Senator Adam Schiff joins Michael Monks to break down California’s complicated future. Despite the state now ranking as the fourth-largest economy in the world, Schiff explains why a booming economy hasn't solved California’s worsening housing crisis or protected its signature industry, Hollywood. They also tackle the fallout from immigration policies, national security concerns at the Pentagon, and Schiff’s push for new legislation to keep California competitive. Plus, Michael sits down with KFI News Anchor, actress, and Emmy-winning journalist Heather Brooker to discuss the urgent challenges facing California’s film industry. They explore the state's efforts to expand tax incentives, the growing global competition, and why protecting local production is critical for California’s economic future.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand, KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. This
is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together on this Saturday night here
in southern California. Hope you stayed dry today during all
that rain. It seemed to be at least a little.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
More than what we expected bad.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It got bad enough at the coast that Pacific Coast
Highway had to be closed in both directions between Tepenga
Canyon Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace because of debris blocking
the road. It's just another reminder of how much work
is still ahead of us after the wildfires in January.
US Senator Adam Schiff says he knows the road ahead
is tough. He's got some legislation in Washington to help
(00:44):
incentivize rebuilding with more fire resistant materials. He was back
home in Burbank this week. You might have seen him
on Real Time with Bill Maher last night, but he's
also visited us right here at the KFI studios in Burbank.
Senator Shift, thanks for coming out to KFI right to
be with you. You know, I was looking at this
new Fox poll that came out, and regardless of what
you think about Fox News, their polling is pretty well respected,
(01:07):
and it doesn't look good for President Trump. Frankly, forty
four percent overall approval rating underwater. On foreign policy, only
forty percent approof, fifty four percent disapproved, economy thirty eight
percent approved, fifty six disapproved taxes, way underwater, tariffs, way underwater, inflation,
way underwater. But border security that's his highest mark, fifty
(01:28):
five percent approval rating immigration right about even. So I'm
wondering why this issue of this man Kilmar Abrigo Garcia
seems to be so prominent in democratic politics and messaging
right now.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Well, I think what people need to understand about Abrigo
Garcia in that case is they grabbed this guy, they
put on a plane to this maximum security prison El Salvador.
He never gets a hearing, he never gets to say, hey,
there's actually a court order prohibiting my removal. And if
the administration can do that, if it can ignore court orders,
(02:04):
if it can grab someone, call them a gang member
and send them to prison outside the country, it can
do that with anyone. So I think that's why this
case has gotten so much attention, and it deserves that attention.
But we still have to also focus on what is
kind of central to most working families, which is they're
working harder than ever, they're trying to get by. The
(02:24):
President promised to reduce prices and he hasn't. His tariffs
are wrecking the economy. They're driving up the cost of
inflation and everything else. It's why you see in those
polling numbers that there's such discontent with the president. There
is a guy who ran on lowering egg prices and
they're through the roof.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So we have to be able to do both.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
Though.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
We have to be able to warn the American people, Hey,
if this administration gets its way, it's going to be
able to just ignore the courts, tell the Supreme Court
to go pound sand grab anyone they want, and lock
them up. That's not a democracy. But at the same time,
we have to continue to speak to the issue that
really people decided the last election on, and that was
(03:05):
they were unhappy with the cost of living. Trump was
promising to do something about it. The Democratic Party came
to be perceived as the party of the status quo,
which is death politically. But now Donald Trump is responsible
for the wrecking of the economy and for prices continuing
to go up, and we can't lose sight of that either.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I think that one of the key issues in the
last presidential election was also immigration. Certainly the economy, as
you point out, but also immigration, and again his actions
on that, regardless of what you think of the legality
of them, they've gotten a majority approval from the American people.
How are you seeing this message work politically, because obviously
Democrats have to position themselves as an alternative to what's
(03:49):
in the White House right now. And so I guess,
just to reframe my question from before, the issue that
seems to be seized right now by Democrats like yourself
and others who are going to El Salvador, is this
individual prisoner. Do you see that resonating with the American
people as much as their concerns about the overall economy.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well, I think the top concern for people is the economy,
and we have to make the case not just that
Donald Trump is doing a terrible job. The pulling shows
that the American people get that, but we also have
to make the case of how we would do things differently,
how we would help working families, how we would answer
the question, if you're working hard in America, can you
(04:27):
still earn a good living for yourself and your family?
So that needs to be a central preoccupation of the
Democratic Party. But I think the case that we're talking
about is really not a border security case. The reason
why this is in the news as much as it is,
and why Democrats care about it and a lot of
Republicans care about it too, is it goes to lawlessness.
(04:48):
It goes to the president's sort of dictatorial ambitions, and
that's quite separate from whether we maintain a strong border. Look,
I think we made a mistake. Democrats made a mistake
in not laying out our plans for a safe and
secure border. When you're not talking about an issue, sometimes
people think, well, they don't care about that issue, or
they don't have an answer to that issue. We should
(05:10):
have been talking about that issue. I still think the
dominant issue far and away is the economy has been
the economy will be the economy. Whether you were a
government that was left right or center. Around the world,
you got thrown out in the last election, if you
became associated with the status quo. But I think that
there are other important issues going on too at the
(05:30):
same time, which you can't ignore. I think the environment
is a big issue people care about. I think social
security is a big issue people care about. And Elon
Musk shutting down so security offices. We need to be
talking about that too. We need to be fighting for
seniors who are reliant on that for their retirement security.
(05:51):
So we need to be able to focus on a
number of challenges. But I think at the end of
the day, what is going to make or break both
parties is how they answered the economic questions.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Senator Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had a strange start
to his tenure in office as a cabinet official, and
I think you're calling for an investigation of some sort
into his use of the Signal app in the way
that some people who shouldn't have had access to some
pretty important information had access to that information. Share with
(06:22):
us what you're looking for there well, as.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
I think we all suspected when the first Signal Chat
came to light, that is the Defense Secretary talking with
more than a dozen other high ranking government officials using
a commercial app, something that is a complete no no,
from a national security point of view, could really jeopardize
the life of those pilots that were doing those bombing runs.
(06:47):
They included, of course, a reporter, an editor of Atlantic
and that chat group. But what we surmised at the
time was because of the cavalier use of this commercial
app and people using it on their personal phones as
well as their government phones, this couldn't have been the
first time. There was just too much comfort level. Nobody
even raised this. The head of the Intelligence Comunity, Telsea Gabbard,
(07:08):
never made a peep, Hey, we shouldn't be talking about
military strike plans on a commercial app. The director of
the CIA, Ratcliffe, never mentioned to peep, So we certainly
assumed this wasn't the first time. Now we have confirmation, no,
this wasn't the first time. In fact, Hegseth was talking
about these same plans with his brother and his wife
(07:28):
and his lawyer's personal lawyer. And so the scandal grows
that denials are proven more false every day, and there's
just general chaos at the top of the Pentagon, not
just because of this, but because Hegseth doesn't know what
he's doing. And this is what happens when you pluck
someone off of Fox News. That's how Donald Trump finds
(07:51):
people for high positions who might be good sitting in
front of a camera, but is a terrible manager of people.
Never should have been given that response, and as a result,
the country is less safe. I mean, this is this
is the Pentagon. It's not something you want to mess
around with. It can be life or death, and Heke
(08:12):
Xeth is proving every day he's just not up to
the job.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
We'll continue with Senator Shift next. Sanctuary cities like La
got a win in federal court. We'll get his reaction
to that. California's economy now ranks fourth in the world,
So what will it take for more of us to
I don't know, feel it and his push at the
federal level to help Hollywood stay competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
Senator Adam Schiff, the Democrat from right here in California,
has returned home for some work in conversations. He was
on Real Time with Bill Maher last night. He also
stopped by the KFI studios right here in Burbank, and
we continue with the Senator. Now, sanctuary cities like Los
(09:02):
Angeles got a win in federal court, but we also
know the President has turned on the judiciary in a
pretty harsh way. Do you expect that his threat withhold
funding from sanctuary cities like LA is something that is
going to be settled now through the courts or is
this still a looming threat for cities like LA.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
I think it's still alluming threat, both because the litigation
will continue in other ways that look for other ways
to try to punish not just sanctuary cities, but really
punish states that didn't vote for the president. You know,
his orientation during his first administration was to punish the
blue states. So for example, his tax proposal capped state
(09:43):
local taxes, sault taxes that really hurt California and hurt
New York and hurt other blue states. It hurt Democrats
in those states, it hurt Republicans in those states. And
I think we're seeing something very similar. He's going after
national monuments in California, He's going after other universities in
California and elsewhere too. But predominantly in the Blue states,
(10:05):
So this is all political retribution, and again getting back
to why people voted for him, it was to reduce
the cost of living, not to take punitive action, not
to engage in the sort of pettiness visa the sanctuary cities.
They'll probably try to ignore the Court of venues they
don't like, and we'll have to appeal and try to
(10:25):
enforce the court orders. But I think it's part of
a broader retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
The economy situation is strange because it's so uncertain right now.
We don't know which direction things are headed. It can
change day to day, even from the White House, on
what the message is or what the strategy is, if
there is one. But we did get news this week
that California's economy has grown so large it is now
the fourth largest in the world.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
It's past Japan.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It often feels like we don't see physically what that
means in California because of the widespread homelessness, the decay
of the urban centers. I'm wondering as a senator, does
that concern you and what is your plan to work
towards improving the overall image of California in spite of
(11:15):
its economic prowess.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Well, first of all, I think this report that we
have now become the fourth largest economy, so after the
United States, China, and Germany. If we were our own nation,
we'd be number four. We just overtook Japan. That's pretty amazing,
and it really goes to the talent of the people
of California and their industry, their entrepreneurship. They're a hard
(11:37):
working character. So for all of the bad mouthing of
the state of California, we are an economic behemoth and
that continues. At the same time, we have a major
housing and homelessness problem, and it gets back to the
same root cause, and that is that we're not building
housing fast enough in California, and we haven't been for years,
and as a result, a lot of young people can't
(11:58):
afford a house, a lot of not so young people
can't afford to house. People's rents are going up beyond
their capacity to pay, and ultimately people are ending up
on the street. And you can have the best programs
in the world and it's been a fortune on them
to move people off the street and into housing. But
if you're not building new housing and bringing down the
cost of housing. There's simply going to be new people
(12:19):
taking their place on the street. So what I'm doing
is everything possible to accelerate the construction of new housing
in California bring those costs down. So I'm working on
supporting a low income housing tax credit expansion that will
help put pencil for developers to build more housing. I
want to work on legislation to incentivize local government to
(12:39):
get to yes faster on housing. I've worked on legislation
to try to expand the use of federal lands and
facilities for housing. Have a whole package will be introducing
of housing related measures within the next month. But at
the end of the day, what it all comes down
to is creating both the incentives and a sense of
(13:00):
urgency about housing the number one problem in the state
of California. So that's my priority. My first bill was
on housing. I introduced a bi parisan bill to provide
a tax credit for people to harden their homes against fire.
But I also think in that respect, what we're trying
to do in the Palisades and an Altadena with these
(13:23):
two horrible fires, is demonstrate that in a democratic city
in a democratic state, we can still get things done
quickly and with a sense of urgency. And I'm very
glad to see that the cleanup is moving very rapidly,
much faster than people expected. We need to make sure
that when that's done, that the rebuilding also takes place
(13:45):
much faster than expected. I think this is a test case,
and we then will better pass the test.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I know you got to go, but before you do,
there's been some comparisons of LA to Detroit for the
possibility of losing its signature in an industry the way
Detroit lost a lot of auto manufacturing. LA's facing serious
hardships with its Hollywood industry. And I think I saw
somewhere before that you once had aspirations of maybe being
(14:11):
a screenwriter or working in the industry. Although your career
has taken a different direction, it must hold some sort
of place in your heart, not just as a Californian,
but as an individual.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Are you concerned about the state of Hollywood.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
I am very concerned about it, and have been for
years because we have seen for years now production leaving California,
leaving it to go to other states, leaving it to
go to Canada, to Britain to Australia, to New Zealand,
and a lot of these other places are offering very
strong tax incentives to woo the industry away, and it's
(14:44):
working and if we don't respond, then we're going to
continue to lose this industry. Now, California has strengthened film
tax credits, and we need to do more along those
lines to keep production within this state. But we also
are at a competitive disadvantage to other countries, and we're
losing a lot of the motion picture as opposed to TV,
(15:07):
losing a lot of motion picture industry to Britain in particular.
And in order toddress that, we need a federal tax
credit as well, and that's legislation that I'm currently working
on so that we can retain this amazing industry, which
I love. I'm an avid moviegoer. I still like doing
(15:27):
it the old fashioned way and going to the theater
and being surrounded by other people and having that experience.
And yes, early in my career, I was an attorney
in la and it's kind of a rule of the
bar that if you're a lawyer, you have to write screenplays.
If you're a lawyer or a waiter, you have to
write screenplays.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Well, you might have some new stories to write after
your experience in Washington at some point. So we appreciate
you coming back home to Burbank and popping in KFI
and chatting.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
With a senator.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Thank you. Great to be with you.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The senator mentioned he's going to bat for Hollywood and
really movie making across America as it faces more competition
from around the world. But local officials and state officials
are also pushing legislation to help save the film industry.
Some folks have warned LA could be like Detroit, a
major city losing its signature industry. Detroit lost a lot
(16:18):
of the auto world. Could LA lose Hollywood for good?
Or Heather Brooker is with us next to give us
an update on some state bills that made progress this week.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Michael Monks. This is Michael Monks Reports. Will be
with you till nine o'clock tonight. You just heard from
Senator Adam Schiff. He says he's looking at pursuing some
sort of federal legislation that would aid movie making in
this country, specifically in California's We face increase competition all
(16:55):
around the world, but man, California is feeling it everywhere.
Competition from other dates, competition from other countries, I don't know,
competition from other planets. At this point, the city is
trying to do something, the state is trying to do something,
and now possibly Washington as well.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
As folks say.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They don't want La to be the next Detroit and
the way that city lost its signature industry autos, could
La possibly lose its signature industry. Hollywood kfis, Heather Brooker
is with us.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
There are steps steps in Sacramento being taken and some
progress made.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, so these two bills as to be six. There's
two different bills.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
There's two different bills. They're sister bills, are like companion bills.
These two bills just passed a major hurdle this week,
one of them being they went through these both of
them went through these committees, one in the Assembly, one
in the Senate. They were basically committees that said, this
is an initial review, we want to take a look
see if we want to support this, and then they
pushed it forward. One of the main reasons why you
(17:59):
know a lot of people think it I pushed forward
is because more than one hundred thousand supporters sent letters
to lawmakers saying we want this film and tax credit
to go forward.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So that's what the bills related to. It's it's expand
and we've heard Governor Newsom come out and say we
need to double our tax incentives are basically tax credits
that people producers can get for making their film here.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And that's what the other states are doing.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I mean states that you wouldn't think are our movie
making meccas have become such because they are basically giving
handouts to these producers to come in and make their
films there because it's cheaper.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
To do so that's absolutely right. So right now, though
California has not updated its film and tax credits film
and TV tax credit since two thousand and nine, we
are way behind every other state that's giving out these
massive tax credits. Right now, we have three hundred and
thirty million dollars, which seems like a lot, but when
you compare other states that have four hundred, five hundred,
(18:55):
six hundred thousand, and Georgia, which has no cap whatsoever,
on the amount that people can get back with that
tax credit. We are sort of we're not even in
play anymore. So this bill, these bills that are being
pushed forward are away for us to be like, we're
still here, We're California, this is our industry.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
We're going to push this up.
Speaker 7 (19:16):
They want to push this up to seven hundred and
fifty million dollars in tax credits. And the most significant
thing that they're doing is they're expanding the types of
productions that can apply for these tax credits. We're talking
about a series that are right now, the current law
says only series over forty minutes and length can apply
(19:36):
for the tax credits.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
No half hour shows, no half hour shows.
Speaker 7 (19:40):
Yeah, this would lower it to twenty minutes, so anything
over twenty.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Minutes could apply.
Speaker 7 (19:46):
Animated series, animated films, different types of productions. They're trying
to The word that's being thrown around is modernize the
California tax credit program, because right now it's still stuck
back in twenty nineteen, before we had YouTube series, before
we had TikTok series, before we had short form verticals.
So many more projects are leaving California going to other
(20:09):
places that are offering them money back on their investment.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And I spoke with Rebecca Ryan.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
She is the executive director, the Western executive director for
the DGA. She's been leading the charge here. She's also
with Keep California Rolling. Also there a big part of this,
you know, effort, and she says that what this is, essentially,
it's a jobs bill. The goal of these bills is
to create more jobs in California, good paying film and TV.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Show I think that's a point that gets debated because
are certainly highlighted by proponents. Because when we talk about
tax credits, you know, the average person, I think tax
credits for Tom Cruise, tax credits for George Clooney, give
me a breaker, you kidding. It was the same sentiment
during the actors strike and a writer's strike, like, oh,
come on, how much more money these people need. They're
working class people who who work in this business. But
(21:00):
also there are other businesses that only exist because they
support the Hollywood industries.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
There are a lot of jobs at stake here.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
But by the way, and I forgot to mention this,
she's not just kfi's Heather Brooker. She is the star
of NBC's The Office as well, that's right, right.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
So you've got some experience. You might have missed that,
but nig you literally missed it. Unfortunately. You got cast
on the Office two times and walk on rolls with lines. Yes, yes,
many many moons ago, many years ago. I had two rolls,
two parts on the Office. My first scene with Steve
Correll and Amy Ryan got cut. I got cut out
(21:39):
of it because they notoriously shot more than they could
actually use on the Office, and my scene, unfortunately, was
one of the ones that was cut. But they felt
so bad about it they brought me back the next
season for another part is when Jim and Pam had
their baby, and I was over the moon because I
got to be on set with like everybody, everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And then I got so.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
You've been on the Office twice, but you've not been
on the Office at all.
Speaker 7 (22:04):
Basically, well, I'm on it now only because the Superfan
cuts are on Peacock. So if people want to tune
in and they watch the Peacock version of the Superfan cuts,
they've put back in a lot of those original scenes
that were cut for time. You know, if a network
was like, we only have twenty minutes because we've sold
so many ads or whatever. Well, now they've all been
(22:24):
put back in because on the streamers they've got more
time to play with.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I bring this up not to reopen old wounds from
their acting career for that, but but you're in the
business in a way. I mean, you're in the news
business now here the broadcasting business as well, but you're
acting adjacent still, and you know, people who are in it,
give us the lay of the land. What is it
like out there for somebody in Hollywood? Not the Tom Cruises,
not the George Coney's the person who's going out to
(22:49):
auditions trying to get that walk on roll on a sitcom.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I'll tell you it's bleak. It is really bleak.
Speaker 7 (22:55):
And you know I say that, I'm in a lot
of groups for directors, writers, actors. It's not just the actors,
you know. And that's a great point. A lot of
people just see the celebrities, They see the famous people,
and they think, why do they need more money? And
the people make that connection, why does you know this
person need to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That's
not how it works. Everybody from craft services to the
(23:20):
gaffers to your union guys to your wardrobe and hair
and makeup people, directors and big studio films and independent films.
Independent films right now are struggling because for so long
all that was being made was these massive, big budget
studio films, and the smaller projects couldn't you know, get funding,
(23:44):
couldn't get enough money back in the tax credit, and
they were overlooked in the tax credit. And now they're like,
we don't have work, we don't have jobs. We can't
find anybody to make our movie. So they're going to
other states. And they're not just going there to make
their movie, they're moving there, so they're going where the
work is. So we're losing people who are good at
their craft and good at their jobs, not because they
(24:07):
want to leave the state, but because they have to
have money to live.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And you have to have a lot of money to
live in California, especially in Los Angeles. It just seems
like everything that's gone wrong for Hollywood, or everything that
could go wrong, has gone wrong. From the pandemic and
then the dual strikes and now this I mean not
just the disruption by the streaming, but also the business
as a whole, seeing so much internal competition.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
It's been a lot of hits consecutively over the last
five years, and Hollywood California, in the state of California,
needs to do something to stay competitive or they will
lose one of their most famous and deeply rooted industries.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Heather Brooker from KFI and TV's The Office, Thanks for
coming in.
Speaker 7 (24:49):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Up next, the gay dating and hookup app Grinder has
a date in court with a Catholic monsignor right here
in La County. He was pretty high up in the
U Conference of Catholic Bishops working under Archbishop Jose Gomez.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
We'll talk about that case. That's next.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Kf I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News,
wrapping up another Saturday Night with you. Amber Day in
Rome has world leaders and Catholic faithful have said goodbye
to Pope Francis. His funeral highlighted the Pontiff's concerns for
people and his wish to be remembered as a simple pastor.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
I was so so happy to be there, you know. Yeah,
and to see so many people, you know, to set
up Britta our faith. It is really amazing to be
part of so many people who have come to say
bye bye to the a Daddy.
Speaker 9 (25:58):
The Poor's his occasion. Absolutely fabulous that I'm here and
one I can remember forever, neighbor and I have goose bumps.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
We also got to see different world leaders and their
you know, cars and their motorcade. So it's an interesting
I've never been to Rome before, so I don't know
what the city's like without this going on. So that's
in a way, it's not the trip we planned, but
it's a very I don't know, I just we keep
saying kind of once in a lifetime opportunity.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
He's had an amazing run in the past twelve years, and
that's a sad day for Catholics everywhere.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Among the people in Rome to honor Pope Francis at
his funeral was twenty four year old Noah Leah Agramant.
She's from California.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
I originally came for the canonization of Cataloutis, which I
imagine a lot of people did, which is why there's
a lot of young people here. But it was still
an amazing experience. I came with my mom. She's very Catholic.
I'm very Catholic too, but it's jubileear you know. That
doesn't happen too often, So it felt really emotional and
very special to be able.
Speaker 11 (27:01):
To be there.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
ABC's Terry Moran says the funeral was attended by a
lot of powerful people.
Speaker 12 (27:07):
Leaders came from around the world paying their last respects
to the pope, including President Donald Trump and First Lady
Milania Trump, former President Joe Biden and former First Lady
Jill Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski, and Prince William Paul. Barrows
carried Francis's coffin out of Saint Peter's Basilica and into
the square where the funeral mass was held. His casket
(27:27):
was placed under the balcony where he first appeared his
pope twelve years ago. The Gospel laid out on top
of his coffin, But.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Despite the presence of presidents and royals at his funeral,
Pope Francis was taken from Saint Peter's Square and he
was then greeted by prisoners and migrants at his final
resting place across the city, the Vatican estimates. Some two
hundred and fifty thousand people attended the funeral mass, with
one hundred and fifty thousand more lining the motorcade route.
(27:56):
And now the work to replace Pope Francis begins. Father
Gan Sames Martin explains what the College of Cardinals is
looking for at the upcoming conclave.
Speaker 11 (28:04):
The cardinals pray and make the decision under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. What they're looking for is a
person who's holy, person who's a good evangelizer, who can
proclaim the Gospel, and someone who's a good administrator too,
which are hard traits to find in one person.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
What they want is someone who, like Francis, can effectively
proclaim the Gospel. That's the most important thing. Someone who can,
you know, talk about the love of Jesus Christ and
you know Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will
come again. I mean, I think people tend to focus
on the issues and forget that. They want a man
who can proclaim the Gospel, who can embody Jesus as
(28:39):
much as he can. He is, as we say, the
vicar of Christ. I mean, the you know, in a sense,
the substitute for Christ on earth.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
You're in La There was a mass on Monday and
another yesterday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,
both led by Archbishop who's a Gomez, to remember the Pope.
Speaker 13 (29:16):
He has been powerful and emotional to see so many
people in Rome coming out to pray and pay respects
to the Holy Father. And it is moving to be here.
We told of you as we remember his legacy at
his many gifts to the church. And I've been reflecting
(29:37):
this week about how poor Francis will often return to
these words in his preaching and teaching. For him, God's
ancient question was alive, see what a God's words to
burn in our hearts and arouse our conscience. But France
is additional Chorge that this apostolic and missionary, always going
(29:59):
for to seek and save the lost, he wanted a
choice that proclaims with joy the truth of Christ's love
and salvation in our time. He said, the church must
returned to the simple message of salvation that the apostles
called the coigna. And he offered us a beautiful summary
(30:23):
this message to carry to our neighbors. But Francis said,
Jesus Christ loves you. He gave his side to save you.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
And another Catholic story from here. In La County Superior
Court Judge arm Intenzarian has decided this week Monsignor Jeffrey
Burrill will have to take his dispute against the gay
dating and hookup app Grinder to arbitration rather than to
a jury. Grinder attorneys had argued Beryll knew he had
(31:06):
agreed to arbitration when he signed up to have an
account on the app. The monsignor swore in a declaration
he didn't know about the arbitration agreement, but that didn't matter.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
Here's what happened.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Back in twenty twenty one, Burrill had been using Grinder
while working as General Secretary of the US Conference of Bishops.
The president of WISH at the time was LA Archbishop Gomes.
A Catholic media site called The Pillar reported on Burrill's
use of Grinder, and he stepped down from his role
with the Conference of Bishops. The monsignor says he may
(31:37):
have started using Grinder as early as twenty twelve. He
claims his Grinder data was purchased by the Catholic Laity
and Clergy for Renewal That's a conservative Catholic foundation, which
then gave the data to the pillar. Burrill says Grinder
violated his privacy in disclosing his data. He says the
media report derailed his plans to become a bishop, to
(32:00):
return to work at a parish in Wisconsin, but has
been dealing with this ongoing court case right here in
La County, and it has been a pleasure spending another
Saturday night with you here in La County on Michael
Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News. You can
catch me all next week bringing you the news right
here on KFI. We've got lots more to come on
(32:22):
LA's financial condition and how it's getting worse. There will
be plenty more hearings and we're gonna learn where the
city council members stand on this proposal from Mayor bass.
I expect to hear a lot more pushback than what
we've heard last year. And things were bad last year,
they are worse now. So please stay with us all
week long for coverage of that. My thanks to our
(32:43):
producer Matthew Toffler, our board operator Raoul Cortes, and our
news anchor, of course, Brigitta Dagostino. We'll be back again
next Saturday night for another edition of Michael Monks Reports.
I hope you enjoyed the rest of your weekend. Revisionist
History with Malcolm Gladwell is up next right here on
kf I AM six forty, k f
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I A M six forty on demand
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand, KFI.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. This
is Michael Monks Reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
We've got another hour together on this Saturday night here
in southern California. Hope you stayed dry today during all
that rain. It seemed to be at least a little.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
More than what we expected bad.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
It got bad enough at the coast that Pacific Coast
Highway had to be closed in both directions between Tepenga
Canyon Boulevard and Carbon Beach Terrace because of debris blocking
the road. It's just another reminder of how much work
is still ahead of us after the wildfires in January.
US Senator Adam Schiff says he knows the road ahead
is tough. He's got some legislation in Washington to help
(00:44):
incentivize rebuilding with more fire resistant materials. He was back
home in Burbank this week. You might have seen him
on Real Time with Bill Maher last night, but he's
also visited us right here at the KFI studios in Burbank.
Senator Shift, thanks for coming out to KFI right to
be with you. You know, I was looking at this
new Fox poll that came out, and regardless of what
you think about Fox News, their polling is pretty well respected,
(01:07):
and it doesn't look good for President Trump. Frankly, forty
four percent overall approval rating underwater. On foreign policy, only
forty percent approof, fifty four percent disapproved, economy thirty eight
percent approved, fifty six disapproved taxes, way underwater, tariffs, way underwater, inflation,
way underwater. But border security that's his highest mark, fifty
(01:28):
five percent approval rating immigration right about even. So I'm
wondering why this issue of this man Kilmar Abrigo Garcia
seems to be so prominent in democratic politics and messaging
right now.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
Well, I think what people need to understand about Abrigo
Garcia in that case is they grabbed this guy, they
put on a plane to this maximum security prison El Salvador.
He never gets a hearing, he never gets to say, hey,
there's actually a court order prohibiting my removal. And if
the administration can do that, if it can ignore court orders,
(02:04):
if it can grab someone, call them a gang member
and send them to prison outside the country, it can
do that with anyone. So I think that's why this
case has gotten so much attention, and it deserves that attention.
But we still have to also focus on what is
kind of central to most working families, which is they're
working harder than ever, they're trying to get by. The
(02:24):
President promised to reduce prices and he hasn't. His tariffs
are wrecking the economy. They're driving up the cost of
inflation and everything else. It's why you see in those
polling numbers that there's such discontent with the president. There
is a guy who ran on lowering egg prices and
they're through the roof.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So we have to be able to do both.
Speaker 5 (02:43):
Though.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
We have to be able to warn the American people, Hey,
if this administration gets its way, it's going to be
able to just ignore the courts, tell the Supreme Court
to go pound sand grab anyone they want, and lock
them up. That's not a democracy. But at the same time,
we have to continue to speak to the issue that
really people decided the last election on, and that was
(03:05):
they were unhappy with the cost of living. Trump was
promising to do something about it. The Democratic Party came
to be perceived as the party of the status quo,
which is death politically. But now Donald Trump is responsible
for the wrecking of the economy and for prices continuing
to go up, and we can't lose sight of that either.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I think that one of the key issues in the
last presidential election was also immigration. Certainly the economy, as
you point out, but also immigration, and again his actions
on that, regardless of what you think of the legality
of them, they've gotten a majority approval from the American people.
How are you seeing this message work politically, because obviously
Democrats have to position themselves as an alternative to what's
(03:49):
in the White House right now. And so I guess,
just to reframe my question from before, the issue that
seems to be seized right now by Democrats like yourself
and others who are going to El Salvador, is this
individual prisoner. Do you see that resonating with the American
people as much as their concerns about the overall economy.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
Well, I think the top concern for people is the economy,
and we have to make the case not just that
Donald Trump is doing a terrible job. The pulling shows
that the American people get that, but we also have
to make the case of how we would do things differently,
how we would help working families, how we would answer
the question, if you're working hard in America, can you
(04:27):
still earn a good living for yourself and your family?
So that needs to be a central preoccupation of the
Democratic Party. But I think the case that we're talking
about is really not a border security case. The reason
why this is in the news as much as it is,
and why Democrats care about it and a lot of
Republicans care about it too, is it goes to lawlessness.
(04:48):
It goes to the president's sort of dictatorial ambitions, and
that's quite separate from whether we maintain a strong border. Look,
I think we made a mistake. Democrats made a mistake
in not laying out our plans for a safe and
secure border. When you're not talking about an issue, sometimes
people think, well, they don't care about that issue, or
they don't have an answer to that issue. We should
(05:10):
have been talking about that issue. I still think the
dominant issue far and away is the economy has been
the economy will be the economy. Whether you were a
government that was left right or center. Around the world,
you got thrown out in the last election, if you
became associated with the status quo. But I think that
there are other important issues going on too at the
(05:30):
same time, which you can't ignore. I think the environment
is a big issue people care about. I think social
security is a big issue people care about. And Elon
Musk shutting down so security offices. We need to be
talking about that too. We need to be fighting for
seniors who are reliant on that for their retirement security.
(05:51):
So we need to be able to focus on a
number of challenges. But I think at the end of
the day, what is going to make or break both
parties is how they answered the economic questions.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Senator Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has had a strange start
to his tenure in office as a cabinet official, and
I think you're calling for an investigation of some sort
into his use of the Signal app in the way
that some people who shouldn't have had access to some
pretty important information had access to that information. Share with
(06:22):
us what you're looking for there well, as.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
I think we all suspected when the first Signal Chat
came to light, that is the Defense Secretary talking with
more than a dozen other high ranking government officials using
a commercial app, something that is a complete no no,
from a national security point of view, could really jeopardize
the life of those pilots that were doing those bombing runs.
(06:47):
They included, of course, a reporter, an editor of Atlantic
and that chat group. But what we surmised at the
time was because of the cavalier use of this commercial
app and people using it on their personal phones as
well as their government phones, this couldn't have been the
first time. There was just too much comfort level. Nobody
even raised this. The head of the Intelligence Comunity, Telsea Gabbard,
(07:08):
never made a peep, Hey, we shouldn't be talking about
military strike plans on a commercial app. The director of
the CIA, Ratcliffe, never mentioned to peep, So we certainly
assumed this wasn't the first time. Now we have confirmation, no,
this wasn't the first time. In fact, Hegseth was talking
about these same plans with his brother and his wife
(07:28):
and his lawyer's personal lawyer. And so the scandal grows
that denials are proven more false every day, and there's
just general chaos at the top of the Pentagon, not
just because of this, but because Hegseth doesn't know what
he's doing. And this is what happens when you pluck
someone off of Fox News. That's how Donald Trump finds
(07:51):
people for high positions who might be good sitting in
front of a camera, but is a terrible manager of people.
Never should have been given that response, and as a result,
the country is less safe. I mean, this is this
is the Pentagon. It's not something you want to mess
around with. It can be life or death, and Heke
(08:12):
Xeth is proving every day he's just not up to
the job.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
We'll continue with Senator Shift next. Sanctuary cities like La
got a win in federal court. We'll get his reaction
to that. California's economy now ranks fourth in the world,
So what will it take for more of us to
I don't know, feel it and his push at the
federal level to help Hollywood stay competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News.
Senator Adam Schiff, the Democrat from right here in California,
has returned home for some work in conversations. He was
on Real Time with Bill Maher last night. He also
stopped by the KFI studios right here in Burbank, and
we continue with the Senator. Now, sanctuary cities like Los
(09:02):
Angeles got a win in federal court, but we also
know the President has turned on the judiciary in a
pretty harsh way. Do you expect that his threat withhold
funding from sanctuary cities like LA is something that is
going to be settled now through the courts or is
this still a looming threat for cities like LA.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
I think it's still alluming threat, both because the litigation
will continue in other ways that look for other ways
to try to punish not just sanctuary cities, but really
punish states that didn't vote for the president. You know,
his orientation during his first administration was to punish the
blue states. So for example, his tax proposal capped state
(09:43):
local taxes, sault taxes that really hurt California and hurt
New York and hurt other blue states. It hurt Democrats
in those states, it hurt Republicans in those states. And
I think we're seeing something very similar. He's going after
national monuments in California, He's going after other universities in
California and elsewhere too. But predominantly in the Blue states,
(10:05):
So this is all political retribution, and again getting back
to why people voted for him, it was to reduce
the cost of living, not to take punitive action, not
to engage in the sort of pettiness visa the sanctuary cities.
They'll probably try to ignore the Court of venues they
don't like, and we'll have to appeal and try to
(10:25):
enforce the court orders. But I think it's part of
a broader retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
The economy situation is strange because it's so uncertain right now.
We don't know which direction things are headed. It can
change day to day, even from the White House, on
what the message is or what the strategy is, if
there is one. But we did get news this week
that California's economy has grown so large it is now
the fourth largest in the world.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
It's past Japan.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
It often feels like we don't see physically what that
means in California because of the widespread homelessness, the decay
of the urban centers. I'm wondering as a senator, does
that concern you and what is your plan to work
towards improving the overall image of California in spite of
(11:15):
its economic prowess.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Well, first of all, I think this report that we
have now become the fourth largest economy, so after the
United States, China, and Germany. If we were our own nation,
we'd be number four. We just overtook Japan. That's pretty amazing,
and it really goes to the talent of the people
of California and their industry, their entrepreneurship. They're a hard
(11:37):
working character. So for all of the bad mouthing of
the state of California, we are an economic behemoth and
that continues. At the same time, we have a major
housing and homelessness problem, and it gets back to the
same root cause, and that is that we're not building
housing fast enough in California, and we haven't been for years,
and as a result, a lot of young people can't
(11:58):
afford a house, a lot of not so young people
can't afford to house. People's rents are going up beyond
their capacity to pay, and ultimately people are ending up
on the street. And you can have the best programs
in the world and it's been a fortune on them
to move people off the street and into housing. But
if you're not building new housing and bringing down the
cost of housing. There's simply going to be new people
(12:19):
taking their place on the street. So what I'm doing
is everything possible to accelerate the construction of new housing
in California bring those costs down. So I'm working on
supporting a low income housing tax credit expansion that will
help put pencil for developers to build more housing. I
want to work on legislation to incentivize local government to
(12:39):
get to yes faster on housing. I've worked on legislation
to try to expand the use of federal lands and
facilities for housing. Have a whole package will be introducing
of housing related measures within the next month. But at
the end of the day, what it all comes down
to is creating both the incentives and a sense of
(13:00):
urgency about housing the number one problem in the state
of California. So that's my priority. My first bill was
on housing. I introduced a bi parisan bill to provide
a tax credit for people to harden their homes against fire.
But I also think in that respect, what we're trying
to do in the Palisades and an Altadena with these
(13:23):
two horrible fires, is demonstrate that in a democratic city
in a democratic state, we can still get things done
quickly and with a sense of urgency. And I'm very
glad to see that the cleanup is moving very rapidly,
much faster than people expected. We need to make sure
that when that's done, that the rebuilding also takes place
(13:45):
much faster than expected. I think this is a test case,
and we then will better pass the test.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I know you got to go, but before you do,
there's been some comparisons of LA to Detroit for the
possibility of losing its signature in an industry the way
Detroit lost a lot of auto manufacturing. LA's facing serious
hardships with its Hollywood industry. And I think I saw
somewhere before that you once had aspirations of maybe being
(14:11):
a screenwriter or working in the industry. Although your career
has taken a different direction, it must hold some sort
of place in your heart, not just as a Californian,
but as an individual.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Are you concerned about the state of Hollywood.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
I am very concerned about it, and have been for
years because we have seen for years now production leaving California,
leaving it to go to other states, leaving it to
go to Canada, to Britain to Australia, to New Zealand,
and a lot of these other places are offering very
strong tax incentives to woo the industry away, and it's
(14:44):
working and if we don't respond, then we're going to
continue to lose this industry. Now, California has strengthened film
tax credits, and we need to do more along those
lines to keep production within this state. But we also
are at a competitive disadvantage to other countries, and we're
losing a lot of the motion picture as opposed to TV,
(15:07):
losing a lot of motion picture industry to Britain in particular.
And in order toddress that, we need a federal tax
credit as well, and that's legislation that I'm currently working
on so that we can retain this amazing industry, which
I love. I'm an avid moviegoer. I still like doing
(15:27):
it the old fashioned way and going to the theater
and being surrounded by other people and having that experience.
And yes, early in my career, I was an attorney
in la and it's kind of a rule of the
bar that if you're a lawyer, you have to write screenplays.
If you're a lawyer or a waiter, you have to
write screenplays.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
Well, you might have some new stories to write after
your experience in Washington at some point. So we appreciate
you coming back home to Burbank and popping in KFI
and chatting.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
With a senator.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Thank you. Great to be with you.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The senator mentioned he's going to bat for Hollywood and
really movie making across America as it faces more competition
from around the world. But local officials and state officials
are also pushing legislation to help save the film industry.
Some folks have warned LA could be like Detroit, a
major city losing its signature industry. Detroit lost a lot
(16:18):
of the auto world. Could LA lose Hollywood for good?
Or Heather Brooker is with us next to give us
an update on some state bills that made progress this week.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
I'm Michael Monks. This is Michael Monks Reports. Will be
with you till nine o'clock tonight. You just heard from
Senator Adam Schiff. He says he's looking at pursuing some
sort of federal legislation that would aid movie making in
this country, specifically in California's We face increase competition all
(16:55):
around the world, but man, California is feeling it everywhere.
Competition from other dates, competition from other countries, I don't know,
competition from other planets. At this point, the city is
trying to do something, the state is trying to do something,
and now possibly Washington as well.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
As folks say.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
They don't want La to be the next Detroit and
the way that city lost its signature industry autos, could
La possibly lose its signature industry. Hollywood kfis, Heather Brooker
is with us.
Speaker 6 (17:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
There are steps steps in Sacramento being taken and some
progress made.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, so these two bills as to be six. There's
two different bills.
Speaker 7 (17:37):
There's two different bills. They're sister bills, are like companion bills.
These two bills just passed a major hurdle this week,
one of them being they went through these both of
them went through these committees, one in the Assembly, one
in the Senate. They were basically committees that said, this
is an initial review, we want to take a look
see if we want to support this, and then they
pushed it forward. One of the main reasons why you
(17:59):
know a lot of people think it I pushed forward
is because more than one hundred thousand supporters sent letters
to lawmakers saying we want this film and tax credit
to go forward.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
So that's what the bills related to. It's it's expand
and we've heard Governor Newsom come out and say we
need to double our tax incentives are basically tax credits
that people producers can get for making their film here.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
And that's what the other states are doing.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
I mean states that you wouldn't think are our movie
making meccas have become such because they are basically giving
handouts to these producers to come in and make their
films there because it's cheaper.
Speaker 7 (18:33):
To do so that's absolutely right. So right now, though
California has not updated its film and tax credits film
and TV tax credit since two thousand and nine, we
are way behind every other state that's giving out these
massive tax credits. Right now, we have three hundred and
thirty million dollars, which seems like a lot, but when
you compare other states that have four hundred, five hundred,
(18:55):
six hundred thousand, and Georgia, which has no cap whatsoever,
on the amount that people can get back with that
tax credit. We are sort of we're not even in
play anymore. So this bill, these bills that are being
pushed forward are away for us to be like, we're
still here, We're California, this is our industry.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
We're going to push this up.
Speaker 7 (19:16):
They want to push this up to seven hundred and
fifty million dollars in tax credits. And the most significant
thing that they're doing is they're expanding the types of
productions that can apply for these tax credits. We're talking
about a series that are right now, the current law
says only series over forty minutes and length can apply
(19:36):
for the tax credits.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
No half hour shows, no half hour shows.
Speaker 7 (19:40):
Yeah, this would lower it to twenty minutes, so anything
over twenty.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Minutes could apply.
Speaker 7 (19:46):
Animated series, animated films, different types of productions. They're trying
to The word that's being thrown around is modernize the
California tax credit program, because right now it's still stuck
back in twenty nineteen, before we had YouTube series, before
we had TikTok series, before we had short form verticals.
So many more projects are leaving California going to other
(20:09):
places that are offering them money back on their investment.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
And I spoke with Rebecca Ryan.
Speaker 7 (20:14):
She is the executive director, the Western executive director for
the DGA. She's been leading the charge here. She's also
with Keep California Rolling. Also there a big part of this,
you know, effort, and she says that what this is, essentially,
it's a jobs bill. The goal of these bills is
to create more jobs in California, good paying film and TV.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Show I think that's a point that gets debated because
are certainly highlighted by proponents. Because when we talk about
tax credits, you know, the average person, I think tax
credits for Tom Cruise, tax credits for George Clooney, give
me a breaker, you kidding. It was the same sentiment
during the actors strike and a writer's strike, like, oh,
come on, how much more money these people need. They're
working class people who who work in this business. But
(21:00):
also there are other businesses that only exist because they
support the Hollywood industries.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
There are a lot of jobs at stake here.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
But by the way, and I forgot to mention this,
she's not just kfi's Heather Brooker. She is the star
of NBC's The Office as well, that's right, right.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
So you've got some experience. You might have missed that,
but nig you literally missed it. Unfortunately. You got cast
on the Office two times and walk on rolls with lines. Yes, yes,
many many moons ago, many years ago. I had two rolls,
two parts on the Office. My first scene with Steve
Correll and Amy Ryan got cut. I got cut out
(21:39):
of it because they notoriously shot more than they could
actually use on the Office, and my scene, unfortunately, was
one of the ones that was cut. But they felt
so bad about it they brought me back the next
season for another part is when Jim and Pam had
their baby, and I was over the moon because I
got to be on set with like everybody, everybody.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
And then I got so.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
You've been on the Office twice, but you've not been
on the Office at all.
Speaker 7 (22:04):
Basically, well, I'm on it now only because the Superfan
cuts are on Peacock. So if people want to tune
in and they watch the Peacock version of the Superfan cuts,
they've put back in a lot of those original scenes
that were cut for time. You know, if a network
was like, we only have twenty minutes because we've sold
so many ads or whatever. Well, now they've all been
(22:24):
put back in because on the streamers they've got more
time to play with.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
I bring this up not to reopen old wounds from
their acting career for that, but but you're in the
business in a way. I mean, you're in the news
business now here the broadcasting business as well, but you're
acting adjacent still, and you know, people who are in it,
give us the lay of the land. What is it
like out there for somebody in Hollywood? Not the Tom Cruises,
not the George Coney's the person who's going out to
(22:49):
auditions trying to get that walk on roll on a sitcom.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I'll tell you it's bleak. It is really bleak.
Speaker 7 (22:55):
And you know I say that, I'm in a lot
of groups for directors, writers, actors. It's not just the actors,
you know. And that's a great point. A lot of
people just see the celebrities, They see the famous people,
and they think, why do they need more money? And
the people make that connection, why does you know this
person need to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That's
not how it works. Everybody from craft services to the
(23:20):
gaffers to your union guys to your wardrobe and hair
and makeup people, directors and big studio films and independent films.
Independent films right now are struggling because for so long
all that was being made was these massive, big budget
studio films, and the smaller projects couldn't you know, get funding,
(23:44):
couldn't get enough money back in the tax credit, and
they were overlooked in the tax credit. And now they're like,
we don't have work, we don't have jobs. We can't
find anybody to make our movie. So they're going to
other states. And they're not just going there to make
their movie, they're moving there, so they're going where the
work is. So we're losing people who are good at
their craft and good at their jobs, not because they
(24:07):
want to leave the state, but because they have to
have money to live.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
And you have to have a lot of money to
live in California, especially in Los Angeles. It just seems
like everything that's gone wrong for Hollywood, or everything that
could go wrong, has gone wrong. From the pandemic and
then the dual strikes and now this I mean not
just the disruption by the streaming, but also the business
as a whole, seeing so much internal competition.
Speaker 7 (24:30):
It's been a lot of hits consecutively over the last
five years, and Hollywood California, in the state of California,
needs to do something to stay competitive or they will
lose one of their most famous and deeply rooted industries.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Heather Brooker from KFI and TV's The Office, Thanks for
coming in.
Speaker 7 (24:49):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Up next, the gay dating and hookup app Grinder has
a date in court with a Catholic monsignor right here
in La County. He was pretty high up in the
U Conference of Catholic Bishops working under Archbishop Jose Gomez.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
We'll talk about that case. That's next.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You're listening to KFI AM six forty on demand.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Kf I AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
This is Michael Monks reports on Michael Monks from KFI News,
wrapping up another Saturday Night with you. Amber Day in
Rome has world leaders and Catholic faithful have said goodbye
to Pope Francis. His funeral highlighted the Pontiff's concerns for
people and his wish to be remembered as a simple pastor.
Speaker 8 (25:45):
I was so so happy to be there, you know. Yeah,
and to see so many people, you know, to set
up Britta our faith. It is really amazing to be
part of so many people who have come to say
bye bye to the a Daddy.
Speaker 9 (25:58):
The Poor's his occasion. Absolutely fabulous that I'm here and
one I can remember forever, neighbor and I have goose bumps.
Speaker 10 (26:09):
We also got to see different world leaders and their
you know, cars and their motorcade. So it's an interesting
I've never been to Rome before, so I don't know
what the city's like without this going on. So that's
in a way, it's not the trip we planned, but
it's a very I don't know, I just we keep
saying kind of once in a lifetime opportunity.
Speaker 5 (26:29):
He's had an amazing run in the past twelve years, and
that's a sad day for Catholics everywhere.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Among the people in Rome to honor Pope Francis at
his funeral was twenty four year old Noah Leah Agramant.
She's from California.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
I originally came for the canonization of Cataloutis, which I
imagine a lot of people did, which is why there's
a lot of young people here. But it was still
an amazing experience. I came with my mom. She's very Catholic.
I'm very Catholic too, but it's jubileear you know. That
doesn't happen too often, So it felt really emotional and
very special to be able.
Speaker 11 (27:01):
To be there.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
ABC's Terry Moran says the funeral was attended by a
lot of powerful people.
Speaker 12 (27:07):
Leaders came from around the world paying their last respects
to the pope, including President Donald Trump and First Lady
Milania Trump, former President Joe Biden and former First Lady
Jill Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski, and Prince William Paul. Barrows
carried Francis's coffin out of Saint Peter's Basilica and into
the square where the funeral mass was held. His casket
(27:27):
was placed under the balcony where he first appeared his
pope twelve years ago. The Gospel laid out on top
of his coffin, But.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Despite the presence of presidents and royals at his funeral,
Pope Francis was taken from Saint Peter's Square and he
was then greeted by prisoners and migrants at his final
resting place across the city, the Vatican estimates. Some two
hundred and fifty thousand people attended the funeral mass, with
one hundred and fifty thousand more lining the motorcade route.
(27:56):
And now the work to replace Pope Francis begins. Father
Gan Sames Martin explains what the College of Cardinals is
looking for at the upcoming conclave.
Speaker 11 (28:04):
The cardinals pray and make the decision under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. What they're looking for is a
person who's holy, person who's a good evangelizer, who can
proclaim the Gospel, and someone who's a good administrator too,
which are hard traits to find in one person.
Speaker 6 (28:18):
What they want is someone who, like Francis, can effectively
proclaim the Gospel. That's the most important thing. Someone who can,
you know, talk about the love of Jesus Christ and
you know Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will
come again. I mean, I think people tend to focus
on the issues and forget that. They want a man
who can proclaim the Gospel, who can embody Jesus as
(28:39):
much as he can. He is, as we say, the
vicar of Christ. I mean, the you know, in a sense,
the substitute for Christ on earth.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
You're in La There was a mass on Monday and
another yesterday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,
both led by Archbishop who's a Gomez, to remember the Pope.
Speaker 13 (29:16):
He has been powerful and emotional to see so many
people in Rome coming out to pray and pay respects
to the Holy Father. And it is moving to be here.
We told of you as we remember his legacy at
his many gifts to the church. And I've been reflecting
(29:37):
this week about how poor Francis will often return to
these words in his preaching and teaching. For him, God's
ancient question was alive, see what a God's words to
burn in our hearts and arouse our conscience. But France
is additional Chorge that this apostolic and missionary, always going
(29:59):
for to seek and save the lost, he wanted a
choice that proclaims with joy the truth of Christ's love
and salvation in our time. He said, the church must
returned to the simple message of salvation that the apostles
called the coigna. And he offered us a beautiful summary
(30:23):
this message to carry to our neighbors. But Francis said,
Jesus Christ loves you. He gave his side to save you.
Speaker 2 (30:46):
And another Catholic story from here. In La County Superior
Court Judge arm Intenzarian has decided this week Monsignor Jeffrey
Burrill will have to take his dispute against the gay
dating and hookup app Grinder to arbitration rather than to
a jury. Grinder attorneys had argued Beryll knew he had
(31:06):
agreed to arbitration when he signed up to have an
account on the app. The monsignor swore in a declaration
he didn't know about the arbitration agreement, but that didn't matter.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
Here's what happened.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Back in twenty twenty one, Burrill had been using Grinder
while working as General Secretary of the US Conference of Bishops.
The president of WISH at the time was LA Archbishop Gomes.
A Catholic media site called The Pillar reported on Burrill's
use of Grinder, and he stepped down from his role
with the Conference of Bishops. The monsignor says he may
(31:37):
have started using Grinder as early as twenty twelve. He
claims his Grinder data was purchased by the Catholic Laity
and Clergy for Renewal That's a conservative Catholic foundation, which
then gave the data to the pillar. Burrill says Grinder
violated his privacy in disclosing his data. He says the
media report derailed his plans to become a bishop, to
(32:00):
return to work at a parish in Wisconsin, but has
been dealing with this ongoing court case right here in
La County, and it has been a pleasure spending another
Saturday night with you here in La County on Michael
Monks Reports. I'm Michael Monks from KFI News. You can
catch me all next week bringing you the news right
here on KFI. We've got lots more to come on
(32:22):
LA's financial condition and how it's getting worse. There will
be plenty more hearings and we're gonna learn where the
city council members stand on this proposal from Mayor bass.
I expect to hear a lot more pushback than what
we've heard last year. And things were bad last year,
they are worse now. So please stay with us all
week long for coverage of that. My thanks to our
(32:43):
producer Matthew Toffler, our board operator Raoul Cortes, and our
news anchor, of course, Brigitta Dagostino. We'll be back again
next Saturday night for another edition of Michael Monks Reports.
I hope you enjoyed the rest of your weekend. Revisionist
History with Malcolm Gladwell is up next right here on
kf I AM six forty, k f
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I A M six forty on demand
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