July 4, 2025 • 36 mins
Let's Get Today's News headlines
Joey Atwell, owner, Alpha Fireworks Displays- how fireworks shows happen
Heide Herriott, animal trainer- how to help pets cope with Fourth of July fireworks
Another Check on Today's News headlines
Brandon Dillard, curator, Monticello- the importance of Thomas Jefferson
Kevin Carr, movie critic, “Fat Guys at the Movies” podcast- summer movies
Joey Atwell, owner, Alpha Fireworks Displays- how fireworks shows happen
Heide Herriott, animal trainer- how to help pets cope with Fourth of July fireworks
Another Check on Today's News headlines
Brandon Dillard, curator, Monticello- the importance of Thomas Jefferson
Kevin Carr, movie critic, “Fat Guys at the Movies” podcast- summer movies
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Larry Menti. Menti in the Morning returns Monday
morning from six to ten. Now, it's the iHeartRadio Independence
Day Morning Show and it is our three on the
(00:21):
iHeartRadio holiday talk program for this fourth of July twenty
twenty five. I'm Read Shepherd along with Dana McKay. Jason
Barringer is our producer. You know, the fourth of July
falling on a Friday, it's not only a long weekend,
it's a day for America. Now, we may be a
divided country politically, I know we are, okay, but I
guarantee you we'll all stand together tonight when the fireworks
(00:45):
go off.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yes, we sure will.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
And just so you can see how patriotic Read especially
is dressed today with his stars and stripes tie. You
can check out that picture on my Instagram. I'm met
Dana McKay radio. We just wanted to give everyone a
of just how patriotic we are today. We've got the music,
we've got some great interviews about the history of our
great country, and we've also got Read in his stars
(01:08):
and stripes tie.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Well, you also have a kind of a stars and
Stripes I do outfit going on there so I think
we're both very patriotic. Today this hour, we're going to
be talking about summer travel and summer food, and of
course the day's top news stories. And we begin with
President Trump. He was in Iowa to kick off a
year long celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
(01:32):
of the country's founding. He spoke at a Salute to
America event in Des Moines, Iowa, on the eve of
Independence Day. Now, this came just hours after the House
passed his One Big, Beautiful Bill Act that sends the
legislation to his desk, which he plans to sign later today.
In the ceremony at the White.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
House, Yes, and here's Mike Johnson reading the votes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
And then you'll hear the USA chant.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
The ya's are two eight, the naser two fourteen, The
motion is adopted.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Cheering, and then you'll hear the chant.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Here we go. I know which side of the isle
that's coming from.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yes, for sure, Well, the other side of the aisle.
Broke a record, So Hakeem Jeffries broke the record for
the longest speech on the House floor at eight hours
and forty four minutes. He started speaking at four point
fifty three Eastern time yesterday morning, people on Capitol Hills
started wondering, is he gonna try to break the record
set by Kevin McCarthy back in twenty twenty one. That's
(02:40):
exactly what he did. McCarthy's record was eight hours and
thirty two minutes. For that Nancy Pelosi's speech about dreamers
set the record back in twenty eighteen. So at about
four hours in, this is what Hakeem Jeffries had to say, because.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
It was totally unacceptable that you would try to jam
this bill. Missed the speaker down the throats of the
American people with fifteen minutes allocated for a debate that
would hurt everyday Americans allocated to the committees of juriss
fifteen minutes. And so now I'm here with my House
(03:16):
Democratic colleagues four years four. How was it taken our
sweet time?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
That's right, he sure did take a sweet time, because
it went on for another four hours and forty four minutes.
So after Hakeem Jeffrey spoke, Mike Johnson got up to
the podium and plopped a huge binder down and motioned
like as if he was going to start reading from it.
Everyone laughed, and then he took a dig at Keem Jeffries.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
You know, Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech
should be longer than twenty minutes, And unlike the Democrat leader,
I'm going to honor my.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Colleague's time and be a little more brief than that.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Right, I just want to say something that many of
us learned when we were children. We were taught, you know,
it takes a lot longer to build a lie than
to tell the simple truth.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So the bill is expected to be signed by the
President with a B two flyover on fourth of July today.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So we're going to find out more about the bill,
I think in the coming days and weeks as we
start to understand everything that's in it. It was a
one thousand page bill as it was, which was read
in its entirety.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Did anybody anybody watch that? Those poor Stata I know.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Basically, though, the legislation extends the tax cuts the Trump
signed into law in twenty seventeen, they were set to
expire later this year. Also eliminate some taxes on tipped wages,
provision that drew roars from that crowd in Iowa. I
mentioned just a few minutes ago provides one hundred and
fifty billion dollars in increase in funding for a border wall,
(04:50):
along with immigration enforcement and deportation. So what do people
think about the bill at this point? Again, I'm going
to give the disclaimer here that a poll is just
a snap shot of a period in time, doesn't necessarily
reflect absolute reality. But what I'm seeing today is that
five new polls show it underwater between nineteen and twenty
(05:13):
nine points. So I'm going to be very interested to
see if some of those numbers change as we find
out more about what's in the bill.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And seven people are still unaccounted for after a fireworks
warehouse in northern California exploded into a huge fireball earlier
this week. Firefighters responded just before a six pm Tuesday
and found multiple buildings on fire. The owner of the
pyrotechnics company is working with authorities to locate those missing,
and as of yesterday, California State Fire Marshal said the
(05:43):
site remains hazardous because of all the chemicals linked to
the fireworks, and CalFire officials say incidents like this are
very rare and the area is being treated as a
crime scene while investigators try to figure out exactly what happened.
A press conference on Wednesday was interrupted by infamily members
who say their loved ones were in the building and
(06:03):
they want answers. But still those seven people are unaccounted for,
and several fireworks demonstrations for the fourth have been canceled
because that warehouse was providing the fireworks. And there was
another situation in Massachusetts where fireworks from a Fourth of
July show at a golf course prematurely exploded.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They were being delivered.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And offloaded and the fireworks exploded. Two people were hospitalized
while with serious injuries and six others were treated for
minor injuries at the scene.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
So if you're planning the host of barbecue this Fourth
of July, you might want to dig a little deeper
into your wallet. Some analysts suggest a noticeable increase in
the cost of a Fourth of July barbecue compared to
previous years. Higher prices for things like ground beef, pork chops,
lemonade contributing to the increase. Ground beef prices in particular
(06:52):
have really surged, as some attributing it to factors like
low cattle supplies, lemonade costs because of citrus problems, and
Some cookout essentials like aluminum foil grill tools are also
seeing price likes. I always seem to get a grill
tool for Christmas or something like that just about every year.
(07:13):
But Americans should expect to spend around three to four
dollars more per person on average than last year. Saw
something earlier this week for ten people. If you're going
to host a barbecue for ten people, it's going to
cost you about one hundred and fifty dollars or so,
which is more than last year. To offset costs, some
suggestions swap the beef out for chicken, buy drinks and
(07:35):
larger containers, and look for store.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Sales and make people bring stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah, that's gonna bring to grin desserts.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
That's right.
Speaker 7 (07:43):
Well.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
After being disqualified last year, Joey Chestnut makes his return
to Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest today. He says he
feels amazing and he intends to get his title back now.
Nathan's booted Chestnut from competing just weeks before the contest
after they learned he made a sponsorhip deal with Impossible
Foods last year and their plant based hot dog. Chestnuts
(08:05):
said he didn't burn any bridges, though he loves the
event and he's happy they worked it all out. So
his record is seventy six hot dogs in ten minutes.
The guy who won last year when he was disqualified,
ate fifty eight hot dogs.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
In ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So that just goes to show you how many hot
dogs he can eat compared to like the next best
person eighteen hot dogs.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
He's won this COMPETI sixteen times and he plans to
win it again.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
I would imagine he was I want his metabolism, That's
all I can say.
Speaker 7 (08:37):
I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
I know, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Maybe he can eat like that and not be a
very very large person.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Well, coming up, we're going to talk about summer travel
and summer food when we come back on the iHeartRadio
Holiday talk program.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Hi, I'm Larry Menty MENTI in the Morning returns Monday
morning from six to ten. Now more of the iHeartRadio
Independence Day Morning.
Speaker 8 (09:08):
Sure works.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Well, you ever wonder how a show comes together, how
a pyrotechnic company sets up everything, so we all go
ooh and ah when it all goes boom in the sky. Well,
Joey at Well knows he's the owner of Alpha fireworks
displays and we're delighted to have him on the program. Joey,
I guess give us some insight on what goes into
(09:31):
putting together a fireworks show.
Speaker 8 (09:33):
Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for having me on today.
So it all starts usually with a phone call, and
then we figure out, you know, what's what our client's
needs are. The big thing with firework displays is the
space that we have available to perform the show. And
so of course the more space we have, the bigger
shells we can shoot. And so once we get that
(09:55):
figured out, then we will start scripting the show and
pull the permits for the show, secure the permits the product,
and then essentially we'll put a team together to perform
the firework display.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
How do the fireworks get their colors in shapes? I'm
always curious about that. When you can make a heart
in the sky.
Speaker 8 (10:15):
Yeah, so it's actually pretty simple in theory to do that. Basically,
what you would do is put a heart inside the shell.
And so inside the shell we have what's called stars.
And so with those stars we mix different types of
metals to get different colors. For instance, if we want
a blue color, we would mix a copper type metal,
(10:36):
And so what you would do is place those stars
inside the display shell in a heart shape or a
star shape or a smiley face, and then secure the
packaging around that, put it on a lift charge, and
we shoot it in the air. The trick with getting
that is, you know, you would just have to hope
that that shell breaks in the right direction of the spectators,
because you know, like a heart might just look like
(10:58):
a straight line if it breaks it in eye the
degree angle.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
What are some trends like new things happening with fireworks
that some people might not know about our new things
that people might see at a Fourth of July show
this year that they haven't seen in the past because
it's new.
Speaker 8 (11:12):
Oh, I would probably say pairing drones with pyrotechnics.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Yeah, well I was thinking about that myself.
Speaker 8 (11:20):
Yeah, that's something that we're really kind of diving into.
We have some things lined up where, you know, I'm
not sure if you've seen any videos yet, but there's
you know, where we're able to put fountains and different
types of firotechnics on the drones themselves. So that's very exciting.
But then also pairing drones with fireworks, it's just an
amazing way to demonstrate what effects you can do with
(11:43):
both of those types of displays.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
We're talking to Joey Atwell, the owner of Alpha Fireworks Displays.
What what kind of training I guess you does your
crew need to work on these fireworks because there's an
there's an obvious safety concern that has to be met.
Speaker 8 (11:59):
Yeah, absolutely so, believe it or not. Most of the
training comes in house, and so a lot of our
crew operates under my main license, which is a federal license.
And once you have that federal explosives license, you can
you can have users operate underneath your license. And what
we do, uh is when we bring somebody on a
(12:20):
lot of times when we're bringing someone into the pyrotechniques,
we prefer them not to have any experience so that
we can train them, uh, the proper way. We don't
want bad habits, if that makes sense. So we'll bring
somebody in, We'll start them as a helper loading shells
off the trucks, you know, loading mortar recks off of
you know that that's the not so fun stuff that
goes into a firework display. And then you know, we'll
(12:42):
slowly start allowing them to handle the fireworks. Why are
the fireworks up? Of course we teach them all the
safety precautions and so all of the training is usually
done in house here at Alpha.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
We talk about the conclusion, the big, the big, the
big conclusion to the fireworkshop, the finale, Yeah, the fun part.
How do you set that up and what goes into that?
Speaker 8 (13:05):
Yeah, So finales are are going to be. So when
we're doing different types of shells, different types of displays,
we have different matches, we have different fus that we
can use to set those shells off and a series
of times. So during the regular part of the fireworks show,
we may have a time time fuse to where you know,
we light one but it shoots five shells off with
(13:27):
a three second delay for each shell. Well, with the finale,
we just skip the time part and we run black
match across say ten shells, and so we'll light one
fuse and we'll send ten shells up. In a matter
of one second, we'll have ten shells in there, and
so it looks like a lot's going off. But on
our side, on our script for the finale, we're sending
three hundred shells off, but we've really only we've only
(13:50):
pinned three you know, thirty qs to send those three
hundred shells off a little.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Bit of insight into the firework shows that we're all
going to enjoy on this fourth of July. Joey Atwell
from Alpha Fireworks Displays, thank you so much for joining
us today.
Speaker 8 (14:04):
You're very welcome.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So we've talked about what goes into a firework show,
but the fact is our four legged friends might not
be all that thrilled with the noise. It's not unusual
for a pet that's outside to be frightened and run away.
Heidi Harriet is an animal advocate and trainer who has
served as consultant for various venues across the country. She's
traveled across North America exhibiting her trained horses and dogs.
(14:28):
She joins us in studio today to talk about keeping
our best friends safe on this fourth of July. Heidi,
thank you so much for joining us today. And I
guess let's just dive right into it keeping our pets
safe on the fourth of July. This is not a
day that they like very much.
Speaker 9 (14:45):
Yeah, and I can tell you, by the way, thank
you for having me on because this is important. One
of the things that I want to lead with is
that you know, I hear from people, clients of mind,
other people who want to ask me about their animals,
and if they're starting a few weeks out to say,
my dog's going to be nervous on the fourth of July,
I could promise you their dog's going to be nervous
(15:08):
because it's an energy we're giving our animals. So the
other thing to really keep in mind here, the fourth
of July is one of the biggest days for animal escapes,
so this is a real important topic, not only to
keep your dog from hunkering down in the corner and puddling,
but also because we want to keep them in our
homes and in our yards. So it's a day you
(15:29):
want to make sure if they're usually outside in a
fenced area, bring them in when you know this is
going to start. Take them for a long walk during
the day, get that energy out, get your energy out,
and that'll help a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
That's where we're going to start.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Well, why are dogs so sensitive to fireworks?
Speaker 9 (15:48):
Well, I would say to you, I'm in my sixties,
so when I was grown up, this wasn't an issue
we talked about a lot. Of course, we didn't have
the Internet, but I grew up with a dozen it's
probably arguably hundreds of animals because we trained for others
as well. I think we've changed, We've become more emotional,
and we kind of put that on our pets. So
(16:10):
that's a little part of it. So if you're nervous,
your pet's going to be nervous.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Okay.
Speaker 9 (16:15):
So I tell my people when i'm training, think service dog,
Think that you want this dog who's right beside you.
And when they're nervous, there's something happens.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
They look at you. We're in a radio, so you
kids that.
Speaker 9 (16:26):
But I got my eyes up like I'm looking at
my human or I look as a dog. I want
it to look straight ahead with no energy. Animals don't multitask.
I don't think we do either.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
We just think we do.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
But because they don't, if you get their attention, they're
going to have a much harder time getting frantic.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
So here are some tips.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
People will say, my dog's under the bed in the bedroom,
I put a dog on a leash because I train
for others too, and I've kept dogs during this time.
As an entertainer, I work at county fairs. They love
to shoot off fireworks on their Saturday, and my horses
and dogs will kind of look at the fireworks and
then go back to eating. But it's because what I'm
(17:08):
helping them with along the way solid training. Now it's
the fourth of July, so you're not going to be
able to train your way out of this. But we
look to drugs, we look to the thundervest, all the stuff.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
The reality is.
Speaker 9 (17:20):
And I challenge you listening to try this. Put a
leash on that dog, get there to just a little
tug get there, to hey, look at me, hold a
little treat. If you need to look at me, tap
your chest and have confidence. It's the equivalent of if
you're walking with a small child something scary in front
of you. You're holding hands and the child starts to
quiver and like, oh that's scary. If you go oh
(17:42):
that's scary back, the kid's like, well, I got to
take this now, instead of squeezing that hand and saying, hey,
we got this, look at me. By the way, we're training.
In my job, I'm training animals because I want them
to be comfortable and safe throughout their life, whether I
own them or not. The drugs, the thundervest all that
that's just masking it. And I always say if the
(18:02):
humans would take the drugs, the dogs would definitely calm down.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
We're talking about we're talking to Heidi Harriet's animal advocate
and trainer. Thank you so much for joining us on
this fourth of July. Some great tips as far as
keeping your pet safe. Again, thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
And coming up a historian from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello pronounced Monicello,
not Maticello, Monticello. He will talk about the man who
wrote the Declaration of Independence, which of course was signed
July fourth, seventeen seventy six. I'm Reed Sheppard along with
Dana McKay. This is iHeartRadio's holiday talk program, and we'll
(18:41):
be right back after the break poking the show.
Speaker 10 (19:00):
Leaver.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
We want to thank you for joining us on this
fourth of July twenty twenty five. This is iHeartRadio's holiday
talk program. And coming up in this segment, a look
at the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, mister
Thomas Jefferson. But first the day's top news stories, and
we begin with a surprise plea deal out of Idaho.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Dana Brian Coberger, the man accused of killing four University
of Idaho students in the fall of twenty twenty two,
entered a plea deal that will spare his life earlier
this week. As part of the agreement, he confessed to
each one of the killings.
Speaker 11 (19:33):
Did you honor about that same date in Moscow, Idaho,
kill and murder Kayleie Gonzalvez a human being?
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Yes?
Speaker 11 (19:42):
And did you do that willfully and lawfully, deliberately and
with premeditation and malice and forethought?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
The families of the four victims are divided on this decision,
with two of the families wanting a trial and the
death penalty and the other two satisfied that he'll spend
the rest of his life in jail and there's no
chance of an acquittal. Now we're learning more about the murders,
as one of the prosecutors laid out new details in court.
He said it seems Coburger did not plan to kill
(20:10):
all four victims that night, and that he entered through
a second floor slider and went right to Madison Mogan's room.
Kayla Gankalvez had already moved out of that home, but
she was visiting her friends that night, so she and
Mogan were in the same bed when they were both killed. First,
Xanna Kernodle encountered Coburger in the hallway. It's not believed
he intended to kill her, but she just happened to
(20:31):
be awake. After he killed her, he went to her
bedroom and killed her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. The prosecutor got
overwhelmed with emotion at the end of his ten minute
explanation and began to cry in the courtroom. Coburger's sentencing
is set for July twenty third.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
All right, and it takes that plea deal, takes the
death penalty off the table. No parole, and he cannot
appeal well. Taking a quick look at sports, Major League
Baseball is announced the starters for this month's All Star
Game in the American League. Tigers Glaber Torres, Javier Biaz
and Riley Green will be joined by Seattle's cal Rally,
Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Junior, Jacob Wilson of the Athletics Cleveland
(21:11):
Jose Ramirez, Aaron Judge, and Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn in the
lineup for the National League show Hey Otani, Will Smith
and Freddie Freeman from the Dodgers el start a long
Coutell Marte from the Arizona, New York's Francisco Lindore, San
Diego's Manny Machado, Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Junior, as well as
Chicago's Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow Armstrong. The All Star
(21:35):
Game will be played July fifteenth in Atlanta. Well, July
fourth is a holiday for all America. But there's one
document that defines the day and defines us as Americans.
That document is, of course, the Declaration of Independence. Its
author Thomas Jefferson, who was a delegate to the Second
Continental Congress from Virginia. So why was he chosen to
(21:58):
be the principal author of this magnificent declaration? And where
did his ideas come from?
Speaker 7 (22:04):
Well?
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Brandon Dillard is the director of historical Interpretation at Monticello,
Jefferson's beautiful home in Charlottesville, Virginia. So why did Jefferson's
colleagues in the Congress look to him for this task?
Speaker 10 (22:17):
I love this question. It's a great question, and I'll
do my best to answer it as concisely as I can.
Speaker 8 (22:23):
I think one of the.
Speaker 10 (22:24):
Best stories about this actually comes in the later years
of Jefferson's life, where he's reminiscing about these early years
some fifty years on and almost fifty years on, and
he's thinking about those early years and believing himself to
be someone who was merely described. And Jefferson himself, when
(22:44):
speaking of the declaration, said that he was not aiming
at originality, he was merely expressing the American mind. And
one of the funnier insights actually comes from Jefferson's colleague,
sometimes friends, sometimes enemy, the second President, John Adams. And
John Adams wrote a reminiscence about those early days of
(23:05):
the Second Countinental Congress and wrote about Jefferson himself writing
the declaration, and Adams said that Adams was the person
who told Jefferson that he had to write it, and
he listed out several reasons. Those reasons included that Jefferson
was a Virginian and remembering that Virginia was the most
populated and healthiest colony by far, Adams said, of Virginia
(23:25):
must be at the head of this thing. Adams also
told Jefferson that he was a better writer than most
of the people there. Jefferson had already written something called
a Summary Review of the Rights of British America when
he was thirty one that was widely read and recognized
that Jefferson was quite skillful, but perhaps most humorously, Adams
(23:47):
went saying that Jefferson should write it instead of Adams himself.
Adams wrote, I am obnoxious, unpopular and suspect, and you
are very much otherwise. The differences in their personality were
already clear even in those early days. Jefferson himself later
said Adams was a bit mistaken in his memory of that,
but suffice it to say, Jefferson became the principal author,
(24:09):
and we have what we have two hundred and fifty
years on.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
So what is so iconic about Monticello in the property itself?
Speaker 10 (24:18):
You know, I'm biased, obviously. I have an extraordinary office
where I get to see this iconic home every day,
and it is the only presidential home in the United
States of America that's recognized as a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO in the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization,
which means that it singularly represents a time and place
(24:41):
in a way that nothing else does, in a way
that belongs to all people for all time. And when
you visit Monticello and you see it, you can see
the expression of Jefferson himself and the architecture. Roosevelt. Franklin
Roosevelt said that it seems to me, more than any
other home in America, Monticello is the expression of the
(25:02):
personality of its builder.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Absolutely a beautiful home. I visited once when I was
a kid. I remember visiting Monticello, and as he said,
it is, it is absolutely beautiful. As far as the declaration, Brandon,
I'm curious. This may be a bit of a kind
of naive question, but did Jefferson want to write it?
(25:28):
I don't know. I don't know how you deal with that.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Go ahead, you do it reluctantly.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
They're all making me do this.
Speaker 10 (25:36):
Huh. It's a great question, and I think it requires
a little bit of conjecture on our part in some assumption.
So I'll go on the record and say I don't know,
but I will say that a couple of things about
it include that at the time there was really this
sense that public service was a duty and it wasn't
something that anyone would want to do. It was something
(26:00):
that they were called to do, and it wasn't seen
as a glorious kind of personal accolade, but rather as
drudgery of a sort. And I believe that were you
to ask Thomas Jefferson, you know, this is exactly what
a historian should never do, is make these kinds of assumptions.
(26:21):
But I would say that Jefferson probably would have answered
along those lines, something about believing it was duty and necessary.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Brandon Dillard, the director of Historical Interpretation, at Jefferson's home
Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. Brandon, thank you so much for
joining us, and happy fourth through July to you.
Speaker 10 (26:40):
Happy for thanks read.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
You know, if you watched the movie seventeen seventy six,
or if you remember the Broadway play, Thomas Jefferson most
definitely did not want to write rit depend a time.
He was kind of forced into it, according to the movie,
which what basically it was a musical. Okay, he was
pretty much forced into it by John Adams, and he
(27:03):
very reluctantly sat down to write the declarations. Well, it
sounds like that was just a movie.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
He felt like it was his responsibility, his duty to
the country, and we're certainly thankful.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
That he did it.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yes, he did a magnificent document. Well, coming up on
iHeartRadio's Holiday Talk program, we are going to talk about
holiday travel. We are also going to pay a visit
with our old friend Kevin Carr to talk about summer
movies when we return on iHeart Radio's Holiday Talk show.
(27:39):
And back on iHeart Radio's Holiday Talk program for this
Fourth of July twenty twenty five. You know, for some people,
the Fourth of July is all about backyard barbecues watching
their hometown fireworks show, and there'll be plenty of them
around the country tonight, I guarantee it. Millions of others. However,
getting out of town, Triple A report a record breaking
(28:01):
seventy two point two million Americans will travel more than
fifty miles between now and July sixth, so an estimated
sixty one point six million drivers and five point eight
million flyers. TSA predicts even more flyers, eighteen point five million,
to be specific. So there's a lot of numbers being
(28:21):
tossed around, and sometimes I wonder where TRIPLEA comes up
with some of them. But the point is that the
roads have been kind of busy the last few days,
and especially at the airports around the holidays.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Yeah, I have a friend who was trying to get
out of town last night and it was rough. She
was texting me saying, I want is this plane going
to take off? Weather delays and all that. So it
could be a little bit of a rough travel weekend.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
So popular cities this year for travel include Denver, Chicago, London,
San Diego, and New York. And with the opening of
the new theme park Epic Universe, more and more people
are heading to Orlando as well. Now one problem people
are likely to run into is whether severe storms are
expected in the Northeast. Could cause delays, especially for airline passengers.
(29:11):
Strong the severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for the
northern and central Plains, also the upper Mississippi Valley and
portions of Texas. We're also watching possible development of a
tropical depression or maybe even a tropical storm in the
Atlantic off the southeastern US coast. Now, this could bring
rain to parts of the Georgia Coast the Carolinas as
(29:32):
it heads away from the US. Forecasters they tell us
this is going to be a weak system, but it
is a reminder that hurricane season is underway.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Now.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
The price of your Amazon Prime membership is likely going
up soon. According to a JP Morgan analyst, Amazon will
likely raise the price from one hundred and thirty nine
dollars to one hundred and fifty nine dollars in twenty
twenty six. It's been at one hundred and thirty nine
dollars since twenty twenty two. Before that, it was one
hundred and nineteen dollars. Now that twenty dollars increase would
(30:02):
mean about three billion dollars for Amazon, and the prediction
is based on Amazon's pattern of raising prices on significant
features every four years, so we're due for the price
to go up. The value of a Prime subscription is
about one thy four hundred and thirty dollars when you
add up all the free shipping and perks.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Now I order stuff from Amazon, I guess I just
don't know if I'm on Prime. You don't even know.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Read I ordered it NA.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Last week, I ordered a litter box, new litter box
for my cat who desperately needs it.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Well, I hope that gets delivered, reader.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
I just got an email that it's been shipped.
Speaker 6 (30:39):
Well.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Fourth of July is always a big weekend for movies,
So let's talk about summer movies. Kevincarr from fat Guys
at themovies dot Com joins us today, Kevin, we're seeing
a lot of buzz over the trailer for the next
Wicked movie and the new Superman flick with Crypto this time.
Are summer blockbusters making a comeback?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
Well, I certainly they are. And you know, we've had
big movies over the last couple of years. You know,
it was slow during COVID as expected, but and then
we of course had some strikes to deal with, so
I think things are getting back on their feet. But
but we've always had, you know, always had the big one,
like you know, a couple of years ago you had
Top Gun, Maverick, And there's always gonna be the big
(31:20):
summer movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer. But yeah, they are
making a comeback. I think you're going to be seeing
more of just the big blockbuster movies that the studios
are throwing behind because that's where the money is.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Is this another summer for sequels? I mean this fourth
of July weekend the big movie Jurassic World Rebirth. Also,
Happy Gilmour two is coming out later this month. The
Naked Gun is coming out Freaky Freaky or Friday a
sequel to Freaky Friday. I mean these are all you know,
storylines and movies that we've all known forever.
Speaker 9 (31:57):
Well.
Speaker 7 (31:57):
Yeah, and it's what's even funny about Freaky or Friday
is it's a sequel to a remake. Now, so everything's
kind of looping in on itself. But let's be honest.
You know, Hollywood has always been about sequels. They made
you know how many hop Along Cassidy films way back
at the beginning of the twentieth century, and you know
they had had I think there's like there was something
(32:19):
like a hundred Charlie Chan movies made back in the day. Yeah,
So when Hollywood would find something that works, they would
try to milk it as best they can't, which is
kind of just the way you do things. I think
the reason people focus on the sequels is because those
are the ones, like I said, they get the biggest budget,
(32:40):
that get the most money thrown behind them, because Hollywood
doesn't want to roll the dice on something unknown. And
every now and then you get something big that hits
like Sinners that nobody expected to be such a huge hit,
that was a wholly original film. Yeah, they're gonna They're
gonna either want to do a remake or a reboot.
That's why this is gosh, what is this the third
(33:02):
time they've rebooted a Superman in the last twenty years.
So I'm looking forward to Superman.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Well, I am too, but it does seem like, from
what I've heard so far, it does seem like what
they're really pushing is Crypto.
Speaker 7 (33:18):
And I think I'm pushed a lot of things with
this new Superman because the last iteration of Superman was
under Zack Snyder, which gave him much more sort of
a grim pallor, and Superman in the comics has always
been sort of uplifting and bright and colorful, and that
seems to be what James Gun's trying to bring back
to this one. And I think James Gunn knows what
(33:39):
he's doing when it comes to superhero movies for sure.
So I think you're getting that. I think Crypto's just cute.
I mean, that is cute.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
And I'll talk you horrible when I can't remember what
movie I went to see, but the last movie I saw,
the Superman trailer was playing at that movie and it
sucked me right in. I'm not a big super hero
movie person, but that scene they showed in the snow
with Crypto, oh my gosh, yeah it was good.
Speaker 8 (34:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
Who doesn't love a dog? I mean, come on, you know,
but yeah, I'm also looking forward to seeing what they
do with the Superman mythos because they kind of drop
you in the middle. It's we don't need we don't
need another origin story. We all know where Superman comes.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
From, right jor l They put him in the rocket
crypton bleuw up.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
We're talking to Kevin Carr, movie reviewer from Fat Guys
at the movies dot Com. So, Kevin, what's your favorite
movie that you've seen over the last couple of months.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
I'm a weirdo. So one of my favorite ones that
I've seen that I probably had the most fun was
the new Final Destination Movie. I love horror movies, okay,
and the Final Destination Movie is it's a twenty twenty
your old franchise and they brought it back. It made
(35:02):
like fifty million dollars its opening weekend, and it's just
it's an absurd silliness to these movies. It has the
same spirit as like The Monkey. If you watch that,
Stephen King adaptation several years ago. That was a lot
of fun. You know, How to Train Your Dragons also
a really good movie.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
All right, we're talking to Kevincarr, fat guys at themovies
dot Com. Kevin is so much of a pleasure to
talk to you again. Thank you so much for joining
us today.
Speaker 7 (35:28):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Well, I will say that How to Train Your Dragon
is a fantastic movie. I saw that with my son
two weekends ago. We saw it in three D and
my son had already seen it with his dad and
then said, Mommy, you gotta take me. It's so good,
you gotta see it. So we went and I really
really enjoyed it. That was a great one.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
Well, first of all, it's good to hear from Kevin
Carr again. And yes, I want to see the Superman movie.
And if it's all about Crypto, that's okay with me.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
It looks absolutely adorable. I'm Dana McKay along with Reed
Shepherd and this is iHeartRadio. It's holiday talk program.
Hi, I'm Larry Menti. Menti in the Morning returns Monday
morning from six to ten. Now, it's the iHeartRadio Independence
Day Morning Show and it is our three on the
(00:21):
iHeartRadio holiday talk program for this fourth of July twenty
twenty five. I'm Read Shepherd along with Dana McKay. Jason
Barringer is our producer. You know, the fourth of July
falling on a Friday, it's not only a long weekend,
it's a day for America. Now, we may be a
divided country politically, I know we are, okay, but I
guarantee you we'll all stand together tonight when the fireworks
(00:45):
go off.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yes, we sure will.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
And just so you can see how patriotic Read especially
is dressed today with his stars and stripes tie. You
can check out that picture on my Instagram. I'm met
Dana McKay radio. We just wanted to give everyone a
of just how patriotic we are today. We've got the music,
we've got some great interviews about the history of our
great country, and we've also got Read in his stars
(01:08):
and stripes tie.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
Well, you also have a kind of a stars and
Stripes I do outfit going on there so I think
we're both very patriotic. Today this hour, we're going to
be talking about summer travel and summer food, and of
course the day's top news stories. And we begin with
President Trump. He was in Iowa to kick off a
year long celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
(01:32):
of the country's founding. He spoke at a Salute to
America event in Des Moines, Iowa, on the eve of
Independence Day. Now, this came just hours after the House
passed his One Big, Beautiful Bill Act that sends the
legislation to his desk, which he plans to sign later today.
In the ceremony at the White.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
House, Yes, and here's Mike Johnson reading the votes.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
And then you'll hear the USA chant.
Speaker 5 (01:59):
The ya's are two eight, the naser two fourteen, The
motion is adopted.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Cheering, and then you'll hear the chant.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Here we go. I know which side of the isle
that's coming from.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Yes, for sure, Well, the other side of the aisle.
Broke a record, So Hakeem Jeffries broke the record for
the longest speech on the House floor at eight hours
and forty four minutes. He started speaking at four point
fifty three Eastern time yesterday morning, people on Capitol Hills
started wondering, is he gonna try to break the record
set by Kevin McCarthy back in twenty twenty one. That's
(02:40):
exactly what he did. McCarthy's record was eight hours and
thirty two minutes. For that Nancy Pelosi's speech about dreamers
set the record back in twenty eighteen. So at about
four hours in, this is what Hakeem Jeffries had to say, because.
Speaker 6 (02:54):
It was totally unacceptable that you would try to jam
this bill. Missed the speaker down the throats of the
American people with fifteen minutes allocated for a debate that
would hurt everyday Americans allocated to the committees of juriss
fifteen minutes. And so now I'm here with my House
(03:16):
Democratic colleagues four years four. How was it taken our
sweet time?
Speaker 3 (03:22):
That's right, he sure did take a sweet time, because
it went on for another four hours and forty four minutes.
So after Hakeem Jeffrey spoke, Mike Johnson got up to
the podium and plopped a huge binder down and motioned
like as if he was going to start reading from it.
Everyone laughed, and then he took a dig at Keem Jeffries.
Speaker 5 (03:42):
You know, Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech
should be longer than twenty minutes, And unlike the Democrat leader,
I'm going to honor my.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Colleague's time and be a little more brief than that.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Right, I just want to say something that many of
us learned when we were children. We were taught, you know,
it takes a lot longer to build a lie than
to tell the simple truth.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So the bill is expected to be signed by the
President with a B two flyover on fourth of July today.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
So we're going to find out more about the bill,
I think in the coming days and weeks as we
start to understand everything that's in it. It was a
one thousand page bill as it was, which was read
in its entirety.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Did anybody anybody watch that? Those poor Stata I know.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Basically, though, the legislation extends the tax cuts the Trump
signed into law in twenty seventeen, they were set to
expire later this year. Also eliminate some taxes on tipped wages,
provision that drew roars from that crowd in Iowa. I
mentioned just a few minutes ago provides one hundred and
fifty billion dollars in increase in funding for a border wall,
(04:50):
along with immigration enforcement and deportation. So what do people
think about the bill at this point? Again, I'm going
to give the disclaimer here that a poll is just
a snap shot of a period in time, doesn't necessarily
reflect absolute reality. But what I'm seeing today is that
five new polls show it underwater between nineteen and twenty
(05:13):
nine points. So I'm going to be very interested to
see if some of those numbers change as we find
out more about what's in the bill.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
And seven people are still unaccounted for after a fireworks
warehouse in northern California exploded into a huge fireball earlier
this week. Firefighters responded just before a six pm Tuesday
and found multiple buildings on fire. The owner of the
pyrotechnics company is working with authorities to locate those missing,
and as of yesterday, California State Fire Marshal said the
(05:43):
site remains hazardous because of all the chemicals linked to
the fireworks, and CalFire officials say incidents like this are
very rare and the area is being treated as a
crime scene while investigators try to figure out exactly what happened.
A press conference on Wednesday was interrupted by infamily members
who say their loved ones were in the building and
(06:03):
they want answers. But still those seven people are unaccounted for,
and several fireworks demonstrations for the fourth have been canceled
because that warehouse was providing the fireworks. And there was
another situation in Massachusetts where fireworks from a Fourth of
July show at a golf course prematurely exploded.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
They were being delivered.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
And offloaded and the fireworks exploded. Two people were hospitalized
while with serious injuries and six others were treated for
minor injuries at the scene.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
So if you're planning the host of barbecue this Fourth
of July, you might want to dig a little deeper
into your wallet. Some analysts suggest a noticeable increase in
the cost of a Fourth of July barbecue compared to
previous years. Higher prices for things like ground beef, pork chops,
lemonade contributing to the increase. Ground beef prices in particular
(06:52):
have really surged, as some attributing it to factors like
low cattle supplies, lemonade costs because of citrus problems, and
Some cookout essentials like aluminum foil grill tools are also
seeing price likes. I always seem to get a grill
tool for Christmas or something like that just about every year.
(07:13):
But Americans should expect to spend around three to four
dollars more per person on average than last year. Saw
something earlier this week for ten people. If you're going
to host a barbecue for ten people, it's going to
cost you about one hundred and fifty dollars or so,
which is more than last year. To offset costs, some
suggestions swap the beef out for chicken, buy drinks and
(07:35):
larger containers, and look for store.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Sales and make people bring stuff.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
Yeah, that's gonna bring to grin desserts.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
That's right.
Speaker 7 (07:43):
Well.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
After being disqualified last year, Joey Chestnut makes his return
to Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest today. He says he
feels amazing and he intends to get his title back now.
Nathan's booted Chestnut from competing just weeks before the contest
after they learned he made a sponsorhip deal with Impossible
Foods last year and their plant based hot dog. Chestnuts
(08:05):
said he didn't burn any bridges, though he loves the
event and he's happy they worked it all out. So
his record is seventy six hot dogs in ten minutes.
The guy who won last year when he was disqualified,
ate fifty eight hot dogs.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
In ten minutes.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So that just goes to show you how many hot
dogs he can eat compared to like the next best
person eighteen hot dogs.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
It's amazing.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
He's won this COMPETI sixteen times and he plans to
win it again.
Speaker 4 (08:34):
I would imagine he was I want his metabolism, That's
all I can say.
Speaker 7 (08:37):
I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
I know, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Maybe he can eat like that and not be a
very very large person.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Well, coming up, we're going to talk about summer travel
and summer food when we come back on the iHeartRadio
Holiday talk program.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Hi, I'm Larry Menty MENTI in the Morning returns Monday
morning from six to ten. Now more of the iHeartRadio
Independence Day Morning.
Speaker 8 (09:08):
Sure works.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Well, you ever wonder how a show comes together, how
a pyrotechnic company sets up everything, so we all go
ooh and ah when it all goes boom in the sky. Well,
Joey at Well knows he's the owner of Alpha fireworks
displays and we're delighted to have him on the program. Joey,
I guess give us some insight on what goes into
(09:31):
putting together a fireworks show.
Speaker 8 (09:33):
Yeah, absolutely, and thank you for having me on today.
So it all starts usually with a phone call, and
then we figure out, you know, what's what our client's
needs are. The big thing with firework displays is the
space that we have available to perform the show. And
so of course the more space we have, the bigger
shells we can shoot. And so once we get that
(09:55):
figured out, then we will start scripting the show and
pull the permits for the show, secure the permits the product,
and then essentially we'll put a team together to perform
the firework display.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
How do the fireworks get their colors in shapes? I'm
always curious about that. When you can make a heart
in the sky.
Speaker 8 (10:15):
Yeah, so it's actually pretty simple in theory to do that. Basically,
what you would do is put a heart inside the shell.
And so inside the shell we have what's called stars.
And so with those stars we mix different types of
metals to get different colors. For instance, if we want
a blue color, we would mix a copper type metal,
(10:36):
And so what you would do is place those stars
inside the display shell in a heart shape or a
star shape or a smiley face, and then secure the
packaging around that, put it on a lift charge, and
we shoot it in the air. The trick with getting
that is, you know, you would just have to hope
that that shell breaks in the right direction of the spectators,
because you know, like a heart might just look like
(10:58):
a straight line if it breaks it in eye the
degree angle.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
What are some trends like new things happening with fireworks
that some people might not know about our new things
that people might see at a Fourth of July show
this year that they haven't seen in the past because
it's new.
Speaker 8 (11:12):
Oh, I would probably say pairing drones with pyrotechnics.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Yeah, well I was thinking about that myself.
Speaker 8 (11:20):
Yeah, that's something that we're really kind of diving into.
We have some things lined up where, you know, I'm
not sure if you've seen any videos yet, but there's
you know, where we're able to put fountains and different
types of firotechnics on the drones themselves. So that's very exciting.
But then also pairing drones with fireworks, it's just an
amazing way to demonstrate what effects you can do with
(11:43):
both of those types of displays.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
We're talking to Joey Atwell, the owner of Alpha Fireworks Displays.
What what kind of training I guess you does your
crew need to work on these fireworks because there's an
there's an obvious safety concern that has to be met.
Speaker 8 (11:59):
Yeah, absolutely so, believe it or not. Most of the
training comes in house, and so a lot of our
crew operates under my main license, which is a federal license.
And once you have that federal explosives license, you can
you can have users operate underneath your license. And what
we do, uh is when we bring somebody on a
(12:20):
lot of times when we're bringing someone into the pyrotechniques,
we prefer them not to have any experience so that
we can train them, uh, the proper way. We don't
want bad habits, if that makes sense. So we'll bring
somebody in, We'll start them as a helper loading shells
off the trucks, you know, loading mortar recks off of
you know that that's the not so fun stuff that
goes into a firework display. And then you know, we'll
(12:42):
slowly start allowing them to handle the fireworks. Why are
the fireworks up? Of course we teach them all the
safety precautions and so all of the training is usually
done in house here at Alpha.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
We talk about the conclusion, the big, the big, the
big conclusion to the fireworkshop, the finale, Yeah, the fun part.
How do you set that up and what goes into that?
Speaker 8 (13:05):
Yeah, So finales are are going to be. So when
we're doing different types of shells, different types of displays,
we have different matches, we have different fus that we
can use to set those shells off and a series
of times. So during the regular part of the fireworks show,
we may have a time time fuse to where you know,
we light one but it shoots five shells off with
(13:27):
a three second delay for each shell. Well, with the finale,
we just skip the time part and we run black
match across say ten shells, and so we'll light one
fuse and we'll send ten shells up. In a matter
of one second, we'll have ten shells in there, and
so it looks like a lot's going off. But on
our side, on our script for the finale, we're sending
three hundred shells off, but we've really only we've only
(13:50):
pinned three you know, thirty qs to send those three
hundred shells off a little.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Bit of insight into the firework shows that we're all
going to enjoy on this fourth of July. Joey Atwell
from Alpha Fireworks Displays, thank you so much for joining
us today.
Speaker 8 (14:04):
You're very welcome.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
So we've talked about what goes into a firework show,
but the fact is our four legged friends might not
be all that thrilled with the noise. It's not unusual
for a pet that's outside to be frightened and run away.
Heidi Harriet is an animal advocate and trainer who has
served as consultant for various venues across the country. She's
traveled across North America exhibiting her trained horses and dogs.
(14:28):
She joins us in studio today to talk about keeping
our best friends safe on this fourth of July. Heidi,
thank you so much for joining us today. And I
guess let's just dive right into it keeping our pets
safe on the fourth of July. This is not a
day that they like very much.
Speaker 9 (14:45):
Yeah, and I can tell you, by the way, thank
you for having me on because this is important. One
of the things that I want to lead with is
that you know, I hear from people, clients of mind,
other people who want to ask me about their animals,
and if they're starting a few weeks out to say,
my dog's going to be nervous on the fourth of July,
I could promise you their dog's going to be nervous
(15:08):
because it's an energy we're giving our animals. So the
other thing to really keep in mind here, the fourth
of July is one of the biggest days for animal escapes,
so this is a real important topic, not only to
keep your dog from hunkering down in the corner and puddling,
but also because we want to keep them in our
homes and in our yards. So it's a day you
(15:29):
want to make sure if they're usually outside in a
fenced area, bring them in when you know this is
going to start. Take them for a long walk during
the day, get that energy out, get your energy out,
and that'll help a lot.
Speaker 4 (15:43):
That's where we're going to start.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Well, why are dogs so sensitive to fireworks?
Speaker 9 (15:48):
Well, I would say to you, I'm in my sixties,
so when I was grown up, this wasn't an issue
we talked about a lot. Of course, we didn't have
the Internet, but I grew up with a dozen it's
probably arguably hundreds of animals because we trained for others
as well. I think we've changed, We've become more emotional,
and we kind of put that on our pets. So
(16:10):
that's a little part of it. So if you're nervous,
your pet's going to be nervous.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Okay.
Speaker 9 (16:15):
So I tell my people when i'm training, think service dog,
Think that you want this dog who's right beside you.
And when they're nervous, there's something happens.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
They look at you. We're in a radio, so you
kids that.
Speaker 9 (16:26):
But I got my eyes up like I'm looking at
my human or I look as a dog. I want
it to look straight ahead with no energy. Animals don't multitask.
I don't think we do either.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
We just think we do.
Speaker 9 (16:38):
But because they don't, if you get their attention, they're
going to have a much harder time getting frantic.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
So here are some tips.
Speaker 9 (16:46):
People will say, my dog's under the bed in the bedroom,
I put a dog on a leash because I train
for others too, and I've kept dogs during this time.
As an entertainer, I work at county fairs. They love
to shoot off fireworks on their Saturday, and my horses
and dogs will kind of look at the fireworks and
then go back to eating. But it's because what I'm
(17:08):
helping them with along the way solid training. Now it's
the fourth of July, so you're not going to be
able to train your way out of this. But we
look to drugs, we look to the thundervest, all the stuff.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
The reality is.
Speaker 9 (17:20):
And I challenge you listening to try this. Put a
leash on that dog, get there to just a little
tug get there, to hey, look at me, hold a
little treat. If you need to look at me, tap
your chest and have confidence. It's the equivalent of if
you're walking with a small child something scary in front
of you. You're holding hands and the child starts to
quiver and like, oh that's scary. If you go oh
(17:42):
that's scary back, the kid's like, well, I got to
take this now, instead of squeezing that hand and saying, hey,
we got this, look at me. By the way, we're training.
In my job, I'm training animals because I want them
to be comfortable and safe throughout their life, whether I
own them or not. The drugs, the thundervest all that
that's just masking it. And I always say if the
(18:02):
humans would take the drugs, the dogs would definitely calm down.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
We're talking about we're talking to Heidi Harriet's animal advocate
and trainer. Thank you so much for joining us on
this fourth of July. Some great tips as far as
keeping your pet safe. Again, thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
And coming up a historian from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello pronounced Monicello,
not Maticello, Monticello. He will talk about the man who
wrote the Declaration of Independence, which of course was signed
July fourth, seventeen seventy six. I'm Reed Sheppard along with
Dana McKay. This is iHeartRadio's holiday talk program, and we'll
(18:41):
be right back after the break poking the show.
Speaker 10 (19:00):
Leaver.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
We want to thank you for joining us on this
fourth of July twenty twenty five. This is iHeartRadio's holiday
talk program. And coming up in this segment, a look
at the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, mister
Thomas Jefferson. But first the day's top news stories, and
we begin with a surprise plea deal out of Idaho.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
Dana Brian Coberger, the man accused of killing four University
of Idaho students in the fall of twenty twenty two,
entered a plea deal that will spare his life earlier
this week. As part of the agreement, he confessed to
each one of the killings.
Speaker 11 (19:33):
Did you honor about that same date in Moscow, Idaho,
kill and murder Kayleie Gonzalvez a human being?
Speaker 8 (19:41):
Yes?
Speaker 11 (19:42):
And did you do that willfully and lawfully, deliberately and
with premeditation and malice and forethought?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
The families of the four victims are divided on this decision,
with two of the families wanting a trial and the
death penalty and the other two satisfied that he'll spend
the rest of his life in jail and there's no
chance of an acquittal. Now we're learning more about the murders,
as one of the prosecutors laid out new details in court.
He said it seems Coburger did not plan to kill
(20:10):
all four victims that night, and that he entered through
a second floor slider and went right to Madison Mogan's room.
Kayla Gankalvez had already moved out of that home, but
she was visiting her friends that night, so she and
Mogan were in the same bed when they were both killed. First,
Xanna Kernodle encountered Coburger in the hallway. It's not believed
he intended to kill her, but she just happened to
(20:31):
be awake. After he killed her, he went to her
bedroom and killed her boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. The prosecutor got
overwhelmed with emotion at the end of his ten minute
explanation and began to cry in the courtroom. Coburger's sentencing
is set for July twenty third.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
All right, and it takes that plea deal, takes the
death penalty off the table. No parole, and he cannot
appeal well. Taking a quick look at sports, Major League
Baseball is announced the starters for this month's All Star
Game in the American League. Tigers Glaber Torres, Javier Biaz
and Riley Green will be joined by Seattle's cal Rally,
Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Junior, Jacob Wilson of the Athletics Cleveland
(21:11):
Jose Ramirez, Aaron Judge, and Baltimore's Ryan O'Hearn in the
lineup for the National League show Hey Otani, Will Smith
and Freddie Freeman from the Dodgers el start a long
Coutell Marte from the Arizona, New York's Francisco Lindore, San
Diego's Manny Machado, Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Junior, as well as
Chicago's Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow Armstrong. The All Star
(21:35):
Game will be played July fifteenth in Atlanta. Well, July
fourth is a holiday for all America. But there's one
document that defines the day and defines us as Americans.
That document is, of course, the Declaration of Independence. Its
author Thomas Jefferson, who was a delegate to the Second
Continental Congress from Virginia. So why was he chosen to
(21:58):
be the principal author of this magnificent declaration? And where
did his ideas come from?
Speaker 7 (22:04):
Well?
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Brandon Dillard is the director of historical Interpretation at Monticello,
Jefferson's beautiful home in Charlottesville, Virginia. So why did Jefferson's
colleagues in the Congress look to him for this task?
Speaker 10 (22:17):
I love this question. It's a great question, and I'll
do my best to answer it as concisely as I can.
Speaker 8 (22:23):
I think one of the.
Speaker 10 (22:24):
Best stories about this actually comes in the later years
of Jefferson's life, where he's reminiscing about these early years
some fifty years on and almost fifty years on, and
he's thinking about those early years and believing himself to
be someone who was merely described. And Jefferson himself, when
(22:44):
speaking of the declaration, said that he was not aiming
at originality, he was merely expressing the American mind. And
one of the funnier insights actually comes from Jefferson's colleague,
sometimes friends, sometimes enemy, the second President, John Adams. And
John Adams wrote a reminiscence about those early days of
(23:05):
the Second Countinental Congress and wrote about Jefferson himself writing
the declaration, and Adams said that Adams was the person
who told Jefferson that he had to write it, and
he listed out several reasons. Those reasons included that Jefferson
was a Virginian and remembering that Virginia was the most
populated and healthiest colony by far, Adams said, of Virginia
(23:25):
must be at the head of this thing. Adams also
told Jefferson that he was a better writer than most
of the people there. Jefferson had already written something called
a Summary Review of the Rights of British America when
he was thirty one that was widely read and recognized
that Jefferson was quite skillful, but perhaps most humorously, Adams
(23:47):
went saying that Jefferson should write it instead of Adams himself.
Adams wrote, I am obnoxious, unpopular and suspect, and you
are very much otherwise. The differences in their personality were
already clear even in those early days. Jefferson himself later
said Adams was a bit mistaken in his memory of that,
but suffice it to say, Jefferson became the principal author,
(24:09):
and we have what we have two hundred and fifty
years on.
Speaker 3 (24:12):
So what is so iconic about Monticello in the property itself?
Speaker 10 (24:18):
You know, I'm biased, obviously. I have an extraordinary office
where I get to see this iconic home every day,
and it is the only presidential home in the United
States of America that's recognized as a World Heritage Site
by UNESCO in the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization,
which means that it singularly represents a time and place
(24:41):
in a way that nothing else does, in a way
that belongs to all people for all time. And when
you visit Monticello and you see it, you can see
the expression of Jefferson himself and the architecture. Roosevelt. Franklin
Roosevelt said that it seems to me, more than any
other home in America, Monticello is the expression of the
(25:02):
personality of its builder.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Absolutely a beautiful home. I visited once when I was
a kid. I remember visiting Monticello, and as he said,
it is, it is absolutely beautiful. As far as the declaration, Brandon,
I'm curious. This may be a bit of a kind
of naive question, but did Jefferson want to write it?
(25:28):
I don't know. I don't know how you deal with that.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Go ahead, you do it reluctantly.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
They're all making me do this.
Speaker 10 (25:36):
Huh. It's a great question, and I think it requires
a little bit of conjecture on our part in some assumption.
So I'll go on the record and say I don't know,
but I will say that a couple of things about
it include that at the time there was really this
sense that public service was a duty and it wasn't
something that anyone would want to do. It was something
(26:00):
that they were called to do, and it wasn't seen
as a glorious kind of personal accolade, but rather as
drudgery of a sort. And I believe that were you
to ask Thomas Jefferson, you know, this is exactly what
a historian should never do, is make these kinds of assumptions.
(26:21):
But I would say that Jefferson probably would have answered
along those lines, something about believing it was duty and necessary.
Speaker 4 (26:28):
Brandon Dillard, the director of Historical Interpretation, at Jefferson's home
Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. Brandon, thank you so much for
joining us, and happy fourth through July to you.
Speaker 10 (26:40):
Happy for thanks read.
Speaker 4 (26:42):
You know, if you watched the movie seventeen seventy six,
or if you remember the Broadway play, Thomas Jefferson most
definitely did not want to write rit depend a time.
He was kind of forced into it, according to the movie,
which what basically it was a musical. Okay, he was
pretty much forced into it by John Adams, and he
(27:03):
very reluctantly sat down to write the declarations. Well, it
sounds like that was just a movie.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
He felt like it was his responsibility, his duty to
the country, and we're certainly thankful.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
That he did it.
Speaker 4 (27:13):
Yes, he did a magnificent document. Well, coming up on
iHeartRadio's Holiday Talk program, we are going to talk about
holiday travel. We are also going to pay a visit
with our old friend Kevin Carr to talk about summer
movies when we return on iHeart Radio's Holiday Talk show.
(27:39):
And back on iHeart Radio's Holiday Talk program for this
Fourth of July twenty twenty five. You know, for some people,
the Fourth of July is all about backyard barbecues watching
their hometown fireworks show, and there'll be plenty of them
around the country tonight, I guarantee it. Millions of others. However,
getting out of town, Triple A report a record breaking
(28:01):
seventy two point two million Americans will travel more than
fifty miles between now and July sixth, so an estimated
sixty one point six million drivers and five point eight
million flyers. TSA predicts even more flyers, eighteen point five million,
to be specific. So there's a lot of numbers being
(28:21):
tossed around, and sometimes I wonder where TRIPLEA comes up
with some of them. But the point is that the
roads have been kind of busy the last few days,
and especially at the airports around the holidays.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
Yeah, I have a friend who was trying to get
out of town last night and it was rough. She
was texting me saying, I want is this plane going
to take off? Weather delays and all that. So it
could be a little bit of a rough travel weekend.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
So popular cities this year for travel include Denver, Chicago, London,
San Diego, and New York. And with the opening of
the new theme park Epic Universe, more and more people
are heading to Orlando as well. Now one problem people
are likely to run into is whether severe storms are
expected in the Northeast. Could cause delays, especially for airline passengers.
(29:11):
Strong the severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for the
northern and central Plains, also the upper Mississippi Valley and
portions of Texas. We're also watching possible development of a
tropical depression or maybe even a tropical storm in the
Atlantic off the southeastern US coast. Now, this could bring
rain to parts of the Georgia Coast the Carolinas as
(29:32):
it heads away from the US. Forecasters they tell us
this is going to be a weak system, but it
is a reminder that hurricane season is underway.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Now.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
The price of your Amazon Prime membership is likely going
up soon. According to a JP Morgan analyst, Amazon will
likely raise the price from one hundred and thirty nine
dollars to one hundred and fifty nine dollars in twenty
twenty six. It's been at one hundred and thirty nine
dollars since twenty twenty two. Before that, it was one
hundred and nineteen dollars. Now that twenty dollars increase would
(30:02):
mean about three billion dollars for Amazon, and the prediction
is based on Amazon's pattern of raising prices on significant
features every four years, so we're due for the price
to go up. The value of a Prime subscription is
about one thy four hundred and thirty dollars when you
add up all the free shipping and perks.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
Now I order stuff from Amazon, I guess I just
don't know if I'm on Prime. You don't even know.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Read I ordered it NA.
Speaker 4 (30:28):
Last week, I ordered a litter box, new litter box
for my cat who desperately needs it.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Well, I hope that gets delivered, reader.
Speaker 4 (30:37):
I just got an email that it's been shipped.
Speaker 6 (30:39):
Well.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
Fourth of July is always a big weekend for movies,
So let's talk about summer movies. Kevincarr from fat Guys
at themovies dot Com joins us today, Kevin, we're seeing
a lot of buzz over the trailer for the next
Wicked movie and the new Superman flick with Crypto this time.
Are summer blockbusters making a comeback?
Speaker 7 (30:58):
Well, I certainly they are. And you know, we've had
big movies over the last couple of years. You know,
it was slow during COVID as expected, but and then
we of course had some strikes to deal with, so
I think things are getting back on their feet. But
but we've always had, you know, always had the big one,
like you know, a couple of years ago you had
Top Gun, Maverick, And there's always gonna be the big
(31:20):
summer movies like Barbie and Oppenheimer. But yeah, they are
making a comeback. I think you're going to be seeing
more of just the big blockbuster movies that the studios
are throwing behind because that's where the money is.
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Is this another summer for sequels? I mean this fourth
of July weekend the big movie Jurassic World Rebirth. Also,
Happy Gilmour two is coming out later this month. The
Naked Gun is coming out Freaky Freaky or Friday a
sequel to Freaky Friday. I mean these are all you know,
storylines and movies that we've all known forever.
Speaker 9 (31:57):
Well.
Speaker 7 (31:57):
Yeah, and it's what's even funny about Freaky or Friday
is it's a sequel to a remake. Now, so everything's
kind of looping in on itself. But let's be honest.
You know, Hollywood has always been about sequels. They made
you know how many hop Along Cassidy films way back
at the beginning of the twentieth century, and you know
they had had I think there's like there was something
(32:19):
like a hundred Charlie Chan movies made back in the day. Yeah,
So when Hollywood would find something that works, they would
try to milk it as best they can't, which is
kind of just the way you do things. I think
the reason people focus on the sequels is because those
are the ones, like I said, they get the biggest budget,
(32:40):
that get the most money thrown behind them, because Hollywood
doesn't want to roll the dice on something unknown. And
every now and then you get something big that hits
like Sinners that nobody expected to be such a huge hit,
that was a wholly original film. Yeah, they're gonna They're
gonna either want to do a remake or a reboot.
That's why this is gosh, what is this the third
(33:02):
time they've rebooted a Superman in the last twenty years.
So I'm looking forward to Superman.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Well, I am too, but it does seem like, from
what I've heard so far, it does seem like what
they're really pushing is Crypto.
Speaker 7 (33:18):
And I think I'm pushed a lot of things with
this new Superman because the last iteration of Superman was
under Zack Snyder, which gave him much more sort of
a grim pallor, and Superman in the comics has always
been sort of uplifting and bright and colorful, and that
seems to be what James Gun's trying to bring back
to this one. And I think James Gunn knows what
(33:39):
he's doing when it comes to superhero movies for sure.
So I think you're getting that. I think Crypto's just cute.
I mean, that is cute.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
And I'll talk you horrible when I can't remember what
movie I went to see, but the last movie I saw,
the Superman trailer was playing at that movie and it
sucked me right in. I'm not a big super hero
movie person, but that scene they showed in the snow
with Crypto, oh my gosh, yeah it was good.
Speaker 8 (34:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (34:09):
Who doesn't love a dog? I mean, come on, you know,
but yeah, I'm also looking forward to seeing what they
do with the Superman mythos because they kind of drop
you in the middle. It's we don't need we don't
need another origin story. We all know where Superman comes.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
From, right jor l They put him in the rocket
crypton bleuw up.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
We're talking to Kevin Carr, movie reviewer from Fat Guys
at the movies dot Com. So, Kevin, what's your favorite
movie that you've seen over the last couple of months.
Speaker 7 (34:42):
I'm a weirdo. So one of my favorite ones that
I've seen that I probably had the most fun was
the new Final Destination Movie. I love horror movies, okay,
and the Final Destination Movie is it's a twenty twenty
your old franchise and they brought it back. It made
(35:02):
like fifty million dollars its opening weekend, and it's just
it's an absurd silliness to these movies. It has the
same spirit as like The Monkey. If you watch that,
Stephen King adaptation several years ago. That was a lot
of fun. You know, How to Train Your Dragons also
a really good movie.
Speaker 4 (35:20):
All right, we're talking to Kevincarr, fat guys at themovies
dot Com. Kevin is so much of a pleasure to
talk to you again. Thank you so much for joining
us today.
Speaker 7 (35:28):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 3 (35:29):
Well, I will say that How to Train Your Dragon
is a fantastic movie. I saw that with my son
two weekends ago. We saw it in three D and
my son had already seen it with his dad and
then said, Mommy, you gotta take me. It's so good,
you gotta see it. So we went and I really
really enjoyed it. That was a great one.
Speaker 4 (35:46):
Well, first of all, it's good to hear from Kevin
Carr again. And yes, I want to see the Superman movie.
And if it's all about Crypto, that's okay with me.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
It looks absolutely adorable. I'm Dana McKay along with Reed
Shepherd and this is iHeartRadio. It's holiday talk program.
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