From Tragic Crimes to Aging Celebrities: This Week's Headlines Unpacked

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Headlines can tell us a lot about our society's values, and today's news stories paint a disturbing picture. From a shocking criminal case that challenges our sense of humanity to questions about how we honor military history, this episode explores the stories making waves this week.

Our lead story covers a truly disturbing crime – a Department of Justice employee now facing capital murder charges in Texas after allegedly spiking his pregnant girlfriend's coffee with abortion-inducing medication against her will. The horrifying details reveal how the woman, who had just seen her baby's strong heartbeat on a sonogram earlier that day, lost her pregnancy after meeting the suspect at a coffee shop. This case not only highlights issues of reproductive rights but also raises profound questions about bodily autonomy and the extreme measures some will take to control others.

We also dive into President Trump's decision to restore Confederate-linked names to seven Army installations with a significant twist – while the original base names are returning, they'll now honor different military heroes with similar surnames who served America honorably. For instance, Fort Hood will commemorate a WWI Distinguished Service Cross recipient rather than its Confederate namesake. This nuanced approach attempts to balance military tradition with acknowledgment of our complex national history.

The episode concludes with a candid discussion about aging celebrities and their puzzling choices to post revealing photos well into their sixties. When Elizabeth Hurley celebrates turning 60 with nearly-naked Instagram posts while announcing her relationship with Billy Ray Cyrus, we have to ask: what drives this behavior? Is there a way to age with grace and wisdom rather than desperately clinging to youth culture standards? Share your thoughts and your answer to our question of the day: What's the funniest insult you've ever used or heard?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, I think this week's gone by pretty fast.
It's Wednesday already.
I thought it was thinking itwas Tuesday, but it's Wednesday.
That's good.
Um, all right, I really don'thave anything too exciting for
you today.
I have three stories here.
I'll start with the worst andwe'll go then.
We'll go to the mostlighthearted one.
This one is a DOJ Department ofJustice employee charged with

(00:25):
capital murder after spikingpregnant girlfriend's coffee
with abortion pills.
Oh, my goodness, okay.
So here we go.
Employee secretly spiked hispregnant girlfriend's drink with
an abortion drug to induce amiscarriage without her
knowledge.
According to cops, justinAnthony Banta is his name.

(00:46):
He's 38 years old, who works inthe IT department of the
Department of Justice, ischarged with capital murder in
Parker County, texas, forallegedly putting Plan C
abortion drugs in his pregnantgirlfriend's coffee.
The couple found out about thepregnancy in September of 2024,
with the unidentified womanrefusing I'm sorry, refusing the

(01:09):
DOG.
She refused the Department ofJustice employee's offer to
terminate the pregnancy withPlan C pills he would purchase
online.
Banta's girlfriend was happilysix weeks pregnant when she had
a sonogram on October 17th thatrevealed a strong heartbeat and
a good vital signs.

(01:29):
Later that same day she metwith IT specialists at a coffee
shop, quickly suspecting thatBanta had spiked her drink with
the Plan C abortion-inducingpills without her consent.
How did she know that and,first of all, why would she?
If she has any kind ofsuspicion about this guy, why

(01:53):
would she go meet him for coffee?
Why would she suspect he so?
Unless it happened, unless yoususpect it all afterwards, I
don't know.
The following day, the womanwent to the emergency room with
extreme bleeding and lost thepregnancy.
Later, reporting the incidentto police, banta was interviewed

(02:26):
by the PCSO, preventing themfrom gathering crucial evidence.
Well, there you go.
I don't know, let's see, let'ssee.
Did it say what kind ofpunishment he's going to see?
It was not clear what sort ofpunishment banta faces on the
capital murder charges.

(02:46):
However, capital murder is theonly death penalty eligible
charge in Texas.
Well, they need to find himguilty first before they do
anything.
All right, next up we're goingto talk about Trump orders.
Return to old Confederatelinked names for seven army
sites.
Good, good, let's changeeverything back.
Can we bring the statues backto, please, for our history
preservation.
Old Confederate-linked namesfor seven Army sites Good, good,
let's change everything back.
Can we bring the statues backtoo, please, for our history

(03:08):
preservation.
So this is fromMilitaryTimescom, actually not
the New York Post.
President Donald Trump onTuesday announced plans to
revert the designations of sevenArmy installations previously
named for Confederate fighters,nations of seven army
installations previously namedfor Confederate fighters, but
service officials emphasize thenamesakes will now honor
different military individuals.

(03:29):
Okay, well, let's go throughthem, shall we Real quick?
Fort Pickett in Virginia,briefly renamed Fort Barefoot,
oh lord will now honorDistinguished Service Cross
Recipients, first LieutenantVernon W Pickett, who served
during World War II.
So now, okay, fort Pickett,there you go.
Fort Hood in Texas, brieflyrenamed Fort Cavazos, will now

(03:58):
honor Distinguished ServiceCross Recipient, colonel Robert
B Hood, who served during WorldWar I.
Fort Gordon in Georgia, brieflyrenamed Fort Eisenhower, will
now commemorate Medal of Honorrecipient Master Sergeant Gary I
Gordon, recognized for valorduring the Battle of Mogadishu.

(04:21):
Fort Lee in Virginia, brieflyrenamed greg adams, will now
commemorate medal of honorrecipient private fitz lee, who
served during thespanish-american war.
We have three more to gothrough fort port.
Fort polk in louisiana,previously renamed fort johnson,
will now honor silver starrecipient general james h Polk,

(04:45):
who served in World War II.
Fort Rucker in Alabama, brieflyrenamed Fort Novosel, and I
promise you, nobody called it.
That will now honorDistinguished Service Cross
recipient Captain Edward WRucker, who served during World
War I.
Who served during World War I,and Fort Anderson, Penn Hill in
Virginia, formerly known as FortAP Hill and Fort Walker, will

(05:10):
now commemorate Medal of Honorrecipients Lieutenant Colonel
Edward Hill, first SergeantRobert A Penn and Private Bruce
Anderson, all of whom served inthe Civil War.
Okay, we have to have threenames for one army installation.
Okay, trump resisted calls tochange the base names away from

(05:32):
Confederate fighters during hisfirst term in office, arguing
that the emotional and communitylinks to the names made them
sacred in the eyes of servicemembers.
Well, all right.
There's that, all right.
My last thing is what is thedeal with women in their sixties
trying to strip naked and besexy?
Megan Kelly had a good spot onher show yesterday about this.

(05:56):
She was talking about JLo, whowho is?
It was somewhere showing offher vag, her side pubes or
whatever.
Sorry fellas, I know I'mgetting a little graphic.
I don't know what picture shewas talking about.
I don't know what event she wastalking about, but I believe it

(06:17):
was probably something else.
That's for sure, because shealso talked about another star.
I forget who it was Me, I don'tknow if it was Rhiannon, no,
some other person I don't knowWas at the Met Gala thing and
she was also showing off her vagin these skimpy outfits.

(06:38):
And Megan kind of related it toSensory from Kanye West's wife,
sensory, who walks aroundpractically naked all the time
and she's claiming now that allthese women in their 60s have
decided to.
Heidi Klum is doing it.
All these women who are 50, 60or you know, are deciding.

(07:00):
You know, look, I still need tobe looked at upon like a sex
pot.
So here's, look at me.
I'm half, I'm half naked.
What is nobody wants to seethat, nobody.
Well, maybe some do, but notreally.
All right, so here we go withthis story elizabeth hurley, who
I don't know if you've known ornot who's decided to hook up

(07:21):
with Billy Ray Cyrus such aweird combo.
Elizabeth Hurley strips downfor 60th birthday, celebrates
being in love with Billy RayCyrus.
What has happened to ElizabethHurley?
The Austin Power star shared aphoto in her birthday suit on
Instagram Tuesday whilereflecting on her career.

(07:41):
I need to send this to MegynKelly.
What?
I'm sorry, but these women okay, these women who strip like
this who they get with the mostnastiest, most filthiest looking
scoundrels out there.
Billy Ray Cyrus looks gross anddisgusting, so does Sean Diddy,

(08:03):
so does Kanye West.
They all look icky, if you knowwhat I'm saying.
They look nasty like they'redirty all the time.
Gross, gross, that is.
No, they are not attractive atall, not even a little bit.
So what is the deal with thesewomen doing this?
Are they falling under somekind of spell?
I don't know.

(08:23):
It's disgusting.
So there's that story out there,all these women in their 60s
are deciding that you know, I'mgoing to wear skimpy outfits,
practically just stripped nakedfor the camera.
And look at me, look at me.
I hope that I am able to agegracefully.
In fact, I think I'm going tomake it a goal, a purpose.

(08:49):
And what is the word I'mlooking for?
Purposeful?
I'm not sure what the word I'mlooking for is An on-purpose
effort to age gracefully,meaning I'm going to conscious
effort.
Maybe is what I'm thinking.
I don't know.
You know what I'm trying to say, um, about aging gracefully and

(09:13):
maybe hopefully passing on somewisdom to the youth coming up,
I don't know, as gracefully as ahillbilly can.
Grace, can, can, can do.
Anyway, all right, we need tomove on to the question of the
day.
This is going to be hilarious,I think I hope, because by the
time you guys listen to thepodcast and you retweet it with

(09:34):
your quotes and your, your outof context quotes and and you,
when you answer the question ofthe day, I usually forget what,
what um question I put out there.
So this is going to behilarious.
What is the funniest insult youcan come up with or that you've

(09:54):
used before in the past?
So when I see these retweetsout there, you have these funny
insults I'm going to be likewhat the hell did I do?
It's going to be hilariousbecause I'm going to forget,
probably about the question ofthe day.
All right, I've got to go.
Thanks for listening.
I hope you have a great day.
Love y'all.
Bye.