March 27, 2025 • 29 mins
(March 27, 2025)
Chris Merrill is in for Bill Handel while he is out on vacation. Host of ‘How to Money’ Joel Larsgaard joins the show to discuss rate caps on credit cards, Tesla owners are likely going to be paying more for insurance, and should you buy a new car RIGHT NOW. As the Signal chat amongst President Trump's National Security team takes on a life of its own and is going nowhere fast, the larger question is could these messages in the wrong hands have had significant implications? Host of ‘Later with Mo Kelly’ on KFI joins the show to talk about what you need to know about the 2025 box office being off to a terrible start. Is the problem supply or demand?
Chris Merrill is in for Bill Handel while he is out on vacation. Host of ‘How to Money’ Joel Larsgaard joins the show to discuss rate caps on credit cards, Tesla owners are likely going to be paying more for insurance, and should you buy a new car RIGHT NOW. As the Signal chat amongst President Trump's National Security team takes on a life of its own and is going nowhere fast, the larger question is could these messages in the wrong hands have had significant implications? Host of ‘Later with Mo Kelly’ on KFI joins the show to talk about what you need to know about the 2025 box office being off to a terrible start. Is the problem supply or demand?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty. Thanks for spending some time with a Handle
show this morning. Back at it again tomorrow morning we
will talk you heard Amy discussing the new ask on
the high speed rail another seven billion dollars, but we
have to have it asap. Little sense of urgency on that.
(00:23):
You'll hear that tomorrow morning at about seven fifteen. Joining
us right now is host of kfi's How to Money
every Sunday at noon and a guy I listened to
while I am prepping my Sunday afternoon program, Joel Larsgar.
Joel always an auditor. Talk to you, my man. Thank
you so much for glad to be with you. Chris, Yeah, man,
thanks for carving time out. I appreciate that. Can we
(00:43):
talk about the big story first? As we talk about
our finances and how we're saving money. These auto tariffs
are going to have, I say, a ripple effect that's
going to hit not just the new car market, but
also the pre owned inventory is going to see a
bumping price as well as man for pre owned goes up.
I think more people are gonna hang onto their vehicles,
(01:03):
which means fewer cars entering the pre owned market. So
I think that's gonna happen. And some people are, I
think taking they're taking the wrong tact and they're thinking, oh,
I better buy a car now before the price goes up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
No, you're you're spot on, and you're you're really what
you're you're getting at here is the cascading impacts, like
the second order effects of these tariffs, and so yeah,
it's really easy to spot the first order impact, which
is cars that get imported into the United States are
going to be more expensive, in particular new cars, right,
and so some models built one hundred percent in the
(01:40):
United States, like Tesla's, we likely won't see any meaningful
price increase, although once other cars start to go up
in price, Tesla might say, hey, we can raise our
prices too and garner a little more profit from this deal.
But yeah, you're right, the second order effects of these
terraffs are going to mean the cars across the board
go up in price, and car parts in all likelihood
(02:02):
will too. So I think it's really it's really important
for people to not say, oh, these tariffs are coming
in April. Third, I should buy a car by by
the end of the month a brand new car spend
tons of money, so I can save a few thousand
bucks because yeah, estimates are some of these models are
going to cost five, six, seven thousand dollars more once
the tariffs are in place. But the other question too, Chris,
(02:24):
as always, is will these terraffs actually be implemented or
is this more talk? And that's just another thing that
consumers have to grapple with.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, that is a really great point too. Is this
all the negotiating factor that's going to go away here
soon or not? Are we would It would stand a
reason that if parts are going up, that the price
of service on our vehicles is going to increase too.
If you've got the you know, a broken actuating blinker,
I don't know, then then you may see that that
price jump up a little bit more too when you
(02:52):
take it in to have your car repaired.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, and it's interesting the length of car ownership has
been growing in this country, which is something I like
to see. Like, I'm all about owning and maintaining older vehicles,
but I think when people you have to go in
and see the mechanic and there are repairs that they
have to do to their two thousand and nine Honda
or something like that, and they see like I was
(03:16):
literally just talking to a friend last night and he's like,
I got to get this my old Subaru running, and
I was like, what's it gonna cost? Like eight hundred bucks.
He's like, no, like fifteen hundred bucks. And there's this
there's this disconnect between what we think it should cost
and what inflation's actually done to the real cost of
repairing those cars. But I will say, when you think
about paying that fifteen hundred bucks, it's emotionally difficult, and
(03:39):
it's financially difficult, But what's more financially difficult for most
Americans is signing up for buying a new car. Signing
up for that car payment that on average is now
in the seven hundred and fifty dollars range. And even
to get a payment that low, lots of folks, you're
talking about at least a six year long car loan.
So that's Hey, that's two months of a car pay.
(04:00):
When you think about it like that, I might want
to keep the car that I've currently got on the road.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Plus it's saving me money in other ways.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I agree. Joel Larsgard, a host of KFI is how
to Money every Sunday at noon on KFI, So Joel.
When the price of a new car goes up and
then subsequently the price of the used are all the
things that we just talked about. Does that mean that
the insurance companies are going to start charging us more too,
because they obviously they've got more they'd have to cover.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh, I mean for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, when the price when the value of the car
is higher, and then your car is damaged and the
cost to repair that car. We've already seen it. Even
not aside from tariffs, we've seen it with electric vehicles.
And just when an electric vehicle is in an accident,
let's say the battery pack has to be replaced, We're
seeing insurance rates on electric vehicles go up across the
(04:47):
board because a cost to the cost to repair that
versus the cost to repair a traditional gas vehicle, where
you know, the main engine, let's say, isn't typically impacted
unless it's a really severe accident, but the engine of
the EV is, so you're gonna have to replace that battery,
which is incredibly expensive. And then talking about car insurance, man,
(05:08):
there's these fascinating stories coming out about vandalism to Tesla's,
not just dealerships, but to people individual owners of tesla's,
And there are a lot of predictions right now that
we're going to see specifically Tesla owners targeted with insurance
price hikes. BUM shouldn't even use the word targeted, because
it's not like it's a nefarious thing trying to harm
anybody who owns a Tesla. It's really just about, hey,
(05:31):
there's greater risk now because of some of the political
violence happening towards against Tesla owners. Even people who like
own Teslas, who say I don't really like what Elon
Muskin is doing, they still might be at risk of
having their car keyed or something like that, which could
lead to an insurance claim. So yeah, I think the
insurance companies it makes sense they might be raising those
insurance rates on Tesla owners.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, that sounds like no fun. In other words, we're
telling me, is everything's going to get more expensive? Yeah,
you kind of didn't sign up for that.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
And I think, actually, interestingly enough, I think a lot
of Trump voters didn't think they were signing up for this.
And so it's going to be interesting again to see
whether the tariffs come about or not. When you kind
of look at the overall trends where consumer confidences and
stuff like that, a lot of people are saying, Oh,
this isn't shaking out quite like I thought it was
going to. And I thought we I was voting for
(06:21):
lower prices. I thought I was voting, you know, to
see a president who is going to like boost the economy,
and tariffs have the opposite effect. I mean, this is
just a widely known economic reality that tariffs create higher
prices for consumers. And I think there are maybe occasionally
reasons geopolitically to impose a tariff.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I'm not a political expert, but when you when you look.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
At like what comes down the pike and what's heading
down the pike, what's what's coming our way? As you know,
people who buy stuff in the United States of America,
it's going to be it's going to be higher prices
and specifically on vehicles. And then there are other cascading
effects to those tariffs too.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So yeah, Joel, why is it then that if it's
widely accepted as a fact that tariffs drive up the
cost of goods, why why is the White House so
adamant that no, it's gonna have the opposite effect. It's
going to be really great and everything is going to
be better for us. It just feels like that flies
in the face of what ninety five percent of experts say.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, and then that's a that's a really good question.
I don't know why they think they're early. I think
I think what the belief is is is that, hey,
if we make it more expensive to buy these cars
that are made that are made in other countries, then
what's going to happen is the US car industry is
(07:39):
gonna boom and we're gonna build more stuff here in
the United States of America.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
And so it's kind of this.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Belief that we are losers in terms of global trade
and that if we institute more tariffs, what's gonna happen
is it's gonna We're gonna see job boom. We're going
to see uh more factories open in the United States,
We're going to produce more goods and services here in
the country. And I think they might be right to
a certain extent on the fringes, but I think the
(08:05):
overall approach is completely incorrect and that we overall, as
America's we think about avocados from Mexico. Hey, guess what
if we if we right, if we tear if the
mess out of those avocados. It it doesn't mean like
the abundance of avocados that we currently have in this country.
It's just it's going to vanish like or we're going
to pay a lot more for them. And and yeah,
(08:26):
maybe some US producers are able to see they're able
to see greater profits and maybe compete with with those
Mexican producers, but overall it's a it's a lose lose
for consumers, and it's going to raise pricices, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Joel Larsguard, who loves.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
His avocados from Mexico, Joel.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I happen to see that Congress is looking at capping
the amount of interest that credit cards can charge me,
and I believe there is already a cap, but it's
it's something like thirty percent or somebody of that sort.
But now there's proposals to cap credit card aprs at
something like ten percent, which as a consumer, that sounds
pretty good to me, But not everybody's on board.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Well, it's interesting, it's kind of bipartisan.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
There are people from both sides of the aisle that
have proposed different caps on credit cards what they're able
to charge consumers, Republicans and Democrats alike. And so this
is one of those things where there's kind of a
meeting of the minds and they're saying, and it's interesting.
There have been proposals over the years to say, oh,
it's cap credit card interest rates at eighteen percent. Actually,
let's make it fifteen percent, and so these different bills
(09:30):
have been floated, and the latest kind of mind meld
here is to say, let's cap credit card interest.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Rates at ten percent.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And it's funny that people in Washington tend to agree
on this because I disagree wholeheartedly with this attempt, because
it sounds so nice and it sounds so empathetic to say, hey,
we know you've got credit card debt. It's a big pain.
And credit card interestrates, as everyone knows, have gone up significantly.
We're talking about average credit card interest rates nearing twenty
two percent now for people, and that significant credit card debt.
(10:01):
That's one of those I mean, it could take you
decades if you're paying the minimum every single month to
pay that credit card off.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And so I sympathize with that.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
But the problem is if you institute a ten percent
rate cap, I think there are significantly worse things coming
down the pike, Like there is no free lunch, and
why not five percent if we're going to do ten percent.
When you start messing with what credit card companies are
able to charge people in terms of interest rate, you
might actually let some subprime borrowers. And in fact, CNBC
(10:32):
said something like ninety five percent of subprime borrows wouldn't
have access to credit cards anymore. So they're basically barring
a huge segment of the population for me even using
credit cards at all. If something like this goes through,
and they might have to turn to even more nefarious
kinds of debt. Talk about second order effects of something
that sounds good on its surface but underneath could lead
(10:54):
to even worse outcomes for a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So you're talking about things like a payday loans or
something like that, that that's interesting.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Of people if the credit cards ripped out of their hands,
and you know, we might say, oh, credit cards, it's
it's not it's not great that people pay twenty two
percent interest. And that's something I talk about regularly on
the shows like only use credit cards if you can
pay them off on time and in full every single month.
And if you, you know, use them and you feel
like you can't do that and you need help. I
try to talk about that too, where to go to
get that help to pay off your credit card debt.
(11:25):
But I just I don't like the potential downstream effects
of having some sort of credit card rate cap because
I just think it's going to lead to people turning
to more nefarious places to get that money that they need.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Am I mistaken that there are rate camps already though,
something like thirty percent?
Speaker 3 (11:44):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I don't believe.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I think the only rate caps on credit cards that
are that are in effect are for military service members.
So I believe there's like a thirty six percent cap
interest rate cap for people who served in the Armed forces,
But I don't think there's any interest rate cap for
credit card companies in general. And you know, the other
(12:06):
thing too, is there is competition. It might seem kind
of weird to say, but there is competition in the
credit card industry. And when you think about going one
of the things that credit card credit cards from credit
unions will tend to offer is significantly lower interest rates
on credit cards, or there are you know, balanced transfer
offers that often allow you to pay zero interest for
(12:29):
like fifteen or eighteen months, so it's not like you're always,
let's say, you know, stuck forever it paying twenty one
percent interest. Those interest rates they also move with what,
you know, what the FED is doing, what the Fed's
up to, and just interest rates in general. So you
might want to I think it's people want to point
the finger or politicians at least do at the credit
(12:50):
card companies and make it seem like they're incredibly greedy.
But a lot of people do really well under the
credit card system. There are kind of the haves and
the have nots. Some people earn a lot of rewards
and they don't ever pay a dime, to be said
in MasterCard or the banks that issue those cards, and
then other people man they lose out because they're not
handling credit cards well. And so I want to talk
about credit card hygiene, less about changing the way the
(13:12):
system is constructed, because I don't necessarily think it's out
to get anybody.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
See this is why we listen to how to Money
with Joel Larry's card every Sunday at noon on kfive. So,
what's your take on the consumer confidence report that came
out and it says a twelve year low, So Americans
are increasingly worried about the future of the US economy.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Yeah, I mean, I think so much depends how you
view the economy.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
For the most part.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
When you look even at some of the surveys of
how consumers felt based on their political allegiance, it's amazing
how it flip flopped the day that the right after
the election or right after the inauguration. So I think
sometimes people think about how the economy is doing through
a really political lens. I think everyone right now is
(14:02):
starting to feel that the basically like the reaction to
their own habits. I think we've gotten used to buy now,
pay later in this country. It's something I rail against.
It's it feels like it's everywhere you can now buy
a you know, by now, pay later a burger on
grub hub, which is just utterly ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
So I think it's part partly habits.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And then I think we're also we're kind of reading
the writing on the wall with with tariffs and some
of the economic policy, and and I think there's just
a general sense of malaise in this country right now,
even though I think there is a lot to be hopeful.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
That's got that's gotta be part of it.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, did you ever think you'd see a day that
you could take out a loan for a burrito?
Speaker 5 (14:42):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
No, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
And it kind of baffles me. But I think that
the more we offer products like that, like credit cards
started it right and it was like, oh, you don't
actually have to pay for the thing that you want
right now, And we've taken that to the nth degree
and it's just people up for failure and you forget
you know, what you're buying, and like, we're paying so
(15:05):
little attention to our financial futures because it's all about
the present, and I just think that makes us unhappy.
But it also it makes us poor too, which leads
to more unhappiness.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Right. Yeah, we're after that, Yeah, chasing that short term gratification.
Joel loved listening to you, man. Thank you so much
for your insight and your your wisdom on these things.
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Chris appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Yeah, of course. Yeah. Joel Larsgard, host of KFI, is
how to Money every Sunday at noon, find him and
follow him on the socials at how to Money, Joel
at how to Money Joel. All right, if you missed
what the President had to say about the latest on
this whole signal app including the journalist in the group
chat about bombing Yemen. Here is what the President said
(15:48):
when he was asked about is this a problems?
Speaker 5 (15:51):
A response to Republican lawmakers who have said today that
your administration should take.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
More accountability and not downplag what's happened with the with
the signal that we've seen these messages today? Could you
hear that? Okay? The reporter said, what's your response to
Republicans that are saying you need to take more accountability?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Well, I don't know about downplaying the press. Uplays and
I think it's all a witch hunt.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That's so. I think it's a witch hunt. I believe
that is the first witch hunt reference that we've had
to a new matter in the second administration. So mark
that one down.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
I wasn't involved with it. I wasn't there, but it
wasn't mean to tell you. The result is unbelievable because
the Jutis are looking to do something they want to know,
how do we stop?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
How do we stop? Can we have peace?
Speaker 5 (16:35):
The Jutis want peace because they're getting the hell knocked
out of them.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Do you still believe nothing classified was shared?
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Well, that's what I've heard.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
I don't know. I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
You have to ask the various people involved.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I really don't know. It wasn't me. I don't know.
Republicans have asked so that they would formally asked the
administration for an Inspectory general report on the signal issue.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Will you agree to that.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
It doesn't bother me?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You know it wasn't me. I don't know, doesn't bother me. Also,
let's remember he fired the inspector Generals want to.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Find if there's any mistake or if a signal doesn't work.
It could be the signal is not very good, you know,
and it was the app's full company. Maybe it's not
very good. I think we'd rather know about it now. Well, yeah,
Mike Walls, I guess he said he claimed responsibility. I
would imagine had nothing to do with anyone else. It
was Mike, I guess. I don't know. I always thought
it was Mike.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I don't know. Joining us right now is Brad Garrett.
He's our ABC News crime and terrorism analyst in Washington,
and Brad a lot of denials and deflections in the
president's statement yesterday, and we did get the first witch
hunt reference of twenty twenty five. So all in all,
kind of an exciting meeting. What happens as far as
(17:50):
an investigation goes, Are we likely to see any sort
of an investigation into what happened with the signal app mishap?
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Well, I'd be surprised if you had an IG investigation,
which is really where this should start, and only because
the president appoints all the igs, so he fired all
of them, but the one that runs Justice IG. So
so we'll see. Obviously, Congress they've made rattles about holding
(18:18):
an investigation if they find anything that leans towards criminal behavior,
and I'm not suggesting that's the case, but if it did,
then the FBI would be involved. So, you know, will
anything happen based on what I just said, I'm skeptical,
but we'll see. But in a normal world, what would
(18:39):
happen is Congress probably would start, maybe all three would
start investigations, you know, and you'd have to prove, you know,
willful intent to do this that's probably not there. You know,
is this like unbelievable incompetence and you know, national security, sure,
it's all of that, but you know, I think the
(19:02):
bigger picture is when you downplay this kind of behavior,
it doesn't bode well with other people having ideas about
doing something like this. And more importantly, Chris, is that
obviously this could have been catastrophic if somebody would have
picked this up, you know, name somebody Iran, China or
(19:25):
Russia and who. And the hoodies knew in advance that
they were coming. They could go into countermeasures. They could
do a pre emptive strike on aircraft carriers or other things,
you know, within their limitations that could have harmed US personnel.
And you know that's what you're that's the potential. You
(19:47):
know that didn't happen apparently, But the idea that people
would do this is that are in the positions they're in.
I mean, it tells you a lot about A. Do
they really know what they're doing? And B it's just
a total lack of awareness that you would do something
(20:07):
like this. And I know they keeps saying it's not classified,
but I will tell you anything that talks about the
US bombing some other country and the time before the
actual attack and why it's going on. That's always classified
for the obvious reasons, So you know, that doesn't really fly.
(20:29):
But that seems to be the position.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Brag Garrett is our ABC News Crime and Terrorism analyst.
Is there is there concern that the Signal app has
been used elsewhere? Maybe it's not just a DoD issue.
Maybe the Signal app is being used in other departments
that may have sensitive information. Oh.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I think there's probably no doubt that it probably has.
I don't know that, but it's a pretty popular app
because people believe, okay, it's encrypted. Yeah, well it's encrypted
in the commercial consumer world, which doesn't hold a candle
to what encryption might mean at NSA or CIA or
fill in the blank. And I think NSA and maybe
(21:14):
even DD has previously said they shouldn't be using Signal
because for the obvious compromise of some state actor in
breaking into it. My guess is somebody has broken into it.
I don't know that, but it's there's just a vulnerability there.
And you know, I get why they used it because
it's convenient, right, you don't have to go to a
(21:35):
secure facility. You don't have to get into a skiff,
which is basically a big bubble you get into to
block all signals. But that's really no excuse, Brad.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Finally, if we were to see an investigation into this,
and as you mentioned that, the president could order the
investigation if we find out that there's concerns about whether
something criminal had happened, And again there's no indication that
that might be the case. But who knows what could
be uncovered in an investigation. Is there concerns about the
credibility of any sort of investigation You know, you'd be having,
(22:11):
you'd be having an investigator who would be looking into
some of the some of their own bosses. In this case,
Cash Ptel would be looking into Pete Hegsith. How much
how much independence is there with those investigators now, especially
since those lines seem to have been blurred during this administration.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Oh well, I think it's a big problem because they
may investigate and find X that you may never hear
about X. If it's if it's adversarial. I mean, that's
the whole idea of as you well know, of having
the separations of Yes, there are rules and regulations and
there's chain of command and the president, yes, as the president,
(22:49):
but people to make independent decisions, like historically the Attorney
general has had independence to go after and investigate where
he sees the you know, the facts and the evidence
leading him are her and so I don't think you
have that right now. So you know, I have concerns
(23:10):
even if they started, it wouldn't actually see the light
of day.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Yeah. I think those are the concerns we're all asking
right now. Brad Garrett, ABC News Crime and Terrorism analyst
in Washington. Brat, it's always great to talk to you.
Thank you so much for your insight and intellect on
this one. Very good welcome, Thank you, my friend. And
it is time for world champion to Dodger Baseball. The
Dodgers take on the Tigers for Opening Day Dodger Stadium,
uh this afternoon, first pitch at four ten. Listen to
(23:35):
every game on the iHeartRadio WAP Keyword AM five to
seventy LA Sports. The New Hollywood Pantagious season is a
home run get a seven show package at Broadway in
Hollywood dot Com. Joining me right now is host and
Later with Moe Kelly, one of my favorite shows on
the radio, mister mo Kelly. Uh, it's always better with
your when you're here. Hey, are you before the before
(23:57):
you go on the air, the game is gonna be on.
Are you going to watch this while you're getting for
your show? Oh? Absolutely, had a boy, had a boy.
Speaker 5 (24:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I'm assuming you're gonna be giving scoring updates or at
least a brief recap when the show gets going.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
We're going to start off the show tonight talking about
the season opening game. I've been a Dodger fan since
I was maybe six or seven years old. My father
would take me to Dodger Stadium ah see, and I
love this.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Is there something about baseball because I have a similar experience.
Is there something about baseball that is sort of sort
of an easy male bonding experience between a young a
young man and his father.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
There's a there's an explanation arc, I would say, because
you just don't grow up and just learn baseball.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Something has to be taught to you in baseball.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
And for me, I remember my father said to be
down in teaching me about the game, the rules, the strategy,
the history of the game, and for us, that's how
we bonded. But it was similar also with horse racing
as well with the racing form, so there's a there's
a teaching and learn aspect.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Yeah, I've found that baseball when I was young, and
more broadly sports even today is sort of the love
language that my father and I share. So it doesn't
it doesn't matter what's going on. If he wants to
start talking about how, you know, what the NCAA tournament
is doing, that means he wants to spend time with me.
You know. That's how I take it, which I think
is really special. Are you watching basketball at all? I
(25:23):
know the California teams fell out. The California teams fell out.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
My alma mater, Georgetown University, hasn't been in it for
a number of years, so it's hard for me to
watch with as much interest or concern because I don't
have any rooting interest in it anymore.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
All right, let me tie in what's going on with
basketball into what is going on in pop culture. Mo
Kelly from Later with mo Kelly joining us right now.
So so mouh, if you've been watching the new season
of White Lotus, a couple of the villains in that
in that show, at least I'm only three I'm only
three episodes in, so don't spoil it for me. But uh,
and I don't think this is a spoiler to say that.
(26:00):
The part of the character background is that they're Duke graduates,
and of course Duke is one of the favorites of
this year's NCAA tournament. And I guess the university is saying,
you know, you guys have taken this a little too far.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Well, they're using the Duke logo, and I think some
campus shots in the in the background, and Duke doesn't
historically doesn't want to be associated with any type of
popular media. I kind I can kind of understand that.
But like I said, I went to Georgetown. Georgetown wants
to backdrop for the Exorcists, and it's the famous Famous
Steps are right next to the university. You know, we
(26:37):
would go there every Halloween and take pictures, get drunk
and do stupid stuff. But the famous steps are there.
Georgetown is just very different from Duke in that regard.
You'll see Georgetown in just about every shot of DC
if you know what you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
That's fascinating. I had no idea. Listen, I've only I
saw the extras a long time ago, and I was
young enough that I was watching it with my hands
over my eyes and just sort of peeking through the
slits in my fingers. Real quick, Here one more question
for you, mo Kelly Later with mo Kelly starts tonight
at seven o'clock. Any concern when you take a look
(27:13):
at the box office numbers that are out right now?
I mean they are their slip sliding the way, man,
it is not great? Is it a quality issue?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Is?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Is it too many options? Why?
Speaker 6 (27:24):
Why aren't people going to the theater? It's a few
things very quickly, I know, timing short. Fewer movies are
being made for the theater. You can start there. Like
a movie like Electric State by the Russo Brothers cost
three hundred and twenty million to make, but it was
made for Netflix, not any movie theater. Movies which do
go to brick and mortar theaters don't stay as long.
They'll hit streaming inside of thirty days. They're more R
rated movies and horror movies being made. Why because they're
(27:46):
relatively inexpensive to make and they usually generate a huge
return of investment. But the flip side is that not
all movie theaters will show R rated or horror movies
because of regional or religious reasons. Reasons like a movie
like The Core Kid that was in theater six months
back in nineteen eighty four that will never happen again.
And the bigger movies which do make it to theaters
(28:06):
don't stay as long due to streaming, and they have
an undue burden to succeed to make up for all
the other reasons that movie theaters aren't succeeding.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
And you have movies like Disney which will go to
every theater.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
But they are being boycotted, or they're being protested, or
there's some sort of controversy. So those movies are underperforming.
And movie theaters need people to come in the those
doors seven days a week, not just Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
That's the short answer. Great, Great, And I will give
you more time to expand on that during your show
Later with Mo Kelly. I love you man, I love
talking to you. I wish you could have had more
time to hang out too. One of the great shows
on the radio is Later with Mo Kelly every day
starting at seven o'clock. Here, talk to you next time, Mo,
Thanks buddy. Until then, Gary and Shannon sitting into the
(28:50):
padded room. Great to talk with you. Back again tomorrow
morning The Bill Handle Show Chris Merrill and for Bill Okay.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
You've been listening to The Bill Handle Show, Catch my
show Monday through Friday a six am to nine am,
and any time on demand on the iHeartRadio app
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty. Thanks for spending some time with a Handle
show this morning. Back at it again tomorrow morning we
will talk you heard Amy discussing the new ask on
the high speed rail another seven billion dollars, but we
have to have it asap. Little sense of urgency on that.
(00:23):
You'll hear that tomorrow morning at about seven fifteen. Joining
us right now is host of kfi's How to Money
every Sunday at noon and a guy I listened to
while I am prepping my Sunday afternoon program, Joel Larsgar.
Joel always an auditor. Talk to you, my man. Thank
you so much for glad to be with you. Chris, Yeah, man,
thanks for carving time out. I appreciate that. Can we
(00:43):
talk about the big story first? As we talk about
our finances and how we're saving money. These auto tariffs
are going to have, I say, a ripple effect that's
going to hit not just the new car market, but
also the pre owned inventory is going to see a
bumping price as well as man for pre owned goes up.
I think more people are gonna hang onto their vehicles,
(01:03):
which means fewer cars entering the pre owned market. So
I think that's gonna happen. And some people are, I
think taking they're taking the wrong tact and they're thinking, oh,
I better buy a car now before the price goes up. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
No, you're you're spot on, and you're you're really what
you're you're getting at here is the cascading impacts, like
the second order effects of these tariffs, and so yeah,
it's really easy to spot the first order impact, which
is cars that get imported into the United States are
going to be more expensive, in particular new cars, right,
and so some models built one hundred percent in the
(01:40):
United States, like Tesla's, we likely won't see any meaningful
price increase, although once other cars start to go up
in price, Tesla might say, hey, we can raise our
prices too and garner a little more profit from this deal.
But yeah, you're right, the second order effects of these
terraffs are going to mean the cars across the board
go up in price, and car parts in all likelihood
(02:02):
will too. So I think it's really it's really important
for people to not say, oh, these tariffs are coming
in April. Third, I should buy a car by by
the end of the month a brand new car spend
tons of money, so I can save a few thousand
bucks because yeah, estimates are some of these models are
going to cost five, six, seven thousand dollars more once
the tariffs are in place. But the other question too, Chris,
(02:24):
as always, is will these terraffs actually be implemented or
is this more talk? And that's just another thing that
consumers have to grapple with.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Well, that is a really great point too. Is this
all the negotiating factor that's going to go away here
soon or not? Are we would It would stand a
reason that if parts are going up, that the price
of service on our vehicles is going to increase too.
If you've got the you know, a broken actuating blinker,
I don't know, then then you may see that that
price jump up a little bit more too when you
(02:52):
take it in to have your car repaired.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, and it's interesting the length of car ownership has
been growing in this country, which is something I like
to see. Like, I'm all about owning and maintaining older vehicles,
but I think when people you have to go in
and see the mechanic and there are repairs that they
have to do to their two thousand and nine Honda
or something like that, and they see like I was
(03:16):
literally just talking to a friend last night and he's like,
I got to get this my old Subaru running, and
I was like, what's it gonna cost? Like eight hundred bucks.
He's like, no, like fifteen hundred bucks. And there's this
there's this disconnect between what we think it should cost
and what inflation's actually done to the real cost of
repairing those cars. But I will say, when you think
about paying that fifteen hundred bucks, it's emotionally difficult, and
(03:39):
it's financially difficult, But what's more financially difficult for most
Americans is signing up for buying a new car. Signing
up for that car payment that on average is now
in the seven hundred and fifty dollars range. And even
to get a payment that low, lots of folks, you're
talking about at least a six year long car loan.
So that's Hey, that's two months of a car pay.
(04:00):
When you think about it like that, I might want
to keep the car that I've currently got on the road.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Plus it's saving me money in other ways.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I agree. Joel Larsgard, a host of KFI is how
to Money every Sunday at noon on KFI, So Joel.
When the price of a new car goes up and
then subsequently the price of the used are all the
things that we just talked about. Does that mean that
the insurance companies are going to start charging us more too,
because they obviously they've got more they'd have to cover.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Oh, I mean for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, when the price when the value of the car
is higher, and then your car is damaged and the
cost to repair that car. We've already seen it. Even
not aside from tariffs, we've seen it with electric vehicles.
And just when an electric vehicle is in an accident,
let's say the battery pack has to be replaced, We're
seeing insurance rates on electric vehicles go up across the
(04:47):
board because a cost to the cost to repair that
versus the cost to repair a traditional gas vehicle, where
you know, the main engine, let's say, isn't typically impacted
unless it's a really severe accident, but the engine of
the EV is, so you're gonna have to replace that battery,
which is incredibly expensive. And then talking about car insurance, man,
(05:08):
there's these fascinating stories coming out about vandalism to Tesla's,
not just dealerships, but to people individual owners of tesla's,
And there are a lot of predictions right now that
we're going to see specifically Tesla owners targeted with insurance
price hikes. BUM shouldn't even use the word targeted, because
it's not like it's a nefarious thing trying to harm
anybody who owns a Tesla. It's really just about, hey,
(05:31):
there's greater risk now because of some of the political
violence happening towards against Tesla owners. Even people who like
own Teslas, who say I don't really like what Elon
Muskin is doing, they still might be at risk of
having their car keyed or something like that, which could
lead to an insurance claim. So yeah, I think the
insurance companies it makes sense they might be raising those
insurance rates on Tesla owners.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, that sounds like no fun. In other words, we're
telling me, is everything's going to get more expensive? Yeah,
you kind of didn't sign up for that.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
And I think, actually, interestingly enough, I think a lot
of Trump voters didn't think they were signing up for this.
And so it's going to be interesting again to see
whether the tariffs come about or not. When you kind
of look at the overall trends where consumer confidences and
stuff like that, a lot of people are saying, Oh,
this isn't shaking out quite like I thought it was
going to. And I thought we I was voting for
(06:21):
lower prices. I thought I was voting, you know, to
see a president who is going to like boost the economy,
and tariffs have the opposite effect. I mean, this is
just a widely known economic reality that tariffs create higher
prices for consumers. And I think there are maybe occasionally
reasons geopolitically to impose a tariff.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
I'm not a political expert, but when you when you look.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
At like what comes down the pike and what's heading
down the pike, what's what's coming our way? As you know,
people who buy stuff in the United States of America,
it's going to be it's going to be higher prices
and specifically on vehicles. And then there are other cascading
effects to those tariffs too.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
So yeah, Joel, why is it then that if it's
widely accepted as a fact that tariffs drive up the
cost of goods, why why is the White House so
adamant that no, it's gonna have the opposite effect. It's
going to be really great and everything is going to
be better for us. It just feels like that flies
in the face of what ninety five percent of experts say.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yeah, and then that's a that's a really good question.
I don't know why they think they're early. I think
I think what the belief is is is that, hey,
if we make it more expensive to buy these cars
that are made that are made in other countries, then
what's going to happen is the US car industry is
(07:39):
gonna boom and we're gonna build more stuff here in
the United States of America.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
And so it's kind of this.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Belief that we are losers in terms of global trade
and that if we institute more tariffs, what's gonna happen
is it's gonna We're gonna see job boom. We're going
to see uh more factories open in the United States,
We're going to produce more goods and services here in
the country. And I think they might be right to
a certain extent on the fringes, but I think the
(08:05):
overall approach is completely incorrect and that we overall, as
America's we think about avocados from Mexico. Hey, guess what
if we if we right, if we tear if the
mess out of those avocados. It it doesn't mean like
the abundance of avocados that we currently have in this country.
It's just it's going to vanish like or we're going
to pay a lot more for them. And and yeah,
(08:26):
maybe some US producers are able to see they're able
to see greater profits and maybe compete with with those
Mexican producers, but overall it's a it's a lose lose
for consumers, and it's going to raise pricices, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Joel Larsguard, who loves.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
His avocados from Mexico, Joel.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
I happen to see that Congress is looking at capping
the amount of interest that credit cards can charge me,
and I believe there is already a cap, but it's
it's something like thirty percent or somebody of that sort.
But now there's proposals to cap credit card aprs at
something like ten percent, which as a consumer, that sounds
pretty good to me, But not everybody's on board.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Well, it's interesting, it's kind of bipartisan.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
There are people from both sides of the aisle that
have proposed different caps on credit cards what they're able
to charge consumers, Republicans and Democrats alike. And so this
is one of those things where there's kind of a
meeting of the minds and they're saying, and it's interesting.
There have been proposals over the years to say, oh,
it's cap credit card interest rates at eighteen percent. Actually,
let's make it fifteen percent, and so these different bills
(09:30):
have been floated, and the latest kind of mind meld
here is to say, let's cap credit card interest.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Rates at ten percent.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And it's funny that people in Washington tend to agree
on this because I disagree wholeheartedly with this attempt, because
it sounds so nice and it sounds so empathetic to say, hey,
we know you've got credit card debt. It's a big pain.
And credit card interestrates, as everyone knows, have gone up significantly.
We're talking about average credit card interest rates nearing twenty
two percent now for people, and that significant credit card debt.
(10:01):
That's one of those I mean, it could take you
decades if you're paying the minimum every single month to
pay that credit card off.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
And so I sympathize with that.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
But the problem is if you institute a ten percent
rate cap, I think there are significantly worse things coming
down the pike, Like there is no free lunch, and
why not five percent if we're going to do ten percent.
When you start messing with what credit card companies are
able to charge people in terms of interest rate, you
might actually let some subprime borrowers. And in fact, CNBC
(10:32):
said something like ninety five percent of subprime borrows wouldn't
have access to credit cards anymore. So they're basically barring
a huge segment of the population for me even using
credit cards at all. If something like this goes through,
and they might have to turn to even more nefarious
kinds of debt. Talk about second order effects of something
that sounds good on its surface but underneath could lead
(10:54):
to even worse outcomes for a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So you're talking about things like a payday loans or
something like that, that that's interesting.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Of people if the credit cards ripped out of their hands,
and you know, we might say, oh, credit cards, it's
it's not it's not great that people pay twenty two
percent interest. And that's something I talk about regularly on
the shows like only use credit cards if you can
pay them off on time and in full every single month.
And if you, you know, use them and you feel
like you can't do that and you need help. I
try to talk about that too, where to go to
get that help to pay off your credit card debt.
(11:25):
But I just I don't like the potential downstream effects
of having some sort of credit card rate cap because
I just think it's going to lead to people turning
to more nefarious places to get that money that they need.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Am I mistaken that there are rate camps already though,
something like thirty percent?
Speaker 3 (11:44):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
I don't believe.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
So.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I think the only rate caps on credit cards that
are that are in effect are for military service members.
So I believe there's like a thirty six percent cap
interest rate cap for people who served in the Armed forces,
But I don't think there's any interest rate cap for
credit card companies in general. And you know, the other
(12:06):
thing too, is there is competition. It might seem kind
of weird to say, but there is competition in the
credit card industry. And when you think about going one
of the things that credit card credit cards from credit
unions will tend to offer is significantly lower interest rates
on credit cards, or there are you know, balanced transfer
offers that often allow you to pay zero interest for
(12:29):
like fifteen or eighteen months, so it's not like you're always,
let's say, you know, stuck forever it paying twenty one
percent interest. Those interest rates they also move with what,
you know, what the FED is doing, what the Fed's
up to, and just interest rates in general. So you
might want to I think it's people want to point
the finger or politicians at least do at the credit
(12:50):
card companies and make it seem like they're incredibly greedy.
But a lot of people do really well under the
credit card system. There are kind of the haves and
the have nots. Some people earn a lot of rewards
and they don't ever pay a dime, to be said
in MasterCard or the banks that issue those cards, and
then other people man they lose out because they're not
handling credit cards well. And so I want to talk
about credit card hygiene, less about changing the way the
(13:12):
system is constructed, because I don't necessarily think it's out
to get anybody.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
See this is why we listen to how to Money
with Joel Larry's card every Sunday at noon on kfive. So,
what's your take on the consumer confidence report that came
out and it says a twelve year low, So Americans
are increasingly worried about the future of the US economy.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Yeah, I mean, I think so much depends how you
view the economy.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
For the most part.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
When you look even at some of the surveys of
how consumers felt based on their political allegiance, it's amazing
how it flip flopped the day that the right after
the election or right after the inauguration. So I think
sometimes people think about how the economy is doing through
a really political lens. I think everyone right now is
(14:02):
starting to feel that the basically like the reaction to
their own habits. I think we've gotten used to buy now,
pay later in this country. It's something I rail against.
It's it feels like it's everywhere you can now buy
a you know, by now, pay later a burger on
grub hub, which is just utterly ridiculous.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
So I think it's part partly habits.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And then I think we're also we're kind of reading
the writing on the wall with with tariffs and some
of the economic policy, and and I think there's just
a general sense of malaise in this country right now,
even though I think there is a lot to be hopeful.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
That's got that's gotta be part of it.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yeah, did you ever think you'd see a day that
you could take out a loan for a burrito?
Speaker 5 (14:42):
No?
Speaker 3 (14:43):
No, I didn't.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
And it kind of baffles me. But I think that
the more we offer products like that, like credit cards
started it right and it was like, oh, you don't
actually have to pay for the thing that you want
right now, And we've taken that to the nth degree
and it's just people up for failure and you forget
you know, what you're buying, and like, we're paying so
(15:05):
little attention to our financial futures because it's all about
the present, and I just think that makes us unhappy.
But it also it makes us poor too, which leads
to more unhappiness.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Right. Yeah, we're after that, Yeah, chasing that short term gratification.
Joel loved listening to you, man. Thank you so much
for your insight and your your wisdom on these things.
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Yeah, thanks for having me. Chris appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Yeah, of course. Yeah. Joel Larsgard, host of KFI, is
how to Money every Sunday at noon, find him and
follow him on the socials at how to Money, Joel
at how to Money Joel. All right, if you missed
what the President had to say about the latest on
this whole signal app including the journalist in the group
chat about bombing Yemen. Here is what the President said
(15:48):
when he was asked about is this a problems?
Speaker 5 (15:51):
A response to Republican lawmakers who have said today that
your administration should take.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
More accountability and not downplag what's happened with the with
the signal that we've seen these messages today? Could you
hear that? Okay? The reporter said, what's your response to
Republicans that are saying you need to take more accountability?
Speaker 5 (16:07):
Well, I don't know about downplaying the press. Uplays and
I think it's all a witch hunt.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
That's so. I think it's a witch hunt. I believe
that is the first witch hunt reference that we've had
to a new matter in the second administration. So mark
that one down.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
I wasn't involved with it. I wasn't there, but it
wasn't mean to tell you. The result is unbelievable because
the Jutis are looking to do something they want to know,
how do we stop?
Speaker 1 (16:33):
How do we stop? Can we have peace?
Speaker 5 (16:35):
The Jutis want peace because they're getting the hell knocked
out of them.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Do you still believe nothing classified was shared?
Speaker 5 (16:42):
Well, that's what I've heard.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
I don't know. I'm not sure.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
You have to ask the various people involved.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I really don't know. It wasn't me. I don't know.
Republicans have asked so that they would formally asked the
administration for an Inspectory general report on the signal issue.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Will you agree to that.
Speaker 5 (16:58):
It doesn't bother me?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You know it wasn't me. I don't know, doesn't bother me. Also,
let's remember he fired the inspector Generals want to.
Speaker 5 (17:08):
Find if there's any mistake or if a signal doesn't work.
It could be the signal is not very good, you know,
and it was the app's full company. Maybe it's not
very good. I think we'd rather know about it now. Well, yeah,
Mike Walls, I guess he said he claimed responsibility. I
would imagine had nothing to do with anyone else. It
was Mike, I guess. I don't know. I always thought
it was Mike.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I don't know. Joining us right now is Brad Garrett.
He's our ABC News crime and terrorism analyst in Washington,
and Brad a lot of denials and deflections in the
president's statement yesterday, and we did get the first witch
hunt reference of twenty twenty five. So all in all,
kind of an exciting meeting. What happens as far as
(17:50):
an investigation goes, Are we likely to see any sort
of an investigation into what happened with the signal app mishap?
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Well, I'd be surprised if you had an IG investigation,
which is really where this should start, and only because
the president appoints all the igs, so he fired all
of them, but the one that runs Justice IG. So
so we'll see. Obviously, Congress they've made rattles about holding
(18:18):
an investigation if they find anything that leans towards criminal behavior,
and I'm not suggesting that's the case, but if it did,
then the FBI would be involved. So, you know, will
anything happen based on what I just said, I'm skeptical,
but we'll see. But in a normal world, what would
(18:39):
happen is Congress probably would start, maybe all three would
start investigations, you know, and you'd have to prove, you know,
willful intent to do this that's probably not there. You know,
is this like unbelievable incompetence and you know, national security, sure,
it's all of that, but you know, I think the
(19:02):
bigger picture is when you downplay this kind of behavior,
it doesn't bode well with other people having ideas about
doing something like this. And more importantly, Chris, is that
obviously this could have been catastrophic if somebody would have
picked this up, you know, name somebody Iran, China or
(19:25):
Russia and who. And the hoodies knew in advance that
they were coming. They could go into countermeasures. They could
do a pre emptive strike on aircraft carriers or other things,
you know, within their limitations that could have harmed US personnel.
And you know that's what you're that's the potential. You
(19:47):
know that didn't happen apparently, But the idea that people
would do this is that are in the positions they're in.
I mean, it tells you a lot about A. Do
they really know what they're doing? And B it's just
a total lack of awareness that you would do something
(20:07):
like this. And I know they keeps saying it's not classified,
but I will tell you anything that talks about the
US bombing some other country and the time before the
actual attack and why it's going on. That's always classified
for the obvious reasons, So you know, that doesn't really fly.
(20:29):
But that seems to be the position.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Brag Garrett is our ABC News Crime and Terrorism analyst.
Is there is there concern that the Signal app has
been used elsewhere? Maybe it's not just a DoD issue.
Maybe the Signal app is being used in other departments
that may have sensitive information. Oh.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
I think there's probably no doubt that it probably has.
I don't know that, but it's a pretty popular app
because people believe, okay, it's encrypted. Yeah, well it's encrypted
in the commercial consumer world, which doesn't hold a candle
to what encryption might mean at NSA or CIA or
fill in the blank. And I think NSA and maybe
(21:14):
even DD has previously said they shouldn't be using Signal
because for the obvious compromise of some state actor in
breaking into it. My guess is somebody has broken into it.
I don't know that, but it's there's just a vulnerability there.
And you know, I get why they used it because
it's convenient, right, you don't have to go to a
(21:35):
secure facility. You don't have to get into a skiff,
which is basically a big bubble you get into to
block all signals. But that's really no excuse, Brad.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Finally, if we were to see an investigation into this,
and as you mentioned that, the president could order the
investigation if we find out that there's concerns about whether
something criminal had happened, And again there's no indication that
that might be the case. But who knows what could
be uncovered in an investigation. Is there concerns about the
credibility of any sort of investigation You know, you'd be having,
(22:11):
you'd be having an investigator who would be looking into
some of the some of their own bosses. In this case,
Cash Ptel would be looking into Pete Hegsith. How much
how much independence is there with those investigators now, especially
since those lines seem to have been blurred during this administration.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Oh well, I think it's a big problem because they
may investigate and find X that you may never hear
about X. If it's if it's adversarial. I mean, that's
the whole idea of as you well know, of having
the separations of Yes, there are rules and regulations and
there's chain of command and the president, yes, as the president,
(22:49):
but people to make independent decisions, like historically the Attorney
general has had independence to go after and investigate where
he sees the you know, the facts and the evidence
leading him are her and so I don't think you
have that right now. So you know, I have concerns
(23:10):
even if they started, it wouldn't actually see the light
of day.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Yeah. I think those are the concerns we're all asking
right now. Brad Garrett, ABC News Crime and Terrorism analyst
in Washington. Brat, it's always great to talk to you.
Thank you so much for your insight and intellect on
this one. Very good welcome, Thank you, my friend. And
it is time for world champion to Dodger Baseball. The
Dodgers take on the Tigers for Opening Day Dodger Stadium,
uh this afternoon, first pitch at four ten. Listen to
(23:35):
every game on the iHeartRadio WAP Keyword AM five to
seventy LA Sports. The New Hollywood Pantagious season is a
home run get a seven show package at Broadway in
Hollywood dot Com. Joining me right now is host and
Later with Moe Kelly, one of my favorite shows on
the radio, mister mo Kelly. Uh, it's always better with
your when you're here. Hey, are you before the before
(23:57):
you go on the air, the game is gonna be on.
Are you going to watch this while you're getting for
your show? Oh? Absolutely, had a boy, had a boy.
Speaker 5 (24:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
I'm assuming you're gonna be giving scoring updates or at
least a brief recap when the show gets going.
Speaker 6 (24:10):
We're going to start off the show tonight talking about
the season opening game. I've been a Dodger fan since
I was maybe six or seven years old. My father
would take me to Dodger Stadium ah see, and I
love this.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Is there something about baseball because I have a similar experience.
Is there something about baseball that is sort of sort
of an easy male bonding experience between a young a
young man and his father.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
There's a there's an explanation arc, I would say, because
you just don't grow up and just learn baseball.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Something has to be taught to you in baseball.
Speaker 6 (24:44):
And for me, I remember my father said to be
down in teaching me about the game, the rules, the strategy,
the history of the game, and for us, that's how
we bonded. But it was similar also with horse racing
as well with the racing form, so there's a there's
a teaching and learn aspect.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
Yeah, I've found that baseball when I was young, and
more broadly sports even today is sort of the love
language that my father and I share. So it doesn't
it doesn't matter what's going on. If he wants to
start talking about how, you know, what the NCAA tournament
is doing, that means he wants to spend time with me.
You know. That's how I take it, which I think
is really special. Are you watching basketball at all? I
(25:23):
know the California teams fell out. The California teams fell out.
Speaker 6 (25:27):
My alma mater, Georgetown University, hasn't been in it for
a number of years, so it's hard for me to
watch with as much interest or concern because I don't
have any rooting interest in it anymore.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
All right, let me tie in what's going on with
basketball into what is going on in pop culture. Mo
Kelly from Later with mo Kelly joining us right now.
So so mouh, if you've been watching the new season
of White Lotus, a couple of the villains in that
in that show, at least I'm only three I'm only
three episodes in, so don't spoil it for me. But uh,
and I don't think this is a spoiler to say that.
(26:00):
The part of the character background is that they're Duke graduates,
and of course Duke is one of the favorites of
this year's NCAA tournament. And I guess the university is saying,
you know, you guys have taken this a little too far.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
Well, they're using the Duke logo, and I think some
campus shots in the in the background, and Duke doesn't
historically doesn't want to be associated with any type of
popular media. I kind I can kind of understand that.
But like I said, I went to Georgetown. Georgetown wants
to backdrop for the Exorcists, and it's the famous Famous
Steps are right next to the university. You know, we
(26:37):
would go there every Halloween and take pictures, get drunk
and do stupid stuff. But the famous steps are there.
Georgetown is just very different from Duke in that regard.
You'll see Georgetown in just about every shot of DC
if you know what you're looking at.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
That's fascinating. I had no idea. Listen, I've only I
saw the extras a long time ago, and I was
young enough that I was watching it with my hands
over my eyes and just sort of peeking through the
slits in my fingers. Real quick, Here one more question
for you, mo Kelly Later with mo Kelly starts tonight
at seven o'clock. Any concern when you take a look
(27:13):
at the box office numbers that are out right now?
I mean they are their slip sliding the way, man,
it is not great? Is it a quality issue?
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Is?
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Is it too many options? Why?
Speaker 6 (27:24):
Why aren't people going to the theater? It's a few
things very quickly, I know, timing short. Fewer movies are
being made for the theater. You can start there. Like
a movie like Electric State by the Russo Brothers cost
three hundred and twenty million to make, but it was
made for Netflix, not any movie theater. Movies which do
go to brick and mortar theaters don't stay as long.
They'll hit streaming inside of thirty days. They're more R
rated movies and horror movies being made. Why because they're
(27:46):
relatively inexpensive to make and they usually generate a huge
return of investment. But the flip side is that not
all movie theaters will show R rated or horror movies
because of regional or religious reasons. Reasons like a movie
like The Core Kid that was in theater six months
back in nineteen eighty four that will never happen again.
And the bigger movies which do make it to theaters
(28:06):
don't stay as long due to streaming, and they have
an undue burden to succeed to make up for all
the other reasons that movie theaters aren't succeeding.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
And you have movies like Disney which will go to
every theater.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
But they are being boycotted, or they're being protested, or
there's some sort of controversy. So those movies are underperforming.
And movie theaters need people to come in the those
doors seven days a week, not just Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
That's the short answer. Great, Great, And I will give
you more time to expand on that during your show
Later with Mo Kelly. I love you man, I love
talking to you. I wish you could have had more
time to hang out too. One of the great shows
on the radio is Later with Mo Kelly every day
starting at seven o'clock. Here, talk to you next time, Mo,
Thanks buddy. Until then, Gary and Shannon sitting into the
(28:50):
padded room. Great to talk with you. Back again tomorrow
morning The Bill Handle Show Chris Merrill and for Bill Okay.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
You've been listening to The Bill Handle Show, Catch my
show Monday through Friday a six am to nine am,
and any time on demand on the iHeartRadio app
The Bill Handel Show News
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