December 17, 2024 • 36 mins
AM Radio Effort Hits Snag as Proposed Dashboard Requirement Left Out of Year-End Budget/ NASA Astronauts Stuck in Space Hit with Another Delay Before Return Home. // Titan Submersible Implosion Documentary in the Works/ What is ‘brain rot’? The science behind what too much scrolling does to our brains. // Drones spotted across Northeast likely coming from 'inside the US / Trump considers privatizing US Postal Service. // New federal rule that bans 'junk fees' on hotels, live-event tickets could save you money, time/ California has sweeping new rules for home insurance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's KFI AM six forty and you're listening to the
Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Happy Holidays to all Harry. KFI AM six forty were
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Mark Thompson's sitting in
for Tim Conway Junior. You know, it's that time of
year when people take time off and so a lot
of different voices are here, but it's always this is
my home court, So for me, I really love being
here on KFI. By the way, the AM Radio effort,
(00:30):
you know that they're making an attempt to essentially pass
legislation that would include AM radios in every vehicle. In fact,
it's called the Am Radio for Every Vehicle Act. It
did not pass Congress this time. It has got a
lot of bipartisan support, but they couldn't get it passed
(00:52):
this time.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So they're going to push it along and they say
that they're optimistic.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You know, there's a National Association of Broadcasts and they're
going to be working with Congress to try to pass
this legislation and make sure that every vehicle has an
AM radio. It's going to really require the Secretary of
Transportation to issue a ruling that access to AM broadcast
stations in motor vehicles is vital, and if they can
(01:21):
actually pass his legislation, if you don't have an AM
radio in the car, the producer of that car, manufacturer
of that car would be fined. So again, though it's
not yet passed, in fact to something of a setback
for it. Today I thought it was interesting. I don't
know if you agree with me on this. So though
I didn't meet an astronaut once, and I asked him
(01:44):
this question, because he was the astronaut who was up
in space for a full year. Remember the twins, the
twin astronauts Crozier, you know, the Kelly brothers.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
It's Mark Kelly and.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Scott Kelly is yeah, yeah, exactly, thank you. And so
one of them was up, you know, for a full year,
I believe it was. And then when he came back,
they compared his you know, biological changes with those of
his brother, again identical twin on Earth, and they learned
(02:17):
a bunch of things about life in space and how
you sustain yourself in space, and various biological changes that
go on while you're in space. So I had this
weird opportunity in a Q and A. I say weird,
meaning I didn't expect to have it. But I was
in this lecture we're listening to the two brothers talking
about this, because I was very intrigued by the whole thing,
(02:39):
and they opened it up for questions. And remember the
one brother up there for a year. He's in that
International Space Station, so you know, you're there with the
Russians and you're getting stuff done.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
There's a cooperative thing.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And it got me to thinking, you know, everybody's really
got to get along well in that.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Tight space for a year.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
And you know, let's face it, the Russian astronauts probably
don't speak English very well, and the American astronauts probably
don't speak Russian very well. So you've got a couple
of impediments to things going smoothly already. So I just asked,
I'll get my question out of the way, and then
I'll tell you what's happening. I asked for my question.
(03:26):
You know what happens when you kind of decide among
yourselves that you know, nobody likes Yuri, you know, the
Russian guy, or you know Boris, the Russian astronaut, is
really you know, a pain in the a or it
might be an American astronaut that you don't get along with.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean, you're in for a long time. You're up there,
you know.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And what he said was, then everybody go through all
kinds of psychological testing ahead of time, and so in
addition to having sort of a technical expertise, you have
to have the right psychology to be in one of
these spacecrafts for that long. And he said, so you
really don't run into the sharp edges kind of that
(04:11):
the question suggested, But talk about an unexpected piece of news.
That's bad if you're up there and you're one of
the two NASA astronauts who went up there for a
week to the International Space Station. It was a simple
refueling thing, a simple like recharge there.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
They brought I don't know what they brought up there,
whatever supplies. They ran into problems and they were told, hey,
we're working on getting you back, but we're not going
to be able to get you back right away because
of this issue with the Boeing spacecraft. Right they were
going to spend a week or roughly at the space station,
(04:56):
and then they said, well, we'll get you back probably
within a couple of months now, and they, to be fair,
the astronauts who went up there, the two of them,
they were aware that it might be more than a
week or so. In other words, there was kind they
were kind of road testing this Boeing aircraft. And so
as it turns out, they will again be delayed in
(05:22):
bringing them back, so they'll wind up having lived and
worked in orbit for not just a little over a week,
but a little more than nine months. New crews typically overlap,
they say, with departing crews and new crews working together
for a short time at the ISS, but that handover
(05:46):
period now has gone on for a long long time.
They seem pretty cool about it, these two. But the
new Dragon capsule that's going to launch in late March
should arrive at the processing facility in Florida at NASA's
(06:07):
location in early January, and then they go up and
they rescue these people. So when that capsule launches, it's
going to carry new astronauts, that is to say, a
new crew and McLean and Nicole Ayers and Russian cosmonaut
Kail Peskov and Japanese astronaut to cuya Onishi. Until then
(06:31):
the force them that's up there is going to continue
training for their mission at NASA. JOm, sorry that forsome
the force them that's going to relieve the ones that
are up there are going to continue training. But over
nine months when it was just supposed to be you know,
a Gilligan's Island kind of four hour tour, and then
you end up spending most of the year there. Talk
(06:55):
about a brutal, brutal piece of news. What a way
to spend the holidays. But look, these people are dedicated
to science and I'm sure it doesn't bother them in
the way that it might bother the rest of us.
But man, talk about a sacrifice. When we come back.
There is a new documentary about the doomed Titanic submersible,
(07:18):
and the details are pretty intense. Right we all saw
the search for that submersible, the way in which it
was put together, the ways in which it was not
put together. I guess this will all be documented in
a new film. We'll talk about that as we continue.
(07:39):
Mark Thompson here for Tim Conway Junior, taking a break
from my wildly successful Crozier wildly successful YouTube show.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
That's what I keep hearing.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Oh my god, it's a fire KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
I love being over here.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
This is great. This is what I'm a radio guy.
The YouTube you gotta be you know, you're on camera
the whole time. Those days are yeah, those days.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Are over for me, right.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I like it, just you know, throwing a T shirt
and jeans and let's let's talk about some stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Yeah, mud turtle with a voice of gold.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from kf
I Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Mark Thompson here for Tim Conway Junior. Sliding into the holidays,
like eight days left before Christmas, and I'm just seeing
that they're making a documentary film on the doom. Hang on,
I have to sneeze. Wait, oh no, now it's just passed.
(08:40):
This is a developing story. I'll give you more details
for now. The sneeze has passed. The Titanic submersible. They're
making a documentary about it, and this I'm just seeing
that the person who was lightly closest to the ill
(09:02):
fated Ocean Gate Titan submersible journey that ended in five
people's deaths last year is making a documentary about that tragedy.
Aaron Aringrahamson, the last person to see the Titan crew alive,
closing the submersible hatch and waving the crew on its way.
In June of twenty twenty three, is directing this film.
(09:25):
Angrahamson is going to go into the deaths of the
ocean Gate co founder and submersible pilot, stocked and rushed,
and four others who perished in that vehicle's implosion on
its way down to see the resting site of the Titanic.
He said, we are committed to telling this important story
(09:46):
with the thoroughness it deserves, through exclusive interviews of the
titan crew and in the aftermath with their families. Our
goal is to reflect on the lives affected by this
tragedy while providing crucial insights into walking the razor thin
line between success and failure. Well, to be fair, I
don't think it was a razor thin line. I watched
(10:06):
a lot and read a lot about what happened with
that doomed submersible, and there were massive design flaws in
that massive I mean the decisions that were made and
the decisions that were not made when it came time
(10:27):
to actually put that thing in the water. They're frankly embarrassing.
And if you watch, and I'm sure it's still up
on YouTube. James Cameron's analysis of what happened in the
aftermath of that submersible and the destruction of the submersible
as it went down, and was essentially crushed by the
(10:49):
depth he details, and this was in the first week
after it happened. I remember watching a bunch of stuff
from Cameron, because remember Cameron designed his own submarin. Cameron
went on his own Titanic mission and explored the depths
of the ocean floor in this submersible that was, you know,
excruciatingly carefully designed, and James Cameron was impressive in these
(11:15):
videos the depths, if you're pardon, the expression of knowledge
that he had on this stuff was amazing, and he
essentially detailed because he knew this guy stocked in Rush.
They talked and he said things like I can't believe
he didn't do this, and I can't believe he didn't
do that, and I can't believe he didn't stress test this.
(11:38):
So it struck me in watching Cameron particularly, and there
were many others who were commenting on this. These are
long conversations where they detailed various aspects of this Ocean
Gate submersible. The thing that I was struck by over
and over was that they just didn't really do this
(12:01):
carefully enough. And even the nav system on board. Remember
he had that kind of like a video game joystick
thing that he was working. I mean, the whole thing
was oddly sort of had like a put together in
your basement or garage feel, you know. I mean, this
(12:23):
isn't a go kart you're putting together. This is something
that's going to go down to the ocean floor, and
you're taking people on board, presumably you feel a responsibility
for their lives. I again, mad respect to this guy
who is doing the documentary, and mad respect to those
who are involved in this effort. And also I mean,
(12:45):
my heart breaks for families that lost loved ones. But
when it comes to design and execution, there's a story
to be told there, and it's not a good one.
It's one that really reflects a looseness with detail and
honestly a kind of haphazard way, slipshod way of going
(13:08):
about putting this vessel together.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
We'll see, I mean, maybe that's not right.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I'm sure we'll find out more in the documentary, but
based on everything I saw, that was the case. Scrolling
and scrolling and scrolling is rotting your brain. This story
just handed to me by producer Richie. Experts are saying
that brain rot We'll settle in serious damage to our
(13:38):
brains with constant social media use.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
Really, that's what they're saying you get after spending long
hours scrolling the internet. But medical experts say it's a
real condition. Medical experts say it can trigger cognitive decline,
brain fog, and shorten our attention span, and it can
cause depression in teams.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Percent of teens and a.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
Few research survey said they have access to a smartphone,
and forty six percent of them said they use the
Internet almost constantly.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Adults weren't too far off.
Speaker 7 (14:10):
It tends to thin certain areas of the brain called
the cortex that is responsible for your memory and your perception.
More than three hours a day for teens seem to
double their risk of depression.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Well, I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
It has affected my Uh, it has affected my attention span.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I'll be honest with you.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Don't have the patients like even that report on the
fact that it was affecting my attention span. I was
getting bored after just a few seconds. Yeah, this doom scrolling.
I'm committed to it. I love it. It's all I do
all the time. I'm up on the social media. I'm
reading articles constantly, I'm listening, I'm watching, I'm looking, I'm reading.
(14:57):
But the people who are involved in research on the
brain have actually quantified the amount of damage it's doing.
Doctor Don Grant, National Advisor of Healthy Device Management at
Newport Healthcare in LA. He says one of his major
concerns is how brain rot and that's what it's called,
(15:19):
is affecting imagination and education. Social media has a major
impact on sleep habits too, especially crucial for children. And again,
when kids speak with Grant, who is again this doctor
Don Grant does this research? Kids say they spend about
(15:43):
eight hours a night on their phones and he says, okay,
can you tell me one video you remember? And he says,
I have yet to have one kid really be able
to remember anything they saw. Our brain matter is diminishing,
he says, our memories are diminishing, and our attention spans
are diminishing. Wow, So Merry Christmas, everybody, Merry Christmas. It's
(16:09):
the Conway Show. Could the Post Office go private? I'll
answer that question next.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You're listening to Tim conwaytun You're on demand from KFI
Am sixty.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It is the season to watch for mystery drone sightings,
many flying over New Jersey, also across other parts of
the eastern US, primarily we've had a couple of reports
in southern California.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Haven't been a lot CROs.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Right, I mean, there have not really been many references
to people spotting a lot of drone activity.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Not directly, but yeah, go on social media. Oh, I see,
I swear to god, everybody's seen one.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Well, the thing that's wild about them, I mean, the
whole thing is kind of crazy, but the idea somehow
that some of the these drones are as big as SUVs,
did you I mean, yeah, I mean that's that's wild.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I think I saw. I looked it up yesterday. There
are how many drones do you think are owned by
uh personal, you know, personal drones and commercial drones?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Are there in the US?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Great question? How many drones in the US commercial and.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
For personal use and commercial use? And I will say
that each of them, it's about the same amount.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I'm gonna I mean, it's it's I'm going to guess
a high number twenty million. Oh god, no, oh, they're
not that many. No, eight hundred thousand. Oh really, I
thought they're just tons of them.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Now yeah, well, I mean eight hundred thousand and eight
a small yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
But I mean nationwide.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Because now you can get drones for just over like
one hundred dollars. You can get like a little drone,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I should say, I should say these are drones that
are registered.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Oh, I see, okay, but still that's so yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, I just think I just think every every everybody
with a with an iPhone.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I mean, I shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I don't want to overstate it, but I just feel
as though a lot of photographers, people are just amateur
photographers have them. I see them used in all these
different businesses. Real estate agents use them, you know, business
people use them, corporations use them. Obviously, it's used in government,
you know, forest fighters, forest management.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
But you think about all all of these people that
have drones, and all of the news that's coming out
about drones, seeing how many of those people that own
drones are going, I'm getting mine.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Out there now.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
It look that's what the government's saying. The government's saying,
you guys are seeing what is essentially a huge copycat thing.
Everybody's up there with personal drones.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
But and of course that is true, it's just to
what extent exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
And I don't think that many personal drones are as
big as an SUV. That's why I go back to that,
because it just seems extraordinary. Now, again, the administration has
said the Department Events, for example, has said these drone
(19:15):
planes are not ours, and it seems to worry.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Yeah, but there's nothing would be worried about.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Well, I mean again they they say, I mean, this
is a New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy saying that, And
again New Jersey has been very much affected. Drones don't
appear to be a threat to the public safety, and
federal authorities are saying that the reported drone settings have
been identified as legal commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law
(19:47):
enforcement drones, as well as manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.
Officials said that that assessment was based on technical data
and tips. House Intelligence Committee. They grilled federal law enforcement
and intelligence officials about these drones during a closed door
meeting that happened today. Still no evidence of public safety
(20:12):
or national security threats, so they're sticking to this story.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
That is, we haven't seen anything about the daylight drones,
have we.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Oh you mean you're saying all the sightings are at night.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Isn't that true? For the most part, I haven't heard
anything about daylight daytime drones.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
All the video I've seen has been you're right at
night and I and.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
At night, you're not actually seeing the size of the drone.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
No, I guess seeing the lights. Yeah, yeah, and it's possible.
I mean it's possible that well, they've got drones the
size of SUVs. And I repeated it, you know, because
that's what I had heard multiple reports saying that. But
I don't know that that's the case. As you say,
if they're again photographed at night, they're not spy drones
because they've got lights on them.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, that's the other thing. Aliens turn out the lights, guys.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yeah, the alien thing. Sorry, guys, they're not aliens, but
blinking lights.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Yes, I'm sure aliens have blinking lights on their drones.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Didn't we play the Rosio o'donald thing yesterday? They're here? Yeah?
She really?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I mean I couldn't tell whether that was a put
on or whether she really believes it. She seemed she
really sold it, you know. But anyway, that's what's happening.
The Drone situation, as I say, it's as contemporary as today.
They had a closed door meeting with the House Intelligence
Committee trying to figure out exactly what the story is. Meanwhile,
(21:36):
the US Postal Service never, in the charmed view of
Donald Trump worth keeping. He has always wanted to privatize
the Postal Service. You may remember that even the last
time he was president, he complained about the Postal services
contracts with Amazon and with Jeff Bezos, and he made
(22:02):
the point that the US post Office is losing money
with their deal with Amazon because Amazon uses the Postal
services you're aware on Sunday delivery, and they kind of
operate on the spine of the Postal Service in many instances.
Of course, that's not true. The US Postal Service makes
money on that Amazon deal. It's a good deal for
(22:22):
the US post Office. But Trump's on the record as
thinking about privatizing the post Office altogether. So the people
to be most affected by that, well all of us
on some level, but rural users, right, people who are
rural users of the.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Post Office office. They would then have.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Essentially a box in a more urban area where they
would have to check in once a week or whatever.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
That's where their mail would end up because it's.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
That last or you'd actually have to go to the
post office. And if you're living in a rural place
to get.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Your mail, that's exactly right. Deliver it at all. They
just wouldn't be delivering to those rural postal roots.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Stats Maryland, we know that one.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah, thank you so again.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Trump is talking about this in a bigger way, and
he's saying it's not the worst idea I've ever heard.
He said, it's an idea that a lot of people
have talked about for a long time. We're looking at it.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
He put Louis to Joy, the postmaster General in there.
I remember Democrats didn't like Louis to Joy. He was
the guy who was scrapping all those sorting machines. Remember
there was some pretty high profile video of the Joy
having gotten rid of certain machines that would seem to
have been increasing efficiencies there at the postal offices and
(23:50):
in various postal service offices. But now Louis to Joy
he was a Trump pick. He might get fired by Trump.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Interesting to see how this goes based on because the
postal services in the constitution, right, and how they would
they have to change the article in the constitution to
allow it to go private.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Interesting, that would by the way, I we need two
thirds of voters, right, that's a moment Congress, Thank you.
Krozer's so right. That would make the bar that they'd
have to clear to do it so much higher. But
I'm wondering if it could be. You know, they're not
like a typical agency. They're structured differently. You know, they
(24:37):
have a lot more independence they have they're self funding
to a large degree. They're not you know, there's not
there's not money really allocated for them. That's why people
complain within the new administration, for example, that they're losing money.
But they are still a governmental department. There is an
(24:58):
interesting uh change going on too, I would say, because honestly,
the post office not as critical in some ways because
the way in which we communicate now is email and
a lot of other ways that just don't involve sending
a post, you know, but they're still i'd suggest critical,
and this would be fascinating to see this taken over
(25:22):
by private industry. It would be get a lot more
expensive to send stuff, just a lot more expensive, So
they would charge different rates if FedEx took over, for example,
if they know you were sending a letter. So you know,
one of the fundamental aspects of the American postal system
(25:43):
is that you just pay the same amount regardless of
where your letter is going. And rural Americans get the
best deal, right because their letter or whatever it is
is going the furthest distance into these rural areas. Those
who become insanely expensive and they would likely just go away, So.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
We'll see.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And then Krozer points this out about the sort of
constitutional obligation. They do have a mandate, you know, and
it is written into law. The US Title thirty nine
law states the Postal Service shall have a basic function,
the obligation to provide postal services to bind the nation
(26:29):
together to the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Of the people.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons
in all areas. So you see how there is an
edict in place, but that edict would evaporate if it
went into private industry. So private industry is circling, and
this conversation is continuing and there would be some hurdles
(26:58):
to clear, but we will see. As I say, the
guy who is the Postmaster General, he is a Trump
pick held over by Biden at the US Postal Service.
So that's the latest. Just right now, a conversation sweeping
(27:19):
new rules for home insurance. What should you know? I'll
tell you next.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
We got the word, among other things today that the
rule banning junk ticket and hotel fees has gone through.
That's kind of a big deal, you know, And this
is a that's a real consumer win, you know. And
one of the things that this administration, the outgoing in
Biden folks don't do is they don't take a victory
(27:53):
lap on stuff much. And that's a big deal, you know.
But Trump is really good at that. He you know,
he's good at taking the victory lab Maybe that's what
he's best at. He's best at marketing, but you know,
that's important. Messaging and marketing is important. And I just
feel as though what happened today with the elimination of
(28:14):
those junk fees, so you won't get them when you
buy tickets through stub hup and ticketmaster, when you book hotels,
all the different ways in which you do business, You're
not now going to have at the last moment on
your checkout some additional fee added. Now I love that
(28:34):
that they made that deal and that that is now law.
California has sweeping new rules for home insurance. I don't
need to tell you these high fire risk neighborhoods, you
find it very difficult to get any insurance at all
for your house. So new rules state insurance's insurance, I
(28:57):
should say, for the first time, are going to use
these so called catastrophe models to help determine the cost
of home insurance.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
So these models.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Are complex computer programs that aim to better determine the
risk that a structure may face from wildfires and a
changing climate. So how do these models work? Well, I
mean these models are nothing new the computer modeling. And
I know this as a weather forecaster. I mean they've
(29:30):
been developed and refined through the many years. And these
programs were first developed in the nineteen eighties because of
hurricane losses, and now they're applying them to wildfires are
in California. So they run thousands of possible scenarios, and
that allows insurers to sort of quantify their potential financial
exposure in a disaster, and they take into account a
(29:53):
lot of factors meteorological conditions, topography, the amount of brush
you know, nearby, fuel, building density in a community, and
then supposedly they come up with.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
A premium based on that.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Now California is requiring that insurers also consider a building
owner's fire mitigation efforts like installing a Class A fire
rated roof, closing eves, doing brush removal. These are all
things that should again work in your favor in terms
of your premium. Will these models increase the availability of
(30:34):
insurance because there is just so little insurance available in
California in areas that require it. They want to increase
the availability of insurance in areas that have high fire risk,
and that's what these regulations are designed to do, to
allow insurers to quantify the risk and then to actually
(30:59):
move move in and ensure many Californias who don't get
it right now. I mean many of us are on
the Fair Plan, right, that's the state insurance plan. It's
bare bone policy. And if you're in Malibu, Beverly Hills,
Mountainous areas you're likely on the fair plan. So in
(31:22):
exchange for allowing the modeling, and in exchange, insurers are
going to write policies in many of these neighborhoods equivalent
to eighty five percent of their statewide market share, meaning
that an insurer with a ten percent statewide share could
(31:43):
cover eight point five percent of homes. But consumer watchdogs
are saying these regulations have loopholes, that the insurers have
leeway not to meet the benchmark. That may not change
anything now your insurance rates. What will happen That is
a matter of debate right now. The catastrophe models are
(32:04):
not intended to lower rates, but insurers and the insurance
Department maintain that these models, by allowing insurers to more
accurately calculate the risk, should allow for more gradual rate
increases over time, rather than like these sudden rates. We
had a thirty percent increase from State Farm you'll remember
(32:25):
for the summer. But again, consumer watchdog groups say that
they're going to be sharp increases in insurance rates because
the regulation allows insurers to keep the essential details about
the models under wraps. In other words, they don't have
to actually undergo any kind of public review, and as
(32:48):
a result, you can essentially hide the football.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Right.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
So without the establishment of a public model where the
public can actually see these things that all are variables
that affect the amount of insurance that I pay. Without that,
it's really up to the insurers what they want to do.
They can say they're basing it on the modeling, but
(33:14):
to what extent are they basing it on the modeling.
Will the new regulations affect you if you live in
a city and not a wildfire zone. Yes, sort of,
they say. Insurers in the state already include the risk
of wildfire in their premiums, but it's based on historical
claims data. So homes and neighborhoods that don't have such
(33:35):
a risk already pay lower rates. That's probably not going
to change under the new rules. But even homeowners in
lower risk urban areas are facing rate hikes. And this
is just a reality of life in California, and by
the way, it's a reality of life in Florida, it's
(33:57):
a reality of life in Texas. This is a problem
in many areas that are beginning to endure intense, severe
weather as a result of climate change. The insurance Department's
going to start accepting applications from modeling companies January TEWOD
and they are looking for a public review process to
(34:19):
be completed and approved in the first quarter, and insurers
could then file for new rates based on those models.
But again the rate filings have to undergo a review.
That's just the way it works here in California. And
the department could be completing all of their work as
(34:40):
early as next summer, with more in twenty twenty six.
But that's in a way what they've always done in
the insurance business, right They've looked at these actuarial tables.
It's the reason that teens pay more for car insurance
than do adults. They just know that teens get into
more accidents, so you pay more to ensure a team.
In this case, they know that certain areas are exposed
(35:04):
to a much greater threat of wildfire than others. But
in the end, the insurers are being asked and pressed
to try to step up and ensure more areas than
are currently being insured because the insurance companies are dropping
clients like crazy. And we had a great insurance policy
(35:28):
and our home burned, and once we claimed the policy,
they took care of us. But then it was over,
and now we're the fair plan, can't get insurance, So
Americans are over Christmas. Traditions say it ain't, so it
is true. A new poll suggesting that there is a
(35:52):
whole new meaning to the festive period and it may
involve rejecting tradition. Oh the story. Next, it's The Conway Show.
Mark Thompson sitting in for Tim on KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Now you
can always hear us live on KFI AM six forty
four to seven pm Monday through Friday, and anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app.
It's KFI AM six forty and you're listening to the
Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Happy Holidays to all Harry. KFI AM six forty were
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. Mark Thompson's sitting in
for Tim Conway Junior. You know, it's that time of
year when people take time off and so a lot
of different voices are here, but it's always this is
my home court, So for me, I really love being
here on KFI. By the way, the AM Radio effort,
(00:30):
you know that they're making an attempt to essentially pass
legislation that would include AM radios in every vehicle. In fact,
it's called the Am Radio for Every Vehicle Act. It
did not pass Congress this time. It has got a
lot of bipartisan support, but they couldn't get it passed
(00:52):
this time.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
So they're going to push it along and they say
that they're optimistic.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You know, there's a National Association of Broadcasts and they're
going to be working with Congress to try to pass
this legislation and make sure that every vehicle has an
AM radio. It's going to really require the Secretary of
Transportation to issue a ruling that access to AM broadcast
stations in motor vehicles is vital, and if they can
(01:21):
actually pass his legislation, if you don't have an AM
radio in the car, the producer of that car, manufacturer
of that car would be fined. So again, though it's
not yet passed, in fact to something of a setback
for it. Today I thought it was interesting. I don't
know if you agree with me on this. So though
I didn't meet an astronaut once, and I asked him
(01:44):
this question, because he was the astronaut who was up
in space for a full year. Remember the twins, the
twin astronauts Crozier, you know, the Kelly brothers.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
It's Mark Kelly and.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Scott Kelly is yeah, yeah, exactly, thank you. And so
one of them was up, you know, for a full year,
I believe it was. And then when he came back,
they compared his you know, biological changes with those of
his brother, again identical twin on Earth, and they learned
(02:17):
a bunch of things about life in space and how
you sustain yourself in space, and various biological changes that
go on while you're in space. So I had this
weird opportunity in a Q and A. I say weird,
meaning I didn't expect to have it. But I was
in this lecture we're listening to the two brothers talking
about this, because I was very intrigued by the whole thing,
(02:39):
and they opened it up for questions. And remember the
one brother up there for a year. He's in that
International Space Station, so you know, you're there with the
Russians and you're getting stuff done.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
There's a cooperative thing.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
And it got me to thinking, you know, everybody's really
got to get along well in that.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Tight space for a year.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
And you know, let's face it, the Russian astronauts probably
don't speak English very well, and the American astronauts probably
don't speak Russian very well. So you've got a couple
of impediments to things going smoothly already. So I just asked,
I'll get my question out of the way, and then
I'll tell you what's happening. I asked for my question.
(03:26):
You know what happens when you kind of decide among
yourselves that you know, nobody likes Yuri, you know, the
Russian guy, or you know Boris, the Russian astronaut, is
really you know, a pain in the a or it
might be an American astronaut that you don't get along with.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean, you're in for a long time. You're up there,
you know.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And what he said was, then everybody go through all
kinds of psychological testing ahead of time, and so in
addition to having sort of a technical expertise, you have
to have the right psychology to be in one of
these spacecrafts for that long. And he said, so you
really don't run into the sharp edges kind of that
(04:11):
the question suggested, But talk about an unexpected piece of news.
That's bad if you're up there and you're one of
the two NASA astronauts who went up there for a
week to the International Space Station. It was a simple
refueling thing, a simple like recharge there.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
They brought I don't know what they brought up there,
whatever supplies. They ran into problems and they were told, hey,
we're working on getting you back, but we're not going
to be able to get you back right away because
of this issue with the Boeing spacecraft. Right they were
going to spend a week or roughly at the space station,
(04:56):
and then they said, well, we'll get you back probably
within a couple of months now, and they, to be fair,
the astronauts who went up there, the two of them,
they were aware that it might be more than a
week or so. In other words, there was kind they
were kind of road testing this Boeing aircraft. And so
as it turns out, they will again be delayed in
(05:22):
bringing them back, so they'll wind up having lived and
worked in orbit for not just a little over a week,
but a little more than nine months. New crews typically overlap,
they say, with departing crews and new crews working together
for a short time at the ISS, but that handover
(05:46):
period now has gone on for a long long time.
They seem pretty cool about it, these two. But the
new Dragon capsule that's going to launch in late March
should arrive at the processing facility in Florida at NASA's
(06:07):
location in early January, and then they go up and
they rescue these people. So when that capsule launches, it's
going to carry new astronauts, that is to say, a
new crew and McLean and Nicole Ayers and Russian cosmonaut
Kail Peskov and Japanese astronaut to cuya Onishi. Until then
(06:31):
the force them that's up there is going to continue
training for their mission at NASA. JOm, sorry that forsome
the force them that's going to relieve the ones that
are up there are going to continue training. But over
nine months when it was just supposed to be you know,
a Gilligan's Island kind of four hour tour, and then
you end up spending most of the year there. Talk
(06:55):
about a brutal, brutal piece of news. What a way
to spend the holidays. But look, these people are dedicated
to science and I'm sure it doesn't bother them in
the way that it might bother the rest of us.
But man, talk about a sacrifice. When we come back.
There is a new documentary about the doomed Titanic submersible,
(07:18):
and the details are pretty intense. Right we all saw
the search for that submersible, the way in which it
was put together, the ways in which it was not
put together. I guess this will all be documented in
a new film. We'll talk about that as we continue.
(07:39):
Mark Thompson here for Tim Conway Junior, taking a break
from my wildly successful Crozier wildly successful YouTube show.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
That's what I keep hearing.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Oh my god, it's a fire KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
I love being over here.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
This is great. This is what I'm a radio guy.
The YouTube you gotta be you know, you're on camera
the whole time. Those days are yeah, those days.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Are over for me, right.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I like it, just you know, throwing a T shirt
and jeans and let's let's talk about some stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Yeah, mud turtle with a voice of gold.
Speaker 5 (08:15):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from kf
I Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Mark Thompson here for Tim Conway Junior. Sliding into the holidays,
like eight days left before Christmas, and I'm just seeing
that they're making a documentary film on the doom. Hang on,
I have to sneeze. Wait, oh no, now it's just passed.
(08:40):
This is a developing story. I'll give you more details
for now. The sneeze has passed. The Titanic submersible. They're
making a documentary about it, and this I'm just seeing
that the person who was lightly closest to the ill
(09:02):
fated Ocean Gate Titan submersible journey that ended in five
people's deaths last year is making a documentary about that tragedy.
Aaron Aringrahamson, the last person to see the Titan crew alive,
closing the submersible hatch and waving the crew on its way.
In June of twenty twenty three, is directing this film.
(09:25):
Angrahamson is going to go into the deaths of the
ocean Gate co founder and submersible pilot, stocked and rushed,
and four others who perished in that vehicle's implosion on
its way down to see the resting site of the Titanic.
He said, we are committed to telling this important story
(09:46):
with the thoroughness it deserves, through exclusive interviews of the
titan crew and in the aftermath with their families. Our
goal is to reflect on the lives affected by this
tragedy while providing crucial insights into walking the razor thin
line between success and failure. Well, to be fair, I
don't think it was a razor thin line. I watched
(10:06):
a lot and read a lot about what happened with
that doomed submersible, and there were massive design flaws in
that massive I mean the decisions that were made and
the decisions that were not made when it came time
(10:27):
to actually put that thing in the water. They're frankly embarrassing.
And if you watch, and I'm sure it's still up
on YouTube. James Cameron's analysis of what happened in the
aftermath of that submersible and the destruction of the submersible
as it went down, and was essentially crushed by the
(10:49):
depth he details, and this was in the first week
after it happened. I remember watching a bunch of stuff
from Cameron, because remember Cameron designed his own submarin. Cameron
went on his own Titanic mission and explored the depths
of the ocean floor in this submersible that was, you know,
excruciatingly carefully designed, and James Cameron was impressive in these
(11:15):
videos the depths, if you're pardon, the expression of knowledge
that he had on this stuff was amazing, and he
essentially detailed because he knew this guy stocked in Rush.
They talked and he said things like I can't believe
he didn't do this, and I can't believe he didn't
do that, and I can't believe he didn't stress test this.
(11:38):
So it struck me in watching Cameron particularly, and there
were many others who were commenting on this. These are
long conversations where they detailed various aspects of this Ocean
Gate submersible. The thing that I was struck by over
and over was that they just didn't really do this
(12:01):
carefully enough. And even the nav system on board. Remember
he had that kind of like a video game joystick
thing that he was working. I mean, the whole thing
was oddly sort of had like a put together in
your basement or garage feel, you know. I mean, this
(12:23):
isn't a go kart you're putting together. This is something
that's going to go down to the ocean floor, and
you're taking people on board, presumably you feel a responsibility
for their lives. I again, mad respect to this guy
who is doing the documentary, and mad respect to those
who are involved in this effort. And also I mean,
(12:45):
my heart breaks for families that lost loved ones. But
when it comes to design and execution, there's a story
to be told there, and it's not a good one.
It's one that really reflects a looseness with detail and
honestly a kind of haphazard way, slipshod way of going
(13:08):
about putting this vessel together.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
We'll see, I mean, maybe that's not right.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I'm sure we'll find out more in the documentary, but
based on everything I saw, that was the case. Scrolling
and scrolling and scrolling is rotting your brain. This story
just handed to me by producer Richie. Experts are saying
that brain rot We'll settle in serious damage to our
(13:38):
brains with constant social media use.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
Really, that's what they're saying you get after spending long
hours scrolling the internet. But medical experts say it's a
real condition. Medical experts say it can trigger cognitive decline,
brain fog, and shorten our attention span, and it can
cause depression in teams.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Percent of teens and a.
Speaker 6 (14:01):
Few research survey said they have access to a smartphone,
and forty six percent of them said they use the
Internet almost constantly.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Adults weren't too far off.
Speaker 7 (14:10):
It tends to thin certain areas of the brain called
the cortex that is responsible for your memory and your perception.
More than three hours a day for teens seem to
double their risk of depression.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Well, I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
It has affected my Uh, it has affected my attention span.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I'll be honest with you.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Don't have the patients like even that report on the
fact that it was affecting my attention span. I was
getting bored after just a few seconds. Yeah, this doom scrolling.
I'm committed to it. I love it. It's all I do
all the time. I'm up on the social media. I'm
reading articles constantly, I'm listening, I'm watching, I'm looking, I'm reading.
(14:57):
But the people who are involved in research on the
brain have actually quantified the amount of damage it's doing.
Doctor Don Grant, National Advisor of Healthy Device Management at
Newport Healthcare in LA. He says one of his major
concerns is how brain rot and that's what it's called,
(15:19):
is affecting imagination and education. Social media has a major
impact on sleep habits too, especially crucial for children. And again,
when kids speak with Grant, who is again this doctor
Don Grant does this research? Kids say they spend about
(15:43):
eight hours a night on their phones and he says, okay,
can you tell me one video you remember? And he says,
I have yet to have one kid really be able
to remember anything they saw. Our brain matter is diminishing,
he says, our memories are diminishing, and our attention spans
are diminishing. Wow, So Merry Christmas, everybody, Merry Christmas. It's
(16:09):
the Conway Show. Could the Post Office go private? I'll
answer that question next.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You're listening to Tim conwaytun You're on demand from KFI
Am sixty.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
It is the season to watch for mystery drone sightings,
many flying over New Jersey, also across other parts of
the eastern US, primarily we've had a couple of reports
in southern California.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Haven't been a lot CROs.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Right, I mean, there have not really been many references
to people spotting a lot of drone activity.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Not directly, but yeah, go on social media. Oh, I see,
I swear to god, everybody's seen one.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Well, the thing that's wild about them, I mean, the
whole thing is kind of crazy, but the idea somehow
that some of the these drones are as big as SUVs,
did you I mean, yeah, I mean that's that's wild.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I think I saw. I looked it up yesterday. There
are how many drones do you think are owned by
uh personal, you know, personal drones and commercial drones?
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Are there in the US?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Great question? How many drones in the US commercial and.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
For personal use and commercial use? And I will say
that each of them, it's about the same amount.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I'm gonna I mean, it's it's I'm going to guess
a high number twenty million. Oh god, no, oh, they're
not that many. No, eight hundred thousand. Oh really, I
thought they're just tons of them.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Now yeah, well, I mean eight hundred thousand and eight
a small yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
But I mean nationwide.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Because now you can get drones for just over like
one hundred dollars. You can get like a little drone,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
I should say, I should say these are drones that
are registered.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Oh, I see, okay, but still that's so yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, I just think I just think every every everybody
with a with an iPhone.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
I mean, I shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I don't want to overstate it, but I just feel
as though a lot of photographers, people are just amateur
photographers have them. I see them used in all these
different businesses. Real estate agents use them, you know, business
people use them, corporations use them. Obviously, it's used in government,
you know, forest fighters, forest management.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
But you think about all all of these people that
have drones, and all of the news that's coming out
about drones, seeing how many of those people that own
drones are going, I'm getting mine.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Out there now.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
It look that's what the government's saying. The government's saying,
you guys are seeing what is essentially a huge copycat thing.
Everybody's up there with personal drones.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
But and of course that is true, it's just to
what extent exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
And I don't think that many personal drones are as
big as an SUV. That's why I go back to that,
because it just seems extraordinary. Now, again, the administration has
said the Department Events, for example, has said these drone
(19:15):
planes are not ours, and it seems to worry.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Yeah, but there's nothing would be worried about.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Well, I mean again they they say, I mean, this
is a New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy saying that, And
again New Jersey has been very much affected. Drones don't
appear to be a threat to the public safety, and
federal authorities are saying that the reported drone settings have
been identified as legal commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law
(19:47):
enforcement drones, as well as manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.
Officials said that that assessment was based on technical data
and tips. House Intelligence Committee. They grilled federal law enforcement
and intelligence officials about these drones during a closed door
meeting that happened today. Still no evidence of public safety
(20:12):
or national security threats, so they're sticking to this story.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
That is, we haven't seen anything about the daylight drones,
have we.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Oh you mean you're saying all the sightings are at night.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
Isn't that true? For the most part, I haven't heard
anything about daylight daytime drones.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
All the video I've seen has been you're right at
night and I and.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
At night, you're not actually seeing the size of the drone.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
No, I guess seeing the lights. Yeah, yeah, and it's possible.
I mean it's possible that well, they've got drones the
size of SUVs. And I repeated it, you know, because
that's what I had heard multiple reports saying that. But
I don't know that that's the case. As you say,
if they're again photographed at night, they're not spy drones
because they've got lights on them.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, that's the other thing. Aliens turn out the lights, guys.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yeah, the alien thing. Sorry, guys, they're not aliens, but
blinking lights.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Yes, I'm sure aliens have blinking lights on their drones.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Didn't we play the Rosio o'donald thing yesterday? They're here? Yeah?
She really?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
I mean I couldn't tell whether that was a put
on or whether she really believes it. She seemed she
really sold it, you know. But anyway, that's what's happening.
The Drone situation, as I say, it's as contemporary as today.
They had a closed door meeting with the House Intelligence
Committee trying to figure out exactly what the story is. Meanwhile,
(21:36):
the US Postal Service never, in the charmed view of
Donald Trump worth keeping. He has always wanted to privatize
the Postal Service. You may remember that even the last
time he was president, he complained about the Postal services
contracts with Amazon and with Jeff Bezos, and he made
(22:02):
the point that the US post Office is losing money
with their deal with Amazon because Amazon uses the Postal
services you're aware on Sunday delivery, and they kind of
operate on the spine of the Postal Service in many instances.
Of course, that's not true. The US Postal Service makes
money on that Amazon deal. It's a good deal for
(22:22):
the US post Office. But Trump's on the record as
thinking about privatizing the post Office altogether. So the people
to be most affected by that, well all of us
on some level, but rural users, right, people who are
rural users of the.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Post Office office. They would then have.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Essentially a box in a more urban area where they
would have to check in once a week or whatever.
Speaker 3 (22:53):
That's where their mail would end up because it's.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
That last or you'd actually have to go to the
post office. And if you're living in a rural place
to get.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Your mail, that's exactly right. Deliver it at all. They
just wouldn't be delivering to those rural postal roots.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Stats Maryland, we know that one.
Speaker 3 (23:08):
Yeah, thank you so again.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Trump is talking about this in a bigger way, and
he's saying it's not the worst idea I've ever heard.
He said, it's an idea that a lot of people
have talked about for a long time. We're looking at it.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Now.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
He put Louis to Joy, the postmaster General in there.
I remember Democrats didn't like Louis to Joy. He was
the guy who was scrapping all those sorting machines. Remember
there was some pretty high profile video of the Joy
having gotten rid of certain machines that would seem to
have been increasing efficiencies there at the postal offices and
(23:50):
in various postal service offices. But now Louis to Joy
he was a Trump pick. He might get fired by Trump.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Interesting to see how this goes based on because the
postal services in the constitution, right, and how they would
they have to change the article in the constitution to
allow it to go private.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
Interesting, that would by the way, I we need two
thirds of voters, right, that's a moment Congress, Thank you.
Krozer's so right. That would make the bar that they'd
have to clear to do it so much higher. But
I'm wondering if it could be. You know, they're not
like a typical agency. They're structured differently. You know, they
(24:37):
have a lot more independence they have they're self funding
to a large degree. They're not you know, there's not
there's not money really allocated for them. That's why people
complain within the new administration, for example, that they're losing money.
But they are still a governmental department. There is an
(24:58):
interesting uh change going on too, I would say, because honestly,
the post office not as critical in some ways because
the way in which we communicate now is email and
a lot of other ways that just don't involve sending
a post, you know, but they're still i'd suggest critical,
and this would be fascinating to see this taken over
(25:22):
by private industry. It would be get a lot more
expensive to send stuff, just a lot more expensive, So
they would charge different rates if FedEx took over, for example,
if they know you were sending a letter. So you know,
one of the fundamental aspects of the American postal system
(25:43):
is that you just pay the same amount regardless of
where your letter is going. And rural Americans get the
best deal, right because their letter or whatever it is
is going the furthest distance into these rural areas. Those
who become insanely expensive and they would likely just go away, So.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
We'll see.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And then Krozer points this out about the sort of
constitutional obligation. They do have a mandate, you know, and
it is written into law. The US Title thirty nine
law states the Postal Service shall have a basic function,
the obligation to provide postal services to bind the nation
(26:29):
together to the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Of the people.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons
in all areas. So you see how there is an
edict in place, but that edict would evaporate if it
went into private industry. So private industry is circling, and
this conversation is continuing and there would be some hurdles
(26:58):
to clear, but we will see. As I say, the
guy who is the Postmaster General, he is a Trump
pick held over by Biden at the US Postal Service.
So that's the latest. Just right now, a conversation sweeping
(27:19):
new rules for home insurance. What should you know? I'll
tell you next.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
Am six forty.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
We got the word, among other things today that the
rule banning junk ticket and hotel fees has gone through.
That's kind of a big deal, you know, And this
is a that's a real consumer win, you know. And
one of the things that this administration, the outgoing in
Biden folks don't do is they don't take a victory
(27:53):
lap on stuff much. And that's a big deal, you know.
But Trump is really good at that. He you know,
he's good at taking the victory lab Maybe that's what
he's best at. He's best at marketing, but you know,
that's important. Messaging and marketing is important. And I just
feel as though what happened today with the elimination of
(28:14):
those junk fees, so you won't get them when you
buy tickets through stub hup and ticketmaster, when you book hotels,
all the different ways in which you do business, You're
not now going to have at the last moment on
your checkout some additional fee added. Now I love that
(28:34):
that they made that deal and that that is now law.
California has sweeping new rules for home insurance. I don't
need to tell you these high fire risk neighborhoods, you
find it very difficult to get any insurance at all
for your house. So new rules state insurance's insurance, I
(28:57):
should say, for the first time, are going to use
these so called catastrophe models to help determine the cost
of home insurance.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
So these models.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Are complex computer programs that aim to better determine the
risk that a structure may face from wildfires and a
changing climate. So how do these models work? Well, I
mean these models are nothing new the computer modeling. And
I know this as a weather forecaster. I mean they've
(29:30):
been developed and refined through the many years. And these
programs were first developed in the nineteen eighties because of
hurricane losses, and now they're applying them to wildfires are
in California. So they run thousands of possible scenarios, and
that allows insurers to sort of quantify their potential financial
exposure in a disaster, and they take into account a
(29:53):
lot of factors meteorological conditions, topography, the amount of brush
you know, nearby, fuel, building density in a community, and
then supposedly they come up with.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
A premium based on that.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Now California is requiring that insurers also consider a building
owner's fire mitigation efforts like installing a Class A fire
rated roof, closing eves, doing brush removal. These are all
things that should again work in your favor in terms
of your premium. Will these models increase the availability of
(30:34):
insurance because there is just so little insurance available in
California in areas that require it. They want to increase
the availability of insurance in areas that have high fire risk,
and that's what these regulations are designed to do, to
allow insurers to quantify the risk and then to actually
(30:59):
move move in and ensure many Californias who don't get
it right now. I mean many of us are on
the Fair Plan, right, that's the state insurance plan. It's
bare bone policy. And if you're in Malibu, Beverly Hills,
Mountainous areas you're likely on the fair plan. So in
(31:22):
exchange for allowing the modeling, and in exchange, insurers are
going to write policies in many of these neighborhoods equivalent
to eighty five percent of their statewide market share, meaning
that an insurer with a ten percent statewide share could
(31:43):
cover eight point five percent of homes. But consumer watchdogs
are saying these regulations have loopholes, that the insurers have
leeway not to meet the benchmark. That may not change
anything now your insurance rates. What will happen That is
a matter of debate right now. The catastrophe models are
(32:04):
not intended to lower rates, but insurers and the insurance
Department maintain that these models, by allowing insurers to more
accurately calculate the risk, should allow for more gradual rate
increases over time, rather than like these sudden rates. We
had a thirty percent increase from State Farm you'll remember
(32:25):
for the summer. But again, consumer watchdog groups say that
they're going to be sharp increases in insurance rates because
the regulation allows insurers to keep the essential details about
the models under wraps. In other words, they don't have
to actually undergo any kind of public review, and as
(32:48):
a result, you can essentially hide the football.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
Right.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
So without the establishment of a public model where the
public can actually see these things that all are variables
that affect the amount of insurance that I pay. Without that,
it's really up to the insurers what they want to do.
They can say they're basing it on the modeling, but
(33:14):
to what extent are they basing it on the modeling.
Will the new regulations affect you if you live in
a city and not a wildfire zone. Yes, sort of,
they say. Insurers in the state already include the risk
of wildfire in their premiums, but it's based on historical
claims data. So homes and neighborhoods that don't have such
(33:35):
a risk already pay lower rates. That's probably not going
to change under the new rules. But even homeowners in
lower risk urban areas are facing rate hikes. And this
is just a reality of life in California, and by
the way, it's a reality of life in Florida, it's
(33:57):
a reality of life in Texas. This is a problem
in many areas that are beginning to endure intense, severe
weather as a result of climate change. The insurance Department's
going to start accepting applications from modeling companies January TEWOD
and they are looking for a public review process to
(34:19):
be completed and approved in the first quarter, and insurers
could then file for new rates based on those models.
But again the rate filings have to undergo a review.
That's just the way it works here in California. And
the department could be completing all of their work as
(34:40):
early as next summer, with more in twenty twenty six.
But that's in a way what they've always done in
the insurance business, right They've looked at these actuarial tables.
It's the reason that teens pay more for car insurance
than do adults. They just know that teens get into
more accidents, so you pay more to ensure a team.
In this case, they know that certain areas are exposed
(35:04):
to a much greater threat of wildfire than others. But
in the end, the insurers are being asked and pressed
to try to step up and ensure more areas than
are currently being insured because the insurance companies are dropping
clients like crazy. And we had a great insurance policy
(35:28):
and our home burned, and once we claimed the policy,
they took care of us. But then it was over,
and now we're the fair plan, can't get insurance, So
Americans are over Christmas. Traditions say it ain't, so it
is true. A new poll suggesting that there is a
(35:52):
whole new meaning to the festive period and it may
involve rejecting tradition. Oh the story. Next, it's The Conway Show.
Mark Thompson sitting in for Tim on KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (36:10):
Conway Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Now you
can always hear us live on KFI AM six forty
four to seven pm Monday through Friday, and anytime on
demand on the iHeartRadio app.
Tim Conway Jr. on Demand News
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