1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,480 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to dpeakclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,960 your support. So you just heard in the top of 10 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:34,320 the hour news there that the North Carolina State Auditor 11 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:39,719 is launching an investigation into essentially security spending on the 12 00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:42,719 Charlotte area transit system to find out how much are 13 00:00:42,719 --> 00:00:47,719 they spending on security is it adequate? And Dave Bollock 14 00:00:47,799 --> 00:00:52,439 is the auditor. He cited the rash of violence that's 15 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,920 been on the buzz and remember and the trains. But 16 00:00:55,039 --> 00:00:58,079 remember like this has been going on a while, right, 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,719 I mean we talked about at the time the bus driver, 18 00:01:02,799 --> 00:01:07,200 remember who was murdered, the violence against bus drivers. They 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,000 were like clamoring for more protection and safety from the 20 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,760 cat system. This was a couple of years ago. Remember 21 00:01:13,799 --> 00:01:16,599 Tark Bakari, the former Charlotte city councilman made a big 22 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:21,599 deal about getting plexiglass bulletproof glass around the bus drivers, 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:23,560 and of course all of the Democrats were like, oh, 24 00:01:23,799 --> 00:01:30,560 shut up, you Republican. So there's another there's another aspect 25 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,959 to all of this, and I mentioned it in last 26 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,040 hour's chat with Andrew Dunn, and it is the decision 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:44,239 to release the video. And this gets into journalism ethics. 28 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:49,920 I know, oxymoron, but it gets into a question that 29 00:01:50,079 --> 00:01:56,439 newsrooms find themselves grappling with, and hopefully they've got people 30 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:03,760 of different opinions that are arguing for either side, and 31 00:02:03,799 --> 00:02:07,680 it is whether or not local media should have released 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,199 the video from the light railcar that shows the murder. 33 00:02:14,159 --> 00:02:19,159 WBTV they released it, but they paused the video before 34 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,759 the actual murder, but they showed all of the rest 35 00:02:22,759 --> 00:02:26,360 of it and then they do a cutaway and that's 36 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:29,479 the video that went viral over the weekend, which then 37 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,280 prompted the national coverage. On the other hand, WSOCTV they 38 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:42,960 opted not to. So here's what Joe Bruno, reporter at WSOCTV, 39 00:02:43,479 --> 00:02:46,639 who has done a lot of really good work on 40 00:02:46,879 --> 00:02:49,759 this story in the last two and a half weeks, 41 00:02:50,199 --> 00:02:54,560 he said, cats released the fatal stabbing video of Arena Zarutzka. 42 00:02:54,759 --> 00:02:58,080 I watched it. It is horrifying. I made the call 43 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,599 with a small group of managers who watched the clip 44 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,759 to not show any video of Arena on the train. 45 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,520 This is out of respect to her family who may 46 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,879 not have seen the video. The video is graphic, disturbing 47 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,800 and incredibly scary. Okay, So first off, what I think 48 00:03:14,879 --> 00:03:17,919 they should have done, KATS should have done, is to 49 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,479 provide that video to the family first and tell them 50 00:03:22,719 --> 00:03:25,840 we have a Freedom of Information Act request from local media. 51 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,360 They want this video, It's going to be out there. 52 00:03:30,439 --> 00:03:34,039 Do you want a copy of it? Before this thing 53 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,759 goes viral? I actually come down on this with the 54 00:03:37,879 --> 00:03:43,120 WBTV handling of it. I think they handled that well. 55 00:03:43,319 --> 00:03:47,080 I think they they published the whole video except for 56 00:03:47,759 --> 00:03:52,360 the actual attack. They stop the video, they pause it 57 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:57,479 just as the attacker to Carlos Brown Junior, you know, 58 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,039 takes his arm back, rears back, and then they freeze 59 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:03,879 frame it right, that's and then it goes. It goes 60 00:04:03,879 --> 00:04:06,360 from color to black and white, and so I think 61 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,159 that was an appropriate way to handle it. So it 62 00:04:09,199 --> 00:04:14,039 doesn't show the actual murder, but it shows you everything 63 00:04:14,039 --> 00:04:17,600 else around it. Almost they didn't show what happened in 64 00:04:17,639 --> 00:04:23,160 the car because obviously there's a camera on the on 65 00:04:23,439 --> 00:04:26,399 the the very on the victim, basically where she's sitting, 66 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,319 but they we don't ever see the video after he 67 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:31,839 has struck her. We just see him then in a 68 00:04:31,879 --> 00:04:35,160 different part of the car, walking up and pacing around, 69 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,560 dripping blood. He takes his sweatshirt off, he wraps it 70 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,560 around his hand, which is bleeding. He's dropped, he's dripping 71 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:49,839 blood all over the floor. And here's why. At one 72 00:04:49,879 --> 00:04:55,199 point in the video he can be heard mumbling, I 73 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:01,720 got that white girl. And I watched the video multiple 74 00:05:01,759 --> 00:05:04,920 times and never heard him say it. It was only 75 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,560 after somebody on social media pointed this out. I went 76 00:05:08,639 --> 00:05:11,560 back to the video and I jacked up the audio 77 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,879 levels and he does say it. He says, I got 78 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:20,360 that white girl. Now, he's not telling anybody except whatever 79 00:05:20,439 --> 00:05:25,560 voice is in his head. And that's why releasing the 80 00:05:25,639 --> 00:05:30,279 video is important because, in Joe Bruno's description, as in 81 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:35,680 all descriptions from any reporter, right, any reporter is going 82 00:05:35,759 --> 00:05:37,959 to miss stuff, and they're going to focus on things 83 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,560 that some other reporter might not. Okay, That's why you 84 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,000 want more people with eyes on it, so you get 85 00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:49,560 different reports on what they're seeing. And so if you 86 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:53,360 were to simply rely on a reporter who watches the 87 00:05:53,439 --> 00:05:56,439 video and then describes it to you, you don't know 88 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,839 what you don't know, You don't know what else is 89 00:05:58,879 --> 00:06:03,199 on that video. So Bruno's description was, after watching the video, 90 00:06:03,959 --> 00:06:07,319 we have more context than perspective, and then he describes 91 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,439 the man in the red sweatshirt is to Carlos Brown. 92 00:06:10,519 --> 00:06:14,000 The picture is from right before Zeruska got on board. 93 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,839 You can see the train was pretty full. When Zeruzka 94 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:19,560 boarded the train, she sat in the aisle seat in 95 00:06:19,639 --> 00:06:22,079 the road directly in front of him. Brown was at 96 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:27,079 the window. Zarutzka wearing headphones. The two had no interaction whatsoever. 97 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,759 She was scrolling on her phone the entire ride. Brown 98 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:31,920 and Zerutzka were on the train together for four and 99 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,439 a half minutes. To Carlos, Brown showed a little to 100 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,240 no emotion on the ride. At times he rested his 101 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:41,160 head on the window, just as Katz said, he looked 102 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,800 like any other transit rider see and that also is 103 00:06:45,399 --> 00:06:48,279 in my opinion, like I would report that differently because 104 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,279 when I was watching it, you could see him muttering 105 00:06:51,319 --> 00:06:55,199 to himself. He was It wasn't like he was just 106 00:06:55,199 --> 00:07:01,800 sitting there staring out the window. He was out, he's 107 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,360 muttering to himself, he's fidgeting around in his chair. And 108 00:07:07,439 --> 00:07:10,600 so Joe and I would have a different report on 109 00:07:10,639 --> 00:07:13,000 what we're witnessing. And by the way I learned this 110 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:17,240 lesson back in high school, had an English teacher who 111 00:07:17,319 --> 00:07:20,600 was trying to show the difference in the way people 112 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:25,000 view things and our perspectives and stuff. And he talked 113 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,720 about how one couple of years prior he had had 114 00:07:29,759 --> 00:07:32,560 some one of the locals, one of the students in 115 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:34,399 the school, who was a bit of a ruffian, if 116 00:07:34,439 --> 00:07:37,560 you will, and he asked him to come in threaten 117 00:07:37,639 --> 00:07:42,360 the teacher, mister Umstetter was his name, and threaten mister Umstetter, 118 00:07:42,639 --> 00:07:46,879 and you know, complain about a bad grade or something, 119 00:07:46,959 --> 00:07:50,319 and threaten him and then leave. And so the kid 120 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:54,240 comes in, he does the performance, and then he leaves, 121 00:07:54,439 --> 00:07:58,680 and Umstatter then tells all of his students, please write 122 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,480 down what you just saw happen, and I'm going to 123 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:02,920 need it in order to file a report. And so 124 00:08:02,959 --> 00:08:05,120 he has the whole class write down what they saw happen, 125 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,160 and everybody gave different accounts, right, and that is normal. 126 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,839 That's why you want more people with eyes and ears 127 00:08:14,959 --> 00:08:20,199 on a situation in this matter. Bruno goes on to say, 128 00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:22,160 about a minute or so before the fatal stabbing, we 129 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,519 notice a shift. He starts to fidget with his hand, 130 00:08:24,639 --> 00:08:27,639 his eyes widen. This stood out because we knew what 131 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,920 was about to happen, but it wasn't necessarily something that 132 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:32,639 would seem dangerous in the moment he actually rested his 133 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:34,879 head on the glass again. Just seconds before he took 134 00:08:34,879 --> 00:08:37,440 a knife out of his pocket, stood up and immediately 135 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,679 stabbed Zarutzka. Immediately after the stabbing, Brown slowly walks towards 136 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:44,919 the front of the train. Another man ran to tell 137 00:08:44,919 --> 00:08:48,000 the light rail operator what happened and to stop. About 138 00:08:48,039 --> 00:08:50,759 two minutes and five seconds after the stabbing, when the 139 00:08:50,799 --> 00:08:53,320 train came to a stop at the East West station, 140 00:08:53,759 --> 00:08:57,559 Brown stepped off the train. CMPD arrested him on the platform. 141 00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:01,639 It should be noted there were several passengers who rushed 142 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:04,840 to Zarutzka's aim aid which, by the way, like that's 143 00:09:04,879 --> 00:09:07,200 part of the video we have not seen. We saw 144 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,679 one man take the shirt off his back and attempt CPR. 145 00:09:12,039 --> 00:09:14,919 And so that's the description offered by Joe Bruno. But 146 00:09:15,159 --> 00:09:19,279 nowhere in that description does he mention the muttering of 147 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:23,759 I got that white girl. And maybe that's why Cash 148 00:09:23,759 --> 00:09:27,720 Pttel announced he's the FBI director, that the FBI has 149 00:09:27,759 --> 00:09:30,399 been investigating this and this may be a potential hate 150 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:34,039 crime because of those utterances. We shall say. 151 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:34,519 Speaker 2: So. 152 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,559 Speaker 3: When I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, 153 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:39,759 and before he died, my mom and my dad took 154 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,080 care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, 155 00:09:42,159 --> 00:09:45,240 there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers 156 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:47,840 and family. But things are different today because of the 157 00:09:47,879 --> 00:09:51,039 work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of 158 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,679 Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with 159 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:57,639 huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. 160 00:09:57,639 --> 00:10:00,919 This cause means a lot to me. I participate in 161 00:10:01,039 --> 00:10:03,840 the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's and I'm leading a 162 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,039 Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once again 163 00:10:07,159 --> 00:10:09,519 Pete's Pack. You can sign up and you can join 164 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,399 the team and walk with us. It's on October eighteenth 165 00:10:12,399 --> 00:10:16,440 that truest Field sign up at alz dot org slash 166 00:10:16,519 --> 00:10:18,919 walk and then you can search for my team name, 167 00:10:19,039 --> 00:10:22,440 Pete's Pack. There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. 168 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,200 There's also a link in the description of this podcast. Also, 169 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,879 I'll be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh, 170 00:10:28,919 --> 00:10:30,759 and so you can make a team and join that 171 00:10:30,759 --> 00:10:33,080 one too, or make a donation and help me hit 172 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,360 my goal of five thousand dollars. If you do, I 173 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,840 really appreciate it. There are a bunch of other walks 174 00:10:37,919 --> 00:10:40,559 all over the Carolinas. You can go to alz dot 175 00:10:40,639 --> 00:10:43,639 org slash walk for all the dates and locations. We're 176 00:10:43,639 --> 00:10:46,480 closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us 177 00:10:46,519 --> 00:10:48,879 get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, 178 00:10:49,039 --> 00:10:52,720 for families, for more time for treatments. This is why 179 00:10:52,759 --> 00:10:53,200 we walk. 180 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,720 Speaker 1: Got a message here? It's a Pete tweet from Eric 181 00:10:57,159 --> 00:11:01,919 who says disgusting but predictable framing from the New York Times, 182 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:09,039 and then there is a yeah, there is a screenshot 183 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,639 here of the New York Times post headlined a gruesome 184 00:11:13,759 --> 00:11:18,879 murder in North Carolina ignites a firestorm on the right. So, again, 185 00:11:18,919 --> 00:11:23,039 as I mentioned yesterday, journalism in rule number two. Right, 186 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,799 when a scandal involves a Republican, the story is the scandal. 187 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,240 When a scandal involves a Democrat or in this case, 188 00:11:29,399 --> 00:11:36,360 democrat policies, Democrat city council, Democrat governor, Democrat attorney general then, 189 00:11:36,519 --> 00:11:40,519 or Democrat da Democrat judges, right, then the story isn't 190 00:11:40,519 --> 00:11:44,480 the scandal. The story is the Republican reaction to the scandal. 191 00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:48,720 And that's why you see words like pouncing and seizing. 192 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:50,639 That's why we joke about it all the time. It's 193 00:11:50,639 --> 00:11:55,200 because it's such a rote formula for the media that 194 00:11:55,279 --> 00:11:59,759 they always frame these stories as Republicans are pouncing on 195 00:11:59,799 --> 00:12:04,159 the scandal or this story. Republicans are seizing on this 196 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,000 in order to try to make some political hey, because 197 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,320 Democrats never do that, right, Democrats never say, take a 198 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,240 school shooting and try to turn it into an argument 199 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,279 for gun control. That never happens. Democrats never pounce on 200 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:29,519 that story. Ever. The article Conservatives are mad about the 201 00:12:29,519 --> 00:12:35,399 perceived failings of Democratic policies the perceived failings and includes 202 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,080 a helpful reference to a white supremacist uprising in Wilmington, 203 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,840 North Carolina in eighteen ninety eight, in which at least 204 00:12:41,879 --> 00:12:44,720 sixty black men were killed. Yes, that was the Wilmington 205 00:12:44,799 --> 00:12:48,919 Riot New York Times. And do you know who did it? Democrats? 206 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,840 They murdered blacks and Republicans who had won free and 207 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,399 fair elections to take control of the Wilmington City government. 208 00:12:56,919 --> 00:13:01,519 And they were murdered by Democrats. Up into a frenzy 209 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:07,960 by the Raleigh News and Observer, who finally one hundred 210 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,480 years later apologized for it, for their role in it, 211 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,000 here's the same sort of approach I mentioned this last 212 00:13:16,039 --> 00:13:21,000 Hour with Andrew Dunn as well this Axios story by 213 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,320 Mark Caputo at Axios, but I think he also either 214 00:13:25,399 --> 00:13:27,840 worked at or maybe still does some work for Politico. 215 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:35,799 Headline stabbing video fuels magas crime message. So it's right. 216 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:40,639 It's not that it's not that the Republicans are using 217 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:44,399 this to fuel their message. It's that, dang they noticed. 218 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:50,159 How dare you conservatives, you Republicans noticing that our policies suck? 219 00:13:51,559 --> 00:13:55,200 Like that's what he's mad about. He's not mad that 220 00:13:55,279 --> 00:13:59,200 this deranged, repeat, repeat offender was allowed to walk the 221 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,159 streets after a judge said, yeah, he needs a psyche 222 00:14:02,279 --> 00:14:06,519 val at the recommendation of the defendant's own defense attorney, 223 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,039 a public defender, who said this guy is not competent 224 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,080 and needs a psyche val. The judge was like, I 225 00:14:13,159 --> 00:14:19,720 quite concur Yes, you're free to go. Now what now, 226 00:14:19,879 --> 00:14:23,519 same judge orders a psyche val because we've got to 227 00:14:23,519 --> 00:14:25,919 make sure that he's competent to stand trial for the murder, 228 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,240 because he can claim insanity. Now not funny how it 229 00:14:30,279 --> 00:14:38,799 all works out for him. Computero's piece quote MAGA influencers 230 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,840 are drawing repeated attention to violent attacks to elevate the 231 00:14:42,879 --> 00:14:47,399 issue of urban crime and accuse mainstream media of undercovering 232 00:14:47,559 --> 00:14:52,399 shocking cases. Yes, because it's true. You did not cover 233 00:14:52,519 --> 00:14:55,759 this case until the video went viral and all of 234 00:14:55,759 --> 00:14:58,919 a sudden, the President of the United States of America 235 00:14:59,399 --> 00:15:04,960 starts sh shocking video of the fatal August twenty second 236 00:15:05,039 --> 00:15:07,600 knife attack on twenty three year old Arena Zarotzka on 237 00:15:07,639 --> 00:15:10,840 a light rail car car in Charlotte, North Carolina dominated 238 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:17,159 weekend conversation on Trump friendly social media. See, so there 239 00:15:17,159 --> 00:15:20,200 he is blaming what your lack of coverage on the 240 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,360 fact that it's being reported on quote conservative or Trump 241 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:28,600 friendly social media. So because conservatives are talking about something 242 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:33,519 that means you shouldn't. Is it news? That's the first 243 00:15:33,679 --> 00:15:38,360 question you in a newsroom need to be asking about 244 00:15:38,399 --> 00:15:43,480 a story that is the north Star. Is this news? 245 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,639 And it is news? And if you tell me that 246 00:15:48,799 --> 00:15:53,919 it's newsworthy to cover the Daniel Penny New York City 247 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:59,159 subway restraining of the crazy guy Jordan Neely and then 248 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,080 Neely died and you gave you gave that story all 249 00:16:03,279 --> 00:16:10,080 sorts of coverage. Why why, Well, here's the uncomfortable truth. 250 00:16:10,559 --> 00:16:13,720 It's that Daniel Penny was white and Jordan Neely was black, 251 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,919 and this woman is white and the attacker is black. 252 00:16:18,159 --> 00:16:21,840 That's the uncomfortable truth that media outlets don't want to 253 00:16:21,919 --> 00:16:27,960 have to acknowledge because it's true. It's true. They don't 254 00:16:28,039 --> 00:16:33,320 want to give any evidence to the Trump friendly social media. 255 00:16:33,639 --> 00:16:36,720 They don't want to give any breathe, any oxygen to 256 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,159 allow this story to breathe, to let other people know 257 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,480 about it, because they're afraid of how it's going to 258 00:16:41,519 --> 00:16:47,200 be used. Because they view themselves as protectors of some group, 259 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,480 some oppressed class of people. And why are they oppressed 260 00:16:51,519 --> 00:16:53,600 because of the color of their skin, Because that's how 261 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,519 they view people is through the prism of race. That's 262 00:16:57,519 --> 00:17:00,320 why they're doing this. That's why they had to be 263 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,039 dragged to this story. It's the same thing with the 264 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,240 I've made mention of the Kermit Gosnell case where they 265 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:08,880 called it a local crime story. Guy was probably the 266 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:11,920 most prolific serial killer in American history. They didn't want 267 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:17,480 to cover it. Why because abortion right, because the ideology 268 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,160 is harmed by acknowledging this true story. So we'll just 269 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,759 not cover it. Game on Week one starts now, and 270 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,519 every touchdown brings you closer to a payout. 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Digital games 296 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,240 and commercial use excluded. Restrictions apply additional NFL Sunday Ticket 297 00:18:56,319 --> 00:18:59,200 terms or at YouTube dot com slash Go slash NFL 298 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,319 Sunday tickets terms limited time offer. The White House has 299 00:19:03,519 --> 00:19:08,359 just begun its press briefing, and Caroline Leavitt has started 300 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:12,359 the press conference talking about the Charlotte light rail murder. 301 00:19:12,599 --> 00:19:15,279 So I went to c SPAN. Here I rolled it back. 302 00:19:15,319 --> 00:19:17,720 We're going to start from the beginning of her press brief. 303 00:19:17,839 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 2: Jujic's for my tardiness today, Thanks for being here. Another 304 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,000 packed room. It's good to see. We'll begin with a 305 00:19:23,039 --> 00:19:28,160 scheduling update today at Yankee Stadium, and they returned to SKA. 306 00:19:28,759 --> 00:19:31,359 Here are the facts that many outlets have shamefully and 307 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:36,119 intentionally failed to report until President Trump drew attention to it. 308 00:19:36,559 --> 00:19:40,279 On August twenty second, Arena Zarutska was stabbed to death 309 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,680 on the rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a 310 00:19:43,759 --> 00:19:47,880 savage career criminal. This is a public transportation system that 311 00:19:48,039 --> 00:19:50,640 many in the area use every single day to go 312 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,279 to school and work. Arena was on the train that night, 313 00:19:54,319 --> 00:19:57,119 traveling home from her job at a pizzeria, still in 314 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:01,480 uniform from her shift. This beautiful, innocent, twenty three year 315 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,079 old young woman was a Ukrainian refugee who had recently 316 00:20:05,079 --> 00:20:07,839 fled her country for a chance at a safer life 317 00:20:08,039 --> 00:20:11,160 and a promising new beginning here in the United States 318 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:15,519 of America. But tragically, a public transportation system in a 319 00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:18,720 major American city was more dangerous than the active war 320 00:20:19,039 --> 00:20:22,440 zone that she left. The President in the entire White 321 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:24,680 House are praying for her family and friends during this 322 00:20:24,759 --> 00:20:28,839 unimaginably difficult time. But while we extend our thoughts in prayers, 323 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,720 we must also seek justice for this crime and call 324 00:20:31,799 --> 00:20:35,680 attention to this heinous incident. Surveillance video of the killing 325 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,559 was finally released to the public this past Friday. It 326 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,480 shows the alleged killer, de Carlos Brown Junior, pull out 327 00:20:42,519 --> 00:20:45,599 a knife, get up from his seat behind arena, and 328 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,920 prepare to thrust a blade into her neck before the 329 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:53,400 released footage gets cut. This is pure evil on full display. 330 00:20:53,920 --> 00:20:56,920 The most enraging and unacceptable part of this story is 331 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:01,559 that her death was entirely preventable. Carlos Brown never should 332 00:21:01,599 --> 00:21:04,559 have been on that train that night. In fact, he 333 00:21:04,599 --> 00:21:07,640 should have been behind bars to Carlos Brown has been 334 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,400 charged with crimes no fewer than fourteen times dating back 335 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,799 to twenty and eleven, including for armed robbery, felony, larceny, 336 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:20,640 breaking and entering in shoplifting. Brown had previously served five 337 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,759 years in prison for a robbery with a deadly weapon charge, 338 00:21:24,039 --> 00:21:27,640 and he had also forfeited bonds three different times, twice 339 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:32,039 in twenty fourteen and once in twenty twenty three. Despite 340 00:21:32,079 --> 00:21:35,160 all of this past documented criminal history, when Brown was 341 00:21:35,279 --> 00:21:38,640 arrested yet again in January of this past year, a 342 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,960 Democrat judge, who will I will add was a supporter, 343 00:21:42,079 --> 00:21:46,200 a strong supporter of former Vice President Kamala Harris, released 344 00:21:46,279 --> 00:21:50,160 this insane criminal once again without requiring him to pay 345 00:21:50,559 --> 00:21:54,160 any bail. He simply had to sign a written promise 346 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,880 to return for his court hearing. Think about how crazy 347 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,119 it is to ask a career criminal, someone who by 348 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,079 definition repeatedly breaks the law, to just sign a written 349 00:22:05,079 --> 00:22:08,119 promise and come back again another day. This is madness. 350 00:22:08,519 --> 00:22:11,240 This monster should have been locked up and Arena should 351 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,079 still be alive. But Democrat politicians, liberal judges, and weak 352 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,640 prosecutors would rather virtue signal than lock up criminals and 353 00:22:18,759 --> 00:22:22,519 protect their communities. And, perhaps most shamefully of all, the 354 00:22:22,599 --> 00:22:26,440 majority of the media. Many outlets in this room decided 355 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,640 that her murder was not worth reporting on originally because 356 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,160 it does not fit a preferred narrative. Many of the 357 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,359 journalists in this room spills plenty of ink trying to 358 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,720 smear Daniel Penny for defending a subway car from a 359 00:22:39,759 --> 00:22:42,960 deranged lunatic in New York City, but none of those 360 00:22:43,079 --> 00:22:46,400 same reporters lift a finger to write stories about an 361 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,759 actual murderer. Here's the truth that every American must know. Too. 362 00:22:50,839 --> 00:22:54,319 Many innocent people across the country continue to pay the 363 00:22:54,319 --> 00:22:58,519 price of the failed experiment known as cashless bail that 364 00:22:58,599 --> 00:23:02,119 has been championed by the Demo Party for years. All 365 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,400 the way back in twenty twenty, North Carolina's then Democrat 366 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,839 Governor Roy Cooper established a so called Task Force for 367 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:12,759 Racial Equity and Criminal Justice. Sounds nice, but it's not. 368 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,160 That task force was co authored by then Attorney General 369 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:21,079 and current Democrat Governor Josh Stein. It recommended quote reimagining 370 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,839 public safety to quote promote diversion and other alternatives to arrest. 371 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,839 It also advised to de emphasize some felony crimes, prioritize 372 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:36,319 quote restorative justice, and eliminate cash bail. Democrats in North 373 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:39,920 Carolina and nationwide are consumed with pushing a woke, soft 374 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,480 on crime agenda. No matter how many innocent Americans suffer 375 00:23:43,839 --> 00:23:47,519 as a result. Instead of aggressively prosecuting and locking up 376 00:23:47,599 --> 00:23:52,279 violent criminals, the Democrat backed cashless bail approach lets these 377 00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:55,920 criminals roam free in our country to offend again and again. 378 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,920 These reckless policies have turned too many many of American 379 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:03,319 cities into hunting grounds for career criminals who mock our 380 00:24:03,519 --> 00:24:07,920 justice system, drain law enforcement resources, and recavoc on law 381 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,480 abiding citizens. Enough is enough, and that is why President 382 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:14,240 Trump is doing everything in his power by taking action 383 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:19,039 to undo these absurd policies. The President recently signed a 384 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:22,720 powerful executive order directing the AG to submit a list 385 00:24:22,759 --> 00:24:26,759 of states in local jurisdictions with cashlest bail policies so 386 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:30,519 that the Trump administration may identify federal funds that can 387 00:24:30,759 --> 00:24:33,359 are being provided to these states and can potentially be 388 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:38,079 suspended or terminated. President Trump firmly believes that to maintain 389 00:24:38,319 --> 00:24:42,599 order in public safety, we must incarcerate individuals who's pending 390 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:47,319 criminal charges or criminal history demonstrate a clear ongoing risk 391 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,160 to civil society. This is a common sense and sensible 392 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,119 approach that the vast majority of Americans agree with, and 393 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:56,839 it's time for the Democrat Party to get on board 394 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,640 with what is right. When these criminals are caught, they 395 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,319 must prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and 396 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:05,240 be sent to prison where they can no longer terrorize 397 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:08,480 our streets. This is the mandate the American people delivered 398 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,599 to President Trump, and it's a mandate he intends to fulfill. 399 00:25:12,279 --> 00:25:15,720 Staying on the topic of public safety, new preliminary data 400 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:19,519 released today by Customs and Border Protection in August shows 401 00:25:19,559 --> 00:25:22,640 that President Trump has delivered the most secure border in 402 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:27,400 American history. For the fourth straight month, zero illegal aliens 403 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,759 were released into the United States by CBP. Nationwide encounters 404 00:25:31,799 --> 00:25:34,640 are down ninety three percent below the peak of the 405 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,920 Biden administration. Border patrol apprehensions on the Southwest border in 406 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:41,519 the entire month of August were less than what was 407 00:25:41,519 --> 00:25:45,200 apprehended in four days in August twenty twenty four under 408 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:49,960 the Biden administration. President Trump has ended disastrous Biden illegal 409 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,880 alien invasion. He sealed our border in record time, keeping 410 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,680 this central promise he made to the American public. 411 00:25:57,079 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: With all right, so there's the opening statement from them 412 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,519 in the White House, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, Maybe this 413 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,359 Charlotte murder leads to the end of this cashless bail experiment, 414 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:13,519 which has been I think an abject failure at this point. 415 00:26:13,799 --> 00:26:16,400 All right, you hear me talk a lot about incentives, right, Well, 416 00:26:16,519 --> 00:26:19,960 let's talk about incentive trips, the kind that companies offer 417 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,240 employees to fire them up and reward their teams. If 418 00:26:23,279 --> 00:26:25,400 you own a business or you work somewhere that offers 419 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,440 these incentive trips, first off, good for you, but also 420 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,039 there is a custom app that's a game changer for 421 00:26:31,079 --> 00:26:35,960 these trips. It's called incentive Tripkit. Private group messaging, shared photos, 422 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,880 your itinerary, travel details, all built into a single, easy 423 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,119 to use app. There's even a traveler locator so Carl 424 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,960 from Accounting doesn't get left behind. The best part about 425 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,920 incentive trip Kit it's totally private, no email captures, no 426 00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:54,279 sign ups, no cringe ads. It's simple, clean and secure, 427 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,359 and when the trip is over, incentive trip Kit turns 428 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,359 those highlights into a professional storytelling video. So think about it. 429 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,119 When you launch next year's incentive trip campaign, that video 430 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,799 becomes your greatest motivator. Talk about a return on investment. Right, 431 00:27:09,079 --> 00:27:11,720 You got to check out incentive trip Kit for your 432 00:27:11,799 --> 00:27:15,880 business visit incentive tripkit dot Com because great trips deserve 433 00:27:16,039 --> 00:27:20,839 even better returns. All right, So the press secretary there 434 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:26,440 mentioned that they are looking at potentially withholding funds from 435 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:31,440 the City of Charlotte over these cash lists bail as 436 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,559 well as other locations over these policies. And by the way, 437 00:27:35,839 --> 00:27:43,359 I'm glad that Caroline Levitt mentioned the twenty twenty what 438 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,960 do they call it, the Task Force for Racial Equity 439 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,920 in Criminal Justice. It was done by Roy Cooper and 440 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,920 leading the charge was Josh Stein, then Attorney General now 441 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,720 our governor, as well as Anita Earls, who is on 442 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:04,920 our Supreme Court. And I actually I went back and 443 00:28:05,039 --> 00:28:09,079 pulled my old copy of the of the executive summary. 444 00:28:09,319 --> 00:28:11,400 I have it here. We'll go over some of the 445 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,680 things that they've been doing over the last five years, 446 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,680 see how they've turned out. We'll do that in the 447 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,519 next hour. But let me get back to the withholding 448 00:28:19,559 --> 00:28:24,440 of money. The dot Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to 449 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,839 withhold federal funding from Charlotte over the stabbing on the 450 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:32,359 light rail line. The FBI director acknowledged that it's been 451 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:37,720 investigating the case from day one. Duffy told Sean Hannity. Quote, 452 00:28:37,839 --> 00:28:40,079 Your federal tax dollars go to fund a lot of 453 00:28:40,119 --> 00:28:42,880 these transit systems across the country, and we have to 454 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:44,680 look at them and say, well, maybe it's appropriate that 455 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,640 we start pulling some of that money back, because I 456 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,799 don't think the American taxpayer wants to pay for the 457 00:28:48,799 --> 00:28:52,200 homelessness and criminal element that harm twenty three year old 458 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,319 girls like this who are going home from work. Right, 459 00:28:55,799 --> 00:29:02,720 What are we funding? Right? What are we funding this from? 460 00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:04,720 I mentioned this at the beginning of the hour as well. 461 00:29:04,799 --> 00:29:10,759 The North Carolina State Auditor Dave Bullock says that he's 462 00:29:10,839 --> 00:29:14,440 launching an investigation to focus on public safety aspects of CATS, 463 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:18,160 including but not limited to, private security contracts, metrics and 464 00:29:18,279 --> 00:29:21,920 data used by cats, and private security for public safety purposes, 465 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,720 and the cat's safety and security budget. Quote. One of 466 00:29:25,759 --> 00:29:28,160 the most basic duties a government owes the people is 467 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,920 public safety. The recent lawlessness and violence that have taken 468 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:36,039 place on Charlotte's public transportation raised serious questions about the 469 00:29:36,039 --> 00:29:39,640 security measures in place. We will investigate CATS and examine 470 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:44,039 its public safety contracts and operations. Charlotte has faced a 471 00:29:44,079 --> 00:29:48,960 string of violent incidents recently on public transportation in March, 472 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,480 a sixty four year old veteran was attacked on a 473 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,960 Cat's bus, and according to his family, he became paralyzed 474 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,400 from the neck down as a result of that attack. 475 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,880 Months later, in August, a fifty seven year old veteran 476 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,880 was hospitalized after being attacked by multiple people on a 477 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:08,599 cat's bus, and then just days after that, a repeat 478 00:30:08,599 --> 00:30:12,160 offender previously in prison for robbery with the deadly weapons, 479 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:15,519 stabbed and killed a woman on Charlotte's light rail. He 480 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:19,119 concludes the press release saying Charlotte Mayor Vye Lyles, the 481 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:23,240 Metropolitan Transit Commission leadership, and CATS leadership have been notified 482 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,400 of our investigation, which will begin immediately. Additionally, the State 483 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,279 Auditor's special report on the City of Charlotte's payment to 484 00:30:30,359 --> 00:30:33,880 the chief of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department will be 485 00:30:34,039 --> 00:30:38,559 released this week. Remember that one, So we're getting an 486 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,359 update on that one this week. It's a banner week 487 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,880 in Charlotte. All right, that'll do it for this episode. 488 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,039 Thank you so much for listening. I could not do 489 00:30:49,079 --> 00:30:51,240 the show without your support and the support of the 490 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,279 businesses that advertise on the podcast, So if you'd like, 491 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,519 please support them too and tell them you heard it here. 492 00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:59,200 You can also become a patron at my patreon page 493 00:30:59,319 --> 00:31:02,720 or go to the epclenarshow dot com. Again, thank you 494 00:31:02,799 --> 00:31:09,599 so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.