June 3, 2025 • 30 mins
Thunderstorms & showers. Scammers are targeting veterans at an alarming rate. How to protect the vet in your life.// Dating apps tied to kidnapping of US citizens in Mexico, embassy says, prompting security alert // The rise of the ultrarich and what it means for America // Santa Monica residents' battle against Waymo beeping escalates
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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):
Alone without Conway.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Today on a Tuesday, we've been watching these thunderstorms develop.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It's been often on shower.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Some of them are really intense, but they do appear
to be diminishing, and there might be one rumbling around
by morning, but after that it's going to be a
fair weather and a warm up.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I guess into the weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
There's kind of a really disturbing I think you'll find
it as disturbing as I do. Trend targeting veterans, scams
that are going after these heroes. I mean, these people
who put their lives on the line. They serve in
many theaters of war. They just serve their country and
(00:46):
in many ways that involve supreme sacrifices. And according to
data from AARP, there is a rash of these scams.
Nearly nine to ten service members and veterans have been
targeted by a military service related scam in just the
(01:06):
last year. In the past five years, the FTC is
showing scammers have taken one point four billion dollars from veterans.
It is a brutal brutal trend, and apparently it shows
no signs of abating. In fact, it looks like it's
(01:27):
picking up momentum. Don't take my word for it.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Take their numbers here are just absolutely draw dropping.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So let's walk you through them.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Nearly nine and ten service members and veterans have been
targeted by a military service related scam. And that is
just in the past year, and in the past five
years had had ripped off from our veterans a whopping
one point four billion billion with the B dollars. One
soul Call's sister is devastated after scammers drained her brother's
(01:57):
bank account.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
I would just like to see these people caught.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
This woman doesn't want you to know her name because
she is so terrified of the scammers who have built
her brother out.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Of his VA disability payments.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
She asked us not to show his face as well,
and you can understand why she's afraid.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
One of the guys threatening him and got my phone.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Number, threatened you. How what did he say to you?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Well, he told me he was going to kill my
little brother if I didn't pay Right now.
Speaker 6 (02:28):
Her brother is in the hospital after suffering a series
of mini.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Strokes, I have to say that the scam itself you're
probably curious about, is wildly extreme. Well, give a listen
and I think you'll agree.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
But this story really starts after he came home from
Operation Desert Storm.
Speaker 7 (02:49):
Did that combat change him?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It all?
Speaker 5 (02:51):
It did?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Do you think your brother suffers from PTSD?
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I do?
Speaker 6 (02:56):
She says her brother never addressed his PTSD and has
spelt chronically lonely several years ago, and he has spy
world ever since.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
I personally think those cameras were done with them. They
just had to been off to somebody else.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
And even while he's in a hospital, one of the
con jobs that cost him came from a celebrity impersonator and.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
The other scammers pretended to be Pink, the entertainer and
her daughter, and the little girl calls him daddy.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
How much money has this cost your brother.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Over the last five years?
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I would say, does he have even a penny love
over the last Over the last five years, the cost
to her brother is three hundred thousand dollars. He's a
veteran in the hospital bed now and again the scammer
pretended to be Pink, And again you might think, well,
(03:54):
how could he believe that. But you know, when you
factor in ptsdanes all of these other things, I'm sure
a scam that's probably pretty well developed. Apparently it was
believable enough for him to start forking over money.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Does he have even a penny love to his day?
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:12):
Vetters are forty percent more likely to lose money as
a result of these scams.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Dan Claire with Disabled American veteran says vets need to
be hyper vigilant because scammers specifically target them for their
government benefits.
Speaker 8 (04:26):
We need to kind of sadly assume that the people
you're talking to, unless you know them very well, unless
you're hearing their voice or seeing them in person, you
kind of have to assume that they might be a scammer.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Yeah, advice you'll always remember there. Now that sister says
she has been able to stop both her brothers VA
disability and Social Security payments, so at least that is
now protected from those scammers. We did reach out to
the VA.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
For the story.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
This is now such a huge problem. The VA has
its own fraud prevention kit. We have a link to
that on ABAC, sven dot com and Mark Michelle.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
That is really a great resource.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
With tons of advice to really protect yourself because as
we can see, I mean, it is just draining some
veterans of every dollar that they own.
Speaker 7 (05:08):
It is especially shameful to pick on veterans in that way.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Absolutely after they serve their country, they came home and
then they deal with this.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, you know, you find a lot of that predatory
stuff going after groups that you just would think, you know,
you would be off limits, right, I mean, you don't
think of veterans as vulnerable that way. I mean I
think of veterans as we should step up our benefits
to them. You know that veterans benefits are always on
(05:35):
the line insufficient, and if you can get into the system,
the VA can be a good system. But I always
feel as though those benefits are oftentimes inaccessible. There are
a lot of veterans benefits cuts, as you know, that
are on the chopping block now, and so I always
feel like they're vulnerable from that stand what, I didn't
even think about the fact that they come back they're
not in the right head. He still got PTSD from Iraq,
(06:00):
and so all these years later he could easily be
victimized by even a scam that you'd go, well, come on,
how could he believe that? Well, again, he's not seeing
things quite as clearly all these years later. But it's
a legit warning. And if you're a veteran again, take
(06:20):
a beat before you let anybody get their hands on
your government money. When we come back. Speaking of warning,
there is a wild warning involving dating apps used in Mexico.
These are US citizens who are vacationing there using these
dating apps in Mexico, and the warning is a wild one.
(06:43):
I'll share that with you next.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
You're listening to Tim conwaytoun you're on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
We've been in between rain drops off and on.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Now there is sunshine in Burbank anyway, but that's kind
of the way it is. These isolated thunderstorms can be
really intense. There were flash flood watches and warnings up
for the ill An Empire earlier, so there is a
there's a clear issue with some Americans going to places
(07:18):
in Mexico that you don't normally associate with any kind
of real danger, Like I'm talking about major tourist places
like parts of Iarta beachside community, and now US citizens
are being warned that they are being lured and kidnapped
in places like parts of Iarta using dating apps. In Mexico,
(07:44):
federal officials are saying this is getting to be frequent
enough that they had to issue a warning. The US
Consulate General warning that victims of schemes like this kidnapped
in Port of Iarta and areas of tourism in recent months.
(08:04):
They're not really saying how often it happens others there
are no real statistics on it, but apparently the crime
has happened sufficiently enough that they felt that they had
to issue a warning. Victims and their family members are
extorted for large amounts of money in order to be released.
Some of the victims met their captors in residences or
hotel rooms. Officials don't specify what dating apps they're use
(08:31):
that were being used, but urging people to be careful
while using data apps in Mexico. So it's really kind
of left open to interpretation as to what dating apps
they're using to target Americans. Also, authorities are saying that
app users should only meet in public places, avoid isolated locations,
(08:53):
and always tell a loved one where they plan ongoing,
also any details of the person that they're supposed to
be meeting, and that the app oftentimes should be shared
with a family member so they know. They also advised
trust your instincts and call nine one one in case
of emergency. Is nine one one a thing in Mexico too.
(09:16):
I didn't know that, So you can call nine one
one as well as calling nine one one here, you
can call it in Mexico nargo.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Thank you, of course know not.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Narco coridos or drug ballads are more popular than ever
in Mexico, where a generation that came of age, they say,
during the drug war, has embraced songs that recount both
the spoils and the excessive violence of organized crime. Interesting,
the whole world of narco corridos and the drug war,
(09:59):
the underworld, the organized crime syndicates that work in Mexico.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
It's something that they're trying to reform, right.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
They're trying to have a new president supposed to try
to lay down a new kind of law, but it
takes time. Dating apps have also been used, we should say,
in the US, to target victims. In La four people
were violently robbed and a victim was shot off of
a dating site, according to LAPD. So it's tricky. I
(10:30):
mean more and more they're using dating apps as methods
to isolate you and to steal money from you. A
male victim met with a woman that he connected with
in a dating site on April twenty eighth near Beverly Boulevard.
According to LAPD, two more people arrived in a vehicle
after he met with the girl, and one man pointed
(10:51):
a gun at the victim and demanded his property. The
assailants then went through his car, forced the victim to
hand over his phone, provide the lock code, and they
got a way. So these are all things to be
somewhat vigilant about. One place where you don't need to
worry about it is Disneyland. It's the Disneyland Resort seventieth Celebration,
(11:14):
and it's not a celebration without you. With all the
sights and laughter and fun, everyone's excited. KFI Am six
forty wants to give you a chance to win a
family four pack of one day one park tickets to
Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Join this limited
(11:36):
time event. Keep listening to KFI for your chance to
celebrate with us. It's the seventieth celebration. Celebrate with us
offers subject to restrictions and change without notice. Had to
read that last part, and it reminds me of doing
(11:57):
a commercial, you know, and the usually it comes out
with the legal like offer subject to restrictions and change withoutnotice.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
They usually read it like really quickly at the end,
your your mileage may vary. The spot I was doing
is a radio commercial for a I think it was
a heart medication, like one of those statins or something,
And there was a long list of side effects. So
like three fourths of the commercial is how good this
(12:26):
product is, and the last twenty five percent of the
commercial was the side effects. You know, may cause headaches, nausea, dizziness,
lose stools, yeah, exactly, loose tools, anal bleeding. So they
said to me, when you read the side effects, read
them in the same way that you read the rest
(12:48):
of the spot, like, don't change the tone. Don't say,
you know, offer subject to restrictions and change without notice.
You know, may cause headaches and anal bleeding.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
You're supposed to read it with the same, if you will,
excitement and a bulliance that you're celebrating the product. So
the same thing that's going to give you freedom, reducing
stroke risk, reducing heart attack. And then when you get
to the side effects, you're supposed to read them in
that same tone. So you're going may cause headaches, dizziness,
(13:20):
stomach viruses or whatever, the stomach, you know, stomach pains.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
You're basically supposed to be joyous about it. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
It was weird to read these side effects with a smile, like,
you know, may cause dizziness, anal bleeding.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
It was more excitement on that last week, anal bleeding.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
So I just reminded of that at the end of
the spot where it says offer subject to restrictions and
change without notice, you know. But I just remember that
note they said right away. They said, when you get
to the side effects, don't change your tone, don't change
your pace. Read it the same way like you're selling
the product. It's just the oddest note i'd received.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So anyway, I want to hear it. Yeah, me too,
I want to.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
I barely remember what the product was, but it really
I remember it clearly.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It was one of those weird notes, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
But anyway, this is the seventieth celebration, and it's the
Disneyland resort.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Everything is great, no side effects.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Four pack one day one park tickets, Disneyland Park or
Disney California Adventures. Stay tuned to kfive for your chance
to celebrate with us. It is the Conway Show. The
ten richest US billionaires made a lot of money over
the last year. The ultra rich live a different life.
(14:36):
We'll share a bit of it with you.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Next.
Speaker 7 (14:40):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
You got one of their live shows, steffush, you're a
fan of Sabrina Carpenter.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I am. That was her performing at the BBC channel.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Oh cool, Yeah, you haven't seen her in concert? Tell yet.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
You know.
Speaker 9 (15:00):
I've talked about a couple of friends and I'd be
so I'd be so self conscious going by myself because
it would be full of.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Moms and their girl and their daughters.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
I'd stick out like a sore thumb, and I'd be
such a I'd probably come off with such a weirdo.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Oh, because it's really it's not a It's.
Speaker 9 (15:20):
Yeah, like I'll happily admit I love her music, but
physically being in an area where their her music is playing,
I think I would be a lot of place.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I see. Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
I was.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I think I mentioned this to you before.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Maybe I told mention it to somebody here at the station,
but that I was in Vegas for an m M
A fight with all of these like big like roided
some of them are roided out guys with you know,
detached sleeves and they're all wearing you know, big just
very masculine crip and they're they're all friends of mine.
We all kind of were hanging out together. And then
(15:55):
after the show, I knew Madonna was playing in Vegas
that weekend. I wanted looking for somebody to go to
Madonna with, you know, but it was weird because they're
all like such you.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Know, dudally masculine. Thy Yeah, I felt.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Like anyone to float, Hey, does anybody want to go
to Madonna with me? And so I but but uh,
like the fates reached down and did me a favor.
One of the guys said, my buddy is running all
of the visuals for Madonna's show No Way, and I
(16:32):
exactly what I said, And he said, I'm looking to
see if anybody wants to go to that show maybe
tomorrow night, and I said, oh my god, I'm dying
to go to that show. And you know, we can
go backstage after the show, and that's exactly what we did.
So we bought tickets to the show. We bought like,
you know, just you know, sort of mid range tickets,
and then particularly with a lot of visuals like that,
(16:54):
you don't.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Want to sit too close to the stage.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Maybe you just see them all really in effect, you
sit a little back from the stage. And it was
incredible show. We went backstage, I mean didn't meet Madonna
or anything, but ended up he walked us through the
entire thing. The visual they run two computers parallel at
the same time. There's total redundancy into the show, so
if anything goes wrong, they just click over to the
other program.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And it was spectacular.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
At one point, she does a thing where she shows
up in the middle of the crowd, like way out
in the middle of the audience. So she basically he
was showing us she's backstage with a quick costume change,
lies flat on this like sled type thing that's on wheels,
and they roll her out, but like at a high speed,
(17:41):
all the way down to the end of that crowd.
And that's how she pops up in the middle and
he turns to me and he says, you want to
get in the sled? Give it a try. I thought, yeah,
let's do it. So I lie down in the sled
and this guy pushes me at like full speed out
into what would be the crowd in the Madonna show.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
That's awesome. It was really cool.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
But it was all from that moment where I didn't
want to say, does anybody want to go to the
Madonna show with me? Because I was so afraid that
they should know that these masculine dudes wouldn't be wouldn't
be down with it anyway.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
It was really a special thing. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
I encourage you to go to Sabrina Carpenter if that's
what you want to.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Do one of these days. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
The wealthy, the ultraish, I mean the ultra rich are
more than wealthy.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
They are.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Sick wealthy and finally a window on their lives.
Speaker 10 (18:37):
Super yachts, survivalist compounds. If you're a rich person, you
love being a rich person, and you love spending that money.
The number of American billionaires has skyrocketed. A lot more
rich people out there from just sixty six back in
nineteen ninety to more than eight hundred today.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Where are they partying together?
Speaker 10 (18:51):
There was a row of them tech billionaires, mostly at
President Trump's inauguration, proof of their growing influence in and
on government. The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos has explored
the lives of the wealthy and the role they play
in our society. He does it in the new book
a collection of essays it's called The Halves and the
Have Yachts Dispatches.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Of the come on and that's why he's a New
Yorker writer, The Haves and the Have Yachts.
Speaker 10 (19:19):
The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos has explored the lives
of the wealthy and the role they play in our society.
He does it in a new book, a collection of essays.
It's called The Haves and the Have Yachts. Yes, dispatches
on the ultra rich. Evan, good morning, Thanks toning billionaires.
They are multiplying. I guess the market's doing that?
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Is that? What happened here? And why is it a problem?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
You know?
Speaker 11 (19:42):
The good news, in some level is that this country's
never been wealthier by many metrics. The bad news, of course,
is that half of American adults will tell you that
they couldn't absorb a one thousand dollars emergency expense, So
what's going wrong. Part of the problem is that so
much of the money today has gon and concentrated into
the hands of so few. It's actually even more than
(20:03):
it was in the Gilded Age. I mean, the America's
richest people today have a larger share of our nation's
overall wealth than the Vanderbilts and the Carnegie and the
Rockefellers did. So the question is what do we do now?
Right we're at this kind of fork in the road.
Part of the reason to write a book like this
is to say, let's take something abstract that we kind
of feel around us a little bit, like climate change,
and actually let's put some numbers on it so that
(20:24):
people can make choices before it's too late.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So how limited, like it's a choice at this point?
Speaker 3 (20:31):
It laced Personally, I think the ships kind of sailed,
the yachts left the harbor for me.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
But I see what you're saying. Maybe in terms of
leadership politically, how.
Speaker 12 (20:40):
Limited is the money that circulates in the economy.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Money can always be printed, but as the wealthier are
getting wealthier.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Does that mean other people are getting poorer?
Speaker 11 (20:48):
Well, I mean, in an ideal scenario, it lifts all boats, right.
And we've had moments in our history in the twentieth century,
particularly after World War Two, when you had this surge
of innovation and you had facttories being built, and it
was in fact what they call the Great Compression. That's
when inequality actually declined. That period ended in the late
seventies early eighties, and we are now at some of
(21:09):
the highest levels of inequality that have ever been recorded.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And guys, it's not just in the United States.
Speaker 11 (21:14):
I took to archaeologists for this book to say, put
this in context for me, and they said, well, the
people who built the pyramids were living in a less
unequal society.
Speaker 10 (21:23):
Okay, so are rich people the ultra rich problem if
they are using their money to invest, and those investments
become businesses, and those businesses employ people and juice the economy.
In other words, a defense of rich people would include
they are lifting through their large ass so many other people.
(21:46):
And this being America, we all have a chance to.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Be that guy.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
I mean, he just told you that they're not lifting.
The rest of us all have a chance to be
that guy.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
All right.
Speaker 11 (21:54):
Absolutely, Look, that's an essential piece of the American story.
And I think if you actually look at American attitudes,
we're pretty ambivalent about big money. Fifty nine percent of
Americans last year and a poll said they want to
become a billionaire.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
That's exactly right. I always feel like I'm not dumping
on rich people. I mean rich people. We're all trying
to be rich, you know. But you do have to
look at the balance of the economy and the elimination
of the middle class. We lived to that post World
War two era where there was a thriving, robust middle class.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
It just doesn't exist anything.
Speaker 11 (22:23):
And the almost identical share of American sixty percent said
billionaires are making the country less fair now.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And there's that too, all right, Yes, And we're.
Speaker 11 (22:31):
Both cynical and aspirational at the same time.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, I'm my aspirational flame has been turned down, and
now my cynical flame has been turned way up. It's
on high, and I'm bringing my cynical flame. And you
won't find an aspirational flame. I know that the billionaire
aspiration that might have typified a Mark Thompson in his
(22:55):
twenties doesn't exist anymore, so it's trade up cynicism.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Anyway.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
If you want to read that entire piece, I guess
it's in the New Yorker. And there's a new book
about the ultra rich. Yeah, the halves and the have yachts.
Speaker 7 (23:13):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
That was an old school kind of roll in on.
That intro reminds me of the old days. You know,
everything was back time perfectly and you know, good stuff. Yeah,
that's a thanks call back to the Madonna story. It
is KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Mark Thompson here for Conway. We're hoping that he gets
well soon. He has lost his voice and so normally
(23:43):
I'd be sitting here with him. And tonight, No Mo,
Kelly is moments away. You know, if you have been
around Way Mo the driverless vehicles, you know that they are,
by law, I believe, required to beep as they reverse.
(24:06):
So have you been in a Wayne mob before? Anybody
taking a ride in a Waymo. I've written in a
bunch of them, and in San Francisco they're everywhere, and
now in La They're in a bunch of places, and
once you get past the fact that there's no driver,
it's really pretty much like sitting in any kind of ride.
(24:27):
You can adjust the temperature, you can adjust the music.
They kind of give the passenger all this control. But
if you're not a passenger, it is the case that
when the car backs up, there is a beeping sound,
against required by law.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Well, Santa Monica.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Residents are not happy with the beeping sound, and now
they are messing with the WEIMO rides to make their
displeasure clear.
Speaker 12 (24:56):
Well, WAYMO tells me that they have multiple lots throughout
Los Angeles where they're cars are able to go and charge.
But really the controversy is surrounding the two located right
here in Santa Monica. I'm standing in front of both
of them. There's one right next to each other here,
and you can see the way MO lined up those
cars one after the other. And the residents tell us,
the ones who at least live right next to these
(25:17):
charging lots, that this that there is noise coming from
these areas all day and all night. Really when it
comes to the backing up beeping of these cars, and
it is creating this controversy and creating this battle between
the company weaim and the residence that is now reaching
a whole new level.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Well, the point is, and the same thing happened in
San Francisco. It's a nuisance. I mean, can you imagine
all day, all night in the parking lot where the
Waimo vehicles are now backing up because they're in they're
parking and being recharged or whatever it is, or they're
just in the lot overnight. I mean they're constantly using
this lot, so they're constantly backing up, which means there's
(25:59):
constant beeping right next door to the way you live.
Speaker 13 (26:01):
Twenty four hours noise if you watch this, especially come
at night time. I could go to sleep and then
a couple hours later, I'm waking up because I'm hearing
the noise. I can't even have my windows open only
during the day, So I don't know what to do.
City councils, I've notified them, But why they put this
right here in residential That's why I just don't understand.
Speaker 12 (26:26):
Now, residents have been reported using Cones cars and sometimes
even themselves, blocking the Waimos from entering the charging parking lot.
It's gotten to a point where the company has reportedly
called the cops on residents half a dozen times, with
residents saying they've called the city, they've called weimo, but
that backup beating continues to keep them up at night.
Now It's important to note here federal regulations require electric
(26:49):
cars to make a sound when backing up to alert
pedestrians and cyclists, with WAIMO releasing this statement to us
saying this morning quote, we strive to be good neighbors
the cities that we operate and are committed to being
a positive presence in Santa Monica. We are an ongoing
conversation with the city's Department of Transportation and are actively
(27:11):
working with the agency as we explore and implement mitigations
that address neighbors concerns.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I mean, they've got to figure out something because it
just this existing setup just doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know that they're a Google company.
Speaker 13 (27:23):
Way mo, no no improvement. Why are they even used
in the alley. They could have put the gate on
that road right there and so it would be open,
not so it's all busy like this. I mean, they
just made it quit the wrong do worst going out.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
I just don't know why it's here back here live
at the charging lot. You're looking at some of those mintivigations.
WAMO is telling us this morning that they put in
these plants that you see around the entire lot to
keep to block.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
They're trying to baffle the sound.
Speaker 12 (27:52):
I see them help block some of the noise. Also,
they've said that employees are instructed to keep noise levels
down so that not playing music loud at night in
consideration of the neighbors. Also don't use any of the
vacuums overnight between nine pm and nine am, also to
help with that noise. But residents here saying that that
(28:13):
noise really coming from that incessant.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, it's not a vacuum.
Speaker 12 (28:18):
Time a Wai Moo backs up into one of these
parking spaces, they say, when you look at think about
one way moo car, it's not that bad. But all
of these in their fleet of just over fifty adds
up and keeps them up at night. I spoke to
one resident who says it's not that big of an issue,
but the majority of folks that we've spoken to say
it's a real problem and it hasn't stopped.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, you know, I did a show in San Francisco
for a few years. As you're aware, maybe some of
you and I know this story pretty well because that's
where Weimo, I think, first got rolled out and there
was the same issue with San Francisco residents and high
rises right alongside the parking lot. This backing up beeping
sound is driving people crazy, and so they they complain.
(28:59):
They kind of take official channels initially, but then they
do things like setting up cones and they just view
the Waimo vehicles as the enemy. So they want to
do anything that they can do to screw with them.
And that's what's happening in Santa Monica right now. So
right now it's a stalemate, even as they say they're
trying to take care of things Waimo does. Thanks to
all the Conway kids. Appreciate all the help. Steffush Krozier,
(29:23):
Angel Sharon. Hopefully Conway's better tomorrow, but if not, I
will be standing by if necessary.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Speaking of Standingmorrow Mark, Oh, that's right, he needs one
more day as of right now.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Okay, speaking of standing by, Mo, I mean the real
production starts now. Mo Kelly's next. We're KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
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):
Alone without Conway.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Today on a Tuesday, we've been watching these thunderstorms develop.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It's been often on shower.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Some of them are really intense, but they do appear
to be diminishing, and there might be one rumbling around
by morning, but after that it's going to be a
fair weather and a warm up.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I guess into the weekend.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
There's kind of a really disturbing I think you'll find
it as disturbing as I do. Trend targeting veterans, scams
that are going after these heroes. I mean, these people
who put their lives on the line. They serve in
many theaters of war. They just serve their country and
(00:46):
in many ways that involve supreme sacrifices. And according to
data from AARP, there is a rash of these scams.
Nearly nine to ten service members and veterans have been
targeted by a military service related scam in just the
(01:06):
last year. In the past five years, the FTC is
showing scammers have taken one point four billion dollars from veterans.
It is a brutal brutal trend, and apparently it shows
no signs of abating. In fact, it looks like it's
(01:27):
picking up momentum. Don't take my word for it.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
Take their numbers here are just absolutely draw dropping.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So let's walk you through them.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Nearly nine and ten service members and veterans have been
targeted by a military service related scam. And that is
just in the past year, and in the past five
years had had ripped off from our veterans a whopping
one point four billion billion with the B dollars. One
soul Call's sister is devastated after scammers drained her brother's
(01:57):
bank account.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
I would just like to see these people caught.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
This woman doesn't want you to know her name because
she is so terrified of the scammers who have built
her brother out.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Of his VA disability payments.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
She asked us not to show his face as well,
and you can understand why she's afraid.
Speaker 5 (02:17):
One of the guys threatening him and got my phone.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Number, threatened you. How what did he say to you?
Speaker 5 (02:23):
Well, he told me he was going to kill my
little brother if I didn't pay Right now.
Speaker 6 (02:28):
Her brother is in the hospital after suffering a series
of mini.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Strokes, I have to say that the scam itself you're
probably curious about, is wildly extreme. Well, give a listen
and I think you'll agree.
Speaker 6 (02:43):
But this story really starts after he came home from
Operation Desert Storm.
Speaker 7 (02:49):
Did that combat change him?
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It all?
Speaker 5 (02:51):
It did?
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Do you think your brother suffers from PTSD?
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I do?
Speaker 6 (02:56):
She says her brother never addressed his PTSD and has
spelt chronically lonely several years ago, and he has spy
world ever since.
Speaker 5 (03:06):
I personally think those cameras were done with them. They
just had to been off to somebody else.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
And even while he's in a hospital, one of the
con jobs that cost him came from a celebrity impersonator and.
Speaker 5 (03:17):
The other scammers pretended to be Pink, the entertainer and
her daughter, and the little girl calls him daddy.
Speaker 6 (03:28):
How much money has this cost your brother.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Over the last five years?
Speaker 3 (03:32):
I would say, does he have even a penny love
over the last Over the last five years, the cost
to her brother is three hundred thousand dollars. He's a
veteran in the hospital bed now and again the scammer
pretended to be Pink, And again you might think, well,
(03:54):
how could he believe that. But you know, when you
factor in ptsdanes all of these other things, I'm sure
a scam that's probably pretty well developed. Apparently it was
believable enough for him to start forking over money.
Speaker 6 (04:09):
Does he have even a penny love to his day?
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:12):
Vetters are forty percent more likely to lose money as
a result of these scams.
Speaker 6 (04:17):
Dan Claire with Disabled American veteran says vets need to
be hyper vigilant because scammers specifically target them for their
government benefits.
Speaker 8 (04:26):
We need to kind of sadly assume that the people
you're talking to, unless you know them very well, unless
you're hearing their voice or seeing them in person, you
kind of have to assume that they might be a scammer.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
Yeah, advice you'll always remember there. Now that sister says
she has been able to stop both her brothers VA
disability and Social Security payments, so at least that is
now protected from those scammers. We did reach out to
the VA.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
For the story.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
This is now such a huge problem. The VA has
its own fraud prevention kit. We have a link to
that on ABAC, sven dot com and Mark Michelle.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
That is really a great resource.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
With tons of advice to really protect yourself because as
we can see, I mean, it is just draining some
veterans of every dollar that they own.
Speaker 7 (05:08):
It is especially shameful to pick on veterans in that way.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
Absolutely after they serve their country, they came home and
then they deal with this.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Yeah, you know, you find a lot of that predatory
stuff going after groups that you just would think, you know,
you would be off limits, right, I mean, you don't
think of veterans as vulnerable that way. I mean I
think of veterans as we should step up our benefits
to them. You know that veterans benefits are always on
(05:35):
the line insufficient, and if you can get into the system,
the VA can be a good system. But I always
feel as though those benefits are oftentimes inaccessible. There are
a lot of veterans benefits cuts, as you know, that
are on the chopping block now, and so I always
feel like they're vulnerable from that stand what, I didn't
even think about the fact that they come back they're
not in the right head. He still got PTSD from Iraq,
(06:00):
and so all these years later he could easily be
victimized by even a scam that you'd go, well, come on,
how could he believe that? Well, again, he's not seeing
things quite as clearly all these years later. But it's
a legit warning. And if you're a veteran again, take
(06:20):
a beat before you let anybody get their hands on
your government money. When we come back. Speaking of warning,
there is a wild warning involving dating apps used in Mexico.
These are US citizens who are vacationing there using these
dating apps in Mexico, and the warning is a wild one.
(06:43):
I'll share that with you next.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
You're listening to Tim conwaytoun you're on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
We've been in between rain drops off and on.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Now there is sunshine in Burbank anyway, but that's kind
of the way it is. These isolated thunderstorms can be
really intense. There were flash flood watches and warnings up
for the ill An Empire earlier, so there is a
there's a clear issue with some Americans going to places
(07:18):
in Mexico that you don't normally associate with any kind
of real danger, Like I'm talking about major tourist places
like parts of Iarta beachside community, and now US citizens
are being warned that they are being lured and kidnapped
in places like parts of Iarta using dating apps. In Mexico,
(07:44):
federal officials are saying this is getting to be frequent
enough that they had to issue a warning. The US
Consulate General warning that victims of schemes like this kidnapped
in Port of Iarta and areas of tourism in recent months.
(08:04):
They're not really saying how often it happens others there
are no real statistics on it, but apparently the crime
has happened sufficiently enough that they felt that they had
to issue a warning. Victims and their family members are
extorted for large amounts of money in order to be released.
Some of the victims met their captors in residences or
hotel rooms. Officials don't specify what dating apps they're use
(08:31):
that were being used, but urging people to be careful
while using data apps in Mexico. So it's really kind
of left open to interpretation as to what dating apps
they're using to target Americans. Also, authorities are saying that
app users should only meet in public places, avoid isolated locations,
(08:53):
and always tell a loved one where they plan ongoing,
also any details of the person that they're supposed to
be meeting, and that the app oftentimes should be shared
with a family member so they know. They also advised
trust your instincts and call nine one one in case
of emergency. Is nine one one a thing in Mexico too.
(09:16):
I didn't know that, So you can call nine one
one as well as calling nine one one here, you
can call it in Mexico nargo.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Thank you, of course know not.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Narco coridos or drug ballads are more popular than ever
in Mexico, where a generation that came of age, they say,
during the drug war, has embraced songs that recount both
the spoils and the excessive violence of organized crime. Interesting,
the whole world of narco corridos and the drug war,
(09:59):
the underworld, the organized crime syndicates that work in Mexico.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
It's something that they're trying to reform, right.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
They're trying to have a new president supposed to try
to lay down a new kind of law, but it
takes time. Dating apps have also been used, we should say,
in the US, to target victims. In La four people
were violently robbed and a victim was shot off of
a dating site, according to LAPD. So it's tricky. I
(10:30):
mean more and more they're using dating apps as methods
to isolate you and to steal money from you. A
male victim met with a woman that he connected with
in a dating site on April twenty eighth near Beverly Boulevard.
According to LAPD, two more people arrived in a vehicle
after he met with the girl, and one man pointed
(10:51):
a gun at the victim and demanded his property. The
assailants then went through his car, forced the victim to
hand over his phone, provide the lock code, and they
got a way. So these are all things to be
somewhat vigilant about. One place where you don't need to
worry about it is Disneyland. It's the Disneyland Resort seventieth Celebration,
(11:14):
and it's not a celebration without you. With all the
sights and laughter and fun, everyone's excited. KFI Am six
forty wants to give you a chance to win a
family four pack of one day one park tickets to
Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Join this limited
(11:36):
time event. Keep listening to KFI for your chance to
celebrate with us. It's the seventieth celebration. Celebrate with us
offers subject to restrictions and change without notice. Had to
read that last part, and it reminds me of doing
(11:57):
a commercial, you know, and the usually it comes out
with the legal like offer subject to restrictions and change withoutnotice.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
They usually read it like really quickly at the end,
your your mileage may vary. The spot I was doing
is a radio commercial for a I think it was
a heart medication, like one of those statins or something,
And there was a long list of side effects. So
like three fourths of the commercial is how good this
(12:26):
product is, and the last twenty five percent of the
commercial was the side effects. You know, may cause headaches, nausea, dizziness,
lose stools, yeah, exactly, loose tools, anal bleeding. So they
said to me, when you read the side effects, read
them in the same way that you read the rest
(12:48):
of the spot, like, don't change the tone. Don't say,
you know, offer subject to restrictions and change without notice.
You know, may cause headaches and anal bleeding.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
You're supposed to read it with the same, if you will,
excitement and a bulliance that you're celebrating the product. So
the same thing that's going to give you freedom, reducing
stroke risk, reducing heart attack. And then when you get
to the side effects, you're supposed to read them in
that same tone. So you're going may cause headaches, dizziness,
(13:20):
stomach viruses or whatever, the stomach, you know, stomach pains.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
You're basically supposed to be joyous about it. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
It was weird to read these side effects with a smile, like,
you know, may cause dizziness, anal bleeding.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
It was more excitement on that last week, anal bleeding.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
So I just reminded of that at the end of
the spot where it says offer subject to restrictions and
change without notice, you know. But I just remember that
note they said right away. They said, when you get
to the side effects, don't change your tone, don't change
your pace. Read it the same way like you're selling
the product. It's just the oddest note i'd received.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
So anyway, I want to hear it. Yeah, me too,
I want to.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
I barely remember what the product was, but it really
I remember it clearly.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
It was one of those weird notes, you know.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
But anyway, this is the seventieth celebration, and it's the
Disneyland resort.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Everything is great, no side effects.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Four pack one day one park tickets, Disneyland Park or
Disney California Adventures. Stay tuned to kfive for your chance
to celebrate with us. It is the Conway Show. The
ten richest US billionaires made a lot of money over
the last year. The ultra rich live a different life.
(14:36):
We'll share a bit of it with you.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Next.
Speaker 7 (14:40):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
You got one of their live shows, steffush, you're a
fan of Sabrina Carpenter.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I am. That was her performing at the BBC channel.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Oh cool, Yeah, you haven't seen her in concert? Tell yet.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
You know.
Speaker 9 (15:00):
I've talked about a couple of friends and I'd be
so I'd be so self conscious going by myself because
it would be full of.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Moms and their girl and their daughters.
Speaker 9 (15:11):
I'd stick out like a sore thumb, and I'd be
such a I'd probably come off with such a weirdo.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Oh, because it's really it's not a It's.
Speaker 9 (15:20):
Yeah, like I'll happily admit I love her music, but
physically being in an area where their her music is playing,
I think I would be a lot of place.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I see. Yeah, it's funny.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
I was.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I think I mentioned this to you before.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Maybe I told mention it to somebody here at the station,
but that I was in Vegas for an m M
A fight with all of these like big like roided
some of them are roided out guys with you know,
detached sleeves and they're all wearing you know, big just
very masculine crip and they're they're all friends of mine.
We all kind of were hanging out together. And then
(15:55):
after the show, I knew Madonna was playing in Vegas
that weekend. I wanted looking for somebody to go to
Madonna with, you know, but it was weird because they're
all like such you.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Know, dudally masculine. Thy Yeah, I felt.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Like anyone to float, Hey, does anybody want to go
to Madonna with me? And so I but but uh,
like the fates reached down and did me a favor.
One of the guys said, my buddy is running all
of the visuals for Madonna's show No Way, and I
(16:32):
exactly what I said, And he said, I'm looking to
see if anybody wants to go to that show maybe
tomorrow night, and I said, oh my god, I'm dying
to go to that show. And you know, we can
go backstage after the show, and that's exactly what we did.
So we bought tickets to the show. We bought like,
you know, just you know, sort of mid range tickets,
and then particularly with a lot of visuals like that,
(16:54):
you don't.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Want to sit too close to the stage.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Maybe you just see them all really in effect, you
sit a little back from the stage. And it was
incredible show. We went backstage, I mean didn't meet Madonna
or anything, but ended up he walked us through the
entire thing. The visual they run two computers parallel at
the same time. There's total redundancy into the show, so
if anything goes wrong, they just click over to the
other program.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
And it was spectacular.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
At one point, she does a thing where she shows
up in the middle of the crowd, like way out
in the middle of the audience. So she basically he
was showing us she's backstage with a quick costume change,
lies flat on this like sled type thing that's on wheels,
and they roll her out, but like at a high speed,
(17:41):
all the way down to the end of that crowd.
And that's how she pops up in the middle and
he turns to me and he says, you want to
get in the sled? Give it a try. I thought, yeah,
let's do it. So I lie down in the sled
and this guy pushes me at like full speed out
into what would be the crowd in the Madonna show.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
That's awesome. It was really cool.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
But it was all from that moment where I didn't
want to say, does anybody want to go to the
Madonna show with me? Because I was so afraid that
they should know that these masculine dudes wouldn't be wouldn't
be down with it anyway.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
It was really a special thing. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
I encourage you to go to Sabrina Carpenter if that's
what you want to.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Do one of these days. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
The wealthy, the ultraish, I mean the ultra rich are
more than wealthy.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
They are.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Sick wealthy and finally a window on their lives.
Speaker 10 (18:37):
Super yachts, survivalist compounds. If you're a rich person, you
love being a rich person, and you love spending that money.
The number of American billionaires has skyrocketed. A lot more
rich people out there from just sixty six back in
nineteen ninety to more than eight hundred today.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Where are they partying together?
Speaker 10 (18:51):
There was a row of them tech billionaires, mostly at
President Trump's inauguration, proof of their growing influence in and
on government. The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos has explored
the lives of the wealthy and the role they play
in our society. He does it in the new book
a collection of essays it's called The Halves and the
Have Yachts Dispatches.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Of the come on and that's why he's a New
Yorker writer, The Haves and the Have Yachts.
Speaker 10 (19:19):
The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos has explored the lives
of the wealthy and the role they play in our society.
He does it in a new book, a collection of essays.
It's called The Haves and the Have Yachts. Yes, dispatches
on the ultra rich. Evan, good morning, Thanks toning billionaires.
They are multiplying. I guess the market's doing that?
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Is that? What happened here? And why is it a problem?
Speaker 5 (19:42):
You know?
Speaker 11 (19:42):
The good news, in some level is that this country's
never been wealthier by many metrics. The bad news, of course,
is that half of American adults will tell you that
they couldn't absorb a one thousand dollars emergency expense, So
what's going wrong. Part of the problem is that so
much of the money today has gon and concentrated into
the hands of so few. It's actually even more than
(20:03):
it was in the Gilded Age. I mean, the America's
richest people today have a larger share of our nation's
overall wealth than the Vanderbilts and the Carnegie and the
Rockefellers did. So the question is what do we do now?
Right we're at this kind of fork in the road.
Part of the reason to write a book like this
is to say, let's take something abstract that we kind
of feel around us a little bit, like climate change,
and actually let's put some numbers on it so that
(20:24):
people can make choices before it's too late.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
So how limited, like it's a choice at this point?
Speaker 3 (20:31):
It laced Personally, I think the ships kind of sailed,
the yachts left the harbor for me.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
But I see what you're saying. Maybe in terms of
leadership politically, how.
Speaker 12 (20:40):
Limited is the money that circulates in the economy.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Money can always be printed, but as the wealthier are
getting wealthier.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Does that mean other people are getting poorer?
Speaker 11 (20:48):
Well, I mean, in an ideal scenario, it lifts all boats, right.
And we've had moments in our history in the twentieth century,
particularly after World War Two, when you had this surge
of innovation and you had facttories being built, and it
was in fact what they call the Great Compression. That's
when inequality actually declined. That period ended in the late
seventies early eighties, and we are now at some of
(21:09):
the highest levels of inequality that have ever been recorded.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And guys, it's not just in the United States.
Speaker 11 (21:14):
I took to archaeologists for this book to say, put
this in context for me, and they said, well, the
people who built the pyramids were living in a less
unequal society.
Speaker 10 (21:23):
Okay, so are rich people the ultra rich problem if
they are using their money to invest, and those investments
become businesses, and those businesses employ people and juice the economy.
In other words, a defense of rich people would include
they are lifting through their large ass so many other people.
(21:46):
And this being America, we all have a chance to.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Be that guy.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
I mean, he just told you that they're not lifting.
The rest of us all have a chance to be
that guy.
Speaker 5 (21:53):
All right.
Speaker 11 (21:54):
Absolutely, Look, that's an essential piece of the American story.
And I think if you actually look at American attitudes,
we're pretty ambivalent about big money. Fifty nine percent of
Americans last year and a poll said they want to
become a billionaire.
Speaker 3 (22:06):
That's exactly right. I always feel like I'm not dumping
on rich people. I mean rich people. We're all trying
to be rich, you know. But you do have to
look at the balance of the economy and the elimination
of the middle class. We lived to that post World
War two era where there was a thriving, robust middle class.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
It just doesn't exist anything.
Speaker 11 (22:23):
And the almost identical share of American sixty percent said
billionaires are making the country less fair now.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And there's that too, all right, Yes, And we're.
Speaker 11 (22:31):
Both cynical and aspirational at the same time.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, I'm my aspirational flame has been turned down, and
now my cynical flame has been turned way up. It's
on high, and I'm bringing my cynical flame. And you
won't find an aspirational flame. I know that the billionaire
aspiration that might have typified a Mark Thompson in his
(22:55):
twenties doesn't exist anymore, so it's trade up cynicism.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Anyway.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
If you want to read that entire piece, I guess
it's in the New Yorker. And there's a new book
about the ultra rich. Yeah, the halves and the have yachts.
Speaker 7 (23:13):
You're listening to Tim Conway Junior on demand from KFI
AM six forty.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
That was an old school kind of roll in on.
That intro reminds me of the old days. You know,
everything was back time perfectly and you know, good stuff. Yeah,
that's a thanks call back to the Madonna story. It
is KFI AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Mark Thompson here for Conway. We're hoping that he gets
well soon. He has lost his voice and so normally
(23:43):
I'd be sitting here with him. And tonight, No Mo,
Kelly is moments away. You know, if you have been
around Way Mo the driverless vehicles, you know that they are,
by law, I believe, required to beep as they reverse.
(24:06):
So have you been in a Wayne mob before? Anybody
taking a ride in a Waymo. I've written in a
bunch of them, and in San Francisco they're everywhere, and
now in La They're in a bunch of places, and
once you get past the fact that there's no driver,
it's really pretty much like sitting in any kind of ride.
(24:27):
You can adjust the temperature, you can adjust the music.
They kind of give the passenger all this control. But
if you're not a passenger, it is the case that
when the car backs up, there is a beeping sound,
against required by law.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Well, Santa Monica.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Residents are not happy with the beeping sound, and now
they are messing with the WEIMO rides to make their
displeasure clear.
Speaker 12 (24:56):
Well, WAYMO tells me that they have multiple lots throughout
Los Angeles where they're cars are able to go and charge.
But really the controversy is surrounding the two located right
here in Santa Monica. I'm standing in front of both
of them. There's one right next to each other here,
and you can see the way MO lined up those
cars one after the other. And the residents tell us,
the ones who at least live right next to these
(25:17):
charging lots, that this that there is noise coming from
these areas all day and all night. Really when it
comes to the backing up beeping of these cars, and
it is creating this controversy and creating this battle between
the company weaim and the residence that is now reaching
a whole new level.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Well, the point is, and the same thing happened in
San Francisco. It's a nuisance. I mean, can you imagine
all day, all night in the parking lot where the
Waimo vehicles are now backing up because they're in they're
parking and being recharged or whatever it is, or they're
just in the lot overnight. I mean they're constantly using
this lot, so they're constantly backing up, which means there's
(25:59):
constant beeping right next door to the way you live.
Speaker 13 (26:01):
Twenty four hours noise if you watch this, especially come
at night time. I could go to sleep and then
a couple hours later, I'm waking up because I'm hearing
the noise. I can't even have my windows open only
during the day, So I don't know what to do.
City councils, I've notified them, But why they put this
right here in residential That's why I just don't understand.
Speaker 12 (26:26):
Now, residents have been reported using Cones cars and sometimes
even themselves, blocking the Waimos from entering the charging parking lot.
It's gotten to a point where the company has reportedly
called the cops on residents half a dozen times, with
residents saying they've called the city, they've called weimo, but
that backup beating continues to keep them up at night.
Now It's important to note here federal regulations require electric
(26:49):
cars to make a sound when backing up to alert
pedestrians and cyclists, with WAIMO releasing this statement to us
saying this morning quote, we strive to be good neighbors
the cities that we operate and are committed to being
a positive presence in Santa Monica. We are an ongoing
conversation with the city's Department of Transportation and are actively
(27:11):
working with the agency as we explore and implement mitigations
that address neighbors concerns.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I mean, they've got to figure out something because it
just this existing setup just doesn't work.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
You know that they're a Google company.
Speaker 13 (27:23):
Way mo, no no improvement. Why are they even used
in the alley. They could have put the gate on
that road right there and so it would be open,
not so it's all busy like this. I mean, they
just made it quit the wrong do worst going out.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
I just don't know why it's here back here live
at the charging lot. You're looking at some of those mintivigations.
WAMO is telling us this morning that they put in
these plants that you see around the entire lot to
keep to block.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
They're trying to baffle the sound.
Speaker 12 (27:52):
I see them help block some of the noise. Also,
they've said that employees are instructed to keep noise levels
down so that not playing music loud at night in
consideration of the neighbors. Also don't use any of the
vacuums overnight between nine pm and nine am, also to
help with that noise. But residents here saying that that
(28:13):
noise really coming from that incessant.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Yeah, it's not a vacuum.
Speaker 12 (28:18):
Time a Wai Moo backs up into one of these
parking spaces, they say, when you look at think about
one way moo car, it's not that bad. But all
of these in their fleet of just over fifty adds
up and keeps them up at night. I spoke to
one resident who says it's not that big of an issue,
but the majority of folks that we've spoken to say
it's a real problem and it hasn't stopped.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Yeah, you know, I did a show in San Francisco
for a few years. As you're aware, maybe some of
you and I know this story pretty well because that's
where Weimo, I think, first got rolled out and there
was the same issue with San Francisco residents and high
rises right alongside the parking lot. This backing up beeping
sound is driving people crazy, and so they they complain.
(28:59):
They kind of take official channels initially, but then they
do things like setting up cones and they just view
the Waimo vehicles as the enemy. So they want to
do anything that they can do to screw with them.
And that's what's happening in Santa Monica right now. So
right now it's a stalemate, even as they say they're
trying to take care of things Waimo does. Thanks to
all the Conway kids. Appreciate all the help. Steffush Krozier,
(29:23):
Angel Sharon. Hopefully Conway's better tomorrow, but if not, I
will be standing by if necessary.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Speaking of Standingmorrow Mark, Oh, that's right, he needs one
more day as of right now.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
Okay, speaking of standing by, Mo, I mean the real
production starts now. Mo Kelly's next. We're KFI AM six
forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
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
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.