Morning Run: Gaetz Out, Smollett Overturned, Beef Contaminated and Line Cutters Beware

Morning Run with Amy and TJ an iHeartRadio podcast. Good Friday morning, everyone, and welcome to Morning Run. Yes it is Friday, November twenty second.

I'm Amy Robox and I'm TJ. Holmes and on the run this morning. All of our phones were going off. Yesterday a flurry set off by a couple of stunning, back to back breaking news stories.

First, Matt Gates abruptly withdrew his name from consideration to be Trump's attorney General. Trump had another ag nominee within hours of that announcement.

And then the other shocker nobody seemed to see coming. Jesse Smolette's conviction for planning a racist, homophobic attack on himself was.

Overturned, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahoo is now a wonted man after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Also, first it was Deli meat, then it was onions, Then it was the carrots. Now it's the ground beef, the latest food to be recalled for E. Coli and that potentially tainted meat koltz fiel Be in restaurant freezers.

Shame, shame, shame. One airline is hoping to embarrass you into sticking to your own boarding group.

Also this morning, he spent six million dollars for a banana duct tape to a wall. He says, now he's gonna eat it. We have an update on what is the funniest and most frustrating story of the day on this Friday.

I know you can't wait to dig back into that one, TJ. All right, But first up on our run we head to DC, where Matt Gates is out Pam Bondy is in. A head spinning turn of events yesterday set off when Trump's pick for Attorney General, Gates abruptly quit, pulling his name out of consideration.

Then in just a matter of ours, Trump announced that Pam Bondy, the former Florida Attorney General, is his new pick. Bondy is considered a so called Trump loyalist and has worked as a lawyer for him for years after serving as a prosecutor, and the Florida.

Aging Republicans are said to be breathing a sigh of relief with this new pick, and don't at this point think she will face the same type of enormous challenges that Gates would have faced. Still, Gates's decision to withdraw his name from consideration came as a surprise. First, he was all smiles in his meetings with senators just yesterday on Capitol Hill. And then second, Trump had publicly stood by him despite all of the fervor over Gates's alleged sexual misconduct.

Then he made the announcement himself yesterday on X that he was stepping away, and I quote, I had excellent meetings with senators yesterday, Gates says. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump Vans transition. There is no time to waste on

Up until the announcement, Trump had personally been calling lawmakers to try and secure support for gates confirmation. So then what happened to make Gates suddenly withdraw now?

Well?

According to CNN, they called Gates team for comment on new reporting they had that a seventeen year old testified she had sex with Gates on two separate occasions, and less than an hour later, Gates withdrew his name.

Yeah, that was a detail that had not been out there publicly just yet. The president elect said in a statement that he appreciated Gates' recent efforts to seek Senate approval, and that withdrawing was gates choice, not Trump's choice. Trump wrote that Matt has a wonderful future and I look forward to watching all of the great things he'll do.

The House Ethics Committee decided this week not to release its findings from its three year investigation into those alleged sexual misconduct allegations, among other things. However, many senators believe the details from that report would eventually have become a public during confirmation hearings. And the question is will it become public at all anymore? Because now, yes, one of the questions was jurisdiction, because he's a former congressman, So

There seems to be a trickle trickle trickle. Well, I mean, it's Washington and all eyes and everybody's hunting this thing down. You assumed those details were going to come out. Maybe some of them are starting to like we just saw here, but it was pretty incredible just boom and to hear CNN explain the story. The reporter they called said we're going with this in an hour, and they didn't call back and say, okay, we're going to give you a comment.

Yeah, and not having the votes is probably a huge part of it, I think most even though in a Republican controlled Senate, it was pretty clear that he was not going to get to that fifty mark. And then the question is what happens to his House seat that he just re won and just vacated a lot of questions.

After all this, he could still end up being one of their colleagues on Capitol Hill because he did resign from Congress. However, he won his seat, so that means the seat he resigned from is actually his again in January because he was re elected to Congress. So legally speaking, they say he can go right back to serving in Congress.

He can go right back, but if he becomes a House member again, then that report is sure to be released, so he just probably has to decide if he has the stomach for it or not.

Some this is probably not the last time we were going to be covering something related to Matt Gates, is what we're trying to say. But let's move on to the other big story yesterday that had all the breaking news alerts going. This was former Empire actor Jesse Smolette. He is no longer a convicted felon.

The Illinois Supreme Court threw out his twenty twenty one conviction for lying about an alleged hate crime. Two years earlier. Smollette was found guilty for faking a racist and homophobic attack he actually did it to himself, and then lying to police about how it happened.

Initially the charges were first brought against him, the state's attorney agreed to dismiss the charges if Smollette paid a ten thousand dollars fine and did community service. That was the deal. Okay, this was supposed to be over. But then the details of that deal were made public and there was a huge public outcry because so many folks said Smollette was getting a sweet celebrity deal.

So that's when a special prosecutor was enlisted to reinstate those charges, and Smollette was ultimately convicted of felony disorderly conduct for falsely reported the non existing crime. Smolett's attorneys have maintained that the conviction was a violation of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the state Supreme Court agreed. The court said it is fundamentally unfair to allow the prosecution to renig on a deal with the defendant when the defendant has relied on the agreement to his detriment.

Now, the court acknowledged that a lot of folks were upset with the original resolution and believed it to be unjust, but said it would be even more unjust if the state was not bound to honor its agreements. Smollette was sentenced to five months in jail. He served six days before he was released on appeal, and his legal team thanked the Supreme Court there and said they restored order. We have to make clear the conviction was thrown out.

Correct, And I think the problem is a lot of folks believe he never should have been given that sweetheart deal, but he was given it and he did accept it. And so to the Supreme Court's point, what type of system do you have in place if a prosecutor or if basically the state of Illinois says that they will do something and then they when they hear that people are upset about it, they take it away. That doesn't seem to be fundamentally legal or fair.

And he's still at this point. He has always said he is not guilty of any of this, but no determination has been made here about his guilt or innocence. And the state that the folks that prosecute him, made that point that this has nothing to do with any anything we did wrong or any suggestion of misconduct on our part. This is a technicality, and it's hard to argue with it.

No, it is hard to argue with it. I wonder, though, what this will do to his already diminished career. I don't it doesn't seem like it's not as if he's been exonerated. Yes, so I guess that's the point. He has not been exonerated. He's just now no longer a convicted felon.

Just kind of a big deal.

It's definitely a big deal. He and Trump might be able to know why why it's Friday. Can just exchange stories and kind of commiserate. That's all all right. Next up on the run, we have yet another recall involving possible E. Coli contamination. So far, fifteen people in the state of Minnesota have been sickened. I get this, the exact same strain of E. Coli that was found in the onions in McDonald's quarter pounders just a few weeks ago.

What the hell is going on? We talked about one hundred and seventy thousand pounds of fresh and frozen ground beef products that have been recalled. Now, the products were shipped to restaurants around the country. There's some concern that some of this ground beef is still in the refrigerators and freezers of restaurants all over the place.

It was the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Health that first noticed a link between the reported illnesses and ground beef from a distributor out of Detroit. So they tested a ground beef sample from Wolverine Packing Company and found that yep, it contained the same strain of bacteria linked to the McDonald's outbreak.

USDA has the list of affected products and labels. They warned that the strain is potentially deadly, especially to children under five and older adults. If you're experiencing any symptoms, you do need to seek medical attention as soon as you can. I just every week, certainly, but for months and now it seems like we've been dealing with a recoll like serious and deadly outbreaks.

It's concerning because as the consumer, there's nothing really you can do to prevent it. You just have to be aware of what the symptoms are, which is fever's, stomach cramping, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, all of those things that are associated with some sort of E. Coli contamination. But that's tough because the onus is on you then to make sure you seek medical attention because it can be serious.

All right, Well, well stay with us on this Friday when we come back and continue our run. The Israeli Prime Minister on our wanted poster and one airline is going to embarbrash you into sticking with your boarding group.

Welcome back everyone on our morning run. Next up, Benjamin Netanyahu is a wanted man. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister, accusing him of crimes against humanity.

That warrants were also issued for the former Israeli Defense Minister as well as the Hamas military chief, all for the same crimes. They're all accused of human rights abuses and war crimes tied to the year long conflict in Gaza, which has killed and estimated forty four thousand people.

The court said the warrants for Netanyahu and the others was for quote, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. They also suggested that the men are criminally responsible for intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.

Well. Israel responded and responded strongly to all this, saying they reject the arrest warrant quote with disgust and called the charges anti Semitic and absurd. So what does this mean now? So does this mean that BB is going to be hunted down and taken away in handcuffs. Not exactly right.

So, first, the International Criminal Court does not have a police or military force to go chase down bib or any other suspects. Number two, the United States and Israel are not members of the International Criminal Court sochechnically, they don't even have jurisdiction over Israel. And there is a line of thought, however, that if NETANYAHUO travels to another country that is a part of the International Criminal Court, that then he could theoretically be taken into.

Custody theoretically, And the court argues that legally, if he travels to another country that is a member of the International Criminal Court, that country would be in violation of their obligations, legal obligations if they do not arrest and take him into custody. Now we have seen I think Putin has traveled to places. They also have accused him

Yeah, but what happens if you don't or you're afraid to which that would be totally understandable.

Then whether they're gonna do fine. It seems like this there's not a lot of weight behind it, but symbolically it's a big deal, and that it's set off a really big back and forth and fight about why make this move and what member countries are supposed to do with it now, But it's interesting, there's a rest ward for Israeli prime.

It's interesting. But the problem is, to the point you just made, what is the intention of having a law or a rule if it cannot or will not be enforced symbolic Perhaps what all that does is just piss people off.

And that's where we are right now.

Okay, well, happy Friday everyone. Next up on the run, let's lighten things up. We have a banana update for you. This one made me smile for days now. So we told you yesterday about the piece of art called Comedian, which is a banana duct tape to a wall that sold it southerebe's for more than six million dollars. Well we now know who purchased it.

It's a cryptocurrency billionaire. Justin Sun is the name. He paid. Yes for the banana and the duct tape, but he was actually paying for the certificate of authenticity to tape his very own own banana to the wall and call it comedian. You get with us all we're saying here. It's not an original, it's an original thought.

You're buying a concept.

Yes, yes, that's the right about it. You bought an idea, So there you go. He was in a battle with six others who wanted this thing. He claimed it with the highest bid, and he used cryptocurrency to buy it.

All right, here's what he had to say about his win quote, I believe this piece will inspire more thought and discussion in the future and will become a part of history. I am honored to be the proud owner of this iconic work and look forward to its sparking further inspiration and impact for art enthusiasts around the world. And here's my favorite part of his statement. He let

Please keep going. I don't even know. I'm so frustrated. I don't want to read this thing.

And here I just this is, you know, my two cents. He can actually continue to eat the bananas on his wall as they ripen, because it's not going to change the value of his investment. As we were describing it being really more of a concept or an idea than an actual physical item because banana's rot. So the banana on display in Sotheby's wasn't even included in his winnings. He actually was given the duct tape and instructions on how to install the banana properly. It has to be

I have a few questions. Do you have to have a particular canvas to put it on right any wall?

No?

Really, is you just put it on any wall? In correct?

I think? Well, I think the instructions might say it needs to be a blank wall. It has to be like one hundred and thirty centimeters from the floor. I don't remember what the exact but there is a measurement and like a way to put the duct tape on the banana. It's like slightly askew. And they give you the instructions and when you follow them, then it's considered the original part.

I assume the tape has to be a certain length of those kinds of ye questions. Okay, can it be a plantain?

No? I think it needs to be a banana? Yeah, but thanks for checking?

How far does it have to be ripened?

Like?

How yellow? Does it get too brown? What do you do?

I think you need to replace it?

Does it say nothing? Else? Is just a piece of tape. He can walk around with this in his pocket. He could stop at an airport as he's waiting for his flight, and if there's a white wall, he can display Comedian right there anywhere.

I guess possibly, yes, I mean theoretically, I like that word today. I think you probably could if you have a measuring tape and you can like actually put it in the place it's supposed to be sure?

Last question? Could this be valued at six million dollars? Without social media? What I mean is became some kind of a sensation that people were talking about, and it got going and it was trending in all of these things. But if we didn't have the ability for it to go worldwide, it was just in this gallery here, in that gallery there, and people scratching their heads. It just became something we buzzed and talked and even laughed about. Is it still a valuable piece of art without social media?

As long as it was drawing crowds in the display, then there's value to it. Maybe not six million dollars, but it was originally, by the way, valued at one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Then it was valued at about a million dollars, and then really the value is what someone's willing to pay, and apparently at six point two four million.

Two dollars a pound. I give bananas two dollars a pound.

You're not understanding art, TJ. All right, our final leg of the run. This is this is also a favorite story of mind. Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday travel rush, American Airlines has officially implemented new technology to stop line cutting.

We're talking to you. You know, folks, know who you are.

You might be among them who try to board the plane early before your assigned group.

Okay, so get this now the gate agents and the passengers, you're all gonna hear an audible sound. There's gonna be an alert kound of that goes off if someone scans their boarding pass prematurely, and anyone who tries to sneak on a little faster is going to be sent back and asked to wait their turn.

As a rule follower myself, I applaud this. But for those who don't, shame, shame, shame. Yes, we are talking game of throne shame. The technology is now being used in more than one hundred airports across the US. There are plans to bring it to all of them, but the airline says the initial response from customers and their

Teaj This first time I heard it was in this story gate lice. You want to be gate lice. That's gross.

It's gross, but it's kind of like accurate.

Uh well, yeah, I didn't know that was the term. But American is thrilled to have this in place. They plan to fly more than eight million people over to the Thanksgiving holiday, so this is something you are going to notice. I think this is a great idea. It takes some of the pressure off of the gate agents to have to tell somebody, Noe, you gotta go go back, your group is not ready yet, and then it often

And look, I understand the reason why everyone tries to get on the plane first is because you know, they always run out of the overhead space, and so when they run out of the overhead space, you have to check your luggage. It creates a lot of problems. So a lot of folks are like, Hey, I'm gonna try to get in early because I want my luggage to

But here's the thing. Airlines are fixing a problem that they created. When you start telling people we're gonna charge you to check your bag, now everybody. Some people love to keep their bags with them, and that's fine, but everybody, you see how people got a stuff stuff in it's saved twenty five or fifty bucks or checking we're checking in a bag. They put us in this position to where we're scrambling. Oh, I gotta get that overhead space.

Find a way to implement this on on when you're trying to make a turn and people in like highways try to cut you off. They go in the line and then you can't make the turn and it backs everybody up. You could have some way to embarrass those folks.

I would love that.

Wow, line cutters are annoying.

Okay, we we should turn this to a segment. Rope says, gotta be Friday. Folks on this. I hope you don't have any beef hope you have a great, great Friday. But as you go about your day and then until your weekend, there's something we like you to consider, and it is our quote of the day.

We need to know the difference between the fears that keep us alive and the fears that keep us from living. This came from your file, TJ. I didn't look to see who said this.

Do you know this one didn't have a name attached to it is I'm assuming it was my pastor and something I wrote down one of us sermons. But I love it. Yes, there are healthy fears. There are healthy fears of certain things that you should have. A fear of traffic and right you don't walk out. That keeps you alive. But what are you scared of getting your heart broken? Are you scared of maybe being rejected and

Yeah, fear of failure, I think is probably one of the biggest things that hold holds people back and holds all of us back. And I think it's just I always said this fear either cripples you or motivates you. And to know the difference between you know, what is real and what is presumed is a big difference.

You know, take that one with you this weekend. We need to know the difference between the fears that keep us alive and the fears that keep us from living. I hope you do some good living to this weekend, folks. We always appreciate you running with us.

So I'm t J and I'm Amy Robot. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone,