-844-I-Hart. Again, that's 844-8-4-I-Hart. Of what took place with his mental challenges and conditions and didn't do much about it, if anything. And the judge laid that out yesterday. He said, look, it doesn't matter that you didn't know he was actually about to commit the crimes. The problem was you knew of the threats, you knew of his mental health, and you put him the position. Yeah, here's the judge at sentencing. It matters that you didn't have actual knowledge that Colt was going to school to do that. It matters that you didn't intentionally commit a crime. It matters that you didn't plan an attack. It matters that you didn't seek to harm anyone. It matters that you didn't pull a trigger. I'm sentencing you to 15 years in confinement concurrent with one another. For each of the involuntary manslaughterers, I'm sentencing you to 10 years confinement concurrent. For each non-merging cruelty to children, I'm sentencing you to 10 years in confinement concurrent. for each non-merging reckless conduct charge and sentencing you to 12 months confinement concurrent. This is an aggregate sentence of 15 years in prison. I mean, the prosecution wanted 80 years for this person. What do you think? Dad responsible somewhat? A lot? Obviously. There were two teachers that were killed. One of them had a... And you heard the victim statements, had two daughters. Total four people killed. You had two 14-year-olds killed. The families, as the family said is, the rest of our lives, these kids don't have a father to grow up with. The parents who lost these two 14-year-olds. Is 15 years even enough? Yeah. The prosecutor said no, he deserved 80 years. Yeah. Well, they got 15 years on this guy now, and it looks like this has opened the door for potential more people being held accountable for what their kids are doing. If you had any knowledge about the guns in the house or any knowledge that they're struggling with mental health issues, if there's not a record of trying to do something about this, you're going to be held accountable. And this father, that the evidence was replete with what he could have done to prevent this horrible tragedy for these four victims. And the others that were wounded as well. Yeah. And speaking of young kids killing people, 15-year-old boy from Indiana has now been sentenced to 100 years in prison for his role in a gang-related shooting, killed a woman outside a nightclub last year. He was one of four members of a gang called Mickey Cobra Nation.

who were charged in the killing of this 26-year-old Daila Swain shot in 2025. Prosecutors say that Daila Swain was not the intended target, but was killed during a botched attempt to silence a witness connected to an earlier killing. Yeah, goodbye. You're running a lifestyle of, you know. thugging, you're 15, and you're wrapped up in this mess. This is horrible what's going on with young people like this, any access to these guns here. And then they just act like, you know, the Wild Wild West that they're going to run the neighborhoods. Kudos to the prosecutors and the judge in this case. Yes. That did the type of sentence for the crime that they deserved. And we need to see more of it. We need to see more of that right here in Alabama. And we're not seeing that. We're not seeing. the crimes fitting, the sentences fitting the crimes. We're seeing weak sentences and allowing people to be back on the street. Right here in Alabama, right here in Jefferson County. Absolutely. It's got to be tighter. And this lefty socialist view on, you know, law and order in these cities is crazy. Speaking of crazy. Out in Seattle, you remember, the, I guess the food festival shooting that took place there was it last weekend, right? And the mayor there, Katie Wilson. Big Socialist Lefty announced yesterday she accepted Chief Barnes' resignation. She asked for his resignation and allowed him to resign but said, you will do that. And she says it was more than just this one incident. It matters that you didn't have wrong cut here. Let me get this cut of the mayor there talking about this police chief. I'll say that this decision was. not solely due to the events of Sunday. I'll say, you know, multiple factors figured into this decision and into the conversation that the chief and I had. So apparently there's a little background here. I thought the breakdown might have been from the mayor's office for slow walking, you know, really attacking the criminal instead of, you know, propping the criminal up and coddling the criminal. But apparently this chief had some issues prior as well. Yeah, he was out of town when this occurred. And then he made this statement like, well, I can't set by appointment violent crime. It was just a very, I mean, there were more issues leading up to this. I mean, but you've got a terrible mayor in Seattle. And then this police chief had issues. And so it all came together. But I think you're going to start seeing a lot more issues in Seattle based on some of the statements she's made. And some of the policies she's doing that will weaken the criminal justice system in Seattle. Yeah. Yeah, they got problems out there, that's for sure. Friday morning, everything gets a little busy around here on Friday mornings, and I absolutely love it. Paul DeMarco is in the studio with us now. And David Feeved from Beedri, Alabama. And Dan, what do you do with David? Are you just hanging out this morning? Dan and I've been together for, what, 10 years now? Yeah, 10, 12 years. Yeah, so you're at B-Dry as well. He's a B-Dry man. All right. So what do you what do you do with David? I mean, or with B-dry in general. I'm in the sales department and kind of making sure we're doing what we should. Keeping the revenue coming in. That's it. Checking things out. Well, David, how are you doing, buddy? Good to see you. I'm doing good. Just start coming drop.

by and see how the B-Dry Studios are treating us this morning. Look, this is the B-Dry studio we're in every morning, and I think it's good that you came by. I got a little leak over there in the corner, though. Can we get that fixed? Sure, man. We'll dry that out. I knew he brought me for a reason. You know what's really crazy, Paul? I don't know if you knew this, but the building that we're in the denim building downtown here is a revitalized old kind of building, and B-dry actually... fixed the water problems before they built this thing out to condos and businesses. Yes, we did. Full circle. Full circle. What was this place before it became what it is? It was a warehouse. Some type of deal. And it was a, it was interesting. But we dried it out. And now you've got these beautiful condos on the top and your studios here. And it's still kind of cool looking because they left some of the industrial look outside with the architecture and things like that. But yeah, and behind it's that big cement. plant that's vacant now but I bet they got some water problems it's attractive yeah well good to see you guys but so stick around we got lots to talk about this morning I want to get your thoughts so you guys since you just came in and by the way what is in that box of goodies over there how about some donuts where did they come from these are from heavenly donuts And I know how you always want to, you know, you're doing your diets. I'm trying to clean up a little bit. You did. You did. Highest calorie donuts I could find there. Yeah, with some, you know, hard clogged bacon on top of one of them. I see that maple bacon. Sugar free. Sugar free. Okay. Fat free as well, right? 100%. Okay. It is the weekend. You know, the cardiologist said, look, try and clean things up. But every once in a while, you just got to enjoy life. And there looks like 12 pieces of life I'd like to enjoy over there. So we'll just pick a donut here in a minute. We started with 24. Oh, really? So box number one's already gone. Correct. Well, you guys are full. Pre-sample. All right. Well, come on. Stay with us. We've got lots to talk about. David Favitt. And Dan, what is your last name, Dan, by the way? Close. Hold on. Let me put your mind. There we go. Go ahead. Close. Dan Close. There we go. You guys saw the Birmingham Stallions left. Had you ever been A.J. McCarran was the head coach last year. Yes. And they've had a great run. They've had, what, three championships? Three championships. This was the hub for the league for the whole beginning of it all. Right. And... Despite the wins, despite the championships, they said, nah, we're out. And it all comes down to the dollar. I mean, nobody was going to the games. You ever been? Honestly. We've been to four games. Really? It was early, early on. Well, I want to applaud you for trying to help support that team. I never did make it over to one. I don't know if I just want to chalk it up to being busy or if I'm just more of a college football kind of person. I'm a Steelers guy. being from Pittsburgh, but I never got over. And maybe shame on me for not going. But, I mean, let's just call it. It's 90 degrees sometimes at those games. And, you know, it's, what, maybe 3,000 people tops at some of the games? I mean, it's a beautiful stadium. So don't blame the stadium. Right. That's just stupid. And I'm not sure a change of venue would have helped because even if you put the bit, let's say,

I don't know, Sanford University State. Yeah. I don't think that's going to increase the amount of people. It's still 3,000 people, let's say, in that stadium or in the big one, you know, it's not going to look as empty, but it's still going to be kind of empty when you're holding 10,000 in some of those stadiums that sign. So I don't know. I wish them the best, you know, I hate to see that. You know, those players and those, you know. Well, Jeff, they could have been marketed better also. I mean, you're going to get behind it. You got to let the people know when they're playing, keep it going and really market a little bit harder than what they did. Yeah, you didn't really hear, see much about it. Every once while they'd be tied to a promotion with another, you know, entity or something. But you're right. There was not a lot of. Mm-hmm. Pumping circumstance that folks know. Hey, big weekend, we got this going on and that going on. But, you know, I don't know if I put that on the actual Birmingham Stallions crew or if it's part of the USFL or whatever they were called now, you know, not giving them the money to do it. But, you know, you look back at some of these teams that have been here. I mean, how many times do we have to do this before we realize this is not a minor league football franchise kind of town? You know, remember the Birmingham Americans back in 1974? I, I... Don't remember them. I've heard the name, but I went around for that one. Birmingham Vulcans, oh, remember them. They had two runs, 1975 and also 79. Then you got the stallions, obviously, from 1983 to 85. I do remember them back in the day for that. Yes. And then this current run, obviously. Then you had the Birmingham Fire, let's not forget, 91 to 92. I don't remember them at all. Yeah. How about the Birmingham Barracudas in 1995? No. For about an hour. And then you have the Birmingham Thunderbolts, 2001, XFL team. And then Birmingham Iron, you remember that, 2019. I remember them. Yeah. I did the stadium announcement for the games. And every one of these people that get involved are great folks, you know, and the players, you know, are great people. I mean, you know the players and they come out of some pretty elite college football programs or come back from the NFL and work their way back, you know. So it's good football. It's just not Alabama, Auburn football. It's not, you know, NFL. I'm not even sure if you put an NFL team here, it would go well. Some of it has to be burnout. We're very football-focused fall, you know, even into winter now. You know. Super Bowl goes to February now. Yep. So we've had a lot of football, a lot of great football. And everybody right now is talking about camps starting for college football and what teams getting, what players, and NIL. And it's still focused on college football, even in the off season in this town. So it is what it is. And I just wish them wherever they land the best. Well, all right. So how are you doing in Be Dry World? You guys got to be busy with all these storms. That was a good point. Not like the stallions. B-DRI is here to stay. A locally owned company. We've been around for almost 50 years. Wow. But the thing is we're local. And we get a lot of rain. We get very popular. This is not a glamorous job. But what we do is sell peace of mind. And you know that. And we've got some of the best. Just like Dan here. Dan, I've been together for a long time because of...

We run it with the empathy that we're here to consult. And, you know, if you get that little problem, don't have a fear of calling us because we will be there to consult with you and give you some options. And you were a customer as well, a B-Dry customer. You've been down to my house. We shot pool there before now. I remember when that thing was damp in that carpet and you finally said, I got to call B-Dry. And this is before you were with it. Have you ever won in the pool with me? I don't think you have. No, no, no. I hadn't played in a while. I think last time I played was with you probably eight years ago on that pool table. But the thing is it made it possible. And that's what we're here for. We're local. We're here to. Give you peace of mind. Well, here's the thing. If you let it go, now you're going to have more problems, it's going to get more expensive, then foundation issues. And look, what I loved when I thought I had a major problem, I called you and I said, you got to check out my crawl space. It's a little musty smelling. And you said, all you need is the encapsulation. You don't need pipes and all the big job, but we can fix this. And I was like, wow, the honesty. I mean, you could have sold me. I mean, I don't know. But the integrity on the honesty is what I hear from other people, too, that they think I can't afford it. But the other thing is, if it is a bigger job, there's great ways to get financing done to help folks, right? We've got finance and everything, but we've got a whole home solution from outside irrigation issues to gutters to everything else that we can cover. And that's what we look at at B-Dry, and we give you options. Well, I appreciate you guys. You fixed us up, and I know there's a lot of folks that are happy customers. I hear about it all the time. My neighbor used B-Dry as well. And so I think, you know, your name speaks for itself. It works. It does the job, and the integrity and the honesty is what I like. And the life of the structure warranty, you know, it's there. If it happens again, they fix it. Everybody tries that life of structure warranty. How about a company that's been around for 50 years over? Yeah. we will still take care of that customer. Our customers are our business. That's what keeps us growing. All right, buddy. Well, good to see you guys. Thank you for the donuts. Appreciate you. All right. Save me one of those. I guess the baconator over there, whatever. Well, guys, I got to tell you, I mean, I love our military and I can't give them enough props. And our veterans, thank God for them and so much that these men and women do. And here's an opportunity for us to step up, David. I know you've got a little extra room in your house. I'm full up right now because my mother-in-law lives with me. Dan, I don't know where you are in your housing situation. But if you got a little extra room or something, maybe an extra turkey sandwich, check this out. There are people who randomly have a room in their house, and I'm thinking maybe you guys do as well, with a nautical theme, perhaps. I mean, something from the beach. Now there's something else to put in it. A real-life sailor. Yep, that's right. Military's planning to do some major repairs and renovations to Navy barracks across the country, and they're not sure where they're going to put sailors while that's happening.

It's a major overhaul that could take years. The Navy expects they're going to need between 8,000 and 12,000 beds, and they're considering their options. So they could put them in apartments or hotels, but they're also thinking about utilizing extra space that people might have, like RVs or houseboats. They're also looking at a prefab modular units and temporary man camps. I don't know what that is. But the Navy says comprehensive upgrades and significant structural work require the entire barracks to be vacated. So it's not like they just need a place to crash while things are repainted. Okay, it's going to be a while. So on top of figuring out where the sailors will stay, there's also a cost problem because they also have a lack of funding. The military's budgets around a trillion. And included in that is billions, specifically for facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization. Hmm. So now they're opening the door for anybody that might want to help out. Billions and trillions. I don't... Maybe caught my attention. Well, there's the other thing what you do. You can get B-dry out there and space that's wet and musty. Well, there's no doubt they're bringing water with them. They're in the Navy. Extra space to the home. And there you go. You're fixed up now. Well, I knew you would care. And, you know, the question is, would they give you a little subsidy to help? Oh, it's got to be. Take care of that. If it's the government, it's not going to be a little subsidy. It's going to be an even smaller one. Yeah, I've never thought about running a bed and breakfast, but maybe I am now. Maybe they're about some bologna sandwiches. Could be something here, folks. So. Serious business. So they are looking for some folks to step up and help them out. If you've got some extra room, you want to help out our military? There you go. Well, guys, good to see you. Thank you for coming. I appreciate you. Oh, it's always great to see you, Jeff. All right. Happy weekend. That's going to do it for me. Have a marvelous weekend yourself. Toleretic here from 2311 racing. Game nights fun until someone spends five minutes lining up one shot. Chalk. Breathe, rechalk, still aiming. While they figure it out, I fire up Chumba Casino. I can spin anywhere, anytime, and there's always a new social casino game every week. Spins happen way faster than that shot. Play now at Chumbacasino.com. Let's Chumbo. Sponsored by Chumba Casino. No purchase necessary. VGW Group, voidware prohibited by law. 21 plus. Terms and conditions apply. These days, it's getting harder and harder to trust what you're seeing. Who made it? Is it real? But with iHeart, everything you hear is guaranteed human. That's why 78% of listeners trust their favorite radio hosts product recommendations. And if you own or manage a business here or need to drive sales, that trust goes a long way in creating your future customers. Make iHeartMedia a part of your 2026 plan today. Visit iHeartadvertising.com. Again, that's iHeartadvertising.com.