You're listening to Wake Up Call with Jennifer Jones Lee on demand from KFI A
M. Six forty. Good morning everybody, it is five o'clock. This
is your wake up call, So wake up if we have to, you
have to. Oh. Usually right here at the top, I try to
think it's something that we can talk about real quick before we get into the
news of the day. We do have a pretty good show stacked up for
you today. A lot of stuff going on all over the country. So
I looked up famous birthdays, and I thought that was kind of lame.
But here's today's number instead, seventeen point seven million. That's how many people
around the world have a birthday today. I thought that would be kind of
macro take on that. But then I did the Google search on birthday today.
Right then, the third question that comes up at the bottom that it
wants me or thinks I'm going to ask next, is who is the famous
person in this world? I didn't type that Google thought I would might type
that next. I know it's early, but I still use proper grammar.
Dwayne Johnson, by the way, is the answer the most famous? Who
is the famous person in this world? Other worlds? We still are not
clear on. Not even Google can help us with that, not even AI
can help us with that. Let's get a few quick headlines then we'll get
going into today's show. President Biden is in Japan for a summit of the
world's seven largest democratic economies, the US, Japan, Canada, the UK,
France, Germany, and Italy. Will focus much of their talk on
pretty much one subject, and that's the approach to China, Russia and Ukraine.
Of course, will come up and appeals court seems likely to restrict access
to the mifipristone abortion pill. The Justice Department argued in front of a New
Orleans federal court yesterday to allow greater access to the pill after a Texas judge
restricted its access earlier this year. The restrictions were based on alleged flaws with
the FDA approval process from a couple of decades ago. Montana is not short
vid friendly. Apparently, the Treasure State is the first state to ban TikTok.
A new law bands TikTok from operating in Montana and prohibits app stores from
offering TikTok to Montana users. Now, users will not be fined or penalized
in any way, but anybody who provides the app to Montana users could be
fined ten thousand dollars a day, and that means Apple, Google, other
app stores as well. This one's going to go to court because it has
some rolling implications into other social media platforms, as you can imagine Instagram,
Meta and whatever's coming next. In just a few minutes, we'll talk about
we'll talk with ABC White House correspondent Carry Travers. Biden maybe in Japan,
but his team and GOP negotiators are still in Washington, continuing to hammer out
that deal on the debt ceiling and hopefully avoiding an economic default and of course
the subsequent financial crisis that would come with it. Let's start with some of
the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. As always,
we do lead local. LA Mayor Bass has traveled to Sacramento with other mayors
to ask for money to fight homelessness. Governor Newsom's latest three hundred and six
billion dollars budget proposal allocates three point seven billion dollars for homelessness. Newsom's revised
budget accounts for an expected thirty two billion dollars shortfall Mayor bass has despite the
shortfall, the need for housing and services must remain a top priority. We
need to ensure additional funding in this budget to make an even bigger impact.
The Mayor's yesterday asked for an additional two billion dollars every year through twenty twenty
six and a type of grant funding and one point five billion dollars for Project
Home Key Blake Trolley k if I News strippers in North Hollywood may become the
only exotic dancers in the nation with a union contract. The dancers say they
picketed for fifteen months to demand to demand safer working conditions. One stripper named
Lilith says strippers should feel safe while performing. We think that having a union
is really important so that dancers can have a voice in the way that there
were places run. Lilis says. Patrons sometimes grope or lick them and even
sexually assault the dancers. The workers stay balanced to vote for the union opened
yesterday. The dance club says it is willing to negotiate with the strippers.
Smash and grab robbers in Tustin have stolen about two hundred and eighteen thousand dollars
in jewelry before leading police on a high speed chase. This guy's crashed into
a fire hydrant in Westminster. Police Lieutenant Ryan co says investigators are working to
determine if the one adult and two teams are part of a larger crime syndicate.
And they brought trash cans in with them and immediately began smashing the jewelry
cases, throwing the hydra into the trash cans. Believe they're in and out
within minutes Cosas law enforcement Tuesday quickly responded and spotted the fleeing group on the
four oh five. He says. After the crash, the crew took off
on foot, but were caught during a house to house search. All of
the jewelry was returned in Tustin. Corbin Carson k if I need on the
liveline right now at k if I is ABC White House correspondent Karen Travers.
Good morning, Karen, Good morning. Okay, so yesterday's White House meeting
come and gone, Biden out of town. How are things as we start
today for these debt feeling negotiations. Yeah, so they're progressing by having conversations
while the President is overseas at the g seventh summit in Japan yesterday before he
last he expressed optimism that things were moving in the right direction. He said
he was confident that there will be an agreement on the budget and that the
country the government would not default. We had a briefing yesterday on Air Force
one from his press secretary as the plane was heading towards Japan, but Korean
Jumpierre didn't have much new to add beyond what the President had said, but
when she was defending the decision to cut the trip short by not making those
stops in Papa, New Guinea and Australia as he was scheduled to do,
and also defending the decision to get on the plane in the first place and
still continue going to Japan for the G seven leaders summit, saying the President
can be the president wherever he is and that he has passed seeing your staff
with continuing the negotiations with Kevin McCarthy's teams while he is gone. We expect
that the President will be in close contact with those senior staff while he is
overseas, and as he put it, when he gets back Sunday night and
then is ready for meetings on Monday, he anticipates it will be time for
final negotiations. He said that a couple times in the last two days final
negotiations, which certainly seemed to us to be optimistic. Yeah. Absolutely.
I think the markets reacted that way as well when they heard it yesterday.
So he is in Japan G seven. That's not exactly an easy room this
time around, either because of the China approach and of course the rush of
Ukraine War. But back here, any public breaking of the ranks on either
side of the default debate or are their hardening of sides, You know,
there's not a lot, like I should say, in terms of some of
the things we've heard from the President on potential concessions on work requirements that would
be making things tougher for people who are receiving food aid or assistance for families
with young children and medicaid. The President and had said that, you know,
if he wouldn't accept any work requirements for those federal aid programs, that
would impact any medical needs for any American. Nothing that it impacts medical coverage.
But there have been some grumblings from progressives in the Democratic Party that the
President should not give any concessions at all on this. So that's something that
we're keeping an eye on if there's any moving in the needle on that issue.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Speaker, had said that that is a must
include for him on the budget cut side of this. So we'll see what
Dot goes in these conversations over the next couple of days. I know we
have to break it about thirty seconds, but real quick, you've been covering
this for a while. Cutting short the trip itself seems like a negotiation.
He had to go to the G seven and cut short the rest of the
trip. Is that playing out like that? Is it playing or are they
really pushing down that he should not have got on the plane at all.
No, I think that's exactly that's the way the White House is certainly braming
this. You know, the G seven is very critical. They're talking about
Ukraine, China, Russia, the global economy. It was very important for
the President to go to the G seven. Senior officials have continued to say
the Australia portion of the trip, he can do those meetings while in Japan.
All those leaders he would have been seeing in Australia he can do in
Japan. So it's something where they could just condense the schedule and they feel
not lose out too much. Now they're Australians. They're a little upset that
he's not going to make it disappointed, but the White House is saying it's
not canceled, is postponed and they're going to try to make it up to
them. Karen, thank you so much for your time. Always a pleasure.
I have a great day. That's ABC White House Correspondent Karen Travers.
Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four
hour newsroom. Firefighters and animal control officers have rescued a dog trapped in a
sinkhole in San Bernardino. Fire officials say witnesses heard barking near a building and
called for help. They found the husky in a sinkhole next to an old
oil well, roughly fifteen feet below a parking lot. Crews were able to
slip a rope around the dog hoisted out and if I know huskies, that
thing was taught. The investigators say they hope a thirty thousand dollar reward will
help them find the person who killed a father of three in Hawaiian Gardens.
Detectives say the man and a young relative. We're driving northbound on Norwalk Boulevard
when someone opened fire. Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived on scene and pronounced
mister Carlos Albrez Diaz deceased. A fourteen year old was also strug by gunfire,
but survived. Accounty Sheriffs Lieutenant Patricia Thomas says it happened last October eighth,
just after one am, and a dark colored car filled with guys was
seen nearby. Alvarus's brother, Adrian says his brother was not in a game.
My brother was just a family man. He lives behind two girls and
a baby boy who he never got to meet. At Homicide Bureau and Monterey
Park, Steve Gregory king, if I knows we talked about TikTok at the
top. Here's another one. A popular plastic surgeon in Ohio accused of streaming
her surgeries on TikTok will learn if she can keep her medical license. The
doc, known as doctor Roxy to her eight hundred thousand followers, is also
accused of botching surgeries and violating patient's privacy. A hearing is scheduled to wrap
up to tomorrow the State Medical Board of Ohio voted back in November to suspend
her license. Officials say a hearing examiner will make a recommendation to the Medical
Board and a final decision will likely be made at the board's July twelfth meeting.
Now a quick reminder here today is May eighteenth. A freeze warning in
New Hampshire has put farmers on alert to protect their crops. At Sunnycrest Farm,
Danny Hicks says he planned an all nighter last night to prevent his apple
and strawberry crops from freezing. We have everything that we need. We've done
this for a very long time and we're still expecting. There's plenty of bloom
out there, plenty of apples, so it's still going to be a lovely
season. Hicks says the cold air will take the blooms right out, which
is why he uses an old wind machine. He says the machine circulates the
air and hopes of preventing the blooms from freezing and dying. The Orange County
DA says in the last year he's charged more than one hundred and forty people
with home invasions, burglaries and smash and grab robberies. We're not going to
let our residents live in OCDA Todd Spitzer says, soft on crime, state
laws, judges, and DA's in nearby county. These are giving criminals a
revolving door they're coming into a county. OC assistant chaff John McCullough says this
is more than a property crime. It's a loss of safety people can feel
for a lifetime. These are people and families who are victimized in their own
homes, a place that is supposed to be their safe havens. Spitzer says
a couple dozen people from five different robbery crews were charged just in the last
two weeks in Orange County. Corbin Carson k i I News Florida Governor Ron
Destantis reportedly will formally enter the twenty twenty four presidential race next week. The
Washington Post reports that two people familiar with the Republican governor's plans say de Stantis
will kick off his campaign in Miami with top fundraisers. The man who ran
over and killed eight people on a New York City bike path is suggesting that
his actions were justified. Say Fulo Sipov was given eight consecutive life sentences yesterday
for the twenty seventeen mass murder. Before sentencing, he spoke for nearly an
hour to fend those actions. After his speech, the judge called him unrepentant
and cowardly. The Miami Heat lit up the Boston Celtics last night to take
a one zero lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. The Lakers and Nuggets
get back at it tonight in Denver. In the next segment, ABC Tech
reporter Mike Dubuski will join Wake Up Call to talk about electric vehicles, actually
all vehicles, and whether new cars and trucks will continue to have AM radios
built into them. Right now, though, let's welcome Luke Barr. Luke
is ABC News's law enforcement reporter. It's been a week for the US Attorney's
Massachusetts office. Rachel Rawlins was the US attorney there until she resigned on Tuesday,
and then yesterday a report dropped. Good morning, Luke, Hey,
good morning. How are you. I'm good, thank you, and thank
you for joining us. The US attorney from Massachusetts went to work on Tuesday,
resigned, no longer a federal prosecutor. So what's going on with Rachel
Rollins. Yeah, so this is kind of crazy. The one more US
attorney now, as you mentioned, leak information about a federal investing Asian in
order to help her preferred candidate among quote gregious other violates the DFJ policy,
according to two government watchdogs. They announced this in a studding report issued yesterday.
Rollins was the first African American US attorney from Massachusetts resigned, as you
mentioned, after being informed of the details that we'd be that would be included
in the Justice Department Inspector General report. Investigation began amid reports she violated the
Hatch Act by attending a political fundraiser with the First Lady in July of last
year. He didn't act VI to Hatch Act. The Inspector General found that
just merely scratches the surface of Ron's alleged abuse of her position. Well,
Luke, is this a sudden resignation or was there smoke on the horizon?
Was this a building case? This was a building case. I mean,
you know, we get indications when when she resigned, that there would be
something coming that that would not be a flattering for Rons. But you know,
if you look at a timeline of this investigation, this happened last year.
Djuh So, the Office Special Counsel in the Inspector General's Office recommended prosecution
in December of twenty twenty two, and DJ declined that prosecution because some of
the intricacies of the report found that Rollins broke the law by misleading investigators.
DJ declined to prosecute her um in January, and obviously the report came out
in May. Okay, Luke, Okay, Let's put this in context for
a second, if we can. There were several findings of improper behavior and
abusive office in that report, but campaign contributions seemed to be something a kind
of particular note. How do defense look at such behavior? Yeah, So,
basically, what what Rollins did is she used her position as the US
Attorney, which is the highest level prosecute, her highest film federal prosecutor in
the district or sometimes even in the state in this case, to influence an
article being written by a local media members that there was an investigation into the
preferred candidates opponent that Ronds was was hoping for. Sir Ronds was the Suffolk
County District Attorney, which is the highest state attorney in Massachusetts. She resigned
to become US attorney. She wanted somebody to replace her. That person wasn't
the one who the governor picked, the guy who she wanted to replace he
ran against the governor's picked and then she started leaking information, damaging information,
the IG says about the opponent of her preferred candidate. Hey, look,
did she have any kind of scandal or note or whiff of scandal when she
was at Suffolk County level. No, she wasn't, as she was a
very progressive prosecutor, and that led to some criticism when she was going up
for her nomination for US Attorney by by Republicans Senator Senator Tom Cotton called a
very progressive, radical prosecutor. But you know, other than that, you
know, there was no whiff of any scandal, uh, you know,
at least major scandal like this when she was a Subfracarnity DA. We're speaking
with ABC News law enforcement reporter Luke Barr. Luke, I have one last
question for you. What's next? Does her chief assistant move up into the
seat? Is there an appointment process? What's what's happening in the next phase.
Yeah, so in the next couple of days, her first assistant will
resume duties this acting US Attorney to the District of Massachusetts and then of course
up to the President to select and nominate her replacement, whoever that is.
We don't have an indication, but Massachusetts is a is a highly coveted position.
It's one of the biggest offices in the department, so it will be
definitely scrutinized, especially given this report. Thank you for your time this morning,
Luke. This is a fascinating story. A quick fall. It seems
like, well it was building, I guess, but boy, she resigned
on Tuesday. The report drops on Wednesday, and we're talking about it on
Thursday. Quick movement. Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having Absolutely. That
was Luke Barr. He's ABC News is Law Enforcement reporter. Let's get back
to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom this
morning. On your wake up call twenty five minutes after five o'clock, the
FED stay several people with alleged ties to gangs in the Harbor area have been
arrested for drug and firearms trafficking. The FBI says an investigation in twenty twenty
that targeted dangerous gang members linked those gangs to the Mexican Mafia. The US
Attorneys Tom Morosick says a dozen people were arrested and three remain fugitives. If
they are convicted, these defendants will face significant time in federal prison, with
most of them facing potential life sentences. The FBI says since the investigation started,
it has seized twenty three guns and over twenty three thousand fentinel pills.
Chris Adler KFI News. A settlement has been reached with a woman who sued
the LA School District. The woman claims she was hurt during a flag football
game in twenty sixteen. She says the teacher did not protect her. The
woman was sixteen at the time and alleges that she had to play football or
frisbee to pass her PE final at Fairfax High School. The woman says she
got a concussion that left her with headaches, confusion, fatigue, and vertigo.
The district says the teacher properly oversaw the game. Sag AFTRA says it
will hold a strike authorization vote ahead of its negotiations with the major studios.
The vote does not mean the union representing talent will join the w GA strike,
but on June seventh, the union will talk about its contract that expires
June thirtieth. The union announced yesterday its negotiating committee decided a strike authorization would
provide maximum bargaining leverage, and anyone in the union got an email last evening
about that the Agriculture Department could be moving to ban flavored milk from school cafeterias.
The USDA just closed the public comment period on changes in long term school
nutrition standards in order to cut down on added sugars in school programs for lunch
and breakfast. The agency says the aim is to reduce exposure to added sugars
and promote more nutrient dense, unflavored milk and quote. The USDA suggests limiting
the amount of chocolate and strawberry milk, which is delicious in high schools,
and banning it completely in elementary and middle schools. Florida Man, not the
Netflix show A Florida Man, is accused of killing a dune buggy driver in
a fight over a beer can. Court records in Lake County say the fight
started when fifty nine year old Wallace Kirkland allegedly threw a beer can over a
dunebuggy as it drove past him last Friday night. The records say the dunebuggy
driver approa Kirkland and allegedly threatened to kill him, and then witnesses heard a
gunshot and the driver quickly sped off. THEPDS reportedly found the man passed out
in the dune buggy a short distance away with a gunshot to the torso.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Kirkland was arrested on a man slaughter
charges. Right now, on wake Up Call, we're going to talk about
a slightly older technology, AM Radio. ABC's tech reporter Mike Dubuski is with
as Good morning, Mike, Good morning. Yeah, definitely an issue that
is close to a lot of our hearts. But yeah, go ahead.
No, I'm going to say I have it written in my m my intro
like, welcome to k if I AM radio. Yeah, AM six forty
as I understand it live everywhere, Yeah, do I get it. But
you know, it is interesting that we're talking about AM radio because a lot
of electric carmakers and automakers that have introduced electric cars in recent years have been
getting rid of the AM band in their vehicles. And they say that's because
the electric motors can emit a signal that will interfere with this style of radio.
AM radio not to get to radio nerdy on you here, Jason does
stand for amplitude modulation, which means that your wavelengths get a little taller and
shorter depending on, you know, different factors. And they say that format
is susceptible to this type of thing. But the flip side of that is
that AM radio can go further than FM streams, and it can go through
solid buildings and things like that. And that's why a lot of emergency management
systems actually rely on this service as well. So it's not just you and
me talking. As fun as this is, it's also a public service from
the federal government in the case of emergencies. Often when people get texts about
breaking news or emergency situations, that news is coming from AM radio newsrooms or
AM radio broadcasts as well. So that I just kind of wanted to pull
that out. We've been we've been doing it because well, let's let's go
right into the bipartisanship. It seems like AM radio is helping heal the nation
politically. Yes, that's right. So yesterday there is this bipartisan coalition of
lawmakers led by Ted Cruz and Ed Markey, not often to senators who are
aligned on much in our politics, but on this they are. And they
introduced the AM for Every Vehicle Act, which is essentially a package of legislation
that would instruct NITZA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to start instituting
new rules requiring AM to be in new vehicles without payment or surcharge, so
basically just to keep it in their vehicles. And to sort of underline exactly
how many automakers have have eschewed the AM band in recent years, BMW,
most Pollstar, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Ford have all introduced cars that don't
have the AM stream in them. And in Ford's case, they just put
out a new Ford Mustang this year, and that's not an electric vehicle,
that's a gas powered car and it does not have an AM stream. So
it's it's sort of an interesting couple of different factors here to consider. But
yeah, that's that's kind of where we stand legislatively. And Tesla you mentioned
at the top, but they haven't had a radio AM radio since twenty eighteen,
that's right, Yeah, yeah, no, Tesla hasn't. They got
rid of it in twenty eighteen. UM, And you know, it's it's
also interesting just to see you know that, you know, automakers are moving
over to evs, not in some cases because they want to, but in
a lot of cases because they have to. In California, in fact,
all new gas cars by twenty thirty five, excuse me, all new cars
by twenty thirty five have to be powered by something that is not gas.
And it seems like electricity is the thing, and so California goes, so
goes the rest of the country. Europe has similar legislation. So it's it's
coming, and I think it's important that you know, lawmakers in this country
are kind of focused on this at this moment before we get to like twenty
thirty five and we all have to drive, you know, electric cars kind
of going forward. You and I can tend to nerd out sometimes on this,
but I did, I did. I did looked up the definition of
electromagnetic interference EMI. Right, It just says unwanted noise, which is why
they have dials. If I don't, I mean, come on, well,
It's also part of this too, is that you know, the automakers
will say, well, you can listen to AM radio, you can just
do it. Through a streaming app where you can do it through you know,
an internet service. A lot of these cars are connected to the internet
now, m But you know, I know in California is a lot of
canyons and and things like that. You know, what if you're driving in
a place that does not have good Internet connection and that that could also interfere,
right kind of It's almost the opposite of what we were talking about.
With the strength of the AM signal. Um. You know, the Internet
is a lot more susceptible to sort of just differences and you know, location
and that sort of thing. So yeah, I know, I have to
let you go fifteen seconds. Um, does AM represent a cultural artifact for
branding of evs? Um? You know that that's a good question. I
will say. It is a very popular service still, even though you know,
the popular conception might be, well, we can listen to the internet,
or we can listen to the radio on the internet and all those sorts
of things. Fifty million people listen to AM radio according to Nielsen. And
as we mentioned, you know, FEMA uses it for for integrated public alert
and warning systems and in emergency systems and that sort of thing. Um.
So so yeah, I I don't know if it represents a cultural artifact.
I think it's still pretty popular for a lot of people, even outside of
the emergency side of things. It's still a lot of people just listen to
it just because they like listening to it. Mike, always a pleasure.
Thank you for joining us this morning, of course, Jason, take care.
ABC's tech reporter Mike Dubuskie right there. And if you want to join
the bipartisan effort on this, by the way, you can text the letters
AM two five two eight eight six that tells Congress to keep AM radio and
all the cars and trucks that are going to come off the line. Remember,
data rates may apply depending on who you use to send text messages,
So when you send the letters AM two five two eight eighty six, some
data rates could apply depending on your car carrier. Get back to some of
the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour news room at SUV has
fallen off the one oh one freeway in downtown LA. The Ford Expedition hit
a wall on figure Row of Boulevard when it landed last night. A man
and a woman inside were taken to the hospital. LA police have arrested a
man who allegedly shot at officers on the one ten Freeway in South l No
one was hit yesterday and the officers did not return fire. Southbound lanes were
closed for a while as they investigated. Prosecutors in Boston say the Massachusetts Air
National guardsmen charged with leaking highly classified military documents had been warned multiple times about
his handling of classified information. The DOJ says Tsharah was reported as recently as
February by a superior for looking at classified materials beyond his primary duties. ABC's
Justin Finch says Jack Tishara had high level top secret clearance. Justice Department lawyers
want a judge to keep the twenty one year old guardsman in jail while he
awaits trial. Federal prosecutors say he posted messages on the online chat forum Discord,
including one that said he had info on Ukraine, Israel, Palestine,
Syria, Iran, China and others. An eight year old girl has died
in border patrol custody in Texas. Customs and Border Protection says the child and
her family were being held at a station in the Rio Grand Valley, which
is one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings. The agency says the girl
experienced a medical emergency and was taken to the hospital where she died. Jurors
in La are expected to pick up deliberations where they left off in the retrial
of actor Danny Masterson. He's charged with raping three women at his home in
Hollywood Hills between two thousand and one and two thousand and three. Deliberations started
yesterday. Prosecutors say Masterson needs to be held accountable. His attorney questioned the
credibility of the women. This is the second trial from Masterson. The first
one resulted in a mistrial because of a hung jury. High tides have caused
some minor flooding and seal beach The National Weather Service had warned of waves in
southern California yesterday, expected to be four to seven feet and up to eight
feet at some beaches. A beach hazard statement was extended to Orange County beaches
until tonight. The surf is expected to be highest this evening, with high
tide around six feet at about nine pm. For La County beaches, high
tides are expected between eight and ten pm. Aquaman has a thing for sharks,
and it shows the King of Atlantis has been chosen to host Discovery Channels
thirty fifth Shark Week. Jason Mamoa says Shark Week is a chance for him
to learn and share his connection to the great white underwater predators during the week
of programming. He says his love for sharks started long before he became Aquaman.
Shark Week is set to air in late July. Mamoa's new DC flick,
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, will be in theaters in December. Amy
King KFI News. President Biden is in Japan for where summit of the world's
seven largest democracies. Here we go the US, Japan, Canada, the
UK, France, Germany and Italy. There's no quiz, but they're all
going to focus much of their talk on the approach to China and the war
in Ukraine. President Biden is expected back the United States for what he calls
final negotiations on the debt stealing On Sunday, an appeals court seems likely to
restrict access to the myth of pristone abortion pill. The Justice Department argued in
front of a New Orleans federal court yesterday to allow greater access to the pill
after a Texas judge restricted its access earlier this year. The restrictions were based
on alleged flaws with the FDA approval process, and Montana is not short vid
friendly. The Treasure State is the first state to ban TikTok. Users will
not be fined or pursued. It will be the providers of the app,
meaning Apple and Google. It is five fifty on your wake up call.
ABC Senior reporter Jim Ryan is with us. I'm told let's tee up our
discussion. Good morning. The TSA is assessing facial recognition technology at a growing
number of US airports. This is an old problem that's coming back to us.
Well, it is, and it's growing, actually, the growing number
of airports at sixteen now. Obviously it includes Los Angeles and a lot of
other big airports, but some small ones as well, including the Gulfport Bulloxi,
Mississippi Airport, where they're giving this a try. It's all kind of
touching and feeling and seeing where this goes for now. But the old process
was this, I mean just the process a year ago. That's how quickly
this is all changing. Jason. You walk up to the TSA agent and
your driver's license or your passport, your boarding pass, either the paper one
or the one on your phone. Scan the thing and you're done in about
ten or twelve seconds. It's much faster now with this system. Walk up
to a kiosk in search your driver's license or passport into a slot, look
up at the camera. The computer, the artificial intelligence and facial recognition makes
all the comparisons and waves you on through after five or six seconds tops.
So it is getting faster, it's getting more efficient, it's spreading across more
airports, and with it a lot of concern among privacy advocates. It doesn't
seem like they're collecting any new data, though, so what's the concern?
That's right, yeah, right, And and the TSA says that it's not
holding onto that data at all. Those photos, it says, are destroyed
eventually, they're deleted out of the system. But there are those who say
that, you know, if you're holding on to it, Let's say the
TSA decides not to get rid of these pictures. They've got a giant clearinghouse
of photos, a huge database of data on you and me and everybody else
who flies. So yeah, there are concerns about it that that may change,
that policies could change in the future. Most of us don't look great
when we're going through the airport anyway, don't really want those photos hanging around.
But I mean, we all have photos on our driver's licenses already.
Anyway, I won't, I won't belabor the point in the thirty thousand foot
kind of view. Look, Google makes the trade. We'll give you a
bunch of functional stuff that helps you with your daily life as long as you
let us track you so we can tell you some ads. So what why
is this? Why would this be any different than like if you're trading quickness
through the airport and getting onto your plane as opposed to standing in line right
and ostensibly you're also getting out of this more security too. The difference is
this Google, It is a private company. You're talking here about the United
States government that's holding onto these things, and that's always a touchy subject for
privacy advocates that you know, I'm willingly giving up my privacy and a bit
of my data to this private company because I want to be able to jump
onto my phone and start shopping on Amazon. More, when you start talking
about a government agency that's collecting this sort of data even in the short term.
That's where you get into some issues. Five members of the Congress have
Congress have said, look, I want we want you to quit using this
until we get a better feel for what the technology can do. So let's
circle back on the TSA. So we talked about how the old problem is
new again. Have we learned anything as the TSA being preemptive or proactive when
it comes to reintroducing some of this digital surveillance. I guess what I'm saying
is, did they do they have any battle scars from the last time we
went through this with identification at the airports? Well? Sure, and I
think that it was a matter of refining the technology somewhat. There is still
some concern Jason, that the technology, that the facial recognition is not as
good at identifying or or or matching identities of people of color. That's a
problem. And some say that look, if there if anybody is being if
it's causing up trouble problems for anybody, then it shouldn't be used until everyone
can be assured that it's the attaccurate. So yeah, and so they've tried
to refine it, and I suspect that in the last couple of years it's
gotten better. Is it perfect? No? Okay, well, I personally
would I would trade it. I feel like I've given away enough of my
personal data and digitally speaking and otherwise that I would rather get to my gait
faster I think. But I might be alone in this, and there might
be an age screpacy, and definitely if there is racial discrepancies involved, those
need to be addressed to sweet Sure, Yeah, I think you're right.
I think probably most people feel that way. I mean, if you yeah,
and you your mind might be changed. When you walk into the airport,
you look at the security line and to go all the way out the
front door, You're like, maybe I will go over and just give that
a shot, give this new technology a shot. In some places though,
where it's being used, you don't opt in. You have to opt out.
That's another issue altogether, Jesus, I see. Okay, Well,
thanks for raising that one too, Jim Ryan. Always a pleasure to speak
with you. Thank you for your expertise and context on this. Thanks Jason
maybe Se Senior reporter Jim Ryan. Right there, I still would do it.
I mean, even fly out of Ontario sometimes Ontario had the most international
travelers that has ever had last month or that last quarter, so it's the
lines are getting longer. A lot of revenge travel is happening after COVID,
so I think that if there are appropriate guardrails, why not try to get
to the gate a little bit quicker. Let's get back to some of the
stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour news room. The Casa Romantic
Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clementi has set a reopening date. It was
forced to close due to the landslide last month. It will partially reopen May
twenty fifth. The center's executive director says city officials have deemed certain areas safe
that pose no danger to staff or public. The center says opening its doors
even partially brings it one step closer to rejuvenating the spirit of Casa Romantica.
South Carolina's House has approved a ban on abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy.
The state joined others yesterday, moving toward a near total abortion ban.
North Carolina also tightened its abortion laws, set to take effect July first.
Abortion is already banned or severely restricted in ten states in the South. The
critics restrictions limit access and hurt a woman's right to choose. President. Biden
is in Japan for the G seven summit. He met with Japan's Prime minister
shortly after arriving in Hiroshima. Bottom line, mister Prime Minister, is that
on our country's and together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole
world is safer when we do. Leaders of the world's wealthy democracies are expected
to discuss various issues at the summit, including the war in Ukraine. They
are also expected to discuss China's growing assertiveness and military build up, as concerns
rise that it could try to seize Taiwan by force. I've also read that
artificial intelligence will be coming up, and specifically how China is applying artificial intelligence
to its military. Okay, that voice you hear may not be the person
you're hearing. A new feature coming soon from Apple will let you create a
digital version of your voice. Personal Voice is an accessibility feature meant for people
with conditions like als, which can take away the ability to speak. Apple
says fifteen minutes of reading text prompts into your iPhone or iPad, and your
digital voice is ready. To go. Another new feature coming, Live Speech
will read the messages you type. Apple says the personal voice feature will be
on device machine learning to ensure you use her privacy, meaning her digital voice
will not be hanging in the cloud for hackers to get. Michael Krozer KFI
News Moscow is threatening to strike back as the CIA works to recruit frustrated Russian
civilians who become spies. The agency has launched an official channel on Telegram,
the encrypted messaging app that's favored by Russians. It has a dramatized Russian language
video along with it. The video encourages Russians to engage with the CIA on
Telegram and share information it says could be critical to US intelligence efforts. A
Kremlin Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that such malicious activity, including the distribution of
inflammatory materials, will not remain without a proper, effective response from Russia.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is appealing his conviction in George Floyd's murder.
The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld the second degree murder conviction in April. The
case could now move to the Minnesota Supreme Court if they side to hear the
appeal. Floyd died on May twenty fifth, twenty twenty, after Chauvin kneeled
on his neck for nearly ten minutes. Chauvin is serving a twenty two and
a half year sentence for his murder and a separate twenty one year sentence for
violating civil rights. The Dodgers have withdrawn and invitation for some queer or trans
nuns known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in the team's annual LGBTQ
plus Pride Night. This came up on Handle on the News yesterday. The
group had been criticized for mocking Christians. The nuns had been set to receive
a Community Hero Award at Pride Night next month. That upset various Catholic groups
and Florida Senator Marco Rubio Kraft. Heinz is developing away for fans of its
dippin sauces to mix their own flavors at restaurants and stadiums. The companies unveiled
a prototype of what it's calling the Hinz Remix Dispenser. You don't get music
out of it, you get viscus fluids. The machine lets who pick a
bass sauce like Ketchup Ranch fifty seven saucer barbecue and mix it with one or
more flavor enhancers like jalapeno, buffalo, and mango. It's similar to Coca
Cola's freestyle machines that let you mix soda flavors. Because we live in anarchy
and nothing matters, I mean, Kraft Heinz is planning pilot programs with remix
in restaurants for late this year. In early twenty twenty four, Mark Ronner
KFI News. Not exactly anarchy, it's close. Sound the California weather from
KFI. Low clouds and fog as we get rolling this morning, then mostly
sunny this afternoon. Highs in the mid sixties to mid seventies for inland l
Anoc highs at the beaches today in the sixties. Farther inland and in the
valleys, sunny skies and highs should settle around eighty to eighty five degrees today.
Tonight, party cloudy early and then low clouds and fog roll in for
the morning, lows into mid fifties to around sixty again overnight. Seal Beach
right now fifty eight. Orange is also at fifty eight Torrents and Altadena are
both at fifty seven degrees. At six am, we lead local live from
the KFI twenty four hour Newsroom. I'm Jason Middleton. This has been your
wakeup Call. You've been listening to your Wakeup Call with me Jennifer Jones Lee,
and you can always hear wake Up Call five to six am Monday through
Friday at kf I AM six forty and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app