JR Morning ~ August 13, 2026 ~ Full Show

Good morning. Good morning, Kaylin. Good to see you. I know it's early. It is, but happy to be here with you. It was a great drive-in. I was telling him, I got to see the Hudson's Tower in the dark. Oh, and yeah, because you can look out the window and see it here, too. We see it every morning. Thanks for being here this morning. Let's start off with some... Some news here. The wife of a man convicted of posing as a DTE worker in murdering Rochester Hills Jewelor is heading to prison, 34-year-old Amanda Hernandez. Sentenced yesterday to nearly five years to 20 years for helping plan and cover up the October 24 home invasion that killed Hussein Sam Murray. Prosecutors say Hernandez helped her husband, Carlos Hernandez, and Joshua Zorro obtained fake DTE signs, gas leak paperwork. And hard hats text messages also showed her discussing the gateway vehicle and searching online for utility worker identification. Hernandez apologized to Murray's family, but Judge Nancy Grant said she was all in on the scheme and could have contacted police. Carlos Hernandez and Zoso are serving life in prison without parole. That's such a sad. Yeah, and she deserves that. I mean, that was horrific. And I know a lot of people out there that really kind of traumatized that community. Absolutely. Yeah, it was scary. The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, stepping down at the end of the month to focus on her family, President Donald Trump announcing her departure yesterday on Truth Social, praising Levitt as one of the best press secretaries in the White House history. Trump said she will remain one of his top outside advisors and influential Republican voice heading into the midterm election. Levitt said balancing the demanding position with raising two young children, including a new baby, had become increasingly difficult. She became the youngest White House press secretary in history when she took the job in 2025 at age 27. The White House has not announced her replacement. Who you think that's going to be? I'm wrecking my brain. I'm... I think he's got to have another woman in there. So who's that going to be? You know, she's trained up a lot of people I know in her department. So maybe someone from in there or maybe a big heavy hitter from outside. You understand? Like it is difficult. It is a hard job. I am so impressed, you know, with what she did. I mean, that was impressive. But I totally get where she's. That might be too much. Federal officials have approved a key permit for Embridges proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the permit yesterday, clearing the project's final federal regulatory hurdle. The planned 3.6-mile tunnel will replace the agent pipeline sections currently resting on the lakebed. The Army Corps says the proposal underwent a thorough review involving government agencies, tribal communities, and environmental assets. However, construction still faces a state-level obstacle. The Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled that regulators did not fully evaluate the project's environmental effects requiring another review. Tribal leaders and environmental groups continue opposing the tunnel, citing risks to the Great Lakes and culturally sacred waters. This is a hard one. I mean, there's risk either way. So, yeah.

So an Alaska man, Caitlin, is facing federal charges for allegedly threatening to kill Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hamoud. The federal grand jury indicted James Lawhorn of Wasilla Alaska on seven counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce and one count of stalking. The indictment does not identify the mayor by name, but sources told Channel 7 that Hamoud was the alleged target. Federal prosecutors say Lawhorn sent more than 20 threatening messages through Facebook, a city website, and by telephone between September 18th and 23rd of last year. The messages allegedly included violent, Islamophobic, and homophobic language, along with threats of assassination by hanging and firing squad. From Alaska. From Alaska. I mean, that's the power of the internet right there, but that's disturbing, and I'm glad they're taking care of that. Henry Ford Health, exploring several possible locations for a new Detroit headquarters with Cadillac Place just across the street over here from us, emerging as a leading option. The health system must eventually leave its current administrative offices at one Ford Place, which is scheduled to be converted into more than 400 departments beginning in 2029. Henry Ford is studying the cost and feasibility of moving into the state-owned Cadillac Place on West Grand Boulevard. The potential redevelopment could also include restaurants, retail businesses, and research laboratories. Other possible new center locations include New Center One and right here at the Fisher Building. Henry Ford says it's still evaluating its staffing and space needs and has not made a final decision. Well, there's a lot of space available in Cadillac play. A lot of space. They should fill it and get that money back. Attorneys for Luigi Mangione are reportedly negotiating a possible plea deal with federal prosecutors and the killing of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson. TMZ is reporting the 28-year-old could enter an open guilty plea. leaving his sentence entirely up to a federal judge following an evidentiary hearing that would allow his lawyers to present mitigating factors in hopes of avoiding life in prison. Maggione has pleaded not guilty to federal and New York state charges stemming from Thompson's fatal shooting outside a Manhattan hotel back in December of 2024. The federal death penalty is no longer an option after a judge dismissed the most serious charges. Neither prosecutors nor Maggione's attorneys have publicly confirmed. They reported negotiations. It's always something with that case. Yeah, it keeps going. It does. Also, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. She's warning residents about this new wave of scammers impersonating banks and credit unions. Her office has received several reports of callers using spoofing technology to make their phone numbers appear legitimate. The scammers then create a sense of urgency claiming there is a problem with an account before asking for login credentials and other personal information. Dana Nessel says anyone receiving an unexpected financial call.

should hang up and contact their institution directly using a trusted number. Consumers should never send money. Cryptocurrency or gold in response to an unsolicited message. Suspected financial fraud can be reported to the state at 877-9-9-9-9-6442. Got to watch out for that. Here's the thing. If they really need the money, they're going to ask more than once. Don't respond to that stuff. Absolutely. Governor Gretchen Whitmer. And California Governor Gavin Newsom, they go way back, but she's still keeping her presidential ambitions close to the best in a clip, courtesy of TMZ from Gavin Newsom's podcast filmed at the governor's favorite East Lansing dive bar, Crunchies. The California governor tried pushing Gretchen Whitmer for a direct answer on a potential White House run. But you still have a bug for this. Tell the truth. I have a bug in that I want to stay involved. Yeah. The bug isn't, I got to run for office. But if there's a chance for elected office, you would jump at it. If it felt right. Of course, see, the pause says it all. You know, we're sitting, we're having a beer at crunchies, okay? Yeah, it was just the two of us talking, maybe. What do you mean? There's a microphone in front of my face. I'm a little more thoughtful of the words I'm going to choose. Wow, okay. All right, so you are running. Shut up. You are a pain. It's kind of, come on. It's fun to be on the other side of the mic. So how early into next year do you declare your candidacy for president? I can edit this. This is the difference. I want to start a podcast just so I can interview you. Oh, that was a lot. Yeah, what do you think, David? I don't know. Okay, one, I think she should have a better answer on this one. But I... I was heading towards, no, she's not going to run. I still think that she's not going to run for elected office. She wants to be involved. She wants to be relevant. And she is. And, you know, she wants, I think she wants to be kind of a kingmaker behind the scenes. But we will see. But does she think that if she says... she's not going to run that she's not going to be relevant anymore i don't know what that dance is about you know i mean it's not an unexpected question and so she she does seem caught off guard by it and it's like i don't know a lot of people you know i i need to check in on how her fundraising for her outside groups has been going you know where where's that been going so the tigers came up short last night dropping a hard fought six to four battle to the cleveland guardians at comerica park The loss snapped, the three-game win streak, halted the Tigers' long push to get back to 500. It was a double blow for Detroit, as the club also placed All-Star fielder Riley Green on the 10-day injured list with the right hamstring strain. Despite the setback, Detroit fought to the final out, forcing Cleveland to burn All-Star Closer, Kate Smith, ahead of today's rubber match. Tigers now sit three and a half games back in the Central Division. Just one game out of the wild card spot as they look to bounce back and take the series today. Coming up, we'll talk about Michigan needing more poll workers. How can you volunteer if you want to? Let's talk about it next at 619 on J.R. Morning.

621 on J.R. Morning on a Thursday, Caitlin Bus, from the Detroit News here with me this morning. And Michigan needs thousands of temporary poll workers ahead of election day as early voting and higher turnout place greater demands on our local clerks. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce has launched its support MI clerk's campaign, encouraging businesses to help employees serve and urging young people. to get involved. And joining us is Dave Papineau. He is Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. Dave, it's good to have you. Thanks for being here. Oh, thanks for having me. So Michigan needs thousands of poll workers before Election Day. How significant is the shortage in what communities are having the hardest time filling these positions? It's a pretty significant shortage. Over half the clerks we speak to say that they need more poll workers. And the scary statistic is election over election, we're seeing double digit decreases in individuals signing up to be a poll worker. So it's a problem everywhere across the entire state. Why do you think you're seeing fewer people volunteering for these spots and less interest in the process? That's a good question. I think it's a combination of a few things. First, you know, we have early voting now in Michigan. So all the polls are open for at least nine days longer than they used to. So that alone is drawing more demand and need for poll workers. Also, our poll workers are aging. You know, 61% of our poll workers are over 65 years old. So I think we're seeing less interest in general across the board for recruiting poll workers. I think we're seeing an aging, you know, paid volunteer community and more demand for poll workers given the increase in opportunities to vote. What are you asking Michigan businesses to do? Simply just, you know, promote these jobs or give employees paid time off and greater flexibility to serve. Yeah, it's whatever they can do. Just help us spread the message. I think, you know, businesses, and that's why the Michigan Chamber Foundation is involved, businesses have a unique opportunity to educate their employees on certain civic engagement opportunities. And whether it's hanging up a poster in the break room, talking about the opportunity to be a poll worker and the importance of being a poll worker, or encouraging their employees to. actually sign up and maybe, you know, earn a day off. Maybe they could provide a paid time off for the, you know, duty to go vote. Maybe they could provide some flexibility. You know, we never want to make a standard. You know, every employer is going to have a different circumstance and certain employees have different flexibility than others. But anything an employer can do to encourage recruitment of poll workers would be helpful. Yeah, it's an important spot in our electoral process. I always take my kids to go voting with me and the poll workers are just a really great part of that process. Do you have any ideas for ways to get younger people more interested in volunteering in these kind of more traditional roles?

Yeah, so through MI clerks, we are reaching out specifically to high schools. Poll workers can be 16 and 17 years old. It's kind of something a lot of people don't know. So we've been working with social studies teachers and different high schools and encouraging them to when the kids come back to school in the fall here to let them know that this opportunity exists. And I think it would be a great lesson to learn how the electoral process works from the inside. And we've gotten a lot of good feedback from... high school teachers. As the students come back to universities and colleges and community colleges across our state, we're also reaching out to political science professors and others that we can, anybody that will listen to us, I suppose, we're reaching out to try and get them to spread the word about becoming a poll worker. And, you know, poll workers, you know, they earn, you know, decent money about $100 to more than $300, I guess, depending on the community. Is that enough compensation for the hours and training and the responsibility that's involved in that? Yeah. I mean, maybe that is something that needs to be revised. $175, $300, you know, depending on where you're at, seems like, you know, something is probably more than jury duty. So I don't know. But yeah, it's a good question. You know, if we need more poll workers, how do we incentivize that? And we should probably take a hard look at that because poll workers are extremely important. You know, if you go to the polls and there's a long line or either there's confusion, it's just detrimental to the electoral process in general. And poll workers play a pivotal role in making sure that that poll runs smoothly and reinforces people's feelings about going to vote. And we want it to be a positive experience. So being such a critical role. It seems like the compensation maybe should be reviewed. Yeah, and there have been a lot of safety concerns, too. Do you think that that, you know, has pushed some people away from this? I'm sure it has for some. You're definitely right. The increase in tensions at the poll, I would assume it doesn't have a positive impact on it, and that's unfortunate. Yeah, this is an important spot in our democracy. I mean, we need to take it seriously. Yeah, yeah, we've done a lot of outreach efforts. We've reached hundreds of, you know, hundreds, if not thousands of individuals trying to recruit them to be a poll worker. And the question does come up sometimes about, you know, the security of the polling location and just the, you know, people's attitudes and the environment right now might have an impact on public recruitment. But overall, it's, we've got a lot of positive feedback. And I think sometimes those. those horror stories might be overblown, and they're definitely outside of the norm. Most of the time, communities have precincts that are very welcoming, you know, your friends or your neighbors that you go see at the polls, and it should be a good experience. Speaking with Dave Papineau, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, we're talking about the support MI clerk's campaign to get more poll workers before November. And, you know, Dave, applicants. They can serve outside the community where they live. So could that help fill some gaps in some cities and townships facing some really bad shortages?

Yeah, that's right. So when you send it to be a poll worker, you'll get assigned a polling location, and most likely it will be within your precinct, just because the demand for poll workers are so high. But if the rare occurrence, you're needed in a different precinct, you'll be asked to go there and report for duty. Most likely you'll always be within your community, if not your very own precinct. But you're never going to be traveling very far to be a poll worker. And about 15 seconds for someone listening who wants to become a poll worker, where should they apply? There's a lot of information on our website, support at myclerks.com, or you could also go directly to the Victoria Estates website at Michigan.gov-backslash Democracy MVP. All right, Dave Pompinnell, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. Pleasure having you on. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Talk to you soon. Coming up, Oakland County is moving closer to funding a Planned Parenthood Clinic. We'll talk to the chair of the Oakland County Commissioners. Dave Woodward next at 635. Good morning. Good to have you here, Caitlin. Yeah, thank you. Good to have you here. Oakland County Commissioners are considering a $1.5 million in funding to help keep Planned Parenthood, Ferndale Clinic open through 2028. Supporters call it a critical investment in health care access while opponents question using taxpayer dollars for a politically divisive organization that provides abortions. The full board votes today. And joining us is Oakland County Commission Chair. Dave Woodward, Mr. Chairman. Good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having me on. Why should Oakland County taxpayers provide that one and a half million to plan parenthood instead of allowing the organization to seek some private donations or some other funding? Well, I think you started this off with, I mean, with the answer to that. This is really about access to critical, preventative, and reproductive health care services. Over 6,000 Oakland County residents rely on this clinic for everything from STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, contraception, and a host of other services. And without this clinic, there isn't another health care entity that can easily absorb that. And we're talking about providing access to this care for arguably some of our most vulnerable residents, individuals that might not have health care, individuals very low income and can't afford to pay for a private doctor's office. And so this is really about health care access, and it's not the first time we've done it. But I think it's more than responsible for us to do this to ensure that people have access to that care. And morning, Dave. Has the county done any research showing that, you know, other existing health providers could not absorb, you know, the patients that Planned Parenthood is currently serving without spending that $1.5 million? Absolutely. I mean, we're, like I said, that we're talking about at minimum more than 6,000 patients on an annual basis. If you ask our hospital systems, you ask our medical offices, there just isn't a entity that could just absorb that. And the reason that this service exists and want Planned Parenthood across Michigan has been the largest provider of Title X services, the services that I outlined, is because, frankly, they're not a money generator.

They are a loss leader in most practices. And we're talking about too many people that need and deserve access to this care. And Oaken County is determined to make certain that that access remains available. Dave, you know abortion is at the center of much of the opposition. Can you guarantee that none of the county's money will directly or indirectly subsidize abortion services? At the end of the day, this is about access to health care altogether. Abortion is health care just like testing of STI and treatment of STI's and cancer screening and what have you. This isn't about putting politicians in the exam rooms. This is about making sure that patients and their medical professionals can have access and make their appropriate decision. So this is... Fundamentally about access, a funding effort that we delivered about five years ago when funding became jeopardized. And the voters of Oakland County overwhelmingly support this. And it's demonstrated by past performance and other ballot questions in the past. Yeah, it's certainly a unique location and a unique offering. Can you tell us a bit about all the services it would provide or that it does provide right now? Well, the Ferndale location is not a location where Planned Parenthood provides surgical abortion procedures. The procedures that I mentioned, STI testing and treatment, access to birth control, cancer screenings, and counseling services and things related to that, these services become that much more jeopardized given the announcement of the funding cuts in... that resulted in the Warren and Labonia clinics where Oakland County residents also went to. And so we're talking, again, thousands of patients, women and men that have access to these services is absolutely critical. It's critical from a public health perspective, and it's critical to just quality of life and health care in general. I know your Republican counterpart, Commissioner Christine Long, she wants every dollar audited. Would you support a public independent audit? And should funding depend on Planned Parenthood meeting like strict reporting requirements? Great question. And there are strict reporting requirements that will be a part of a condition of this. This is not writing a 1.5 million blank check to Planned Parenthood. The services will be reimbursed. at a set rate and the services provided will be reported on a regular basis to our health department. Very similar the way that it was structured five years ago when we did something similar. And is there been any, is there the opportunity for a competitive bid here or was it just kind of settled, you know, that Planned Parenthood is the best provider of these services? Planned Parenthood, not only is the best, it pretty much is the only provider that can provide this volume of services. And it's demonstrated, again, is the largest recipient of the title $10 that are available. But the reason that we're in the situation is because federal funding has been cut. President Trump is following through on his promise to defund Planned Parenthood at the end of the day that we're following through in our promise to do everything that we can to stop them.

Speaking with Dave Woodward Commission Chair of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, and Dave, the funding is expected to keep the Ferndale Clinic open through at least August of 28. What happens after that? I mean, could taxpayers be asked to provide more money? Well, I can't tell the future. I mean, if politics gets out of the way of people getting their access to the health care that they need, I think the problem solved themselves. But the two-year commitment to keep the Ferndale Clinic open runs in tandem with the length of the contract that's being proposed. So I'm hopeful and optimistic that we look long-term to find solutions to fund these critical services. We become the second county, stepping up, Washington County, stepped up to support Planned Parenthood at the $2.5 million. And I think proportionally we're stepping up at the same level to make sure these access to services remains available. And what do you expect, as this vote moves forward, you expect a lot of pushback? What is the community saying? I mean, it's obviously a controversial issue with a lot of buzzwords that people respond to. Yeah, there are definitely those that are bringing buzzwords and bringing politics in this. But I think people across Oakland County want to keep politics outside the exam room. When people take a deep look at the services that overwhelmingly provided, that there's a recognition that's necessary. It's a recognition of a vulnerable population that needs access to these things. And so when there was some pushback five years ago when we did this at the end of the day, everyone concluded this was the right thing to do. I think that we're going to get the same results today. And would the county, Dave, require the clinic to prioritize residents from Oakland County or could county tax dollars serve patients coming from Wayne McComb in other counties? Great question. The contract will be structured to provide the reimbursement rates for Oakland County residents. These are Oakland County tax dollars that are being used. And so we are the reimbursement that Planned Parenthood will submit for will be for Oakland County residents getting these services. And what do you believe would happen to health care access in Oakland County if the board rejects this proposal and that clinic closes? Well, I think it comes down to the 6,000 people annually relying on these services not having access, not having another place to go, not being able to get the care that they need and deserve, and that is incredibly harmful to health care status in this region. So it is an emergency. It is a significant amount of money that we're talking about, but we're doing it because thousands of people are at risk of losing these services. Dave Woodward, Commission Chair of Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Public Health and Safety and Finance Committee. Appreciate you coming on this morning and giving us your insight on this. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me on. Coming up, Rochester Hill City Council has this moratorium now on data centers. How long is that going to last and what happens when it ends? We'll find out when we talk to the vice president of the Rochester City Council next at 649.

6.50 here on J.R. morning. It's a Thursday. Actually, it's Friday Eve. Caitlin is what I call it. Yeah, I don't want to say Thursday. I want to get Friday as quick as it. The weekend starts right now. Exactly. Exactly. Rochester Hills is extending its moratorium on new data center proposals while officials develop regulations addressing noise. Vibration, water use, and massive electricity demands. Council Vice President Theresa Manjoli. has proposed keeping hyper-scale facilities at least half a mile from homes and requiring them to supply their own power. She joins us now to discuss balancing new technology with protections for residents. Madam Council Vice President, good morning. Great. Thank you. Thank you for having me here to talk about such an important issue to our community. Is this extension simply about giving planners more time or have officials identified potential risks that are more serious than initially expected? Well, we saw earlier this year what was happening in neighboring communities regarding data centers, and so in January, we had a joint city council planning meeting, and they talked about, we asked that we look into an ordinance to make sure we were protecting our community, as well as the property rights of our residents. So we asked for a moratorium, which was initially passed in March. It goes through September. And what we did Monday was just extend that for another six months, giving us enough time to take in the community feedback, take a look at some of the resolutions or moratoriums, ordinances that are being passed in other communities, and then making sure we had something that was very effective for Rochester Hills. So I think this is very smart. And I'm from that area. Are there any tentative plans to bring data centers to Rochester Hills? Where would that go? Right now we don't have any applications for data centers, though you'd be surprised to find out that we already do have a few in the area. They're much smaller than many people think. They're not these huge hundreds of acre data centers. They could be in an office building right in our industrial areas. Interesting. You know, noise, vibration, and low frequency sounds, I know there are major concerns. How can the city regulate impacts that may be difficult to measure until a facility is already up? One of the things we've done is talk to experts in the area. Recently, I arranged to have David Stevenson from the Mac Center as well as other experts on data centers to come in and talk to residents. They gave us an idea of the different things, different components that should be part of an ordinance. But what we've heard is that everything that we're looking at can be mitigated. Ask them about heat. They can fix. They can keep that from... Putting heat into the neighborhood, noise, light, all of those things can be mitigated as long as we set the requirements for what they need to meet. It seems, you know, this debate has obviously gone, you know, throughout the state. This is such a big issue. And in the piece talking about this, it said, you know, the moratorium that you all have put in place helps, you know, kind of leverage against potential lawsuits. Can you talk a little bit about that? It feels like the data center thing is almost inevitable. And so you have to put up these guardrails to protect yourself from those lawsuits if they come.

Well, we do have to follow the Constitution, and the Constitution does give property owners rights on what they can do, as long as that property meets the ordinances or zoning that that property resides in. Right now, because we don't have any guidelines for... data centers we need to create those so this way we can apply them to the property within our city not taking away the rights of people to develop the property in the industrial area but also not impacting the surrounding property owners in doing that we have a list of about a dozen to more items that need to be considered as part of that ordinance Speaking with Teresa Mungi only, she is vice president of Rochester Hills City Council. And you've said that large data centers should have their own power sources so residents don't face higher electric rates. Now even if with its own power source, wouldn't the data center still need to access the regional electric grid for reliability? I mean, how would the city prevent those costs from being passed on to customers? It would have to be part of their design when they submit the request to build a data center in the community to show that they weren't going to tap into the local grid for power, for water, to make sure sound is not impacting the neighbors. So it would have to be part of that design requirement. And do you think, you know, how do you expect this to play throughout the election, this issue in Rochester Hills? You know, what are people responding to in terms of candidates' positions on this? What are you hearing? Right now, the residents that were at our meeting on Monday and the stack of letters, emails that I've gotten from residents all say they don't want data centers or they don't want it in their backyard. So they're very supportive of us having this moratorium in place. I think the residents are hearing and seeing what's happening in other communities, and they will be asking the candidates, what are their positions on data centers? Part of my discussion on Monday was we know we're going to have a new governor and a new legislature. We have no idea what designs they may have coming into next year. And so I want to make sure that we give ourselves some time to be able to respond to new laws that come from the state or moratoriums at the state level before we put hours in place. So this right now, this moratorium goes through March. And I think we'll be hearing a lot more about data centers over the next couple of months. Yeah, and I know the council president, Jason Garlock, he pointed out that our smartphones, streaming services, growing use of artificial intelligence, they're driving demands. So our communities kind of imposing the infrastructure while continuing to demand the technology it supports.

That is true. And I think you heard Monday a lot of the council members said, you know, it's our use of cell phones technology that are driving that need. So we all have to be responsible in that. But as a council person, I also need to be responsible to my residents to ensure that. that use of technology of data is not impacting them on their day-to-day lives and that data centers are being built responsibly, if at all, in our community. And when the final ordinance comes before council, council vice president, what protections do you think it has to have before you would vote yes? I do have a list between size, zoning, water, heat, sound, power, making sure it doesn't. So people don't think about the fire suppression and what that would do to our local fire department if they have to deal with it. You see what happens with electric vehicles and a fire happens. Could you imagine what would happen at a data center if there's a fire? So all of these things have to be in place. And my goal is also to educate the community on what a data center is. In our community, we would not have a 100-acre data center as they can have in some other rural communities. So it's making sure they understand what it is and having those residents give us input on what they want to see. Well, we will be following it, as I know you will as well. Teresa Monjoli is the vice president, the Rochester Hill City Council. Appreciate you coming on this morning. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. I appreciate it. Coming up to top of the hour, we'll have some local news stories. Also, we're going to get on the couch with Dr. Steve at 719 and find out more about that fifth third transfer from Comerica to fifth third. That's in the 7 o'clock hour on J.R. morning. Good morning. Hey, good morning. Good to see you. Fun to be filling in. How was it getting up this morning? It wasn't. You know, I usually wake up around the time I woke up. I just usually go back to back a little bit. So it wasn't all that different. I just got up. Okay. You know anybody in Illinois? You have any family in Illinois? I don't. Wisconsin. Okay. But not Illinois. I was just asking because, you know, someone got that $1 billion from the Powerball last night. One ticket in Illinois, and I thought maybe, you know. No one I know. Nobody. Yeah, I don't have any family there either. Anyone I knew has been driven out. Yeah, it's a billion dollars. So if you take the lump, it's like $433 million. And then taxes, you end up with like $250 something between $250 and $2.90. I mean, you know. It's not bad. No, but you get people who say, what, it was a billion. And I only get $250 million. uh i think you can do a lot with that too i used to spend time to like if i won the lottery you know like it was a pressing issue like i needed to figure out what i was going to do with that money if i want it but uh democratic attorney general candidate eli sabbitt he's facing some growing backlash after his office declined to prosecute a massive black market marijuana bust in washington county internal records reveal emergency crews

However, construction still faces a state-level obstacle. The Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled that regulators did not fully evaluate the project's environmental effects requiring another review. Tribal leaders and environmental groups continue opposing the tunnel, signing risks to the Great Lakes and culturally sacred waters. I want whatever is going to keep that water safe. Absolutely, absolutely. And Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel warning residents about this new wave of scammers impersonating banks and credit unions. Her office has received several reports of callers using spoofing technology to make their phone numbers appear legitimate. The scammers then create a sense of urgency claiming there is a problem with an account before asking for logging credentials and other personal information. Dana Nessel says anyone receiving an unexpected... Financial calls should just hang up and contact their institution directly using a trusted number. Consumers should never send money, cryptocurrency, or gold in response to an unsolicited message. Yeah, that's one of those messages. You got to pay attention to. You really do. And, you know, it seems like they go after older adults as well to get them because sometimes they can fall for it more so than. For sure. Younger people. Don't respond. No, do not do that. Coming up, Dr. Steve is going to be here. We're going to get on the couch. He's going to have something for us to decipher, and we have a... a female in the house today because you know me and Chris always mess it up so we need Caitlin to kind of give you know level things out make sure we're talking straight but first it's time for WJR's business beat is brought to you by shelving.com we rack your world here's Jeff Sloan founder and CEO of Startup Nation to spotlight the entrepreneurial tech and startup community on WJR. Good morning while we're all too aware of the struggles American consumers face today And now new data suggests that less than half of Americans are on track for retirement. In fact, less than half, 42% of Americans are on track for retirement according to new VanguardR's 2025 retirement outlook reveals a slight generational divide in retirement preparedness, while nearly 47% of Gen Ziers do feel that they're on track to maintain their spending habits into retirement. Only 40% of baby boomers, 41% of Gen Xers, and 42% of millennials find themselves in a similar position. Now, of all the generations, baby boomers are among the least prepared. Just 40% are on track to maintain their lifestyle in retirement. And this is particularly concerning because for medium income boomers or those earning $56,000 annually, retirement savings are projected to replace just 56% of pre-retirement income, leaving an annual shortfall of around $9,000.

And this, of course, is a big concern for business owners wanting or in some cases needing to sell to an aging American population. The struggle that these various demographic groups are facing to reach retirement successfully with excess cash to spend in retirement is real. And as business owners, we need to be keenly aware of how this is likely to play out in the retirement years of the coming various generations as they reach into retirement age. I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com, the source for everything you need to start and grow your own business. And that's today's business beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, W.J.R. 7.20 on J.R. morning on a Thursday, a.k.a. Friday Eve, where we always have Dr. Steve Craig, President Craig Counseling Consulting Group and Counseling Services. He is here to... Give us a scenario and we're going to try to fix. Well, today he's going to actually try to fix it. Right, but today we finally have some good perspective in the room. All right. Yeah, I'm Caitlin in here. Caitlin Bustle, Detroit News. We put her on the spot. Yes, we are. Here we go. Dr. Steve, I'm 55 and I admit I'm a workaholic. But as a senior VP at my company, I'm only a few years away from the possibility of reaching my career goal and hopefully becoming president of our firm. I have worked here for 25 years and have worked extremely hard to get there. At this point, when I am so close to the finish line, I need to work harder than ever. But my wife does not support this. She tells me I'm missing my time with kids, with her, and with our house paid off and the kids' college taken care of already, we already have more than enough money. She says, I'm... too focused on attaining that title and wants me to take it easy and retire early rather than pursue this lifelong goal of mine how do i get her to see that this is important to me and it's just a few more years and then i will have achieved my goals we will have our finances even more set and everyone will be happy how do i get her to support me I'm going to do it and you're just going to let me know. No. No. I mean, I understand. He's been working there 25 years. He's really close to being the president. And I don't think his wife is necessarily asking him to give up his dream. I think she's kind of telling him, you know. pursuing it, what is how it's going to cost your family, what it's costing your family. And I just think instead of trying to convince her that everyone is going to be happy later, you kind of say, listen, I mean, if you're a hard worker, it seems like to me you can, it doesn't have to be either or. It can be both and, you know, I can still work for the presidency, but I can still carve out that time for my family and, you know, my kids. That's very important. And I think when it comes down to it, the question is, you know, It's not just can I finish, can I reach the finish line? It's like who's going to be there once I have finished. You want them to still be there. I mean, if you work all this time and lose your family, I don't think it was worth it. But, you know, that's just me. Being nice again. Save him. Well, I think the journey is the goal, right? The journey is always part of the goal. And so for this guy, I mean...

My advice would be to take a little time, keep working hard. You know, Lloyd's right. I mean, you can do, you can walk and chew gum at the same time. So you keep working, but kind of reassess when I get to this point, if I give three more years and I get that title, will I feel like I've arrived? You know, what, then am I going to, then do I quit? Because I've achieved the goal, or does the work get much harder? And now I'm in the new part of the journey. So. I would tell him to kind of spend some time thinking, reframe it in his mind and then, you know, reallocate his time based on what he thinks after that. There's a woman who thinks we men can walk and chew gum at the same time. You're right. I'm married and I know that this is not a possibility. Guys, that's all I heard in that whole thing right there. Wow. You're right, see? I can only counsel women. Here's what I would think here. I would start with, we have to look at there's a perspective here that I think he's missing. He keeps saying it's just one more day, it's one more year, whatever. But it's never one more day. It's one less day, if you think about it. We have a limited number of, you know, days. And every day you're giving is one less day that you're going to have left. And I wish people thought about that more because the only thing you can get titles, you can get money, but the only thing you can't get is more time. That's true. And on everyone's deathbed, no one wishes. that they, if only I'd had that VP title, you know, or, you know, they wish they had more time. They wish they enjoyed life more. They wished they slowed down and spent the days like they were when they were 15, where they played video games and they golfed and they slept in. I mean, that's what happens is at 15, these kids are enjoying life and we're all annoyed with them because they're not trying to better themselves. But then at 22, if you ask people, what do you want to do? They're starting your career. What do you want to do? And it's always, I would like to make enough money and achieve enough that then I can go live and enjoy my life. In essence, there's things. So I could go back to being 15. Yeah. And then people get to be there. They get to be 55 or 60. They've achieved it. And they've somehow forgotten along the way that that was really the goal. They think the goal has become attaining titles and... I, you know, bigger cars or whatever. But that goal, does ego play a part in that too? Something gets, like could be ego, or we'll call it ego, I don't know, but that gets in the way and it changes the goal. So if we're in my office, we say, what was the first goal? And the first goal was time. It was, I want to, so you've won. You actually won. You won a 30-year race and you won, and you don't know you won. And then they either don't retire because they think it's, well, it's just one more day instead of one less day. Or they do retire and they're like, well, and now what do I do? Well, you won. Enjoy play video games all day like you did when you were 15. Golf, enjoy things. Enjoy your family because.

Again, when you get to your deathbed, you're not going to say, I wish I'd have gotten that title. So is that really his goal? I mean, he'll come into my office and say, my goal is, she's not supporting me. My goal, lifelong goal has been that. And I'll say, no, it wasn't. Yeah. It wasn't. And I wonder if, you know, the title is just kind of a stand-in for... I think as people change, you know, they want to be in the fight. There's this clip going around about Richard Nixon, you know, something about him saying, there's nothing without the fight. And so maybe the goal changes a little bit. Maybe it's not the title, but maybe it's, you know, volunteering in some way to fulfill that part and getting a little more time. Yes. You always have to remember what the initial goal was and realize when you've won. Because, again, this guy could, I think it was you who said that. He says it's a few more year until he possibly gets that title. So it's not guaranteed. It's not guaranteed. And then what? After you get the title, then you retire? No, then you've got to have it for five or ten years. Exactly. This is another 15 years. Exactly. He's not even figuring out. He's not thinking about that part. focused on that goal and he's missing out the fact that his wife, his kids, it's one last day with them every single day. And you said something very important, Dr. Steve, too, because I think a lot of men probably don't think about this part. You know, if you're on your deathbed, you don't say, man, you know, I wish I could have got that presidency. Or that I missed that three-foot putt in 2019. He'd be like, man, I wish I just had more time with my family and my kids. Right. You know? And this guy has that. And he's not focusing on that. He has the opportunity right now to get more time with his family, with his kids, and enjoy life. And he's talking about gaining some other title. Maybe that's what he wants, but we'd have a conversation about figure out what you really want before you just announce that this is what it is. Because we get on autopilot and we forget all that. And your wife and your kids are standing there every day waiting to spend time with you. Yeah. There's a fun little, I don't know if you've seen this, maybe. It's like a little exercise. It's kind of like dots of your life. If you expect that you'll die at this time or whatever. How many, you know, work you way backward. How much time do you have? And, um... I don't know. I don't have one, but it's an interesting idea. There's another analogy of, like, you know, going to the driving range and you've got 100 golf balls and you've hit them, you know what I mean? And now there's only 10 left. You know, you better figure out, you know, how to make those good, not just keep ripping away at golf balls, you know. So Dr. Steve is always good to see. You always giving us a good one to discuss. Appreciate it. See you guys. See you next week. Coming up, John James is going to be choosing his running mate. Who will that be? Caitlin Bus is going to tell us next. Good morning. Welcome back to the show. Good morning to you. Thank you for being here. And let's talk a little bit about...

Republican candidate for Michigan Governor John James. He is expected to name State Representative Jay DeBoer as his running mate. That's according to sources, familiar with the decision, and it wasn't Caitlin who told me that. I'm just letting you know. DeBoier, a two-term lawmaker from St. Clair County and the chair of the House Oversight Committee, has been a key figure leading GOP probes into Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer's administration, James, who secured the Republican nomination after defeating businessman Perry Johnson in August. And the primary has until 5 o'clock tomorrow to submit his pick, head of the state GOP convention later this month. Meanwhile, Democratic nominee, Jocelyn Benson, expected to unveil her lieutenant governor selection next week as both parties geared up for the fall election. So what do you think about this pick for lieutenant governor for John James? So I think it's a great pick. I do. I really think I know J. DeBoyer, a bit worked with him, you know, on pieces here and there, kind of followed his leadership. certainly in the house. And I think he brings an energy that James will benefit from. I think he brings kind of a get it done, knows the ins and outs, and is not afraid to kind of prosecute the case. Do you think that people were expecting that John might choose a woman? So this has been, right, this has been the big topic. And it's been, I think, 40, 50 years since the GOP has not had a woman on the ticket. I just don't normally I'd say he needs a woman. Absolutely. Okay. For some reason, this election just doesn't seem to me like that's what would benefit him. One, I don't think there are women right now in the GOP that electorally could really help. There's great female leaders in there, but that would really help him get across the edge. Two, I think Guy Benson is such, you know, obviously a woman and a strong candidate on her own. He can't really like. you know, go after that. And so he can't really match that, I should say. So I think this is smart. I think I think Jay DeBoyer brings a lot from the grassroots that have been disenfranchised. You know, people who voted for Perry, there's still friction over there. Maybe he can help gloss that over. But I do think he brings an energy that maybe independence will be drawn to. Where is Perry? Nobody's heard from Perry. I don't know. In the Virgin Islands. Well, probably, that's where I'd probably be here. But, yeah. I don't know. It's been a bad, you know, I don't think they've mended those, that division, really. I don't think he conceded the race. If he did, we haven't really heard about it. I think I did see that Perry said, you know, he wants a Republican to win. I think that's about as far as he's gone. Okay. But that division is very real, and we know from past elections that Republican grassroots voters, when they're not happy, they don't vote. So to the extent where, you know, Jay can help mend that, I think this is great. But I think he brings a lot of other things to the table, too. What about Jocelyn and the Secretary of State? And she's going to be picking someone next week. Do we know who that may be, female, male? I'm sure some people know who it will be. I'm not one of them. But I'd be surprised if it's not a male, right? Just to, you know, balance that ticket out, bring a different perspective. Maybe someone from the Jewish community, you know, she's, there's a lot there to work with. I just don't know. I'm curious to see. There's some good Democratic legislators we were talking earlier. Sarah Anthony is one that came to mind.

So we'll see which direction she goes more, the, you know, the popular direction or someone who can legislatively help her get things done. What do you think about this Senate race here with Abdul El-Sayed and the unifying of the Democratic Party when you have the DSA folks and you have the regular Democrat? This has just been remarkable. I mean, this race has put Michigan on the map, I guess, again, it usually gets up there for one reason or another. But the coverage of this Senate race is just going to be insane. It's going to be a very expensive race. We know hundreds of millions of dollars. So I think the future of the Democratic Party is largely going to be fleshed out in this election. And that's for the whole country. If Abdul succeeds, it will be. you know, it'll be a really big deal. I think it's monumental that he won the primary. I mean, it already shows this shift in direction. And you're seeing even, you know, Haley Stevens and others kind of come on board behind him. I mean, he really has, he really has shown that he's the leader, at least right now. Long term, I think they're setting up for a longer agenda. But I think it's going to be a close race. That Senate race is going to be close. It's going to be Mike Rogers has a race on his hands. Yes. He's standing pretty good. Well, and I think, too, what Mike Rogers, one thing, you know, he was kind of. laying back while they were fighting it out, you know, Haley and El Sayed. And so he was, you know, had a little head start when you, when it goes to talking to others other than the Republican base. Whereas, you know, those two, Abdul and Haley basically was talking to their base because they wanted to get through the primary. Now you got to spread that out a little bit and talk to more people. You know, and Abdul El-Sayed, you know, has said some things in the past that maybe he needs to try to talk to independence and get others, you know, on board. Yeah. No, he has a lot, you know, in my opinion, he has a lot of work to do. There's a lot of things that he needs to clear up. It's just so interesting because, you know, at the end of the day, a lot of voters, their only interaction with some of these candidates is very little, you know, and they see an ad or they see, you know, a message here and there, but they don't. They're not able to dig into the, you know, what actually happened here just for lack of time. Yeah. So so those, those, you know, 30,000 foot messages are what really get out and what voters see. How big is the president's endorsement of Rogers and how big will he play in this? He's not on the ballot, but, you know, he has endorsed. So. You know, it's great that Trump is behind Rogers. I think everyone kind of knows that. I think that's established. That's also an area where he can be attacked. But, you know, I think on the whole, it definitely helps him. I would at this point hope that Trump maybe take a step back and let Michigan work this one out for itself. You know, we know that he backs Rogers.

I expect closer to Election Day. We'll see maybe if Trump, you know, gets back here, how the numbers are looking. But for the time being, stay out. And Governor Gretchen Whitmer and California Governor Gavin Newsom, they go way back. But she's still being mom on whether she's going to run for president. There's a clip, courtesy of TMZ from Gavin Newsom's podcast. They filmed it up in East Lansing at the governor's favorite dive bar crunchies. And the California governor tried to get Gretchen Whitmer to answer whether she's going to run for political office. But you still have a bug for this. Tell the truth. I have a bug in that I want to stay involved. Yeah. The bug isn't, I got to run for office. But if there's a chance for elected office, you would jump at it. If it felt right. Of course, see, the pause says it all. You know, we're sitting, we're having a beer at crunchies, okay? Yeah, it was just the two of us talking, maybe. What do you mean? There's a microphone in front of my face. I'm a little more thoughtful of the words I'm going to choose. Wow, okay. All right, so you are running. Shut up. You are a pain. It's kind of, come on. It's fun to be on the other side of the mic. So how early into next year do you declare your candidacy for president? I can edit this. This is the difference. I want to start a podcast just so I can interview you. So the full podcast drops today. I'll have to give that a listen. All right. Coming up, we will be speaking with Steve Davis. He is the regional president of Fifth Third Bank. You know, Fifth Third Bank is merging, well, taking over Comerica. And with Fifth Third closing branches, what happens to those safe deposit boxes in those branches? We'll find out that coming up next. Michigan summers mean outdoor adventure and fun, but high temperatures shouldn't break your budget. Count on consumers energy to help you make the most of the season and your budget with tips and ways to save. Making small changes like shifting some energy used to the morning or evening, raising your thermostat a couple of degrees, or doing laundry at night or on the weekends, all can help lower your bill while keeping your home comfortable. Discover more ways to beat the heat at consumersenergy.com slash summer. Welcome back to J.R. morning. We are awaiting. Steve Davis, who is the regional president for Fifth Third Bank. But in the meantime, I can talk about the fact that I am a Comerica customer, been a Comerica customer probably since high school, and got my packet in the mail about the changeover, and I think the changeover is happening in September. And my account number is not going to change. My routing number won't change. I can use the same routing number, same account number. And my debt card can work in the, you know, at the fifth third banks and everything. And it makes it very easy for that transition because I know people who had accounts at other banking facilities that got bought up or merged and they had to change all of that.

the routing number, the, you know, the account numbers. And then if you have money coming out monthly for bills out of your account, you know, now you have to go and change it around because they're used to that one number. So it made it easier, you know. It can be a real, it can be a real problem, actually. You're getting locked out of some of those accounts and the hassle, you know, and it's hard to get in touch with people on the phone too. So. Yeah. I'm happy to hear it's going well. That's how it should be done. Yeah. And, you know, it's a big deal. And I'm waiting also. We should know after the season what the stadium is going to be. That was my first concern. You know, I mean, and I have to admit when it was named Comerica Park a long time ago, at first I was like, why? But, you know, then it grows on you. And it has become part of our part of our. our zone down here. Yeah. So now that's going to change again. My preference would be Tiger Stadium, but we'll see. You heard that. Maybe Tiger Stadium by Fifth Third. Sponsored by Fifth Third Bank. Yeah. Yeah, we'll see what that rename is. A lot of signs have to change around you'd imagine. No, it would be. But, you know, that's what happens when you have these stadiums that are named after. financial, you know, properties because, you know, they get bought, they get, they merge and things change. Yep. And we saw it first with TCF. And TCF, uh, had the old Cobow, it was TCF, a place or whatever it was. And now it's, it's Huntington Place. Yeah. It's hard to keep up. I mean. You know, we've got some other buildings around here that I don't think their names will change. So that's good. No, no, no. So we are awaiting Steve Davis. It looks like he is busy at this time. And so we're going to change that. We're going to try to have Steve tomorrow. Okay. And so in the meantime, I want to talk about the president who is trying to. do something, get the Supreme Court involved with this mail-in voting? Your thoughts on that? What do you think? So, actually, my cousin is like an election law expert. I wish I could just siphon from his brain right now. But, you know, my amateur understanding. Look, I want the states leading elections. I do think that's how this should go. I think they should be largely in charge. And so I worry about attempts to federalize our elections from the federal government. At the same time, I think election integrity has been maybe the most enduring political issue of the past decade. I mean, I don't think anyone has been persuaded one way or another that our elections are super safe. So the president's efforts to, you know, rein in voting. I think I've been largely on point. What do you think, too, and I'm glad you're here because I wanted to ask you about this, about the U of M's.

deal. They're considering this pilot program that's going to keep first semester freshman grades off external transcripts. That's beginning in the fall of 27. And students in the College of Literature, Science and Arts, they're going to receive a pass or no credit mark. While their letter grades would not affect their GPA, students still would receive grades and feedback, and the university would retain internal record supporters say the program could ease anxiety. encourage academic exploration and help freshmen adjust to college. What do you think? I'm trying to imagine college without grades. Would you have felt a different way as a freshman? Yeah, I don't. So I wouldn't. I wouldn't be incentivized in a past field system. That's just not. I mean, my first. semester away from home was hard i got some bad grades and i i made some decisions that that facilitated the bad grades um that's how you learn you know and so i i think without that standard of you know okay i got a b or i got a c i want to push it up how do you know where you are you know black and white pass fail is not Not helpful enough. So I guess, you know, there are other policies. They say are similar policies at MIT and Caltech and Wesley. And so they're going to try it as well. Yeah, I mean, I. I don't, I just don't, I think by the time you're in college, you should be able to handle grades. I very much understand it maybe when you're, you know, starting your education process. Yeah. But that's where I follow. Well, critics argue that it would shield students from accountability and prevent high achieving, high achieving freshmen from receiving credit for strong grades. Exactly. I mean, I think the bar should be, you know. the expectation is you rise to meet the standard. And that is pressure. And that's to say that maybe not everyone should be in a college environment. Maybe you want a different route of study or something. I think there's other ways to handle mental health, which is a very important issue without taking away that grade system. Just so before we get out of here, the Tigers came up short yesterday. They dropped a hard fought six to four battle to the Guardians of Cleveland at Comerica Park. The loss snapped a three-game win streak, halted the Tigers' long push to get back to 500. It was a double blow for Detroit because the club plays All-Star left field, O'Reilly Green, on the 10-day injured list with the right hamstring strain. And despite the setback, Detroit fought to the final outforce in Cleveland to burn All-Star Closer Cade Smith ahead of... today's rubber match. And the Tigers now sit three and a half games back in the Central Division. There's one game out of the wild card spot as they look to bounce back and take the series today. Jason, you think we're going to take the series today? I think they will.

Okay. That was the short answer. Yeah, they've been winning series. They've been winning all these series. And, you know, two and a half games back, they got the White Sox over the weekend, too. That's a big series. That's going to be a big. Absolutely. All right. Coming up top of the hour, we'll get news from Fox. Also, some local news. Haley Stevens, she lost the primary. What's next for her? She's going to join us at 819 next in the 8 o'clock hour on J.R. Morning. Good morning. Welcome back to WJR. Look at you all nice and bright, boy. She is ready to go. Caitlin, good to have you here. The coffee's kicking in. Yes. Oh, the coffee's kicking in. It kicked in a while. Okay. That's how it works. Yeah. The wife of a man convicted of posing as a DTE worker and murdering a Rochester Hill jeweler is heading to prison. The 34-year-old Amanda Hernandez sentenced yesterday to five years to 20 years for helping plan and cover up the October 24th home invasion that killed Hussein Sam Murray. Prosecutors say Hernandez helped her husband Carlos Hernandez and Joshua Zalzo obtained fake DTE signs, gas leak paperwork, and hard hats. Text messages also showed her discussing the getaway vehicle and searching online for utility worker identification. Hernandez apologized to Murray's family, but Judge Nancy Grant said she was all in on the scheme and could have contacted police. Carlos Hernandez and Zalzo are serving life prison. without parole. Wow. This story was just weird from the get go. It was. Yeah. You know, I have family out there. It was concerned. It was like, is this a string of something that's happening? You have to wonder why with so much planning, she continued to be involved. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stepping down at the end of the month to focus on her family. President Donald Trump announcing her departure yesterday on Truth Social, praising Leavitt is one of the best press secretaries in White House history. Trump said she will remain one of his top outside advisors and an influential Republican voice heading into the midterm elections. And Levin said balancing the demanding position with raising two young children, including a new baby. had become increasingly difficult. She became the youngest White House press secretary in history. She took the job back in 2025. She was 27 at the time. The White House has not announced her replacement. Yeah. This is a job that, you know, people usually leave after a year or two. I mean, it's a hard one to stay in for the whole administration. So it's not shocking on its face. I think she did a great job. That's a hard job when you're 27. We'll see what's next for her. I imagine we have not seen the last of her. Oh, no. And is she going to be a hard act to follow, whoever he picks. Yeah. No, she is. She is. She's going to be a hard act to follow. And she has a unique style. I think that's what's hard about it. So he'll find someone. But she got his administration off to a strong start. Yeah. An Alaska man is facing federal charges for allegedly threatening to kill Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hamud. The federal grand jury indicted James Lawhorn of Wasilla Alaska.

On seven counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, one count of stalking, the indictment does not identify the mayor by name, but sources telling Channel 7 that Hamoud was the alleged target. Federal prosecutors say Lawhorns sent more than 20 threatening messages through Facebook, a city website, and by telephone between September 18th and 23rd of last year. The messages allegedly included violent, Islamophobic, homophobic language. along with threats of assassination by hanging and firing squad. I saw some of those text messages. They were nasty. It is, you know, the thing that blows, from Alaska. And so it just kind of tells you, you know, this guy doesn't know Michigan or Hamoud from anything. And so this is completely ideologically fueled, which is the problem. It would be a problem anyway, but disturbing stuff. Attorneys for Luigi Mangione. are reportedly negotiating a possible plea deal with federal prosecutors in the killing of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson, TMZ, reporting that 28-year-old could enter an open guilty plea, leaving his sentence entirely up to a federal judge following an evidentiary hearing that would allow his lawyers to present mitigating factors in hopes of avoiding life in prison. Maggioni has pleaded not guilty to federal and New York state charges stemming from Thompson's fatal shooting outside of Manhattan Hotel back in December of... 2024, the federal death penalty no longer an option after a judge dismissed the most serious charges. Neither prosecutors nor Mangione's attorneys have publicly confirmed they reported negotiations. It's always something with this case. Yeah, this guy, this guy needs to be put away. This was way too public of a situation for much leniency here. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he's facing some criticism from Senate Republicans for reportedly excluding Democrats from classified Pentagon budget briefings. Hex-Seph is seeking congressional support for President Donald Trump's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, but Republican senators warned Democratic votes would be needed to pass much of the spending package. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said Hexs much engage Democrats and win the argument. Senators Mike Rounds and Lisa Murkowski also called for bipartisan briefings. Some administration officials reportedly fear classified information could be leaked. The Pentagon says it remains committed to working with Congress to ensure the military has the resources it needs. It's kind of hard when you're just excluding the Democrats and you're going to need some of those votes to get this passed. No, I think on these spending things, we have to be bipartisan. This is everyone's money. Yeah. Hearing Forward Health exploring several possible locations for new Detroit headquarters, the... Cadillac Place across the street here on the boulevard is emerging as a leading option so far. The health system must eventually leave its current administrative offices over at one Ford Place, which is scheduled to be converted into more than 400 apartments beginning in 2029. Henry Ford studying the cost of feasibility of moving into the state-owned Cadillac Place on the boulevard. The potential redevelopment could also include restaurants and retail businesses and research laboratories.

There are other possible new center locations as well, the new center one, which is right across the street here from the Fisher Building and also here in the Fisher Building. Henry Ford says it is still evaluating its staffing and space needs and has not made a final decision. Yeah, that's kind of exciting though. I mean, Cadillac place is open. It is. A lot of room there. And, you know, the new center. Really, it's going to kind of become Henry Ford Center because with the new tower going up down the street there and them thinking about moving closer here into the new center. And that's foot traffic and restaurants and potentially, you know. All good things for this area. All good things. And Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is warning residents about this new wave of scammers. They are impersonating banks and credit unions. And her office has received several reports of callers using the spoofing technology to make their phone calls, you know, look legitimate. And the numbers look legitimate. The scammers can create a sense of urgency claiming that there is a... problem with your account before asking for your login credentials and other personal information. And Dana Nessel says anyone receiving an unexpected financial call should just hang up and contact their institution directly and use the trusted number that you have. And consumers should never send any money or any crypto currency or gold in response to an unsolicited message. These scammers too. with the spoofing technology. I've seen that happen. There was a story once where a lady got a message said that this was the Wayne County Sheriff and that you had to come down and pay this fine or we were coming to get you. And a Wayne County Sheriff Deputy was downtown or somewhere and this lady flew past him. And so he was like, so he stopped her. And she said, I'm on my way to pay. I'm going to pay. I know you said, but he said, ma'am, nobody called you and told you. She was on her way to pay somebody. I get them. I get them every day. And they're very, well, not every day, but often. And they're very convincing. My thing, if they need your money, they will find a way, a verified way to get in touch with you. You know, you can rely on that. If it's the government, they'll find, they'll. They'll call again. And then, too, you have to think about AI because people get hooked up with AI and these things can do them constantly to a lot of people. They can have AI do it and make these calls. The best advice I've heard is just like literally ignore. Like don't even put, don't even send a voicemail. You just like put the phone down and wait until it's over. And then maybe you'll get off the list. Absolutely. Coming up, Haley Stevens, she lost the primary. So what's next for her? We'll be talking with her next at 819 as J.R morning continues on a Thursday, 760, WJR.

Welcome back to J.R. morning on a Thursday, aka Friday Eve. Love it. Caitlin Bus is here with me as well. Congresswoman Haley Stevens looking ahead after losing a bitter and closely contested Democratic U.S. Senate primary to Abdul al-S. Ayyad. She has endorsed El-S. Ayyad, but questions remain about whether there are differences and divisions within the Democratic Party have truly been resolved. And joining us is Congresswoman Haley Stevens to discuss what's next and what Democrats must do to win in November. Congresswoman is nice to have you back. Hey, good morning. Can you hear me okay? We can hear you just fine. Let's start with the personal side of this. What has the past week been like for you after losing such a close and hard thought primary? Well, you know what? I'm in love with this country. I'm in love with democracy. This is my first. statewide run after running multiple elections every other year since 2018. And I loved participating in it. You know, I haven't ruled out running again, but gosh, that is a way, way distant future. I want to, you know, see Democrats get through the 26th election cycle. I am a house member. That's where I've been successful. And in terms of my electoral politics, and I'm really eager to help Christina Heinz. Hillary Skolten out west, Kristen McDonnell Rivett in the Flint Bay City area. You know, there's just some great Democrats running. Justin Anilando, who's state senator, he just reached out to me. So I'm just, you know, he's running for state senator in the Detroit area. And I'm just fired up to help everyone I can, you know. And it's been. I don't know. I guess it's been kind of a whirlwind. You could say that too. You know, you go from a really high octane campaign that just kind of, you know, abruptly, oh, right, you don't win. And, you know, we're all professionals. I've been involved in campaigns in Democratic politics. You're in Michigan since I was 18 years old. So, you know, I'm just being there for my team. I had a lot of talented people working for me, trying to make sure that. they're figuring out their next steps and feel supported and, you know, have access to the information that they need. And then just being here for Michiganers. You know, I'm very recognizable. I did very well in the city of Detroit. My campaign office is in the city of Detroit. So I'm just continuing to show people, you know, the good attitude that I have in my heart and the love that I have for the place that we all call home.

You've handled this, Congresswoman, just remarkably well. I think, you know, it's amazing to me. More people probably know you now than they did before and appreciate your style. Do you have any concerns about Abdul being the nominee? And do you have any concerns about where the Democratic Party is headed here, given how much support you did receive in the election? You know, look, I'll leave that one to prognosticators. Like, I'm a big believer that, you know, Abdul and I spent, you know, a year in change in a primary together. We were in communication before we launched our races. We, you know, both ran in 2018. Obviously, I won that cycle. He did not. And, you know, Elissa Slotkin is our soon-to-be sitting senator, right? Senator Elissa Slotkin. And, you know, she's working very closely with Chuck Schumer and Democrats in the Senate to win these seats. You know, she'll have a good read on that. But I just think the time for me nitpicking on these concerns, it's not productive. You know, we've got a handful of weeks until absentee ballots drop for the general election. And I'll tell you very honestly, I am really concerned about Mike Rogers, okay? You know, he's been out of the game for a long time. You know, he had a nice, successful post-congessional career, but I don't know what he's all about. You know, I can't articulate what he wants to do for Michigan, how he's going to fight for manufacturers and our educators and people's health care. He's not going to do that. He told us very clearly he wants to be a rubber stamp to Trump. So that's where I think people should be focused. But obviously, the ballot box is personal for folks and it's private. And, you know, we all have to respect that. I respect that coming out of my. primary. I lost it by about 8,000 votes, you know. I don't know who those 8,000 people are, right? Did you, you know, Oakland County is such a big part of the state and such a melting pot of perspectives? Did you come across former Trump voters who have crossed over to Democratic politics, even with Abdul on the ticket? You know, I think we're going to have to dig into that. I have. I certainly meet a lot of older residents. I was, you know, at breakfast with my dad on Sunday after church and, you know, obviously we were in Troy and I was very recognized. You know, there's folks from Bluefield Hills there. And, you know, a couple opened up to me and just said, you know, they're really worried about Trump. You know, these are, you know, folks in their late 70s, 80s. And I don't think they're on Twitter all day. And, you know, they kind of told me, hey, we didn't really realize there was this big primary going on. But we understand you. Seriously. They're like, we understand you didn't win. Yeah. You know, we want to check on Trump. You know, there was others who were a little bit more reserved. You know, I have the impression that.

You know, maybe they're not voting a Democrat way. Maybe they can be convinced. You know, I really think being present in neighborhoods is important. I think it is going to be interesting to see where Oakland County goes in 26, 125,000 votes for Biden. That's what he wanted by, 80,000 votes for Kamala Harris. And, you know, Jocelyn Benson has some very deep relationships. in Oakland County and a deep presence there. I think she's a very strong top of the ticket. I'm excited about her candidacy and what she's doing here. So, you know, we'll have to see. We got about 30 seconds left. I got to ask you, what would you say directly to the people who voted for you and are not yet convinced that they can vote for Abdul El-Sayed in November? Well, I'm going to tell them thank you. I love you. And, you know, get out and vote. It's deeply important. If you're my constituent or just even if you're not, I'm still here for you. You know, I'm serving in the Congress until January 2nd. I love every minute of being there. And I love this country. All right. Haley Stevens, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, thank you so much for coming on. Listen, you ran a great race. It was very close, and we appreciate all that you've done for the state of Michigan. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. See you. See you. Coming up, more Americans are having trouble keeping up with their home and car payments. Why is that? We'll talk to a chief economist next at 835.

Good morning. Good to have you here, Caitlin. Thanks. Good to be with you. More Americans are falling behind on their mortgages and car loans, even as the overall economy continues to grow and unemployment remains low. The new numbers highlight this growing divide between households that are financially secure and those living one unexpected expense away from serious trouble. Joining us is Diane Swank. She's chief economist. at KPMG US. Diane, good morning. Good morning. We got more delinquencies are at their highest level in more than a decade. You got serious auto loan delinquencies. They're the highest since 2010. Is this an early warning of some broader economic trouble or is this still a manageable problem? It's still manageable at the moment, but of course I'm always concerned when I see those kinds of rises in serious delinquencies. Some of it is whiplash from the forbearance that we got during the COVID era. Many people got to delay paying their loans or didn't have to pay on their mortgages. But we have had just this extraordinary rise in inflation over the for more than five years, which is. accumulated and left the level of prices too high for too many, that's the most regressive of economic taxes. It hits those who can afford it the least, the hardest. And I think that's part of what you're seeing in these seriously delinquent sort of vehicle loans and even some mortgages as well. And that is what I'm worried about right now. Yeah, I mean, this is a hard one. How are Americans keeping up? I mean, you know, when it comes down to it to staying in your home, what options do they have if they're not able to pay? Well, this is one of the hardest things out there is that we also know that changes in people's job status are not the only thing that can make it so hard. One of the things we're seeing today is that even housing the association dues that people pay on their condos are so high that they're defaulting on those as well. And what I worry about is that we just haven't got enough affordable. housing out there for a lot of people at the same time that vehicle makers have really done a lot to absorb things like tariffs and increased cost but let's face it when the average vehicle price is close to $50,000 a vehicle that is a hard thing for anyone without even close to that income to afford. And, you know, gas prices have surges as well. And a car is essential for getting to work in much of America. So could, like, these higher fuel costs be that final expense pushing some families into this auto loan delinquency? There is no question about it, that it has added insult to injury. And what I'm concerned about is exactly that. You usually don't see people wait.

for the longest time possible to default on their vehicle because they need it to get to work to pay all their other bills. And when you're seeing these serious delinquencies on auto loans, that really means that they're also unable to get to work to pay for any other loans they may have out there, which gets a population of people really in very serious condition. And it's very hard to get out of that. Now, the good news is those people who own a home do have a lot of equity. in their homes, but they have to be able to tap it and many people don't have the credit scores to even take out a second mortgage to maybe pay off or consolidate their debt in a way that be more affordable for them. What role, you know, maybe you can't speak to this, but what role does the government play in aggravating all this? I know you mentioned HOA fees. I know, you know, a lot of people say property taxes have made their home, you know, unaffordable, even though they've, you know, own it outright or have paid a lot on it. What can the government do to help? Well, what we've seen as state and local governments are the most important part of this in terms of, one, making it easier to build more affordable housing in different places, changing zoning rules. That can be a very powerful tool. And I think that's important. On the real estate taxes, what happened was, of course, they went up with a lag, the increase in the value of the homes. But if you're someone who's been there for a long time and you're living in the home, it's very hard to make those kind of payments. In fact, one of the major reasons that people were having hard time qualifying for their new mortgages just about a year ago was because not only had real estate taxes gone up so much, but also the cost of home insurance had gone up a lot. So even someone who could qualify was then unable to get in the home because of home insurance. And what we're seeing is the government in the federal level pushed more of things like disaster relief. down to the state and local level. Well, state and local governments just don't have those funds. And that means higher insurance or no insurance. And many households are now underinsured, even with the insurance they have. And that is a real problem because if something would happen to their home, they'd lose all of that equity as well. Speaking with Diane, Chief Economist, KPMG, U.S. Diane, you know, we know inflation is... is eating away at workers' paychecks. Does that put the Fed in a bind? I mean, unable to cut interest rates aggressively without risking another inflation surge. Absolutely. And one of the things that often get is people say, well, we can't raise interest rates because it would hurt these subprime borrowers even harder. What's hurting these subprime borrowers is the inflation. And inflation is both a consumer problem and an employer problem. And if you let it continue, you're not going to hire as many workers. And that's a problem as well. That, of course, was the extreme in the 1970s, which...

I grew up with in the Detroit area in the 1970s. And that is not something we want to repeat. And so it really is critical that the Federal Reserve derail this inflation. They may not be the only one at fault for five years of both demand and cost push inflation, which is related to policy decisions, as well as just the extraordinary event of the pandemic. But we have to sort of accept that we're in a very different world than we were. And it's the Federal Reserve's... Major job is to derail this inflation so that we can all regain ground lost. Most consumers will judge the economy right now as in a recession, even though unemployment is low. And that's because they're losing purchasing power. They're literally losing ground that they had gained earlier in their lives. Yeah, I think I think everyone can feel that in some way or another, you know, reading through those numbers. Employment is relatively low. What about wages? You know, in Michigan, we know that it's really hard to keep up. But nationally, too, has inflation kind of canceled out any rise in wages that we saw? And Diane, we have about 30 seconds. Yes, it has, and that's the hard part, especially even with the cooling of inflation last month. We saw wages fall behind, and part of that's because benefit costs are elevated. That goes into service sector inflation, which further erodes people's purchasing power. So that gets back to the end of the day. Inflation is what you've got to get rid of. People need to have prices not be front of mind when they walk into a store, especially a grocery store, and what they can put in terms of food on the table for their families. Diane Swank, Chief Economist, KPMG, U.S. We appreciate you coming on in your insight. Thank you so much. Thank you. Coming up, a deadly disease outbreak has killed 2,000 people. What do we need to know? We'll find out next at 849. Welcome back to JR morning on a Thursday. A.K. Friday Eve, I'm going to continue to say that. Caitlin Buss is with me from the Detroit News. And Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now killed more than 2,000 people, experts calling the pace of transmission unprecedented. Conflict, limited health care access, and a virus strain without an approved vaccine are complicating containment efforts. But health officials say the risk to Americans remains low. And joining us, Fox News reporter, WJR. Contributor Eben Brown. Evan, good morning, sir. Good morning. So more than 2,000 people have now died. What makes this outbreak so much more difficult to contain than previous Ebola outbreaks? Well, it has to do with health infrastructure and access in Congo. As you just mentioned, there's ongoing conflict in Congo and has been for a very, very long time. On top of that, the public health infrastructure is very weak. Hospitals are few. Hospitals are pretty much restricted to urban centers. Anyone living outside of there doesn't really have access to health care unless they travel. And travel could mean walk.

Try that with a high fever when you have Ebola virus disease. And not to mention social stigma in these situations as well. If someone in one house has Ebola, chances are that family gets ostracized or maybe even attacked out of fear. So there's a lot of those factors that come into play here that make caring for someone with Ebola virus disease difficult, difficult to find them, difficult to get them to treatment, and then difficult to keep treating them. There is no real cure for Ebola virus. There are newer developed antiviral medications, but those usually have to be administered pretty quickly within the earliest onset of symptoms. to be effective, what you would normally have to do is treat symptoms. And with regard, you know, the Ebola disease that people get is known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It's a very, very high sustained fever that begins to break down bodily systems and things like mucous membranes, which can cause people to bleed out. Good morning to you, then your breakfast with that one. And, you know, and so you have to get into symptom management. You have to, for instance, let's just say someone. is detected in the United States as having Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The first thing they're going to do is they're going to put them in an isolation room in a hospital. They are going to administer IV fluids. They're going to administer, you know, high-powered prescription anti-inflammatories to get that fever down, right? They're going to do all that kind of stuff. Practically every hospital in the United States has a capability of doing that or can get you transported very quickly to another hospital that can do that. Sure, sure. You're not going to get that kind of service in Congo or any part of the underdeveloped world. So we are much better equipped to deal with something like that. Second of all, Ebola transmits through contact with infected bodily fluids, right? So it's not a situation where someone walked through a cafeteria or a museum. Turns out they had Ebola. And now all of a sudden, everyone that was ever there in the past week is now at risk. It doesn't work that way. So that's, you know, I guess a good thing, right? Yeah. But again, you know, here in the U.S., we are more likely to be able to respond to individual cases much more quickly and much more effectively because despite whatever political arguments we have about health care and costs of health care and insurance and all of that stuff, we have amazingly robust and available health care here. Is there any travel ban in place yet? Is this a concern of people possibly bringing it to the U.S.?

That's always a concern. And so I think there is screening, you know, going for people coming from there to hear. Of course, the U.S. State Department is already warning and has been warning people for a while, do not travel to Congo for a number of reasons. One is health matters. The other, of course, is crime and unrest and terrorism and frequent kidnappings and all of that stuff. So there is a general do not travel level for warning from the U.S. State Department. You can go to travel.state.gov. to view travel warnings about all countries, but you'll see the one from Democratic or for Democratic Republic of Congo right there. I'm wondering, Evan, could MRNA technology help produce a vaccine more quickly, or are we still talking about a lengthy testing and approval process? Well, I mean, yes and no. You know, the thing about people like to use the word vaccine very loosely. A vaccine is something that prevents you from getting sick. Yeah. Right? So the question is, is, you know, finding a vaccine after an outbreak isn't the most helpful thing. You kind of want it before the outbreak, right? Right. So there have been ongoing. you know, developments of these types of things and including, but I would say often, I would say that COVID kind of derailed that because all of a sudden all the investigations and research on viral diseases went to COVID. It stopped going towards things like Ebola. And so perhaps that might have slowed things up in that regard. In some cases, it may have sped certain things up because a lot of the antiviral medication, something you would give after an infection that had been under some small development, especially since 2014 and the Ebola outbreak then, where we did see a case in the United States because of someone traveling, we saw more quickly, you know, more quick development of those in hopes that they could be used against COVID. So maybe there is a better antiviral. that could be administered. The question is, can you manufacture enough of it and get it to Congo? Well, Evan, we will follow this and keep an eye on it, as I know you will as well. Evan Brown, Fox News reporter, WJR contributor. Appreciate you as usual. Thank you, sir. You bet. Take care. Oh, Caitlin, it was great having you here. It was great to be here. This morning. And it was so nice, we're going to do it twice because you're going to be on Paul Show. I am. I am. This is going to, you know, I thought I'll just be in the zone of doing this. And it'll be fun. So I'll be back at noon. I'm going to go home for a couple hours. Okay. All right. So we just warmed you up here. I know. And I'll be back with Kelly Cobb. Okay. Looking forward to it. Looking forward to it. We're looking forward to having you. Jason Role will be with me tomorrow as Chris is off somewhere, having a good time. And we're having a good time here on 760 WJR. Have a great rest of your Thursday. Be careful out there. We'll see you tomorrow. 6 a.m. on 760.J.R. Kevin Deetz is next.