12.11: Snow on the Way - Hour 2

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I can't confirm the six o'clock hour underway here at
news Radio eight forty whas it is Coffee and Company
and we are field by Thornton's and we are live
on the Aheart Radio app as well. And if you're
listening live, you can always use the talk backline powered
by Alex R. White PLLC so Distracted Driver dot Com.
And we did have somebody who chimed in earlier on
the talkback line. And uh, I believe this is the

(00:22):
second time someone has used this word when describing me
at five am. And they're using the word percolating, and
I know what that means, but I don't know if
I've ever heard had anybody mention that to describe my
my on air style good more in Mester Nick Coffee
it is the crazy Cats fan. I was wondered if

(00:45):
sip Thornton's donuts had crushed up pederol on top of it,
because you're home one today, son, you're percolating. I'm percolating
And no, there's no drugs on the Thornton He sounds
like he's percolating, Okay to say, yeah, he's I If
I'm percolating, what are you sir. But yeah, no, they're
just good donuts. And uh, I do need to find
probably a little bit of a better balance because I

(01:07):
know a lot of people are not mourning people, right,
and I like, I like getting this show started with
a lot of energy and enthusiasm. H every morning, I
mean that's that's that's uh. And and of all the
different day parts I've hosted in radio, I've done mid days,
I've done afternoons, I've done mornings, I've done this is
graveyard shift, really, but I've done mornings that started seven

(01:28):
and now do mornings that started five. Uh, this is
the best. I love it. I just feel like it's
more my style. But yeah, if you're getting out of
bed and you're you know, you turn on your Alexa,
you just turn on the the app on your phone,
whatever it may be, and you're you know, you're sleepwalking
into the kitchen, you get the coffee pot going, and
then you're heading to the shower like you may be
annoyed by somebody who's really energetic. So uh, I do

(01:49):
need to find a balance there. But you, sir, I
feel like you're you're you're exceeding my levels. So we're
on the same page you and I. But you know,
maybe I should uh, maybe I should just ease in
a little bit better. But look, I can't be fake, right,
I can't. I can't be phony, which which what you hear.
It's gonna say what you see. Luckily you don't. Luckily
for you, you don't get to see me, but you hear me,
and it's just me being genuine. So maybe I can

(02:11):
help you be more excited about the day, or maybe
you think, God, this guy's annoying as hell. It's five am.
Does you know we're all still trying to get get
woken up here. But anyways, some uh, some news yesterday
nationally that is certainly that certainly news. Just think one
of the many things that And I don't say this
with any type of criticism or strong opinion. It's just

(02:33):
it's something that is is something you don't typically see this,
certainly she didn't used to. But now the administration, the
chump administration, is proposed a mandatory Uh wait, I mean again,
let me just make sure I've got all this correct,
because it did change yesterday. But foreign tourists could require
to disclos They could be required to disclose five years
of social media history under Trump's administration plan here, so

(02:58):
coming to the country, if you want to come and
you've got to go through that process to get here
and be told you're good to go. They now want
to track five years of your social media history if
it's out there. So initially the report came out that
it was travelers from all countries, all foreign visitors. Now
we know it's travelers from forty two different countries. So

(03:20):
they've said it for years. Now, be careful what you
put on social media for a variety of reasons. I mean,
you really should just be mindful of it overall, for
really no particular reason, just because you know, hey, it
just gives people a chance to take something you put
out there and let that be their opinion of you,
right that one thing you did, you said. But now
it's I mean, I think most of the time it

(03:42):
comes up like, hey, be careful with social media because
employers look at that kind of stuff. Well, now the
government's going to look at that kind of stuff here
in America to see if you have maybe posed any
kind of potential threat, or maybe if you've disrespected this
country to where they don't feel like you. Both you know,
you deserve to enjoy all the great things that come
with America. So again, forty two different countries are going

(04:04):
to are gonna need waivers and five years so social
media history, email addresses and phone numbers used in the
last five years, names and addresses of family members, so
this would become part of the ESTA application, which millions
of people typically complete in minutes. Now it's going to
be a little bit more extensive. Right. It went from
being something you just fill out in ninety seconds to

(04:24):
now we're talking again five I mean, I don't know
if you have to dig up your own history or
maybe they do it for you. It's a lot of work,
I would imagine. I'm just thinking of what my social
media history would look like over five years time. So
this is not final just yet, but DHS says that
they're now at least starting to talk about it, and
I guess, get the ball rolling here. So one of

(04:47):
the potential I guess early I guess signs to see
if this is going to cause real issue is the
World Cup. So the United States is co hosting the
World Cup this year, and the chump of gistration did
say that World Cup ticket holders could get faster appointments
to get through this, but there's still going to be
subject to the same requirements. Quote from Trump, we employ

(05:09):
the same vetting process for everyone for national security purposes.
So I mean, even without this, I can see the
World Cup logistics being of real pain. But now you
add this, I mean, who knows what kind of mess
it could end up being. And I'm not saying that
this is a terrible idea. We should just never do this,
but with this big change, again, something that used to

(05:32):
be a ninety second application to fill out, it's going
to take a lot more time from people to do
what they got to do to get here. But also
on our end, right vetting and looking into everything, Like
when he says get appointments, I mean, what's an appointment? Do?
Just get to get your foot in the door and
then they got to like review you. How long does
that take? So again, that could definitely change the travelers

(05:57):
that we see come to this country. And maybe that's
a good thing. I don't know. Literally, you want tourism,
but we can't live in a world where we assume
that there are people here that are all just help
and make America phenomenal. Right, that's just not reality, all right,
quick time out trafficking weathers on the way. We got
a lot more to get into, so hope you stick
with us right here, and there's radio eight forty w
h A S. So we talked earlier about the drone

(06:22):
capabilities that LMPD has now to apprehend criminals. They saw
a big win earlier this week as they were able
to arrest five people and a car theft ring. And
it's just very interesting and fascinating really to see what
they see via the vone, via the drone, and also
you know, see how just see how it's just one instance,

(06:42):
I'm sure of many of how valuable it's going to
be for them to be able to track criminals on
the run with that view in the sky. But another
win I think that that is worth acknowledging is the
decrease in homicides in Louisville. And I said it a
million times, why not say it once more that there'll

(07:02):
never be a number you give as far as violent
crime to where it's any type of All, right, well,
job's done. I guess we can all just you know,
because we can just go ahead and get rid of
law enforcement. Right, everybody's safe now, no violence. I mean
the reason I bring all this up is because whenever
there is acknowledgment of progress, you do at times get
hit with well, you know, how about you clean this up?

(07:25):
Or you know, there's never going to be a scenario
where there's no violent crime or no homicides. That's just
not reality. So what Chief Humphrey has said that I
still believe is the best way possible to describe how
you view it from their perspective the law enforcement side,
is that there's no finish line to this. This is
a this is not a hill you're trying to climb
and then you know, say we made it, let's all

(07:47):
go home. There's never going to be an end to
trying to curb it and get it under control. So
acknowledging progress, I mean, it's just facts that I think
one are that facts. But also it is a good sign,
and I think it's worth mentioning any chance we get
that those that are trying to get this city to

(08:08):
be a little more safe are doing a good job.
So we're getting ready to wrap up this calendar year
twenty twenty five, and violent crime, specifically homicides is down significantly.
So LMPD has some new data here that shows a
twenty one percent drop city wide, and some of the
neighborhoods that have historically struggled the most, like Russell and

(08:28):
park Hill, are seeing their sharpest decline in years. So
this is the kind of trend that they'll get attention,
not just from police leadership, but like from people in
the community who who can you know, can say they
feel the difference and being in a safer environment. Now, again,
that doesn't mean that the job's over and that you know,
you won't continue to hear about violent crime and even

(08:49):
homicides that take place. But I just think we should
acknowledge it because I think some would see some that
are maybe against local leadership and anti Greenberg, whatever it
may be. You know, there are times hesitant to acknowledge
or even maybe believe that there's progress being made because

(09:10):
that would be a win for you know, a politician
they don't like. And I just politics have never been
a part of my personality, so I just can't relate.
But I do understand that it's you know, I get it,
but don't we all want this place to be better,
and it's getting better. It's not perfect, trust me, never
will be. But Luvall recorded one hundred and thirty seven

(09:32):
homicides in twenty twenty four. This year, with about three
weeks left, that number sits at one oh eight. So
again we're talking about a twenty one percent decrease, which
that's good. Chief Humphrey credits the trend to proactive policing,
more traffic stops, more business checks, more community contact, and
officers consistently being present and assertive in the community. So

(09:53):
the enforcement work is needed and that's what they're doing.
So again, I think that's good news. Celebrate, shall we?
All Right, We've got a sports update coming up on
the other side. That's how we'll celebrate. And I'll celebrate
with the cough drop as my voice is fading. Once again,
I thought I was good to go, and then you know,
I need to remind myself, you know, throughout my day,
believe it or not, I don't yap like I'm doing

(10:14):
a four hour show throughout the rest of my day.
So again we'll get through. Stick with us right here
at news Radio eight forty whas it is six thirty
five here news Radio eight forty whas Coffee and Company.
That's us, and we are fueled by Thornton's Nick coffee.
That's me. You just heard John Shannon, John all In
alongside as well. Scott will be back with another sports
update in about twenty minutes or so. We're gonna be

(10:36):
It's gonna be pretty quiet today as far as weather,
gonna be cool in the thirties. But tonight that's when
when we should be expecting some some winter weather. In fact,
a winter weather Advisory is gonna be in effect starting
at seven o'clock tonight until ten am tomorrow morning. So again,
chilly all throughout the day. Today, may see some occasional flurries,

(10:57):
but again tonight's when it really gets ramped up. So
be advised. The whole Louisville metro area, really Kentucky Ina
as a whole, should be prepared for some type of accumulation,
and you really never know, right. I think even when
we got the four plus inches to start December, I
don't believe anybody was expecting it to be that much.

(11:18):
I think the talk was more so too, And then
even Monday morning. Maybe I just wasn't as plugged in
as I typically am because I was off that day,
But I don't think we were expecting to get as
much snow as we got then, even though it wasn't
a whole lot, so we really never know. But the
winter weather advisory will start at seven o'clock because that's
when the snow showers are going to move in, and
they're going to move in and last until Friday morning.

(11:42):
It sounds like so two to four is what the
expectation is. But we shall see. And you can already
tell if you're out and about they've got salt down
and they're trying to get out in front of it,
and that can certainly help. So again, be advised tonight.
Winter weather advisory going to start at seven o'clock. All right,
Yesterday it was a roller coaster of a day for

(12:03):
Louisville football fans. And I'm not turning this into a
conversation about Louisville football and on the field results or
anything but the season ticket holders. I talked to a
couple of season ticket holders yesterday, friends of mine, who
we were discussing the scheduling news, which is that Georgia
and Louisville announced together yesterday that they've mutually agreed to

(12:25):
not play, to get out of the game that was
scheduled to where Georgia was going to be coming to
ellen And Stadium this upcoming season in twenty twenty six,
which is a big, big home game, arguably one of
the biggest non conference Louisville football home games ever. I mean,
when you consider Georgia as a powerhouse, and who knows,
would anybody be shocked if they're the defending if they're

(12:45):
the defending national champions next season, I wouldn't be. So
there'd been talks that Georgia was going to buy out.
And look, let's be real, the scheduling changes with the ACC,
the SEC, and the Big Ten, which I'm not sure
I think GUS the Big Ten hasn't made any change,
but they play nine and the SEC is now going
to nine. And then the SEC is now going to
require each league member to add one non conference game

(13:08):
against a power for opponent. So george is adding an
SEC game that wasn't previously scheduled. And they already played
Georgia Tech as their rival, so they've already they've already
hit the quota. Now they don't have to leave it
at that. They could also schedule Lois, but they don't
want to do that. And there've been talks that this
was going to happen, and the belief was that Louisville
was gonna get screwed out of a game, but at

(13:28):
least Georgia would end up having to pay, because that's
what you sign a contract for. If you leave us
high and drive with no opponent and you bail, you
got to pay. And Louisville needing to get out of
this game is just I don't I mean again, I
won't pretend to be behind the scenes. And Josh Hurt,
I think, did release a statement that made it make sense,

(13:50):
but it didn't answer the question. And it's not our money,
it's not going in our pockets. But I just don't
know if it's a great look to not at least
hold Georgie to the fire and acknowledge that they're the
ones who are really like, they're the ones who are
taking action here to get out of the game, and
let's not disguise it for anything other than that. So

(14:10):
let's just make them on, like, what's a million dollars
to Georgia. So the decision to mutually call it an
agreement to not play the game and then tell us
that down the line they may play, they're going to
try to play each other in the early twenty thirties,
and it's going to be a non com it's going
to be a non conference, neutral site game like that.
Just that did They didn't do anything for me, especially

(14:31):
because it's a long way away. And also I think
playing a team like a Georgia anywhere is a big
deal for your program. It just is. I mean, that's
a big time opponent. However, it's a different world to
have them come to your place. It's also a different
experience to maybe go play them at Athens between the hedges.

(14:52):
So I'm not blaming anybody for the game not happening
this year. I just you know, I think it seemed
as if they were playing nice with you. I don't
really know why you had any reason to do that
other than maybe, you know, what, do the kids say
a simp? Are you simping for Georgia? So look, you
now have another non conference opponent that it's taking the
place of Georgia with this news yesterday, And I'll take it.

(15:15):
It's Ole miss it's Nashville, it's to start the season.
It's a national televised game. Better than adding a Popcorn
State or a whoever. Right, But if you're a season
ticket holder, Your season tickets lost substantial value. And in
that regard, I guess nothing can be done right, Like
Ole Miss wasn't gonna come here and play, and you

(15:36):
can't force Georgia to play. So I'm not sure who
to point the finger out, but I get it, like
the home slate as far as conference games next year
is not great. And Kentucky, you know, I don't know
if they're gonna be. If they're gonna of course, you
know you have to go to lectioningson next year, so nevermind.
So yeah, I mean it's it's a bumber for season

(15:57):
ticket holders. And I understand that if you make that
investment in you now look at the slate that you're
going to have at home. It's not exactly appealing. So again,
I don't know who we point the finger at. I guess,
if anything, Georgia, But overall I get the frustration, all right.
What I want to get to on the other side,
after we get another check of traffic and weather. A
question that a lot of folks have asked over the years,

(16:19):
is college worth it? Is it worth that financial investment?
We've got an update as far as what Americans think
about that, as far as the answer, and I don't
think it's going to be too surprising to see that
we've got a big shift in what folks are saying
now compared to what they used to say. So we'll
get to that on the other side right here at
news Radio eight forty WHS. So we've got some new

(16:41):
updates here as far as what people think about the
value of a college degree. So NBC News they've got
a poll that shows what is really a dramatic shift
in how Americans see the value of a college education.
So for decades, the four year degree has been sold
as you know, the ticket to opportunity and the real

(17:02):
path to the American dream. But now nearly two thirds
of Americans believe that that promise is fading. I mean
rising tuition, massive student loan burdens, and a workforce that
has always but now we really know it. They're not
even hiding it now. They prioritize skills over the diploma.

(17:22):
So that's got people more than ever asking, and I
guess answering themselves is a college degree is still worth
the price tag? And before we dive into some of
these numbers, just quickly, I don't think anybody that went
to college achieved the degree should ever feel as if

(17:44):
they wasted it. Now, I can't control how you feel,
and only you can do that, and trust me, I'm
not trying to change anybody's mind, but I just think
if you don't use your degree at all for anything
you do, you should still feel as if you accomplish
something and that you should be proud of that. I'm
somebody that does not have a four year degree, and
I know how hard it would be. You know how

(18:06):
hard it is to get one. I know that that's
a lot of work, and I look at it from
just like a pure accomplishment as an individual that you
should always feel like, hey, you know I did that
and be proud of yourself. Now, is it something that
you need? Was it a wise investment financially long term?
That's a different conversation. So here's what we're looking at.
Sixty three percent of Americans say a four year degree
is not worth the cost. That's a huge jump from

(18:29):
just a few years ago. Only thirty three percent now
say that it's worth it. So in twenty seventeen it
was it was more split. Now it's not close. It's
clearly the majority don't think that it's actually worth the cost.
So the shift here, I mean, many graduates feel they're
coming out of college not prepared for the real jobs

(18:50):
that actually give you a decent salary that can help
you start trimming away at those student loans. So the
Education Data Initiative estimates the total cost of earning a
bachelor's degree, including interest and missed income, can top five
hundred thousand dollars. Now that's the top side. So you've

(19:10):
got a four year public in state tuition for twenty
twenty five to twenty six eleven nine and fifty dollars,
I mean, private university is around forty five thousand a
year just for tuition and fees. You add housing, books,
loan interest. I mean, it's it's it's an insane investment.
And again, investments are what is something you do for

(19:31):
what a payoff? And I just the numbers aren't aren't
looking as like it's a I mean again, as they say,
the math ain't math into where you can you know
you can maybe maybe you look back in many years
and say, yeah, it was tough to get to get
those student loans paid off. But here I am, and
I've got a phenomenal career and I'm set for life,
my kids are set. That's great, But here's the reality.

(19:55):
You can live a good, comfortable life, maybe even find
yourself in a phenomenal situation financially in your career and
not have a degree. That to me, is the biggest shift,
is that now there just seems to be so much
more awareness that you don't have that doesn't That's not
the one way, that's not the only way to do it.
So like I get any I get it if anybody
out there is like, yeah, I just I'm not going

(20:17):
to make that big investment and just dive right into
all that debt when I don't really know exactly where
I mean, there's so many people that paid off a
lot of debt because they just went to college without
any kind of plan, any kind of idea, and that
that's not that uncommon. But then you get there and
you realize, hey, college isn't for me or what I
actually found out I want to do. I don't need
a college degree, so I'm going to bail out after

(20:39):
a year and a half. And you know, now I have,
I guess, the experience, but also a lot of debt.
So I mean, I wish whatever I was in high school,
there was just more. There was just more noise about
college not being the end all be all, because clearly
you can, I mean you can get it right now,

(21:00):
a wise investment would be to get into trade. I mean,
you can make a great living for yourself, and you also,
by the way, you get educated in something that is valuable.
So again not a surprise overall, because when you just
look at the numbers, it just as far as like
how can you in most careers, where do you end up,
as far as the age where you're like, okay, here

(21:20):
we are. Now, I've got a comfortable control of you know, yeah,
I'm making a good living, but man, I've got such
massive college student loan debt that like I'm living as
if I'm barely getting by. A right, quick update of
trafficking weather. Also, we've got a sports update coming your
way right here in New's Radio eight forty whas