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December 29, 2025 • 17 mins

Robach and Holmes cover the latest news headlines and entertainment updates and give perspective on current events in their daily “Morning Run.”

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Morning Run with Amy and TJ and iHeartRadio Podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hey there, everybody, and welcome to Morning Run. It is Monday,
December twenty ninth. I'm Amy Roboch and I'm TJ Holmes.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Let's get the birthday wishes out of the way. Ava
would be mad at us if we didn't start the
day off this Morning Run. Is the most important thing
to be said in this Morning Run is that it
is your oldest Ava Monroe's birthday.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, it is Ava's twenty third birthday. Happy birthday to Ava.
We're going to make it a good one today.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
So we got to get through this Morning Run because
she's sitting downstairs waiting on us to come celebrate her. No,
this is going to be a fun day and what
it's all about. Hello to you all. Glad you're spending
some time here with us. Are people back at work today?
Not twice for the vacation time, right?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
I would hope most people, obviously lots of you out
there have to go to work totally get that this
is a tough week to work. We've done it plenty
of times in our lives. But yes, hopefully many more
are enjoying some time with their family hanging out out, chilling,
maybe on vacation, maybe having a staycation.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
And maybe enjoying Quansa. Happy Kwanza is this is a thing. Look,
it's been around for a long time, but a lot
of people still don't quite understand Kwansa, and I don't
hear a lot of people necessarily giving Kwanza greetings. I
wish that would change. I wish it would come more commonplace,
because I just think that more thinks of it makes
us more diverse. Just to say happy Quansa, we say

(01:23):
happy Hanak that we do all have all these holidays.
I don't celebrate Kwansa. I'm not suggesting that. What I'm
suggesting is this, it's kind of cool to have this
diverse of a country.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yes, it's nice to have people be able to celebrate
the holidays in their own way, whether it's religious or
cultural or whatever. It's I always applaud celebrations of any kind.

Speaker 3 (01:44):
So yes, Kwansa, Happy Quansa. We're in the fourth day
of Kwansa goes through January first, but goes from the
day after Christmas or January one. And again, this is
not a religious holiday. It is quite frankly made up.
It was completely created by a professor actually in nineteen
sixty six. He was a professor of Africana Studies at
cal State Long Beach and this was a way to

(02:06):
celebrate family, community and culture among the African American and
Pan African citizens right here in the US. So I
thought that was great. And you see the candles, it's
called a canara as a candle has the seven days
and seven principles of Kwansa. Before this moment, I don't
think I could have named one of them.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
Oh, I wouldn't have known that. Yes, the seven days
and seven principles, this is all very interesting. Unity, self determination,
work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Those
are all wonderful things to focus on on each of
the days of Kwansa. And yes, I love they light
a candle per day, kind of like the minora. You've got.

(02:47):
The kanara very cool. I didn't know any of that,
so I learned something today.

Speaker 3 (02:50):
So that's all folks, Just to be aware this is
going on. It has been practiced by millions all over
the world for decades now. So happy Kwansa to you
out there. Also, we'll be getting into on the run
this morning Zelenski at Mara Lago. Also a tragedy in Oklahoma,
a target practice tragedy. We'll explain that. Also, a deadly

(03:11):
trailing rollment in Mexico. Baby news coming out of the
White House. And the Christmas box office was interesting. Apparently
a lot of you went to see movies. There was
some interesting numbers, including from Anaconda. Yeah, that was released
on Christmas Day.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
We added to some of those numbers. Yes, indeed. And
when you said interesting, that always piques my interest because
you know what else is interesting and this is nothing
you want your meteorologists to say. But the weather is interesting,
as some forecasters would say. Yeah, the weather and the
travel that we often see this week are not mixing. Well.
Three thousand flights were canceled or delayed across the country,

(03:51):
and we might just be getting started, unfortunately, because there
are parts of the country being hit with I love
all these meteorology meteor A lot you mess. I can't
say because I wanted to try it logical terms. Bomb cyclone,
That's what I was trying to say. I should just
stick to the facts. Bomb cyclone. Yes, that is happening

(04:11):
right now. It's dumping in some cases feet not inches
feet of snow in the Upper Midwest and the Great
Lakes regions. And there are weather advisories in place from
the upper Midwest all the way to the northeast.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
And what is a bomb cyclone, you ask the It's
essentially hot air and cold air coming together quite violently
and making a very intense storm and creates high winds,
heavy rain or heavy snow in some cases.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
But right now it's heavy snow. I can't remember the
other time we were talking about the atmospheric river. Yes,
that's scary as hell. There's a heat dome. That's the one.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
I think heat dome. We had that this summer and
in the bomb cyclone.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
So when you hear mete or I'll just start pulling
out some of these terms, you better start paying attention.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
They're very scary, all right. Continuing our run now closer
than ever before to a peace steal. That is what
we are hearing from the White House, specifically from President Trump.
He said this after his moroologo meeting with Ukrainian President
Zelenski that happened yesterday, and Zelenski, I believe President Trump said,
I don't like numbers, but we're ninety five percent of
the way there, and then Zelenski followed up by saying,

(05:12):
we're ninety percent of the way there, so they gave numbers.

Speaker 3 (05:15):
Okay, that doesn't bode well if we can't even agree
on how much we've agreed.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
To exactly ninety five or ninety either way, it sounds
pretty impressive.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
It sounds good.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Now.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
Priud to this meeting, the president goes on the phone
with Russian President Putin said this was a two and
a half hour meeting. After every meeting he has with Putin,
it seems like this is the line good and productive call.
That's all we got. Pretty vague, but right now some
of the still sticky issues involved whether Russia can keep
lamb that it's taken during the now four we're coming
up on four years wow of this war. Now, but again,

(05:46):
when you hear some positive news because it broke down
for a little while, Look, if this is on track,
if you're ninety percent agreed, man.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Let's hope they can bring home that last ten percent.

Speaker 3 (05:58):
Somebody's gonna die today because of that. A good way
to put it, all, right, continue on the run here, Now,
this is an awful office Christmas Day tragedy robes we've
been talking about this morning, but so many people what
you get something new for Christmas, you want to go
out and you want to play with your new toy
or wear your new clothes. Where there was a man
in Oklahoma who got a new gun for Christmas. So

(06:18):
sure enough he wanted to go out and kind of
play with it, if you will. But he wanted to
go out. He was firing his new handgun that he
had gotten for Christmas, and he ended up accidentally shooting
and killing an elderly woman. And that man has now
been charged with first degree manslaughter. Again, this happened on
Christmas Day.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Yes, the man thirty three year old Cody Wayne Adams
from Comanche, Oklahoma. He was actually shooting at a red
bull can and his neighbor was around a half a
mile away. That bullet traveled. He did not have they
call it a backstop in his yard yet. Maybe he
just hadn't put one up yet, but there was a
direct line of sight. He couldn't have known obviously. He

(07:00):
was aiming and missed at the red bullcan. It went
on to a front porch and it struck and killed
seems like almost immediately, an elderly woman that's how she's
been described, who was holding a baby in her other arm.
The bullet hit her right arm, the baby was in
her left arm, and police even said there was another
child in a stroller in front of her, along with

(07:22):
two other adults. This is such a scary and sad
and tragic, disturbing story. The woman's name was Sandra Phelps,
and yeah, the bullet moved from her right arm into
her chest cavity and killed her.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
And you know, if it had missed her a little
bit to the left or right, it might have hit
one of those kids. It's just this is awful all around.
And when please found the man, they found him at
his home and he this wasn't him pushing back and
saying no, no, no no. They said he got visibly
and immediately upset and actually started to cry. At one
point during an interview later at the police station, he

(07:57):
actually said to them, I'm sorry he has been cooperative.
But yes, they say they had bought himself a block
forty five pistol for Christmas and was out in the
back trying it out.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Oh so sad, all right. Next up on the run.
At least thirteen people are dead and approximately one hundred
others injured. It happened in a Mexican train derailment. This
is the Interoceanic train line. It's about two years old,
so it's a relatively new train system and this happened
in the southeast part of the country.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
And this is crazy. This is a big, big deal
for them. So, yes, thirteen people dead, one hundred people injured.
This is an awful tragedy. But you said Robe, it's
only two years old. This is an important train line
they are trying to develop for economic development that part
of the country that connects the Gulf of Mexico to
the Pacific Ocean. Wow. They built this robes to compete
with the Panama Canal, to give folks another option. Hey,

(08:50):
come take our route through instead of having to go
that route. That's what it was supposed to be. So
the tragedy is one thing, but this has been a
big investment for Mexico for years and this is really
going to set them back.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
Yeah. I was going to say, I don't know how
you recover from something like this because of the loss
of human life and just now the lack of I
would imagine confidence in getting back on that train system
and knowing that you could trust it. That's scary as hell.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
All right. We do want to mention as well here
on the run a tragedy, another tragedy, this one in
New Jersey. Plane not planes, helicopters. Two helicopters collided in
New Jersey yesterday. One person dead, another as of this
recording is in critical condition and investigation is underway. Hamilton,
New Jersey. It's actually about thirty five miles southwest of
Philadelphia is where this happened. And it happened close to

(09:35):
the airport there, the Hamilton Municipal Airport there in New Jersey.
But again, remind me, Roobes, I'm only thinking of it
now if I got this wrong. Can you remember the
helicopter crash over the Hudson. Wasn't that around Christmas last year?

Speaker 2 (09:50):
That family was, Yes, yes they were visiting and the
whole family, But that looked like it was pilot error.
Perhaps the way they turned the helicopter. It almost just
kind of imploded on itself. There was no mid air collision,
but when you hear mid air collision, you automatically go
back to January of last year and think about that
tragedy over Reagan National so it just this shouldn't happen.

(10:11):
This shouldn't happen.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
Oh yeah, another helicopter tragedy there. But stay with us, folks,
and know a lot of this has been heavy, and
we have seen number of tragedies and unfortunate news around
the holidays. But we will pick things up, I promise you,
because it's always good to hear about a new baby
being born, and we certainly don't hear about it often
from someone working in the White House in such a

(10:32):
prominent role. Yes, we got baby news out of the
White House, and we'll explain. Also interesting like I said, ropes,
interesting numbers coming out of the box office. But one
thing you could probably already guess Avatar III is doing.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
Justin Welcome back to this Monday edition of our Morning
Ron and we begin after the break with some happy
baby news. Congratulations to Carolyn Lovitt. She's announced it's a girl.

(11:07):
She is pregnant with her second baby with her husband Nick.
She already has a one and a half year old son.
His name is Nico. She is due in May of
twenty twenty six. That's very exciting. So she's pretty far along.
Actually that means she's already four plus months along, so
she'll start to show.

Speaker 3 (11:24):
Now you don't congrats to her, and she's put out pictures.
You talked about this. She's clearly very excited. I'm seeing
she's the first press secretary in US history.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
That's amazing.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
And I'm thinking back, there have been so many women.
I guess it feels like recently, but before that it
was none.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
But dudes, that's true. I mean, that reads that's about right,
but I actually makes it.

Speaker 3 (11:44):
But all the press secretaries I'm thinking of now I
see women as I'm thinking about press secretaries and to
hear now she's the first one. That is a big deal.
How do you handle that those two things? I think
she has an opportunity to really show something to the
country about what well we already know what women can do.
Let me not say that. What I'm saying to think
of that high stress, that high level. She's going to

(12:06):
stay in the job.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
You know, I was thinking about that. Just look any
woman who has worked up until she gave birth, which
I think most of us do, and it's because we
have to, because we have to pay the bills. But
it's to do that in the public with cameras rolling
in a high pressured job where people are not necessarily
happy with what you're saying or agreeing with how you're

(12:28):
saying it. That takes a toll on a woman. So
I mean, kudos to her for sticking through it, because look,
we can do hard things, we can do tough things,
but you don't want to put emotional, extra emotional stress
on your body, on yourself when you're carrying another human life.
So look, that's a tough balance that she will be juggling,
but she's managed it well so far.

Speaker 3 (12:50):
Those third trimester press conferences are going to be musty TV.

Speaker 2 (12:54):
Honestly. Look, I mean, I don't know if everybody is
the same, but I will admit I was quick to
anger when I was pregnant. Pregnancy hormones are real. They
are real. So good luck to her, and maybe good
luck to the reporters in the briefing room.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
I'm sure the press corps is gonna give. They're gonna
be during.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Our big baby shower.

Speaker 3 (13:13):
That would be cool. I would love to see that. Actually,
all right, the last leg of our run here the
box office. Over the weekend, we contributed a lot of
people went out to movie. This is a tradition you
go see a movie on Christmas or the holiday weekend,
so a lot of people did this. We already knew
Avatar three. Sorry, mister Cameron, it's Avatar, Fire and Ash.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
I keep going Avatar three to you. You've been talking
about it like that.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
Yes, Fire and Ash. But it's up to seven hundred
and sixty million dollars worldwide. It was always, of course
expected to break a billion, just how far over two billion.
It was usually a question of how far could go.
So it won the weekend no problem. But Zootopia two
ends up in a top spot, and then Marty Supreme,
The Housemaid and Anaconda. Now, the reason I'm not saying

(13:56):
exactly which order because some folks are doing the order
by the weekend, which was Friday, Saturday Sunday. That's a
normal box office. Some are doing it Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday.
So the numbers are all over the place, but generally
those were your top five. Avatar for sure was in
the top spot.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
That's exciting. And we loved Anaconda. Just want to say,
we laughed out loud, had a blast. We can highly
recommend that movie. And we saw it with all three
girls and they all liked it, maybe not as much
as we did. We really because we're huge fans of
the original, and we would recommend if you go see
this movie, it's worth it to rewatch the j LO

(14:32):
original because it just it sets you right up for
this movie.

Speaker 3 (14:37):
And you know, I and one other note about this,
I'm trying to see where I got it, and I
want to give whoever credit, But I believe this movie
is the first comedy to do twenty plus million at
the international box office in decades.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
That's awesome.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
These movies just don't do well overseas. American comedies overseas
don't use the action movies or something to do with
it did well overseas.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
Oh, I love that. I love this movie. I'm so
happy to hear that again.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
Sorry, it was to Cameron. We know your movies wonderful.
We were in an Anakanda mood over the weekend. All right, folks,
Before we let you go, as always, we want to
leave you with something our quote of the day. Take
this with you. This is from Anne Landers and Landers
the columnist in Chicago. Now has it ad met? There
were two different women who wrote under the Ann Landers.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
Oh I didn't know that.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
Yeah, it's even Anne Landers's name was an Anne Landers.
It was something else. So two women wrote under it.
So I don't know which one to give credit to.
But this was the answer. When she was asked to
give what she would consider is the single most useful
bit of advice for all humanity. This was her answer,
And this is your quote of the day. Quote. Expect
trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes,

(15:52):
hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye
and say I will be bigger than you. You cannot
defeat me.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
I love that all of humans.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
She said it was the best advice.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
You know what that is. I love that, And that's
so good to hear, because when you have that mindset,
it changes how you look at problems. It just does.
If you expect it, you're going to take it on
and you'll get through it. And that is the best way.
I love that quote. Great advice.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
I had to get out of my own way here
and not just go through life go well, of course
the flight's late, Well of course, the cars all the time. Well,
of course my meal isn't cooked. And so you get
into a mindset of you just it's not a matter
of expecting everything to go wrong, but it.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Is life, of course, accepting it when it does and
knowing that it will get better.

Speaker 3 (16:40):
So the advice, single most useful bit of advice for
all of humanity, expect trouble as an inevitable part of life,
and when it comes, hold your head hi, look it
squarely in the eye and say I will be bigger
than you. You cannot defeat me. And with that, folks,
we always appreciate you taking a run with us.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
From DJ and I'm Amy Rovok. We will with you soon.
M
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