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October 1, 2025 12 mins
Mark as Played
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, as you know, or if you don't know,
I guess you're well you live in a cave. If
there's a shutdown. The government is shut down right now.
And even though you might be thinking or hearing, oh
the world is ending in in fact is not. But
there could be potential travel impacts from this shutdown. Alex Stone,

(00:22):
ABC News is joining us now and happy hump day, Alex.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
How are you hump day, Marky?

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Mark?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, Congress is still getting paid though even though most
others are not.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
But they should not get paid if you ask me.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
They're still getting paidcheck. Yeah, so this is the thing
you talk about travel And yeah, in the short term,
nothing is changing because the TSA and the FAA employees,
they are told they don't have a choice. They are essential.
They're not going to get paid, but they are essential
and they have to show up for work. Now. Can
you imagine if they told the staff at WTVN, we're
not going to pay you maybe for the next month

(00:55):
and a half, how many people would still be showing
up every day if you weren't getting a paycheck. And
the these workers are being told they got to show
up and that they just got paid. So everything is
normal right now, but their next paydate is in about
two weeks, and that likely then we're going to start
seeing people calling in sick without getting paid. TSA says
over fifty eight thousand of its workers are considered to

(01:17):
be essential of the sixty one thousand at the TSA,
and that means that it is not optional that they've
got to work. But as a shutdown goes on, as
we have seen before, people can't pay their bills and
they begin staying home for childcare, and they can't pay
for gas. Johnny Jones is a TSA officer. We talked
to him. He says, you've can only go on for
so long without a paycheck, depending on how long this

(01:37):
goes on.

Speaker 4 (01:38):
For childcare does not take IOUs, Gasoline does not take IOUs.
Your house payments do not take IOUs. And sometimes it
becomes very difficult to maintain focused on the mission whenever
you're trying to figure out how you're going to get
to and from work.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
And that's the thing. So in the twenty eighteen twenty
nineteen shutdown that went on for thirty five days, the
longest in history, TSA officers, after a little while didn't
take very long, began calling out sick because they weren't
getting paid, and that led to long lines and security checkpoints,
and then air traffic controllers began calling out sick at
the big centers, creating ground stops because they two aren't
getting paid, And in fact, they were credited with ending

(02:14):
that shutdown because once flights in and out of New
York and Florida were grounded that then there was a
big push to end that shutdown because flights weren't taking off,
and it was you know, at that point, it became
very serious. So we talked to a woman we heard
from her today flying out of Columbus, and she says
that she doesn't like all this of TSA officers not

(02:35):
getting paid and FAA workers and the air traffic controllers
not getting paid when her safety is at stake.

Speaker 5 (02:40):
You can only ask people to do so much genuinely,
even if a service is very important. People are only
going to do things out of the goodness of their
heart for so long. And I'm you know, genuinely worried
about what's going to happen in the future when air
traffic controllers decide like, no, I can't do this anymore,
when you know, even the TSA agents decide like, hey,
I need to be paid, So yeah, I am pretty

(03:00):
worried about like flying in and out for now.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
And this guy also flying out of Columbus has a
message for lawmakers. He says, get this over with.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
At the lowest level, we know what to do. We
know our job. We do our job every day. Please
do your job.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
And so mark. Everything today should be normal at airports.
But the longer this goes on, if it does go
on for a long time, the more likelihood that you're
gonna have people saying enough of this and they're going
to go get you know, maybe more at the TSA
officer level than they're to have a controller, but go
get another job, and you know, or they've got to
stay home with their kid, or they can't pay for
gas or can't pay for food, because I mean, let's

(03:35):
be honest, with the pay of a TSA officer, they
don't make a lot of money and so they many
of them, probably don't have a lot of money to
now fall back on that the living paycheck to paycheck
that all of a sudden come two weeks from now.
If they're not getting paid very quickly, the sick calls
come in and things begin to degrade fast. But as
of now, if you are flying into this weekend, you're

(03:56):
probably fine. But as time goes on that things could
begin to fall apart.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Say with regard to you know, people are essential, they're
in a central employee. There should be funding for them
because they're finding way to they're finding ways to get
other people paid, you know, during something like this, because
you know, for instance, like you said, Congress is still
going to get paid. So that's a head scratcher. And

(04:21):
I'm not asking you to answer that, Alex, I'm just saying.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
No, But I mean it would seem like you would say, Okay,
if if the TSA and air traffick should get.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
Paid, find a way for them to get paid.

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, yeah, they should find a way to grab the
money for that. If you are considered essential, then you
should be paid during this. They shouldn't be asking anybody
to do anything for free, you know, during this.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, and you'll get the money back once they get
a new budget. But still still in the short term
they've got to live.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (04:48):
It's always exempts themselves from the hill they put themself.
They did this when they were talking about nationalized health care.
You know the are you old enough to remember the
US the banking scandal? The house had their own little bank.
They were ounce and checks left and right down there,
not adhering to any of the rules we had to
adhere to with our banking. They never seem to have
to live by the same rules they impose on us.

Speaker 3 (05:08):
Yeah it sucks. Yeah, it sucks.

Speaker 6 (05:10):
Man.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Let's all move to Canada. No, all right, just kidding,
just leave this country ever.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Alex Stone, ABC News Los Angeles, Alex, thank you very.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
Much, got it?

Speaker 2 (05:22):
Thanks guys?

Speaker 3 (05:22):
See you brother man.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
I mean it one hundred percent when I say, if
you're considered essential employee, why can't they find the money
for those people? Otherwise they shouldn't be considered a scent.
How are they able to just tell you, yeah, you
got to work and you're not getting paid right now?
I mean, well eventually, well yeah, but you can't tell
the you can't tell Heartland Bank. Yeah, we'll have your

(05:45):
mortgage payment as soon as I get paid, because Heartland
Bank's gonna go wait a minute, no, it's due now,
you know, I.

Speaker 7 (05:51):
Mean right, well, it happens actually automatically. You're Unfortunately their
way credit reporting works, is you don't make your your
payment that the systems just automatic report those things and
it doesn't.

Speaker 3 (06:02):
Matter why, you know, and that is which is probably wrong.

Speaker 7 (06:04):
But at the same time, you know, it's very detrimental
to customers, you know, and consumers.

Speaker 3 (06:09):
Yeah, that's they should have worked.

Speaker 7 (06:10):
Into the big beautiful bill, you know, stuff like this,
like and we're not gonna pay Congress unless you have
a bounced budget each year.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
If you don't have a bounced budget, you don't get paid.
Guess what they probably would probably have a bounced budget.
I don't think.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Well, also, guess what, you're not gonna have anybody signing
off on that. All the people voting on it are
the ones you're gonna suffer a good none of them
are going to vote up on you.

Speaker 6 (06:30):
You're asking the Foxes to vote on the new lock
on the Henhouse. It's not going to happen.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
I mean, that's exactly right though, it really is, you know,
but it makes total sense why it should be in place,
but it's not. Hey, I wanted to you know, the shutdown, Yeah,
pretty important. But something else that's incredibly important that's going
on and wanted to have a discussion about is Fireball
whiskey is launching a new flavor.

Speaker 3 (06:56):
Oh boy, sorry.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
I know people listening are like, and what's he going
to say? That's really that's what's important to you. But no,
I saw this and I was like, I don't know.
Do you like fireball, Chuck, if you had fireball?

Speaker 6 (07:10):
Fireball from the actual fireball whiskey, Yeah, whiskey, big bottle, Yeah,
the garbage they sell in the carryouts, Yes, it's okay,
you like it?

Speaker 3 (07:19):
Yes?

Speaker 1 (07:19):
Do you like fireball whiskey don Ross, the retirement ball,
you know, the whiskey and bourbon. I like, yeah, but
you don't like the cinnamony. No, how about you, Scott mccollm.

Speaker 7 (07:28):
You know, I don't usually keep that as my go to,
you know, fireball, but I saw something in your bag.
Let you know why, because when there's a birdie though
on the golf course, you got to do a shot
or something, and and a lot of times it's fireball.
So my wife and our golf cart at Jefferson, she
she has a bottle of fireball and shot glasses and
that's oh that's real.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Then that's a real thing. Yeah, that's cool. It's good.

Speaker 6 (07:51):
Like if you had a spicy kind of dinner or whatever,
A little over some my east after dinner. It's that's
cinnamon e thing. And I have to you know, the
right time a year too. It's not something i'd really
drink in hot weather. It's more of a cool weather
drink for me.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
I will tell you that Jack Daniels has fire Yeah.
It is so good, and it's just the long the
I think it's better than Fireball myself.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
I try that. It is smooth.

Speaker 1 (08:15):
Oh my gosh, it's really good anyway. Fireball Whiskey, though,
is launching a new flavor. It's called Blazon Apple. Now,
Jack Daniels has an apple, don't they. I think they haven't.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
Jim Beam. I don't know that Jack Daniels has or
Jim Yeah. Maybe Beme has an apple like an apple. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (08:34):
I think Royal Crown has an apple too.

Speaker 3 (08:36):
They do Crown. Yeah, yep.

Speaker 1 (08:39):
Mixed reviews right now. Some like it, some not not
so much. They combine the cinnamon spice flavor with the
taste of apple, and they're gonna sell it year round.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
I don't see any problems with it.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
You know what I did when we were when I
was vacationing, and I would have it was like a
million degrees. We were we we oh, we were we
were playing Harbortown.

Speaker 3 (09:03):
Actually we were in uh where is that? What state?

Speaker 6 (09:06):
Is it?

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Carolina? Yeah? Yeah, man, so.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
Yeah, we played early. It was like a million degrees.
It's like a million percent humidity. And as early so
I go, Man, I'm just gonna have red Bull for
instead of coffee because I didn't want hot coffee.

Speaker 3 (09:20):
That didn't appeal to me. And we were playing first
thing and.

Speaker 1 (09:22):
I had I had jack Fire and I was putting
it in the red Bull. Man, is it really good?
I mean really really good, to the point where I
think I'm gonna have that. I have that tonight at dinner.
All right, all right, No, no I'm not.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
Maybe I will. I think your body was taking anything.
That's why it tasted good.

Speaker 2 (09:40):
A million degrees, million percent of humidity.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
Were you on the sun?

Speaker 1 (09:45):
We were golfing, golfing on the side.

Speaker 3 (09:48):
You imagine you see my golf ball. No, I think
it burned out. I don't. I don't see it anywhere.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Right, Yeah, somebody put If you enjoy punishing your taste
buds or want to elicit pained expressions on your face,
try the awful liquors that they're talking about here, somebody put.
They're saying, uh, yeah, so freaking good. It's bomb best
drink for Christmas. Been sober for ten months and might

(10:15):
make it eleven thanks to.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
This somebody put. So it's mixed reviews. Some people like it,
some people didn't. Really there's people love to call in
and contribute to your conversation. Be kind of hilarious to hear.
Oh yeah, like people are a comment yeah saying this.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, the Fireball, I like the Uh. Every time I
hear Fireball, I hear the song they who does that?

Speaker 3 (10:39):
Pitbull? I think does fireball? You heard it?

Speaker 6 (10:41):
I have not heard that.

Speaker 3 (10:42):
No, Hey, Zach, can you fire Can you grab that
real quick? Mister world wide? World wide? Yeah, pit Bull,
pit Bull? Yeah, it's he does fireball? Fireball?

Speaker 6 (10:55):
You I have not heard that. No, No, I'll add
that to my things to do list under the bad
Bunny hits.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
You you know there isn't that an oxymoron saying greatest hits?

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Yeah? Yeah, oh here it is. This is fireball, right
not baby, get my boot naked, take off of your
clothes and light tell them I'm on fa Come on.

Speaker 8 (11:20):
Pit one two three four man, listen, that's punky Hey
here means murmur. I mean, god, it's as fun as
it is.

Speaker 3 (11:34):
I can't see it.

Speaker 6 (11:36):
I have not heard it, and it kind of bothers
me that you seem to be enjoying it as much.

Speaker 3 (11:39):
As you are. This is good, This is good.

Speaker 4 (11:42):
I think it's cool, man, and I'm a classic music guy.

Speaker 6 (11:48):
It's like somebody put a tone Lok album on seventy eight.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
That's that is Pitbull Fireball. I don't even know how
old that is is the year happened to be displayed
there zach attack that like when you're staring at the
screen there when you repum, so it's eleven years old.

Speaker 3 (12:07):
Okay, wow, so it's been out a while. But man,
that's a club classic now. But you don't know nothing
about it.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
You haven't been in the clubs in a long.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
The only club you have is on week you know.
That's Chuck doesn't do the club. Our clubs is a pillow.
At ten pm,
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