12.12.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the reading of the Courier Journal for Friday,
December twelve, twenty twenty five, which is brought to our
louisvill listeners via Losville Public Media. As a reminder, radiois
or reading service intended for people who are blind or
have other disabilities that make it difficult to read predi material.
Your reader for today is Mark Webster. It seems appropriate

(00:24):
on a snowy Friday morning to begin with the weather.
We'll start with the five day forecast brought to you
by WHAS eleven ABC Weather Impact. The weather for today,
the high will be forty, low will be thirty. Tonight
it's going to be cold with morning snow, low clouds
and cold. Tomorrow, Saturday high thirty two, low of eight.

(00:48):
Snow possible late Sunday very cold, high fifteen, low of four,
periods of sun very cold. Monday high twenty nine, low
twenty two, sunshine and not as cold. Tuesday high forty one,
low thirty three, high clouds, not as cold. Wednesday high

(01:09):
forty six, low thirty eight, cloudy with a little rain.
The summary of the local forecast accumulating snow is likely
into Friday morning. Expect impacts to travel very cold this
weekend with highs in the teens. By Sunday with single
digit lows. We will begin to warm up on Monday.

(01:31):
As far as the phases of the moon, next new
moon December nineteenth, first phase December seventh, next full moon
January third, and then the last phase January tenth. All right,
we'll go to page one. There are three articles, and
we will begin with the main article right in the middle,

(01:54):
writing a wrong US Representative Comber helped build Kentucky's hemp industry.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Now he wants to save it.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
The bill to in the longest federal government shutdown in
the nation, industry put US Representative James Comey in a bond. Comer,
a Kentucky Republican and former state agricultural commissioner who's considering
running for governor in twenty twenty seven, has been a

(02:22):
strong advocate for him. He backed the state bill in
twenty thirteen creating a regulatory framework for hemp production in
Kentucky ahead of its legalization a year later, and played
a key role in the federal bill passed in twenty
eighteen that expanded the plant's definition and helped the industry grow.

(02:44):
US Senator Mitch McConnell joined him in that effort, but
the twenty eighteen bill opened a loophole that allowed the
sell of intoxicating products made from himp, which is similar
to marijuana but contains less of the intoxicating chemical THC. Now,
more than seven years later, that loophole is less than

(03:08):
a year away from closing due to language backed by
McConnell that was inserted in the recent bill to reopen
the federal government. Hemp has become big business nationally since
twenty eighteen, and it's had an even bigger impact in Kentucky,
where the crop is easily grown and has spawned a

(03:30):
host of businesses connected to the industry. Nearly five thousand
acres of farmland in the state are devoted to the plant,
according to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, with more than
ninety five percent of that yield going toward products at
risk of being criminalized. It mentions the background photo here.

(03:55):
Hemp shown from a Kentucky farm was at the center
of the November bill to reopen the federal government, and
there's an article on page five that will eventually get
to next article. Right along the side of that, Sullivan
University has warned about finances schools accreditation may be in jeopardy.

(04:17):
Sullivan University received a warning from its accrediting body regarding
its financial management. The university is still accredited, but it
is the first public indication that the school's finances may
not be in order. The Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools commissioned on colleges or SACS overseas the accreditation of

(04:40):
Sullivan and institutions in eleven Southern States. On December nine,
during the final session on the last day of its
annual meeting, SACS delivered a report of accreditation and Affirmation
and reaffirmation actions to a ballroom full of higher education administrators.

(05:00):
Trustees reaffirmed accreditation for more than twenty five schools, including
Midway University, another private Kentucky institution. Sullivan University's name was
not included on the list. Reaffirmation or reapproving the institution's
accreditation occurs every ten years based on a lengthy list
of standards that are focused on three main categories, first governance,

(05:25):
second education, third finance. The university's marketing director, Carry Bailey
said in an email sent to the Courage Journal that
Sullivan was placed on warning because it did not meet
financial standards thirteen point one and thirteen point three. Bailey
did not clarify whether Sullivan's re accreditation was reaffirmed. She

(05:46):
stressed that Sullivan is still accredited, students are still eligible
to receive Title nine funds quote, and credits will continue
to transfer in accordance with other universities regulations. Close the
quote standard thirteen point one states that the quote institution
has sound financial resources and a demonstrated stable financial base

(06:07):
to support the mission of the institution and the scope
of its programs and services. Close the quote Standard thirteen
point three states that quote the institution manages its financial
resources and operates in a physically responsible manner.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Close the quote. The school has.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
Been working toward reaffirmation this year, which included a planned
visit by the reaffirmation committee in March. The private school's
last reaffirmation was in twenty fifteen. In the spring, Sullivan
University System chancellor painted a rosy picture of the school's circumstances.
In a March sixth email, Glenn Sullivan emailed staff about

(06:47):
the visit, thanking everyone for this successful visit. Quote now
onto the important stuff unquote, Sullivan said in the email, continuing,
we have great news to share regarding our sc SCOC
visit and a very positive exit report. After a thorough
on site review, the team is recommending that the sacs

(07:10):
COOC follow up on only two areas where some questions remain.
This means we successfully addressed almost all the standards that
the off site committee had initially identified as concerns closed
to quote. The email goes on to state that Sullivan
was complied in all aspects of standards focused on education.

Speaker 2 (07:31):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
The two areas that remaining questions were not as surprised
as they were already flagged by the off site team unquote.
Sullivan continued. An off site review was conducted in twenty
twenty four. Per a timeline on the sacs cooc's website,
the areas of concern were governance and finances. Quote. However,

(07:53):
the site team commended us on the turnaround in our
finances over the last few years.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Unquote.

Speaker 1 (07:58):
Sullivan's email said the school had to deliver a written
report back to the accrediting body in August.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Please rest assured that there is nothing alarming in these results.
These findings aligned with what the executive committee anticipated based
on other college reviews this past year closed Sullivan said
representatives of Sullivan were present at the annual meeting in Nashville.
A photo posted to the sac s cooc's instagram on

(08:29):
December eighth chose David Tudor shaking hands with a man
at the conference. Tutors linked in list him as the
vice president of Sullivan's electionson campus. The school announced in
an email to staff on November seventeenth that had hired
a new Chief Financial Officer of the Sullivan University System,
Chris Lowry, a former senior financial analyst at Jack Henry

(08:51):
and Associates. Began December one, according to an email obtained
by The Curry Journal and sent by Glenn. Sullivan replaced
Bethany Dupree, who was one of several employees in executive
positions to leave the university this fall. Dupri was named
SCFO of Sullivan in August two, of twenty twenty three.

(09:14):
Her job was posted on the university's website on August five.
She is now the chief financial officer at Spaulding. Every
ten years, a sacs COOC accredited school is up for
reaffirmation of their accreditation based on fourteen quote Principles of
Accreditation unquote, which each have several sub requirements. But a

(09:39):
school can't go a decade without checking in with the
accrediting body, which is why there are other reports, including
an interim report. Midway through the cycle. More than a
year before reaffirmation, the school must submit a preliminary report
amassing thousands of pages that the accrediting body reviews. This

(09:59):
report can take several months to compile, and off site
committee reviews that report to highlight principals met or not met,
and sends it back to the school. The school then
has the opportunity to respond. If principals have not been met,
the off site committee reviews the response, either confirming a
principal is met or not. About nine months before reaffirmation,

(10:24):
a SACS COOC team comes to visit the school for
a few days. Their visit can focus on the items
not met. They issue a report outlining whether or not
a school is complied. Then the school has a few
months to respond to the report. That report is taken
to the SACS Board of Trustees and then their decisions

(10:45):
are announced at the annual meeting. This year, the three
day event at Music City Center in Nashville, during which
Sullivan was not recognized, marked the end of this process.
Since its last reformation in twenty fifteen, mean the school
lost its founder, Alva Ray Sullivan, downsizing its offerings and
its staff, including the resignation of Swinson and August All

(11:09):
while publicly maintaining its financial stability. Based on the Higher
Education Act, for profit and nonprofit institutions must annually submit
audited financial statements to the US Department of Education to
quote demonstrate they are maintaining the standards of financial responsibility
necessary to participate in the Title nine programs.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Close the quote.

Speaker 1 (11:33):
The composite scores, which is comprised of three ratios, a
primary reserve ratio, an equity ratio, and a net income ratio,
reflect an institution's overall relative financial health. According to the
EDS Federal Student Aid, which provides financial aid for colleges nationwide.

(11:54):
That score is based on the scale of negative one
point zero to positive three point zero. A score of
one point five greater is considered financially responsible. A score
of less than one point five but greater or equal
to one point zero requires additional oversight. A score less
than one point zero is a school considered not financially responsible.

(12:15):
Based on the Department of Education's composite score data, Sullivan's
score in the physical year ending in June twenty sixteen
was a two point two. From physical years twenty seventeen
through twenty twenty one, the score dropped to one point eight.
Throughout that time, the sac SCOC requested several monitoring reports

(12:36):
from the institution. Monitoring reports are requested by the Board
of Trustees when SACS has quote continued concerns of compliance
unquote of an institution with one of the principles. In
June twenty nineteen, the sac s COOC Board of Trustees
requested an additional monitoring reports from eight institutions, including Sullivan University,

(13:01):
with a deadline of April one, twenty twenty four review
at the board's June twenty twenty meeting. Based on the
timeline of the institution's reporting on the sac scoc's website.
In twenty twenty one, Sullivan filed a fifth year interim
report as well as a follow up report. It then
delivered monitoring reports in twenty twenty two and twenty twenty three.

(13:24):
Copies of those reports do not appear to be publicly
available on Sullivan University's or sacs COOC sites. J. D.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
Mar was the.

Speaker 1 (13:35):
President of Sullivan University from December twenty twelve until September
twenty twenty two. According to his LinkedIn, he oversaw the
merger of Sullivan University the Sullivan College of Technology and
Design SCTD and Spencerian College in twenty eighteen. He later
served as chair of the sacscoc's Audit and Finance Committee.

(13:58):
According to a twenty twenty one as annual report from
the accrediting body, it was again recommended in twenty twenty
one that the institution submitted a twelve month monitoring report,
which is also reflected in the timeline on the accreditation
body's website in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
That report is also.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Not publicly available on either entity's site. By twenty twenty two,
Mar's final year as the president, Sullivan's score was one
point seven, the fourth worst in the state, above only
Georgetown College one point four, ATA College point two, and
Kentucky Horseshoeing School minus one point zero. In September twenty

(14:42):
twenty two, Sullivan University announced its new president, Tim Swinson.
The same day, Mar was named vice chancellor of the institution.
Prior to his appointment as president, Swinson served as the
school's associate provost and executive dean of the College of
Business and Technology. Swinson graduated from Bellman with the Master's

(15:05):
of Business Administration in nineteen eighty eight. He then earned
a Doctorate of Business Administration in accounting from Argusca University,
a now defunct Seattle based school, in twenty twelve. By
June twenty twenty three, the last data made publicly available
by ed Sullivan University's composite score is not listed. Swinson

(15:26):
was placed on administrative leave less than two weeks after
granting the Courage Journal an extensive interview to discuss the
university eliminating positions, downsizing its campuses, and selling its only
residence hall. Two days after being placed on leave, Swinson
announced his resignation, which he confirmed to the Curry Journal
on August sixth. It was around the time when the

(15:48):
written report to the sac s COOC was due. Matt
is now the vice president of sacs COOC. The accrediting
body ran a series of billboards at Spring around Louisville
and along I sixty five marking marketing the institution as
the Quote School of doing unquote. The nods to the

(16:12):
schools nursing and culinary programs were on display in part
for SAC's reinformation visit. The private school earned its accreditation
in nineteen seventy nine when it was founded by Alva
Ray Sullivan, who died in February twenty twenty two. It
was then called the Sullivan Junior College of Business. It

(16:32):
was renamed Sullivan College in nineteen ninety one and changed
to its current name in two thousand and one.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
The school is approved.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
To offer associate, bachelor, master's, and doctoral degrees. The school
will submit a final report to sacs COOC within twelve months,
to be reviewed at next December's Board of Directors meeting.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
The university continues to have several initiatives underway to improve
the university's financial benchmarks unquote, Bailey said in an email,
continuing and is making progress toward those goals. End of
quote and the end of the article. There's one remaining
article on page three. This is US will confiscate oil

(17:16):
carried on sieas Venezuelan tanker. There's a picture of a
tanker with this caption, Well, I guess yeah, A Venezuelan
Navy patrol boat escorts Panamanian flag crude oil tanker Joselin
on November eleventh near the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.

(17:37):
The US military has launched twenty two strikes on boats
in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at
least eighty seven people, including some Venezuelans.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
Here's the article.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
The Trump administration intends to transport an oil tanker siege
December tenth off the coast of Venezuela to a US
report and claim the oil it's carrying, the White House said.
White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt said during a December
eleven press conference that the oil tanker is currently under
a forfeiture process. US officials are aboard the vessel, interviewing

(18:13):
crew members and seizing evidence. She added, quote there is
a legal process for the seizure of that oil, and
the legal process will be followed unquote. Levitt said the
US military worked with federal law enforcement officials to seize
the tanker. Levitt said the Justice Department secured a warrant
before the maneuver quote because it's a sanctioned shadow vessel

(18:36):
known for carrying black market sanctioned oil unquote. Attorney General
Pambondi said December tenth, the tanker was used to transport
sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran oil is a major
source of revenue for both the Venezuelan and Iranian regimes.
Levitt told reporters that Trump is committed to quote effectuating

(18:58):
this administration sanction policy, and that's what you saw and
the world saw take place yesterday close the quote. The
seizure of the ship comes amid a month long build
up of US military forces around Venezuela in a pressure
campaigned by the Trump administration to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Separately,

(19:23):
the US military has launched twenty two strikes on boats
in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at
least eighty seven people, including some Venezuelans. Critics say the strikes,
which have not been approved by Congress, are illegal an
amount to extra judicial assassinations. Administration officials have described the

(19:46):
Venezuelan campaign as an effort to crack down on the
flow of illegal narcotics into the United States. Trump and
his officials have said Maduro is the leader of a
criminal enterprise called Cartel delos Solez. Experts have told USA
Today that Cartel del Solaz is a loose network of

(20:06):
corruption and not a real drug trafficking organization. That's the
end of the article, and that's the end of all
the articles on page one. We'll move to page two.
We've already done the weather. There are two articles on
page two that will read. By the way, all the
articles from this point on will be cut short in

(20:26):
the interests of saving time. Next article People in the News.
Beyonce set to return to met Gala. Met Gala, this
time as co chair. Beyonce is returning to the MET
Gala for the first time in a decade, stepping in
as co chair, and she's expected to serve On December tenth,
Vogue announced the Cowboy Carter creator will serve as the

(20:48):
twenty twenty six met Gala co chair, along with Nicole Kinman,
Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Spring exhibition, dubbed Fashion's Big Night, will take place May fourth,
twenty twenty six.

Speaker 2 (21:04):
I'll cut the article off there.

Speaker 1 (21:06):
The next article loivell to see snow cold temps more
snow and cold temperatures are expected in the metro area,
with the National Weather Service in Louisville issuing a winter
weather advisory in Jefferson County until seven am, December twelve.
The metro area could see one to three inches of

(21:27):
snow through seven am, December twelve. National Weather Service Louisville
meteorologist CJ. Paget said, quote the main hazard for the
next twenty four hours, it's just going to be the
overnight snow potential.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
Unquote, Paget said, quote.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
We could see some minor travel impacts tomorrow morning with
the morning commute rush hour time frame, especially on any
untreated roads or road crews work to clean off the
primary roads with the snow in the quote. Heading into
the weekend, Louisville could see a second round of snow
on the evening of December thirteen. Paget said the metro

(22:04):
area is expected to get around another one to three
inches of snow during the weekend system.

Speaker 2 (22:11):
Quote. Right now for Louisville, we have.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
A fifty nine percent chance of at least one inch
of snow for the Saturday night system.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
He said.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
After the snow, colde air will move through the area
and quote crash our temperatures unquote into single digits and
low teens through the morning of December fifteen. Paget said
the wind chill for the Louisville area is also expected
to be around minus eight degrees. There's a picture of
a man with shovel in hand. Kyle Cook walked to

(22:39):
help out a friend in the Portland area after a
few inches of snow fell in the metro area December two.
Back to the article at Louisville. As Louisville enters its
next round of winter weather, Paget said people should be
prepared quote know what the forecast is for your area,
so you're not caught off guard with snow falling tonight,
or if you head out the door without dressing appropriately

(23:01):
for the cold temperatures. Closed the quote, Paget said the
Louisville forecast, I just I've already read, so I'll cut
the article off there and we'll move into page three.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
At the top.

Speaker 1 (23:16):
Man pleads not guilty in shooting, faces murder and assault
charges in KSU incident. Jacob Lee Baird, the man charged
in connection to the deadly shooting at Kentucky State University,
entered a not guilty plead during an arraignment hearing December eleventh. Baird,
age forty eight, of Evansville, is facing murder and assault charges.

(23:38):
He's being held at the Franklin County Regional Jail with
a one million dollar cash bond. According to a rest citation,
Bard was involved in a physical altercation on campus during
which he quote produced a handgun and shot two other
individuals unquote. He is the father of two baseball players
at the university, though it is still unclear why he

(23:59):
visited the campus. On December nine, Frankfort Police responded to
a report of a shooting at KSU around three ten
pm December nine. When officers arrived, KSU campus police already
had a suspect and custody, later identified as Bart. I'll

(24:21):
cut the article off there and we'll go to the
next article. It's ten pm. PSA back to urge vigilance.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
It's ten pm. Do you know where your children are?
Closed the quote. The line became a nightly refrained for
viewers in many American cities during the late twentieth century,
signaling the start of the ten o'clock news and reminding
parents to check on their kids. Now, the iconic public
service announcement is being revived locally through a partnership between
Louisville's top prosecutor and four broadcast television stations. Beginning December fifteen,

(24:59):
the message will air at around ten pm several times
a week on WLKY, WHAS WAVE, and WDRB. Instead of
celebrities like Cindy Lauper, Andy Warhol or Grace Jones, all
of whom recorded versions during the PSA's pop culture peak
in the nineteen eighties, local community leaders will deliver the line.

(25:21):
They include Commonwealth Attorney Jerina the Weathers, Jefferson County Attorney
Michael O'Connell, loisvill Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey, Jefferson County
Sheriff David James, and two X Game Changer Executive Director
Christopher two X. More messengers will be added over time,
including according to a news release, there's a really nice

(25:44):
article about Pat Day and there's a picture of Pat Day,
the former jockey, with his wife. The caption says Hall
of Fame jockey Pat Day looks at his wife Sheila
after he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement honor at the
Churchill Doowns Derby m during a public ceremony on December eleven.
Then there's a second photo of Pat Day raising his

(26:07):
arms in at iconic photo after he won the nineteen
ninety one Derby with Lily T. I should by way,
I should have said, nineteen ninety two Derby. The caption
says Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day raises his arms
like he did after he won the nineteen ninety two
Derby on Lily T. Day was honored on December eleven
with the Lifetime Achievement Award the Churchill Downs Derby Museum

(26:29):
in Louisville during a public ceremony. Day is the all
time leading jockey and wins at Churchill Downs and Keelan.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
Here's part of the article.

Speaker 1 (26:40):
The life and legacy of Hall of Fame jockey Pat
Day was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented during
the Kentucky Derby Museum's annual Derby in December. On December eleventh, Day,
a longtime resident of Louisville, rode Lily T to victory
at the nineteen ninety two Kentucky Derby and as the
all time leading writer at Churchill Downs in Keelan with

(27:01):
two thousand and four and eighty two career wins, one
hundred and fifty six career stakes wins, and thirty four
riding titles at the track. When he retired in two
thousand and five at the age of fifty one, Day
had ridden more than forty thousand races and won eight
thousand and eight O three starts, including multiple wins in
the Triple Crown Series and numerous Breeders' Cup victories. Under that,

(27:26):
there's an article about the Pegasus pins. The twenty twenty
sixth Kentucky Derby Festival Pegasu's pen has been unveiled, which
means that Kentucky Derby, held next year on Saturday May
two at the Church of Doown's racetrack, is right around
the corner. The festival showed off a new horseshoe shape
designed December eleven at the Kentucky Derby Museum during its

(27:46):
annual Derby and December event. The twenty twenty six collector's
pen boasted a teal color, a signature shade of the
Kentucky Derby Festival, and is trimmed in silver, the classic
color of horseshoe. The Pegasus pen has been a symbol
of the Derby Festival for more than fifty years, and
the horseshoe shape is a nod to early Pegasus pen
designs from the seventies. The new Pegasus pen will be

(28:09):
available for purchase at retail locations around Kentucky on a
beginning in March of twenty twenty six. The cost is
seven dollars a piece and retail stores, and ten dollars
a piece at the Kentucky Derby Festival events. All Right,
this concludes the reading of the first section of the
Curry Journal for Friday December twelve. Stay tuned for more

(28:32):
news to follow. Your reader has been and will continue
to be Mark Webster. Now to continue reading from the
Courage Journal for Friday December twelve, twenty twenty five. Your
reader is still Mark Webster. We will start with the obituaries.
We read only the name, age and location. If you

(28:53):
would like further information on any of the obituaries, please
call us during weekdays at eighty five to nine two
two six three nine zero and we will be glad
to read the entire.

Speaker 2 (29:04):
Obituary for you.

Speaker 1 (29:05):
I will repeat that number at the end of the
listings if I don't forget. There looks like to me.
I've found four obituaries. The first one is Rose Marie
Yates Ella's, age seventy four, passed away on Friday, December fifth,
twenty twenty five. The next one is Patricia Teresa Willett Jimley,

(29:28):
age ninety eight at Bartstown, passed away peacefully on December
seventh at Baptist Health in Louisville after a short illness.
The third one is Conrad Joseph CG. Cj Oberst, eighty eight,
passed away at the Willows on Springhurst on Wednesday, December three,

(29:49):
twenty twenty five. And then the last one, Carol Sue Hansford,
doesn't give anything. It's just a notice of his citation.
A visitation noon six pm Sunday and ten to eleven
am Monday at the Market Street Chapel, with entombment to

(30:11):
follow at Kraft Graceland Memorial Park that's in New Obany.

Speaker 2 (30:16):
All right, that's all the obituaries that I could find.
We'll go back.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
To find some more articles. The last we closed with
the information about the Derby pen. Going to the next page.
Article doesn't denied oath at naturalization ceremony. Now this is
a reminder all articles from this point on will be shortened.

(30:43):
In the interest in saving time, as people made their
way into an Indianapolis Union station for a naturalization ceremony,
federal officials stopped certain applicants and told them they wouldn't
be leaving the building with US citizenship. The immigrants, who
had already passed every step in the long naturalization process,
needed only to take the oath of allegiance December nine

(31:05):
to become citizens. A federal directive handed down by US
Citizenship and Immigration Services on December two, however, made that
impossible for more than a third of people signed up
for the Indianapolis ceremony. Zubozao, a US Citizenship and Immigration
Service official present at the event, said o's of allegiance

(31:26):
for thirty eight of the one hundred participants were quote
canceled unquote. Though travel bands and restrictions have been in
place for nineteen countries since June, US Citizenship and Immigration
Services announced last week the agency would immediately halt applications
and asylum claims for people from all countries on the

(31:47):
list Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mayaanamar,
the Republic of Sierra Leone, so Malia, sud An, Togo,
turk Mannistein Venezuela, and Yemen. The Trump administration deemed the

(32:09):
country's quote high risk unquote earlier this year. Giles said
the thirty eight people were notified two weeks ago that
their citizenship ceremonies had been canceled. Quote, though the agency
didn't announce plans to pause certain citizenship applications until December two.
Dial doesn't know if these people now face deportation. When

(32:31):
asked if their naturalizations would be scheduled, he said, quote,
that's up to whoever's in charge in Washington. Close the quote,
I'll cut it off. There. The other article on the
same page healthcare costs to rise for millions in the
United States. There are two pictures. A bill before the
Senate that would extend healthcare subsidies for millions of Americans

(32:54):
failed to secure the sixty votes needed to pass, with
fifty one in support for eight against, and one senator
not voting. The picture by ways of Senator Thune, and
then there's a separate picture of Senator Schumann. Here's the
article the Senate on December eleventh, rejected advancing a bill

(33:14):
to prevent healthcare premiums from spiking in twenty twenty six
for millions of federal healthcare enrollees.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
The failed vote leaves.

Speaker 1 (33:23):
Lawmakers virtually no time before their holiday break to soften
the approaching financial blow for many Americans. Federal subsidies relied
on by millions who have health insurance plans through the
Affordable Care Act Exchange will expire come January. In many cases,
people's premiums will double or even triple.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (33:44):
I say to my Republican colleagues, our bill is the
last train to leave the station. Unquote, Senator Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer, Democratic New York said ahead of the vote.
Quote If the Republicans don't climb aboard, there won't be
another chance to act before premium skyrocket next year.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
Close the quote.

Speaker 1 (34:03):
Notably for Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan Alaska,
Susan Collins of Maine, and Josh Holly of Missouri defected
from their party to try to extend the subsidies. The
final tally was fifty one in support and forty eight against,
with Senator Steve Daines, Republican of Montana, not voting. The

(34:24):
measure needed sixty votes to advance. I'll cut the article
in half right there, and we'll go on to the
next page. Looks like we've read all the articles from
that page, so we'll go on to.

Speaker 2 (34:44):
Next. Next. One company recruiting.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
Wiener mobile drivers. I'm going to cut this off very short.
Applications to drive Oscar Myer's vehicle are now open. Recent
college grads are invited to apply through January thirty one
to be part of the American Meat and Cold Cut
Producers next class of Hot Doggers, a one year full
time adventure, Oscar Mayor said in a December eight press release.

(35:09):
Established in nineteen eighty eight, the Hot Doggers program was
created to mentor young talent and prepare future leaders who
quote embody, innovation, creativity, and community spirit unquote, the brand
said quote. The relished position offers fans the opportunity to become.

Speaker 2 (35:26):
Official spoke to people of the brand while.

Speaker 1 (35:29):
Living out its mission of sparking smiles across the country
close the quote. Oscar Meyer added, each person is expected
to drive and maintain the twenty seven foot long hot
Dog on wheels over the course of a year long
cross country road trip hot Doggers double as brand ambassadors,
attending hundreds of events annually in developing custom content, all

(35:51):
while visiting quote upwards of thirty states unquote. According to
a job posting from the Kraft Heinz Company, hot Doggers
are in a big salary of thirty five thousand, six
hundred dollars worth a weekly allowance of one hundred and
fifty dollars for meals and personal travel. Additional resources include
a full health benefits package, eighteen days of paid time off,

(36:12):
and one hundred percent of hotel expenses covered. Only twelve
super fans will be selected to join Oscar Mayor's Oscar
Meyer's thirty ninth class of Hotdogers and usher in the
Wienermobile's ninetieth anniversary.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
That's all.

Speaker 1 (36:28):
The articles on that page will continue moving through the
first section. There are two more articles here. Nobel laureate
Machado reappears in Norway. After months of hiding, Venezuela's opposition
leader Maria Corina, Machado arrived in Oslo, Norway, in the
middle of the night on December eleven to collect her

(36:50):
Nobel Peace Prize. It was the first time Machado had
been seen in public since January. The fifty eight year
old surface to Norway's capital after slipping through military checkpoints
in Venezuela by wearing a wig and the disguise to
reach a fishing boat bound for the Caribbean island Corsaro.
From there, Machado boarded a private jet to Norway. The

(37:12):
Wall Street Journal first reported her escape route just hours
before Machado's arrival in Oslo, her daughter and a Karina
Sosa Machado accepted the Nobel Prize in her name and
delivered a speech written by her mother in which she
said democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in
order to survive. The engineer's dramatic covert escape to Oslo

(37:34):
came on the same evening that the US forces seized
an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking sharp
escalation in the Trump's administration's pressure campaign against Nicholas Maduro's government.
I'm going to cut the article off there, and we'll
go ahead and continue to look for additional articles. The

(37:57):
next one is a man free after wrongful imprisonment. Former
inmates served twenty six years in Florida prison. There's a
photograph of two men with this caption with the help
of Brandon scheck Wright, the legal director of the Innocence
Project of Florida. Tavari's Hutchinson was freed after being wrongfully

(38:17):
in prisoned for twenty six years. Here's part of the article.
Tavari's Hutchinson considered himself to be a free man long
before the rest of the world did. In prison, he said,
all anyone ever talks about is prison and what landed
him there, But not Hutchinson. Quote, I could not afford
to think prisons make prison and keep saying that I

(38:37):
have a life sentence. Unquote, Hutchinson said, quote I had
to speak freedom. I was training my mind to say,
quote I'm not in prison, I'm free.

Speaker 2 (38:46):
Close the quote, and on.

Speaker 1 (38:48):
November fourteen, his mindset matched reality. A Broward County court
ruled that evidence proving Hutchinson's innocence in a nineteen ninety
nine armed robbery, a crime is always said he didn't commit,
was grounds for re sentencing. After wrongfully spending twenty six
years behind bars in South Florida, Hutchinson, aged forty nine,

(39:10):
stepped into the free world and finds himself working at
a Christmas tree lot almost five hundred miles away in
Florida's capital city. His first holiday season in three decades
that wasn't spent inside a jail cell. Hutchison was presumably
going to die in prison. He received a life sentence
after being accused of robbing a man at gunpoint of

(39:31):
his wedding ring and gold necklace. Police stopped Hutchinson as
he was driving, and he expected them to do their
search and let him go.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
Unfortunately it didn't end like that, unquote, Hutchinson said, I'll
cut the article off there and we'll go to the
next page.

Speaker 2 (39:52):
Next article.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
Senators push for urgent action on bird flu vaccine. There's
a photo with this caption. The USDA should take quote
renewed action unquote to fight bird flu as infections rise
during the winter months, said twenty three US senators in
a letter sent December ten.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
Here's part of the article.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
A bipartisan group of US senators this week urged the
Trump administration to finalize a science based plan for developing
a bird flu vaccine for livestock. According to a letter
seen by Reuters, more than one hundred and eighty million chickens, turkeys,
and other poultry had been killed due to an outbreak
of bird flu that began in twenty twenty two. The

(40:35):
US Department of Agriculture said in June that it was
developing a potential poultry vaccination plan, but has not released
for other details. The USDA should take quote renewed action
unquote to fight bird flu as infections rised during the
winter months, said twenty three US senators and a letter
sent December ten to Agricultural Secretary Brook Rollins. The letter

(40:57):
was reported first by Reuters. Quote any finalized vaccine strategy
must take into account feedback from animal health stakeholders, industry experts,
and be grounded in sound science, the quote said. The
letter led by Amy Klobashar of Minnesota, the top Democrat
on the Senate Agricultural Committee, at Republican US Senator Mike

(41:19):
Rounds of South Dakota.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
Other signatories to the letter.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
Include Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and
several Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Agricultural Committee.
In March, the USDA pledged one hundred million dollars to
research vaccines and therapeutics for egg laying chickens as part
of a broader strategy to fight bird flu, which had
driven egg prices to record highs. The agency said in

(41:44):
June it had received four hundred and seventeen proposals for
the funds. The Trump administration in May canceled a seven
hundred million dollar contract with Molderna to develop a human
bird flu vaccine. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior has
cut other funding for vaccine research and scraped long held

(42:05):
federal vaccine guidance. I'll stop the article there and then
the other one on the same page. Lily says next
gin drug outperforms zepbound. ELI Lilly said on December eleventh,
its next generation obesity drug helped patients lose an average

(42:25):
of twenty eight point seven percent of their weight in
a late stage trial, outperforming its drug, zepbound, and reinforcing
the company's lead in the fast growing market. The global
obesity market has surged in recent years on strong demand
for GLP one based drugs like Zepbound and Novo Nordisk

(42:45):
weglvy Wogovi, prompting drug makers to invest heavily in next
generation treatments. BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Siegerman called it
quote the highest weight loss to date unquote, adding it
may surprise investors with the magnitude of weight reduction demonstrated
the once weakly injected drug reddit Truetide r e t

(43:10):
a t r u tide. Reddit Truetide is designed to
mimic the action of the GLP one hormone, which helps
regulate blood sugar, slow stomach emptying, and decrease appetite. Lily,
in its first stage trial readout said the highest dose
of the drug delivered weight loss of up to an
average of seventy one point two pounds at sixty eight weeks,

(43:34):
along with substantial relief from deep aching joint pain when
tested in participants with obesit and osteoarthritis of the knee.
Lily said that perceived excessive weight loss, particularly among those
with lower body mass indexes at the start, was behind
some choosing to leave the trial. I'll cut the article

(43:55):
off there. We'll go to the next page. There's a
linky article. EU seeks long term freeze of Russian assets,
Block plans to provide loans to assist Ukraine. There's a
photograph with this caption. Delegates from European countries attend an

(44:16):
informal meeting of European Union Ministers of European Affairs on
December eleven in Laviv, Ukraine. Here's the article. European Union
governments want to agree on December twelve to freeze Russian
Central Bank assets immobilized in Europe for as long as necessary,
replacing the need for a vote to renew the freeze

(44:38):
every six months. EU diplomats said the move is the
basis for the EU's plan to use the Russian sovereign
assets in the EU for a loan to Ukraine that
would keep it financed in twenty twenty six and twenty
twenty seven, allowing the country to continue to defend itself
against Russia's invasion. The European Commission is proposed using a

(45:01):
provision of the EU Treaty Article one twenty two to
keep the assets frozen indefinitely. The provision gives EU governments
a free hand to adopt whatever measures they see necessary
by qualified majority to address a difficult economic situation in
the EU. One EU diplomat said the plan was for
ambassadors from the bloc's member states to agree on launching

(45:25):
a written procedure to approve the use of Article one
twenty two of the EU Treaty by tomorrow. The European
Commission said last week that using this legal option was
justified in the case of the Ukraine Loan to preserve
the stability of the economy affected by Russia's war in
Ukraine amid the hybrid warfare of Russia against EU countries.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (45:48):
The EU economic situation could be further destabilized if the
security context was to further deteriorate as a result of
Russia's intervention in Ukraine or in the Member States. Closed
the quote, the Commission said, arguing that if Ukraine ran
out of money and could no longer defend itself, the
EU's economic situation would become much worse. Still, an agreement

(46:10):
to freeze the Russian assets and definitely would eliminate a
key risk to the plan of using them to finance Ukraine,
because Moscow friendly, Hungary and Slovakia would no longer have
the power to veto an extension of the freeze every
six months as they do now, will cut the article
off and go.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
To the next one.

Speaker 1 (46:29):
Lininia will shape rest of winter in America, along with
a lobe of the polar Vertex getting ready to unleash
cold air across the central and eastern United States. Federal
forecasters say the weather pattern, known as La Nina remains
a major force shaping our winner. Federal scientists from the

(46:51):
Climate Prediction Center or CPC confirmed the La Ninia weather pattern,
which started in October, is expected to continue shaping US
weather through the end of the season, according to a
monthly update on December eleventh. December, January, and February considered
winter for meteorological purposes. Linina and the polar vertex vortex

(47:15):
have been dancing an Arctic shuffle, with the polar vortex
often determining how much cold air makes it south and
La Nina steering that air where it once. After that,
the vortex may be in retreat, allowing for a more
typical Linina like pattern to take over at least for
the end of December and into January. Forecasters said. Linina

(47:38):
is a part of a natural climate cycle officially known
as El Nino Southern oscillation, called INSO by sciences that's
E NSO. The cycle swings between warmer and cooler seawater
in a region along the equator in the tropical Pacific.
Linina is marked by cooler than average ocean water in

(48:00):
the region. Quote the latest CPC seasonal outlook shows La
Nina's telltale influence on precipitation anomalies through at least February April.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Close the quote.

Speaker 1 (48:13):
CPC climate scientist Michel LaRue said in a December ten
email to USA Today when La Nina formed in October,
federal forecasters expected it to continue through February. As for snow,
that likely translates to a continued unusually snowy season for
the northwest, northern Rockies, the Great Lakes, and the interior northeast.

(48:36):
With the Polar Vertex in retreat later this month, US
winter weather will be guided more by La Nina. Acyweather
meteorologist Paul Pasteloc told USA Today quote this should favor
or return to the more normal pattern of La Nina. Unquote,
he said, I'm going to cut the article off. There
the other remaining article on this page. Judge orders release

(48:59):
of a Brago Garcia from jail. A federal judge has
ordered that a high profile Salvadoran man should be freed
from federal immigration custody, saying that Trump administration had no
legal basis to expel him from the country and misled
her At a November hearing, US District Judge Paula Zennis

(49:21):
ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrago Garcia, who was
detained in March and mistakenly deported.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
To El Salvador.

Speaker 1 (49:29):
Abrago Garcia was returned to the United States in June,
but was arrested again on federal charges of human struggles
of human.

Speaker 2 (49:36):
Smuggling in Tennessee.

Speaker 1 (49:39):
Zennis's order, filed on December eleven, is the latest legal
victory for Abrago Garcia in a case that has shown
a spotlight on the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies. The
Supreme Court previously ordered the government to facilitate his return
from El Salvador, and federal judges in Tennessee rejected prosecutor's
request to keep him in criminal custody awaiting trial. It

(50:02):
is unlikely to be the last, all right. There's an
article about getting in the holiday spirit in the third
section the first article from lot keys to brisket. Five
recipes to try for Hannukah this year. Hannaka, also known
as Hankkah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the rededication
of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Maccabees after

(50:25):
it was destroyed by the Syrians. Jews celebrate Hannakah by
lighting Minora, telling the Hanekah story, playing dridle, and eating
special foods. This year, Hankah has celebrated December fourteenth through
the twenty second they now she now lists five recipes
for Hannkah from the Curry Journal's extensive recipe archives. I

(50:48):
can't possibly read these, but it's a butternut lot keys,
coconut noodle lot keys, potato lotkey's top with pastrami, spice,
smoked sound women, and mustard dill sauce, which seems interesting
to me. And last is I had to scroll through

(51:10):
these the winter monso ball soup. So I'll go on
to the next article here if I can find one
on movies TCM Birthday tribute of Frank Sinatra that's at
seven thirty am.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
Today marks the one hundred and tenth.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
Anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birth, and what a perfect excuse
to raise a glass to the Chairman of the Board
himself and celebrate the icon with a collection of some
of his films. Few artists have had the charm and
swagger of Old Blue Eyes, where he could easily pivot
between being a nightclub crooner and Hollywood movie star. Today's

(51:49):
lineup of films begins with nineteen forty nine's On the Town,
where he stars as a wide eyed sailor on a
twenty four hour leave in New York City that turns
out to be a whirlwind of song and romance. Then
it's next to the movie High Society nineteen fifty six,
as Sinatra trades wise, cracks and melodies with Grace Kelly

(52:09):
and also Bing Crosby, following their other favorites including The
Man with the Golden Arm nineteen fifty five, Some Came
Running nineteen fifty eight, Oceans eleven nineteen sixty and Marriage
on the Rocks in nineteen sixty five. There's a picture
of Thanks Sinatra, Bing Crosby.

Speaker 2 (52:27):
And the beautiful Grace Kelly. We'll move on to the
next article.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
There's the article that continues the displays, and I'll just
list those gardens. A glimmer at Waterfront Botanical Gardens, Paris
Town's Fetta Noel Shaker Village, Illuminated Evenings, Southern Lights at
the Kentucky Horse Park, Spirited Knights at Buffalo Trace Distillery,

(52:56):
The Ultimate Christmas Town, Bardstown, Kentucky. And that's it for
those articles at the back of this is part of
nation and the world. I've not seen this before. I'll
just read the headlines. Ukraine braces for fall of park Rovsk.

(53:21):
Russia's capture of Polkrovsk but appears to be a matter
a matter of quote when unquote, not quote if unquote,
and while its fall will not trigger a collapse in
Ukraine's defenses, it weakens Kiev at a sensitive juncture in
US led negotiations to end the war. Moscow said on
December one it was in full control of polk Rovsk,

(53:44):
two days before President Donald Trump's special envoy and his
son in law held Kremlin talks with Russian President Vladimir
Putin on a plan they say is close to being
finalized ten days ago. On ten days on, Ukraine says
it's troops will still hold positions in the north of
the city, which was home to sixty thousand people before

(54:05):
Russia's full scale of twenty twenty two invasion and served
as an important logistical hub for the military until the
fighting closed in.

Speaker 2 (54:16):
I'll stop there.

Speaker 1 (54:17):
The article right beside it is health subsidy looks set
to end. We've already read a similar article. The Senate
on December eleven rejected competing proposals by Republicans and Democrats
to address a looming healthcare crisis, leaving some twenty four
million Americans vulnerable to significantly higher insurance premiums beginning on

(54:38):
January one, when a federal subsidy expires. And then below
that is US preparing to seize more tankers off Venezuela.
We've already read a version of that in the Courier.
There is a national weather report here which basically was
described before, which shows lowered temperatures invading you the United States,

(55:03):
with the point being ironically Louisville, Kentucky. Looking for another article,
there's an article about the crypto entrepreneur Do Kwan. The
South Korean entrepreneur who is behind two digital currencies that
lost and element estimated forty billion dollars, was sentenced on

(55:25):
December eleventh to fifteen years in prison. Below that, Indiana
Senate rejects redistrict can to the right of that standard
and poor five hundred now hits record closes. Okay, this
concludes excerpts from the Curry Journal for Friday December twelve,

(55:45):
twenty twenty five, your reader's Benmark Webster. The phone number
for the EVENTUARAS is eight five nine four to two
to two sixty three nine zero Police. Stay tuned for
continuing programming. Have a good snowy weekend and a good
week ahead