Show Rewind 11-13-2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Armor Jesus right, he yeah, same America and Jerry Fallen
for re formation.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
This is wrong.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher
Thompson on one O three point five FM and five
sixty AM w VOC.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
It is sixteen minutes after six o'clock. Good morning. It's Thursday,
November thirteenth. Don't look now, but we're two weeks away
from Turkey Day. Oh wow. Anne came home with a
turkey yesterday. Oh boy boy, what what a price she? Uh?
She got on that thing? Man, Well that's good turkeys,
just about giving them away. She thought they made a mistake.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Well, there have been years where they were expensive, but
I guess this is in one of those years.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
The price tag on the turkey, this was a butter ball,
I mean a wop daddy butterball. The original price tag
said thirty four dollars. She paid three dollars in change
for it. Wow, that is the deal. It's like nineteen
cents a pound.

Speaker 4 (01:17):
So John, I thought we had had bird flu and
that there was there might be a turkey shortage this year?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Is that? Am I thinking of a different year? Well,
maybe she bought the poison Turkey. I don't know, I
didn't it didn't say that on the label. No, they're
basically giving away Turkey's issues. Okay, now the Ham's another story,
but the Turkey. Yeah, good morning. Hard to believe here
two weeks away from Thanksgiving. Yeah, unbelievable. Good to have
you on board. I'm Gary, He's Christopher. This is Columbia's

(01:45):
Morning News, and we got some news to talk about today,
don't we. Government workers will be able to to buy that,
even that turkey. Now, now the check hadn't come in
the mail yet, but it's coming soon. As the government
shut down officially into last night, is it business back
to usual? Well, not totally. There's still the six percent

(02:11):
decrease in air traffic around those forty major airports, Seawn
Duffy announcing that still concerned about safety as a result
of fewer folks in the control towers. So that's not changing,
not yet, at least snap benefits. Well, yeah, the White

(02:31):
House had said they would be rolling those back out
again within twenty four hours of the government reopening, although
other outlets of Politico, for one, says there's still some
uncertainty about the timeline for that. When do the workers
get their paychecks. Well, should be in just a matter
of days. Good. Yeah, But then comes the end of

(02:52):
January and we'll find ourselves right back in this situation.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
Not a very lasting deal, no, not at all. And
that takes us into midterm election.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Year, Yes it does, which is which is calculated, don't
you know that's calculated? All right? So we got all
the rundown on that. What the Republican ideas are for
an alternative to Obamacare, what the Dems are pushing for
when it comes to that they didn't get it this
time around, Will they hold the country hostage again early
next year to try to get it, or does something

(03:23):
happen between now and then those those enhanced subsidies expire
here in a month and a half at the end
of the end of the year. So got a lot
to talk about on that front. And you know, whether
you like it or not, we warned you it was
coming back again, the whole Epstein thing, and this blew
up yesterday. A couple things to talk about there. The

(03:46):
the Democrats release what was it like, three emails, I
guess it was. They tried to show that, you know,
Donald Trump was guilty of something, you know, it. It
basically showed that Donald Trump was aware of what Epstein
was doing, even they mostly he asked Glenn Maxwell to
have her stop doing it. He was at a house.

(04:08):
But one of these victims was, I mean, does that
does that? Is that? Are you guilty in the court
of law over what this email? Shaw? Well, the Republicans
are crying foul on this and this at the time
when yeah, there's enough now votes and there have been
to bring to the House floor and Mike Johnson says
he'll do it next week, a vote to release the

(04:29):
Epstein filesand full Hey, spoiler alert, they probably still won't
get released in full because the Senate has got to
okay that, and guess who's got to sign off on that, then,
Donald Trump. So, uh we some folks may get all
excited about this for no good reason, and others are like,
I'm tired of hearing this already.

Speaker 4 (04:49):
I think we would know by now if there was
anything damaging in there.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Don't you think, I mean, come on, all right, So
those are the two big big stories going on right
now here at home. U. The State Supreme Court and
a unanimous decision has told that the legislature you cannot
have your cake and eat it too. Matter of fact,
you can't even have your cake. That effort by legislators
to give themselves a pay raise. The five zero ruling

(05:17):
by the court ends the saga and says, now you
can't do that. Remember the constitution is very clear you can.
You know, the legislator can vote, let's say, sure that
can vote themselves a pay raise as the owns a can,
but it doesn't take effect until after the next cycle
of elections. That's not the way they did it. And
they tried to mince words and say, well it's it's

(05:38):
it's not pay it's this or it's that. The court
having none of that, and they won't even get this
in that any They won't even get some more stuff anymore. Ether. Yes,
so we've got all the news on that to pass
along to you. A dad arrested in blythwa This is
the father of the teenager who organized that bonfire on Halloween,

(05:59):
a bonfire that wound up with three miners being shot.
Now the shooter or shooters are still at large. There
have been no arrest made with the exception of the
arrest of the dad on two accounts of contributing to
the delinquency of a minor and aggravated breach of peace. Meanwhile,
a family is suing a Columbia gas station after their

(06:22):
son was fatally shot this past summer. The family is
suing the c kmart on Broad River Road, claiming that well,
the place was a place typically normally in every day
attracted well bad people doing bad things, and they're trying
to hold them responsible for that. This is a case that,
I mean could set the precedent for others. Certainly, they're

(06:45):
making changes at Charleston's International Airport thanks to Nancy Mason,
a dispute they've got with her. They have rewritten their
VIP policy Now for travelers like Mace, no longer will
lawmakers and other dignitaries get expedition. I did passage through
the checkpoints at TSA. Any future security detail will need
to be arranged directly though with the TSA, not with

(07:07):
the airport security. So they're making changes to all of that.
The Democrats throwing up out of the sacrificial lamb, well,
he she's throwing herself up. Catherine Fleming Bruce, Columbia resident
local activist, has joined the race to try to unseat
Lindsey Graham. Scout Motors making a huge investment in Blythwood, Yes,
but a huge investment in Charlotte as well. And we

(07:28):
wanted that point, and we wanted we got stuck on
that one. Charlotte is the final destination for the headquarters
for Scout Motors. This is a big deal. They'll be
investing two hundred and seven million dollars, promising to create
more than twelve hundred high paying jobs. And yeah, we
wanted that one. We didn't get it. Okay, didn't happen,

(07:53):
all right, So we'll get to that. We get all
the talk on the shutdown ending and what happens next
to me if I got that as well, the Epstein
saga continuing, and big tech and these big AI plants
something we need to discuss here. Voters are becoming more

(08:13):
and more concerned about the energy drain these plant We've
talked about it a lot here on the program. Well,
some politicians are starting to take notice as well, and
if voters put enough heat on some of these politicians,
we may see some things change. Right there. And a
penny for your thoughts, the last one has been minted.

(08:34):
No more pennies will be coming out from the Mint.
We've still got so many out there. Yeah, yeah, we
got tons. We're okay for now, good to have you along.
Those stories and more are coming up on this. It
is the Thursday morning edition of Columbia's Morning News.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
When bringing a new family member into your home starts
with some basic commands Alexa, I don't know that.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Ask it to play one O three point TIMEFM WVOC.
Now I'm informed.

Speaker 3 (09:07):
This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David and Christopher
Thompson on one O three point five FM and five
sixty AM w VOC.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
I'm wanting to tell you it is six point thirty nine.
Happy to have you with us for Thursday, November the thirteenth.
Gary David here, Christopher Thompson there. Now, the shutdown is over.
What happens for now, for now, for now. The latest
from Fox's Martin Meredith.

Speaker 5 (09:31):
Overnight, six Democratic House members voting with the majority of
the Republican caucus to reopen the government. The majority of
those Democrats were not in favor of passing the Senate package,
which reopened the government and funding some departments for several
more months. Many Democrats are still furious with a handful
of their Senate colleagues who voted to end the shutdown
despite not getting anything for their biggest demand, which was

(09:54):
more money to help cover Obamacare insurance plans. Democratic leaders
now facing fresh scrutiny from their own members about why
the shutdown is ended without winning anything major in return.
House Minority Leader Akeem Jeffries insists, though, that putting healthcare
front and center will pay off.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
All right, thank you, Mark Willett. That's the next big battle,
of course, at least in the Senate next month. The
House Speaker Johnson hasn't promised to even bring it to
the House floor. So but forty three days, the longest shutdown.
We won't look at these again the same way. Will
we shutdowns? Yeah? Probably not. You know, for the last
couple of years, I mean, it seems like on a

(10:31):
regular basis, Oh, we have to shut the government down,
and we're like, yawn. We're not yawning anymore. Federal workers
missed multiple paychecks, the issues at the airports, people at
food banks, snap benefits drying up.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
And for what for what exactly? And here's the big
political story to come out of this. The Democrats voted
over and over again to keep American, to keep the
government shut down to keep Americans from getting what they
expected like paychecks and snap benefits, et cetera, and to
keep the airports working. That's a record. That's a record

(11:12):
the Republicans have going into the midterms next year. Meanwhile,
Thune and Johnson never met with the Democrats. No, they
they let they let the Democrats be the story in this.
The Democrats kept thinking, Okay, we will make this happen
and then we'll have you know, these images of Republicans

(11:33):
coming out of meetings every day with their sad drawn faces.
That didn't happen. Republicans stayed out of the lot spotlight
and gave it all to the Democrats. And so every
time you heard government shut down, you saw Chuck Schumer
saying no to you know, the next vote.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, for the first time in a long time, the
Republicans played hardball. Yeah, and they won. And Trump didn't
get involved. No, no, huh, you know usually Well, he
wanted to send it to you know, to ditch the
filibuster on this right and get it done quicker.

Speaker 6 (12:07):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
The Thune refused to do that. But aside from that, yeah,
he was largely on the sidelines of this thing. He
let he let you know, Republican leadership in the in
Congress deal with it, and they deal with it. I
don't know again going into the midterms, Like you say, Tove,
what's the message going to be, Well, here's the message,

(12:28):
all right, unless the Republicans come up with a way.
And I still believe this. I still believe that there'll
be a compromise and these Obamacare subsidies will be extended
for a certain amount of time, because I don't think
they're the Republicans are there act together yet as to
their alternative to that. They've known this for years, but

(12:49):
they they haven't come up with it yet, and now
it's here, and now it's here, So they're not going
to really have much of a choice because the only
the only thing Democrats can use going into the midterms
based on all this is if these subsidies are not extended,
that will be their hammering point that, yes, look at
your health insurance coverage payment every month. You can blame

(13:11):
the Republicans and Donald Trump for that. Flip side, Yeah,
it's pretty simple. You can't blame the Republicans for keeping
the government shut down and portions of the country shut
down for forty three days, because that one's all on you.
The Republicans had the plan, they put it up long

(13:34):
before we should have gotten to this, and it's the
Democrats who over how many times did the Senate vote
this down? I lost track? Fifteen sixteen? I was going
to say fourteen, but maybe fourteen, but over and over
and over again. So this will be the talking point
for the Republicans going into the midterms. Yeah, did you
have an issue trying to catch a flight? Did you

(13:55):
have an issue trying to put food on the table.
Did you have an issue trying to make your mortgage payment?
But you're a federal worker. That's on the Democrats.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
But we may not be talking about this shut down
by next year. We may be talking about the next.

Speaker 2 (14:07):
The next one. Yeah, because this one right here only
funds the government until the end of January. Now, there
are some things that will be funded long term, but
we could be right back in this same place at
the end of January, which I I'm just guessing here,

(14:30):
but I'm thinking that neither party really has an appetite
for that unless they see political advantage in it. But
we have heard from uh who was it, a high
name Democrat? Highly you know, well known democrat whose name
I don't recall right now, but a couple of days
ago said, hey, listen, you know what we we uh,
you know, we kind of got what we wanted here.

(14:52):
What In other words, it was all about trying to
score political talking points and political wins, which, by the way,
you did. But still that was this guy's take. And
I'm thinking, on the backs of the American people, you
were just trying to, you know, win political points here.

Speaker 4 (15:10):
That's the same party that said they needed to keep
their leverage. That's what they called the shutdown leverage.

Speaker 2 (15:16):
Leverage. Yes, oh boy, So this deal now is the
funding lapse. There is again a long term agreement on
just three of the dozen bills they've got to finish
each year to keep cash flowing, So money for veterans, programs,

(15:37):
for food AIDS, SNAP benefits, and assistance for farmers. Oh
and by the way, the operations of Congress itself. They've
agreed on those long term funding when it comes to that,
but everything else is going to be up in the
air at the end of January. Those programs I just

(15:58):
mentioned account for about ten percent of all the money
the Congress doles out every year. To federal agencies. So
ninety percent is going to be back up in the
air into January if they don't come up with a
deal before then. So, yeah, you're right, we maybe talking
about the next shutdown, not this one. I just can't
imagine that's going to happen, though I could be wrong.

(16:23):
So now snap benefits will start flowing again, and some
disagreement over when that's going to happen. The ap ran
a story that said the White House would start fully
funding these again within twenty four hours, but Politico says
it's maybe not that simple. The apparatus get back up
and running and different states get involved, so it could

(16:43):
be longer than that.

Speaker 4 (16:44):
Apparently we're weeding out a little fraud while we get
the system back up and running too.

Speaker 2 (16:49):
Yeah, okay, that ain't bad thing, right, Yeah, a bad thing.
And if you're holding an airline ticket, you're thinking, okay, great,
no problems. Now think again. Percent freeze is going to
stay in effect until further notice. Even after that House

(17:09):
vote last night, dot in the FAA issuing an emergency
order again freezing fly reductions at the current six percent rate,
amid what they called a rapid decline in air traffic
control to call out. So now, I did hear that
the number of controllers who called out sick yesterday was
just really a handful. But they still got backlogs, they

(17:33):
still got issues, and they're still concerned about about safety.
So the FAA confirming that that six percent freeze will
stay in place until they can confirm it's safe to
return to normal operations. Okay, they didn't say they're going
to wrap it up to ten wrap it up to
ten percent. We've seen enough issues at four percent and

(17:56):
six percent. Ten percent would have been ridiculous. Well, it
already has rediculous. But the six percent will stay in effect.
I don't know how long. Hey, listen, we're two weeks
away from Thanksgiving Day. I can't imagine I'm going to
keep that freeze in effect for too much longer, but
we'll see. Actually, those reductions today are supposed to go

(18:18):
to eight percent, but they won't. They'll be frozen at
that at six percent. So next up, what's do about
the subsidies? John Thune, Senate majority leader, promising a vote
on the Senate floor mid next month and about a

(18:39):
month from now, right before the Christmas holiday, and just
weeks before these benefits expire, or these subsidies expires as
a benefit's free stuff. But the House, Mike Johnson not
committing to any of that. We'll get the feel for
the room. He's not guaranteeing that the House will vote

(18:59):
on this. And in the meantime, the White House is
trying to come up with alternative plans to Obamacare again,
plans they should have come up with a long long
time ago but didn't. So that's the next big fight
on the horizon. All right, but government reopen.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
You're listening to Columbia's Morning News on one oh three
point five FM and five sixty AM WVOC. Once again,
here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
It is fifteen after seven o'clock. Appreciate you joining us.
It's Thursday, November thirteenth, two weeks away from Thanksgiving Day.
I'm Gary David, He's Christopher Thompson, and we got some
stuff to talk about here on the home front. Big stories.
Of course, government shut down over, although not everything is
back to normal. We'll talk about that again a little
bit later on this morning. The the Epstein files rear

(19:55):
their ugly head again and we've got news to discuss.
On that front as well. We'll get to it. But
here at home, the Supreme Court says no to the
legislature on the pay rais hang on for that. But
first off, I'm not sure how many of us even
realize this, But in the in the wake of the

(20:17):
the Nancy Mayce melt down at Charleston International Airport, they've
now changed their policy. Since January of twenty one, police
protective services at that airport for VIP visitors that included
members of Congress and other dignitaries were approved by the

(20:42):
airport's chief of police, not ill matter of fact, very
few airports offer this. Bottom line is here that they
no longer will Okay, so they've they've they've changed their process.
They've rewritten their VIP policy for Nancy Mason for anybody else.

(21:06):
No longer will lawmakers, federal lawmakers, other important people get
any sort of expedited passage to the TSA checkpoint and
any future security That detail must be arranged directly with
the TSA, not with the Charleston Airport staff and security.

(21:33):
The airport does security writing. Additionally, Charleston Airport police will
no longer provide protective services for these movements, but we'll
be in position to support if needed. And I know
we're sent to our states of federal lawmakers Lindsey Graham,
Tim Scott, James Clyburn, Nancy Mays. I'm not sure why
the rest of them didn't get it, but anyway, that

(21:54):
was who that got said to. All right, So this
is a change, and it's a change that brings the
Charleston Airport in line the posting courier rights with policies
at other airports nationwide. So they were one of the
few that did this to begin with. This is not
something that these folks like you know, Mason and others have.

(22:18):
That's not a courtesy that get extended to them at
other airports in the country. And they no longer will
to Charleston either as a result of all this. There
you go, all right. So in the last session, legislators
decided to give themselves a pay raise.

Speaker 4 (22:36):
Okay, well wait a minute, now, it wasn't a pay raise, they.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
Said it wasn't They said it was exactly Yeah, we know.
What they gave themselves was, as they argued in front
of the State Supreme Court, an increase in their reimbursement
for expenses that occur outside of session.

Speaker 4 (22:58):
More money for indistricts spend and they can use it
anyway they want because they're not accountable for.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
It, right, And I think a lot of people missed
that point. They thought, well, yeah, it's very expending, it's
got to be accounted for. No, it doesn't. So you recall,
there was a lawsuit file and the Supreme Court has
heard this. One of the state houses own members's state

(23:27):
Senator West Climber fall this file, filed this lawsuit, and
the Supreme Court, although they as part of the ruling,
said that Climber couldn't be a plaintiff in the case.

Speaker 4 (23:37):
Thank goodness they did, because can you imagine the headaches
we'd have in years to come if every time a
senator or representative saw bill pass that he didn't like,
he sued in the state Supreme Court. Yeah, what a
nightmare that would have been. So thank goodness they cleared
that up.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
Yeah. So, but even though they said he couldn't be
a party of the suit, he wasn't the only one.
He had joined this with a non politician, Carol Herring,
in this lawsuit. So the final outcome is a unanimous
five nothing decision that says, no, you can't do that.

Speaker 4 (24:13):
This was stupid on so many levels because for starters,
of course, everything is more expensive these days than it
was the last time these senators and representatives got a
bump in what they can spend, you know, outside of
their base salary. So they should have done this years ago.
Shame on them for not doing it years ago. But

(24:36):
to now shove it in as almost an afterthought into
the budget and say we're going to do it this
way now it makes the whole thing look sketchy and controversial.
And now you've got naturally people, you know, even though
they probably do deserve it and most of them use
it for legitimate purposes. Now you've got everybody wondering, all right,
what else? What else is in the budget we don't

(24:58):
know about?

Speaker 2 (24:58):
Right, I'm all constitent's going to come up to me
now and say I want an accounting for all that
money you've spent in district.

Speaker 4 (25:06):
And now, if they finally do it the right way,
it's going to be controversial the next time they vote
on it.

Speaker 2 (25:10):
And doing it the right way simply meant just do
it and make it effective after the next election. Yeah,
which is what the state constitution says.

Speaker 4 (25:18):
You can't do it in the middle of a legislative
session because you're voting yourself a pay bump.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
This didn't even require the Supreme Court to come back
and say, like they have done in the past, no,
you did it wrong. Do it this way and it'll
be okay, because they already knew the way to do
it to make it okay. But now they wanted that
to start this year. But not only did they lose
on that front, but that decision wipes out the thousand

(25:45):
dollars a month they had been getting as in district
compensation since nineteen ninety five. Whoops, Yeah, you went a
little far on this one. So they don't get the
I'm sorry, the bump in in district spending, but they've
lost the thousand bucks a month they've been getting now

(26:08):
for about thirty for thirty five years. Wow, that did
not end well for them, did it. No, it did not.

Speaker 4 (26:19):
And for those who are citizen legislators and who are
not lawyers and top dog insurance age.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
You believe it or not, there are a few of
those over there, and that's going to make it all
that much more tough to serve. You serve your your
your constituents. You know, I'm not even really sure why
they just didn't do it the right way to begin with,
they somebody over there knew what the constitution said about this,
I would hope, so you know, they've done it the

(26:50):
right way. Had they said, okay, we were voting ourselves
a raise or whatever you want to call it. But
it won't go into effect until the session that begins
after the mid terms. You know, no red flags are raised,
and now totally by the book.

Speaker 4 (27:07):
I'm assuming that because they didn't get it done before
this upcoming election, I'm assuming that then they can vote
on it when they start the next session. But it
won't take place for another two years. I don't know,
it's see, I would think it would take place the

(27:29):
next session starts in February.

Speaker 2 (27:31):
Yeah, and I can't obviously going to effect in that
session that they did it last session. You going to
affect this session coming up, right, I mean it's a
two year cycle. Well, I'll not the double check on
that because the next session, well we've got that that
the election in November, right, so the session after that

(27:53):
will be a whole new Well, but you know, it's
a new state House. It's for an election, which whichever
I just don't get. What was the big rush anyway,
What was the big rush to get it instituted in
this session? I don't know, but they went a big
losers on that one.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
Your world happens here, but let me be clear and
updated accordingly.

Speaker 2 (28:14):
I have no doubt buncle your seed bills.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
One O three point five FM and five sixty am
w VOC. This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary David
and Christopher Thompson on one O three point five FM
and five sixty am w VOC.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
Coming up on seven thirty nine. It's Thursday, November thirteenth.
Thanks for being with us. We appreciate that. Well, seven
weeks of absence from the House and lawmakers are back
and they've been busy the House last night again voting
to reopen the government. We'll be talking about that again
in the eight o'clock hour. And also with the House

(28:55):
back in session, that meant that the newest member. Show'm
saying her name right, Adelita Grijalva. I'm going with that.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Ti.

Speaker 2 (29:04):
If you're the one that knows all the tennis names, man,
you should know this. I haven't studied her. I don't
know she's the now newswly sworn in Democrat rep from Arizona.
She took her late father's seed. That was something that
Democrats have been screaming about now during this seven week
absence get her sworn in. Well, this House speaker all

(29:29):
along said no, we're not doing any House business and
that includes not swearing in a new member of the House. Now,
why was this one so important? Well, with that stuff
swearing in of a Grijalva, that that meant there were
enough votes now to allow lawmakers to take a vote

(29:53):
on Thomas Massey and Rocanna's discharged position relating to the
Epstein files. We warned you sooner or later this is
going to be jumped back on the front page, and
it did with a with a vengeance yesterday.

Speaker 4 (30:08):
I mean, this story is adding more ebbs and flows
to it, and there's I don't think there's that much
interest right now in it other than Democrats see it
as a wait. I mean they see it like they
see that they saw the shutdown. Here's how we get Trump. Yeah, right,
I And if it gets them, that's fine, put it
out there. But let's be done with this story. The

(30:31):
drips and drabs. I think we've all kind of tuned
out to this, and we certainly realize this is no
longer the most important story, if it ever was. We've
got bigger fish to fry right now.

Speaker 2 (30:43):
Yeah, we do so. With the the swearing in of
Gojalva that put it over the top. She becomes the
two hundred and eighteenth signatory on this discharge position, and
she did that just moments after getting sworn and yesterday,
of course she did so.

Speaker 4 (31:02):
I mean, if I'm an Arizona constituent, I'm upset that
that's her first priority.

Speaker 2 (31:07):
Right. That makes two hundred and fourteen, all of them
Democrats who support this this petition. But wait a minute,
to fourteen they needed to eighteen? Well, obviously they got Massey.
He it was you know, he and Roe Connors was
their their their idea to begin with, there's no bigger

(31:30):
enemy of Donald Trump on Capitol Hill than the Kentucky congressman.
But that meant there were three other Republicans who were.

Speaker 4 (31:39):
They Lauren Bobert, which this has been a key issue
for her since the start, Marjorie Taylor.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
Green Way, and the fourth Nancy Mays.

Speaker 4 (31:53):
Well, they've all argued that these female victims, and they're right.

Speaker 2 (31:57):
These female victims have.

Speaker 4 (32:00):
Not gotten their their justice there and they should be
heard and they should have been heard. And whoever's was
perpetrating these awful acts against these women should be prosecuted.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
But do we do we think we're going to find
out anything new here? Well, and this is my question.
Everything you just said is correct, But what's Congress got
to do with that? Man? I mean, really, anything that
happens in Congress is just to again to score political points,
and that's what this is all about. Yeah, these victims
deserve justice, but that's not Congress's responsibility to do that.

(32:38):
That's that's law enforcement, right, that's the judicial system. Well,
so this is an interesting position for Mason. There's no
way she could not have signed on to this, right
because that's that's been her her whole thing is right,
you know, protecting women, protecting women, protect me. But at
the same time, running for governor, she covets an endorsement

(33:01):
from Donald Trump. Uh, I think she'll get it now, well,
I mean they all they all want it. Well, sure, yeah,
I mean she's done everything she can to to try
to model herself after Donald Trump. I mean, there are
reports that Lauren Bobert actually got called by the White House.

(33:22):
I've heard reports that Mas got called by the White
House too.

Speaker 4 (33:24):
Yeah, I'm sure they probably reached out and said, don't
get on board with us. But you know, that's and
they're sticking to the same position they've held since they've
been in Congress. So you know, while I'm not a
fan of many of those, if any, I at least
give them.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
Credit for there being consistent. So, uh, this is just
the vote to force a vote on the floor of
the House. What happens next, Well, the House Speaker says
he plans to have that floor vote next week. Will

(34:04):
it Well, you've already got two hundred and eighteen yes
votes on that, and there is reporting that Republicans are
expecting there'll be some mass effects, so many ranks on
this that potentially a significant chunk of the Republican conference

(34:26):
will vote to release this.

Speaker 4 (34:29):
This has been like a band aid, and we know
how a band aid comes off. It can either come
off slowly and painfully, or you just rip it off
and be done with it. And Republicans keep dragging this out,
or at least they appear to be dragging this out.
Get it all out there and be done with this story.
We've got more important things to worry about right now.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
Don't forget that Mike Johnson sent to the House home
before the shutdown, and it was said to be for
this very reason. So this is drug out a lot
longer they needed to. Now, Okay, if the House votes, fine,
the Senate still got to vote for and there's no
guarantees the Senate will vote in favor of releasing these files.

(35:12):
So in the meantime, the Democrats used the opportunity on
this day yesterday to release a couple of emails to
leak them, emails in which Epstein wrote that Trump had
spent hours at my house with one of mister Epstein's victims. Now, also,

(35:39):
here's the problem for Trump. Trump has has long said
he had no idea what Epstein was up to. Well,
the email saying that he was at Epstein's home with
one of the victims doesn't prove anything, doesn't even prove
that he knew that this person was a victim. There's

(36:01):
also an email, though, that says that Trump knew about
the girls and that he had at one point asked
Glenn Maxwell to to stop doing what she's doing. Okay,
so if he knew about them, doesn't mean he was involved.
And we know they had famously had a split years ago.

(36:22):
You had to assume this was what it was all about.
But he's all along said, and this is the problem
for Trump on this. He said he had no idea
what was going on. Well, one of these emails would
tend to maybe show otherwise. But the White House and
Caroline Levitt responding vociferously yesterday.

Speaker 6 (36:39):
These emails proved absolutely nothing other than the fact that
President Trump did nothing wrong. And what President Trump has
always said is that he was from Palm Beach and
so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was a member at
mar A Lago until President Trump kicked him out because
Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
Okay, wait a minute, Okay, No, she's right. These emails
don't prove anything. I'm not sure how they proved that
Trump did nothing wrong. They don't prove that, but they
don't prove that he did anything wrong either, certainly not.
And again Trump has maintained he had no idea what
was going on. But there's Levitt at the end of

(37:18):
that clip saying that he yes, he kick cap set
down of Marlogue because he was a horse. He did.
He was a he was a pedomile. That was public knowledge.
Everybody knew that, even back in the day. You know
that in Florida. That was well, that was a controversial
case in which he was let off the hook by

(37:39):
a prosecutor in South Florida years ago, So that was
common knowledge. The guy was a pedophile. But the sex trafficking,
I guess that's another step beyond that. So anyway, we'll.

Speaker 4 (37:53):
See if the Democrats slow rolled this now, because the
worst thing for them is once these files are released,
then the specter of these files can no longer be
held over the heads of Republicans.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
And that may be a reason why the Republicans need
to go ahead and vote to release them, right, I
would think, So get it over with, Yeah, don't don't
let them continue to hold this as a wedge over you.
Don't let it be your albatross. Now, we have talked
about this before. These files have been in the possession
of the federal government for a long time, and they
were in the possession of the federal government during the

(38:26):
Biden administration. Yeah, if there was something in there that
specifically incriminated Donald Trump in this we'd know that we
didn't know about it. I mean, what what what better
time to release it than right before an election, a
presidential election with Trump on the ticket. To me, that's
the proof there's nothing in there if there were data

(38:49):
used it.

Speaker 3 (38:53):
You're listening to Columbia's Morning News on one oh three
point five FM on five sixty AM WVO to see
once again. Here's Gary David and Christopher Thompson.

Speaker 2 (39:03):
It is sixteen after eight. It's Thursday, November thirteenth, and
the first time in forty three days the government is
functioning again. Good morning, Good to have you along. I'm
Gary David. That is Christopher Thompson right over there.

Speaker 4 (39:16):
What is it You always compare our government to an
aircraft carrier.

Speaker 2 (39:20):
In the middle of the ocean. Yeah, yeah, or the Titanic.

Speaker 4 (39:22):
Sometimes it takes a while to turn it around. It
also takes it a while to start back up again. Yes,
it's been down for a while.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
Yeah. I mean, just just because the vote was taken
to the House and the President signed off on it
doesn't mean that things are back to normal right away.
And in some cases it's going to be a little while.
Matter of fact, I always checking this a few minutes ago.
Columbia Metro, for example, I'm seeing more cancelations today on
flights out of Columbia Metro than I've seen during this

(39:49):
whole time. It's like five or six cancelations today alone
out of the Columbia's airport. That is going to take
a little while to turn around. Now, we were supposed
to go and the government shutdown continued today. We were
going to ramp it up to an eight percent restriction,
and I remember those were around, you know, the forty

(40:11):
busiest airports in the country. The problem is is if
you're flying out anywhere, you're probably heading in one of
those airspaces. Chances are you are. So this was affecting,
you know, airports in South Carolina, where we don't have
any of these flight restrictions. Not here. And this is
another one of the issues.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
When you hear Trump mentioned it last night, when you
hear about money the government has lost, I mean when
business travelers aren't able to travel, that's that hits the economy.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Sure, it hits the airlines having to restrict flights. It
hits grocery stores because of the lack of snap benefits.
Not here to debate the you know, the pros and
cons of snap benefits, but still it's in reality. It
is where we are. I know, we're two hundred and
sixty thousands of odd families just an hour state alone

(41:01):
that were affected by that, not people, families, two hundred
and sixty thousand plus. So it's heard, grocery stores. It's
hurt a lot of things, whether it impacts you directly
or not, is hurt. And for federal workers and some
who were being told to go into work anyway and

(41:22):
not get paid, they've missed multiple paychecks. They're all on
the same boat when it comes to that. Now that'll
get remedied pretty quick. Back pay is supposed to be
coming within a matter of date. I think. I don't
know if this applies to everybody, but I know I
heard early this morning that for air traffic controls, for example,

(41:43):
they'll get seventy percent of the back pay amount of
a day or two, and then the other thirty percent
a few days later. I don't know why that is,
it is whatever it is, so it's had an impact
on everybody.

Speaker 4 (41:55):
And not everybody. Scott Bessen, the Treasury Secretary, pointing out
it's also had an impact. It's not just people who fly,
it's cargo, right, Yeah, and as we approach the busy
Christmas shopping season, there are things that are not going
to be on the shelves, according to the Treasury Secretary
because of this shutdown.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Well, I remember a couple days ago we mentioned this. Yesterday,
he even warned that he was, you know, hearing that
FDA inspectors weren't showing up to work. Could we have
seen food shortages that this thing lasted any longer than
it has. Well, some things will get back to normal
quicker than others. When do the snap benefits start to

(42:34):
roll again? The White House had said within twenty four
hours political reporting, Well, it's not quite that simple. The
you know, some delays in that and at the airports again,
we were supposed to go to an eight percent reduction
in flights today and a ten percent tomorrow, but with
a shutdown ending, they're not opening up the airspace again

(42:54):
two one hundred percent capacity. Sean Duffy last night said,
along with DOT and the FAA, that they're going to
keep the flight volumes at that six percent restricted level
because it's just not safe. Well, we've been told that
yesterday they were fewer's really just a handful of callouts

(43:18):
in control towers. The best it had been all along
is this thing was set to end here. So if
you know we're open again and the paychecks will be flowing,
what's the problem. Well, don't forget. Duffy also told us
a few days back over the weekend that we've been
seeing fifteen to twenty or sometimes even twenty five air

(43:41):
traffic controllers retiring every single day. Okay, that's going to
be a while before you can ramp back up to
full capacity. So how long are we going to stay
at six percent restrictions? The FAA says, until they can
be assured that the skies are safe. Well, thanksgivings. In

(44:03):
two weeks, if you've lost that many controllers that have
retired and said the heck with it, I'm moving on.
You're not going to replace those people in two weeks.
You're not going to replace them.

Speaker 4 (44:17):
In I don't want I don't want to replace them
in two weeks, right, Yeah, I'd rather have a little
safer approach to that.

Speaker 2 (44:25):
There was talk about, you know, some military flight controls,
some reservists maybe moving into the control towers. But even
then you've got to get used to the new policies
and procedures in the way things are handled. So we
may be seeing flight restrictions for a while.

Speaker 6 (44:38):
Now.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
I have no idea how long it's going to be.
I got all ideas that they're going to want to
get unrestricted access back restored by Thanksgiving. But again that's
just in two weeks.

Speaker 4 (44:51):
And imagine if we finally get things up and running
again and then we run into this all over again
in January.

Speaker 2 (44:58):
Which is a real possibility. Only three programs off the
top of my head, Farmers, Snap, Benefits, Military, There's a
dozen bills that they got to get done. They got
those three done, and oh, by the way, they also
got done continuing to fund Congress to stay open. Of

(45:19):
course they did, Lindsey Graham, by the ways, in dusial
legislation that would would require lawmakers to miss paychecks and
government shutdowns. Although truth of the matter is by and
large they gonna feel it. But still it's a nice thought, lindsay.
So those those three bills of the are the only

(45:39):
three of the twelve that have been passed. He account
for about ten percent. That said ten percent of the
total amount of money the federal government sends out to
federal agencies, the ninety percent will be up for grabs
again at the end of January. And I, you know,
unless something happens again with these Obamacare subsidies, I don't

(46:05):
see a way in the world that the Republicans, although
they're working on an alternative plan to Obamacare, how they
can can roll that out to the general public and say, hey,
this is what we're going to do and get Democrats
to sign on before the end of the year. I
don't see how that happens.

Speaker 1 (46:23):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (46:24):
Thune says they'll take a vote to the Senate mid December.
Johnson says, well, you know, don't know, no guarantees we'll
take it. We'll even bring it to the House floor.
So if nothing changes there and if these benefits expire
at the end of December, which I'm still of the
opinion that they won't because the Republicans can't afford that
with the mid terms coming up, there'll be some sort

(46:44):
of an extension. But regardless, this is going to be
either as an extension. This is going to be again
a main sticking point come the end of January with
Democrats because they're gonn to want an extend it even further.

Speaker 4 (46:57):
So yeah, and the Republicans so far, I mean, you know,
Trump keeps saying these making these vague promises about We're
going to give healthcare money to the American people instead
of the insurance companies. Well, how does that work? I mean,
there is no plan. There are just a lot of promises.
But right now, with Democrats losing on the shutdown, they

(47:20):
are still winning on the healthcare issue.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
Oh sure, yeah, from an electability standpoint, they're winning on that.
But the rest of us are sit here and saying,
so forty three days and for what Yeah, because you're
right back where you started from and another government shutdown
stairs in the face here in a little over two
months time. This is this is how Congress works, every day,

(47:44):
every hour reality.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
I like to stay inform everything you need to stay
informed on all three point five FM at five sixty
am w VOC. This is Columbia's Morning News with Gary
David Christopher Thompson on one on three point five FM
and five sixty am w VOCs.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
Say thirty nine big stories today. Of course, the government reopens,
it'll still take a while to get things back to normal.
And again, but what was the point the Epstein case?
The files or rear their ugly heads again as we
knew they would once the House got back into sessions.
So that vote, that discharge vote to bring a full

(48:28):
floor full house floor vote on whether or not to
release these Epstein files. Same day, the Democrats selectively released
what three emails from who knows how many that treasure
trove of emails if you will, from the Epstein files,
trying to trying to show that Trump was somehow involved,
although again the White House vehmily disagrees with that. And

(48:51):
around here is Jonathan Keller just talking. State Supreme Court
tells the State House, no, you can't give yourself a
raise in this session. That's unconstitutional. On top of losing
the rays, they've lost what one thousand dollars a month
and other expenses for in district expenses. Wow, bad day

(49:12):
for the legislators yesterday. Now our final thoughts, a few
stories we haven't gotten to yet. Scout Motors yesterday made
Charlotte the winner. Charlotte will land the new Scout Motors headquarters,

(49:32):
their corporate headquarters, a two hundred and seven million dollar
investment with the promise of creating over twelve hundred high
paying jobs. Now you talk about high paying jobs. According
to Scout Motors, the average expected minimum wage for their

(49:54):
workers at this headquarters one hundred and seventy two thousand,
eight hundred and seven twenty eight dollars a year. Wow.
The average wage in Mecklenburg County ain't bad. Eighty six

(50:16):
thousand and eight thirty that's banking country. Uh huh. But
this would almost double that. This is the average minimum wage.
Some folks can be making a lot more than networking
up there. Did we want it in South Carolina? You
better believe we.

Speaker 4 (50:31):
Did, and we thought we had an end courtesy of
the you know plant they're already building in blank Wood.

Speaker 2 (50:37):
Yeah, it would have made sense, right, But let's look
at these numbers now. To get the plant in Blythewood,
which is yeah, going to bring jobs, I think one
day may employ some forty six hundred people, so more
jobs than the corporate headquarters would bring. I'm sure not

(50:58):
at the kind of wages the workers sure that the
headquarters will make there. But still to get the plant
in Lithewood, the state ponied up one point three billion
dollars in taxpayer funded incentives. According to some reporting, there

(51:21):
was no other state route had any interest in this
plant to begin with. Yeah, we phoned up one point
three billion and incentives from taxpayers. Now what about the
headquarters in Charlotte. Well, the cost of taxpayers and incentives

(51:43):
somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty million. What what fifty
million was it? We did one point three billion to
get the manufacturing plant. Wow, and they stuck it to
us on this one. No corporate headquarters for you, South Carolina.

(52:11):
This is rubbing a lot of folks the wrong way.
Lexington District one has got to shut out some seventy
five thousand dollars. This after a River Bluff High School
student sued saying she was physically assaulted by a teacher
for refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance. This incident

(52:31):
took place back in November of twenty twenty two, so
three years ago. News that the district has paid a
family seventy five thousand to settle the case. The Democrats
offering up another sacrificial lamb, this time Catherine Fleming Bruce
not for governor. She wants to try to unsea Lindsey

(52:52):
Graham Bruce, longtime Columbia resident local activist, announced her campaign.
Now to get there, she's got to get through Annie
Andrews and Brandon Brown. Okay, those are those running on
the Democrat side.

Speaker 4 (53:09):
Annie Andrews pretty outspoken on social media. She's the doctor
that ran against Nancy Mace yes last time around.

Speaker 2 (53:18):
I haven't followed her on social media. She's got anything
interesting to say.

Speaker 4 (53:21):
Well, she pops up frequently and she's an outspoken liberal
voice in the local veryliberal, yes, very Now. Graham is
again in his primary, and he's getting primary to Paul
Dan's the Project twenty twenty five director and Mark Lynch,
a businessman in the Upstate, seeking that nomination on the

(53:42):
Publican side. And Lindza's already spent a bunch of money
in advertising for this thing, even this far ahead of
He's been doing that all year long. It seems like anyway,
that bonfire in Blythwood on Halloween Knight that resulted in
three minors being shot, fortunately they survived. It'll be okay.

(54:02):
Leon Loot announcing the arrest of the father of the
team who organized this. I don't know why, but I
thought this was I mean, I knew the government in Blathwood.
Didn't organize it, but I thought it was some type
of staged event by a business or I didn't realize
it was one kid.

Speaker 2 (54:19):
Yeah, yeah, a fifteen year old. Wow yeah. Now the
dad says he wasn't he was aware of the plans.
That he's been arrested on the two counts of contributing
to the delinquency of a minor and aggravated breach of peace.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
I don't think Leon Light liked his approach. He was
rather a cavalier apparently, and immediately aftermath of the bonfire
and the shooting, and then if I've seen some TV
footage of him in court yesterday, and he was appeared
to be laughing at one point.

Speaker 2 (54:55):
Now I get none wrong. Now, I don't know about you,
but back the day, I mean, I hosted a few
parties at the house. Mom and dad were out of town.
Here we go here that these are the stories I
love to get too detailed. Well, let's put it this way.
Back then you had word by people bringing guns to
these parties.

Speaker 4 (55:11):
No, and I certainly never thought about throwing a party
for six hundred people.

Speaker 2 (55:16):
Right exactly. I wouldn't have wanted to.

Speaker 4 (55:20):
No, I mean you wouldn't wanted the aggravation or the responsibility,
you know it with six hundred people something or someone's
going to do something wrong.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
Yeah, who knows how many the kid thought. But you know,
back in the day, who did you know? You knew
your friends? Yeah, and maybe they told a friend or two,
you know, so you maybe you had twenty, thirty, forty,
maybe fifty people. These days, you put it on social media,
you're getting hundreds, if not more. It's a different world.
These data centers sucking up all this energy could become
a campaign platform. Looks like it already is. Abigail Spanberger,

(55:55):
who won the election in the Virginia to serve as governor,
is one of those who's pushing back on these big
AI data centers. Maybe we need somebody here to push
back on them too. The FEDS arresting Dana Williamson, who, yeah,
she's the former chief of staff for Gavin Newsom muh

(56:19):
who was appairly fired by Newsom a while back when
this investigation started. But here she is former chief of
staff arrested in a public corruption crobe a pro brother
multiple charges of banking wire fraud. The former chief of
staff of Gavin does my hair look good? Newsome, it's

(56:39):
not a good look. No. I had to do a
double take of this headline. Daily Mail target makes disturbing
demand of staff in a bid to boost flagging sales.
What's this disturbing demand? They're asking their their folks who
work for them. If you come, if you come within
ten feet to a customer smile. Uh. If you come

(57:04):
with antimp to ask if you can help them find something?
You know, that's just kind of you don't get that anymore.

Speaker 4 (57:12):
No, that's a big plus in these stores these days.
I mean you see employees wandering around and they will
virtually ignore them the exist yep, because they're afraid you're
gonna ask them to do to do something.

Speaker 2 (57:23):
For them now. So Druger says, enough of that, Ask
if you can help, and for God's sake, put a
smile on your face. The Daily Mail headline says, it's
a disturbing demand. Really, last customer service one oh one? Yeah, hello,
and grab them all they last. We got plenty of around,
but the US men has pressed their final pennies. Was

(57:45):
it costing a nickel to make a penny these days?
That was stupid pitty been around since seventeen ninety three,
and they'll be around for a long time to come. But
they just as of now aren't making any new ones.

Speaker 4 (57:58):
They're gonna have to come up with some uniform way
for these stores businesses, et cetera to figure that out,
because you can't walk into one store and they accept
the exact change and the other they just round up

Speaker 2 (58:09):
Exactly anyway now, and then again, who's who's using cash
even for a one dollar purchase these days, right