Talkline | Sept. 22, 2025 - MetroNews Talkline

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
You won't believe it. We've got more updates on lawsuits, vaccines,
and exemptions. Brad Squared will join us. We'll try to
make sense of the latest moves by the Fed and
the continuing question of whether or not a question we
brought up last week about the minimum sentencing for murder
convictions in West Virginia. We'll get into all of that

(00:33):
as Metro News talk Line gets started.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
You are.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Radio turned off from the studios of w v RC
Media and the Metro News Radio and Television Network. The
Voice of West Virginia comes the most powerful show in
West Virginia. This is Metro News talk Line. Dave Wilson
and DJ Meadows.

Speaker 4 (01:02):
Check chat lineup up todated, Hello, Telltalk switch network control
from Charleston to Morgan.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Stand by you, David, DJ.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
You're on.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Metro News talk Line is presented by Encova Insurance, encircling
you with coverage to protect what you care about most.
Visit Encova dot com to learn more.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
Good morning, Welcome into the program Metro News talk Line
from the Encova Insurance studios. Hope you had a great weekend.
Hope your Monday is off to a fine start. Jake
Link is our video producer. He's handling the duties. If
you're watching on Metro News Television the Metro News TV app,
Sophia Wassack is handling the audio. She's also sitting by
awaiting your phone call at eight hundred seven sixty five

(01:47):
Talk eight hundred seven six five eight two five five.
You can text the show as always at three or
four Talk three oh four. Dave Wilson in the Miller
Building in Morgantown. TJ.

Speaker 6 (01:58):
Meadows is at the radio in Charleston. Good morning, sir,
Good morning. I went to your Twitter and over the weekend,
my goodness, a hornet's nest.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Literally, yeah, we.

Speaker 6 (02:08):
Get to Middle Tennessee state. Of course, I travel with
Marshall work on the broadcast and the weekends, and we
couldn't open the windows to the broadcast booth. There was
a hornet's nest in the corner of the window, outside
of the window. But if you open it, you're going
to disturb it. They're going to get ticked.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
And well, I'm pretty certain none of us in the
booth wanted to deal with hornets, so we kept the
window closed.

Speaker 6 (02:28):
Well, let's be clear, this thing isn't a little nest
in the corner. I mean, HiT's a good size and
this basketball sized nest, at least it appeared to be
from the visual I saw.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Uh yeah, it was pretty big. And then Ad Jerald
Harrison comes in. He joins us in the pregame show
every week, and he sees the nest and launches into
this story. Apparently he's allergic to such creatures and he's like,
wants nothing to do with it. It was an and
then you know, two and a half hour lightning to
lay in the middle of the game as well. That

(02:59):
happened Saturday night as well.

Speaker 6 (03:01):
A note to the Middle Tennessee Athletic Department, maybe time
to take the nest down.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Well, I did tell Steve Cotton that night if he
if he irritated me at all, I was just going
to open the window, bang on the glass and walk out.
Let him deal with it.

Speaker 6 (03:13):
Well, you have yet another story to tell, you know,
your grandchildren one day, So there you go.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
We will talk some sports later second hour. Brad Howe
is going to join us mention news sports Mountaineers offense
struggled at Kansas. Will break that down with Brad coming
up second hour of the show. Earlier this year, the Morris.
The administration announced it was selling long term care facilities
in Beckley, Fairmont, Terra Alta, and West Columbia to Mark's
Development for sixty million dollars. Now Majestic Care, subsidiary of

(03:41):
Marx Developable, operate the facilities. The closing date for that
sale had been here in September. That has been pushed
back at the buyer's request. Plus there are still concerns
about the sale that are floating out there among some
lawmakers on loan from West Virginia. Watch joining us in
the studio from Charleston this morning is a Mili at
Faral Knight with the latest. Amelia, Good morning, glad to

(04:02):
see you.

Speaker 7 (04:03):
Good morning, Happy Monday.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
A happy Monday to you as well. We were talking
there before the break, and now I got to bring
it up. You got to see you're an as you're
an eight. You like baseball, you're a baseball fan. You
like cam A's because I don't know what city they
actually reside in anymore.

Speaker 6 (04:18):
You got the second this weekend I did.

Speaker 8 (04:22):
I was.

Speaker 9 (04:23):
It didn't go so well. I was in Pittsburgh. Let
me tell you, tickets are cheap. Y'all hired.

Speaker 7 (04:28):
Thing't doing great. So I got some tickets to go
see them, and it was just.

Speaker 9 (04:32):
Me up in the third level deck with a ton
of bachelor parties. I guess this was what they chose
to do, watch the Pirates and wipe out the A's
two days in a row. So, yes, I saw them,
but I was telling people, I don't even feel like
I got to see my team play because we barely
got a hit.

Speaker 7 (04:47):
It was just like, look at those little guys down
there trying.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
So what's a cheap ticket in baseball today?

Speaker 9 (04:52):
I mean you could get tickets for fourteen bucks. I
paid twenty five apiece for mine.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
You still look, aid, well, I mean it's the I'm.

Speaker 9 (05:01):
Not a Pirates fan, so I agree with you. But
the crab fries alone were worth oh price of admission.

Speaker 6 (05:06):
Oh those are so fourteen dollars. Yeah, I can't go
to Gritz Farm for fourteen dollars a pop when I
take my kids.

Speaker 7 (05:12):
Yeah, I know, but we had a good time. It
was still really fun. But man, my poor as.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
It's still night at the ballpark right.

Speaker 9 (05:19):
Exactly, and you cannot beat that view at PNC Park.
So we were there Saturday evening, sun goes down, I mean,
it's the best view in baseball in my opinion.

Speaker 6 (05:28):
I'm a Reds fan, but it is one of the
nicest parks. I hate to say it. I think it's
nicer than Great American Yeah, and the.

Speaker 9 (05:34):
People next to me were from Houston and they were like,
this is the most beautiful park we've ever been to.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
So I agree, if only the product on the field
could match. But we all digress. Listen.

Speaker 9 (05:45):
I can't talk any smack this morning because we lost
eleven to zero yesterday, so I can't say anything.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
I was afraid to bring any of it up because
Karma and you know, Threads have finally tied the wildcard race.

Speaker 7 (05:57):
I know, I know, well, I'd say your prayers, anything.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
Will help at this point, he is all right. The
closing date on the sale of these four hospitals has
been pushed backed. Is that concerning or is this just business?

Speaker 9 (06:11):
I think it's mostly just business. It's been pushed back
to October thirty first, and the company Marx Development Group
in New York based developer that's buying these properties, they
say they just need some more time to make a
seamless transition.

Speaker 7 (06:24):
I mean, they do have.

Speaker 9 (06:26):
Hundreds of state employees that they're going to have to
transfer over to a private business. I know a couple
of weeks ago, I believe two weeks ago, letters were
sent out to all the employees from the state where
they have to indicate if they're going to reapply for
their jobs at the hospitals, if they plan to retire, etc.
So that process is in motion. I think most of

(06:46):
it is just business. But we do still have a loss,
a pending lawsuit floating out there that seeks to stop
the sale in Fairmont, and some other issues that people
have raised.

Speaker 7 (06:56):
So I think business, but we'll see, we'll.

Speaker 6 (06:58):
Get back to the lawsuit. But talk to me about
the idea of workers who want to retain their state pensions.
In my lay mind, this doesn't seem like that big
a deal to me. You can still keep your pension.
I would think it the state if you're not employed,
and just start a new pension moving forward. But maybe
there's a rollover mechanism where people are concerned. What can
you shed there?

Speaker 9 (07:16):
Yes, and I will say that's one of the things
I'm digging into today. So I don't have all the
answers for you yet, but still no more than most
well so I guess there is some type of issue
where they are going to lose some benefits if they're
rolling from a state job to a private job. Senate
President Randy Smith, who has Hopemont Hospital in his district
one of the facilities that's being sold, is very concerned

(07:37):
about the pensions. And I thought it was interesting he
said the number one call he's getting from hospital employees
is concerned about their pension. I personally have heard a
lot about pensions, and I've heard a lot about the
health insurance because they're no longer going to get PIA.
That's a separate issue. So Senate President Randy Smith is
considering some type of bill that would protect certain employees

(07:58):
pensions if they're like X amount of years from retiring.
Maybe he said two to three, one to two. It
wouldn't be for everyone, but people who are very close
to retiring. So I don't know that math breakdown of
what happens when they go to private but it's at
least a major concern for the employees at the hospitals
at this point.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
Amelia, has President Smith spoken to other lawmakers about this?
Does he have support? Could we see this come up
maybe a special session? When they get back for interims
here the next couple months.

Speaker 9 (08:24):
That's a great question. He has spoken to other lawmakers.
I have talked to other lawmakers. There is a lot
of support for this. I think there's very little, you know,
pushback on letting these people who are very close to
retiring retain their pension. However, there is not a great
flow between the legislature and the governor's office right now.
Typically the governor calls a special session right the law

(08:48):
lawmakers can bring themselves in with a three fourced majority,
but that doesn't happen that often. So I don't think
we're going to see a special session this fall. I mean,
we haven't gotten to a consensus on PIA at all,
and I don't know that state employees' pensions would be
enough to bring them in. But Senate President Smith did

(09:08):
tell me he thinks there the way they can do
this in January to be retroactive for the sale that
closes in October thirty first, But he would rather do
it ahead of the sale because that's a lot cleaner.

Speaker 6 (09:18):
A lot cleaner leaves less chance for someone to say, hey,
wait a minute. But I say this all the time again,
back to the private sect there. I've been through several
of these buyouts in corporate America, and those people that
are on the bubble, A lot of times they do
look and they say, should I go ahead and retire
because I liked it under Acme Company and what I'm
getting and I might not like it under Smith Company?

(09:43):
Could it just work itself out? I guess if we
don't do anything, that's always a possibility. I would think
maybe this is cleaner. But I worry about precedent too,
because if we're going to continue to look at selling
state assets that maybe we don't need to be in
now that we're under a more financial time of runch,
if you will, I worry we may be setting ourselves
up for something that we can't do time and time again.

(10:04):
I don't know.

Speaker 7 (10:05):
No, I think that's a great point.

Speaker 9 (10:06):
But I would say in response to your point, I
think some of these questions for employees is because this
has happened pretty quickly. The idea of selling the state
hospitals has been going on since the Justice administration, So
this idea isn't new, but it was just what a
month and a half ago that Morrissey announced I'm just
going to sell them, and now by October thirty first,

(10:27):
it's going to close. And one of the things that
I heard from hospital employees who don't want to go
on the record because they're concerned about their jobs.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Others want to keep their job.

Speaker 9 (10:35):
But I will tell you I've been contacted by probably
close to two dozen hospital employees via Twitter, Instagram, whatever, TikTok,
and they said that they were filling out these forms
about whether they wanted to retain their jobs or not
without really getting to see the full benefits package they're
signing up for.

Speaker 6 (10:51):
And remind me, these are not unionized employees. They don't
have anyone to speak for them, or an association or
anything that I recall, not that.

Speaker 9 (10:56):
I recall either, And so I think that the swiftness
of the sale and the questions maybe lead to problems
like this pensions. It probably isn't a difficult thing to
work out. But even Senate President Randy Smith, Speaker Hanshaw,
I believe, has said too we were in the dark
that this was happening, and so they're playing catch up
two and trying to help the people in their districts.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
Amelia Nicely far or Amelia Farrell Nicely, which one, Yes, right,
right time time. Yes, Amelia, We're just gonna go one
name rest of the way online from West Virginia watch
joining us. Talking about the sale those four hospitals, you
mentioned the lawsuit. Senator Joey Garcia from Marion County, which
has the Mansion facility in his district there in Fairlow,
has filed a lawsuit to stop the sale of these hospitals.

(11:40):
How does that factor into everything we've just talked about.

Speaker 9 (11:45):
So, I think the short answer is, we don't know.
It's a pending lawsuit that hasn't been fouled yet. I
imagine i'll be filed in the next couple of weeks.
But it was not mentioned in the Department of Health
Facilities response to me when I ask them why they
were delaying the sale, which their response was, the company
is delaying it to October. So I think we don't know,

(12:06):
but it is still out there and theoretically now will
be filed before the closing date of the sale. That
lawsuit only seeks to stop the sale of the Fairmont facility,
as you said, and it's you know, legal stuff is complicated,
but I'm going to boil it down that in short,
Senator Garcia believes that morris Governor Morrissey did not have

(12:27):
the authority to sell these hospitals without the legislature's approval.
So I think the hope is that it might stop
them for all four once it gets filed.

Speaker 7 (12:36):
So I don't know.

Speaker 9 (12:36):
I think we'll have to wait and see what the
response is. But I feel like private businesses buy things
all the time and get sued and the train just
keeps going. So I don't know, We'll have to wait
and see.

Speaker 6 (12:47):
So to that point, and Senator Garcia and his clients
are obviously well within their rights. Yes, that's a file.
Any suit they want, Dave will be my safety release
here if you feel you can't answer this because you
need to keep objectivity as a reporter. If I'm majestic, though,
sixty million dollars, that's sixty million dollars. If there's going
to be an issue here that this lawsuit would somehow

(13:09):
prevent the sale of these assets, I could redistribute that
sixty million dollars into a deal that doesn't have these
kinds of hang ups that could start earning a return.
Is there any jeopardy of the buyer saying, you know
what he thinks, but no thinks.

Speaker 9 (13:25):
I mean, I think I can answer again and say
we don't know, but I would agree with you, And
I think my main question this whole time has been
how exactly are they going to make money here? Right?
We have mostly Medicaid patients, etc. So this lawsuit kind
of seems to be another curve fallback to the baseball
to throw in there.

Speaker 7 (13:40):
Yeah, I would agree with you.

Speaker 9 (13:42):
Of course we don't know, but yeah, I think it
is something that we could see potentially affect it didn't.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
The legislature pass a bill a couple of years ago
that expressly gave the governor, gave the administration the authority
to sell these hospitals.

Speaker 7 (14:00):
The language is a little gray on that.

Speaker 9 (14:02):
Yes, but Senator Garcia's lawsuit is pointing to unchanged state
code that mandates that the state still operate seven facilities,
including the four long term care facilities they're selling. So
yes and no, but that DHHR split bill still keeps
me up at night.

Speaker 7 (14:22):
It was a real complicated one.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
So are you saying something may have fallen through the
cracks and God overlooked with a piece of legislation. I
dare not believe you when I.

Speaker 7 (14:33):
Look at the bill.

Speaker 9 (14:34):
I do believe it gives the state authority. But I
read through the code that Senator Garcia is citing and
I see that too. I also now listen, guys, I'm
a mom of three. The brain isn't always as sharp
as it used to be. But I remember sitting on
the House floor when the DHHR split bill passed and
someone it might have been Delegate Garcia at that time,

(14:54):
asked if this would allow the governor to sell the facilities,
and whatever lawmaker was talking about the bill well said no.
I do remember that, so I guess this will be
for the courts to figure out.

Speaker 6 (15:06):
I remember a same conversation posed to then chair the
Judiciary Committee in the House, more Capito, saying, hey, will
this bill being EPRA allow someone to challenge vaccine exemptions? Nope,
has nothing to do with that. So it seems it
seems these days it pays to be thou shalt and
then put what you want, and if it's not in
that boom, it's not covered. I do want to transition quickly.

(15:30):
You cover foster care, I would say, you are the
superior source of foster care in this state. You cover
it like no one else what's the latest, what's going on,
what's on your mind.

Speaker 9 (15:40):
Well, we did just see this and I'm trying to
get my phone a pult there. We did just see
this foster care report come out. They did a listening
tour around the state, and it was I don't want
to say I learned anything new, per se. I mean,
it really just laid out how the system from top
to bottom has widespread communication issues and there's a fear

(16:02):
of retaliation for foster parents, grandparents and even biological parents
CPS workers. So I think it just really emphasized how
much work there is to do, and this data is fresh,
it's just from the summer essentially, or the you know,
since Morrissey took office. So Secretary Mayor, who's in charge
of the Department of Human sorry, Human Services, is really

(16:25):
committed to doing what I'm going to say is kind
of gritty, boring work but important, right, Like putting in
processes so that if you have a foster case in
Monroe County, it looks the same as Putnam County. Right now,
there's a lot of variation across the state. Figuring out
better hiring processes, figuring out how to take caseloads off
CPS workers. So I think we have a secretary who's

(16:46):
really focused on the problems. But gosh, that study just
really laid out that not much has changed in the
five years I've been covering this, and we paid over
three hundred million dollars for the study to out horse
and that's a lot of money. And I think money
doesn't always fix everything in government, but Foster Care definitely

(17:07):
has some places that.

Speaker 7 (17:08):
We need to spend money.

Speaker 1 (17:10):
Amelia Farrell nicely on watch from or on loan from
West Virginia. Watch she's on watch too as well, having
on the state capital, Amelia, always a pleasure. Thank you
very much, thank you. Coming up, we'll get the latest
from DC Fox News radios. Jared Halpern will join us
in a moment. This is talk Line on Metro News
from the INCOMEA Insurance Studios.

Speaker 10 (17:29):
Your child's heart deserves world class care, close to home
and always within reach. At WVU Medicine Children's Heart Center,
we offer comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for a wide range
of pediatric heart conditions, with compassionate advanced care tabored to
your child's needs. Called eight seven seven WVU. The number

(17:49):
four hrt or visit WVU kids dot com.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
Slash Heart.

Speaker 11 (17:57):
The City That fiber network is growing every day, bringing
lightning fast internet to more communities across West Virginia, with
plans for every budget and speeds up to ten gigs,
the fastest in the Mountain state. City net keeps you streaming,
gaming and working without limits. And for businesses, city net
delivers powerful network management and cybersecurity solutions, protecting companies here

(18:20):
at home and across the nation. Whether it's fiber for
your home or cybersecurity for your business, connect with us
at citynet dot net.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
Metro News talk Line is presented by Encova Insurance and
circling you with coverage to protect what you care about most.
Visit ncovia dot com to learn more.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
Well halberd laws schedule join us Fox NewsRadio Jared Halpern.
But you appear to be otherwise occupied, judging by.

Speaker 6 (19:03):
The lack of a caller on the line. So we've
been halperned. Is that what we call him?

Speaker 1 (19:07):
Well, you know, he is a very busy man. He
is busy. He's in DC, he's speaking time. Well, let's
not go too far.

Speaker 6 (19:16):
I mean, he's not Ryan Schmels after all, well, you
mean to ask you what I was going to ask him?

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Go ahead?

Speaker 6 (19:22):
Are we not going to be well? I guess men can.
But are pregnant women not going to be able to
take tailand on?

Speaker 3 (19:27):
Now?

Speaker 6 (19:27):
Is that what the White House is going to tell
us today? In after Junior?

Speaker 1 (19:30):
Look, so what your what you are alluding to? Let
me give a give this about as much time as
it needs. President Trump and his top health officials are
expected to draw a link between autism and use of
tail and all during pregnancy at a White House event
this afternoon. Trump is due to appear with R. F.
K Junior Robert F. Kennedy Junior CMS Administrator men At Oz,

(19:53):
and others this afternoon. Officials are so also expected to
suggest a connection between autism and low level of vitamin folate.
The Wall Street Journal report said the administration would identify
a form of fol eate known as well can't say that.
It's not that I can't say it on the air.
I just I will butcher it as a way to
decrease symptoms of autism. Um, here, okay, here, here's here's

(20:16):
where I am on this. Don't take your health advice
from the government, any government. I don't care who the
president is. I don't care who the Health secretary is.
Talk to your doctor, talk to your physician, talk to
your pediatrician, talk to your obg y N. Talk to
your physical therapist, whatever the case may be. Don't take
your health advice from the administration, any administration. Don't care.

Speaker 6 (20:38):
That's fair.

Speaker 1 (20:39):
Yeah, I said it was during the pandemic. Everybody was
freaking out. Talk to your doctor. Your physician, he or
she probably has a pretty good idea. Same thing here.

Speaker 6 (20:50):
I say this with all respect, tact compassion. It just
seems like we're removing the goalpost. Well it's vaccines, Well
now it's tailin' all. Well now it's going to be
I mean mean, does everything is everything a catalyst?

Speaker 12 (21:03):
Yes?

Speaker 6 (21:04):
Autism?

Speaker 1 (21:04):
Yes, either everything is or nothing is.

Speaker 6 (21:10):
We think they're able to diagnose it today. And the
spectrum is wide.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
The spectrum's wide, the definition is much broader. There's better diagnosing. Yeah,
all the above. I'm not saying there's Look, I'm not
saying there's not a link to something somewhere. I hope
there are many researchers who are looking into all of
the above. Talk to your doctor. That'd be my if
you're pregnant, talk to your doctor. If you're not talk

(21:35):
to your doctor, don't listen. I can tell you this.
Don't listen to us.

Speaker 6 (21:38):
We have no idea, no, no, I want to read
the report today.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
Sure, all right? Coming up more Metro News talk Line
on Metro News, the Voice of West Virginia. It is
ten thirty time to get a news update. Let's check
in with the Metro News radio network. Find out what's
happening across West Virginia.

Speaker 13 (21:55):
West Virginia Metro News. I'm Chris Lawrence. Huntington believes have
made an arresting connection the twenty twenty one homicide, at
least said Quintel. Thompson was charged with first degree murdered
last week, but the January twenty one killing of David Thompson. Quintel,
aged twenty eight, of Louisville is jailed in a Louisville
jail this morning on unrelated charges, awaiting extradition back to Huntington.

(22:16):
A Berkeley County judge has declined to issue a preliminary
injunction in a case that challenges the state's vaccine laws.
Judge Michaelaurinson concluded a three hour hearing on Friday, with
no ruling instead of hearing for November to allow for
a wider presentation of evidence. Attorney Chris Rydell represents the
families who filed the suit and says that's a blow
to the children of his clients, and it's hard to

(22:38):
put into words.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
The ways that this can affect a young person's life
are incalculable, and for them to be deprived of the
opportunity to participate in education, even in the interim while
just while we get the facts together, is absolutely devastating.

Speaker 13 (22:54):
And you can read more about the case this morning.
Brad mclhaney has the story at doubdv metronews dot com.
An Akron, Ohio man is behind bars facing severe drug charges.
Thirty one year old Anton Jeffries of Acron was arrested
last week. Charleston Police announced Friday that he had been
charged with possession with intent to deliver fentanyl. His arrest
came after close to three dozen overdoses occurred in Charleston

(23:17):
in a period of less than twenty four hours. You're
listening to Matter News for forty years the Boys of
West Virginia.

Speaker 8 (23:24):
Governor Patrick Morrissey has set a very bold goal fifty
gigawatts of new energy capacity by twenty fifty. Thanks to
House Bill twenty fourteen, West Virginia's coal plans will be
upgraded to run longer, stronger, and more efficiently, thus delivering reliable,
affordable baseload power. Our families and businesses will be able

(23:45):
to count on. West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton
stated Governor Morrissey's plan to grow West Virginia's energy generation
capacity to fifty gigawatts by twenty to fifty is a
dynamic approach to economic development which will supercharge our state's
coal industry and broader economy. With Governor Morrissey's leadership and

(24:06):
the action of the legislature, West Virginia is once again
America's energy leader. Cold is Powering Progress. Cold is Powering
West Virginia. Brought to you by the West Virginia Coal Association.

Speaker 13 (24:22):
Parts of West Virginia saw some much needed rainfalls Sunday
afternoon pop up showers, with the first rain for parts
of the state in weeks.

Speaker 6 (24:30):
Now.

Speaker 13 (24:30):
Forecasters said we might see more of that this week,
and it could come in the form of severe thunderstorms
with particularly high winds. However, given the conditions, Any rain
is good rain at this point, with the northern half
of the state in either extreme or severe drought conditions
according to the National Drought Monitor. From the Metro News
anchored ask, I'm Chris Lawrence.

Speaker 1 (25:14):
Second hour, Brad Howe will join us, will break down
what happened in Kansas over the weekend, plus Brad McIlhenny. Ah,
there's another legal update in the ongoing lawsuits regarding vaccines
and religious exemptions. We'll get into that coming up second
hour of Metro News talk Line. Late last week, the

(25:40):
Fed chose to reduce the interest rate. What action, What
impact can that have? What should we be keeping an
eye on as far as the economy goes? To help
break that down for us, We welcome to the show.
Friend of the Show from the Bureau of Business and
Economic Research, John Deskins, This morning, John goodmane morning, thanks

(26:00):
for joining us.

Speaker 5 (26:02):
Dave good Morning, Happy to be on as always.

Speaker 6 (26:04):
So last week, FED Chair Jerome pal described the the
federal interest rate cut as a risk management cuts. What
exactly is a risk management cut?

Speaker 5 (26:17):
John, Well, I'm not exactly for sure about that specific terminology,
but remember the FAN is trying to balance two competing objectives.
The FED is trying to ensure that we have strong
growth and output and employment, and the fans trying to
make sure that we don't have inflation that's too high.
So over the last several years, interest rates have been

(26:37):
elevated because we've had higher inflation, so the Fed's been
trying to keep interest rates high to make sure that
the inflation doesn't go higher. However, over the last couple
of months, since the last time the FED met, the
jobs reports have been pretty weak, much weaker than expected.
So now that we see inflation going down and we

(26:58):
don't think inflation is going to be high for an
elevated period, combined with the fact that the job's market
seems weaker, it makes a lot more sense to get
interest rates down, to get interest rates to that neutral level,
to ensure that we don't put undue pressure on the
job market and hurt job growth. So really he's what
he's saying is the risk now lies on a weaker economy,

(27:21):
now that we think inflation is at least going to
be under control in the next few months by the end.

Speaker 14 (27:26):
Of the year.

Speaker 6 (27:27):
Perhaps Johns economists fair or not have said the labor
market woes have more to do with immigration policy than
they do any monetary policy that the FED would control.
If that's the case, the Fed really doesn't have a
lever here, do they.

Speaker 5 (27:42):
Well, immigration's part of it. I mean, economics is very,
very complicated, and that's why I'm constantly scratching my head
trying to figure out what's going on. But you're right,
we've had far fewer people coming in that's hurting job growth.
But the bottom line is, if the job market's weak,
if there's not much job growth, there's not going to
be much inflationary pressure in the economy. So we don't

(28:04):
need that elevated interest rates to push down on inflation.
So there may still be more problems in the job market,
but at least it seems like we don't need those
higher rates because a weaker job market is going to
take away some of that pressure on inflation.

Speaker 1 (28:20):
Is this going, and we're talking to John Daskin's w
Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Does this have any
impact at all on consumer loans and mortgage rates?

Speaker 5 (28:28):
Well, yeah, no, that's exactly the point. I mean, if
you have lower interest rates, consumers will spend more through
you know, consumer borrowing. Businesses will spend more, the housing
market will grow, and so that will help boost employment.
So that's the whole idea. Lower interest rates will boost spending,
boost investment, and that will help the job market. That

(28:49):
would be a problem if the job market were tight,
but since the job market is not so tied to anymore,
it seems then it's not such a problem from an
inflationary perspective.

Speaker 6 (28:59):
Professor, does this move strengthened the dollar? Weeken the dollar?
And what effect will that have?

Speaker 5 (29:04):
Well, let me think about that. I mean, in general,
lowering interest rates will weaken the dollar, but we're not
lower interest rates in some extraordinary way. I mean, interest
rates have been elevated, and all the fans talking about
doing is getting interest rates back to that kind of
neutral level, to about three percent. So in general, this

(29:25):
kind of thing weakens the dollar, but I wouldn't be
worried about it just from the normal gradual movements that
we see. That would be a concern of the interest
rates we're going down to zero or something more extreme.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
John Deaskin's joining us WU Bureau Business and Economic Research.
I've heard the term stagflation getting thrown around. Can you
explain what that is and what would warrant what how
you would describe a stagflation? What would warrant a stagflation?

Speaker 5 (29:53):
Well, stagflation means you have a recession combined with high inflation,
and that's an unusual because normally a recession carries with
it low inflation, right, So a recession with high inflation
is an unusual thing. That's the term stagflation. But I
don't see a real stagflation getting here because I don't

(30:13):
think the economy is going to fall into recession. We
have a weaker jobs market, but the job market's still
growing and output is still growing, and output is forecast
to grow, you know, at a slightly slower pace, but
growth nonetheless for the next five years. So I don't
think we're going to see stagflation. And further, we're still

(30:34):
not out of the woods with inflation, and there may
be another somewhat bump in inflation because of tariffs, but
we think the bumpet inflation is going to be transitory.
We don't think we're going to see sustained high inflation
for years to come. So I don't think we have
to worry about stagflation right yet.

Speaker 6 (30:53):
John, High yield savings accounts have become more and more popular.
I wouldn't say I wouldn't call them a likexicon, but
they're in there, man. People are talking about them and
understanding that they can get more on their money than
just a typical bank savings account. With this move, that's
going to affect what those pay out, will it not.

Speaker 5 (31:11):
I know it's going to lower interest rates for for
people who are counted on money from those savings accounts
or CDs or other money they have in the bank.
So I actually have a CD myself. It's going to
renew in a few days, and I'm kind of worried
about the rate that I'm going to get. It's not
going to be good. So you know, with anything in economics,
there are winners and losers, and so people who are
looking for higher interest rates on savings, you know, not

(31:33):
a good thing for them to see interest rates falling.
It's the right thing to do for the economy as
a whole. But there's always winners and losers, for sure.

Speaker 1 (31:41):
John, If I'm understanding you correctly, it's not bad. The
economy is not bad. The economy is not great. It's
kind of nah for a very technical term, John, And
if the economy is anything like sports. If you either
getting better, you're getting worse. So if you're not getting
better and you're kind of stuck in that middle and
that that doesn't seem like a great place to be either.

(32:02):
Not a bad place to be, but not a great
place to be. Is this Am I anywhere close to
in the ballpark?

Speaker 5 (32:08):
Ah? I think you're about right. That's a man. It's
about where the economy is. The labor market's still okay,
but it is weakening. Inflation is still too high, but
it's going to fall over the next six months or
over the next years sin as we get through with
the tariff policy uncertainty, but we're expected to continue to grow,
but not rapid growth. It's just kind of man. I mean,

(32:31):
I think what you described it, it's just pretty accurate.
That's about how I would describe it.

Speaker 6 (32:37):
It seems like this particular FED, just given the times,
has more exposure to politics than ever when the FED
is really about monetary policy and those two key levers
or goals, I should say that they have you talked
about the fact you're always trying to figure it out
because economics is very difficult, But how much more uncertainty

(32:57):
are you and other economists and just people in general
that are trying to make solid business decisions. It just
seems like there's more uncertainly because of the political environment
that the Fed frankly hasn't had to endure prior to now.
I'm not saying it's good, not saying it's bad. It's
just another variable that didn't seem to come up as
much as it comes up now.

Speaker 5 (33:16):
Fair or no, we don't have a whole lot of
near term uncertainty. This last interest rate cut last week
was expected, and they'll probably cut interest rates one more
time this year, or maybe two two more.

Speaker 15 (33:26):
Times this year.

Speaker 5 (33:27):
But long term this is a great concern for me.
I mean, central bank independence is very, very important. How
about this. All rich countries have independent central banks. The
European Union, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia. All rich
countries have independent central banks. Countries where the central bank
is tied to the executive those are Third World countries,

(33:50):
places like Uganda or Venezuela or somewhere. Independent central bank
is crucial to ensuring inflation stability over the long run.
So economists are overwhelmingly concerned by the recent attacks on
the central bank independence. I mean, I don't think that's
gonna matter this year, but five ten years down the road,
this could be a big concern. Policymakers need to step

(34:12):
up and ensure the central Bank is free from political influence.
It's a big concern.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
John. What do you keep an eye on over the
next couple of.

Speaker 5 (34:22):
Months, Well, how much more will the Fed lower interest rates?
This year? Will be one more cut, two more cuts?
What will happen with tariff policy? I hope we continue
with a much more or a much less aggressive tarif
policy than what we were talking about back in April.
I hope the tariff deals are negotiated with countries and
we don't see aggressive tariffs. And we'll see what happens

(34:45):
with inflation. Do we see a little spike because of tariffs.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
Or do it?

Speaker 5 (34:49):
Does inflation get back down if the tariff situation doesn't
seem to be too troublesome. There's a lot of things
to watch because there is a lot of uncertainty. But
we'll keep an eye on it. But as it stands
right now, we seem like we wanted to continue to grow,
but just like you said, flow growth, it's not super exciting.

Speaker 6 (35:08):
I want to end with a bit of advice to people,
you know, maybe a blue collar guy or galas out there.
They've worked their entire life, they've tried to save, they've
tried to invest in their four on K, do the
right things so that they have some level of financial independence,
and all this has them worried, John, and rightfully, so
what advice would you give to calm them down and
give them some surety.

Speaker 5 (35:29):
There's reason to be worried. I mean, it's not unfounded
at all. But you should stick with fundamentals. You should
think long term. You should have a diversified investment portfolio.
If the market does take a turn for the worse
in the next year, you should have a well balanced,
well diversified portfolio. And don't be thinking about don't watch
your stock portfolio, you know, from day to day or months,

(35:50):
and must think long term because the economy I think
will be buying you know, five ten years from now,
I think the US is still a good bit. I
think we're going to continue to grow long term. Don't
get tied up in short run ups and downs because
those will come and those could be pretty stressful. But
if you're a long term investment a thinker You'll be
just fine.

Speaker 1 (36:09):
John Deskins, w Bureau of Business and Economic Research. Always
good stuff, John, Thanks for the insights today.

Speaker 5 (36:16):
Great to talk to you. You all have a great
day in a great week.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
You as well. Coming up, we'll get some of your
thoughts at three or four Talk three oh four. Phone
lines open as well. Eight hundred seven sixty five Talk
eight hundred seven sixty five eight two five y five.
This is talk line from the Encoba Insurance Studios. We
are there for you to care for you at the
Health Plan.

Speaker 4 (36:37):
The health Plan is still growing, giving you a large
network of doctors, friendly and helpful customer service representatives, and competitive,
flexible pricing plans that meet your needs.

Speaker 6 (36:47):
Log on to health plan dot org for more information.

Speaker 1 (36:51):
We are there for you to care for you and
plan we are here.

Speaker 16 (37:02):
Raptors along the Lower Gully have reported sightings of a
pirate on the riverbank. Apparently he's throwing gold coins to
every boat that passes back to you. Carrie, I Play.

Speaker 17 (37:12):
West Virginia's new online lottery app is here and the
games are full of characters. Start playing today at wblottery
dot com or download the official West Virginia Lottery app
and discover even more ways to win with play on
our new rewards program. So join the cast of characters
today with Iplay from the West Virginia Lottery eighteen plus
to play, play responsibly.

Speaker 3 (37:44):
Metro News talk Line is presented by Incova Insurance, encircling

Speaker 1 (37:54):
Jackpots are growing in West Virginia. Jackpots are on their
eyes every week. Powerball hits Monday's, when Days and Saturdays.
Mega Millions lights up Tuesdays and Fridays. That's five chances
a week to get in on life changing jackpots. Play
in store and online eighteen plus to play, Please play responsibly.
The Powerball jackpot is one hundred and thirteen million dollars.

(38:15):
Mega Millions jackpot is four hundred and fifty one million,
So go ahead play today. DJ House Tonnenhaul's stopped doing
this morning.

Speaker 6 (38:24):
It's tanking. Gee I wonderful, Yeah, Gee, I wonder why?
And you know what this is why you have to
be serious. Let's say you're having this press conference. I
haven't seen the data, I haven't seen the report. Let's
say it's not well sourced. Let's say it's not peer reviewed.
Let's say it's not detailed enough, just cost a lot
of people a whole lot of money, potentially put people
out of work because their core product can't be sold

(38:46):
or has doubts about it. Is that responsible? I got
a real problem with that, A real problem with that.

Speaker 1 (38:53):
We'll see what happens, We'll see what I don't have
the same strong feelings about. I see the menapine as
you do.

Speaker 6 (39:00):
What's not a seed of minivent. It's you're taking someone's
live ability, and you're taking their life, their company, their
their core product.

Speaker 1 (39:08):
You better have it right, right. I would tend to
agree with that, Yes, you better have it right. Again,
I haven't seen it, none of us.

Speaker 6 (39:17):
They may have it right, they may have it right,
but I don't know.

Speaker 1 (39:22):
And this kind of brings me back to this point,
and we bring this up often, and is the case
with the CDC, Health, Human Services, the FED. We have
lost all trust in our institutions, all trust. And this
is another example of if they have it right, to

(39:43):
do you think anybody will believe them? And I guess
this is a product of the administration as well. Even
if it was right, Even if it is right, do
you think it may is going to believe it or
or let me let me rephrase that. If you tend
to believe the administration, you'll believe it. If you tend
to not believe the administration, you won't believe it. Even
if even if it sounds science and I'm not saying
it is or it isn't. And that goes back to

(40:03):
the loss of trust we have in institutions. We used
to give the benefit of the doubt.

Speaker 6 (40:08):
Too, but the president knows when you talk about this stuff,
you say, hey, we're gonna have a report coming Da
da da da da, those are rumors. Wall Street is
going to respond. Here's what they should have done. When
the market closes today, have your press conference, no mention
of it until then. That would have been fair.

Speaker 1 (40:25):
This way.

Speaker 6 (40:26):
Nah, I'm not down with that shortened distort. Whether you
meant to do it, I don't think they meant to
do that, but that's the that's what it gets to.
Shortened distort. Somebody's making money.

Speaker 1 (40:36):
Three or four talk, three or four advil three or
four talk.

Speaker 6 (40:42):
I'd be proven.

Speaker 1 (40:43):
Yeah, uh, text want stuff. I have an EpiPen in
my medkit in the booth. I don't know that we
have a medkit in the booth number one, number two. No,
I'm not allergic to bees, so not reward. I'm not
worried about it. The other guys in the booth might
have been a little concerned with the hornets that were
flying around outside.

Speaker 6 (41:00):
Hopefully Gerald had one case.

Speaker 1 (41:01):
I think there was one around. I think there was one. Well,
we left the window closed, like I said, nobody you
know Stephen Mark Martin, the other guy in the booth there,
they didn't. They were okay, they were tolerable Saturday night.
I didn't have to open the window and attack them
with one. It's David TJ. Last night, I truly believe
Erica Kirk spoke the six most powerful words that shocked

(41:22):
the evil members on the left. They never expected it
and could not possibly comprehend how she could state at
that young man, I forgive him. That is why, instead
of showing one tiny inkling of humanity and civility, they
have chosen to double down on a nasty personal slander
of her late husband. God is winning, and that scares
them to death. Says the Texter. Well in that point,
that was a powerful moment yesterday in the Charlie Kirk services,

(41:44):
I believe very powerful moment. What I saw ninety thousand,
the number like seventy thousand in the stadium and maybe
another twenty thousand outside. I guess they had some Marys
around the stadium yesterday. Super Bowl like atmosphere is one
of the descriptions I read. I did not watch it live.
I was traveling yesterday, so I am watching the post

(42:06):
coverage of that from yesterday. But that was powerful. That
caught your attention.

Speaker 6 (42:10):
Her forgiveness does not excuse the consequence that that young
person is going to face, and rightfully so. That forgiveness, though,
is so powerful, not only because that's what we're called
to do, if if you choose to live your life
according to biblical teachings, but think about it like this too, Dave.
She has two young children to raise, she has a future.

(42:30):
That forgiveness allows her to have that future. Incredibly mature,
I guess on her part. And the best word I
can come up with just not many people would be
able to do that. They wouldn't.

Speaker 1 (42:43):
Three or four talk three oh four is anyone buying
the supposed greatest announcement of Trump's career regarding the sound
of science behind the administration having found the cause of
autism and the cancer med treatments for it. Wonder if
Trump's investors dump ton alstock and botstock and these cancer meds.
Wake up, Magga, your leader is full of it and
taking advantage of you, says the Texter. There are too

(43:03):
many children diagnosed with autism, and autism has existed since
I was in school. They just don't generally live out
in the public or go to school with us normal kids,
says the Texter. The definitions a lot broad. Yes, there
are many more diagnosed now, but the things have changed
from fifty years ago, thirty years twenty years ago. Definitions broader.

(43:23):
There's Barrier's diagnosis. The spectrum is broader, the definitions there.
So there are a lot of reasons. And look, I've
said this before about a RFK junior TJ. He makes
good observations about things. His conclusions, though at best, are
often questionable. Yes, there are many more children diagnosed autism.

(43:44):
Why His why often leaves you scratch in your head.

Speaker 6 (43:50):
I don't think anyone questions his intentions. I think the
man has wonderful intentions. I believe he wants to help people.
He wants to see America be a more healthy country.
We certainly could be. To your point, I just question
the path and how he wants to execute it. I
don't think he's you know, I don't think his motives
are suspected.

Speaker 1 (44:11):
Three or four talk three or four the tex line.
More of your texts coming up second hour. Jb Akers
is going to join us the House Judiciary Committee Chairman.
We'll talk about that in of all. That's talk line
from the Encove Insurance Studios.

Speaker 8 (44:23):
Governor Patrick Morrissey has set a very bold goal fifty
gigawats a new energy capacity by twenty fifty. Thanks to
House Bill twenty fourteen, West Virginia's coal plans will be
upgraded to run longer, stronger, and more efficiently, thus delivering reliable,
affordable baseload power. Our families and businesses will be able

(44:44):
to count on. West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton
stated Governor Morrissey's plan to grow West Virginia's energy generation
capacity to fifty gigawatts by twenty fifty is a dynamic
approach to economic development which will super yarde our state's
coal industry and broader economy. With Governor Morrissey's leadership and

(45:05):
the action of the legislature. West Virginia is once again
America's energy leader. Cole is powering progress. Coal is powering
West Virginia. Brought to you by the West Virginia Coal Association.

Speaker 6 (45:42):
Coming up the top of the hour, Kanah County Delegate
House Judiciary Committee Chairman J.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
B Aker's going to join us. We'll revisit the conversation
we started last week regarding minimum sentencing for first degree
murder cases. Talk to him about that. Could there be
legislation coming later? I guess it would technically be next
year when the legislature gets together. He will join us.

(46:06):
Brad McIlhenny will join us. In the second hour. We've
got an update on vaccines, religious exemptions, and lawsuits, this
time coming from the Eastern Panhandle over in Berkeley County
where there was some developments on Friday. Brad will join
us and Brad Howe will join us as well. We
will dive into what happened with mountaineers in Kansas on Saturday.

(46:29):
Spoiler alert, it was not good, but we'll talk to
Brad about that. Coming up second hour, Let's get some
text in here. Three or four talk three four before
we take a six minute break to regroup. As a
father of an autistic child, I find it highly offensive
that this clown car cabinet and this completely unserious administration
is trying to take credit and score political points with

(46:50):
this type of announcement. The pontificating buffoon that we have
as a president has reached a new low which I
thought was impossible, says the Texter. What happened to the
w running back who played so well against Pitt? Did
he get hurt? Sorry? I can't remember his name, but
he rushed for one hundred and forty five yards against Pitt?
Ty Edwards is the running back you are thinking of?
And we'll pose that question to Brad Howe. All right,

(47:13):
six minutes, we'll be back. Go, grab you another cup
of coffee, get a Danish coming back. Second hour Metro
News talk line on Metro News for forty years, The
Voice of West Virginia.

Speaker 3 (47:29):
Metro News talk line is presented by Encova Insurance, encircling

Speaker 1 (47:39):
Metro News talk Line already in progress. We are in
the Encoba Insurance studios. Dave Wilson in the Miller Building
in Morgantown. TJ. Meadows at the Radio Ranch in Charleston.
Our phone number is eight hundred seven sixty five Talk
eight hundred and seven sixty five eight two five five.
If you call that number, you'll talk to our producer,
Sophia Wassick. She will put you through two the program

(48:01):
and you can weigh in on whatever is we are
talking about today. You can also text us very popular
option three oh four Talk three oh four. Those are
the two ways to participate in the program. Jake Link
is our video producer for Metro News TV in the
Metro News TV app. This morning Bot of the hour
Metro News statewide correspondent Brad McElhenny. We'll stop by. Brad

(48:22):
will have the latest on the school vaccinations, religious exemptions,
and lawsuits, this time on a lawsuit from Berkeley County
over in the eastern Pananda. We'll get the latest. Brad
Howe stops by as well. We will dive into the
mountaineers at Kansas and take a look ahead to the
coming week with Brad Howe. In the second portion of

(48:43):
the hour, once again, say good morning. TJ. Meadows is
in the Charleston studios again. Good morning, TJ.

Speaker 6 (48:48):
Good morning Dave. I'm hoping Brad Howe has some redeeming
statistic from the Game of the weekend. As I looked
at it, I couldn't find one. But he's the stats guy.
We'll see what he has to say.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
If anybody could find it, it will be Brad Howe.
He's also an optimist, TJ. He's an up, big guy.
That's a good combination to have. So last week we
had this discussion on the program. TJ wrote a commentary
about it. Knawa County Commissioner Ben Selango wrote an op
ad about it. They claim they did not cheat off
each other's notes, but that was this idea of increasing

(49:21):
the minimum sentence ring requirements for first degree murder in
West Virginia. And TJ, if you don't mind, just give
us the cliff notes version of your commentary on the
minimum sentencing guidelines for first degree murder in West Virginia.
Both you, Ben and me as well, we were all
in agreement. The fifteen year minimum may be a bit
too low.

Speaker 6 (49:42):
And that's basically what it boils down to. If you
have a capital crime like murder, and even if you
try the juvenile as an adult. They don't have the
same sentencing guidelines as an adult would have. Again, that's
very high level. So because of that, they get an
automatic path to parole. Eligibility not parole, just eligibility were

(50:04):
at fifteen years, no matter any of the other details. Now,
the US Supreme Court has weighed in on this and
says you cannot grant life without parole to a juvenile.
I understand that, and what I advocated for was perhaps
a longer time. So taking that fifteen years up to
some level whatever it may be. But that's the gist

(50:25):
of the crux of the argument that I said, Dave,
fifteen years is just not enough, even for a juvenile.

Speaker 1 (50:32):
JB. Acres is a Canollan County Delegate and he is
chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He joins us on
Metro News talk Line this morning. JB. Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 14 (50:42):
Good morning, gentlemen. How are you today?

Speaker 9 (50:44):
Do well?

Speaker 1 (50:44):
Well, JB? What are your thoughts on this conversation? Where
do you stand well?

Speaker 14 (50:50):
The first thing I want to say is the only
redeeming quality about that Kansas game is that it is over.
And that's one of the I can think of a
brother and also what I else want to tell you
guys quick. I'm on the road, so I hope you
can hear me. Okay, actually pulled off. I'm at the
Western Sheets right now. That's how important it is that
I talk to you guys. That's what a big deal
you are, because I'm one of these people who if

(51:11):
my ways tells me that I'm going to get somewhere
at three pm, which I was supposed to like, if
I don't get there in two fifty nine, I'm disappointed myself.
So I have if I had delayed my progress to
call in. Hope you guys can hear me. All right, Yeah,
so I had the gate. I'll get to the specifics

(51:31):
of the you know, eligibility for parole on some life
or on some murder convictions. There's differences there. One thing
I do want to say, I listened to Ben Silango's
interview last week, and I don't really have any disagreement
with anything you said. I also was very troubled to
hear about some of the problems he said that he

(51:53):
had with regard to being a family member who is
legally supposed to be notified a parole and some of
the difficulties he had being present along with he and
his wife who his wife's brother was murdered back in
the nineties. That's why they're involved in this role process
every once in a while for that descendant or that
dollan that was problematic to me. But before we get
into the specifics of that, he then had some textures

(52:15):
and I figured this is what happened. And people wrote
in and said that, you know, we're too soft on crime,
We're too lenient, and definitely, you know, need to be
harsher on this, and the focus is always on the
criminal and not the victims. And I do want to
address that real quickly and say that in West Virginia
in general is not a we're not as soft on
crime state. During my time in the legislature, we have

(52:37):
increased criminal penalties many different crimes, including you know, felony
child abuse, which actually impacted the case. It was in
Kinnall County just a week or so ago that would
have been at this demeanor until this past session. We
have a new drug king pen statue in West Virginia,
where the only the second state in the country who
has a king pen statue where we more harshly penalized

(52:59):
people who or the high level dealers are the ones
that really want to go after and drug crimes. But
with regard to this particular issue, it's also not new
that we're having this discussion. There's been a bill in
the legislature at least the past several years to increase
the eligibility for fifteen years up to some other number.
So this has been a discussion before, and some of

(53:21):
the objections, honestly, guys, we've heard. And one reason why
the bill I think hasn't moved in the past to
bump up the year that you're pro eligible is some
prosecutors have objected because they said that this might impact
their ability to get plea agreements in some of their
murder cases if the penalty gets you know, quote unquote
too high, and some descendants will just roll the dice
a trial, and you know, some cases should be tried.

(53:45):
But I think it's obviously very traumatic for a family
to have to go through a murder trial and then
have been forbidden in a case where you know, if
we know that the defendant's guilty, you never guarantee what
a trial out come is going to be. You definitely
don't want to see in a quit based on some
technicality or something like that for someone who's actually guilty.
You also obviously don't want to see someone go to

(54:05):
jail who's innocent. That's even worse. But that was where
some of the objections came from from some prosecutors. So
that's one reason to move. The discussion last year was
about bumping proligibility yet to twenty five years. And just
so folks know, first agree murder in West Virginia is
a life sentence. Some people get mercy, which means you

(54:27):
are eligible. Some people will get no mercy, which means
you never get At a prison, you're in there for
life no matter what. And like TJ said, if you're
pro eligible, that doesn't mean you're going to get out.
That just means you have a pro board might release
you at some point. I don't know if anyone who
gets out for first degree murder after fifteen years. I
don't think that's really the issue. I think the average

(54:48):
is somewhere around twenty plus for people who actually are released.
Still some people never get out. But I think one
thing we have to recognize for the victims' families is
it is traumatic to even have to go appear at
these prole hearing kind of relive this process even if
the person doesn't doesn't get out. So I think there
will be discussion again this year about whether we bump
that number up to something like twenty five years before

(55:10):
you're even pro eligible. I think that will be discussion
it was last year.

Speaker 6 (55:15):
There's a lot to unpack there, JB. But maybe refresh
our memories so that we understand you talked about at
least for an adult life sentence without mercy versus mercy.
What goes into that reckoning, whether or not you get
mercy or you don't. What has to be way the
legally to make that distinction.

Speaker 14 (55:34):
Yeah, So if your case is tribal before a jury,
if you're convicted, you can either have the judge determine mercy,
or you can if it's been tried to a jury,
you can have the jury determined mercy, or if you
plead in, the judge determines whether or not you get mercy.
And then that's when you have mitigating or aggravating circumstances
that come in. Let's just give like one example, you
may have someone who murders a member of their family

(55:58):
and they may argue during the mercery mercy phase that
they were abused by that person, for example, and that
may be in mitigating circumstance as to why they commit
that murder. Again, the murder is not excused, but that
may be something that goes in consideration as one example,
so people also know. I want to make sure no
one thinks that we're just right on crime in this area.

(56:18):
It's also is not an apples to apples comparison guys
across states. So let's use Arkansas as an example. Arkansas,
I think it's generally seen as a tough on crime state.
They still have capital punishment in terms of the death
pinality is an option in Arkansas. But Arkansas, if you
are convicted of capital murder there you might get to
death pinity, which is rare, or you might get life

(56:40):
from prison, but it has you have to be found
guilty in Arkansas of an aggravating crime related with the
murder to be in prison for the rest of your life.
So example, in act of terrorism, if it's murder committed
during the course of a rape, as an example, there's
some other aggravating circumstances. Otherwise, if it's a I'm airporting here,
normal murder in Arkansas. You know, where two people get

(57:03):
to fight, one person kills the other person, that's only
a ten to forty in Arkansas. That's just a regular
first degree murder, which is lighter than the penalty in
West Virginia. So again, want to be clear that there
are some states where if we look at if we
just look on the surface at the top level, you
may think that they're tougher on first degree murder, but
a lot of them really aren't unless it's kind of

(57:23):
an agreem circumstance that exists there. So and with juvenile
is you guys brought that up. You cannot constitutionally by
the US Supreme Court. This is not a West Virginia
legislature issue. This is something we were told by the
US Supreme Courts we have to follow. You cannot put
a juvenile, someone who commits murders a juvenile in prison

(57:44):
or life unless they are pro eligible at some point.
Doesn't mean they'll get out. But we had this murder
in Kannall County that went to trial a couple of
weeks ago. My wife was actually the judge on that trial.
Mary Clearakers, you have to at least give them pro
eligibility at some point as a juvenile. They may get out,
they may not. That's also a distinction with you, Biles
jb Akers joining us.

Speaker 1 (58:04):
He's Kanon County Delegate. He's chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
Thanks for taking with something I thought was a pretty
clear cut subject and murking the waters up just a
little bit because you don't have the clear comparisons between states.
Prosecutors have their and that's a legitimate concern jb that
prosecutors have that leverage to get these plea deals and

(58:28):
do their jobs effectively. I understand all of that. So
while on the surface this seems like a pretty yeah,
you make it ninety five years for all I care,
there are a lot of considerations that have to be
weighed when you're sitting in there actually at the Capitol
looking at a piece of legislation like this.

Speaker 14 (58:46):
Yeah, it's a lot of these issues are not you know,
life in general is not usually black and white. I mean,
obviously it's wrong to murder. That's black and white. If
you murder someone, you should go to prison. But in
terms of some of these constitutional issues, some of those
are beyond our control. For jam up. When some states
are different from West Virginia, and when you look at it,
you see that. But again, I am primarily sympathetic to
the families, the victims families and these situations. Sympathetic to

(59:10):
someone like the Slango family for sure. I think this
will come up again this year, did last year, and
we'll just have to look at it.

Speaker 12 (59:16):
Now.

Speaker 14 (59:16):
Let me just real quickly. I'm not sure how much
time I have. I'll be fast as a thought experiment.
You guys like this kind of stuff. I think this
needs to be a discussion ongoing to future as well.
Because we have consistently increased penalties for crime in West
Virginia over the recent past. We have done that, we
do have to ask those guys in terms of criminal penalties.
You know, some people say throw someone in prison for

(59:38):
the rest of their life or crimes that don't you
know currently you know merit that prison's expensive. And I'm
not saying that we should always think about things in
terms of money, but I think prison primarily is punitive.
It's not generally rehabilitated. It can be sometimes, but there
are costs associated with this. And we have the discussion
about capital punishment, whether we should bring to death only

(59:59):
backs Virginia, which I think that will probably come up
again this year. There's a human element to it, but
there's also an extreme cost to that. Some people say,
why should we pay to put someone in prison for
the rest of their life if you're a terrible, vicious criminal,
that definitely actually costs more. And again if you don't
care about the money, I'm not saying you should, but
that's actually more extensive to have someone on death road

(01:00:20):
than to put them in prison the rest of their
life if you're talking about the economics. So those are
also things that I wish this was a long form
podcast because there was a lot of nuances here. But
you know, these are complicated issues. But I will say again,
we need to me You've got to put the victims
interest first in primary and that's what I'll always do.

Speaker 6 (01:00:37):
They're extremely complicated. I don't think we should be afraid
to talk about them. I don't think we should be
afraid to ask questions that we don't answer to. So
that's what I'm going to do right now. Juries can
decide mercy or no mercy in the case of an adult.
As you said, what did it makes sense to create
a floor some of that fifteen or twenty blooth the jury,

(01:00:59):
based on the merits of the case and what they
discover in the case, decide if a juvenile will get
eligibility at twenty years versus twenty five years, and let
that jury decide what kind of path to eligibility each
individual defendant once they're convicted. If they are convicted with.

Speaker 14 (01:01:18):
I think that is something that could be a legitimate
part of the discussion. I don't know of any prohibition
against that. DJ Now, if a juvenile always tried as
an adult, if they're transferred to adult status, for example,
then I guess the argument is the same rules should
apply to them. But I mean, what you just brought
us as an example of something that I think in
this day and age is common sense. We need a
lot more of that. We need Again, these issues need
to be discussed robustly, which is another reason why these

(01:01:41):
broader issues we had the past couple of week weeks
with awful events surrounding Charlie Kirk. I mean, we have
to be able to talk about these issues rationally and
not resorting to emotion and then calling and immediately assuming
that someone is a bad person. If we think we
may disagree with them on purpose. So your suggestion is
one that could be a party equation. But my guess
is we'll leash the movement of the floor up to

(01:02:02):
somewhere around twenty five is not four that will come
up again. You can't you can't say one hundred years
because that's that that is a life sentence. But you
could you could increase that floor by some amount, no doubt,
even for juveniles.

Speaker 1 (01:02:13):
Jabi. I'm only going to leave you about a minute
here so we can have this conversation another day. But
one of the things ben Selango brought up. He talked
about the parole process, how difficult it was to even
find out a date, how difficult it was to be
part of that process. Is that something the legislature has
the authority to address and would be willing to discuss.

Speaker 14 (01:02:36):
Yeah, we absolutely have authority over that. That's a statutory mechanism,
I'll tell you. I mean, there's already a statutory mechanism
that gives the victims families rights. It defines what the
parole board is supposed to do to put the victims
on notice and to provide them with access to the hearing.
And someone texted after he was off and said again,
the victims don't seem to matter in this, but that
statue only provides rights to the victims' family. There's no

(01:02:58):
right to the incarse a individuals family and those hearings.
So I mean, I think that pathway already exists and
should be applied. If it's not being enforced correctly by
the pro board, then that is also something else we
should look at. But you know, his family and other
families are supposed to get noticed and the process is
supposed to be easy for them to attend and to
make their voices heard. They deserve that.

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
Jb Akers, Kanawha County Delegate and House Judiciary Committee Chair.
I'm sure we'll pick up the conversation somewhere down the road. JB.
Thank you so much this morning, and I hope you
get back on time.

Speaker 14 (01:03:31):
Hey, thank you guys, and make sure you sell your
Johnson and Johnson's talk today.

Speaker 1 (01:03:38):
Will do. Thank you, JB. We're backing them all. But
this talk line from the Encove Insurance Studios picture a.

Speaker 18 (01:03:44):
Community where every space tells a story. Those are the
communities we're designing at ZMM. Architects and engineers with a
blend of creativity and technical expertise. We design spaces that inspire, innovate,
and ignite change, from cutting out dge educational facilities to
community centric gathering spaces. We're committed to improving lives through design.

(01:04:06):
Let us help you shape a brighter future for generations
to come. Because at ZMM, it's more than architecture, it's
about building your legacy.

Speaker 16 (01:04:15):
Rafters along the Lower Galley have reported sightings of a
pirate on the riverbank. Apparently he's throwing gold coins to
every boat that passes back to you.

Speaker 17 (01:04:24):
Carrie, I Play, West Virginia's new online lottery app is
here and the games are full of characters. Start playing
today at wb lottery dot com or download the official
West Virginia Lottery app and discover even more ways to
win with play on our new rewards program. So join
the cast of characters today with I Play from the
West Virginia Lottery eighteen plus to play play responsibly.

Speaker 1 (01:05:01):
Some breaking news this morning from the college football world
the University of Central Florida announcing that assistant coach Sean
Clark has died. Clark was formerly the head coach at
Appalachian State University. He was a George Washington high school graduate,

(01:05:21):
was from Charleston, played for the Mountaineers from nineteen ninety
four to nineteen ninety eight, or played for the Appalachian
State Mountaineers. I should say sorry about that. Played for
Appalachian State from nineteen ninety four to nineteen ninety eight.
Before he began his coaching career and would eventually make
his way back to Boone to be the head coach
of app State, he was working as an assistant coach

(01:05:43):
on the UCF offensive staff. He was an offensive line coach.
He played offensive line. Suffered a medical emergency a couple
of weeks back, and UCF announcing this morning that Shawn Clark,
at the age of fifty has passed away. The George
Washington graduate and Charleston native. That news breaking just this morning.

(01:06:04):
Eight hundred seven to sixty five talks the phone number
three h four talk three to four is the text line. Yesterday,
services were held in Arizona and as a matter of fact,
at the Arizona Cardinals football stadium for the late Charlie
Kirk joining us as Fox News Radios Jeff Manasso. Jeff.
It was a powerful scene yesterday, especially when Charlie Kirk's

(01:06:25):
widow Erica took to the stage.

Speaker 15 (01:06:28):
The atten of thousands of people inside State Farm Stadium,
thousands more inside that over Phill Arena across the street.
According to TPUSA, over one hundred million streaming at home
as people came together for church and what was a
faith revival here in Glendale. We heard from faith leaders,

(01:06:50):
friends of Charlie Kirks, some of the most powerful people
in the world, honoring this young man who had thirty
one built this movement that supporters say will be felt
for generations. And we heard from President Trum, vice President's
band's cabinet members, and many others. But it was Charlie
Kirk's widow, Erica Kirk in her in her in her
statement that she forgives the man who killed her husband.

(01:07:17):
And inside the arena, I mean, it was just you
could hear this roar, people rose to their feet. On
the human side of things, I can I can kind
of tell you that, you know, in the press section
on the floor there a massive, massive section. International media
was there by the hundreds. And generally you know in

(01:07:40):
your media, you know, the generally media a bunch of robots.
They they they never show a human side. They sometimes
don't even stand for the national anthem. I don't know
why that is, but it is what it is. I
can tell you when she said that, when she said
that she forgives the man who killed her husband, I
saw a member of the US standing up and raising

(01:08:01):
their hands towards the sky, and some of them were crying.
That's just something I've never seen before.

Speaker 6 (01:08:09):
Jeff Kirk, his base was young people. How many young
people were there yesterday? And how did that resonate as
part of the memorial?

Speaker 15 (01:08:18):
You know, whether you're older or young, you know it
resonated with everybody. And I think it's probably fair to say,
whether you liked Charlie or not, or knew anything about him,
that this story and what happened to him has somehow
affected all of us in one way or another. And
we've seen a essentially a pilgrimage of young people coming

(01:08:42):
to honor Charlie to carry his mission forward. Upwards of
seventy thousand requests now TPUSA reports of people wanting to
start high school chapters, wanted to start college chapters. When
he died, he had twenty one hundred, now seventy thousand.

Speaker 1 (01:09:00):
Jeff, we have to leave it there we're up against
the clock. We appreciate. This is talk line on Metro News,
the Voice of West Virginia. It is eleven thirty time
to get a news update. Let's check in with the
Metro News radio network. Find out what's happening across the
great state of West Virginia.

Speaker 13 (01:09:14):
West Virginia Metro newsheim Chris Lawrence. There's a possibility we
might see shar and thunderstorm activity across West Virginia today,
and thunderstorms are forecast mainly in the western counties. Those
storms could contain strong winds and present the potential for
localized flash flooding. However, the state is sorely in need
of rain anywhere, with nearly all of the northern half
of the state both panhandles in the Kanaw Valley classified

(01:09:36):
in either extreme or severe drought. Academy days underway for
members of West Virginia's congressional delegation.

Speaker 19 (01:09:42):
US Senator Shelley Moore Capito's hosting sessions to talk to
students and families interested in an appointment to one of
the country's service academies like West Point of qualified students
get a free education and an opportunity to serve and
protect the country.

Speaker 20 (01:09:57):
Explore the military to become an officer. When you go
graduate to meet great other students from all around West
Virginia and the surrounding areas.

Speaker 19 (01:10:05):
Information about ROTC scholarships will also be available. I'm Mike
Nolton for wv metronews dot com.

Speaker 13 (01:10:13):
West Virginia Coal Association President Chris Hamilton says the push
for energy to power data centers is in lifeline to
the US coal industry. He said, the need for power
to run those facilities. He's creating a one hundred and
eighty degree turn on the idea of using coal for
power generation.

Speaker 12 (01:10:27):
They want to run these plants. They want to generate
more reliable, affordable based load electricity, and that only comes
from coal fired electric generations.

Speaker 6 (01:10:40):
You're listening to Metronews for forty years, the voice of
West Virginia.

Speaker 21 (01:10:43):
There's a lot of noise out there about the market
and the economy, but what's really important to you in
your future. I'm Shelly Hussele, a member of Huntington Banks
Local Wealth Team right here in West Virginia. Join us
for Money Minutes this Thursday, three forty five on hotline
as we discuss the most important topics and what they
mean for you, your family, and your business. Join us

(01:11:04):
on Thursday for money minutes, providing insight into the market
and how we'll impact us right here at home.

Speaker 13 (01:11:13):
Nobody was injured, but a really nice looking classic truck
was destroyed in the Treasure Mountain Festival parade this past
weekend in Penlden County. That pickup truck in eighties model
Chevy caught fire in the middle of the parade through
the main street in Franklin. Folks nearby were able to
control the flames initially with fire extinguishers until the Franklin
Fire Department could get involved in the situation. The fire

(01:11:35):
department wasn't far away, they had trucks in the parade. Fortunately,
nobody heard and no damage to any structures. From the
Metro News ANCKERDSK, I'm Chris Lawrence, Becha News talk Line

(01:12:11):
continues Brad. How he's going to join us a few
minutes from now. We'll recap the weekend that was.

Speaker 1 (01:12:17):
As far as Mountaineer football goes, losing on the road
at Kansas, We'll talk to Brad about that coming up.
Joining us now on Metro News Talk Line, Brad number
one Metro Statewide correspondent Brad McIlhenny, Brad, good morning. Is
he there? I can see Brad. I don't think Brad

(01:12:40):
can hear me at all, because he's looking very he's
looking ominously at us as if he's not hearing a
word we're saying, TJ you can hear me, can't you?

Speaker 6 (01:12:49):
I can hear it?

Speaker 1 (01:12:49):
Okay, well that's two of the three, Brad, hold on, Jake,
just leave one camera for just a second. He looks
very confused. Right, No, he's he's there. Uh he says
he can't hear anything. All right, okay, so hello, oh
there Rad, Hi, Well Hi, this is awkward. Hello everyone,
Hello steam releasers. Five days early, I came into the

(01:13:13):
conversation about the time you were saying I look stern
and couldn't hear Uh. That was yeah, that's a fair
I thought that was a fair description for the radio
audience who's who are not watching on the Metro News
TV after Right at the moment, it was a very confused,
very stern look. It looked like you were composing a
very sternly worded letter about your dissatisfaction with your local

(01:13:33):
grocery store. Oh I might but here I am and
ready to talk, all right to judge in Berkeley County
expressed serious reluctance to conclude that West Virginia's were religious
freedom law directly affects compulsory school vaccinations. That's the lead
in your story over at wv metronews dot com from
last week's legal proceedings. Catch us up to speed, Brad.

Speaker 22 (01:13:55):
Yeah, well, these these cases are popping up in all
corners of West Virginia. This was the most recent one,
and you know, I think what's interesting is the lack
of a trend of what judges are concluding. On the
bench in this case was Judge Michael Lawrenson. He was
being asked by nine families to allow their religious exemptions

(01:14:17):
to order the local and state school systems to honor
those religious exemptions for the vaccine requirements. At the end
of the three hours, Judge Lawrence said that, sorry, let
me give a brief description of the law. The vaccine
law is very straightforward. It says you've got to to

(01:14:39):
participate in school, you've got to have vaccinations and boosters
for this disease and that disease, and this disease and
that disease.

Speaker 1 (01:14:47):
Pretty straightforward.

Speaker 22 (01:14:48):
These judges are being asked whether the religious freedom's law
in West Virginia Code as of twenty twenty.

Speaker 1 (01:14:56):
Three applies to that.

Speaker 22 (01:14:58):
And what Judge Lawrenson want wound up concluding at the
end was for him to make that determination would be
legislating from the bench. He said, I would be changing
the law to recognize an exception. He then said, I
am not here to change the law. If you're keeping
score at home, if you have a white board. That
is now two judges that have made that call on

(01:15:21):
the case. Judge Lawrence and of Berkeley County has been
joined by an earlier decision by Judge Cody Pancake of
Mineral County. On the opposite side of your white board
should be Judge Michael Froebel of Raleigh County, who has
already concluded that families in his district should have a

(01:15:41):
preliminary injunction to allow those kids to go to school
without their vaccinations because they're citing religious exemptions. So, you know,
various courtrooms in the state. It's a coin flip at
this point, but that at this point is two to one.

Speaker 6 (01:16:00):
Brad, What does this mean for this class action settlement?
Desire to see that in the Raleigh County case, given
the fact that now two judges in their jurisdictions have
said no, my lay non attorney mind, it would seem
problematic that you would have a class action when you've
already had two other jurisdictions say you can't do this.
But maybe I'm off there, and maybe we don't know

(01:16:22):
the answer to that question yet.

Speaker 22 (01:16:23):
I mean, I think the timing is awkward. I think
that it's going to be up to Judge Ferbil and
Raleigh County to make that determination as to whether this
ought to be a class action. But the ask there
is for other courtrooms in West Virginia to follow whatever
guidelines Judge frobil Are determines are appropriate. So he would

(01:16:46):
determine the framework, and then in other courtrooms around the
state there would be a simple, simple ish question about,
all right, are these exemptions being sought based for religious reasons?
And that would be the question rather than the other
stuff that Judge Froebel is deciding. But you know, I mean,

(01:17:08):
Judge Pancake in Mineral County has has already denied an injunction.
Judge Lawrenson in Berkeley County on Friday afternoon, the plaintiffs
in the case, the lawyer representing the nine families in
that courtroom made made a pitch that Judge Lawrenson should
already just be following what has happened in Judge Froebull's court. Said, Look,

(01:17:33):
the judge in Raleigh County has already allowed a preliminary injunction.

Speaker 6 (01:17:38):
Uh.

Speaker 22 (01:17:38):
Judge Lawrenson wasn't having that.

Speaker 9 (01:17:40):
Uh.

Speaker 22 (01:17:41):
The opposite side, the lawyers representing the state school board
and the Raleigh sorry, the Berkeley County school Board in
this case, UH said, look, we got a we got
a judgment on our side in Mineral County, and Judge
Lawrenson it's quote my story says, it's it's one to
one as far as I'm concerned on those rulings in
various courts in West So then when he put his

(01:18:02):
on the board, it became two to one.

Speaker 1 (01:18:04):
Brad, Well, I'm gonna direct this more to TJ. So
Brad can be, you know, not get himself into any
hot water with any of the judges here. So TJ.
My read on this. The different judges in the different
courtrooms seem to be looking at different questions, and Judge
Lawrenson really seems to be on the question that I'm
on is, well, you know, I'm not here to change

(01:18:26):
state law. State law says this, Here's what it is.
That's and that's what that's been my question all along.
Can the governor do what he did with the executive order?
Where Judge Froebel seems to be more along the lines of, actually, well,
should we have a religious exemption or not? And what
evidence do we have that says we should and what
evidence do we have that shouldn't. It seems they're looking

(01:18:48):
at different questions. And I don't know if this affects
ultimately where this case ends up, but it seems like
different judges are looking at different questions and seeking different answers.

Speaker 6 (01:18:57):
And I think you can make the case that one,
Dave sims much more like legislating from the bench than
the other. And perhaps that's what the Supreme Court is
doing here with this prolonged timeline. I would wonder, in
its wisdom if the Supreme Court is giving time to
the legislature to last chance, guys, do what you're supposed
to do and pass a law or not and be

(01:19:20):
done with it, because the timeline would seem to lend
itself to that. Brad, you can come back in here,
but nothing is going to be decided, at least from
a Supreme Court level, unless I'm forgetting the timeline until
after the legislature is well into session.

Speaker 1 (01:19:36):
Do I have that right?

Speaker 22 (01:19:38):
Well, you know, Judge Lawrenson made a couple of comments
that I think applied to this point. One was he said, Oh,
this is a heavy ask for you to come into
a local courtroom and ask me to make a religious
freedom's law apply to a vaccine law that's been in
state coach since nineteen thirty one. And that is very,

(01:20:00):
very directly stated. That's a big ask of a circuit judge.
He said, it will be more appropriate or an appeals
court or a court that is in the business of
reviewing state law and making those kinds of connections. When
his case was over, he he is allowing a further
evidentiary hearing in November for these families, the nine families

(01:20:23):
uh to take the stand and lay out their case,
and in doing so, you know, he didn't give him
a lot of hope that they're going to succeed in
his courtroom. But they're gonna They're gonna provide evidence and
things to chew on for eventually the state Supreme Court.
And at the end of the three hours in his courtroom,
he said, look, we can do that evidentiary hearing if

(01:20:43):
you want, but I would invite you to go to
the Supreme Court because he thinks it's a better venue
for this question.

Speaker 1 (01:20:49):
Let me throw something up while we're you know, having
some fun here. Let me throw this, Brad, what impact
does it have on the Supreme Court and it's decision
when or if to take up a case. The fact
that there are two seats that are essentially open on
the Supreme Court. They'll be filled with appointees, but there
will be two seats that have to be filled through

(01:21:10):
the election process on the Supreme Court, does that at
all play a factor into the larger picture here of
when and where and how long this is all going
to take as far as the Supreme Court goes, I
will say, I don't know.

Speaker 22 (01:21:25):
I think the timeline is interesting because the the Supreme
Court has set filing dates for the lawyers in the
Raleigh case to just lay out their findings, and those
lead into next spring, but there has not been a
hearing date set by the Supreme Court. Judge Ewing of
Fayatt County was the most recent appointee, but he's presumably

(01:21:47):
going to be on the ballot next spring. So you know,
one timeline question is would this vaccine case be heard
before or after the election. I am sorry to say that,
you know, we all miss Justice Armstead, but that his
death presents another appointment occasion for the governor. The governor

(01:22:07):
has made it clear that he's on one particular side
of this. Governor Morrissey is siding with religious freedoms applying
to the vaccination's law. And you know to what degree
is that going into his thinking as he now in
short secession appoints two members of the Supreme Court.

Speaker 6 (01:22:28):
I mean, Dave, we've seen the polling on this, from
our own poll and others. Most people have no problem
with it. Way, yes, seventy or thirty, thank you, sir.
I haven't seen any mass protests in front of the
Capitol about this down you know Canel Boulevard or on
McCorkell or anywhere I drive that are just bringing out
the masses. I mean, do Toby and Edith really care

(01:22:51):
about this or are we? I hate to be this
way because everyone's individual rights should be upheld and should
be honored, although I would say, can't override someone else's
individual rights just because they find themselves in a collective.
But are we wasting a whole lot of time here
on something that who cares? I mean, it's just the number.

Speaker 22 (01:23:12):
I would probably never tell the reading or listening audience
that they shouldn't care about a topic that we're discussing.

Speaker 1 (01:23:18):
But you know, so two things.

Speaker 22 (01:23:20):
Uh, There, there is a vaccination issue in America that
is occurring for some reason. Vaccinations are top to bottom
a front and center issue in America right now.

Speaker 3 (01:23:32):
Uh, you know.

Speaker 22 (01:23:32):
Secondly, whether Toby and Edith care. There was a humbling
conversation in court on Friday, and the context was some
of these parents took the stand to say that they
had heard that the governor was going to allow religious exemptions,
but were caught by surprise, deep surprise, that the school

(01:23:55):
system was not going to honor those exemptions. And so
then there was an exploration of, well, how could you
not have known that the school system said that it
provided text information and email information. One by one, the
plaintiffs in this case took the stand and said, not
only had they not gotten the texts or the social

(01:24:16):
media or the emails because they either had not signed
up or had muted them. But they had no other
sources of news. Information that they do not get the
local newspaper, don't make a habit of reading it. I'm
sorry to say. They said, they don't listen to the radio,
they don't have televisions in their homes. They only respond
somehow to the information that directly affects them, that somehow

(01:24:39):
soaks through. So that was my humbling experience in court
hearing about that. And you know, to me, it's a
sign that we are living in a very interesting age
in terms of what information is getting through to Toby
and Eith and what do they even act upon.

Speaker 1 (01:24:56):
That's your new statewide correspondent, Brad McIlhenny. Brad always appreciate it.
Good to catch up on a Monday.

Speaker 22 (01:25:03):
Oh thanks, it's all been humbling.

Speaker 1 (01:25:05):
By the way, you are always our number one. Brad.

Speaker 22 (01:25:08):
By the way, just want to let you know it's
another missed opportunity to also have Bradsmith, Brad Maclenney, Brad
Howe will join us coming up the other side of
the break.

Speaker 1 (01:25:18):
Mountaineers fall on the road we'll get into that after this.
This is talk line from the and Co Insurance studios.

Speaker 23 (01:25:23):
For over thirty years, High Technology Foundation has been committed
to building us stronger West Virginia. Our mission economic diversification.
By fostering innovation and supporting tech initiatives, we pave the
way for a brighter future. From cutting edge research to
tech driven solutions, we're transforming the landscape. Join us in
creating opportunities and driving progress. Let's build a diverse economy together.

(01:25:47):
Visit WVHTF dot org. High Technology Foundation shaping West Virginia's future.

Speaker 1 (01:25:55):
We aren't there for you, do care for you at
the heal.

Speaker 4 (01:26:00):
The Health Plan is still growing, giving you a large
network of doctors, friendly and helpful customer service representatives, and competitive,
flexible pricing plans that meet your needs. Log on to
health Plan dot org for more information.

Speaker 19 (01:26:13):
We are there for you to care for you.

Speaker 8 (01:26:19):
We are here.

Speaker 3 (01:26:36):
Metro News talk line is presented by Encova Insurance, encircling

Speaker 1 (01:26:48):
Cityet Fiber is expanding across West Virginia from basics to
blazing fast ten gig speeds. They have a plan for you,
plus their new app lets you control your Wi Fi
and set rental controls with these Go local, Go city neet,
visit citynet, dot net Today. Breaking news this morning again
from the University of Central Florida. Charleston native George Washington

(01:27:10):
graduate and Knight's assistant coach. Offensive line coach Seawan Clark
passed away last night. He was fifty years old. He
had suffered a medical emergency a couple of weeks ago,
and the university announcing his passing this morning. Clark was
the former head coach at Appalachian State is alma mater.
That's where he played offensive line in the mid nineties.

(01:27:33):
But Shawn Clark, great guy, great guy, great football coach,
passing away at the age of fifty years old. Over
the weekend, Mountaineers went to Kansas and it was not good.
Lost to Kansas forty one ten and the Big twelve opener.
The offense struggled, defensive concerns came out of that game.

(01:27:55):
On Saturday, Match News Sports Brad Howe almost called him Macohen.
Brad Howell joins us on Metro News talk Line this morning. Brad,
good morning, Hi, good morning, guys.

Speaker 20 (01:28:05):
Let me before we start, I just want to echo
what you said there about Sean. Just a tremendous loss
and what a great guy and certainly thinking about all
his friends and family today. We had numerous conversations with
him on sports line over the years, so just devastated
to hear that.

Speaker 15 (01:28:19):
News this morning.

Speaker 1 (01:28:20):
Yeah, we got to know obviously, Marshall and Appalachian State
now in the same conference, in that long time rivalry,
and he was you know, he was part of that
in the nineties, Brad, when Marshall and Appstate were going
at it and in the Southern Conference. There is so
long history with him and just kind of gut punch
this morning. He was he was one of the good
You hear this all the time, Brad, he was one
of the good ones.

Speaker 9 (01:28:39):
But he was.

Speaker 1 (01:28:40):
He really was.

Speaker 20 (01:28:41):
Yeah, he was, Dave well Well said there, and you
know he also had a bunch of former mountaineers on
his staff down there at Appy.

Speaker 15 (01:28:46):
State as well.

Speaker 20 (01:28:47):
So just yeah, horrific news. Tough way to start the week,
no doubt.

Speaker 1 (01:28:50):
All right, Brad. What happened out in Kansas.

Speaker 20 (01:28:53):
Well just struggled again offensively is where it started. And
so it was really almost a replay of the O
Hiou game on the offensive side of the ball, and
certainly the big blow even before the game got underway,
it was the news that Ty Edwards wasn't going to
be able to play. We saw what a difference he
made against Pitt just individually being able to run one
hundred and forty one yards rushing in that game against

(01:29:15):
the Panthers, and so he was unavailable. Now you're really
deep into your depth chart there with no Jaheim White,
no Tie Edwards, in an offensive line that is still
struggling to find its way, and you're getting, oh, by
the way, a pretty good team in Kansas that was
coming off a by so had some time to prepare
for you. And just offensively, you just didn't have enough
firepower up front and in the running game to move

(01:29:38):
the football on the ground, and that's where it started.
And once you couldn't run it, averaging under two yards
per carry in the first half, then that made the
passing game difficult and it just all backed up from there.
So to me, it was really on the offensive side
of the ball where the problems started to end and
really made it difficult all night for WVU.

Speaker 6 (01:29:57):
I mean Brad to your point, passing yardage, we were
there with them, one hundred forty six passing yards for Kansas,
one hundred and forty two for WVU. But third down efficiency, man,
we went twenty percent. That dog don't hunt.

Speaker 20 (01:30:09):
Well and it was you know, it was one of
those games. Early on first quarter wise, you're always just
so cognizant of Jalen Daniels, Kansas's quarterback on the defensive side,
and he was off and some of that was attributed
to I thought West Virginia's defense early that was hanging around.
But unfortunately, if you're not going to be able to
move the football on the ground, in particular with this

(01:30:29):
rich rot offense, then it's going to be a struggle
all night.

Speaker 15 (01:30:32):
And it was.

Speaker 20 (01:30:32):
And eventually that damn broke for the defense and they
were unable to hold up there. So yeah, if you
just want to go a straight number check and look
at numbers, this is one of those games where sometimes
numbers lie to you a little bit, because there wasn't
necessarily huge advantages from Kansas, but on the field, in
production wise, there was. Daniels wasn't very efficient in terms
of completion percentage, but three touchdown passes average thirteen yards

(01:30:56):
per carry, scrambled in some big situations. Then you give
up a spe teams touchdown to start the second half,
and you can see where West Virginia got behind pretty quickly.

Speaker 1 (01:31:04):
There betch a new sports Brad Hell, he along with
Hoppey and Tony, breakdown everything that happened over the weekend
on the Three Guys podcast posted up at WDV metronews
dot com. Where do you go from here?

Speaker 20 (01:31:15):
Brad Well, you got to return home and this is
a tough stretch We've been talking about for a while.
We identified this before the season, is what was a
really difficult way to open Big twelve. Play against that
Kansas team that again coming off a bye week and
you were off a game against your biggest rival. That's
a tough spot to be in. It showed itself to
be true. Then you come back and get a Utah

(01:31:36):
team that many thought would be one of the top
two or three teams in this league, if not a
preseason favorite to win it. Now you get this Utah
team coming off a loss at home to Texas Tech,
which was a really good Texas Tech team. So you
get this Utah team come in having to come across country.
So if you're looking for maybe a spot or a
bright spot, maybe you get a defleated Utah team that

(01:31:57):
has never been here to West Virginia, has never played
in this state. You know, West Virginia plays better at home.

Speaker 5 (01:32:02):
So you just got a rally.

Speaker 20 (01:32:03):
You got to regroup. You gotta hope ty Edwards is
available on the offensive side, and you got to find
some way to run the football.

Speaker 5 (01:32:10):
You did late in that.

Speaker 20 (01:32:11):
Game against Kansas, Jalen Henderson came in in the quarterback
position and showed some wheels and showed some legs and
the ability to get out on his own and run.
Maybe you have to see him a little bit more
this week to try and help out again. This offensive
line is still trying to find its way. It's still
trying to learn this system, and it's still trying to
move guys up front, and until that gets better, it's
going to be difficult to run the football.

Speaker 1 (01:32:32):
He's Brad. How you can get his take later this
evening Retter News Sports Line at six oh six, so
many of these same metro news radio stations. Brad always
appreciate it.

Speaker 20 (01:32:42):
Thank you, buddy, Okay, thanks guys.

Speaker 1 (01:32:44):
Well wrap things up at a moment. This is talk
line from the ing Co Insurance Studios.

Speaker 18 (01:32:50):
Picture a community where every space tells a story. Those
are the communities we're designing as ZMM architects and engineers.
With a blend of creativity and technical expertise, we design
spaces that inspire, innovate, and ignite change, from cutting edge
educational facilities to community centric gathering spaces. We're committed to

(01:33:10):
improving lives through design. Let us help you shape a
brighter future for generations to come. Because at ZMM, it's
more than architecture. It's about building your legacy.

Speaker 24 (01:33:21):
Days, evenings, weekends, and holidays. You can't predict when you'll
get sick or heard, but WVU Medicine Urgent Care is
prepared to help when you do. Our team treats minor
illnesses and injuries and perform services like on site lab
and imaging, vaccinations, and sports physicals. WVU Medicine is ready

(01:33:41):
to assist you and your family when life happens. To
find the closest location near you, visit Wvumedicine dot org
slash Urgent Care.

Speaker 1 (01:34:07):
Jackpots are growing in West Virginia. Jackpots are on their
eyes every week. Power Ball hits Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Mega Millions lights up Tuesdays and Fridays. That's five chances
a week to get in on life changing jackpots. Play
in store and online. Eighteen plus to play. Please play responsibly.
Powerball jackpot is one hundred and thirteen million dollars. Mega

(01:34:28):
Millions jackpot is four hundred and fifty one million dollars.
So go ahead, play today. Gotta take a break for
about twenty two hours. We're back tomorrow morning at ten
oh six. This is talk Line on Metro News for
forty years, the voice of West Virginia,

All Episodes

Talkline | Sept. 22, 2025

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know

Cardiac Cowboys

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Talkline | Sept. 22, 2025