Trump and Putin Talk About Ending The Ukraine War

Jimmy Barrett takes you through the stories that matter the most on the morning of 02/13/25.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is HUS Radio seven forty kt RH Houston.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Live Everywhere with fire Now.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
The latest news, weather and traffic.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
It's more of what matters to you from the John
Morris Services Studios.

Speaker 4 (00:17):
Good morning, It's Thursday. It's five am. Here in Houston's
Morning News. I'm Jimmy Barrett bong Our top stories as
we get started this morning, Trump and Putin talk about
ending the Ukraine War, bore Democrats and their drama over Doge,
and coming up at five oh eight, who's the most
concerned about the high cost of this Valentine's Day? Details

(00:38):
in the minutes ahead. You're in Houston's Morning News.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Good children, children.

Speaker 5 (00:41):
First, let's check out with skymye.

Speaker 6 (00:43):
Let's go to the East tex Threeway northbound at Cavalcade.
It's Rod Debrie.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
What is it?

Speaker 6 (00:47):
I don't know, some kind of stuff. They were in
the right lane. I want you to watch out not
only for whatever that junk is in the road, but
also watch out for other stations and listeners. They tend
to swerve at the last moment. This is north bound
East Tex at caval Gate. Inbound you rock twenty minutes
from Mumble. I'm Skymike, will have ship Channel bridges at
five to ten and the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:09):
From r KTRH top tax defenders twenty four hour Weather
Center partly to most of the cloudy, wendy cold high
today right about fifty will get you the very last
on the forecast, Terry Smith is that the Weather Channel
will talk to her in nine minutes right now forty
four at your official severe weather station, News Radio seven
forty k TRH.

Speaker 5 (01:28):
It's time now for the news. Here's Cliff Saunders.

Speaker 7 (01:30):
Thank you, Jimmy, and good morning everybody. Five oh one
on KTRH, our top story. It may not have been
day one, but there is light at the end of
the tunnel in the nearly three year old war between
Russia and Ukraine.

Speaker 8 (01:42):
I think we're on the way to getting peace.

Speaker 9 (01:44):
I think President Putin wants peace and President Zelenski wants peace.

Speaker 7 (01:50):
In fact, President Trump says he will meet with Putin
in the quote not too distant future, and as promised,
another American, this one unidentified, freed from captivity, part of
a group released by Belarus, and this just breaking Hamas
backs down to Trump announcing moments ago it will go
back to releasing hostages salaging the seagfire deal after Trump's

(02:12):
threat of all help breaking loose.

Speaker 6 (02:14):
On Saturday, five vot.

Speaker 7 (02:16):
Two on KTRH in DC, another Trump Cabinet member.

Speaker 6 (02:20):
Is confirmed Yaser fifty two. Laser forty eight nomination is confirmed.

Speaker 7 (02:24):
So Telsea Gabbard is now your Director of National Intelligence.
Mitch McConnell the only Republican to vote against her. A
full vote on RFK Junior to be HHS Secretary is
set for ten o'clock Houston time, and yet another Trump
win as a federal judge lifts a block on the
President's federal buyout program. Advisor Elena hobbititelling Fox News, this

(02:47):
is just common sense.

Speaker 10 (02:48):
You need to come to work if you're paid by
the American people, and if you're a federal employee, I
show up to work every day, and if you choose
not to do so, that's your prerogative. Guess what, We'll
even give you up until October's pay.

Speaker 11 (03:01):
No problem, but you gotta go.

Speaker 7 (03:03):
US District Judge George O'Toole, a Clinton appoint, ruling that
the plaintiffs were not quote directly impacted by the program.
And that comes as Democrats continued to melt down over
Doze and Elon Musk in.

Speaker 12 (03:17):
The last Congress Hirwoman Green literally showed a pick in
our oversight congressional hearing, so I thought I'd bring one
as well. This, of course we know, is President Elon Musk.

Speaker 7 (03:30):
That's California Democrat Robert Garcia grand standing yesterday. The history
onics just more proved that the left is not tired
of losing.

Speaker 13 (03:39):
Democrats are seething over Trump's moves and doubling down on
their own insanity.

Speaker 14 (03:43):
The only reason Democrats have been able to achieve so
much power in this country is they've figured out a
way to have the taxpayer fund all their activism.

Speaker 13 (03:51):
Regio host and author Jesse Kelly says Trump will expose
more Democrat related corruption.

Speaker 14 (03:56):
The US eight is just the tip the pentagon. The
things they're going to find, the waste, the fraud, the abuse,
the flat out and naked corruption is going to stagger people.

Speaker 13 (04:06):
All while Trump's popularity sores and Dems can't keep up.
Jared Lewis snows Radio seven forty KR eight.

Speaker 7 (04:12):
It's now five to zero four. Oil futures are ticking
down this morning, reacting to the potential piece between Russia
and Ukraine looking right now there at seventy dollars and
thirty three cents a bottle. Now, the President has promised
to tap into our own liquid gold, right, but apparently
it's not entirely up to him. Tim Stewart with the
US Oil and Gas Association says the industry still needs

(04:35):
to bounce back from the Biden years before they can
do any more drilling.

Speaker 15 (04:40):
It'll take a while, but it's got to start at
some point. And sometimes we've got companies from now taking
a second look at some of those federal lands saying
we may be able to go back in.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Now.

Speaker 15 (04:48):
They're putting pressure on us to increase production of another
three million barrels, and the issue is where do we
find those three million barrels?

Speaker 6 (04:54):
He says.

Speaker 7 (04:54):
Companies want to make sure that Trump's policies are set,
and they also want to make sure that shareholders will
make a profit. Houston based Chevron cutting up to twenty
percent of its global workforce by next year. The company
says the layoffs are needed to cut costs and improve
long term competitiveness. Five h five, the final inflation numbers

(05:15):
of the Biden era came in worse than expected. Price
is rising point five percent last month, and the headline
year over year number now at three percent. Despite that,
Federal Reserve Chairman JR. Own Pal try to tell the
House Financial Services Committee, the Biden administration had things on
the right track.

Speaker 16 (05:34):
We've made great progress toward two percent. Last year inflation
was two point six percent, so great progress, but we're
not quite there yet.

Speaker 6 (05:42):
Yeah, he's stating the obvious right there.

Speaker 7 (05:44):
As for the Texas economy, we've been told that it's
nearly indestructible, but as it turns out, we could be
headed down a dangerous path with our budget.

Speaker 17 (05:54):
Texas is slowly developing a major property tax and spending problem.

Speaker 18 (05:58):
These are certainly things that need to be addressed this
session in Texas because if not, Texas will.

Speaker 8 (06:03):
Continue to run up more spending and higher taxes.

Speaker 17 (06:06):
Economist Van Skin says this spending problem is taking the
form of massive corporate handout programs.

Speaker 19 (06:11):
As far as corporate welfare goes, there's a number of
dollars like five hundred million dollars that would go to
creating movies in Texas, which shouldn't be a role for government.

Speaker 17 (06:20):
Ginn says that this cycle of overtaxing and overspending could
snowball and wind up wrecking the Texas economy. Ethan Buchanan,
News Radio seven forty KATR.

Speaker 6 (06:28):
It's now five oh six.

Speaker 7 (06:30):
So much for the hope that Alex Bregman would re
sign with the Astros. According to reports, he's agreed to
terms on a three year deal with the Red Sox
where one hundred and twenty million dollars, a deal that
has opt outs after twenty twenty five and twenty twenty six.
Pitchers and catchers report to Astros spring training today and
manager Joe Aspada has some more to do with the lineup,

(06:51):
which is now without Bregman and Kyle Tucker.

Speaker 20 (06:53):
I'm excited about the players that we have that we're
going to bring to camp. We're preparing our team to win,
and we are hitting some guys ready to play multiple positions,
just to create some flexibility in our club.

Speaker 7 (07:04):
That includes taking a look at Jose Altuve in left field.
By the way, the first full team workout is next Tuesday.
I'm Cliff Saunders on Houston's news weather in Traffic station
News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
You like free stuff. We all like free stuff.

Speaker 3 (07:20):
Guess one our iHeartRadio app is free and free never
sounded so good.

Speaker 4 (07:28):
Oh, I know what tomorrow is, right, Yep, It's Valentine's
Day tomorrow. Are you a conscientious objector or are you
a participant? I think we're just gonna do a question
of the day on this one. You can go to
the iHeartRadio app. You set us KTRH in your preset
button so you can get to us quickly. You got
thirty seconds to talk, bunch. Hit the microphone and give

(07:51):
me your first name. Where you're calling from. Are you
participating at Valentine's Day? What's your go to Valentine's Day gift?
How much you're willing to spend on Valentine's Day, et cetera.
I'm just curious because, as it turns out, the generations
that are probably listening to the show right now, which
would be the boomers and the gen xers, are budgeting

(08:13):
the least amount of money for Valentine's Day. We have
a tendency to spend somewhere between fifty three and ninety
five dollars. Millennials twenty eight to forty four plan to
spend about one hundred and ten dollars for Valentine's Day.
The ones that are spending the most are the gen
z ers, which is, you know, that's the younger crowd.

(08:35):
You'd expect that, especially those that are single and maybe
you're having a first Valentine's Day with somebody. What I'd
be interested in, too, especially is your go to Valentine's
Date gift. Here're the ones that we're told are the worst,
the best, and the worst. Valentine's gift, the day gifts,
the worst ones, anything clearly regifted, you can tell it

(08:56):
belong to somebody else. No gifts due to forgetting Valunceentine's Day. No,
it was nothing, nothing at all, not even a happy
Valentine's Day gag gifts generic gifts which would bother eight
percent of the surveyed participants. And gifts without any monetary
or sentimental value, although it is nice to see that

(09:17):
on the best list. Number one is a sentimental gift
like a handmade card, a personal experience. What is it
that the personal experience thing? Thirty eight percent, so they'd
rather receive that for Valentine's Day. Classic Valentine's Day gifts
including chocolates and flowers, twenty two percent say they would
prefer that. Although chocolate is a twenty percent compared to
last year, and flowers are more expensive too, nobody cares

(09:39):
that bunch about a practical gift. Luxury gifts like jewelry
or clothing came in next and then, believe it or not,
fourteen percent, so they didn't care if they got a
gift at all. Maybe just a huggedy kiss would do
five to ten time for traffic and whether trash lingerie,
I know that, no, no, no trashy laundry.

Speaker 6 (09:58):
Get her a pair of chaps, unless she it's actually
a cowgirl.

Speaker 5 (10:01):
What sounds like that's a lesson learned by hard ladies.

Speaker 6 (10:05):
Terry. You can open your ears now, thank you. All right,
let's put on our hard hats, just the normal ones,
not the rubber wods. We'll go to the Fred Hartman
Bridge and check out your ship channel bridges. That makes sense, Mike.
We're looking at from the Baytown side to the Laporte side,
and hope we look nice. So far, nothing to do

(10:25):
so far. Let's skip a little further over. There's the
toll bridge. One of these days we're going to have
two of them. We'll be old by then. But from
I ten to twenty five. We rock six ten the
Sherman Bridge rock on. Hey, how you doing? I see
Valero over there from the bud plant down to twenty
five the Goodyear Plant wearing great shape so far, and
the rest of our freewaist rock. I'm Skywick as your

(10:46):
generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center brobo.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
R kat R H TOMP Tax Defenders twenty four hour
with usenter Terry Smith us here. I assume you probably
don't want anything made out of rubber for Valentine's Day?

Speaker 21 (10:57):
Right, that would be correct?

Speaker 4 (10:59):
All right, O'll cross set off those no rubber, thank you.

Speaker 21 (11:02):
And I have a question for sky Mike. Do the
hard hats come with ear flaps?

Speaker 5 (11:07):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (11:07):
Well the ear protection, yes, right, and this morning it
wouldn't hurt, wouldn't hurt? Well, that's what I'm thinking.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
Walk on.

Speaker 21 (11:15):
Okay, hey everybody, We're finally back to some dry weather.

Speaker 5 (11:19):
But it's a bundle up kind of day.

Speaker 21 (11:23):
It's been a while, but it is going to be
a chilly day today, and we got more cold weather
later in the week as well, so we're dry. We'll
turn up partly cloudy today, load to mid fifties for
hides this afternoon. That's about ten fifteen degrees colder than
we would normally be right now. We got some rain
coming back tomorrow, a forty percent chance of some showers.

(11:45):
Temperature is still on the cooler side, mid fifties to
low sixties tomorrow, warming up ahead of the cold front Saturday.
That front's going to bring us a sixty percent chance
of showers and some storm Saturday. Heiser in the seventies,
But say so long seven because Sunday the cold air
is back. We're sunny and dry, and load a bit
fifties on Sunday.

Speaker 4 (12:05):
Right down forty four at your official severe weather station,
News Radio seven forty KTRH. Maybe a box of chocolate,
maybe flowers. Went to throw some flowers in there. Hey,
listen question of today KTRH the iHeart Radio app. Put
us on your preset. There you get thirty seconds. First name,
where you're calling from your go to for Valentine's Day?

(12:29):
Do you do you celebrate Valentine's Day? You do a car?
Do you do candy? Do you flowers? Do you do dinner?
What has been the most effective Valentine's Day gift you've
ever getten? Come on, you can help a bunch of
guys out today. By the way, I didn't notice that
is Kroger put out their tent of desperation yet you
know the tenth they put out the parking lot just
sell candy and flowers that.

Speaker 5 (12:50):
You know, you could just pull up iety flowers and.

Speaker 4 (12:53):
They hand you you know, you hand them the credit
card and they hand you some flowers and you m
you can take off.

Speaker 5 (12:59):
I haven't seen that up yet.

Speaker 4 (13:01):
I wonder if they're still doing that five twenty time
for traffic and whether it's just.

Speaker 6 (13:04):
Beeve jerkey and some flaming hot Cheetahs where you love.

Speaker 4 (13:07):
Wow, nothing says love like flaming hot cheetos guy much,
especially after a couple of hours.

Speaker 6 (13:12):
Yeah, that's you know, that gets you in trouble there.
Let's go to uh, let's go to the north side.
I have forty five North. It's mark from Spring.

Speaker 22 (13:20):
Dude Gon overpassed just before Parker Police motorcycle with a
vehicle pulled over on the right side on.

Speaker 6 (13:28):
That's inbound all right, he's going to go to traffic
court at seventy five hundred. Shepherd, Jimmy. It's a nice one.
It's got good facilities. Good parking. Jack from Connecticut is
listening to us on the free iHeartRadio app. He really
misses Houston traffic.

Speaker 15 (13:40):
When you have spend almost four hundred dollars hun nice
hotel night take dinner.

Speaker 6 (13:44):
And this is and he's single again. This is an
old story. See and he could actually get a date
now Skymike on the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (13:52):
Yeah, but he's got to go with the steak dinner.
That's if you cost. Tim Moore, Yeah, it does. From
our KTRH top tax defenders twenty four hour weather Center
four today partly to mostly cloudy, windy, cold right about
fifty morning shower chance and then becoming mostly clouding tomorrow
with the high temperature fifty four right now, currently it
is forty four at your official severe weather station, News

(14:14):
Radio seven forty KTRH. Time to get caught up on
some of our top trending stories here on this Thursday morning.

Speaker 5 (14:20):
Here's Cliff.

Speaker 6 (14:21):
Can we just go with it's cold? I think that's
all we need right now.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (14:24):
Cold Deadline's brought to you by DNM Auto Leasing. Five
members of the Violent Venezuela and gang Trendya Ragua have
been arrested in Houston this week. Incoming Education Department Secretary
Linda McMahon has a confirmation hearing this morning in the
Senate and the Ford A half one fifty for the
first time in almost fifty years, is not America's top

(14:46):
selling vehicle, the Toyota Rev four is. Get the latest
news anytime at KTRH dot com. Our next update is
at five thirty.

Speaker 3 (14:55):
From start to finish, We'll be okay here twenty twenty five,
here right here on news Radio seven k t RH.
All right, we got the consumer price index numbers for January.
Biden inflation was up three percent in January from one

(15:16):
year ago. According to the Labor Department, core inflation up
three point three percent over the last twelve months. That
was above expectations, not about my expectations, but evidently above
the government's expectations. Although it didn't take long for Chuck
Schumer to call it Trump trump flation. He blamed it

(15:36):
on Trump. Trump wasn't even an office on January first,
you know, he wasn't in office until the middle of
the month. And these are lagging numbers, so it's it's
more like it's more accurate to say these are numbers
from you know, Christmas time, the first few weeks of January.
I mean, what you expected inflation to stop, after all

(15:57):
all the things that that the Biden administration did to
create more inflation. Expected it to stop in two weeks,
of course not. Here's Kevin Hasset. By the way, Kevin
Hasset is back as the what is this official title there?
The White House National Economic Council Director. Here he is

(16:17):
on the continuing impact of biden Flation.

Speaker 23 (16:21):
Biden's stagflation is way worse, way worse than we were
told before the election by the statistical agencies. People can
make of that what they want, but the fact is
that we found out last year that he created a
million fewer jobs than they bragged about during the election,
and now all of a sudden, inflation is way worse
than they were saying. And I think, as you like

(16:41):
to look at, say, the three months moving average, the
three month moving average of what we've inherited. Remember this
is the last month of the Biden numbers is four
point six percent.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
Yeah, okay, And.

Speaker 23 (16:52):
You wonder like, how did he get the four point
six percent, Well, it's because of runaway spending, and we're
addressing that this is the backro economic thing. It's because
of the FED was asleep at the wheel. Remember it's transitory,
was what they're saying. Yes, sure, And if you're worried
about whether the FED is still asleep at the wheel,
you know, our good friend Austin Goolsby just gave a
speech where he said, oh, inflation's almost under control now,

(17:14):
but wait, we just got four point six percent. So
he's giving a partisan talking point as a FED official,
But we're really worried about the inflationary effects of tariff.

Speaker 1 (17:21):
Could you imagine?

Speaker 23 (17:23):
And then we got to basically rolling gaverage at four
point six And so the fact is that we're not
going to whine about it.

Speaker 1 (17:28):
We're going to fix it. We're going to fix it with.

Speaker 23 (17:29):
Supply side policies, with fending restraint, with deregulation, with you know,
getting Doug Bergham and Chris Wright to drill baby drill
and all that stuff is going to get inflation under control.
But we inherited stagflation from Biden because their policies were
just terrible. We're also looking at the micro things, Larry,
the micro things, the smaller policies that we can change.
It turns out that Joe Biden didn't have an avian

(17:51):
flu strategy at all, and so now nobody can buy
an egg anywhere in the grocery store because Joe Biden
killed all the chickens. Right, And so the point is,
this is your friend Brooke Rollins is confirmed she's going
to have a plan to help control the ad and
flu and stop killing all the chickens and making.

Speaker 6 (18:07):
Egg prices go through.

Speaker 23 (18:09):
Good and so in any case, good we're doing macro
and micro.

Speaker 4 (18:13):
President Trump's all of the above fighting inflation. Egan, did
he just say that Biden killed all the chickens. I
think he did well. He means by inaction, right, the
federal government didn't do anything about bird flu. They didn't
step in or try to help on bird flu. And
then therefore the problem has gotten even worse by.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
The way I saw this.

Speaker 4 (18:30):
In California, the price of a single egg is sixty
six cents. You know, we were talking the other day
about waffle House having a fifty cent per egg surcharge.
That means the waffle houses in California, unless they have
a higher surcharge, are actually losing money on every egg
they sell. Five twenty six. It is time to take
a look at your money. Here's Denise Pelgrinny.

Speaker 24 (18:50):
Yeah, Jimmy, speaking of price rises, we'll be getting more
inflation numbers today. Face of producer price gains for January
expected to have slowed. Dow futures right now there up
fifty s and p futures up four, Nasdaq futures up
fifty two. Crude oil futures lower touched at Houston based
Chevron today, company plans to cut its global workforce fifteen
to twenty percent.

Speaker 4 (19:10):
That could be.

Speaker 24 (19:10):
About nine thousand jobs. And are you looking for a
little extra love for Valentine's Day, Jimmy, Because Papa John's,
California Pizza Kitchen, Pita Piper, Pizza Hut, and Mountain Mikes
are among those offering heart shaped pizzas. Hardy's has those
heart shaped biscuits, Panera has those heart shaped bagels, Duncan
has heart shaped donuts, and Chick fil A Jimmy has

(19:31):
heart shaped trays to put.

Speaker 23 (19:33):
You in the mood. Just what you needed.

Speaker 24 (19:34):
Aluminum tray in the shape of the heart to get
you feeling romantic. I'm Denise Pelgrit Bloomberg Business on News
Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 6 (19:44):
You are Old Houston's News.

Speaker 23 (19:46):
Why there are traffic plus breaking news twenty four to seven.

Speaker 1 (19:50):
This is News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
Trive Everywhere with the IRPP.

Speaker 3 (19:56):
More of what's happening now from the John Morris Services Duty.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
Five thirty is our time, Houston's borning News. I'm Jimmy Barrett.
Among our top stories this fr Pam BONDI Swing Illinois
and now New York over illegal immigration. The Lieutenant Governor
Dan Patrick gives the Texas House an ultimatum on bill
reform and coming up at five thirty eighth, the City
of Houston and Harris County they need their own doge departments.
Details in the minute. Say head, you're in Houston's borning News. First,

(20:23):
we're gocheck out that morning drive again. Here's guy Mike.

Speaker 5 (20:25):
We're kind of in the calm.

Speaker 6 (20:26):
Before the first two drops in the woods. I got
Jeff from Tomball on two forty nine, got Mike.

Speaker 8 (20:31):
We got a truck tone of light, all units, the
two flat tires.

Speaker 22 (20:35):
A lord point springstipers kind on the shoulder, be sticking
out the.

Speaker 6 (20:38):
Roads that folks to care, all right, that's going to
count as an inbound right lane. I'm in the Generator
Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
Frum R KTRH Generator Supercenter, twenty four hour Weather Center.
Partly to mostly cloudy, windy, cold today with the high
temperat're only getting up to about fifty two. We'll get
you the complete forecast with Terry Smith at the Weather
Channel in nine minutes. Right down, still forty four at
your officials Severe Weather Station, News Radio seven forty KTRH.
It's time now for the news. Here's Cliff Sanders, Thank.

Speaker 7 (21:07):
You, Jimmy, Good morning everybody, five point thirty one on KTRH.
In our top story this hour of the Fight against
Illegal Immigration, two more associates of the violent Venezuelan gang
Trendy Arragua arrested by the FBI here in Houston yesterday
and turned over to ICE. This follows an operation earlier
this week where three TDA members were picked up elsewhere.

(21:30):
The Department of Justice sues New York State Governor Kathy
Hockel and Attorney General Letitia James for refusing to cooperate
with the Trump administration's immigration operations.

Speaker 25 (21:41):
If you don't comply with federal law, we will hold
you accountable.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
We did it to illinoid. Strike one. Strike two is
New York.

Speaker 11 (21:50):
And if you are a state not complying with federal law, your.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
Next get ready.

Speaker 7 (21:55):
US Attorney General Pam Bondi in Austin. A proposed amendment
to the Texas Constitution denying bail to illegal aliens charged
with felonies is now on its way to the full
Senate after passing committee. This is part of a bail
reform package that the governor is pushing for, and Lieutenant
Governor Dan Patrick is now playing hardball.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
This is serious stuff.

Speaker 5 (22:16):
This is life and death.

Speaker 26 (22:17):
We will not leave here until these bills passed the House.

Speaker 7 (22:21):
Patrick here at the Capitol yesterday. It's now five p
thirty three on KTRH. The man charged in last Friday
sexual assault at a u of H parking garage, Eric
LaTroy Brown, remains on the loose this morning. And that's
despite the fact that he was arrested last weekend.

Speaker 8 (22:38):
We know that this parking garage robbery.

Speaker 27 (22:41):
And sexual assault at knife point happened last Friday around
five thirty in the evening, and then by eleven forty
five that night, it appears police had their suspect in
custody and with good evidence, but less than twenty four
hours later he was able to walk out.

Speaker 6 (22:54):
Of the jail.

Speaker 7 (22:55):
Bryce Newbery with our TV partner Channel two, more violent crime.

Speaker 3 (22:59):
Last night.

Speaker 7 (22:59):
Fifteen year old and an adult male are both hospitalized
after her shooting in clear Lake. Police looking for multiple
suspects and Harris County deputies find a woman killed in
her home with her son in custody after being discovered
with a hammer in his hand. Houston Mayor John Whitmyer
releases the results of an efficiency review of the city's

(23:21):
finances yesterday, and it showed misuse of city credit cards
and other financial misconducts.

Speaker 28 (23:28):
I've travel the city, listened to thousands of people about
their concerns and made the commitment that until we did
the best we could eliminate waste, duplication, and corruption, I
would not seek additional resources.

Speaker 7 (23:43):
The city has a budget shortfall of nearly three hundred
and thirty million dollars, and while that is going on,
the city has started negotiating a new contract with police
officers as the current deal expires at the end of June.

Speaker 6 (23:56):
It's five point thirty four.

Speaker 7 (23:58):
President Donald Trump has started talking with Ukraine and Russia
aimed at ending the nearly three year old war in Europe.

Speaker 29 (24:05):
I myself just spoke to the President about these calls,
and he told me to tell all of you they
were very good calls. They were very positive, and the
administration is wholeheartedly committed to a peace deal to end
once and for all the Russia Ukraine war.

Speaker 7 (24:19):
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt, you will hear from
Trump at six o'clock. Remember the Chinese spy balloon that
was shot down a couple of years ago, Well, it
turns out it was equipped with technology from at least
five American companies.

Speaker 30 (24:34):
The more malicious explanation is people in our government have
taken bribes from the Chinese government and they're actively on
Chinese government payroll. And the USA fraud shows that to
some extent, you have people in the country who made
millions of dollars fell in the country out for the
last thirty years.

Speaker 7 (24:48):
Retired Army Captain Shan Timmans says. Another possibility would be
that the equipment has been rerouted through an American ally,
and there's this Texas infrastructure could be at risk to
a cyber attack. Something the governor is addressing with a
cyber Command initiative.

Speaker 31 (25:05):
This as cyber attacks are increasing and we learn how
vulnerable we are.

Speaker 32 (25:08):
This comes simply from the fact that it's almost all
of our infrastructure is somewhere somehow connected to the Internet.

Speaker 31 (25:17):
Nicholas Gugenberger from u of H says the consequences of
an attack could paralyze the state and the funding of
the program will be critical.

Speaker 33 (25:24):
You have to hire highly specialized people, and expertise in
that area can be expensive. You have to build up
a highly capable structure, he says.

Speaker 31 (25:34):
If not funded well, it won't have a true impact.
Andoree Parard News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 7 (25:40):
Thank you, Andrea, and don't look now, but we're a
year away from the twenty twenty six midterms. Yes, and
Texas Senator John Cornyn might face a major primary challenge
and it will likely be an uphill fight against somebody
like Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Speaker 34 (25:55):
He is not just a Texas but a national hero
among grass roots and herb It is because he continually
fought for our values, taking on the Biden administration.

Speaker 7 (26:05):
Fourth Bend County gopchair Bobby Beverly says that by contrast,
Cornin has fallen out of favor with the Texas Republican base,
and we keep talking about making America great again, right,
but there are some Texas lawmakers and former lawmakers that
simply want to make Texas housing affordable again.

Speaker 35 (26:24):
It's something that former State Senator Don Huffines is promoting
at his Liberty Foundation.

Speaker 22 (26:30):
I never thought I would see it like it is today.
They're trying to turn Texas into California, and these are
Republicans that are doing that.

Speaker 35 (26:38):
So how do we make housing affordable again in Texas?
Huffines says, It's simple.

Speaker 36 (26:45):
We got to get government out of the way.

Speaker 37 (26:47):
Jeff, Government's the problem and that's the fundamental issue of
affecting housing.

Speaker 35 (26:53):
With over taxation and overregulation. Jeff Biggs, News Radio seven
forty k T eight. I've thirty seven. The Rockets beat
the Suns one nineteen to one eleven. They host Golden
State tonight. Pregame at six on Sports Talk seven ninety.
I'm Cliff Saunders on Houston's news, weather and traffic station KTRH.

Speaker 3 (27:12):
Always Stronger than the setback, the comeback.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
The greatest comeback of all time. Here America's comeback.

Speaker 38 (27:20):
On news Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 4 (27:26):
Five thirty eight, our time here on Houston's Morning News.
All right, the reason why I brought up maybe having
a doze for Harris County and a doge for the
City of Houston is this Houston Chronicles story. Houston's twenty
two departments suffer misuse of city credit cards widespread inefficiencies,
according to an analysis from Ernst and Young. They are

(27:46):
an accounting firm as I'm sure you're probably well aware
who pinpointed long standing problems with the way the city operates,
but nothing ever changes, right, But evidently this mayor is
trying to change a few things. The study revealed potential
misuse of credit cards, inefficient contracting practices with city vendors,

(28:06):
and he pressing need to streamline city government to make
it more responsive to the public, same things we're trying
to do with the federal government. Government is bloated everywhere, federal, state,
and local. We should have a doge department for all
those things. Now, maybe when Elon Musk is done straightening

(28:26):
out the federal government, maybe he'd liked to come back
home to Texas and straighten out the state government. And
I'd be happy to see him do that. But who
could we get to go over the City of Houston's finances.
I mean, we're what three hundred million dollars in debt
or more. Do you think we could find three hundred

(28:47):
million dollars in waste and abuse in the City of Houston.
I bet we could. I bet that would We could
bring it end to that to the deficit. How about
Harris County. We know that they're squandering millions, spon millions
of dollars. I would love to bring back ed Emmett,
ed Mutt. I think ed Emmett knows how Harris kind
of government is supposed to run. He could go through
there with a fine tooth comb. He could find all

(29:08):
the waste and abuse not a problem. Maybe we should
put Michael Berry in charge of the City Houston. He
was on city Council. He hates waste and he's got
he's got a bully pulpit with his radio show. We
might be onto something here. Five forty time for traffic
and weather together as we check out the drive once
again with Skyline.

Speaker 6 (29:26):
All right, weiser's let's go to the Katie Freeway west outbound.
Why are we doing this pavement for? Well, they have
to do it. They have to. It's outbound Peno Road.
Let me get some laneage for you at the five
point fifty break, but that's got to be at least
an eight to ten minute, Scooch. If you're trying to
head over from Graham Parkway to Bucke's inbound, we are
rocking on the inbound side Graham Parkway to the President's

(29:46):
heads and easy, twenty four minutes skip in hard hats.
Let's check out Deer Park. It's Jay from Deer Park.
Mike at center lane, Cloth, it just happened, all right.
That looks to be outbound. Is that your first banana
stick er? Che Jeffrey and the Walgreens truck.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
Good morning sky Mike.

Speaker 5 (30:06):
He found to twenty five Tenner Street left two lanes
are shut down due to an accident.

Speaker 1 (30:14):
A bunch of red lights there.

Speaker 6 (30:16):
That's rock Sand That is outbound Deer Park two left
lanes to twenty five at Center Street. All right, we
got that, Terry, didn't get that. I'm in the Generator Supercenter,
dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (30:26):
Good thing from Arc from ar. Sorry my father, No,
no offense, Terry. Body think you might have been a
half octave off on that from our kat I Rage
Generator super center twenty four. Our web center Terry is
here warming up the pipes and everything needs to get
warmed up.

Speaker 5 (30:44):
This morning, everything's.

Speaker 21 (30:45):
Fled goodness, it's a chilly day, even for Roxanne. Yeah,
the coldfront's cleared out. We've got to break in the
rain today, but I tell you it doesn't last very long.
More wet weather tomorrow Saturday, more cold air Sunday. Lot's
going on with our weather today though, a dry day,
partly cloudy, load to mid fifties. That's as warm as
we get, you know what, That's closer to our low

(31:07):
temperatures for this time of year. All right, So tomorrow
a little bit of return moisture from the golf Forty
percent chance of showers, mid fifties to low sixties for
high So still running cool, really warming up Saturday ahead of.

Speaker 6 (31:22):
The cold front.

Speaker 21 (31:23):
Sixty percent chance of showers and storms on Saturday, and
heis in the seventies. We're back down into the fifties
on Sunday and close to sixty Monday. At least.

Speaker 6 (31:33):
We're sunny Sunday and Monday.

Speaker 4 (31:34):
Right now forty four at your official severe weather station,
News Radio seven forty KRH. I would like to apologize
if anybody's blood sugar is spiking this morning, I didn't
didn't mean to do that. Five forty nine is our time.
We're talking about Valentine's Days Tomorrow. It is tomorrow. No
tensive desperation spotted yet, but I'm sure they'll be out there.

(31:55):
There'll be guys running around like chickens with their head
cut off, you know, trying to grab a last minute
so that they don't show up empty handed. And I
guess my question is for those of you who do
participate in Valentine's Day, what's your go to? What? What
have you found to be the most effective Valentine's Day gifts?
Just go to KTRH, the iHeartRadio app. Hit us on

(32:17):
the preset button KTRH. You get thirty seconds to respond
by clicking the microphone.

Speaker 39 (32:21):
Hey Jimmy, this is Daniel generation X here and I'm
what you would call a obligated participant because I got
married on Valentine's Day. And what do we do for
Valentine's Day every year? The wife and I both served
in the military in Korea, so we eat Korean food
every year Valentine's Day this year. After we get done

(32:44):
eating forean food, we're gonna go see Rob Schnyder.

Speaker 40 (32:47):
Hi, Jimmy, it's kiddy in the city and that is
downtown Htown for all you roobs. When it comes to
Valentine's Day, we don't go out. That is called amateur hour.
That is reserved for all the news humans in love
and we may be doing and something a little extra nice.
But as far as gifts, I love balloons. I love
flowers every single day of the year, not just one

(33:09):
specific day.

Speaker 5 (33:11):
Love you balloons?

Speaker 4 (33:12):
You mean like the you mean like the big balloon
displayed put on in the yard that embarrasses your kids
when it's their birthday. Those kind of balloons five poin
fifty time for traffic and butted together. What's what, sky, Mike?
What what?

Speaker 6 (33:24):
Let's get a bouncy house. I don't know who wouldn't
like that? Clear two twenty five outbound. That is right.
We had two left lanes at Center Street. It's out
of the way in front of I'm still calling it
shell outbound. That's an extra eleven minutes trying to get
that way. I'm reading that wrong. That's an extra five minutes.
That's just about to go away, so stay the course

(33:44):
on two twenty five inbound piece of cake eleven minutes
now from one forty six to the east loop six
' ten other side of the ship Channel. East freeways
looking good. San Jacento River Bridge twenty two minutes, Katie
Freeway outbound. Look out for that scootch at Pinoak Road.
It is outbound, not inbound. There's some pavement repair. Inbound.
You still rot twenty four minutes into the President's heads

(34:05):
Banana stickers. Jeffrey the Walgreens truck Jay from Deer Park,
Mark from Spring, Jeff from Combald, Jack from Connecticut. Listening
on the free iHeartRadio app. You see a pattern here.

Speaker 5 (34:14):
Oo oo oo. I'm Skymike on.

Speaker 6 (34:16):
The Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
Center from our ktra Oh by the way, coming up
here just a second or before you give you the forecast.
The hippies are back and evidently they all work for
the US government, singing protesting against DOEGE. Will share some
audio with you. Coming up next from our KTRH Generator Supercenter,
twenty four hour wather Center. Part of the most cloudy,
windy cold fifty two today. Scattered showers then becoming mostly

(34:38):
cloudy sixty tomorrow. Temperature currently is forty four at your
officials severe weather station. News Radio seven forty k TRH.
Check out some of our top stories on this Thursday.

Speaker 7 (34:49):
Here's Cliff Jimmy's got the singing I've got the Democrat
meltdown over doj in Congress yesterday. Police find a possible
human skull near Buffalo by you last night, and the
Texas General Land Office wants the legislature to give them
one hundred and fifty million bucks to spruce up the Alamo.
Get the latest news anytime at KTRH dot com. Our
next update is at six o'clock.

Speaker 1 (35:11):
Four more years, Hi, Donald John Trump?

Speaker 5 (35:14):
What happens next?

Speaker 6 (35:15):
Who knows what happens next?

Speaker 38 (35:16):
Happens a year on Youth Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 1 (35:22):
Thanks.

Speaker 4 (35:22):
We figured out where all the old grateful dead followers are.
They're working for the US government at the American Federation
of Government Employees who are out there singing the other
day against Doge and against Trump.

Speaker 5 (35:34):
Here is there.

Speaker 4 (35:36):
Here's their pathetic singing protest, with some follow up from
comedian Adam Carolla.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Which side are you on?

Speaker 1 (35:45):
Which side are you on?

Speaker 11 (35:47):
Trump's coming for our unions.

Speaker 3 (35:51):
He wants to fame, he wants to bow to him,
but we.

Speaker 13 (35:58):
Want him in chain.

Speaker 2 (36:02):
You.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
I'll tell you what it reminds me of.

Speaker 41 (36:05):
So when you see Chuck Schumer and aunt Esther's Maxine
Waters from Sanford and Son and all these other idiots
out there, like these seventy five year olds eighty year
olds like waving their canes, and you know how, you know,
Chuck Schumer does that thing where it's like you will

(36:26):
not be able to hide, you will feel our raft.
We are coming for you. We'll fight in the streets,
will fight in the courts. And it's got to be
amusing to Elon Musk and Trump as it is to us,
these weird threats. But it you know what it reminded
me of us watching it the other day during the

(36:46):
first I think it was desert storm.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
Back in the day when we would plan to.

Speaker 41 (36:52):
Invade Iraq or Iran or some Middle Eastern country, at
some point one of their religious cleric or Mullahs would
take to the microphone and go, if you Americans come
in here, you will feel the sting of allah.

Speaker 1 (37:09):
Sword upon your neck.

Speaker 41 (37:11):
And then we go all right, now, let's get some
a ten warthogs and light you guys up.

Speaker 1 (37:16):
And that's what we would do.

Speaker 6 (37:18):
And so it's always weird that they.

Speaker 41 (37:20):
Make these big proclamations, but there's nothing to them and
they can't do anything. And I don't think we feel
any fear from idiots breaking into song or making idle threats.
But the comical part is they don't know how comical
they are. Like they they must know on some level

(37:42):
that they're being laughed at.

Speaker 5 (37:44):
Right, So do you suppose that the.

Speaker 4 (37:48):
Whoever wrote that little Diddy that that they were singing,
whoever whoever wrote that, you know, did they did they?
Did they do it on the job? Did they do
it on the government oil?

Speaker 6 (38:00):
Are you?

Speaker 5 (38:01):
I mean, this is horrible? Are you not your side?
Not your side? That's for sure.

Speaker 4 (38:07):
Five point fifty six you're our news Radio seven forty
k TRH.

Speaker 1 (38:13):
This is huge Radio seven forty kt RH Houston.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
Dive everywhere with thee.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
Now, the latest news, weather and traffic. It's more of
what matters to you. From the John Morris Services Studios.

Speaker 4 (38:28):
Six am is their time now here in Houston's morning news.
I'm Jimmy Barrett. Among our top stories of This are
Trump and Putin talk about ending the Ukraine War. More
Democrat drama, over doge and coming up at six oh eight.
Big layoffs are coming soon, some of them here in Houston.
Details in the minutes ahead. You're in Houston's Morning News. First,
we're checking out that morning driv againbas Skymin.

Speaker 6 (38:50):
All right, if you took a bathroom break, we cleared
two twenty five in the last one that was outbound
Center Street. Stay the course. It's nothing as far as
back up, and it was outbound, not inbound. Inbound. You
rock from one forty six in Nord Freeway. So far,
let's get a little thick between the belt and the loops.
Stay of the course. There, Harty til word lookout in
nineteen sixty. That is a stall and Tyrone is on

(39:11):
my tip line.

Speaker 31 (39:12):
Got Mike westbound by Katie nils Ball in ne curve.

Speaker 6 (39:16):
I got off on ninety.

Speaker 5 (39:17):
I don't know what's going on right now.

Speaker 6 (39:19):
No, it's side ten. Welcome to the show. This is outbound.
He just turned it on. Pinoak rode outbound. They're doing
some big pavement repair. I'm in the Generator Supercenter dot
Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (39:28):
From R KTRH top tax defenders twenty four hour Weather
Center partly to mostly cloudy, windy, and cold today with
the high temperture right about fifty two. We'll get to
the very latest on the forecast when we talk to
Terry Smith at the Weather Channel in about nine minutes.
Current temperature is forty four at your officials severe Weather
station News Radio seven forty KTRH. It's time now for
the news. Here's Cliff Saunders.

Speaker 6 (39:49):
Thank you, Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (39:50):
We're sponsored by All Star Construction and our top story
at six oh one. The Democrat temper Chantrum over doze.

Speaker 6 (39:57):
He was using his popaganda machine to do it when
he said that we said millions of.

Speaker 11 (40:02):
Dollars to Gaza for condoms. That was a lie. We
do not work for an unelected billionaire.

Speaker 5 (40:08):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (40:08):
Texas congress Women Jasmine Crockett among those becoming unhinged during
yesterday's House Doje Subcommittee hearing. But the White House had
an answer and the receipts.

Speaker 11 (40:19):
This is a.

Speaker 29 (40:20):
DEI contract thirty six thousand dollars for US citizenship and
immigration services that is against the President's policies and his
America First Agenda.

Speaker 7 (40:28):
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt. There's more when we
have the video and the dog.

Speaker 6 (40:33):
Tracker at ktrh dot com.

Speaker 7 (40:35):
Another Trump win, a federal judge lifts the block on
the federal buyout program. US District Judge George O'Toole, an
appointee of Bill Clinton's, ruling that the plaintiffs in this
case were not quote directly impacted. Coming up now on
six to ZHO three, there may be hoped to end
the nearly three year old war between Russia and Ukraine.

(40:56):
The President speaking with both Vladimir Putin and Volodim'szelenski.

Speaker 6 (41:00):
I think they have to make peace.

Speaker 9 (41:02):
That people are being killed, and I think they have
to make peace.

Speaker 7 (41:05):
Meantime, another American is freed from captivity, part of a
group released by Belarus yesterday, and after Trump's threat for
quote all hell breaking loose, Ammas announces it will go
back to the original ceasefire deal and resumed to release hostages.
And there's even more winning for the President as another
cabinet member is now in place.

Speaker 1 (41:26):
So help me, God, still help me God.

Speaker 11 (41:28):
Congratulations.

Speaker 7 (41:31):
Selsey Gabbert is now the Director of National Intelligence, and
we'll have a full vote on the RFK junior nomination
for HHS Secretary in the Senate at ten thirty this morning.
Linda McMahon's confirmation hearing as Education Secretary is also scheduled
four this morning. Now, the Left is clearly doing all
they can to slow down Trump as he fills his

(41:53):
cabinet and puts his agenda into action, showing they're not
tired of losing.

Speaker 14 (41:59):
Scary comination right now of some very very powerful people
who happen to be very very evil people are very
very afraid right now of what has taking place inside
the Trump administration. But those people, powerful evil people, are frightened.

Speaker 7 (42:14):
That's nine to fifty KPRC is Jesse Kelly, who says
Trump is only getting more popular while the Democrats double
down on craziness.

Speaker 6 (42:22):
Six o four.

Speaker 7 (42:22):
Now, oil futures are dropping again this morning. They're down
to just about seventy dollars a barrel. That is a
reaction to Trump's possibility of peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Euston based Chevron is cutting up to twenty percent of
its global workforce by next year, and about nine thousand
employees could be affected by that.

Speaker 2 (42:43):
Now.

Speaker 7 (42:43):
Trump has promised to drill, Baby drill, but is it
really up to him.

Speaker 35 (42:48):
It's a question that we posed to Tim Stewart, president
of the US Oil and Gas Association.

Speaker 15 (42:55):
It's certainly a balancing act, and the industry strongly supports
his approach to North American energy dominance.

Speaker 35 (43:01):
For sure, dominance if there's enough profit for shareholders, the.

Speaker 15 (43:06):
Price point that allows for the companies to actually make
money and return investments to the shareholders. It's a really
delicate position right now.

Speaker 35 (43:13):
Case in point, Chevron, which is slashing twenty percent of
its workforce as part of a cost cutting plan. Jeff
Biggs News Radio seven forty k T eight now six
zero five.

Speaker 7 (43:25):
The final inflation report of the Biden presidency was worse
than we thought it would be. Prices up point five
percent last month, the CPI now at three percent flat.
The mainstream media trying to blame Trump, but he didn't
take over until January twentieth, and when it comes to
the economy, the Trump turnaround probably won't happen overnight.

Speaker 25 (43:46):
New numbers show inflation is heating up again, while more
than a third of Americans have more credit card debt
than savings. Financial planner Richard Rosso says most of the
current price hikes are caused by things beyond government control.

Speaker 42 (43:57):
Prices for insurance prices to natural disasters subject to third
blue drow coffee prices off Those are going to take
longer to actually.

Speaker 25 (44:08):
Turn and despite President Trump's calls for more interest rate cuts,
rosso doesn't think the FED will do that anytime soon.
Coriolson News Radio seven forty KTI. By the way, the
next FED meeting isn't until March. With the Texas economy strong,
might be headed down the same slippery slope of heavy
taxes and heavy spending that could lead to many of
the issues the rest of the country has had to face.

Speaker 19 (44:30):
I think we've really run up into a spending problem
that we've got to address now before things get worse
In Texas. It's one of those things where, yes, we're
doing better economically, but we've got to be doing better physically.

Speaker 1 (44:40):
E as well.

Speaker 7 (44:41):
Economist doctor Van Skin says Texas needs to be looking
to find ways to reduce spending and return the budget
surplus to you, the taxpayer. Now, the question on everybody's
mind these days is no longer which came first, the
chicken or the egg. It's how higher ed price is
going to get.

Speaker 43 (44:58):
The latest numbers from the u U SDA shows egg
prices have already surged fifty three percent year over year.

Speaker 30 (45:05):
By that data, we're going to see some more price increases.

Speaker 3 (45:08):
You know.

Speaker 30 (45:09):
I can tell you that this week's wholesale price across
the country, the USDA reports, is higher than last week.

Speaker 43 (45:15):
Doctor David Anderson with Texas A and M says before
prices can come down, the bird flu outbreak must end,
and then farmers still need time to rebuild their flock.
The USDA forecasting an additional twenty percent increase in egg
prices this year. Eric Sharp News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 7 (45:32):
And at six oh seven, Alex Bregman reportedly agrees to
terms on a three year deal with the Boston Red
Sox where one hundred and twenty million dollars. This comes
as pitchers and catchers report to Astros spring training today.
I'm Cliff Saunders on Houston's News Weather in Traffic station KTRH.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
Now back to Jimmy Barrett and the Houston Morning News team.

Speaker 1 (45:54):
Houston's Morning News.

Speaker 4 (45:57):
Didn't feel that way some weeks with the people you
work for. You know that you do all those things,
but is it reciprocal when layoffs come, you know, you
question that as far as the things you do for
the company versus what the company is willing to do
for you. And it looks like we got around the
layoffs coming in some sectors, and I guess I'm surprised

(46:17):
this didn't happen sooner, but I am a little bit
surprised by the numbers. JP Morgan Chase is getting ready
to start around the layoffs close to one thousand people.
Of course, this is nationwide. No word on how it's
going to specifically impact Houston. That one is not as
much of a big deal as this one is, and
that is Houston May Chevron getting ready to lay off

(46:39):
between six and eight thousand people. Now that's worldwide, but
that's fifteen to twenty percent of their entire workforce. That's
a pretty big layoff, no word.

Speaker 5 (46:52):
By the way.

Speaker 4 (46:53):
By the way, this is between now and the end
of twenty twenty six, so this is better part of
two years, so it's not going to happen all at once.
They employ about forty thousand people right now worldwide, and
again they want to take that down by six to
eight thousand people. They employ about seven thousand people just
in just in Houston, So we're not sure. We don't

(47:13):
know how many of those layoffs will occur in Houston,
but considering the fact it's their headquarters, you'd have to
think we're going to have to, unfortunately bear the brunt
of our fair share. The seven thousand Chevron employees here
significantly outnumber the roughly two thousand Chevron employees working in
San Ramon, California. Of these, about six thousand working downtown offices.

(47:37):
As you know, the company recently moved its headquarters from
San Ramon to Houston. Told employees during an internal town
hall that they can begin opting for buyouts now through
April or May. Chevron looking to reduce costs by somewhere
between two billion and three billion dollars by the end
of the year, so there will be a buyout package available.

Speaker 5 (47:56):
Six ten.

Speaker 4 (47:57):
Time for traffic and weather together, as we check out
the drive once again, here's Sky Mike.

Speaker 6 (48:02):
This is gonna be all you. Let's go two ninety.
It's Mike from Magnolia's on two ninety.

Speaker 1 (48:08):
Lane one is.

Speaker 30 (48:09):
About seventy nine miles an hour.

Speaker 22 (48:11):
Lane two is about seventy three miles an hour.

Speaker 34 (48:14):
Lane four is about sixty nine miles.

Speaker 6 (48:15):
Without Oh all right, all right, I'll see all of
you in traffic court. So we're moving nicely on two
ninety Andrew from Springs on forty five north and I'm
seeing that to Andrew something around west Road inbound, got Mike.

Speaker 25 (48:28):
Okay, calls and class a backup.

Speaker 6 (48:30):
There's a good salt Scooch. All ways back to forty
five and let's rope you.

Speaker 44 (48:34):
So I want that bananasick.

Speaker 6 (48:35):
I don't know what that voice is, but okay, you
get one. Let's go to Meg from Keema. Meeghan from Keema.

Speaker 44 (48:41):
Height morning, Mikey South Dam turning West Dam interchange. It
hurts fifty nine sixty nine. A lot of folks are
mashing on their brakes, putting out the red light.

Speaker 6 (48:55):
There we go, Terry frocks in all right. I think
she's talking to about that interchange right with the West
SAM or the Southwest SAM and the southwest free. Hey,
give her a break, she's a scientist. Jimmy, inbound, remember
your north Freeway. I'll get you some laneage at the
west Road Scooch. And also outbound they're still working at
Katie Mills on the Katie Freeway. That makes a lot

(49:16):
of sense they're doing some pavement repair. Skywake on the
Generator Supercenter, dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 5 (49:21):
Just turn off the red light.

Speaker 4 (49:22):
People are talking from our KTRH top tax Defenders twenty
four hour Weather Center. Roxane is here, I mean, Terry
Smith is here, ready to fill you in on the forecast.

Speaker 21 (49:32):
A little chili out there today, Yes, definitely a chili
day today. Thankfully a dry day today. But this dry
weather doesn't last very long, lots of changes. This is
a very active weather pattern across Texas. So we'll turn
out partly cloudy by the afternoon today. Now, the temperatures

(49:52):
are just not going to warm up. Load to mid fifties.
Will be as warm as we get. That's typical low
temperatures for us in the middle part of February. Tomorrow,
the clouds are back, so is the rain of forty
percent chance of some showers. Mid fifties to low sixties Tomorrow,
just a little bit warmer. Saturday feels like springtime with

(50:13):
highs in the seventies and a sixty percent chance of
showers and some thunderstorms. Cold front bringing us the rain Saturday.
It clears out Sunday, so the temperatures drop. We've got
sunshine Sunday and Monday. Highs in the fifties Sunday and
then close to sixty by Monday.

Speaker 4 (50:31):
Temperature is still forty four here at your official severe
weather station, News Radio seven forty k TRH. So Tomorrow's
Valentine's Day, right, February the fourteenth, and I know some
of you will be conscientious objectors, but some of you
will participated. We had a guy earlier who said that
he and his wife's anniversary is on Valentine's Day, and

(50:52):
they evidently met in Korea, so they go to a
Korean restaurant to celebrate every Valentine's Day. That's simple, that's easy.
It's like a twofer, right, It's like having Christmas Day
be your birthday. You just you know you're going to
celebrate no matter what. That's a great way to work
it out. But for the rest of us, what do

(51:14):
you do? What's your go to for Valentin's Day? Favorite presence,
favorite gifts to give? How do you celebrate it? Or
are you one of those people who just you know,
bajam buckets a Hallmark holiday. Just go to the iHeartRadio app,
you go to ktr H. Put us on preset button
so you can find us quickly, give me your first
name where you're calling from, and you got thirty seconds

(51:34):
to talk when you click the microphone. Right now, Traffic
and weather together starts with you, sky Mike.

Speaker 5 (51:39):
All right, clear the.

Speaker 6 (51:40):
North Freeway wreck that southbound KGr RAH listeners were the
first to know about it. In fact, I think you
were the only ones to know about it. Thank you,
original Andrew from Spring southbound. That was at call it
golf Bank. We're still a little thick, but we're actually
moving again. From westro down, you'll hit a pretty good
wall of breaks right at West Mountain Houston. Got a
new one. You're going to be the first to know about.

(52:02):
This is something scooching up my Hardy Toll Road entrance
ramp that goes to the north loop over toward the
east text. So if your head hurts, let me explain
the Hardy Toll Road southbound ramp that goes over toward
the east.

Speaker 1 (52:16):
Text.

Speaker 6 (52:16):
I'm Skymike from Theegenerator Supercenter, dot Com traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (52:19):
From r KTRH top tax Defenders, twenty four hour weather center.
Partly mostly cloudy, windy, cold, about fifty two today, scattered
showers becoming mostly Cloudy's sixty tomorrow, seventy five on Saturday,
but then only fifty three for a high end Sunday.

Speaker 5 (52:32):
So there you go, up and down and all around.

Speaker 4 (52:34):
Temperature right now still forty four at your official severe
weather station, News radio seven forty KTRH. We're gonna talk
about Trump and liquid gold.

Speaker 5 (52:43):
You know what that is? Oil?

Speaker 4 (52:44):
Of course, that's coming up in a moment. First though,
let's get you an update on the top stories with Cliff.

Speaker 6 (52:48):
Thank you, Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (52:49):
New York has sued for non compliance for ICE immigration
deportation operations. More Democrat dramatics, House stems introduce reparations legislation,
and yesterday two Navy pilots were hospitalized currently in stable
condition after rejecting moments before their jet crashed into water
near San Diego. Get the latest news anytime at KTRH

(53:11):
dot com.

Speaker 6 (53:12):
Our next update is at six thirty.

Speaker 3 (53:14):
What started in your car now works on your phone
with the new iHeartRadio apps.

Speaker 11 (53:19):
The new precepts are fantastic.

Speaker 38 (53:21):
Get Houston's news, weather and traffic.

Speaker 5 (53:24):
How I listen to ktr change to the later.

Speaker 4 (53:28):
You know Texas t six twenty three sir, time here
in Houston's pointing dow Is. We know what President Trump
wants to do. He wants to fill the reserves. He
wants to drill baby drill. But at the end of
the day, it's not really up to him. He's not
an oil operator. He's president of the United States. The
people have to drill are the people who associate with
this guy, Tim Stewart, President of the US Oil and

(53:49):
Gas Association. And of course whether or not you're going
to drill baby drill has a lot to do with
what the profit margins look like.

Speaker 5 (53:55):
Right.

Speaker 15 (53:57):
No, that's true, and really grateful for the President and
the moves he's taken. It's made our job intet of
the lands and the offshore much much easier for the
next four years. But you're exactly right, Jimmy, We've got
to be careful to make sure that there's enough supply
that's hitting the market without flooding it. There's a lot
of economics to go into this. It's not particularly straight straightforward,

(54:17):
but we're happy where things are right now versus where
they were six weeks ago.

Speaker 5 (54:21):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (54:21):
Do you feel a little pressure though, because obviously, I
main President Trump is giving you exactly what you want
as far as you know, removing regulations making it easier
for you to do your jobs. He's a firm supporter,
which you haven't had in the White House in the
last four years. So you kind of have to walk
that thin line, don't You kind of have to reward
him for being that kind of president for you without

(54:42):
hurting your profit margin too much.

Speaker 15 (54:45):
Yeah, exactly, we want to find that goldilocked song. We
wont be able to produce a product at a price
point where companies are making money, but where consumers when
they're filling up their tanks aren't giving it a second thought.
You know, you want to be in this really interesting
situation where you you want your customers not to think
about you, but your shareholders to think about you every day.
And so it is a really it's a very very

(55:07):
fine line in which you have to walk. And so
and each each each producing basin has a particular price
point as well, and so you can make money and
maybe at fifty dollars in one basin, but maybe not that,
maybe at sixty to sixty five dollars in another. So
companies are in a you know, it's a difficult situation,
but we've we have always been in that situation, and

(55:27):
we'll continue to do our best to support a good
economic policy and also a good regulatory policy.

Speaker 5 (55:33):
What is the price of a barrel of oil right
about that?

Speaker 15 (55:36):
I think yesterday was trading about seventy two is what
I saw later in the afternoon. And you know, again
that's a good a good price point for us. The
President is talking about putting in nextra three million barrels
a day at production of the US. That's going to
be a challenge because we've got to figure out where
where that's going to come from. You don't want to
be importing more to make up for that. Again, what

(55:58):
he can do, which is we're very appreciative, is he
can control that subile portion of where that oil and
gas is in the United States, onshore and offshore. And
that's something that he's made it very clear that he's
going to make that easier for us to do. We
haven't seen that for four years, and so those federal
lands become more competitive. I think company are going to
really take the risk to go on them, and particularly
go offshore. That's going to make a big difference. But

(56:20):
we need that regulatory certainty long term, not just for
another four years. We've got to take some of the
things he's made in executive orders and put it into statute,
and then that will give the company a certainty.

Speaker 5 (56:29):
That is the key, isn't it.

Speaker 4 (56:30):
Because if any president's only in powered, this one is
only going to be a power for four years, so
you only you only know for sure what the policy
is going to be for the next four years. And
I'm guessing if you are starting from scratch with a
piece of federal land, and you know, and going in
there and developing it, how long of a process is that?
How many years does it take you to develop a
particular parcel well offshore?

Speaker 15 (56:51):
You know, it's a ten to fifteen year process. If
you come onto an onshore lease in New Mexico or Colorado,
for example, with some regulatory certainty and some cutting that
red tape, we can be on the ground and producing
within nine to to fit nine months to a year
and a half, which is actually a very quick turnaround
time for federal and you live by executive already have

(57:12):
died by executive order. I think the Democrats learned that
when the last four years, when they tried to wipe
us off the face of the earth. The executive Order.
We lived through that and get our point is, we've
got to get some of these things. The President Trump
has just used his pen for over the last couple
of weeks. We've got to get that into statutes. So
that still holds, not just in twenty twenty five to

(57:33):
twenty thirty five.

Speaker 5 (57:34):
Yep.

Speaker 4 (57:34):
So the pressure's on Congress. All right, Tim, thank you, appreciated.
President of the US Oil and Gas Association, Tim Stewart,
it's six twenty seven. It's time to take a look
at your money. Here's Denise Pelo greeting.

Speaker 24 (57:44):
Yeah, Jimmy, We've got a lot of job cuts. Houston
based Chevron planning cut about nine thousand jobs. Also sources
telling US Jeff Bezos bat Space company, Blue Origin bracing
for major cuts.

Speaker 30 (57:54):
J C.

Speaker 24 (57:55):
Penny closing more stores, according to USA Today, after declaring
bankruptcy protection a couple of years ago and struggling fabric
and craft seller Joeanne plans to close about five hundred stores.
Stock futures right now they are mixed. Dow futures up
eleven s and P futures down three, Nasdaq futures up twelve.
I'm Denise Pelgrinny Bloomberg Business. I'm News Radio seven forty ktrh.

Speaker 6 (58:20):
Houston's News.

Speaker 23 (58:21):
Why There, We're traffic plus Breaking News twenty four to seven.

Speaker 38 (58:25):
This is News Radio seven forty Ktrhive Everywhere Boards the IRP.

Speaker 3 (58:31):
More of what's happening now from the John Morris Services Studios.

Speaker 4 (58:35):
It is six thirty here on Houston's Morning News. I'm
Jimmy Barrett. Among our top stories this half hour, Pam
Bondy suing Illinois and now New York over illegal immigration,
the Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick giving the Texas House an
ultimatum on bail reform, and coming up at six thirty eight,
sex offenders at the school bus stop. Details in the

(58:56):
minutes ahead. First, we're checking out that morning drive again
the sky. Excuse me, but I think you got my chair.

Speaker 6 (59:03):
Well, that's what it is. It's road debris. South sam
westbound at Hillcroft. There's a road there's a chair just
sitting in the road. That's going to be if you're
heading over from Pearland to the Southwest Freeway. Watch out
for other stations. Listeners swerving heartytol right, I got CHILANEA
jazz promise southbound at six ' ten. You were the
first to know about this accident. There's a truck involves
and it's messing up that ramp. That's the Hardybond southbound

(59:26):
ramp that goes to the East Texas. If you're going
to the Galleria, you're fine. I'm Skytmichael the Generator Supercenter dot.

Speaker 4 (59:31):
Com Traffic Center from our KTRH Generator Supercenter. Twenty four
hour weathers under partly the mostly cloudy, winding cold today.
I only fifty two. A little bit of improving for
tomorrow and then for Saturday, but back into the deep
freeze again, so little cold snap coming up. We'll talk
to Terry Smith about this in about eight minutes. Temperature
currently is forty four at your officials Severe weather station,

(59:54):
News Radio seven forty k TRH. It's time now for
the news. Here's Cliff Saunders.

Speaker 7 (01:00:00):
Thank you, Jimmy. It is six thirty two on KTRH,
our top story this hour.

Speaker 26 (01:00:04):
I'm putting my faith in the speaker to get it done.
I believe is sincere about it and he has the power.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
To do it.

Speaker 7 (01:00:10):
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick says lawmakers will stay in
Austin until bail reform passes. This after an amendment to
the state constitution denying bail to illegal aliens charged with
felonies passed out of committee. That amendment is part of
a larger bail reform package the governor is pushing for. Meantime,
another Democrat state is finding out how serious the Trump

(01:00:32):
administration is about deporting illegal aliens. New York is sued
for refusing to cooperate with ICE.

Speaker 45 (01:00:40):
They sponsored the bloodshed the Bodom administration, and these Democrat
cities and Americans elected Donald Trump overwhelmingly because they believe
that President Trump will put them and their families and
their communities first.

Speaker 7 (01:00:52):
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller talking to
ktrh as Sean Hannity. Another two associates of the violent
Venezuelan gang trend Diarragua arrested by the FBI in Houston yesterday.
They've been turned over to ICE. That brings the total
two five for the week. It's now six thirty three.
The search is on for the man charged with the

(01:01:14):
last Friday sexual assault at a UH parking garage because
somehow Eric LaTroy Brown was arrested and then released.

Speaker 27 (01:01:24):
Brown spent Saturday at the Harris County Jail. The Sheriff's
office tells KPRC two on an investigative hold for how
long and what happened during that time, we don't know,
but the same day he got released. Now five days later,
Brown is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault
and aggravated robbery.

Speaker 6 (01:01:42):
There's an active warrant for his arrest.

Speaker 7 (01:01:44):
Bryce Newberry with our TV partner Channel two, more violent crime.
Last night, Harris County deputies find a woman killed in
her garage, with her son charged with the crime after
being found with a hammer in his hand, and a
fifteen year old and an adult mailer in the hospit
after being shot in clear Lake. The suspects, plural, are

(01:02:04):
at large. Houston Mayor John Whitmyer says a complete audit
by Ernst and Young on city spending showed a lot
of issues.

Speaker 28 (01:02:12):
There's just been glaring inefficiencies and duplications and lack of
accountability for years. But it's going to end now and
I would ask you to join me. It's not a
time to play politics.

Speaker 1 (01:02:25):
We need to do our job.

Speaker 7 (01:02:27):
Meantime, the city has started negotiating a new contract with
police officers. The current labor agreement expires on June thirtieth,
sixt thirty four, President Donald Trump begins peace talks with
Ukraine and Russia about ending the nearly three year old war.

Speaker 12 (01:02:43):
There the best negotiator on the planet, bringing two sides
together to find a negotiated peace.

Speaker 7 (01:02:50):
Defense Secretary Pete hegset there you'll hear from Trump at
seven o'clock. And there's news about that Chinese spy balloon
that then President Joe Biden didn't you want to worry about.
We now know that it was filled with American technology.

Speaker 13 (01:03:05):
A new report says at least five American companies had
technology on the balloon.

Speaker 30 (01:03:09):
The huge problem for a Masid security that Chinese are
actively slipping off American technology, and they're doing it through
flawed policies of the prior administration.

Speaker 13 (01:03:17):
Military expert Sean Timmins explains how the Chinese would get
such equipment.

Speaker 30 (01:03:21):
Some of it may be purchased acquisition through show companies,
a third party vendor. That's number one mechanism. I mean,
you route it through American ally.

Speaker 13 (01:03:29):
A more malicious explanation is our own government is taking
bribes from the Chinese. Jared Lewis News Radio seven forty
K eight from National security to Texas Security. Creating a
cyber command is now an emergency item for the governor
in this legislative session, and that's because the cyber threat
is growing. Nicholas Guggenberger at UH says that because everything

(01:03:50):
is connected to the Internet, an.

Speaker 7 (01:03:52):
Attack would paralyze the state preventing. It comes down to money.

Speaker 33 (01:03:57):
This can have quite positive impact funded well. If it's
not funded well, it will just not do much. It
will not have a meaningful impact. Those are not things
that you can do halfway. You have to do it
right and you have to invest a lot of money.

Speaker 7 (01:04:12):
But he does say putting together the analysts and the
structure for this will be expensive. Speaking of money, as
the real estate market starts to warm up, former gubernatorial
candidate Don Hoffin says it's time to get government out
of the way and make Texas housing not great again,
how about just affordable again.

Speaker 22 (01:04:32):
It's the zoning, it's the bearer crabs, it's all the
fees that the government is putting on the homebuilders that
drive the cost stuff. They're trying to make housing very
unaffordable forever in the state of Texas.

Speaker 7 (01:04:46):
To Finds will join Jimmy at about seven point fifty
this morning, six thirty seven. The two American astronauts that
have been stuck in space since last summer may wind
up coming home sooner than expected.

Speaker 46 (01:04:58):
NASA announcing that SpaceX will switch capsules for upcoming astronaut
flights in order to bring Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams
home in mid March instead of April. Their prolonged stay
at the International Space Station hit the eight month mark
last week. The test pilots should have returned in June
on Bowing Starliner capsule after it should have been only
a week long flight demo, but there were major issues

(01:05:19):
with that spacecraft.

Speaker 7 (01:05:21):
Tom Ragotti reporting and the Rockets beat Phoenix one nineteen
to one eleven. They host the Warriors tonight pregame at
six on Sports Talk seven ninety. I'm Cliff Saunders on
Houston's News weather in Traffic station ktrh.

Speaker 3 (01:05:35):
More with Jimmy Barrett and the Houston Morning News teams.

Speaker 4 (01:05:39):
This is Houston's Morning News. Six thirty eight is our
time here in Houston's Morning News. I do you know
how many sex offenders live in your neighborhood, live in
your zip code, live near your school, lived near your
school bus stop. You know, I hate to shock some
of you, but it is. It's incredible. And I saw

(01:06:01):
a story out of our television partner KPRC two yesterday
about parents complaining about a sex offender who lives right
across the street from an HID bus stop school bus stop.
Here is the report.

Speaker 47 (01:06:14):
The registered sex offender lives extremely close to this intersection
near Gatewood Avenue and Ingermore Way, and neighbors tell me
that they've been finding other ways to get their students
to school. I have it in contact with HID and
they tell me that they are looking into this, but
neighbors they're hoping that this school bus stop gets placed
somewhere else.

Speaker 48 (01:06:34):
So I go to Google a type sex offender sex
offender registere Texas that'll look like that. Then I scroll down.
It's written and highlighted and blue. Then I click search.
Then you type in any address and you'll get all
the sex offenders in the area.

Speaker 47 (01:06:53):
The Texas sex Offender website is how this property owner
learned registered sex offender was living near his tenants school
bus stop where Madison High School students get picked up.

Speaker 11 (01:07:03):
And dropped off every day.

Speaker 47 (01:07:05):
He asked to remain anonymous.

Speaker 48 (01:07:07):
It just makes everybody leary. They're not mad at him.
He's in compliance. He's telling the police where he lives,
but they don't want to put their kids on the
bus right here.

Speaker 11 (01:07:18):
He says.

Speaker 47 (01:07:18):
He reached out to h I D a few weeks
ago without any answers, but he has a solution of
his own.

Speaker 48 (01:07:24):
I'm hoping that they It's a simple deal. They could
just move it five or six houses down, get it
away from this corner.

Speaker 47 (01:07:32):
According to the Texas Sex Offender website, there are more
than two hundred registered sex offenders within a two point
eight mile radius of the school bus stop.

Speaker 5 (01:07:41):
Did you hear that figure?

Speaker 4 (01:07:44):
More than two hundred registered sex offenders within two point
eight miles of that bus stop. What good is moving
the bus stop by four or five or six houses
going to do? There are hundreds of these people.

Speaker 5 (01:08:01):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:08:01):
As a parent, the best thing I guess you could
can do is just make sure that your kids are
not waiting alone to the bus stop. And yes, you
can find out I mean the Texas State Texas does
keep a registry. You can find out exactly how many
registered sex offenders. Now, now, before I create some sort
of a panic here, I don't mean to do that
by any stretch of the imagination. They're all kinds of

(01:08:22):
different registered sex offenders. There's the really bad ones, and
they're the ones that maybe are quite so bad because
they were, you know, they were, you know, messing they
were sixteen years or seventeen years old or eighteen years
old messing around with a fifteen year old girl. You
know that that's that's a little different story. But you know,
you moving that bus stop four or five houses, that's

(01:08:45):
not gonna Yeah, I was not going to deter somebody
if that's what they want to do. Six forty one
time for traffic and weather together, we're checking out the
drive against guy Mike's here, dude, we've got.

Speaker 6 (01:08:54):
Golf problems here. First of all, Golf Freeway southbound. Give
me a couple of minutes, I'll get some Laneess got
a wreck just south of it, south of the Texas City.
Why it is Gold Freeway southbound, call it by you,
Vista whatever. This it's a major scunch going out back
across to Galveston across the causeway. Looks like at least
twelve to ten to twelve minutes on the southbound. Also,

(01:09:17):
my radio dad, Bill Ingram from the Christian station is
giving me a wreck in Texas City southbound one six
at seventeen sixty five. He says, the whole thing shut
down here. This might be a good time. I don't
like to send you to Highway three, but let's do that,
Thank you, Bill. And we've let's see the Hardy Till Road. Yeah,
we have that deal, Toby, League City, tell me about
the Hardy Vanya.

Speaker 44 (01:09:37):
It's got my just pass up that issue there on
the Hardy Till Road inbound.

Speaker 34 (01:09:41):
Well, I looked at the ramp as I was passing
it up, and both lanes are closed and traffic is
back down a long.

Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
Week all right.

Speaker 6 (01:09:47):
As you're speaking, I'm looking at four zero three to nine,
and it looks like they have actually just pulled that away. Toby,
banana sticker for you. We've got suckage that we don't
normally have there, and I tend Golden Triangle.

Speaker 27 (01:10:00):
Hey, time might just is going.

Speaker 22 (01:10:02):
We found from Beaumont.

Speaker 37 (01:10:04):
Don't forget the little people.

Speaker 6 (01:10:05):
Oh I am the little people. We're gonna come right
back at you with the southwest side right from Conrad
says we're looking for it. That's right. Well, do the
southwest in ten minutes. And the Generator Supercenter dot Com
traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:10:16):
Yeah, you represent the Lollipop Guild from our KTRH Generator
Supercenter at.

Speaker 6 (01:10:22):
Work for Willie Wonka stot.

Speaker 4 (01:10:24):
Kt H Generator of super Center twenty four hour weather
Center Terry Smith is here and the forecast, well, I
guess if you feel like getting a little romantic on
Valentine's Day Eve, it's a good night to snuggle up
under a blanket, isn't it.

Speaker 6 (01:10:37):
Definitely?

Speaker 21 (01:10:38):
Oh, some cool weather we've got here today and tomorrow,
briefly warming up Saturday, but it doesn't last long. Lots
of changes every day here, folks, so listen up.

Speaker 6 (01:10:49):
At least it's a nice quiet day today.

Speaker 21 (01:10:51):
Eventually we'll wind up with some sunshine later this afternoon,
but these temperatures are not going anywhere. Low to mid
fifties will be as warm as we get tomorrow. We
do have some rain of forty percent chance of showers.
Still on the cool side, mid fifties to low sixties.
Saturday is a warmer day, but it also has more rain,

(01:11:11):
a sixty percent chance of showers and some storms possible
HIGs will be in the seventies Saturday. We're Sunday and
dry Sunday and Monday, but it is chilly, back down
into the fifties for Sunday and close to sixty Monday.

Speaker 4 (01:11:25):
Right now forty four at your official severe weather station,
News Radio seven forty KTRH. You are commute, you are
forecast your news. It's Houston's Morning News, brought to you
buying new Southway to those solutions. We've got the timeline
coming up here in just a couple of minutes at
six fifty here on news Radio seven forty KTRH. And
yesterday I was telling you about this new house panel.

(01:11:50):
I guess, for lack of a better way to put it,
that is going to be looking into the assassinations of
JFK rfk MLK Junior. He is going to look into
unidentified flying objects and unidentified objects in the sea, and
oh yeah, also is going to be looking into the

(01:12:10):
origins of COVID, and also he's going to look into
the Epstein client list. Do you think we're gonna really
get the truth on all that stuff? Representative Tim Burchett
doesn't sound like he thinks we will more in that
story coming up next. First though, traffic and weather together.
And here's guy Mike.

Speaker 6 (01:12:29):
I've got Amy from Lake Jackson on the tip line.

Speaker 23 (01:12:31):
Good morning, northbound right after the Way eight left lane.

Speaker 13 (01:12:37):
I think two cars gotten a little fender bender. Except
for all the people towrven out of the way, it
could get kind of tricky.

Speaker 6 (01:12:43):
All right, that's two eighty eight northbound Belt George from
tom Ball.

Speaker 42 (01:12:48):
There is an accident cinder lane southbound at ten Swan
on two ninety.

Speaker 6 (01:12:52):
All right, let me see if I can get what
kind of backup we've got, and I want you to
be super careful. Somebody helped me with Golf Freeway south
of the Tech City Wide. I know the wrecks there
big seconds trying to get to the causeway. Skymike and
the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:13:07):
From r KTRH Generator Supercenter twenty four hour Weather Center.
Partly to mostly cloudy, windy, cold, about fifty two today,
scattered showers becoming mostly cloudy around sixty tomorrow seventy five,
with scattered showers and storms on Saturday, and then we
dip down into the lower fifties with sunshine on Sunday.
Temperature currently is forty four at your officials severe weather

(01:13:28):
station News Radio seven forty KTRAH. Time to check out
some of our top trending stories this morning. Year's cliff, Thank.

Speaker 6 (01:13:35):
You, Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (01:13:35):
We're sponsored by DNM Auto Leasing. The President is trying
to make a deal between Russia and Ukraine. A man
is killed overnight in West Houston, shot by his ex
girlfriend while he was trying to break into her apartment,
and Cameron County Judge Eddie Travigno approves an election so
voters will decide whether the SpaceX launch site will become

(01:13:56):
Texas's newest city. At the latest news anytime KTRH dot com.
Our next update is at seven o'clock.

Speaker 4 (01:14:04):
I live in clear Lake, Humble, reliable kt r H
traffic and weather.

Speaker 1 (01:14:09):
Next on the ten.

Speaker 4 (01:14:13):
Well, I'm sure that and Paulina Luna, who's going to
be heading up this committee, is hoping for honesty and
I'm sure she'll do the heavy lifting as far as
trying to get to the truth. But when it comes
to things like you know, the the client list, the
Jeffrey Epstein client list. Think of how many high powered

(01:14:34):
politicians are on that list. You think there's any way
she's gonna be able to get to the truth of that.
Representative Tim Burchett from Tennessee doesn't think so.

Speaker 6 (01:14:43):
Do you believe that we're going to get the whole truth?

Speaker 22 (01:14:48):
No?

Speaker 2 (01:14:54):
I like it. I like you.

Speaker 49 (01:14:56):
We'll be right back, Attorney, I said, dude, you've called
me a lot of things. Would you never cut me
that deep? Then I realized I was going to be
on with an attorney.

Speaker 6 (01:15:07):
I was like, whoa, but no, Well hold on, man,
hold on, let me just let me recompose.

Speaker 1 (01:15:14):
What are we going to learn? Well, I just Luna.

Speaker 49 (01:15:19):
She's all fired up about it, and she's like, Burchie,
we're going to get.

Speaker 1 (01:15:22):
To the bottom of all this.

Speaker 49 (01:15:23):
I said, Luna, I've been chasing this rabbit for a
long time, girl, and she's wonderful. She is inquisitive, and
she'll go after it with a sledgehammer. But you know,
just today the FBI found fourteen hundred new files.

Speaker 1 (01:15:38):
Now, I don't know.

Speaker 8 (01:15:39):
They're as crooked.

Speaker 49 (01:15:40):
As a dog's leg, as we say in East Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (01:15:42):
I don't trust any of them.

Speaker 49 (01:15:44):
I don't think we're going to get you know, I
don't know.

Speaker 6 (01:15:48):
I don't. I don't, and now we just know.

Speaker 4 (01:15:51):
Yeah. Unfortunately, I think he's probably right all right. Time
for the timeline being brought to you by Jegas Entertainment Inc.
We have a par of tickets see Simple Lines live
on their Live and Kicking tour. Of course they're live
on Alive and Kicking with special guests soft Celle in
Modern English, May thirty, first of the Woodlands Pavilion. Take
us around sale right now ticketmaster dot com. But you

(01:16:12):
can win a pair from us. Just tell us what year.
Today's timeline's from.

Speaker 37 (01:16:15):
Furflee to our friends in the music business and to
our wonderful friends there.

Speaker 6 (01:16:19):
It was February.

Speaker 13 (01:16:21):
This jockey Alan Freed was caught in the Paola scandal.

Speaker 30 (01:16:24):
Lot goodbye, It's just good night, and we'll see.

Speaker 1 (01:16:27):
You on television.

Speaker 16 (01:16:29):
I heard that another true story did And they're always
the best when it's possible or when they could have happened.

Speaker 6 (01:16:34):
Jack Parr walks off the Tonight shows. This is madam.

Speaker 8 (01:16:36):
You happen to be lying on the skylight of the
dining room.

Speaker 2 (01:16:39):
I have.

Speaker 1 (01:16:41):
The Olympic Winter Games and Squaw Valley.

Speaker 13 (01:16:44):
The Olympic Winter Games began in California, a Winter Games
at the Movies.

Speaker 5 (01:16:48):
Elvis starred in Gi Blues.

Speaker 1 (01:16:50):
I got those two three for occupation.

Speaker 13 (01:16:53):
G and the number one record mark dinning with teen Angel.

Speaker 4 (01:17:02):
What year was if you know seven one three two
one two fifty eight seventy four, that's seven one three
two one two k t RH. Good luck. All right,
we have a winner. Dad would be James and Conrad Kheo.
The right year was nineteen sixty. Well done, James. You
get a pair of ticketsy Simple Minds A Live and
Kicking Tour twenty twenty five, May thirty, first at Woodland's Pavilion.
Enjoyed the show, and thank you for listening to Houston's

(01:17:24):
Morning News.

Speaker 1 (01:17:29):
This is Used Radio seven forty kt RH, Houston.

Speaker 2 (01:17:33):
Live Everywhere with him.

Speaker 1 (01:17:36):
Now the latest news, weather and drafting.

Speaker 3 (01:17:39):
It's more of what matters to you from the John
Morris Services Studios.

Speaker 4 (01:17:43):
Seven am is our time here in Houston's Morning News.
I'm Jimmy Barrett. Among our top stories this half hour,
Trump and Putin talk about ending the Ukraine War, more
Democrat drama, over Doge and coming up at seven oh eight,
a one million dollar Texas lottery payoff went to China.
Details in the minutes ahead. You're in Houston's Party News. First,

(01:18:06):
we're checking out that morning drive again. Here's sky Mike.

Speaker 6 (01:18:08):
Claire is the hard eye, Hardy Toil road. Inbound ramp
to the north op is clear now, Golf Freeway one
forty six. Help me out with that wreck. I can't
see the laneage Golf Freeway after the Texas City y
seven one three two one two t ips Mike from
Copperfields on two ninety just.

Speaker 34 (01:18:25):
Before the Antwine exit.

Speaker 6 (01:18:27):
Two cars got a little too intimate with each other.
Got somebody northwest side, Hey, got Mike to ninety double
trouble inbound and outbound. Out bound just passed the Farabay exit.

Speaker 2 (01:18:39):
Two car accident, No ninjas on site.

Speaker 30 (01:18:42):
Inbound it'll just passed it well and it was about
all right.

Speaker 6 (01:18:45):
Extra points for verbage. I'll let the rest of the
media know. We're in the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:18:51):
From r KTRH top tax Defenders twenty four hour weather center.
Partly to mostly cloudy, windy and cold today looks like
maybe fifty two, not very warm, well blow normal.

Speaker 5 (01:19:01):
We're up and down and all around here.

Speaker 4 (01:19:02):
Over the course of the next week, we'll talk to
Terry Smith about that in about eight minutes. Right now,
temperature remains forty four at your official severe weather station,
News Radio seven forty KTRH. It is time now for
the news. Here's Cliff Saunders.

Speaker 13 (01:19:16):
Thank you, Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (01:19:17):
It is seven oh two on KTRH, sponsored by shopist
John Deere.

Speaker 6 (01:19:21):
Our top story this hour.

Speaker 9 (01:19:23):
I think we're on the way to getting peace. I
think President Putin wants peace and President Zelenski wants peace.

Speaker 7 (01:19:31):
It wasn't day one, but there's hope to end the
nearly three year old war between Russia and Ukraine. President
and Trump says he'll meet with Vladimir Putin in the
not too distant future, and as promised.

Speaker 6 (01:19:42):
Another American was.

Speaker 7 (01:19:43):
A freed from captivity part of a group released by
Belarus yesterday. Also, Hamas backs down to Trump, announcing earlier
this morning it will release more hostages, salvaging the ceasefire
deal after Trump's threat of all quote hell breaking loose
on Saturday. Also in DC, another Trump cabinet member is confirmed.

Speaker 23 (01:20:05):
Yaser fifty two Laser forty eight nomination is confirmed.

Speaker 7 (01:20:09):
Tulsey Gabbert is now the DNI Mitch McConnell is the
only Republican that voted against her. A full vote on
RFK Junior to be HHS Secretary is set for nine
point thirty this morning, our time. We also have hearings
involving Linda McMahon, a's Education Secretary and incoming FBI Director
Cash Battel seven h three on KTRH more Trump winning.

(01:20:30):
A federal judge lifts the block on the federal buyout
program of employees. Advisor Elena Habba till Fox News, this
is just common sense.

Speaker 10 (01:20:39):
You need to come to work if you're paid by
the American people, and if you're a federal employee, I
show up to work every day, and if you choose
not to do so, that's your prerogative.

Speaker 1 (01:20:48):
Guess what.

Speaker 10 (01:20:49):
We'll even give you up until October's pay. No problem,
but you gotta go.

Speaker 7 (01:20:54):
The US District Judge George O'Toole, a Clinton appointee, saying
that the plaintiffs in this case were quote not directly
impacted by the program. And that comes as Democrats continued
to have a Doge meltdown in Congress.

Speaker 12 (01:21:08):
In the last Congress, Chairwoman Green literally showed a pick
in our oversight congressional hearing, so I thought i'd bring
one as well. This, of course we know, is President
Elon Musk.

Speaker 7 (01:21:20):
That's California Democrat Robert Garcia grand standing in the historyonics
is just more proof that the left is not tired
of losing.

Speaker 13 (01:21:28):
Democrats are seething over Trump's moves and doubling down on
their own insanity.

Speaker 14 (01:21:32):
The only reason Democrats have been able to achieve so
much power in this country is they've figured out a
way to have the taxpayer fund all their activism.

Speaker 13 (01:21:41):
Redio host and author Jesse Kelly says Trump will expose
more Democrat related corruption.

Speaker 6 (01:21:45):
The US eight is just the tip the pentagon.

Speaker 14 (01:21:48):
The things they're going to find, the waste, the fraud,
the abuse, the flat out and naked corruption is going
to stagger people, all.

Speaker 13 (01:21:55):
While Trump's popularity soars and Dems can't keep up.

Speaker 6 (01:21:59):
Jarret Lewis News Radio seven.

Speaker 7 (01:22:00):
Forty K eight coming up on seven h five oil
futures down by about a dollar this morning to ride
around seventy dollars a barrel, reacting to the potential piece
between Russia and Ukraine. Now, the President has promised to
tap into our liquid gold oil, but it's not entirely
up to him. Tim Stewart with US Oil and Gas

(01:22:21):
Association says the industry still needs to bounce back from
the Biden administration before they start more drilling.

Speaker 15 (01:22:28):
It'll take a while, but it's got to start at
some point. And sometimes we've got companies from now taking
a second look at some of those federal lands saying
we may be able to go back in. Now they're
putting pressure on us to increase production of another three
million barrels, and the issue is where do we find
those three million barrels?

Speaker 6 (01:22:42):
He says.

Speaker 7 (01:22:42):
Companies want to make sure that Trump's policies are set
in place, and they also want to ensure their shareholders
that they'll make a profit. Houston based Chevron announces it's
cutting up to twenty percent of its global workforce by
next year. That will potentially impact some nine thousand employees
seven oh six on KTRHD. Final inflation numbers of the

(01:23:03):
Biden era were worse than expected. Price's roseo point five
percent last month, the year over year number sitting at
three percent. Despite that, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Pale tried
to tell the House Financial Services Committee that the Biden
administration had the economy rolling, We've.

Speaker 16 (01:23:21):
Made great progress toward two percent. Last year inflation was
two point six percent, so great progress, but we're not
quite there.

Speaker 7 (01:23:28):
Yet, Powell stating the obvious there And as for the
Texas economy, we've been told that it's nearly indestructible, but
as it turns out, we could be headed down a
dangerous path with our budget.

Speaker 17 (01:23:40):
Texas is slowly developing a major property tax and spending problem.

Speaker 18 (01:23:44):
These are certainly things that need to be addressed this
session in Texas because if not, Texas.

Speaker 8 (01:23:49):
Will continue to run up more spending in higher taxes.

Speaker 17 (01:23:52):
Economist Van Skin says this spending problem is taking the
form of massive corporate handout programs.

Speaker 19 (01:23:58):
As far as corporate welfare goes, there's the number of
dollars like five hundred million dollars that would go to
creating movies in Texas, which shouldn't be a role for government.

Speaker 17 (01:24:06):
Gin says that this cycle of overtaxing and overspending could
snowball and wind up wrecking the Texas economy. Ethan Buchanan
News Radio seven forty eight.

Speaker 7 (01:24:15):
Seven h seven Alex Bregman reportedly gets a three year
deal to join the Red Sox worth one hundred and
twenty million dollars. Astro's pitchers and catchers report today with
manager Joe Espada having his work cut out for him
with the lineup minus Bregman and Kyle Tucker.

Speaker 20 (01:24:31):
I'm excited about the players that we have that we're
going to bring to camp. We're preparing our team to win,
and we are hitting some guys ready to play multiple
positions just to create some flexibility in our club.

Speaker 7 (01:24:41):
And that would include looking at Jose Altuve in left field.
The first full team workout is Tuesday. I'm Cliff Saunders
on Houston's news weather in Traffic station KTRH.

Speaker 3 (01:24:53):
Stay in touch on your drive in with Jimmy Barrett
and the Houston Morning News team.

Speaker 4 (01:25:02):
So I saw this story in Texas Corecard and I thought, hmm, okay,
lottery tickets, right, we have our own Texas lottery. A
million dollar lottery ticket printed in Waco for an illicit
lottery ticket seller lottery dot Com. Instead of a winner
coming forward immediately, the ticket was shrouded in secrecy. According

(01:25:24):
to the Comptroller's database of lottery payments, the jackpop went
unpaid until fourteen days after the one hundred and eighty
day deadline to cash into winning ticket. The winnings were
claimed anonymously through the mail by an individual from China, Shanghai, China.

(01:25:45):
To be exact, the Texas Lottery Commission was and remains
uninterested in questionable buying and redemption behavior. In other words,
they didn't buy the ticket directly from the Texas Lottery
and they're in a foreign country. They're not in this country.
I mean, I'm not talking about foreign citizenship being able

(01:26:07):
to buy a Texas Lottery ticket. I'm talking about somebody
who's not in this country being able to buy a
lottery ticket. So we basically send a million a million
Texas dollars to China, to Shanghai, and do we even know,
for example, that this ticket was legit. Lottery dot Com,
in a press release celebrating the sale of the million

(01:26:29):
dollar ticket, noted that it could not locate the winner.
That's a little bizarre. Well, if you can't locate the winner,
how do you give the winner the winnings. This company
illicitly sold lottery tickets online via an app and contravention
of Texas law and legislative intent, and boasted that users

(01:26:51):
could track tickets and get alert when you win. So
is it time to tighten up the Texas Lottery? Yeah?
So what should the rules be? Who should be able
to buy a Texas Lottery ticket? Should should we just
say you have to be a citizen in the United States?

(01:27:12):
Do you need to be a resident of Texas? What
kind of rules would we like to see for the
Texas Lottery? I think if we restricted where you live,
we'd probably be the only lottery in the entire country
where you couldn't be from a different state and play
the lottery in that particular state. People cross state lines

(01:27:32):
all the time to buy lottery tickets in other states.
My question is whether or not we want to make
some more restrictions here in Texas about who has an
opportunity to get our money. Seven ten, Time for traffic
and weather together as we check out the drive once
again with skyline.

Speaker 6 (01:27:47):
All right, Jimmy, we are too nine ed up in
both directions A little bit a lot of that season.
I'll get to you. Let's go to the golf freeway.
This wreck here south of the Texas City. Why has
been kicking me in the butt? Talks? Because I just
can't seem to get in any kind of view or
laneage on it. But it's not good. It may have
even been cleared. This is where I could use your
eyes on the ground if you can let me know safely.

(01:28:08):
So it's Golf Freeway southbound southbound outbound past the Texas
City Why and it's also squishing up one forty six
those of be trying to get on that ramp. Not
much for alternates either, at least a twelve minute wait here.
All right, back to two ninety inbound Antwine. That one's
gone outbound Tidwell, they're just about to clear it. Not
a big back up there either. In fact, we're not

(01:28:30):
as two ninety up belt to the loop as we
were a few minutes ago. You lose maybe two or
three Katie Freeway visors. You'll hit the brakes at Mason Road,
West Park Tollway, the usual spot at South parker Cypress.
You're tooling along until you get there, and then look
at the Southwest Freeway. We're actually decent. I don't have
the slow down at west Park just yet. We've got
some breaks after Kirby And here we go with that

(01:28:51):
south Loop skunch. We've been having this every morning. At
forty five that was on the westbound side right at
golf Gate, and it messes up the south you ad
monister here, Jimmy, it messes up the south loop six
ten at forty five, it messes up to twenty five
from the goodyear plan, and it messes up your ship
channel bridge. To see if I can get some laneage
at that at the seven to twenty break, Skymike on

(01:29:13):
the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:29:15):
From r KTRH top Taks Defenders twenty four hour Weather
center for today, Terry Smith. Yes, got some clouds, but
I see a couple of breaks in the clouds here,
so I'm thinking, what are we gonna be in and
out of the clouds today.

Speaker 5 (01:29:27):
Kind of thing.

Speaker 21 (01:29:28):
Yeah, we've got the dryer air moving in, so it
is cloudy right now, but we'll see some sunshine by
the afternoon. Today thankfully is dry, but it's awfully chilly,
and it's a little bit breezy out there at times.
I'm seeing these winds twenty to thirty miles an hour
this morning, So hang on to your hats, folks and

(01:29:50):
bundle up.

Speaker 6 (01:29:50):
It's going to be cold.

Speaker 21 (01:29:51):
Load of mid fifties today. Tomorrow the rain is back
a forty percent chance of showers.

Speaker 6 (01:29:57):
Not everybody gets wet.

Speaker 21 (01:29:58):
Everybody's chilly, though still in the mid fifties to low
sixties Tomorrow. We'arving up Saturday. Saturday a sixty percent chance
of showers and storms, and heis in the seventies. Nice
and sunny and dry and chili. Sunday and Monday temperature
Sunday load a mid fifties and close to sixty by Monday.

Speaker 4 (01:30:17):
Right now forty three at your official severe weather station,
News Radio seven forty k t RH.

Speaker 3 (01:30:23):
It's Houston's Morning News, brought to you by New South
Windows Solutions. Now back to Jimmy Barris, had the Houston
Morning News team all the info you need to take
on the day.

Speaker 4 (01:30:33):
You know, whenever anybody talks about the Texas budget is
always in glowing and rosy terms. Look at we've got
another state surplus. We're going to give property tax relief.
But our next guests coming up vance again he's an
economist at again economic consulting. He says, Now, things aren't
quite as rosy as you think they are. We are

(01:30:53):
certainly experiencing economic growth, but the state government isn't keeping
face with fiscal responsibility and we could go broke at
some point if we don't fix it. More in that
story coming up next, But first we're going to check
out that drive once again with Skymike, who's discovered plutonium.

Speaker 6 (01:31:07):
Versus still gonna be short too. Here, Jimmy, North Freeway
I forty five southbound just past College Park. I got
a wreck. It's not messing and not only messing up
your North Freeway from Conro, but it's really spackling up
to forty two. A quickie on the Golf Freeway.

Speaker 18 (01:31:22):
Hey bes Christ from Jaxas City head southbound to Galveston,
and it looks like that it's cleared all right.

Speaker 6 (01:31:28):
That was outbound. That's a huge banana sticker. Chris, I'm
Skymike and the Generator Supercenter dot Com Traffic Center from.

Speaker 4 (01:31:34):
R KTRH Stomp tax Defenders, twenty four hour weather center
for today, partly the mostly cloudy skies, wendy cold, high
temperature right about fifty four tomorrow, scattered showers becoming mostly
cloudy with a high round sixty temperature right now forty
three at your officials Severe weather Station News Radio seven
forty k t RH. Right, let's check out some more
of our top stories on a Thursday.

Speaker 7 (01:31:55):
Here's Cliff, Thank you, Jimmy, brought to you by dn
M Auto releasing the dojsues New York Date over their
opposition to his illegal immigration policies. Defense Secretary Pete Hexath
says Ukraine joining NATO is quote unrealistic and eggs are
not the only breakfast staples going up in price. Did
you know that orange juice is up nearly eight percent
while coffee is up almost five percent. Get the latest

(01:32:18):
news anytime at KTRH dot com. Our next update is
a seven thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:32:22):
Every hour something in our city.

Speaker 9 (01:32:24):
Some things happened that shouldn't have check in all day prepared.

Speaker 5 (01:32:28):
It's always something for anything.

Speaker 3 (01:32:30):
On news radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 5 (01:32:35):
Seven twenty two.

Speaker 4 (01:32:35):
Our time, I with being broke, either the lieutenant governor
talk and members of the state legislature. Hey, we got
this great surplus. Things are going great. We're gonna give
you property tax relief. We'll put some more money away
in the Rainy day fund. Things or things are are
are bright and only getting better. So here you are.

(01:32:56):
What were you doing throwing a cold wet economic blanket
on all this?

Speaker 50 (01:33:02):
Look, I mean the economy has done pretty well, but
if you're comparing it with other states, that many of
them have been doing.

Speaker 8 (01:33:08):
Pretty poorly over the last few years.

Speaker 50 (01:33:10):
And Texas just has to be a place where people
are fleeing those blue states, progressive states like California and
New York and coming to Texas and all that's contributing
to more economic growth.

Speaker 8 (01:33:20):
But my concern.

Speaker 50 (01:33:21):
Is is that we've also got to look for the future,
and the future is is that we have too much
government spending at the state and local levels, and we've
got too high property taxes, and all this comes together
to say, you know what, we've also got an affordability crisis,
which even Governor Abbott has has mentioned here recently and
made his emergency items.

Speaker 8 (01:33:38):
One of them is being property tax relief.

Speaker 50 (01:33:41):
So I think that they see some of the problems
that are out there, they're just not willing to admit
them quite yet.

Speaker 5 (01:33:46):
Okay, so they're in denial. Yeah, we would you.

Speaker 4 (01:33:51):
I'm guessing you are probably a big fan of what's
going on in Washington, DC right now with dose, Yes,
would you like to see that at the state and
local level as well?

Speaker 1 (01:34:05):
I would?

Speaker 50 (01:34:05):
I mean, I think that there is a lot of
room for improvement in these budgets. And when you see
what Elon Musk is doing with there the Department of
Government Efficiency, along with.

Speaker 5 (01:34:14):
O and B.

Speaker 50 (01:34:15):
Russ Vote, who I used to work with in the
Trump White House, they're really looking at as many much
savings as possible.

Speaker 8 (01:34:21):
And we just you know, they went.

Speaker 50 (01:34:23):
Through this period of time where federal employees could just resign.

Speaker 6 (01:34:26):
They had about.

Speaker 50 (01:34:27):
Seventy thousand of them, which is about three percent of
the federal workforce. I think they wanted closer to five
or ten percent, but still seventy thousand have resigned from
the federal government, and we have too many employees.

Speaker 8 (01:34:39):
At the at the state and local levels as well.

Speaker 50 (01:34:42):
We should see much less bureaucracy and we would get
more efficiency out of our government to really prioritize the
constitutional roles for government instead of doing everything under the
sun that they like they try.

Speaker 6 (01:34:54):
To do today.

Speaker 4 (01:34:55):
Guess there's a couple of bills for the state budget.
One is in the House and one is in the Senate.
At the Senate buil a eleven point two billion, that
would be a three point five percent increase. The House's
budget is fourteen billion, which is a four point four
percent increase. But there that goes on top of the
increases we've had over the last several years. How much
has the Texas budget grown then, say the last five

(01:35:18):
or six years.

Speaker 50 (01:35:20):
The last five or six years, we've seen a massive increase.
We've had about a twenty i say, thirty two percent
increase just in u then the all funds and was sorry,
the state funds if they stood federal funds and closer
to twenty five percent.

Speaker 8 (01:35:33):
When you include federal funds, you.

Speaker 51 (01:35:35):
Know, this is a massive increase in the budget. And
so they'll show that you know, we've only increase in
the budget by four percent. That's after a substantial increases
last session. And so if you're trying to budget for
your own budget, and yeah, you know what, I'm gonna
spend ten percent more because I've got more revenue, and
then I'm going to do another five percent, but you
contained them to compound those earlier increases, and.

Speaker 36 (01:35:58):
What that does is leans less money for property tax.

Speaker 8 (01:36:00):
Really, think, Jimmy, they've got twenty four billion dollars in
surplus right now.

Speaker 1 (01:36:05):
Past twenty billion dollars in days on.

Speaker 51 (01:36:07):
Fifty two billion dollars, and they're only providing sixty billion
dollars in property tax Really, that's the prop in the
bucket compared to what I think many taxpayers.

Speaker 8 (01:36:15):
Across the state of taxes would like.

Speaker 49 (01:36:17):
The seat.

Speaker 4 (01:36:18):
No, I wish we hadn't lost your cell. You kind
of broke up there, but I would like, whoop, you're back.

Speaker 1 (01:36:25):
Yeah, I'm here, I'm here.

Speaker 4 (01:36:26):
There you go, whatever happened. But but but I think
we get the gist of it. In other words, you know,
just to reiterate here, the main point is is, yeah,
they're they're touting all the property tax relief they're getting
giving us, but it's really a drop in the bucket
compared to the increase in revenue.

Speaker 50 (01:36:41):
Well that's exactly right.

Speaker 8 (01:36:43):
Sorry, you couldn't hear me there for a second.

Speaker 6 (01:36:44):
But we've got about fifty.

Speaker 50 (01:36:45):
Two billion dollars floating around between twenty four billion in
surplus and twenty eight billion dollars in the Rainy Day Fund,
and they've only proposed six billion dollars in.

Speaker 6 (01:36:54):
Property tax relief.

Speaker 50 (01:36:55):
That's that's really a drop in the bucket compared to
what I think taxpayers across the state want.

Speaker 4 (01:37:00):
Yeah, how much how much do you think we could
afford to give them? Property tax relief, Man, I.

Speaker 50 (01:37:05):
Would like to give all the surplus back that's over
collected tax payer money, and so closer to twenty twenty
four billion should be more in line with what I
think we.

Speaker 8 (01:37:13):
Should see in new.

Speaker 6 (01:37:14):
Property tax relief.

Speaker 50 (01:37:16):
And look at the end of the day, Jimmy, I
would like to see the school district im and O
property tax be eliminated. They can make a great step
in that direction. The governor has been in favor of that,
and others across leadership. I think there's a great opportunity
to do that this session.

Speaker 4 (01:37:29):
You know what, if it were then my power, I
would appoint you the doze leader of Texas. Van Skin,
I love your idea.

Speaker 6 (01:37:35):
Yes, let's go you.

Speaker 4 (01:37:36):
Thank you man. Good to talk to you as always.
Thank you Vans again from Gain Economic Consulting seven twenty seven.
Time to take a look at your money? Is we
check it again with Denise PELAGRENEI yeah.

Speaker 24 (01:37:47):
We have President Trump announcing today is the big one,
the day he will announce reciprocal tariffs, he says, promising
to deliver on his threat to slave tariffs on imports
from countries that impose.

Speaker 6 (01:37:57):
Higher duties on US goods.

Speaker 24 (01:38:00):
Doc Futures right now are mixed ahead of a report
coming out in just a couple of minutes on inflation
at the producer level. Down futures up for right now
S and P futures down for Nasdaq futures up thirteen.
I'm Denise PELLYGREENI Bloomberg Business on News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 6 (01:38:18):
You are Houston's News.

Speaker 1 (01:38:20):
Why there were traffic plus breaking news twenty four to seven.
This is News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 2 (01:38:27):
Five Everywhere with the IRF.

Speaker 3 (01:38:30):
More of what's happening now from the John Morris Services Studios.

Speaker 4 (01:38:34):
Seven thirty one Our time, Houston's Morning News. I'm Jimmy Barrett.
Among our top stories this af are Pam BONDI, Swing
Illinois and now New York over illegal immigration. Lieutenant Governor
Dan Patrick gives the Texas House an ultimatum on bail reform,
and coming up at seven thirty eight, the White House
Press Secretary shows the media where the wasteful evidence is

(01:38:55):
details in the minutes ahead. You're in Houston's Morning News. First,
let's check out that morning driving. Here's sky Mine.

Speaker 6 (01:39:00):
All right, we're going a visoring West Park Tollway. I've
got the drag now at West Timer Place inbound about
a six minute scoochs. Katie Freeway. Your break start at
Mason Road southwest. You're not bad this morning, twenty four
minutes up into town. We've cleared both two ninety rex
outbound Antoine outbound Tidwell Golf Freeway. We've cleared that one
after the Texas City Why and if you let's clear

(01:39:21):
the North Freeway I forty five at College Park. That's gone.
I'm keeping the suckage in your navigation for now from
fourteen eighty eight southbound Tipline seven one three two one
two tips and tell me what I should get My
work wife, Christina Kruz for Valentine's Skymike and the Generator
Supercenter dot Com traffic Center.

Speaker 4 (01:39:40):
From our KTRH Generator Supercenter twenty four our weather center
partly to mostly Claudi today, starting off mostly Claudia, will
be partly Claudi for the afternoon. Kind of cold, I
only fifty four and gusty wins make it feel even colder.
We'll talk to Terry Smith about all this in about
eight minutes. Right now, temperature is forty three at your
official severe weather station News Radio seven forty KTRH. It's

(01:40:01):
time now for the news. Here's Cliff Saunders.

Speaker 7 (01:40:03):
Thank you, Jimmy. It is seven thirty two, our top
story this hour.

Speaker 25 (01:40:08):
If you don't comply with federal law, we will hold
you accountable.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
We did it to Illinois.

Speaker 11 (01:40:13):
Strike one, Strike two is New York.

Speaker 29 (01:40:16):
And if you are a state not complying with federal law,
your next get ready.

Speaker 7 (01:40:21):
US Attorney General Pam Bondi SIUs New York for refusing
to cooperate with immigration policies. This as, two more associates
of the violent Venezuelan gain trendy Arragua were arrested by
the FBI in Houston and turned over to Ice. Yesterday
in Austin, an amendment to the Texas Constitution denying bail
to illegal aliens charged with felonies is on its way

(01:40:44):
to the full Senate after passing out of committee. It's
all part of a bail reform package that the governor
is pushing for, with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick playing hardball.

Speaker 1 (01:40:54):
This is serious stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:40:55):
This is life and death.

Speaker 26 (01:40:56):
We will not leave here until these bills pass the House.

Speaker 7 (01:41:00):
At the Capitol yesterday, the man charged in last Friday
sexual assault at the uh parking garage. Eric Brown remains
on the loose this morning, even though he was arrested
last weekend.

Speaker 27 (01:41:10):
We know that this parking garage robbery and sexual assault
at knife point happened last Friday around five thirty in
the evening, and then by eleven.

Speaker 8 (01:41:18):
Forty five that night.

Speaker 27 (01:41:19):
It appears police had their suspect in custody and with
good evidence, but less than twenty four hours later he
was able to walk out of the jail.

Speaker 7 (01:41:27):
Chris Newberry with our TV partner Channel two and More Crime.
Last night, Harris County deputies discover a woman killed in
her garage. Her son's been charged in the murder after
he was found holding a hammer in his hand. Mayor
John Whitbyer released the final released the results of an
efficiency review of the city's finances yesterday, and it showed
misuse of city credit cards and other financial misconducts.

Speaker 28 (01:41:50):
I've traveled the city, listened to thousands of people about
their concerns and made the commitment that until we did
the best we could eliminate waste, duplication and corruption, I
would not seek additional resources.

Speaker 7 (01:42:05):
The city has a budget shortfall of nearly three hundred
and thirty million dollars, and despite that, the city has
started negotiating a new contract with the police officers union.
The current deal expires on June thirtieth.

Speaker 6 (01:42:18):
Seven thirty four.

Speaker 7 (01:42:19):
President Trump against talks with Ukraine and Russia about ending
the war in Europe.

Speaker 29 (01:42:23):
I myself just spoke to the President about these calls,
and he told me to tell all of you they
were very good calls. They were very positive, and the
administration is wholeheartedly committed to a peace deal to end
once and for all the Russia Ukraine War.

Speaker 7 (01:42:37):
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt, Hey, remember the Chinese
spy balloon that was shot down two years ago. Turns
out it was equipped with technology from at least five
American companies.

Speaker 30 (01:42:47):
The more malicious explanation is people in our government have
been taken bribes from the Chinese government and they're actively
on Chinese government payroll. And the USA fraud shows that
to some extent, you have people in the country and
made millions of dollars selling the country out for the
last thirty years.

Speaker 7 (01:43:01):
Retired Army Captain Sean Timmins says another possibility would be
that the equipment was rerouted through an American ally, and
there's this Texas infrastructure could be at risk to a
cyber attack, something Governor Greg Gabbett is addressing with the
Texas Cyber Command Initiative.

Speaker 31 (01:43:18):
This as cyber attacks are increasing and we learn how
vulnerable we are.

Speaker 32 (01:43:21):
This comes simply from the fact that almost all of
our infrastructure is somewhere somehow connected to the Internet.

Speaker 31 (01:43:30):
Nicholas Guggenberger from u of H says the consequences of
an attack could paralyze the state, and the funding of
the program will be critical.

Speaker 33 (01:43:37):
You have to hire highly specialized people, and expertise in
that area can be expensive. You have to build up
a highly capable structure.

Speaker 5 (01:43:46):
He says.

Speaker 31 (01:43:47):
If not funded well, it won't have a true impact.
Moore Parard News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 6 (01:43:53):
Seven thirty six.

Speaker 7 (01:43:54):
The Producer price Index for January is out and thank
you Joe Biden. Wholesale prices rose zero point four percent
more than expected. And as we talk about making America
great again, some simply want to make Texas housing affordable again.

Speaker 35 (01:44:09):
It's something that former State Senator Don Huffines is promoting
at his Liberty Foundation.

Speaker 22 (01:44:16):
I never thought I would see it like it is today.
They're trying to turn Texas into California, and these are
Republicans that are doing that.

Speaker 35 (01:44:24):
So how do we make housing affordable again in Texas?
Huffines says, It's simple.

Speaker 36 (01:44:30):
We got to get government out of the way.

Speaker 37 (01:44:32):
Jeff, Government's the problem, and that's the fundamental issue of
affecting housing.

Speaker 35 (01:44:38):
With over taxation and overregulation. Jeff Biggs, News Radio seven
forty KT eight.

Speaker 5 (01:44:45):
Thank you.

Speaker 7 (01:44:45):
Jeff, and the Rockets beat Phoenix at Toyota last night,
one nineteen to one eleven. They host the Warriors tonight.
We'll have the pregame at six on Sports Talk seven ninety.
I'm Cliff Saunders on Houston's newsweather, and traffic station KTRH.

Speaker 3 (01:45:00):
Houston's Morning News continues with Jimmy Barrett.

Speaker 4 (01:45:05):
Yeah, the daily assault on Doge continues. It's kind of
lappable at this point. Yesterday, I'm very impressed with Caroline Levet,
who's the new White House Press Secretary. Then again, when
you're comparing her to Green Jean Pierre, it's pretty easy
to be impressed, right, But yesterday she was just waiting
for somebody to ask her about where's the proof that

(01:45:29):
there's waste and fraud in the US government, and she
was more than happy to provide it to the assembled media.

Speaker 29 (01:45:36):
If you knew Elon Musk is the richest man in
the world, he's also now one of the most highly
scrutinized men in the world alongside President Trump because of
what he's doing and the access that he is allowing.

Speaker 11 (01:45:47):
So there's great transparency.

Speaker 29 (01:45:49):
As for the actual receipts, we are happy to provide them,
and I actually brought some today because all of you
know I love to bring their receipts. We have contracts
upon contracts that we can send and this information to you.
Let me be very clear, we are not trying to
hide anything. We have been incredibly transparent and.

Speaker 11 (01:46:05):
We will continue to be.

Speaker 29 (01:46:07):
These are screenshots of contracts that DOGE found across our government.
This is a DEI contract thirty six thousand dollars for
US Citizenship and Immigration Services that is against the President's
policies and his America First agenda. This is a three
point four million dollar contract a Council for Inclusive Innovation
at the US Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce.

Speaker 11 (01:46:30):
Another DEI contract that.

Speaker 29 (01:46:31):
DOGE identified, I can continue to go through these Oh
I love this one. Fifty seven thousand bucks for climate
change in Sri Lanka. What is this doing to continue
the interests of the American people?

Speaker 11 (01:46:44):
Absolutely nothing.

Speaker 29 (01:46:45):
These are the line items across the federal government that
DOGE is identifying daily.

Speaker 11 (01:46:50):
They're moving very fast.

Speaker 29 (01:46:51):
There's a lot of paper that we can show you,
but we're happy to do it. This administration has been
more than transparent about what DOGE is doing. And here's
where one of their tweets that they posted about the mine.
I believe this is in Pennsylvania where the federal employee.

Speaker 11 (01:47:06):
Retirement system is being processed.

Speaker 29 (01:47:08):
Did anybody know this was even happening in our country
before Elon Musk talked about it in the Oval office yesterday.

Speaker 11 (01:47:13):
A lot of Americans didn't.

Speaker 29 (01:47:15):
So we are providing transparency and accessibility on a daily basis.

Speaker 11 (01:47:19):
When it comes to.

Speaker 4 (01:47:20):
Dode, there you go, doing her job and providing more
than just lip service. Although future well, that's that doesn't
prove fraud.

Speaker 5 (01:47:32):
Okay, it's.

Speaker 4 (01:47:35):
Anything anything that builds tax payers out of out of
money in a wasteful way to me as fraud. Maybe
their definition is a little more specific than that. Seven
forty time for traffic and weather together. We're checking out
the drive again. Here's sky Mike.

Speaker 6 (01:47:50):
Oh we're in the red all over town. Jimmy Barrett,
we've got Southwest Freeway. I think I spoke too soon
a few minutes ago. It is really starting to skun
shop now west part to Alway, trying to get onto
the ramp to go up to uptown, and then you
hit the brakes right after Greenway Plaza from Shepherd Kirby.
You lose nineteen extra minutes trying to get northbound through
the canyon southbound the other way sixty nine your east

(01:48:11):
text smushed up now right before equipment. That's almost becoming
a Callingsworth back door and a twenty five minute back
up if you're trying to get down to the mid
center the fan and exit a hardy viue. We cleared
a wreck at the ramp to the North Loop a
long time ago. We're still squished from cross timbers. And
that's a pretty good smash now both ways on the
North Loop at the squeeze westbound, it's heavy. At forty

(01:48:33):
five Golf Freeway. Your brake's at the beltway. What are
you doing on that ramp? I better check that out
looks like we've got an outbound wreck at Scarsdale. And oh,
by the way, high profile, Terry. You mentioned the miss
to me off channel. But if you're driving something high profile,
be careful on the bridge seven Coves. This is on
all your bridges. Rather, let's go to seven Coves with
Ghetto Daves.

Speaker 5 (01:48:52):
Hey, Scott much you get the boat launch man.

Speaker 30 (01:48:55):
The wind is honking out of.

Speaker 5 (01:48:57):
The Nord flags. You're straight out.

Speaker 30 (01:48:59):
The side and I'm looking at a.

Speaker 34 (01:49:01):
Dome of grayish clouds all around.

Speaker 2 (01:49:04):
Wow.

Speaker 6 (01:49:04):
I never realized Ghetto Dave was so poetic. All right,
pass it to you, Terry. I'm in the Generator Supercenter
dot com tract center.

Speaker 4 (01:49:10):
He thinks, bite a picture, too bad. It's all in
black and white from our KTRH Generator super Center in
twenty four our weather center. Terry is here and yeah,
the wind is what is really going to make it
feel cold today, Terry.

Speaker 21 (01:49:21):
Yeah, and Ghetto Dave, was it what sky miser? Yeah, yep,
nice job, because we do have a gustin.

Speaker 30 (01:49:29):
Northern grayish clouds all around.

Speaker 21 (01:49:32):
And gray clouds. Well, the winds are a little bit
more of an issue. I think gusty winds twenty to
thirty miles an hour at times this morning, and our
temperatures are in the thirties and forties across most of
our area, so it's a chilly day. Now we're going
to wind up with some sunshine and high temperatures. Only
load of mid fifties today. Tomorrow's a little bit warmer

(01:49:55):
and we have some Marina. Forty percent chance of showers,
mid fifties. Hello, sixties tomorrow, call front bringing us rain. Saturday,
sixty percent chance of showers and storms. Temperature Saturday are
nice in the seventies, but then more cold air moves
in Sunday. It's sunny and only low to mid fifties Sunday.

Speaker 4 (01:50:14):
Right now, down to forty two at your official severe
weather station, News Radio seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 5 (01:50:20):
What you need to know for the day ahead.

Speaker 3 (01:50:23):
This is Houston's Morning News, brought to you by New
South Windows Solutions.

Speaker 4 (01:50:28):
Former States Center Don Huffeines will join us in just
a moment. He has the Huffeines Liberty Foundation. These days,
they wrote a paper about how we can make Texas
housing affordable again. We'll talk to him about that next first, though,
traffic and weather together, starting with the U skymine due
North Freeway.

Speaker 6 (01:50:42):
It's all breaks right after the Shepherd Curve. Connect those
dots downtown. Twenty two minute lost look at Southwest Freeway.
Second start now from about bel Air all the way
up to the Loop. I'm Skymike. It's your Generator Supercenter
dot com traffic center.

Speaker 4 (01:50:54):
From our KTRH Generator Supercenter. Twenty four hour weather center
for today, partly to mostly cloudy, wind cold about fifty
four tomorrow, scattered showers becoming mostly cloudy for Valentine's Day.
I have sixty. Temperature right now is forty two at
your official severe weather station. News Radio seven forty KTRH.
We're checking out some of our top stories this morning.

(01:51:16):
Here's clip sponsored by Moral Mechanical.

Speaker 7 (01:51:18):
Wholesale prices rise higher than expected in January. The Senate
will vote on RFK Junior's nomination as HHS Secretary this morning.
And NASA increases the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth
in twenty thirty two to over two percent, up from
one percent a couple of weeks ago. Get the latest
news anytime at KTRH dot com. Our next update is

(01:51:39):
at eight o'clock.

Speaker 6 (01:51:41):
I live in Katie. I Live in Ito your reliable forecast.

Speaker 38 (01:51:45):
Next on the ten on seven forty KTRH.

Speaker 4 (01:51:51):
Seven fifty two R time here in here's this's Porning news.
The Texas home though, is as cheap as it used
to be. You add in the current interest rate with
our current property taxes, and even with property tax relief,
it's still not affordable for a lot of folks. Don
Huffines Joints, a former state senator, head of the Huffines
Liberty Foundation. They wrote a paper on how to make

(01:52:13):
things more affordable. It all goes back to the deep
state government. Is that Grex sir?

Speaker 5 (01:52:20):
Oh, yeah, this is Don Haffeine. Yes, it sure does.

Speaker 6 (01:52:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 36 (01:52:25):
It is the number one driver for making housing more
affordable is government, government regulations, zoning. Local governments work very
hard often in Texas to prohibit homes for being built.
And you know, it's really interesting that they very seldom

(01:52:49):
ever welcome in home builders or developers to their towns.

Speaker 4 (01:52:54):
Interesting. Well, the song was just about Hill Country. I know,
that's one of those places right where it's gotten very,
very difficult to build a home here in Texas.

Speaker 1 (01:53:04):
Well.

Speaker 36 (01:53:04):
It is it's simply about supply and demand, and it's
fundamental to the free market, and when you have a
lot of supply, prices go down, and when you have
a limited.

Speaker 15 (01:53:16):
Supply, of course prices go up.

Speaker 36 (01:53:19):
So the simple solution is for us to help home
builders and developers build as many houses as they possibly can,
and then the price will fall. And of course you
already mentioned property tax. You know, if we can eliminate
at least the school property tax, that's a big help.

(01:53:39):
And we can do that. We have a white paper
on that, how finds liberty Foundation, How that can happen
without increasing taxes or creating a new tax. It's about
fiscal discipline and we can always make housing more affordable.

Speaker 4 (01:53:52):
Well, I'm glad you brought up the fiscal discipline. I
had vance again, I don't know if you know Avans
or not, from economic consulting on a little bit earlier,
and we were talking about Doze and he thinks, and
I believe this as well, that we should take the
Doze model and we should break it to Texas. We
should do with state government, and we should do it
with local government. Imagine how much waste there is in
Harris County.

Speaker 36 (01:54:14):
Amen. Amen, we should doge every government agency in Texas.
When I was in the Senate. I was just shocked
that there's really no third party audits ever for government
agencies or the state government in general. And you know
the state government spends. With this new budget, they're going
to spend four hundred and sixty million dollars a day,

(01:54:38):
seven days a week. And I guarantee you people are
stealing money government. There's that kind of money flowing out
every single day. There's a lot of sticky fingers out
there taking cash, and a lot of people need to
be going to prison. I found a bunch in Dallas
County when I was in office, and I got six

(01:54:58):
people put in prison for stealing from taxpayers.

Speaker 22 (01:55:02):
And you know, we need to doge the state of Texas.

Speaker 4 (01:55:07):
I would agree, sir, that'd be a good place to start.
I guess the other thing, too, is why are we
being so stingy with property tax relief. We have enough
of a budget surplus where we could certainly take the
home set exibit as exemption and make it a lot
more than one hundred and forty thousand dollars that's been proposed.

Speaker 36 (01:55:26):
That's a very good question, and I can't answer it
because I'm just shocked that the fact that the legislature
won't give back the overfunding that they've received from the
Texas taxpayers.

Speaker 22 (01:55:38):
I mean, this is our money. This isn't government money.
Government doesn't create money. It's all from the taxpayer, and
it should be returned. If we've overpaid our bills, we
should return it, all of it back.

Speaker 1 (01:55:51):
A great taxpayer.

Speaker 36 (01:55:52):
And one thing I just want to point out that
local governments are the biggest source of really abuse of
power in the state of Texas. There's no checks and balances,
Jimmy for local governments like there is at the state
or federal level.

Speaker 5 (01:56:07):
Well, you're right.

Speaker 4 (01:56:08):
And the fraud, the fraud level of the fraud level
in Harris County, in the city of Houston is I mean,
imagine the multi millions of dollars we could save there.
I wish I had more time, sir, I got to run,
But thank you so much, Former State Senator Don haffeind
y'all have a great day. See tomorrow morning, bright and
early at five in the SAFT four and am nine
fifty k PRC