WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:04.400 You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM 2 00:00:04.440 --> 00:00:06.120 six forty. 3 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:10.279 It is a Wednesday morning, September eleventh, nine to eleven, 4 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:15.880 twenty three years ago. Last night one of the most 5 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:20.879 anticipated presidential debates that I can remember. And the politics, 6 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:25.640 of course this year are insane, with Joe Biden dropping 7 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:30.600 out because of well because he's falling apart because he 8 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:33.439 got old very quickly as a matter of fact, and 9 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:37.159 the main attack that the Republicans had against the opposing 10 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:42.759 presidential candidate disappeared when Kamala Harris became the nominee. So 11 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:48.240 last night the debate and what happened, well, I think 12 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:55.399 Trump either misread Kamala Harris underestimated her, or he didn't 13 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.039 do enough prepping because he never does and that's how 14 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.000 he operates, or some p well they just don't prep. 15 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:06.439 And also she baited him, she goaded him, and she 16 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:07.519 got him. 17 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:09.439 There's no question she. 18 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.480 Got him his advisors and we knew this from the beginning. 19 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:16.920 And the argument was going to be she was going 20 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:19.799 to have him go down that rabbit hole, and he 21 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.959 followed her all the way down. And it's and I 22 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:26.599 don't care which side of the coin you are I 23 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:30.560 don't care if on policy issues you are in favor 24 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:35.159 of one or the other. It's impossible to say that 25 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:38.000 Donald Trump did a good job unless you are an 26 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:39.560 a vowed Trump follower. 27 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:42.599 Where he literally could have just fallen off that stage. 28 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.120 And oh my god, he fell off that stage purposely, 29 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:47.280 And didn't he do a good job. 30 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:50.760 She really cleaned his clock. 31 00:01:51.480 --> 00:01:56.200 They disagreed on abortion, the economy, immigration, the war in Ukraine. 32 00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.480 I mean, there is no question, and Kamalee Harris, I 33 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:03.319 think and Donald Trump also said in his statement, this 34 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:06.920 country has very clear choices. Which way is it going 35 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:12.439 to go? And unfortunately for the Trump campaign, he did 36 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:19.159 was was expected of him. He was She baited him, 37 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:23.840 He grabbed that bait. He did a horrible job in 38 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:28.560 defending his position. Even when he has some strength, he 39 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:29.360 threw it away. 40 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:33.039 She smiled, he glowered. 41 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:37.280 I mean, he was just upset, and you could see 42 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:39.599 on his face how unhappy he was. 43 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:46.479 He spoke more. She dictated the terms wow. 44 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:50.599 And she literally from day minute one, she dominated this 45 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:54.759 whole thing. She laid the bait, he took it, and 46 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:59.080 it began with her needling Trump that his board supporters 47 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:05.759 had been leaving his rallies, and that continued on with 48 00:03:06.520 --> 00:03:11.560 inherited riches from riches from his dad and even and 49 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:14.800 this is Harris saying, even those of that worked for 50 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:20.960 you think you are horrible, and mentioned former chiefs of 51 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:25.520 staff and advisors. And he took the bait. My people, 52 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:28.680 when they go to my rallies don't go away. They stay. 53 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:32.360 I have huge rallies. I've had the biggest rallies in the. 54 00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:33.599 History of the world. 55 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.759 I mean, there was a lot of that, and I'm 56 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:40.280 sure his advisors say, don't take that bait. Go to 57 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:45.199 the issues. Go to the issues. Ignore that the size 58 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:50.800 of rallies do not matter. People aren't bored. 59 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:52.039 She even went so. 60 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.240 Far and again this just got his goat looking at 61 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:56.479 the camera and. 62 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.039 Say, let me tell you what I'm going to ask 63 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:01.159 you to do. And as go to a Trump rally. 64 00:04:02.599 --> 00:04:06.240 You go to a Trump rally, see how many people 65 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:11.439 walk out, See how many people are bored. And of 66 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:14.000 course did he take the bait. You bet he did. 67 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.439 And that was all very planned out. She said, you 68 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.040 will not hear him talk about your needs. You'll hear 69 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.600 him talk about himself. And you know what he did. 70 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:32.800 He talked about himself. I mean, whatever your policy issues are, 71 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:39.879 why let her control the narrative. Take it away, go 72 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.759 the other way, talk about policy. If he thought she 73 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.519 was going to collapse the way Joe Biden did, it 74 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.800 did not happen. And you could see, you can just 75 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:57.000 see in your mind's eye his advisors their heads in 76 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:02.279 their palms, just shaking their slap their foreheads, going, oh 77 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:10.519 my god, look what happened. He talked about not what 78 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:16.480 the voters need, but about voters numbers on the crazy side. 79 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.040 And I think this is the one that really got 80 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:24.240 sort of everybody. And her response she just laughs. I 81 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:26.600 mean she spent a lot of time. You could see 82 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:32.800 that rehearsing response, not verbally, but what she was going 83 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:34.959 to look like, because they had the split screen most 84 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.920 of the night. And he went right into immigrants are 85 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.600 eating pets in Ohio. 86 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:43.439 He went right down that hole. 87 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:44.519 You know what. 88 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.519 I'm surprised he didn't actually have a placard and it 89 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:53.639 talked about recipes. Here is how you cook a cat. 90 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:58.000 I think that's the only thing that was missing last night. 91 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.600 I don't care which way you go on this politically, 92 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:05.680 you have to admit she cleaned his clock. You know, 93 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.120 it's not that she cleaned his clock, as he cleaned 94 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:14.600 his own clock. He did everything wrong, and she got 95 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.480 him on his playbook. As a matter of fact, she 96 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.319 started saying, you're gonna hear the same old playbook. 97 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.160 You're gonna hear the same grievances. You're gonna hear. 98 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:29.480 The same lies. Okay, so what happened? Grievances? 99 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:29.920 Lies? 100 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.680 Of course fact checking. He had over thirty of them, 101 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:38.000 she had one or two, and he was right, and 102 00:06:38.040 --> 00:06:40.759 the Republicans are right, she deflected. There were times when 103 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:45.079 she wouldn't answer and when asked, but you were. You've 104 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:47.920 changed your mind on fracking, back and forth, back and forth, 105 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:49.199 and on the border. 106 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.879 What happened. You wanted open borders. 107 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.959 And now you want closed borders, and she deflected, I 108 00:06:56.040 --> 00:06:58.920 believe in fracking. I don't believe in open borders. Look 109 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:02.800 what we have done the Biden Harris administration. But instead 110 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.560 of calling her on that what ended up happening, He 111 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:12.160 went down his old I have massive numbers of people 112 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:17.120 at my rallies and then just I mean just really 113 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:22.079 crazy stuff the immigrants eating dogs and cats that went 114 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:25.399 around the internet with the crazies, and he glombed right 115 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:29.079 onto that, and you shake your head and then just 116 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:32.639 straight out accusations that made no sense. You're going to 117 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.160 take away every gun in America. Of course she's never 118 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:37.040 said that, and she came right. 119 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:40.240 Back with I'm a gun owner. Tim Walls is a 120 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:43.879 gun owner. I'm not going to take away our guns. 121 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.959 Israel will cease to exist if she is president. It 122 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:54.759 will be destroyed as a country. Really, she's an advocate 123 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:59.120 of Israel, always has been, and the issue is how 124 00:07:59.160 --> 00:07:59.959 it's being handled. 125 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:02.120 Gaza. 126 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:06.920 The number of Palestinians that have died in Gaza now 127 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:10.800 over forty thousand, So it's a little bit more nuanced 128 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:15.000 than that. He got nailed on abortion. She's really clear 129 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:17.680 on abortion. I mean from day one, he's gone back 130 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:21.040 and forth, proud of the fact that Roe v. Wade 131 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:23.680 was overturned, took full credit for it. Yet at the 132 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:27.600 same time, when asked, would you pass a federal ban 133 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.439 on abortion, he went from yes, to know it's a 134 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:35.799 state issue, to sort of dancing around that. On in 135 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:40.720 vitro fertilization. Oh my god, did he dance around that one. 136 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:44.879 And that was a mistake because if he just outright 137 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:47.720 said I am in favor of IVF. 138 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:49.039 It is that simple. 139 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:52.600 He did say, as a matter of fact, he went 140 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.799 further than anybody. He said he wanted the government. 141 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:56.279 To pay for IVF. 142 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.200 Remember a couple of weeks always said that no Democrat 143 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.840 has said that, short of maybe Bernie Sanders when he 144 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:04.679 was drunk once and it. 145 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:10.559 Was well at the bottom line, she needled him. He 146 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.840 took it. She said, you're not going to hear what 147 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:17.240 he can do for you. You're gonna hear about his grievances. 148 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:22.320 Yep, he lost the election, it was rigged, Yep, all 149 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:23.559 of the cases against him. 150 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:24.440 She brought it up too. 151 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.960 I mean, she brought up that he's a felon, that 152 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.120 he's been convicted. And what he said is the DOJ 153 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:34.799 has been weaponized all of these cases. And a lot 154 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:37.440 of people believe that the DOJ has been weaponized. I 155 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.799 don't think so, because the Biden administration and most administrations 156 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:43.480 leave the Department of Justice alone. Man, that's independent. They 157 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:46.840 don't They just don't get in the way. Richard Nixon 158 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:50.840 certainly used the DOJ. You didn't see George Bush. You 159 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:52.039 didn't see George H. W. 160 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.960 Bush. You didn't see Bill Clinton. You certainly didn't see 161 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:56.200 Barack Obama. 162 00:09:56.039 --> 00:10:00.120 Use the DOJ or the FBI as a weapon of 163 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:04.080 as a method of weaponization. But I'll tell you what 164 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.919 he also did, and again for anybody that really looks 165 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:11.960 into it, he conflated the state and the federal that 166 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:17.559 the Biden administration is weaponizing everything and implicitly said and 167 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:20.279 he and Biden called the state and forced the state 168 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:21.639 to go against him. 169 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.399 Do you know if a president ever did that, ever 170 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:24.759 did that? 171 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:29.799 The first thing that any state official would say, mister president, Uh, 172 00:10:30.200 --> 00:10:36.399 this is not your jurisdiction, This isn't you okay, this 173 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:40.279 is a state issue. I can't imagine any legitimate prosecutor 174 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.279 or state official not saying that. The bottom line is, 175 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.200 I think he blew it. Last night he had a 176 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:54.320 shot on Afghanistan arguing that the Biden administration blew it 177 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:56.639 on Afghanistan. And by the way, not too many people 178 00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:01.080 disagree with that, but he had taken on the defensive end. 179 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:04.720 She went right after him, saying, you had the Taliban 180 00:11:04.759 --> 00:11:09.399 at Camp David. And he comes back with at some 181 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:14.159 point and she's arguing, the authoritarians love him. He actually 182 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:17.840 talked about how much Prime Minister Victor orbon Of Hungary 183 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.840 thinks he's the greatest leader in the entire world. He 184 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.840 told me I'm the greatest president that's ever lived, or 185 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.240 something along those lines. 186 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:28.639 Man, you know what. 187 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:34.159 You've got stuff on here side, Donald Trump, you didn't 188 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:38.679 use them last night. You did not use what you had. 189 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:43.720 You fell into her trap very well rehearsed. 190 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:44.120 Of course. 191 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:48.480 I don't think there was a spontaneous moment that she had, 192 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.799 not a one. She almost could have been reading off 193 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:57.480 a teleprompter behind his shoulder. Well rehearsed, knew what she 194 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:00.759 was saying, knew where she was going. You can see 195 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:04.039 she practiced and practiced and practice, and she got him. 196 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:09.000 She got him, and you will see. We'll see what 197 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:12.320 the polling has to say. Now does that translate into votes? 198 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.639 We don't know yet. We don't know. 199 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:18.000 I think what also hurt Trump last night, maybe even 200 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:23.639 more than her performance in his performance, is Taylor Swift. 201 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.000 Came out and endorsed him. 202 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:30.799 That is massive. So we'll see how that turns out. 203 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.960 All right, Blake Trolley is at the Bridge fire in 204 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.200 the ANGELUS National Force and this has become a monster. 205 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:41.080 So what's the latest, Blake. 206 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:44.919 Yeah, Well, this wildfire yesterday, Bill really exploded in growth. 207 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:48.440 This fire yesterday morning was burning less than four thousand acres. 208 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:51.440 It's now nearly reached fifty thousand acres, growing more than 209 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:53.480 ten times its size. And we're told a lot of 210 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.120 this growth happened yesterday afternoon. Yesterday when I was covering 211 00:12:57.159 --> 00:12:59.679 the Line fire, a red flag warning was issued for 212 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:02.039 that fire because a wind gus that could hit twenty 213 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:05.440 five miles an hour. Now, a similar red flag warning 214 00:13:05.559 --> 00:13:08.320 was also issued for the Bridge fire, which at the 215 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:11.879 time was burning in the Mount Baldy Slash Rightwood area. Well, 216 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.159 what we're told, and I'm trying to get an exact 217 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:17.919 timeline of this, is that this fire really just took 218 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:22.120 off blazing yesterday afternoon, again exploding more than ten times 219 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:25.200 its size. Now, while the weather was a challenge, part 220 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:27.279 of the challenge as well was the topography. I mean, 221 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:29.559 if you look at Mount Baldy, this is a really 222 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:33.159 steep high you know, rugged mountain, and a lot of 223 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.240 the vegetation in there these are pine tree shrubs, chaparral. 224 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:37.919 They haven't burned in years. 225 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:39.919 So what you had was kind of this perfect storm 226 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:43.960 event with winds kicking up. You had old and also 227 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:47.960 very effective fire fuel all sitting in this fire's path, 228 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.639 and when these winds picked up, this fire really exploded. 229 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:56.039 Thirteen people have been injured, several homes have been destroyed. 230 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.919 There's video all over social media. In some cases you 231 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:00.919 see people trying to spread down their homes in a 232 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:04.120 desperate attempt to save their homes. Other videos show homes 233 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:07.639 both in Rightwood and Mount Baldy up in flames. I mean, 234 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:11.559 this thing really came roaring through the Mountain. High Resort 235 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:15.399 in Rightwood actually has cameras that are positioned throughout the 236 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.679 resort and they kind of show you different shots of 237 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:18.039 the mountain. 238 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:20.399 A lot of ski resorts do this well. One of those. 239 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:23.679 Cameras watched in real time as the ski lifts went 240 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:26.320 up in flames. I saw videos last night of people 241 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.919 being evacuated. Evacuation orders went out yesterday afternoon for Rightwood. 242 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:32.759 But keep in mind, this was a very explosive fire, 243 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:39.080 so both deputies and San Berardino County fire personnel had 244 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:41.159 to get into the community of Rightwood. There was video 245 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:44.080 of this as well, them rushing people out of these communities. 246 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:49.440 So this fire, which really for a while was remaining 247 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:53.960 somewhat calm, really exploded yesterday and is now the biggest 248 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.840 and the most impactful fire burning here in southern California. 249 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.600 It's just crazy as to what's happening watching these fires. 250 00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.679 It's almost as if why do they even bother? Because 251 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:08.840 these things are roaring to such an extent that the 252 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:12.519 Fire Department of various assets can't keep even close to 253 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:14.840 dealing with it. And if they're burning in the wrong 254 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:17.919 direction or the right direction as far as we're concerned, 255 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:22.759 of course, away from communities, home structures, et cetera, you. 256 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.799 Would think just let them burn out because you can't 257 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:26.399 keep up with this. 258 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.720 I mean, when they're going like this, is there any 259 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:32.960 effective way of fighting this or slowing it down? 260 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:35.080 I think in this case, this would have been a 261 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:37.200 really hard one to stop. What I'm told is that 262 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:39.919 when you look at the topography through Mount Baldy, these 263 00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:43.039 canyons that are covered in these old, dry and again 264 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:48.360 old ponderosa pines, you know, big pines, and also just 265 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.399 a lot of chaparral in the lower ele you know, 266 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.559 or the lower parts of this of this vegetation, and 267 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:57.080 you pair that with the shape of this canyon, I'm 268 00:15:57.080 --> 00:15:59.279 told this really just creates a vacuum and that this 269 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.399 fire just came racing through the area yesterday afternoon and 270 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:06.120 again we saw it spread into right wood very quickly, 271 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:09.759 and yeah, this became a very dangerous situation. And as 272 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.039 you say there, Bill, I mean, think about this. We've 273 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:14.200 already had we already have a major fire burning in 274 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.039 Orange County, a major fire burning in Samernardino County. Air 275 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:21.279 resources on those I know last night they had requested 276 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:23.519 air resources for this fire to come and help with 277 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:26.440 structure defense. I'm also told that these air resources are 278 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:28.759 trying to help kind of spot areas where they can 279 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:31.759 put firefighters because they're trying to get them in and 280 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:33.759 out of these areas that are really steep to try 281 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:36.360 to fight this fire. So this is a really, I think, 282 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:39.200 a really tough one. Just what I'm told is that 283 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.519 it's really the topography in this area that has not 284 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:45.519 only allowed this fire to grow, but really kept firefighters 285 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:47.480 from making the progress they want to make. 286 00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:49.039 All right, Blake, thank you. 287 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.840 I'm sure we're going to be talking you through with 288 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:54.600 you throughout the morning as this thing progresses. Unfortunately, Blake 289 00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:57.480 Trolley Okay, if I's owned Blake Trolly there at the fire. 290 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.000 All right, here's another story I'm gonna take away from 291 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.159 fires for a moment, and that has to do with 292 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:10.759 philanthropists are investing fifteen million dollars in local news because 293 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:16.359 local news has effectively fallen apart, and it is something 294 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:20.359 that we need and we don't have. And so what 295 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:24.079 I'm doing, I'm asking Steve Gregory to join us only 296 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:28.599 because well, because of his very long history of dealing 297 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:32.119 with news, he's been a local reporter for many, many years. 298 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.759 Steve based on this and the philanthropists are investing fifteen 299 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:40.880 million dollars. And we're talking about the Eli broad Foundation, 300 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.119 the American Journalism Project, the Spiegel Family Fund, all of 301 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:47.720 these getting together and spending fifteen million bucks to augment 302 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:51.839 to bring back local news. So, Steve, who by the way, 303 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:55.319 is host of Unsolved Saturday Nights and on Sunday it's 304 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.640 Studio six forty. Steve, let's talk a little bit about 305 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.599 what you have experienced the demise of local news and 306 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:04.319 news conferences and what coverage is now today. 307 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:09.119 Well, I don't I wouldn't characterize it as the demise 308 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:11.200 of local news because I think that local news is 309 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.960 still being serviced. I think it's just being done differently. 310 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:17.079 The reason that you don't see as many reporters in 311 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.559 the streets anymore like we used to is because the 312 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.160 cell phone, the smartphone has sort of replaced the reporter, 313 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:29.279 and that means that there are less opportunities for reporters 314 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:32.200 to go to do things because they don't need to 315 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.519 do And in this particular case, investing in local news, 316 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:38.039 I was a little baffled because the article that you 317 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:41.480 sent me for reference material, if you look at the 318 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:45.880 partnerships that they're creating with the local MPR affiliate and 319 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:51.000 a former editor with the LA Times and other organizations, 320 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.920 the thing that really caught my attention is that they 321 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:59.279 want to bring unbiased, factual and objective reporting to underserved communities. 322 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:05.480 And I thought to myself, well, that's not happening already. 323 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:09.279 What do you think. I think that's a disingenuous statement. 324 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.880 Well, here was my take, and the reason I brought 325 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:19.359 this in line is because to your point, because of 326 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:22.640 cell phones, you don't need that many reporters. And when 327 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:26.640 you talk about unbiased news reporting, you know, it's kind 328 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:30.799 of hard to argue that that there number one isn't 329 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:34.319 biased across the board. I know here kfire reporters tend 330 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:38.119 to be as unbiased as possible. But you know, consider 331 00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:41.599 you've complained about this, we are just stretched thin, far 332 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.480 more than we ever have been as far as my 333 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:47.799 knowledge and my experience is concerned. You don't think that 334 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:51.599 there is a need to expand on local news reporting. 335 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:56.359 No, there is a need to expand on local news reporting. 336 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:00.400 The money needs to go to more people. And I 337 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:03.799 believe that this initiative that you're talking about said it 338 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:06.640 could hire up to twelve new reporters to spread out 339 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:09.359 in these local groups. I think one of the best 340 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:13.559 examples of local journalism was Patch. You remember the Patch No, 341 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:16.759 that's where Yeah, so that I think people that listening 342 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:19.359 that are listening to know that there were these Patch 343 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:23.240 reporters that would live in the communities and they had 344 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:27.200 it broken up into quadrants, and those Patch reporters had 345 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:29.319 to live in the communities in which they reported on 346 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:31.799 and I would see them at a lot of different 347 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:35.200 press conferences. But unfortunately that business model fizzled. But that 348 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.920 was the classic example of community journalism. But what I'm 349 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.559 concerned about here, and toil your point, yes, I think 350 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:44.519 there's a need for more local journalism. But it's in 351 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:47.839 the need of like, instead of layoffs, put the money 352 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:50.920 into the existing news organizations. But the argument here is 353 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:54.000 some of these smaller communities feel like they want their 354 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.559 own stories told. Great, that's fine, put the money into 355 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:01.079 those and let it and let it sort of organically grow. 356 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:05.279 My concern, what my concern was, is that the organizations 357 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:07.400 behind it have a political bent. 358 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.400 Yeah, and you know, and when when I looked at 359 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:12.039 this articles, it was just take a take off on uh, 360 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:13.920 And why I wanted to bring you aboard is just 361 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:19.240 the changes in local news. Sure, how local news has 362 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:24.519 become I think less important because of you've got well 363 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:26.799 frankly because you have a cable, et cetera. And the 364 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:31.359 big news stories completely override the local news. Now we've 365 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:35.160 got three reporters out with the fires. We've got Blake Trolley, 366 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:37.880 we got Michael Monk, we have Corbyn Carson. Is there 367 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.640 any other radio station in southern California that would have 368 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.559 three reporters out there? And I'm not saying this because 369 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.559 I'm proud of what we are, Uh, it's certainly any 370 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:50.240 other news talk station Do they do that the way 371 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:50.640 we do? 372 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:55.519 Yes? In fact, that there are two other radio stations 373 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:57.960 that I can tell you right now that have reporters 374 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:01.079 at all the fires as well, and the local CBS 375 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:03.279 radio affiliate and the local and PR affiliate both have 376 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:07.119 reporters of the fires. That's that's standard procedure. But I 377 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:10.920 think what you're experiencing is that the shortage and reporters 378 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:16.000 is due to a couple of things. Funding, smartphones and 379 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:19.319 people's attention span. They don't want a lot of people 380 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.279 don't have the time to read and listen and dig 381 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:24.839 deep like they used to. They like headlines. Now the 382 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:26.240 attention spans are much shorter. 383 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:28.079 Okay, that makes sense. 384 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:31.079 And by the way, when I'm going in a direction, 385 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:34.960 and even if I'm wrong, you have to say, yes, Bill, 386 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:36.440 I understand, You're absolutely right. 387 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:39.039 Okay, what is the direct one you're talking about? 388 00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:41.160 This segment did not go the way I wanted it 389 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:44.839 to go. Okay, just to let you know, are there 390 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.640 any other radio stations, because I don't think so that 391 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.440 have a Blake, Michael and a Corbin out there reporting 392 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:52.960 on the three fires. Your point was, say no, Bill, 393 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:54.960 only KFI does. 394 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:58.799 Well, then that would be a falsehood. Yeah, I don't 395 00:22:58.799 --> 00:22:59.119 do that. 396 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:01.559 Yeah, well, yeah, come on, it's my show. Come on, 397 00:23:01.880 --> 00:23:04.039 you know, I bring you a board to back me up, Steve, 398 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:04.880 for God's sake. 399 00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.039 Well, well then then cut me that way. 400 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:09.440 Okay, Yeah, you're right, you know what, And yeah, you 401 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.480