You're listening to Wake Up Call on Demand from KFI A M six forty KFI
and KOs T HD two Los Angeles, Orange County. They'll do something.
I'm eight. Most of all every who down in who will, the tall
and the small, will stand close together with Christmas parity. They'll stand end
in hand those who will stop singing. It's time for your morning wake up
call down sligh Fray. This is your wake up call for Friday December.
Excuse me, it's Monday. Oh my gosh, you guys. Ooh,
I was behind the whole weekend. It's Monday, December eighteenth. I'm Heather
Brooker in for Amy King. It's five oh one. Good morning. Christmas
is just one week away, you guys. How exciting. I have slowly
been gathering all my gifts together, but of course we save a few and
seat of you aside for Santa. I have a ten year old girl who
still believes if you can believe that, so I'm hanging on to every moment
as long as possible. Just a little about me, you guys. I've
only been at CAFI for a couple of months, and I'm so thrilled to
be here with you this morning. I'm an actress, comedian and a journalist,
so I'm a big news nerd. I love being here, love talking
about the news with you guys. So let's just jump right in, shall
we. I know they love the news here at CAFI, so let's get
right to it. Here's what's ahead on wake Up Call, South Korea says.
North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea as it resumes
testing of short and long range missiles. And there may be a Musk University
in the future. Elon Musk is getting into the business of higher education.
And Netflix has just released the names of some of the biggest comics in the
world who'll be performing at the Netflix as a joke fest in Los Angeles next
May. We'll tell you who's in the lineup. It's not me. I'll
tell you that. Hear that Netflix, I'm ready sign me up. Then
at six zh five, it's handle on the news. Israel faces new truce
calls after killing hostages who were waving a white flag. Let's start with some
of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. A four
year old boy has been killed during a road rage attack in Lancaster, LA
County shriffs investigator state it's not clear what prompted the attack, but a driver
cut off a vehicle which included the boy, his father, and mother.
The attack Friday night happened on Sierra Highway near East Avenue. J Detectives say
after the driver cut off the vehicle with the family, they began following them
on surface streets, and when the family vehicle slowed down, the driver pulled
up along signed them an open fire. The boy was in the back seat
when he was hit. The parents took him to a hospital, where he
was pronounced dead. A man and woman in their twenties were arrested a short
time later. Steve Gregory ka if I knows critics have accused Israel of excessive
force in Gaza following the deaths of three Israeli hostages. ABC's Allison Cossacks says
Israel's military has admitted the deaths on Friday were a mistake. A preliminary investigation
found that three hostages left a building in an area of very intense fighting carrying
a stick with a white cloth. A soldier reportedly saw them as a threat
and opened fire. Troops were ordered to stop firing, but another soldier shot
and killed the third hostage. She says the hostages had written messages on fabric
asking for help, but it's not clear if the soldiers saw those signs.
International railway traffic in El Paso, Texas from Mexico has been suspended as the
border patrol deals with a high number of migrants. It comes after authorities reportedly
apprehended more than four thighs how was in migrants in the area yesterday alone.
ABC's Liz Lander says border crossings in Eagle Pass, Texas, San Diego and
the entire Lukeville, Arizona port of entry are also closed temporarily. Can we
say good morning to Jim Ryan? Is Jim available? Hi? Good morning,
Hi, Good morning Jim. Okay. I have to say, Jim,
I love this story because it's so wild. We love a billionaire moment.
Is Elon Musk planning to start a university? Yes, long and short
is Yes, he's going to start out with the primary and secondary school starting
from K through twelfth grade, maybe first grade through twelfth grade, but yes,
the focus will be on stamp science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
But there may also be kind of a political bent to it. You
probably know amy about they have Musk's high profile squabbling within his own family his
daughter, His transgender daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson, has changed her name and
publicly criticized the Elon Musk Munk's Musk says that he blames what he calls Neil
Marxist and leftist universities for this rift between him and his daughter, Vivian Wilson.
So, you know, so I suspect that along with teaching STEM,
there will be some kind of a philosophical background to this school once it gets
started here in Texas. So I like what you touched on there because it
kind of follows leads into what I'm wondering. What's motivating the richest man in
one of the richest men in the world to start a university. Well,
part of it is that it's a very very small scale attempt to try to
beef up the text savvy nature of the workforce. He's got Tesley, he's
got AX, he's got space AX. You know all these ventures out there
that require a tax savvy workforce, people who are familiar with and skilled in
STEM. So this is one way to kind of generate that workforce. Grow
it yourself, right, you don't have that workforce, make it your own.
So that's sort of the way that he's going here. But I think
all so it is his attempt to try to lash out against what he believes
is kind of a left leaning university structure here in this country. He's made
comments on X lately that seem to indicate where he stands philosophically, and this
school may kind of reflect that. And there's also got to be quite a
bit of ego involved there as well. Right well, bry Not, you
know, if you don't like the way things are, toss a little money
that way. This is costing him one hundred million dollars to start with.
He moved one hundred million dollars into his chedable organization, which is called the
foundation and is according to tax filings, and within those tax filings he does
talk or his attorneys talk about what the goal is here, and that is
to start this K through twelve school with an i eventually toward applying for accreditation
as a full blown university. And the focus, which I think is appropriate
for Elon Musk, is on STEM which is very hot right now. There's
a lot of parents who are interested in stem educations for the children. Yeah,
and these filings point that out. These tax filings, it says,
quote, he would combine formal instruction by experienced faculty and subjects such as mathematics,
science, engineering, physics, along with hands on learning experiences including simulations,
case studies, fabrication design. It sounds like kind of a fun place
to go to school, I think, you know, and he's got some
experience in this way too. He sent his own five children, including Vivian
Jenna Wilson, who, by the way, at that point was known as
Xavier. He sent his five kids to a school that he started himself,
that he founded on the campus of Tesla in California in two thousand and fifteen
to the mid two thousand, you know, twenty ten range. And so
he has done this before, and now he's moved his whole operation, or
a lot of at least here at Texas and that's where he intends to open
up this new school. Well, I think it's a really interesting move,
not entirely surprising that he would want to do that. I think, you
know, maybe one hundred years from now, our children, grandchildren, great
grandchildren will be applying to Musk you. Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it,
you know, I wouldn't put it past my suspect that space X X xavier,
someone who had asked to do with action, might be called ex University.
That'd be I'd put my money on there. You think it would be
X University, which is kind of a dumb name, right, go X,
give me an X, go X or give me an X or musk
isn't much better. But here here's the question for everyone to ponder. What
will be the mascot kay ship rocket? Right? Yeah, that's SpaceX rocket
the Falcon nine maybe exactly. All right, Thank you so much, dollar
Bill. Yeah, there you go. We appreciate your time this morning,
Jim, thank you so much. Sure, all right, let's get back
to some stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. The State
Attorney General has sued locking you out of flint Ridge over affordable housing laws.
The state claims the city illegally denied a project that would provide eighty mixed income
residential dwelling units along with hotel units in office space. The lawsuit claims the
city had not zoned for enough affordable housing when the project was pitched, so
must approve the project under the state's builder's remedy rules. The ad announced the
lawsuit last week, claiming all cities must do their part to solve the housing
crisis. Lakeayata Flint Bridge says it does have an affordable housing plan and it's
already been approved by the state. Corbin Carson KFI News California employees will soon
officially have protections from discrimination based on their use of cannabis or marijuana while off
the clock and away from the workplace. The new protections come from an amendment
to California's Fare, Employment and Housing Act, which was approved by Governor Gavin
Newsom in September of last year and goes into effect on January first, twenty
twenty four. The bill makes it unlawful for an employer to not hire,
penalize, or terminate a person based on their use of cannabis products outside of
work. This is the first law in the state to specifically provide workplace protections
for employees who use marijuana for medical or personal reasons. Southwest Airlines has been
fined millions of dollars for a widespread meltdown that led to mass cancelations and delays
yes last year. ABC's Mark Remollard says about two million passengers were stranded an
operational meltdown led to nearly seventeen thousand flight cancelations. Now the Department of Transportation
issuing a record one hundred and forty million dollar fine against the airline for violating
consumer protection laws. He says the Department of Transportation is also forcing Southwest to
set up a compensation fund for future passengers affected by significant delays or cancelations.
Los Angeles police are trying to reconnect people with tens of thousands of dollars worth
of their stolen goods, including iPhones, iPads, laptops and more. California
employees will soon officially have protections from discrimination based on their use of cannabis or
mayoraana while off the clock and away from the workplace, And at least one
person in southern California is having a pretty good holiday after winning the Superlatto plus
jackpot or twenty three million dollars it was sold in Northridge. That I mean,
talk about a merry Christmas. You guys, If I won that,
I would not tell anyone, right, would you guys? Tell anyone?
No, keep it to yourself until you get your lawyer and everybody together,
and then taxes too, Yeah, and get those taxes. Wow, Merry
Christmas to you all right. At six oh five, it's handle on the
new Southwest Airlines gets a record one hundred and forty million dollar fine for stranding
more than two million passengers during the holiday season. Postal workers in la are
gearing up for a busy holiday season. From the outside, the building looks
like any other boring government complex. When you go through the employer entrance,
the sounds tell a different story. I'm insigned the largest mail and package processing
and distribution facility in America, and it's located right here on South Central Avenue.
This thing is humongous. How big is it again? It's one point
seven million square feet. It's like twenty nine football fields. Daniel Harai is
the plant manager and says their peak season is from Black Friday through Christmas Day,
and we plan all year for this period. This is our super Bowl
period. Actually, yeah, we're right in the middle of it. So
how many letters do you process a day? And how many packages do you
process a day? Letters? We run about three to five million letters a
day and then packages for peak season for the holidays, we're looking at about
a million packages a day. Horai says three thousand people work on the campus
in three shifts, and depending on demand, there could be as many as
five to seven hundred people on the floor at any given time. You receive
letters and packages from all over the country or just a Western US from all
over the country. We have five per days then comes out of here and
the parts in and out about five hundred trucks long hauls that go throughout the
country from here to New York, to Boston, to Chicago to Miami.
I had the chance to walk around a bit, but the best way to
see the place is by golf cart. George Banks is a lead manager and
shows me some of the machines that help get your packages and letters to their
destination. We have these digital cameras here overhead, and you see them cameras
flashing here. They're gonna take a picture of every zip code, every bar
cold their registers, and then the mill is sorted down these arms right here
and then their containerized bar employees. This machine is capable of processing up to
two thousand packages an hour. I think there's been a kind of a feeling
that maybe you guys haven't been shipping as much as you used to and that's
not the case, Not Harley, we should be more than ever. Why
do you think, Well, because we got more millers, We've got t
move coming in now. We got another shipper by the name of Sheen,
so you know, there's a lot of big demand for shipping these days.
People are mailing more packages online. We stopped at another sorting point. This
is where I met Antoinette Brown. She's been here six years and before that
she drove a bus from Metro. I basically run down the ouse. Well,
I run down the OUs. I basically walk down the ours and make
sure her life's not going off so the mill can circulate and go where it's
supposed to be going. What's the most difficult part about it? There's no
difficulties. Actually, gotta be some challenges, not too much right right now.
It's a challenge. Christmas time is a challenge. That's that's the big
challenge. The majority of the time, it's pretty simple. Everybody works together,
get the job done and make it. You here, what's the upside
and what you do here? I mean, what's the coolest thing about your
job? Working with other people? Yeah? Work with other people. We're
like a family of here, so it all works together. What's the biggest
drag about working here? Mmmm, that's a good question. I don't have
that good answer. Goodie, I don't have it. It's been about an
hour now, we've gone in a big circle and we're back at the beginning.
Height Manager Daniel Horaih says the goal is to deliver everyone's standard nail in
two to five days now. He's been a postal worker for thirty years,
so I had to ask him the weirdest, strangest package you've ever experienced in
your thirty years. I don't want to say, come on, well,
weirdest package. I mean the package that where everyone's like whoa, whoa,
wait wait wait something vibrating is very scary, you know, A package that
vibrates is probably the most the scariest package you find any package or a letter
that had a weird smell to it. There's always a lot of weird smells.
I mean, people ma al all sorts of things, People mail all
sorts of things in packages, and we get it all. I mean we
get fish. People mail fish, people mail food, They mail money,
I mean dollars and money, just best advice for people that are mailing something
double check and triple check those addresses. Make sure you the addresses are correct.
How about packaging properly? Of course packaging. Don't reuse boxes. I
know a lot of guys like to reuse boxes. We kind of want to
stay away from reusing boxes. What are the deadlines people should keep in mind
when they want to get something there on time for Christmas? If you're a
procrastinator like me, December eighteen for priority and then December twentieth for priority email
express, and remember, don't send anything that vibrates for wake up call.
I'm Steve Gregory, KFIN News. Good advice that was really interesting, kind
of cool to hear inside the busiest mail room in the country. All right,
let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty
four hour newsroom. A man in sun Valley has been arrested for murder following
a crash that killed a fifteen year old boy. The teen was walking near
Stratharn Street and White Street Saturday night when the driver hit some parked cars and
debris from the crash hit the boy. Another pedestrian was also hurt. That
person is expected to be okay. A person flying a home built single engine
plane has been killed in a crash in Corona. It happened yesterday near the
intersection of Auburndale and West Rincoln Streets. Video shows the plane hit a tree
and caused a small vegetation fire. The NTSB says the investigation will focus on
the pilot, the aircraft itself, and the operating environment. Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin has gone to Israel as the US pressures Israel to move to a smaller,
more focused end phase in its fight against Hamas and Gaza. ABC's Britt
Clenan says Austin is also expected to discuss attacks on ships in the Red Sea
by rebels backed by Iran. His visit coming after the US and the UK
say they shot down at least fifteen unmanned drones targeting commercial vessels. No injuries
were reported, but this is the latest intervention in one of the busiest shipping
corry doors in the world. Joint Chiefs General C Q. Brown Junior will
also be in Israel with Austin for meetings with senior Israeli officials. A storm
moving up the East Coast has already drenched Florida and caused flooding in southern California.
The storm dumped up to five inches of rain across Florida over the weekend.
Flooding in Georgetown, South Carolina, left dozens of drivers stuck they had
to be rescued. The tide gage at Charleston Harbor in South Carolina peaked at
the city's highest non tropical tide on record. Sixty million people on the East
Coast are under flood alerts. New York City has issued a travel advisory.
A car has slammed into an suv in Delaware that was part of President Biden's
mode. The President was on his way to his campaign headquarters when it happened.
Elementary schools in Harupa have a new vending Machines for the Mind, and
we'll explain what that means coming up in just a little bit. And Netflix
has just released the names of some of the biggest comics in the world will
be performing at the Netflix as a joke Fest in Los Angeles next May,
and we'll tell you who's in the lineup. It is not me, I'll
tell you that right now. But I do have a show coming up at
the Ice House in Pasadena. If you guys want to go. Is it
bad that I promote my show? Chris said, to do it? Do
it? Everyone, come to my show January twelfth at the ice House in
Pasadena. There may be some CAFI jokes, but there may be not.
I don't know. It depends if my job's on the line. All right,
Uh, do we have Steve? Should we go? Okay, So
we're gonna go. We're gonna talk about some news you guys. All right,
here's what we're working on in the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. A
four year old boy's been killed during a road rage attack in Lancaster, LA
County. Shars investigator state it's not clear what prompted the attack, but a
driver off a vehicle which included the boy, his father, and mother.
The attack Friday night happened on Sierra Highway near East Avenue. J Detectives say
after the driver cut off the vehicle with the family, they began following them
on surface streets, and when the family vehicle slowed down, the driver pulled
up alongside them and opened fire. The boy was in the back seat when
he was hit. The parents took him to a hospital where he was pronounced
dead. A man and woman in their twenties were arrested a short time later.
Steve Gregory k if I knows the mayor of Lancaster, says AI helped
police find the suspected shooters. Any car that comes into Lancaster almost anywhere in
Lancaster, we know they're here, meaning the artificial intelligence snows they're here in
the computer. Mayor r. Rex Paris tells NBC four the system allows cars
to be tracked. Elementary schools in the Harupa School District have new vending machines,
but not for snacks. These are meant to feed the mind. The
machines are stocked with books. Students can buy them using tokens earned for good
behavior. A car has slammed into an suv in Delaware that was part of
President Biden's motorcade. The suv was being used to close off an intersection last
night as Biden was on his way to campaign headquarters. ABC's Derek Dennis says
a driver tried to get through the intersection, hit the suv and was surrounded
by Secret Service. Police say investigators are working to determine if driver impairment was
a factor. Sources say years there was no ideological motivation behind the crash.
The Bidens were not hurt in the incident. All right, Right now,
we are going to say good morning to ABC's Steve Portnoy. Good morning,
welcome morning to you. Hello. All right, so I understand the White
House and Senate negotiators have met over the weekend to try to reach an agreement
on border security. How are their efforts going. Well, they're moving along
and they say they're making progress, but the two sides are far apart.
There's an adage here in Washington, DC that nothing has agreed to until everything's
agreed to, and therefore there is no deal yet. But the negotiations will
continue this week. The House is out back home until after the second They're
not back until the second week of January, so the House is not part
of these talks. You have Republicans and Democrats in the Senate sitting with White
House officials behind closed doors to try to hammer out a very complicated deal on
immigration policy. It seems simple, right. The argument is that too many
people are coming across the US Mexico border. Let's figure out a way to
change that. But how Because there are various legal pathways that have been opened
to migrants, and Republicans say those legal pathways ought to be curtailed or altogether
closed, and Democrats say no, Well, there have been some agreements,
apparently on asylum claims. The sticking points include widespread grants of what's called humanitarian
parole. What's that? That is the discretion vastionary power of an administration to
say that a whole wide swath of migrants from a particular country can come to
the US when they otherwise wouldn't be able to for humanitarian reasons or because it's
been deemed to be in the American national interest. This has been used,
for example, to admit people from Vietnam in the nineteen seventies, most recently
people from Afghanistan or Ukraine. But Republicans argue humanitarian parole has been abused by
this administration to bring in hundreds of thousands of people from countries such as Cuba,
Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Haiti, and Republicans say that it's time to
curb or curtail humanitarian parole and Democrats say, no way. And that's why
the two sides remain apart. So there's some conflict on the timing of getting
this aid approved. How critical is it that it gets done before the end
of the year. Well, it's not in all likely. Well of it's
not going to get done by the end of the year because the House is
out. So even if Senate negotiators can reach a deal this week, it's
the House Speaker Mike Johnson's not about to call the House back into session.
So it's going to have to wait until next week next year anyway. And
that's why Republican leaders say that they feel that this is an arbitrary and artificial
deadline that Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has set by a deal. You know,
initially the deadline was this weekend, and now that hasn't happened. And so
the Senate's going to vote this week on varying nominations. For example, today
the Senate's going to vote Remember Martin O'Malley, he was the governor of Maryland,
he ran for president in twenty sixteen, while he today is up to
be the head of the Social Security Administration. So the Senate's going to vote
on his nomination. That'll keep everybody in their seats and not home in their
districts. But there is no deal yet on this border policy issue, and
it allows for some space for the negotiations to continue. But Republicans fifteen of
them sent a letter to Chuck Schumer yesterday and said, look, we're here,
we know we're here, but we feel jammed against an o artificial deadline.
The House, which we'll have to take this up, is not even
a part of these negotiations. Why are we doing this now? Let's wait
until everybody comes back to Washington in the early part of next year. So
what's the other side of that coin. Well, it means that aid for
Israel and Ukraine is still hung up and will be delayed for several more weeks,
it seems, over this issue, and you have to wonder, if
not now, when will a deal be reached between both houses and both parties
to a degree that everybody can appreciate to have some sort of change in border
policy. It is interesting and noteworthy that the White House, now part of
these talks, has agreed that there ought to be some curbs on asylum claims.
That's new, noteworthy and potentially troublesome for the President and his party when
it comes to turning to fellow progressives to say Okay, this is what we've
agreed to despite your objections. So the Biden administration is saying Ukraine is going
to run out of money by the end of the year if Congress doesn't take
any action. Is that true? Is that really going to happen? I
mean, is that posturing? Do you think? I think it's a reality.
I mean, regardless of whether it's posturing, I think, you know,
the fact is that Congress is not about to pass this AID, so
there may be some suffering. I don't know the extent to which the administration
still has draw down authority, the extent to which the Ukrainian military might still
be positioned to continue the fight. I don't know the answer to that.
I do know that the alarm bells have been sounded. I do know that
despite that, Congress is not poised to act. All Right, Steve Portnoy,
thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us this morning.
You bet. Let's get back to some stories coming out of the KFI
twenty four hour newsroom. A nineteen year old accused of fatally stabbing another passenger
on a Metro E Line train in South LA claims he acted in self defense.
The nineteen year old turned himself in last week. He told investigators he
was standing in the bicycle area of the train looking at his phone when the
other guy started staring at him and suddenly punched him in the face, breaking
his glasses and cutting his face. A report from the La County DA's office
says security video from the train confirms Carlos Caio Martinez's claim. Russian state news
agencies say delegates from Russia's ruling party have unanimously back to President Putin's bid for
reelection. The move yesterday happened a day after supporters formally nominated Putin to run
in twenty twenty four as an independent. Another candidate who called for peace in
Ukraine one a nomination from a group of more than five hundred supporters. And
as we've mentioned, Netflix just released the lineup for their Netflix is a Joke
Fest in May, and it's going to be a good one. This is
the biggest comedy festival in North America and it happens right here in Los Angeles.
Comedians will be taking over three hundred live venues across LA for eleven days.
Comics like Ali Wong, Bill Burr, Mike Burbiglia, Tompop, The
Fortune Femster, and many more will be performing at iconic venues like the Greek,
the Dolby, the Bladium, and the Hollywood Bowl and many more.
You can get tickets to see your favorite comic at Netflix as a Jokefest dot
com. A person flying a home built single engine plane has been killed in
a crash in Corona. A man in Sun Valley has been arrested for murder
after a crash that killed a fifteen year old boy while he was walking in
the street. And Russian state news agencies say delegates from Russia's ruling party have
unanimously back to President putin his bid for reelection. We are minutes away from
handle on the news this morning. More SoCal hotel workers have agreed to a
new deal with Marriott and Hilton, and we'll have the details of their deal.
Joining me now is Emily Kaufman, otherwise known as the travel Mom.
You've seen her on Good Morning America, the Kelly Clarkson Show, and Moore,
including her website, The Travelmom dot Com, where she shares her expertise
on the incredible places she's traveled around the world. Emily, thank you so
much for joining me. Good morning. I'm so happy to be with you.
All right, So the holidays are here, and that means someone might
be thinking about giving the gift of travel. So, just between you and
me and everybody listening, we got my daughter a surprise trip to Oklahoma to
see Grandma and some of our friends back home. So clearly I love the
idea of giving the gift of travel. I want to ask you, though,
is this really a good time to be buying a trip as a gift
or a vacation as a gift, or are there better times during the year
to get a really good deal. Well, it's not a great time to
be purchasing something for holiday travel this season. However, if you want to
give somebody the holiday gift of travel and take that trip in January, that
is a fantastic time to get a lot of bang for your bock. It's
what we call the shoulder season. The shoulder season happens after the busy holiday
time of year for travel, before the spring break travelers come around. So
about that first six weeks of the year, you'll be able to find a
lot of deals and discounts for things. Added value offers, credits to be
used on property, so it's a good time to give somebody that gift.
What are some of the trips that you recommend for families versus single friends and
family members. I know you've been all over the world to many resorts and
hotels. What do you see as a great gift for a family versus single
friends or other single family members. Family travel is always so important because oftentimes
mom is doing that same workload just in a different venue. So I say,
let's look for a vacation that mom can actually enjoy as well. And
I love the luxury included beaches resorts. They really take care of everything.
They've got something for everyone, every age group, every family member, and
you don't have to think about things. We stress out in my family at
breakfast, we think about lunch, and at lunch we worry about dinner.
This takes all that worry away for you, and everything is a one stop
shop. I also love a cruise vacation for family travel for the same reason.
There really is something for everybody in one of those types of programs.
Thinking about winter and ski vacations, I love a ski vacation for a family.
However, my recommendation is put your kids in ski school for at least
half the day. Don't think you're going to teach your kids to ski.
It's kind of like when you think you're going to teach your kid to drive
and it doesn't work out, So well, leave that to the professionals.
Got it? Okay? So you mentioned cruise cruises and that's perfect because I
think this is so cool. All right. Royal Caribbean has just launched a
nine month long cruise. It left out of Miami about a week ago,
two hundred and seventy four nights across sixty countries. I don't know that I
have the fortitude to do a nine month long cruise. So are there any
cruises you would recommend if somebody can't commit to a nine month vacation. I
think a nine month vacation is a bit ambitious for me as well. And
Royal Caribbean is introducing Icon of the Seas this January, which is the largest
cruise ship at sea and the best time to purchase a cruise vacation is mid
January to mid March. It's what we call wave season, and wave season
you don't have to travel during that time. You just make your purchases and
where you're going to get great savings. You can get two for one pricing
and upgrade to a different category credits to be used on board this ship kids
sail free offers. So if a cruise vacation is something you're thinking about taking,
wait until the middle of January when wave season and kick then and you'll
get a lot of bang for your buck. I also want to mention when
it comes to savings, look in your wallet already and see what membership cards
you've got because big box stores like Costco have travel departments and they buy in
bulk for those, so you can save with those as well. AARP trip
lea you save money there. And many unions like teachers unions or the military
get incentive and discounts and deals. What do you recommend that's a quick getaway
that people can do here in La There are a couple of really great short
trips. If you haven't been to Catalina. Catalina Island feels like you're pulling
into a European port when you come in on the Catalina Express. It's just
about an hour away and you feel like you're on the other side of the
world. Also, the Central Coast doesn't get enough love in the Central Coast
with Pismo Beach and Lewis Obispo. Those types of places are so pretty and
peaceful and relaxing and a nice easy road trip where you can go in unwind.
Emily, these are wonderful recommendations. As always, you are truly just
such an expert on travel and I love hauling along and getting all of your
advice. So thank you so much, you guys. As a reminder of
follow Emily on social media and check out her website, The travelmom dot com.
Emily, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Thanks for
having me. Happy holidays. You know, I'm actually really embarrassed to admit
I've never been to Katalina Island. I've lived here for twenty years. Steve,
have you ever been? That's funny you say that I've been here for
thirty five years and I have just went. I just went from the anniversary.
Yeah, I did. I thought it was great, and I didn't
even know that there was a golf course there, so I still have something
to look forward to the next time I go, Oh, that's awesome.
Okay, well that's a good recommendation. Then I'm glad, all right,
I've got to put it on my list for twenty twenty four. I need
to get out to Katalina Island. Yeah, and take dramamine for the the
phase trip over here. Okay, that's a hot tip, thanks Steve.
All Right, let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the
CAMFI twenty four hour newsroom. The State Attorney General has sued locked In YadA,
Flintridge over affordable housing laws. The state claims the city illegally denied a
project that would have provided eighty mixed income residential dwelling units along with hotel units
in office space. The lawsuit claims the city had not zoned for enough affordable
housing when the project was pitched, so must approve the project under the state's
builder's remedy rules. The ag announced the lawsuit last week, claiming all cities
must do their part to solve the housing crisis lacka YadA Flintridge says it does
have an affordable housing plan and it's already been approved by the state. Corbin
Carson KFI News Superlatto plus ticket sold in Northridge is worth twenty three million dollars.
The ticket for Saturday's drawing was sold at the Cobacabana market on Receiva Boulevard.
A ticket with five of the six winning numbers was sold at a Circle
K store in Anaheim, and that ticket is worth just over thirty five thousand.
Police in Riverside have arrested a guy they say wore a clown mask in
two of three convenience store armed robberies. Two Circle K stores and seven to
eleven were hit in August and September. Fully say he was arrested last week
and he is local in the area. He was booked on suspicion of armed
robbery, weapons violations, and possession of stolen property. A man accused of
vandalizing a synagogue and various businesses in Burbank and Glendale is due in court.
The anti Semitic graffiti was sprayed last month. Clinton Dion was arrested Thursday in
San Bernardino County. He is charged with a dozen felonies, including two counts
of vandalism of a religious property. The charges also include a hate crime allegation.
Senate negotiators have failed to reach a deal on border security as a condition
for more USA for Ukraine and Israel. ABC's Les Landers as Republicans are demanding
the border be secured. Republicans point to national security concerns that the southern border
and the smuggling of drugs. Lawmakers met over the weekend to discuss border security,
but a group of Senate Conservatives wrote a letter insisting conference wide consideration of
a bill be delayed until after the new year. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has
gone to Israel as the US pressures Israel to move to a smaller, more
focused end phase in its fight against Hamas and Gaza. ABC's brick Clinant says.
Austin is also expected to discuss attacks on ships in the Red Sea by
rebels backed by Iran. His visit coming after the US and the UK say
they shot down at least fifteen unmanned drones targeting commercial vessels. No injuries were
reported, but this is the latest intervention in one of the busiest shipping corry
doors in the world. Joint Chiefs Chairman General C. Q. Brown Junior
will also be in Israel with Austin for meetings with senior Israeli officials. Southwest
Airlines has been fined millions of dollars for a widespread meltdown that led to mass
cancelations and delays. Last year. ABC's Mark Remolard says about two million passengers
were stranded. An operational meltdown led to nearly seventeen thousand flight cancelations. Now,
the Department of Transportation issuing a record one hundred and forty million dollar fine
against the airline for violating consumer protection laws. He says the Department of Transportation
is also forcing Southwest to set up a compensation fund for future passengers affected by
significant delays or cancelations. South Korea says North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic
missile into the sea as it resumes testing of short and long range missiles.
The launch today was the second in less than a day. South Korea says
the North did a short range ballistic missile test into the sea last night.
North Korea has vowed retaliatory steps against the US and South Korea over moves to
boost their nuclear deterrence plans. Well, listen, this has been a lot
of fun. That was That was our news. I hope you guys have
enjoyed this edition of Wake Up Call. My name again is Heather Brooker.
Thank you all for listening along. Amy will be back very soon. I
promise. I promise you won't have to listen to me stumble over the news
for very much longer. Thank you guys for checking us out. This is
KFI and Coast HD two, Los Angeles, Orange County. We lead local
live from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. I'm Heather Brooker. This has
been your wake up call. If you missed any of wake Up Call,
you can listen anytime on the iHeartRadio app. You've been listening to wake Up
Call with me Amy King. You can always hear wake Up Call five to
six am Monday through Friday on KFI AM six forty and anytime on demand on
the iHeartRadio app.