You're listening to KFI AM six forty wake Up Call with Me Amy King on
demand on the iHeartRadio app KFI and kost HT two Los Angeles, Orange County
and all you Amy Kay. It is your wake up call for Thursday,
January eleventh. Good morning, I'm Amy King. I still get a kick
out of that intro. Todd Light, our buddy at the LA Dodgers reminds
me that baseball season isn't far away. We have big news in football,
and men'll tell you about it in just one second. Another night last night,
another debate, and this one just between Nikki Hayley and Ron De Santis.
And I told you I'm a junkie. I love watching these things,
whether they're consequential or not, there are interesting to me. But I do
have to say they just sat there telling each other, well she's lying,
well he's lying, well she's lying. Well you know he's a liar.
Well you know she's a liar. And I'm like, what, just stop,
please, like tell us what you're gonna do, not how nasty the
other person is, because in the end, you're all on the same team.
Remember you guys are all Republicans. So eventually you're going to vote the
same way anyway. Still interesting. And then of course Trump skipped it because
he was at a town hall and you know, in true Trump form.
But again, like I said, it doesn't matter what party it is.
I am obsessed with these things, and so I'm excited that there's more coming.
Here's what's coming up on wake up Call. Hurricane force winds up to
eighty miles an hour could blow through mountain and foothill areas of southern California through
this afternoon. At my house, we didn't get any wind last night,
so it's very thankful for that. High wind warnings are in effect for northern
La County, parts of Ventura, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. They're
also advisor the Santa Clarita Valley could see wins between fifty and seventy miles per
hour. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christy has ended his bid to become the
next president, announcing his supporters last night that he needs to be honest with
himself and to others that there's no path for him to win the nomination.
Big shakeups in football, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick not going to be
coaching New England next year. He's leaving the team after twenty four years that
included six Super Bowl victories. And of course, yesterday, the big announcement
was that Alabama's coach Nick Saban is retiring after winning more national championships than any
other major college football coach. He was seven. He won seven national championships
in seventeen seasons with Bama. Let's get started with some of the stories coming
out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. HP is investigating a pair of
car to car shootings on Los Angeles area freeways. At about nine last night,
a person riding in a car was shot on the ten Freeway near downtown
Town, La. HP says it was likely road rage related. Then about
an hour later, there was another car to car shooting on or near the
one on one Freeway in Encino. An avalanche at a ski area in Lake
Tahoe or near Lake Tahoe has turned deadly. One male has passed away as
a result of the avalanche. There was also another individual that's sustained minor,
non life threatening injuries. Plaster County Sheriff Sergeant David Smith said the wall of
snow came down at Palisades Tahoe around nine thirty yesterday morning. To other people
were caught in the slide but were not hurt. At this point in time,
all search efforts have concluded, and we have come to the conclusion that
there is nobody else up on the mountain. More heavy snow is in the
forecast. See either twenty five than nays are twenty one. The House Judiciary
and Oversight Committee has voted to approve recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of
Congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena do you issued by this committee.
We will move the report to the full House Committee. Chairman Republican James Comer
read the announcement. Republicans want Biden to testify in private about his business dealings.
Biden says he'll only do it in public. Biden unexpectedly showed up for
the meeting yesterday and then walked out during the middle of it. Today,
he said to be arraigned in La on felony and misdemeanor tax charges. The
future of Tech has arrived in Las Vegas. The fifty eighth Annual Consumer Electronic
Show brings together the latest advancements in technology for home entertainment, food prep,
cars and trucks, cell phones, and medicine and instant blood test that can
detect a concussion. Think about what this means for athletes young people around the
country who are playing sports. The ability to immediately detect a concussion and deal
with it is incredibly valuable. Jim Fellinger's with CEES and says, the hot
topic this year is artificial intelligence and how it's being integrated into every aspect of
our daily lives. At the CEES in Las Vegas. Steve Gregory KINGAHI News,
let's say good to ABC's Jim Ryan. So, Jim, there was
so much excitement on Monday when the moon Lander launched, and now the mission
has failed yet has for whatever reason, the lunar Lander, the Peregrine,
began to lose propellant after its launch of perfect launch. Really on Monday morning,
the board that Viking rocket first time they had used that the Vulcan rocket
rather United Launch Alliance was behind the launch and so everything was perfect. But
now Astrobotics, the company behind the Peregrine lunar Lander, says, you know
it's not gonna happen. It's not going to land. On the Moon.
It is still kind of rocketing out or cruising out in the direction of the
Moon, but there won't be any landing there as they had planned on feby
twenty third because of this propellant issue. So it's not in Earth's orbit anymore
longer. Correct, it's about two hundred old. Yesterday morning it was two
hundred thousand miles away from the Earth and going generally in the direction of the
Moon. But the expectation is that it's just going to keep on going.
They have no real way to control it once the propellant has run out,
and when that happens, of course, the battery is going to run out
because the unit can't continue to orient itself toward the Sun. It has to
do that to charge the batteries with solar panels. Okay, so it's going
to run out of propellant and then it's going to run out of power.
But it's headed in the general direction of the Moon, and because it's moving
that way and there's space and there's nothing to stop. But it's just going
to keep going right yeah, right, yeah, forever maybe, you know,
unless until it runs into something out there, I suppose. But it's
a big disappointment obviously for NASA, which was the major contractor on this,
but also for sixteen commercial customers in seven countries. Twenty payloads were aboard the
Peregrine Lunar Lander and now it's all just simply lost. None of it is
going to be put to us, says it was supposed to. It's not
the end of the road, though. Another company, Intuitive Machines, based
in Houston, has a contract with NASA as well. It's going to try
a similar lunar launder lunar launch next month and it'll be carrying some other NASA
experiments. So yeah, we'll see what happens in the next four weeks or
so. Okay, so you mentioned the company in Houston, and then of
course the other company is also a private company. Are there like a bunch
of private companies lined up just kind of waiting for their turn, or they're
just two or three, Well, there are several. I mean it's always
been that way too. I mean, if you look even back to the
space program in the nineteen sixties and seventies, there were contractors around the country,
private companies that were involved in making space suits and making different components the
hardware. Then that's sort of how it is now. There are big major
rocket companies. SpaceX, in fact, is going to provide the rockets that's
to be used next month for a Houston and Intuitive machines, so that launch
will use the Falcon nine rocket, and then ULA United Launch Alliance. They're
the newcomer and all of this. They created the rocket that was used this
past week. But yeah, there's a long list of contractors, private companies
who do nothing at all but make various components for the a NASA, but
for other contractors around the country. Okay, I didn't realize that there were
that many kind of companies kind of in the hopper waiting to go. So
of course the remains of or DNA of Lieutenant O'Hara, Scotti, doctor McCoy,
Gene Roddenberry and others, they're just space junk now essentially, yes,
although they were going to become space junk anyway, because yeah, yeah,
celestis this company that provides that service to people and pay a few thousand dollars
and have your loved ones DNA whatever remains there are sent out into deep space.
And so I suppose in that way those folks are getting what they asked
for they're they're loved ones. Remains are launched off into space and we'll stay
that way. But yeah, so Celestis is one of many contractors or companies
that had a space on that on that Peregrine Lunar Lander, and now we'll
have to rework the program. Okay, So for for Lieutenant o'hura and those
guys, it's sort of mission accomplished a little different than they thought it was
going to look, but it's fine, yeah, all right, and then
we'll be looking forward to the next attempt to get to the Moon next month,
right by the end of this year. Of course, NASA assume everything
goes right and we don't have delays like this or little glitches. You're going
to have a group of astronauts on a ten day trip around the Moon.
That group is not going to land on the Moon, but the plan is
that they will. Those astronauts will will loop around the Moon then come back
as part of the Artemis two project. Right, and that just got pushed
Did you just say that that that just got pushed back till next year.
I didn't know that. I heard it was by the end of this year.
It was the end of next year, and it just came out yesterday,
I think kind of it was late yesterday, but they said they're pushing
that one back, and then the next one is Artemis three, and that
one's pushed back to twenty twenty six. They didn't really say why, but
they said they need to work on a few things. You're bad. Yeah,
Well it's still I love all this stuff, and in the interim until
we actually get there, I'm going to keep watching for all mankind. Well,
live long and prosper. Thank you so much, Jim Ryan appreciate it.
So let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI
twenty four hour newsroom. Governor Newsom says the budget deficit for California isn't nearly
as bad as first thought. Estimates of a sixty eight billion dollars short fallow
down to just over thirty eight billion. The proposed spending plan from the governor
increases the Health and Human Services Agency budget by about five billion dollars, whether
it's food or cash, supports, focus on those with disabilities, and the
services broad medic Health program, the many public health programs that we facilitate across
the state. Those are being largely intact. Secretary doctor Mark Galli says there
will be reductions to some social services and legal services. He says much of
the increase will pay to expand health care for all, including illegal immigrants.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's dropped out of the twenty twenty four presidential race.
He made the announcement hours before UN Ambassador Nicki Haley and Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis debated last night. He also went after President Trump, anyone who is
unwilling to say that he is unfit to be president of the United States is
unfit themselves to be president of the United States. A recent poll in New
Hampshire showed Christy at twelve percent support and that about two thirds of his supporters
would pick Hailey as their second choice. A CNN poll found Trump's lead was
down to single digits in New Hampshire and about a third would now choose Nicki
Hayley. The LA County Medical Examiner's Office says the investigation into the death of
Matthew Perry has been closed. Died October twenty eighth from acute effects of ketamine.
Ketamine is a drug used to treat depression but can also be used recreationally.
The medical examiner found no evidence of alcohol or other drugs in Perry's system.
His death has been ruled an accident. A fourteen million dollar beach replenishment
project has dumped rocky cobble on beaches in San Clemente instead of the pristine sand
it normally has City officials complained, but Army Corps of Engineers LA District spokesman
Dina Odell says beach quality sand is at the dredging site near ocean side,
but it's beneath the layer of cobble. If suitable material can't be reached,
we will stop operations and the dredge will move to Salona Beach to start the
dredging project there. Should we leave, our intent is to return the beach
to pre construction condition. Odell says. The project that started last month has
also been stalled by inclement weather, sea swells and dredge maintenance, but crews
got back to work this week in San Clementy, Corbin Carson KFI News,
speaking of the beach big waves, they are expecting more big waves and maybe
some coastal flooding to continue through tomorrow morning. Hunter Biden is set to be
a rain today in downtown Los Angeles on nine federal tax charges. President Biden's
sons expected to plead not guilty to charges of failing to pay taxes, failing
to file, evading an assessment, and filing a fraudulent form. He could
be sentenced to seventeen years in prison if convicted as charged. Eight LA County
probation officers have been placed on leave because of something involving detainees at the Los
Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey. The chief probation officer won't say what happened,
only it was a significant incident. Last month, the La Kunty Sheriff's Department
will investigate. TSA says it confiscated a record sixty seven hundred and thirty seven
guns at TSA airport checkpoints in twenty twenty three. One hundred and twenty five
of them were at the five LA area airports. TSA administrator David Pokoski says
what particularly concerning is that ninety three percent of the guns found were loaded at
six o five. It's handle on the news. Bill's going to a weigh
in on what he thought about the debate between Rohn De Santis and Nikki Hayley
last night. Right now, let's say good morning to ABC's Jordana Miller.
Jordana, the Secretary of State Anthony Blincoln is meeting with leaders in the Middle
East. It's his fourth trip, so let's talk about what he's accomplishing and
what he's trying to accomplish during this trip. Right the Sectary of State really
making a world win visit here to the Middle East. Who stopped in Turkey
and cutter in Saudi Arabia, Jordan. He was here in Egypt. Heos
in the Palacinian Authority, the territories there. He was in Bahrain, and
he will be in Egypt. All of those visits centered around of what is
happening in the Goaza Strip the war there talking to America's allies Arab allies about
how they can work together to one increase aid into the Gaza Strip. You
know, there's only about two hundred trucks of aid getting in a day.
That really needs to be increased because there's so much suffering there and their shortage
of food and water and medicine. Also, what post war Gaza is going
to look like that is you know, helping get a consortium of countries together
to both help rebuild and reconstruct the Gaza Strip and also to help revitalize and
show support for the Palestinian Authority, which is the governing body that the Americans
want to see come in and take a leadership role in the Gaza Strip.
But in order to do that, the Palestinian Authority really has to begin a
series of reforms. They're ailing leader, the Palstinian President has to groom a
successor. They need elections, they need to really be fund and their transparency,
you know, and the security forces, the palest and security forces are
really need to be revamped and retrained. So this is a long term project,
and it appears that you know, the Secretary of State really wants to
weigh in and make this kind of a collective effort to ensure that once AMASA
is defeated in the Gaza Strip, which it appears will still take many many
more months, that there's in place a government or a governing body like the
Palstoni Authority that can come in and take control. And that also me's asking
the Israelis to you know, also work with the Palestinian the Authority, which
is a challenge because the current Prime Minister doesn't like the palest The authority that
much to say the least. Okay, so what Blinkin is basically pushing for,
are the Allies kind of on board with that? And then also does
Israel seem to be on board with what the US is pushing for? Well,
it appears from what Lincoln has said that the Allies, the Air of
Allies, are willing to work together to try to make sure that Gaza is
a livable place without Hamas in the future, and those are goals that Israel
shares. The details there are obviously some differences, but I do believe that
over time the Israeli Prime Minister a given America support in this war indeed and
in a huge a military aid for Israel and diplomatic cover at the UN.
Over time, I do believe that the Israeli Prime Minister will agree to Palestinian
leadership in the Gaza strip. But all sides agree that the Palestinian authority has
to be reformed and it has to be strengthened, and that's that is now
going to be a regional project, and of course it includes reopening talks on
a two state solution. A Palestinian state, which that piece of the puzzle
is the part that the current Israeli prime minister is again, but remember Natanya,
who is unlikely to be Israel's Prime minister in even a year's time,
given that the horrible attack on October seventh happened on his watch and largely as
a result of his kind of vision or miscalculation of who Hamas was in the
threat they represented. Okay, so I have so many questions, and I
know we don't have time for all of them. But you're talking about rebuilding
Gaza once, once Hamas is cleared out, and I and my immediate thought
is wow, this is a great opportunity for a lot of different countries to
jump in and make a lot of money because it's going to be a major
operation. But then I was like, well, who would who's going to
pay to rebuild Gaza? Right? Well, I mean, first ball,
certainly the regional partners like Saudi Arabia and Egypt and Jordan, they all have
a vested interest in contributing to Gaza that is free of Hama. And if
Saudi Arabia and Israel, for example, moved closer towards normalization, then one
of the advantages of Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel and what that gains for
Saudi Arabia's close ties with the US. Remember when Israel made peace of Egypt,
the United States played a major role peeling Egypt away from the Soviet orbit
and offering money and all kinds of things that only the Americans could do for
Egypt to help Egypt. And in a sense that is a version of what
we're seeing here. Saudi Arabia wants certain things from the United States, including
arms and really to be a major player on the global scene, and in
exchange for that, normalizing ties with Israel and possibly footing part of the bill
to get Gaza, you know, back up and turn it into a functioning
and even thriving place. Right now, you know, there's obviously huge swalks
of the Gaza Strip that are destroyed, and you know it is a war
torn place right now, but you know, in the future it could be
this. You know, the end of Hamas's rule of the Gaza Strip is
only good in the long term, not only for Israel in the region,
but for Palestinians too. I mean, there are hundreds of thousands of Gozins
who are held hostage by Hamas as well. Now they may support Hamas because
they don't have another choice. This is a group that runs the Gaza Strip
like a dictatorship, you know, plus Islamic fundamentalism. I mean, it
is nowhere you could dissent or voice your opposition. So you know, I
don't want to talk about liberating Gaza from Hamas. But there are certainly many
Palestinians. Remember there's two million in the Gods of Strip, and they do
not all support the Gaza Strip, the support Hamas. You know, we
could safely say at least half of them don't. Yeah. It just it's
so amazing to me and probably to everyone's out there listening and getting ready for
working stuff this morning, how complicated this is. It seems like it would
be a simple fix wipeout Commas, but it's so much deeper than that.
And we're so thankful, Georgiana that we have you to help us sort it
out. So thank you so much. Have a great day, and we'll
talk to you again soon month talk. So all right, take care.
Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four
hour news from the Extended Stay America Hotel in Carson's going to be converted into
studio apartments for the homeless. The project has received funding from Project Room Key
and LA County to help address the homelessness crisis. Local nonprofits are also working
on converting other hotels in Lancaster in Palmdale. The three projects will provide more
than three hundred units for interim housing. A date on when the projects would
begin has not been announced. Orange County plans to study a three million dollar
program to see if giving money to two hundred struggling families will actually prevent homelessness.
Office of Care Coordination Director Doug Beck says each family could get up to
almost eleven thousand dollars to help with rent and other bills. Priority populations will
be specifically seniors, eight to six year older, single parent households, and
yet again, people that are imminently at risk of homelessness. Beck says up
to six thousand dollars can be used for overdue rent and utilities, then a
forty dollars stipend would boost the family for twelve months. He says the county
has identified the two hundred families, but still needs to choose a vendor to
disperse the money and also study the results. A new AI powered restaurant will
soon be opening its doors in Pasadena. Collie Express will serve as a showroom
to other restaurant owners about using robotics to save on labor costs. The technology
used will enable restaurants to operate with one to two employees Miso Robotics. Ryan
Sinnett says he doesn't think there will be a completely human free restaurant anytime soon.
Restaurant owners would agree that consumers typically owt to restaurants is for more of
a human experience. Sinett says restaurant owners have been able to use AI technology
to keep more staff out of the kitchen and working directly with customers. The
restaurant is set to open in the next two to three weeks. Blake Trolley
k if I News. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christy has ended his bid
to become president, announcing his supporters last night that he needs to be honest
with himself and others there is no path for him to win the nomination.
He also was caught on a hot mic saying candidate Nikki Haley is going to,
as he put it, get smoked. A sixty five thousand pound external
fuel tank has been moved about one thousand feet across Exposition Park and is expected
to be lift into an upright position today next to two rocket motors that are
already in launch position. The Space Shuttle in debt will be next, likely
in coming weeks. A new display of the shuttle in launch position at the
California Science Centers expected to open in a couple of years. At six oh
five, it's handle on the news. A House committee is voted to hold
Hunter Biden in contempt for not complying with the subpoena. And that's just one
of Hunter's problems. He's also in court today in La facing tax charges.
At five point fifty, we're going to talk to ABC's Stephen portnoy Moore about
Chris Christy dropping out of the race and what effect it will have, if
any, on the candidates who still remain. So we went out and about
this week. You know, we like to go out check out things around
Los Angeles, and we found a fun and different way to see a movie.
A few weeks ago, Nick and I went to the IPIC Theater in
Pasadena. Awesome. Right there, there are other theaters that are similar,
maybe a little less high end, and so we found the Alamo Draft House
in Downtown Lakes. We wanted to go see American Fiction, which came out
a little bit early. I think it doesn't officially released until Thursday or Friday,
anyway, doesn't matter. So what is different about this from a regular
movie theater and Nick feel free to chime in anytime, is that one there.
It's smaller, There are fewer seats, and the seats are nicer than
regular seats. They're recliners and there are there's a place to put food,
and they do table service or seat service is whatever you call it. There's
only fifty seats in the theater, and I think it has a very old
school feel like when you walk into the Alamo Draft House, they have all
these classic movie posters and we saw a new release, but I saw just
from looking around that they do play classic movies too. Well. That was
kind of what we talked about quite a few times, and I think nostalgia
was the word that we used most often when we were there, But it
was even to something long before You and I would go to the theater and
they were playing old school news reports that used to come Ahead had of movies
many many many years ago, also little cartoons and vignettes from older black and
white films, So it was really really fun. It was very different as
much and you know swanky as ipick was. This was you know, kind
of old school Hollywood issue jacent swanky in its own way. Maybe not the
high end bougie experience you're thinking of, but it was really special and unique,
a little bit of a different situation. Yeah, and as we mentioned,
they do have they have food, so it's not just getting a hot
dog or just getting popcorn. So the menu is also a little more basic
than the ipic, but it was still solid. I mean, we had
we got a little pizza, which I thought was absolutely delicious. It reminded
me of Shaky's pizza. Remember how their crust is kind of different, so
that was really good. And then we had the popcorn that they bring it
to you instead of like in a little bag, they bring it to you
in a big bowl, which at first I was like big metal mixing bowls
that you use in the kitchen. It was really awesome. It reminded me
of like watching a movie at home kind of thing exactly whereas at first I
was like, oh, this is weird, and then I went, oh,
no, this is kind of cool. And they do serve cocktails,
which is a bonus for me, and I just thought it would I thought
it was really a good experience. I would definitely go again. If you
do go, it is downtown at the block in LA make sure that you
validate your parking because otherwise it'll cost you forty dollars. But if you get
a validation, it's only four dollars, So that's correct, that's totally worth
it. So yes, a cool experience, a little bit less expensive and
a little bit maybe a little campier than I pick is. However, that's
a really good No, that's a perfect way to describe it. It's that
nostalgic, old school campy experience. And we've talked about this for a good
amount of time, but going to the theaters now is such a different world.
I mean, when you've got streaming services and you can see everything and
get things you know at your fingertips at home without a problem. So I
think this was really fun. It's worth going out again. Like Amy said,
it's a little bit less expensive. Some of the higher end premium experiences.
This definitely still fits into that premium experience idea again with the service in
that comes to you. And it was just fun and also that we did
learn make sure you show up about a half hour early, just so you
can sit down, kind of get to lay of the land. You literally
show up and you end up down this long corridor which is a little bit
of a throwback to the Shining if you will, if you know, the
old horror film, and there's in fact even a little display there, and
it's just a bunch of hallways and you want to go down it. You
walk into your theater and then the experience really begins. It's really kind of
fun and unique. Yeah, and then we also, you know, with
transparency, Nick and I got lost heading to the movie theater. So that's
why I go a little bit early, at least for you, especially for
your first time, so you can find your way to a second lit We
got there. We got there, so yeah, thank you, Nick.
So we saw American Fiction and just real quickly it's the new movie with Jeffrey
Wright and you've probably seen trailers for it on ads and stuff, and I
went, oh, that looks really interesting. So the guy is he's a
writer. He's a very talented writer, but nobody reads his books, and
so he's like, how am how am I gonna change this? And sort
of as an exasperation, he writes a book that he thinks is horrible and
really stereotypical, and it immediately sells. So and then kind of how the
not hilarity but how things unfold following that. So I think it was a
really interesting movie. It had Jeffrey Wright in it, who you probably know
from he was in Westworld and also from the Hunger Games movies love him.
And then Sterling K. Brown is in the movie Leslie Ugghams. Oh my
god, she's so beautiful and still adorable. Tracy Ellis what's her middle name,
Nick, Tracy Leeell's, Tracy L's Ross, Tracy Ellis Ross right,
She had a smaller part, but she was in it. I think that
it was an interesting movie. I think it was a little bit slow.
It took a while to get going. And the other thing that the thing
I didn't like about it is I felt like it played in into every single
stereotype, but it does it intentionally, So I can't decide if I'm offended
by it or it was good because it makes sense for this movie. But
I think one of the things that disturbs me about this movie and so many
others coming out of Hollywood is they try to shove it down your throat that
black people have been oppressed, even though in this movie many of the black
characters are really successful and affluent, and that all white people are just stupid
and bad. And I feel like it just pushes more divisions in our society.
And it's frustrating because again, I like the premise of the movie.
I like some of the things in the way they unfold in the movie,
but I just a lot of the virtue signaling is still going on in this
movie, and I don't love that. Would I go see it again?
Maybe not, but I would go see it. It's called American Fiction.
It is an interesting watch, and it's nominated for a bunch of things that
just came out that it's nominated for some SAG Awards, And yeah, I
would go see it. And I would go see it at the at the
Alamo Draft House in downtown LA because it was a really cool place to see
a movie that's you're out and about for this week, Let's get back to
some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Governor
Newsom has announced the first draft of his two hundred and ninety one billion dollar
state spending plan. The budget includes an almost thirty eight billion dollar deficit,
which is lower than the sixty eight billion dollars predicted by the Legislative Analysts Office.
Newsom says in times of a shortfall, he wants to prioritize funding for
issues he thinks are top of mind for most Californians. Almost that's the issues
around mental health, issues around a safer community, issues around crime and violence,
career education, which we'll talk a lot more about in the next few
months, our climate commitment, which is second to none. Newsom is set
to spend the next six months discussing the final plan with lawmakers. Charges have
been dismissed in Orange County against a man accused of trafficking a fifteen year old
girl because federal prosecutors taking over the case. Jamal Curry was arrested during a
traffic stop in Mission Viejo in November. The girl was in the passenger seat.
They had driven to California from Las Vegas. The federal charges include transportation
of a minor in interstate commerce for prostitution. South Africa's lawyers have told judges
that the UN's top court that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. South Africa
contends that Israel has transgressed Article two of the Convention by committing actions that fall
within the definition of genocide. South Africa says the latest war in Gaza is
part of decades of oppression of the Palestinians by Israel, and they want the
court to urgently order Israel to stop its military operation. Israel has denied such
arguments and will make its case tomorrow. A decision will likely take weeks.
Nicki Haley and former President Trump or Nikki Haley says former President Trump lost the
twenty twenty election. In last night's debate against Florida Governor Ronda Santis, Hailey
referred to the January sixth Capitol riot as a terrible day, saying Trump will
have to answer for his actions. Our country is completely divided. It's divided
over extremes, it's divided over hatred. It's divided over the fact that people
think that if someone doesn't agree with you, that they're bad. She says.
The country needs a president who brings out the best in people and paves
the way forward. Hailey and DeSantis have been trailing close for the number two
spot between Trump for the Republican nomination. This Saturday, starting at one point
thirty, don't miss any of the AFC Wildcard NFL playoff games featuring the Cleveland
Browns and the Houston Texas. Then that game will be followed by the Miami
Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs at five. You can listen to the games on
AM five seventy LA Sports presented in part by Rotolo Chevrolet. See what all
the fun is about at Rotlo Chevrolet. Hunter Biden is said to be rained
today in downtown Los Angeles on nine federal tax charges. President Biden Sun's expected
to plead not guilty to charges of failing to pay taxes, failing to file,
evading an assessment, and filing a fraudulent form. He could get seventeen
years in prison if convicted. A bomb threat has been made at the home
of the judge presiding over former President Trump's civil fraud trial. Police have responded
in New York. It's not clear if the judge was home at the time.
Closing arguments at the tax fraud trial will apparently proceed as scheduled this morning.
The city of Downey has fined a restaurant more than four thousand dollars,
saying its servers uniforms violate the city's dress code for people handling food servers at
Ojos Locos, where two T shirts cut into tank tops and short skirts.
Apparently that doesn't fly. The restaurant says it will appeal and hopes to be
reimbursed for the fines. Let's say good morning now to ABC's Stephen Portnoy.
So, Stephen, Chris Christy is out. Let's talk about what he said
right before he announced he was dropping out of the race. Well, he
was wearing a microphone that was transmitting on his campaign website unbeknownst him, and
he said of Nicki Haley, quote she's gonna get smoked. You and I
both know it. She's not up to it. And then he said DeSantis
called him quote petrified that I would. And then the microphone cuts out.
We don't know what he was about to say, so that's when he realized
the mic was on. Well somebody did. Look. What we don't know
is what he was about to say. At the end of that sentence,
DeSantis called me petrified that I would. But ABC News has been reporting it
for some time. The DeSantis campaign has been really worried that Chris Christy would
drop out before New Hampshire. They described it as a nightmare scenario because what
they've seen is Nicki Haley zooming in the polls, and it, you know,
perhaps their own internal polling bears out what a CNN poll this week indicated,
which is that sixty five percent of Chris Christi voters would choose Nikki Haley
if they had to make a second choice. And so if he was polling
in third place in New Hampshire with a base of support of anywhere from ten
to twelve percent, and he's out, well, that suggests that most of
his supporters would go to Nicki Haley. And there was a CNN survey this
week that showed that the race was a seven point margin between Donald Trump and
Nicki Haley. So if most of Chris Christi's support goes to Nicky Haley,
well, then the New Hampshire contest seems a lot hotter than it previously was
looking before Chris Christi dropped out. Well, I know that we We've talked
several times Steven about how even if all of the seventeen candidates that started out
and some of them have dropped out, but earlier Trump's support was so strong
that even if you added all of those together, it wouldn't be enough to
beat him. But as you're just saying, that's shifting at least in New
Hampshire. Well, and we're talking about well, and one other thing to
point out is least these surveys offer the opportunity for you know, don't know
or haven't decided options. When it comes down to an actual election, you
know, we'll see whether you know, thirty nine percent is enough. Right.
My point is to say that a plurality is all you need to win
an election, and so there are other options. We'll see what happens.
Right. I don't want to forecast and say that Donald Trump can't be beat
But New Hampshire is a unique case because you have essentially a semi open primary
there where people who are not registered Democrats can come into the polling place if
they're undeclared, and pick up a Republican ballot and take part. Even if
they're liberally minded. Certainly independently minded, and before they leave the polling place,
they can unregister themselves with the Republican Party and once again be undeclared to
take part in the next primary cycle. So a lot of people in New
Hampshire do this and it's why someone who positions himself as anti Trump as Chris
Christy did, was able to have a base of support in New Hampshire and
be a contender. Now no poll had him in the lead, but he
was a factor. And now that he's out, you wonder where some of
those independent mind and maybe even liberally inclined Republican primary vote are going to go.
What I think is interesting about Chris Christy and the comments that he made
during his speech before he said I am suspending my campaign. What he was
talking about, how he had to be honest with himself, how he you
know, and he was basically a spoiler for Trump. That was sort of
his that was kind of his jam, you know, like he wanted to
call out Trump whenever he could because he used to support him, now he
doesn't. And he said, I need to be transparent and if you can't
say that you don't follow Trump, then you shouldn't be president. And those
kinds of things. I'm not quoting, of course, But then he goes
and as he's telling people how he needs to be honest on that hot mic
moment, he says there and just nails Haley and just said, well,
yeah, she's gonna get smoked. I'm like, then, be honest with
that. Why didn't you say that during your thing, like say, I'm
dropping out, but I'm throwing my support behind so and so because I'm being
honest. It just it just feels so insincere, like I feel so many
candidates. Well, let me put it this way. At least it's consistent.
He didn't say behind closed doors, she's going to get smoked and then
publicly say and now I endorse Nicki Haley. He did not say that.
Yeah, And it's almost you could put those two things together and read into
it that he would not endorse Nicki Haley at a later date. Now,
in politics, the winds shift and things change, and people have always reserved
the right to change their minds. Yeah, but at least last night,
Chris Christie was consistent. One of the X factors in this campaign cycle could
be the presence of a third party candidacy that has not yet materialized. And
if Chris Christie says that no one who declares that Donald Trump is unfit for
office is him or herself fit for office. If that holds, and you
know, Chris Christy decides not to throw his weight behind Nicki Haley or Rond
de Santis, maybe he'll hold out for some third party alternative. Maybe he
wants to be a part of it. Who knows, Joe Manson and Chris
Christie or somebody else who is throwing out It's so crazy this year, it
could be anything. All right, Well, thank you so much, Steven
Portnoy. We'll we'll be watching you. All right, Let's get back to
some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. One
person has been killed three others hurt in an avalanche at Palisades tap Hoost Ski
Resort in northern California. The resort's Michael Gross says it was opening day of
the KT twenty two chair lift yesterday without ski patrol up there doing avalanche patrol
assessments since Sunday, So for the past few days they've been up there doing
control work. But he says it appears the first skiers down. The run
triggered the avalanche rescue teams were sent to clear the area. They spent several
hours searching for anyone who may have been trapped. The resort was temporarily closed.
It is expected to reopen today. Chargers have been filed against a man
accused of using rocks and bricks to smash through windows of several businesses in the
Tapanga area. He's facing seventeen counts of vandalism with four hundred dollars or more
in damage or destruction of property. A hearing is set for later this month
to see if he's mentally competent to stand trial. Starbucks has been sued by
a consumer advocacy group in DC for alleged false advertising. The groups of Starbucks
gets its coffee and tea from farms with human rights and labor abuses, including
farms in Guatemala, Kenya, and Brazil. The suit, filed yesterday,
claims the company is misleading people by marketing its one hundred percent ethical sourcing commitment
on its products. Big shakeups in football, The New England Patriots and coach
Bill Belichick have agreed to part ways, so Belichick will not be coaching New
England in twenty twenty four, he is leaving the team, ending a decades
long run that included six Super Bowl victories, and yesterday, Alabama's coach Nick
Saban announced he's retiring after winning more national championships than any other major college football
coach. He's won seven national championships in seventeen seasons with Bama. Pasadena is
celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the Cheeseburger with Cheeseburger Week. From January twenty
first through the twenty seventh, people can dine in honor of Lionel Sternberger,
thought to be the first person to put cheese on a hamburger in nineteen twenty
four. Diners can download Cheeseburger Passport and visit participating spots to get it stamped
for a chance to win prizes. Sounds delicious. Tomorrow, the Clippers take
on the Memphis Grizzlies, with tip off at five o'clock on your home of
Clippers Basketball, AM five seventy LA Sports brought to you by your Southern California
Toyota Dealers. We make it easy. This is KFI and kost HD two
Los Angeles, Orange County live from the KFI twenty four hour Newsroom. I'm
Amy King. This has been your wake up call, and if you missed
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