11.14: They Could Smell It - Hour 1

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can you feel it? Can you smell it? That's Friday, folks.
We've made it welcome in. It is Kentucky at his
morning news coffee and company with you, and we are
fueled by Thornton's here on news Radio eight forty whas
the full crew has as symboled this morning to get
the party started. Nick Coffee. That's me Scott Fitzgerald alongside
and the Johns, John Alden, John Shannon, as we take
you up until nine o'clock, getting you set for the

(00:21):
weekend and gonna be a beautiful, well beautiful evening for
some football over at LNN Cardinal Stadium. I see right
now we're still in the thirties, but it's gonna warm
up and could get up to seventy that's the high today.
And I don't know how much sunshine we're gonna get,
mister Fitzgerald, but I know it's not supposed to rain,
and we're looking at temperatures in the low sixties at

(00:42):
kickoff tonight. I'm not sure it gets much better than that.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
No it doesn't, Dan. I think I got a nice
shot at it of showing you the Clemson bus on
the way in Clemson's here all the tour buses are downtown,
big time atmosphere.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now, I thought I smelled something downtown when I got
off sixty five. My Davos Sweeney's arrogant ass is what
it was, exactly right.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
I think also too, if you get some time this
weekend with louisvill playing a Friday game, we're gonna head
to the forecast a lot of rain coming up over
the next week or so. So if you're like me
and you've got leaves all over the yard, you might
want to get out and get those cleaned up. Maybe
you can do that tomorrow if you're a Card fan.
If you're a Cat fan, obviously you'd be watching the Cats.
But get that cleaned up, dude, because this rain's gonna

(01:21):
move in and gonna get a little bit cool. But
enjoyed today and tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yep, we we've actually got a big weekend overall, I
feel like with with with sports around here, and allow
me to explain myself. First of all, tonight is just
a big chance to get back for Louisville and Jeff
Brown because he earlier this year, following a disappointing loss,
was able to really make up for it in a
big way with a win against Miami tonight, Clemson would

(01:45):
not give you any kind I mean really, it's a
rare situation. You're playing Clemson and without a doubt, you
were just You're supposed to win, like it's not. I
mean again, they could beat you. They've had a weird year.
I was, do you know the record off the top
of your head, I have to double check. I'm not
I'm not trying to put you on the spot, but
I'll admit I knew they were having a down year.
I knew it was a year. Yeah, they're four and five,

(02:08):
four and five, I mean, unless I'm unless I'm crazy,
because last night it gets a little foggy when I'm
in and out of sleep. And I'm sure you guys
understand that as uh as us as people who've done this,
this shift a lot longer than me. Once I'm once
i'm dozing, I wake up the next morning and it's
all kind of a blur as I'm fading into sleep.
But I was looking at the ACC standings last night,
and I knew they were having a down year, and

(02:30):
I knew they were being labeled as the most disappointing
team in college football because they were preseason top five,
but yes, nine games in, they're a four and five
football team, three and four in the ACC. So so so,
with all that said, I mean, it's just an unusual
spot to be in with Clemson here, but they're also
Clemson that is filled with talent that really competing with

(02:52):
anybody wouldn't necessarily shock you. But nine games in, y
are who you are. And this is a chance for
Louisville to uh to get a win tonight, and I
guess keep hope they need some help. We'll get back
into that a little bit later on as far as
the scenario where they could they could find their way
into the ACC Championship game. But again, big chance tonight
for Louisville to bounce back after last week. And then
with Kentucky football, Look, they're playing Tennessee Tech in mid November.

(03:16):
First of all, that's stupid. Those games shouldn't be played
late in the year. But it's a chance to at
least get another win. And you started to think just
a few weeks ago that that may not happen again
this year for them, and they may not happen again
for Mark Stoops ever, just because of how down things were.
But a win here for them on Saturday. They've got
a Vandy team come into town that they should be

(03:37):
able to compete with because they've played better in recent weeks.
So that just sets you up to where you get
to that season finale and Louisville winning earlier this week
in basketball, I heard from a lot of Kentucky fans
the last forty eight hours, Well that just means we
really got to steal one in the football game. Well,
good luck. That's a game Louisville should win. But we
know anything can happen in this rivalry. So really, Kentucky

(04:00):
ball in a situation I didn't expect him to be in, uh,
considering where we were with them just a few weeks ago.
And then on the basketball side, I mean, tonight is
Kentucky tonight against the Easter Yeah, so, uh, I'm sure
they'll have they'll have no no issues with that that
level of opponent. But Mark Pope said something yesterday that
I got to be honest, I'm not trying to be
the Louisville guy and and and do the rivalry thing

(04:23):
and and and create drama when when the rivals down
because they took a tough loss to their rival this week.
But he did one of the more mind boggling things
yesterday when he he opened up an entire world of
speculation in regards to a pregame incident with his team
before they played Louisville. And first of all, just to

(04:43):
just to to make that public is a questionable decision.
But then to just say, yeah, something happened, but I'm
not ready to talk about it yet, what like, that's
that's that's insanely stupid, because now people are going to
speculate all kinds of different things. And you you've, you've,
you've you've really forced him to do that.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
I mean, one of the things I've noticed about Mark
Pope's press conference is one they are very difficult to
listen to. I mean, and I don't mean that from
and that's not a knock on Mark Pope personally. It's
just he's over here, then he jumps over here, and
then he tries to get here. And to your point,
it didn't surprise me when I heard that yesterday.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
That okay, now what I mean, he created it. He
created a distracting type of story. He created it, He
created noise around his team that there's there's behind the
scenes stuff they're dealing with, which, hey, I'm all about transparency,
but this, this was just unnecessary and there's no scenario

(05:40):
I've yet to hear that that gives me the payoff
for doing this. That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
It doesn't surprise me when I heard that, because after
listening to his press conference since he arrived at Kentucky,
My man, is you gotta stick. You got to listen
hard when he's doing a press.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
He's a really smart guy, very much, so maybe there
is a maybe he's got something that maybe there's a
motive here, maybe he has a plan, but that just
seemed really I mean, it was an it was I
don't know if he wasn't thinking or what, but just again,
think about this. Nobody needed to know about the regardless
and keep that in house, but to then put it
out there and just let people sit around and stew

(06:14):
on what potentially could have happened before the game that
led to them I guess not being ready because they
weren't ready. I mean that they came out and looked
like a team that didn't that really just wasn't in
the game. So anyhow, and also, the government shutdown is over.
We know that, but now we're starting to get an
idea for what or I guess when we should start
to see things back to normal. And also some workers

(06:35):
that did not take a day off during the shutdown
getting ten thousand dollars bonuses. I've got some thoughts on that,
because I think there are many that would have said, yeah,
ten k, I'll make it. I'll make it work for
a couple of months if you're gonna give me ten
thousand dollars, but nobody knew that going in. So anyways,
we're busy this morning. Let's have some fun, fellas. It
is a Friday. It's coffee and company. We're fuel abouth.

(06:56):
Thornton's right here, there's Radio eight forty whas. So yesterday
the Homeland Security Secretary said that TSA agents who showed
up every day they showed exemplary service during the forty
three day government shutdown or getting a ten thousand dollars bonus,
and those payments will come on top of their back pay.
So it paid off to still be punctual, to still

(07:19):
show up despite knowing that your payday will come who
knows when. So I've got no issue when it comes
to rewarding those and the obvious question for some is
going to be, well, hey, if we've got issues when
it comes to to spending, is this the right way
to do it? Because and I get that question, and

(07:41):
I'll take the Secretary of Homeland Security at her word
that these are these funds are coming from I guess
X leftover funds from the previous year that was available.
But my question to you is if you are someone
that could realistically make it work, and look, regardless of
making it work work or not, you had to There

(08:03):
was no there was no handouts being given to those
that weren't in a situation to where they could go
without their paycheck for two weeks a month. Forty three
days is what it ended up being. So it's not
like you really have a choice. But if you were given,
let's just say hypothetically, there was a hey, look, I'm
not going to be able to pay you for forty

(08:24):
three days, so you'll go without two paychecks and no
money at all coming in at that time, and you
still have to be here every day to where you
can't you don't really have a whole lot of time
to be doing other jobs to make some kind of money,
to put money in your pocket while you wait. So
that's the arrangement, and if you do that, I'm going
to give you ten thousand dollars and all the money

(08:45):
that you're owed from the work that you've done once
the forty three days has passed. I feel like many
would try to find a way to make that work.
And again, regardless, you got to make it work because
you're expected to still come to work. I'm turned off
by the criticism for those that that did not come
to work every day or you know, maybe they maybe

(09:08):
they found a way to burn up as much sick
time as possible and maybe they didn't work at all.
I mean, it's frustrating for everybody involved in the real
the real issue overall is that this was this was
just a fight between our leaders that that that clearly
was petty to an extent and it just didn't need
to happen, especially now that it's over. But it's really
just on pause, Like who who won here?

Speaker 3 (09:30):
Right?

Speaker 1 (09:30):
I mean, I don't know I can tell you who lost.
The people that went without our government being open to
where they didn't get a paycheck. So acting as if
those people are are in the wrong in they're bad employees,
they could be bad employees, or they could say, look,
I'm gonna have to burn up my time that I
have to use for PTO or sick because I gotta

(09:52):
I gotta go do door dash, I gotta go, I
gotta go do an odd job just because I got
a bill that that needs paid. So tough situation overall,
but I'm sure it was a pleasant surprise for those
that are getting an added ten k along with all
the pay their owed for the work they did. All right,

(10:13):
So airline travel sounds like it's going to be a
little while, maybe a week or so, until you start
to see the effects. The good effect meaning the government
not being shut down and there's not as many issues
with flight delays and cancelations. We'll talk about that a
little bit more later on. Let's get to a quick
update traffick and weather on the way. Also a sports
update coming up with Scott right here at news Radio

(10:33):
eight forty whas. It is five thirty five here at
news Radio eight forty whas. Coffee and Company. That's us
and we are fueled by Thornton's keep in mind for
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(10:55):
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it is, but if you purchase something a tenth time,

(11:17):
that time it's free if it's in the Frequency Club.
So if you've got a specific drink, a specific snack
that you just you need every day to keep you
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many ways that you benefit from being a member of
the Refreshing Awards program at Thorton's. All right, So the

(11:40):
workers getting the ten thousand dollars bonus because they showed
up to work during the shutdown. I asked the question,
would you know if you knew? This is a hypothetical
because there wasn't any negotiation, right, It wasn't as if
workers made a deal the government shut down out of yourn.
You're still expected to come to work and we will

(12:02):
pay you once this shutdown ends. We have no clue
when it's going to end, and it may break a record.
It did break the record for the longest shutdown, So
it wasn't as if you had the option. But let's
just say hypothetically that you did. Would you try to
make it work. Would you have the ability to make
it work, to go without your paycheck but still show
to work, show up to work every day like you
were expected if it if it meant that you would

(12:24):
get back pay, meaning you'd get paid for, of course,
all the time you did work. But then also you
would get a ten thousand dollars bonus. So I mean,
I guess it paid off for those that did keep
showing up regardless, But are they entitled to it. I'm
sure certain people have their opinions on that. I'm sure

(12:45):
not everybody's going to agree. I did say that the
money came from like leftover funds. And I guess I
use the wrong words there because it was described as
carryover funds from the fiscal year twenty twenty five. That
is what the that is what the Secretary Homeland Security,
Homeland Security Secretary said yesterday. So and I don't that's

(13:05):
not an area that I'm super familiar with as far
as carryover funds, but that is where they claim the
money is coming from to give those ten thousand dollars
bonuses out. So let's go to the talk back line again.
The talk back line is on the Aheart radio app.
If you listen to us on the app, all you
have to do is click that microphone button and you'll
be prompted to share with us whatever it is you want.

(13:26):
And we have a listener this morning that had some
comments about the about these ten thousand dollars bonuses and Nick.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
Why do they need ten thousand dollars? They got paid,
they got paid back paid, They.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
Don't need any extra money.

Speaker 2 (13:39):
You get extra money.

Speaker 1 (13:41):
And Nick, what do you mean about leftover money? If
it's teen leftover money, it's my money, so send it
back to me. Well, again, if your money was in
the carryover funds, I say, you take that up with
somebody else, not really my doing, but yeah, they didn't
work more than usual. I would imagine it's really just

(14:01):
a gift for saying it's a way of saying thank
you for still showing up despite the situation, and many
others did not show up, So we're going to give
you a reward. I mean, that's a ten thousand dollars bonuses.
I'm sure bonus structures are different across all industries. I
can tell you a ten thousand dollars bonus would be
a big deal for me. So I mean, what the

(14:25):
total cost is for these bonuses. I'm sure we'll I mean,
I don't know. I was gonna say, I'm sure we'll
get some trends, we'll have some transparency, and we'll know.
Wouldn't shock me if we don't ever have the full
details of all that. But yeah, i'd say that was
a pleasant surprise for those that we're getting that we're
getting that found out they're going to get their back

(14:45):
pay because the shutdowns ended, but now they're going to
get a ten thousand dollars bonus, which, by the way,
sounds like money owed to those that worked a government
job that did not receive a paycheck during the shutdown.
It sounds like Sunday is the earliest you can expect
to see the money hit your account, if of course
you've got you know, direct deposits set up that kind
of situation. And then as far as the issues with

(15:08):
the airlines, I feel like I need to throw the
disclaimer out there because you're always going to mean, even
before a government shutdown, you can have a nightmare situation
with cancelations and delays with your flight that is just
out of your control. But there was clearly some added
issues because of this shutdown. It sounds like late next
week is whenever things will be I guess, back to

(15:29):
normal with the resources needed to have things run as
smoothly as possible. I don't know why it's taken that long,
but that's what that's that's the expectation late next week.
All right, let's get to a quick time out, shall we.
Roy O'Neal's going to join us on the other side,
So stick around right here at news Radio eight forty whs.

(15:49):
It is news Radio eight forty whas say, Friday Morning Edition.
Coffee and company with you, and we are fueled by
Thorntons and we're now joined by Rory O'Neal. Rory, we've
got a new poll that shows a record number of
younger women say they want to leave the United States.
How big is this jump in anything? Is there any
one thing specifically that's tied to it?

Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, there isn't really one thing we can say, Ah,
that's why. But it's clearly been a changing attitude that
we see more and more Americans consider the idea of
perhaps living in a different country. But what we're noticing
is that while the number is generally on the rise,
it's really on the rise among women between the ages
of fifteen and forty four. Forty percent of women in

(16:31):
that demographic say they are considering moving abroad permanently and
would if they had the chance.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
I mean, is it Do we have any data that
tells us where they want to go? Is there a
certain destination that's just really attractive to this demograph or
is it anywhere but here? For them?

Speaker 3 (16:47):
It looks like anywhere but here? And this current figure.
What's interesting, though, is the divide this is four times
higher than the attitudes among young men who feel that
same way. I'm sorry, let me get that, let me
fix those numbers, it's a twenty one point gap. So
today's younger men, a nineteen percent of younger men are
considering moving overseas, but it's forty percent of women. And

(17:09):
that is the number that's really spiked because it is
four times higher than the ten percent who said the
same thing just ten years ago. So that's really what
we're seeing in this group. You want my personal theory,
this is not in the gallops in vey. I think
it's the TikTok and the instagram. Really well, I think
that you know, do you see the fomo and all

(17:30):
the loh Everyone's living their best life in their Instagram stories,
and I think that the more women are you know,
are are focused on some of those photos and images,
and I think that that's what's drawing them to want
to perhaps live somewhere else.

Speaker 1 (17:44):
We've never been more influenced by what we see on
social media than right now, especially a younger demograph. And
I guess that's maybe not as bad of a look
for how these individuals perceive our country, because if it's
just Hey, that looks amazing, I want to go there,
I guess maybe it's not as much Hey, this place
thinks get me anywhere but here.

Speaker 3 (18:03):
Well, right, And it's not necessarily political because what we saw,
this number and this split in the gender gap started
developing in twenty sixteen, the last year of President Obama's term,
and yes, it did go up under the first term
of President Trump, but it continued to climb under Joe Biden.
So it's not as if you can say, aha, it's
because they want to escape a Democrat or a Republican.

(18:26):
This is something we're seeing pretty steady. I think this
is more of a social media influence, painting a rosy
picture of oh, look at the waterfalls in that country,
or I can be like, you know whatever, strolling a
street in Paris at a cafe, that kind of thing. Yeah,
versus reality.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
It makes a lot of sense. A fifteen second clip
on TikTok is really the trigger to just up and
move to a new country and start all over, right,
makes total sense.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
All right, Yeah, even though it may not be very realistic, right,
and you realize it's all sort of posed and angled,
and you know everyone's filtered in the same image as.

Speaker 1 (18:59):
Too, So heils our guest joining us here on news
Radio eight forty whas pressure is mounting to release all
the DOJ files tied to the Epstein investigation. The Epstein investigation,
it's a story that simply never dies. I don't know
if people are ever going to get what they want
out of this, which is full transparency, or maybe they
just want to end up being able to say that
what they've believed is the truth. What do we know

(19:22):
right now as far as just this pressure and what
people are wanting out of this at this point?

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Well yeah, Well it's also interesting though, because it's dividing
President Trump's supporters, right. I mean a lot of a
lot of that movement said that, you know, President Trump
would be there to champion the release of the files.
We saw Attorney General Bondi with sort of that fake
here are your binder's announcement. But then there's been a
big one eighty and boy, it is fascinating to watch

(19:49):
President Trump behave differently when asked questions about Epstein. You know,
we saw Wednesday night when he was signing the bill
that reopened the government, he didn't take questions. When does
President Trump not take questions? I mean, this was all
happening in the hours after these new emails yesterday, Again
he sort of brushed off a reporter and ignored reporters.
So it's just it's interesting to see how his behavior changes,

(20:12):
even though he's not been accused of directly doing anything wrong.
The latest email quote unquote scandal suggests that maybe he
knew something sort of maybe, but that's about it. Never
that he was actually accused of doing and himself anything wrong.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
When it comes to the Republican Party as well as
just the MAGA generation, is it fair to say that
the Epstein investigation has been the one topic, the one
situation where there's been the most division.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
I think so. But think of those figures in the
MAGA movement, right, Dan Bongino, Cash Betel. These were the
guys saying, look, the whole system is corrupt. That you know,
they're all in on it. There's the deep state, and
then what happens. They get installed to be the number
one and number two people at the FBI and nothing.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yeah right, there's nothing to see.

Speaker 3 (21:03):
Okay, wait about now? That was why I thought you
were on our team. So I think that's why we're
seeing a lot of this division within the MAGA movement.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Rory, you're the man as always. We appreciate your time,
enjoy your weekend. My friend, Thanks Nick, talk to you Monday.
That is Rory O'Neal of NBC News. Let's get a
quick time out. We will check on the traffic out there,
see how the roadways are looking to get this Friday
morning started. Forecast. I could tell you it's gonna warm
up today, going to be perfect perfect weather. Should be
perfect weather, I should say, for some football tonight at
llen N Cardinal Stadium. But Matt Melosa bitch will give

(21:31):
us the details on the forecast and another sports updates
coming up as well right here at news Radio eight
forty whas