This is Gary and Shannon and you're listening to KFI AM six forty, the Gary and Shannon Show on demand on the iHeartRadio app. Coming up in the twelve o'clock hour, The Story of Ruby, Frankie and her children. Okay, so this has been kind of on my peripheral vision radar for quite some time, ever since she was arrested in August of twenty twenty three, and I kind of didn't pay attention to it. And last night I fell into the documentary on Hulu about the Devil and the.
Family Holy Hell.
And I know that some people have been interested in this and have been invested into this, but some people haven't. And if you haven't, like myself, or have just kind of been aware of it but not all.
The details, buckle up. It is a wild ride.
And I was watching a documentary and I meant to figure out which one it was before I started talking about this, and it did not. But I was totally ignorant to the whole world of and family vloggers and how popular this was on YouTube, with parents who vlog who video their entire lives with their kids, stay at home moms, how big of a industry it is in terms of product placement and the checks that these families get and the horroring out of the children.
It's awful.
It is awful, And I think that it's one of those things that once you're in it and you see all the other people doing it, it's normalized, and you think it's normal to broadcast your kids' lives.
It is not. When you are an outside set of eyes looking in. What are you doing?
You know? And it's all these people who pride themselves on being great parents and doing it the right way and putting it all on video. Oh my goodness, it is a hole to do. And she's the worst out of all of them. So we'll get into that, into that story coming up in the twelve o'clock hour, and maybe dip into it tomorrow for what you watch on Wednesday, because I could not pull my eyes away from that documentary and also see obviously I'm super into it.
The husband.
They do extensive interviews with her husband, who's kind of along for the ride and this whole weird roller coaster of chronicling their family and their kids growing up. And you're watching his interviews the same way you were watching
the Hidden and Plane side or whatever. That that documentary It was that Gary and I watched like eight years ago where the guy infiltrates the family and then molests the kids and then the parents too, and you're watching the interview with the husband and you just want to throw stuff at the TV, like, how could you be so dumb?
What are you talking about? You didn't know?
So anyway, we'll get into that coming up in the twelve o'clock hour. Breaking news internationally this hour, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski says his country now is willing to move forward on that minerals and secure a deal. This was the deal that Trump wanted signed before their blow up in the Oval office, before Trump kicked them out, before they had their joint podium press conference. This is the deal that Trump wanted done, and then everything escalated and
it was a mess. Well. Zelensky took to social media today on x our meeting in Washington at the White House on Friday, he writes, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It's time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive. This was a deal that would allow the US to tap into Kiev's mineral deposits in exchange for an investment
fund for reconstruction for Ukrainian development. So basically more money for Ukraine to build up the stuff that was shot down and we get to tap into their mineral deposits. So Zelenski said today, this is kind of the first
step back to repairing the relateationship. I guess he said that his team is ready to work under Trump's strong leadership to get a piece that lasts proposing Ukraine and Russia both release prisoners and agree to a truce in the sky and a truce in the sea immediately, So quite the one eighty there, and this is what Trump wanted. And as I mentioned yesterday, my whole theory or my dad's here, I guess it was of playing the game. You're not always going to like who you're talking to
or who you're dealing with. You got to learn how to deal with them on their terms in order to get what you want. Zelensky's playing the game here talking about Trump's strong leadership, giving him the adoration and the compliments.
That's what Trump wants.
And then Zelensky may get what he wants in the form of more American dollars because those were put on pause overnight as well, So maybe some movement on that front. And as John Decker was telling us from the White House Press Corps when we talked to him yesterday, this was somebody who does not hold a lot of leverage Zelenski, So it was only a matter of time before he kind of came back and said, all right, I need you, I need you. Yes, Europe has done a lot, but
I do need the United States as well. Target CEO, as I mentioned, told CNBC today warning people that you may see price increases in the next few days due to the tariffs on goods from Mexico Trump excuse me. Target apparently relies on Mexico quite a bit during this time of year, during the winter, so you're gonna see Target at least up their prices on fruits and vegetables as soon as this week, avocados, bananas, strawberries in particular.
All Right, there is a trial going on, a murder trial in Los Angeles that I find to be interesting, and I thought it found it to be interesting ever since the man was arrested for killing his wife back in August of twenty twenty three. His name is Jeffrey Ferguson. He's seventy four, and his wife's name is Cheryl. Was Cheryl, she's sixty five, And he was arrested for shooting and killing his wife back in August of twenty twenty three. And you're saying, wow, this happens.
All the time.
Husband and wife get a little homicidy. Yeah, but Jeffrey Ferguson is a sitting judge in Orange County. He has been for several years. He was actually a former DA as well. This is somebody who's spent their life in the world of law and order. And Jeffrey Ferguson also sent a text message after the shooting moments after. Did he send this text message to a friend or a family member, No, he kept it within the world of
law and order. Jeffrey Ferguson sent a text message to his bailiff and his clerk just moments after shooting and killing his wife Cheryl, and in the text message was seemingly a confession. He said, I just lost it, just shot my I won't be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I'm so sorry to me. That's open and shut. Hell, Judge Jeffrey Ferguson would tell you that's an open and
shut murder case. But here we are with the case move from Orange County to La County because of conflict of interest, as you can imagine, and.
You've got a jury that's deadlocked.
Well, it's a little bit more nuanced than that, isn't it. It's not always just did he shoot his wife? Obviously he shot and kills his wife, but what degree of the law are you gonna punish him with? And that seems to be where they are hung up. Now, let's go back to August of twenty twenty three. This was an evening when the three Fergusons, mom, dad, and their son had gone out to dinner. Their son's name is Philip, so it's Jeffrey, Cheryl, and Philip, and they go out to dinner.
But apparently after a couple of.
Cocktails sharel Ferguson storms out because Jeffrey the judge made a hand gesture of some nature of a gun during their little spat at the table before she runs out. Now, later on in the home, it seems like the fight has continued and the judge says that or the son, excuse me, says that he heard the judge say something to the wife of the effect of, you know, excuse me, I have it mixed up.
Let's rewind.
The son, Philip, says that he heard the wife, Cheryl, say to the judge at some point, and this is after they left dinner or the back at home, that the wife says something to the effect of, why don't you pull a pull point a real gun at me? Because remember she got upset during dinner that he poked a fake gun like a handgun at her or whatever and pulled the trigger. And so they get home things have escalated.
Why don't you pull point a real gun at me, she says, And then the son tells detectives, I turn around and there's dad who pulled out a real gun, aimed at mom and fired. He testified that Mom's last words were he shot me. So he is charged the judges with murder sentencing enhancements for the discharge of a gun causing death, personal use of a gun.
That's all irrelevant for our purposes.
But this is a jury that is at an impasse on the second degree murder charge, which is just basically, did he act without any with any regard it's basically implied malice murder, which means you're acting without conscious regard for life.
It's called conscious disregard for life.
If you're waving around a gun, if you fire a gun into a crowd, you don't mean to kill anybody, But you fire a gun into a crowd and you kill someone at second degree murder, you know what you're doing is likely to end with somebody dying unlawfully that second degree murder. Did this guy know that him pulling out the gun and firing it at the wife was probably.
Going to end in her murder?
Yes, I mean it is a gift that he's only on second degree murder and that it's not first degree murder. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. It's an absolute open and shut case for second degree murder. But the jurors kind of, at least some of them, have bought into the defense case that it was an accident, that oh, the judge had a bad shoulder and he was putting the gun away and he accidentally fired it. Well, if that was the case, then why does the sun remember
things so differently? If this was just a oh honey, your gun's on the table, will you put it away, and he picks it up, and his shoulder hurts and he fires it.
I don't know, It's kind of hard to get over the hurdle.
Also that this gun requires five pounds of pressure to depress the trigger. If your shoulders that bad, how are you that good with the trigger? I guess one could argue as well. But apparently this juror, this jury is very emotional. You've got them split on second degree murder. Some believe absolutely he acted with implied malice, and then some of them that are set on involuntary manslaughter. It was an accident. It was a heated argument that resulted
in her death. Several votes have been taken, but they don't know how many. At this point in that jury room, there has been some movement on the deadlock. The judge in the case, Eleanor Hunter, is trying again this morning to bring.
The jurors back.
She has said that it's not just the four person that can ask questions. Anyone can ask a question, so really pulling out all the steps to get a verdict here, but the jurors seemed very seemed very confused when it comes to some seriously simple questions At least in my opinion, like they have questions between what.
Is a lawful act? What is a lawful act?
Actually was what one of the jurors aunts asked, and the answer was, a lawful act is one that is not unlawful. I mean, it was only a matter of time untill our juries got completely dumbed down, right. Another juror added, can we have some tissues please? So apparently things are getting heated in there because you know, they're not crying over dead Cheryl. They're probably crying because feelings are getting hurt in that jury room. So we'll see
what happens there. But how much of the fact that it's a judge plays into it?
Is it hard to believe?
Is that a hurdle to get over that a judge would shoot and kill his wife guy who spent thirty years on the bench another handful as a DA sending that text message, I did it essentially. I just don't understand what the problem is in terms of deciding that this guy's guilty of murder.
Oh and the blood alcohol level. I didn't get to that one either.
It looked like he was at about a point one seven when that trigger was pulled. I found this story interesting. It was in the chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle this morning, and I thought it interesting. I always think it interesting when the San Francisco Chronicle or La Times goes after local politicians or corruption. I want to give them a round of applause, because a lot of times they kind of bury their heads in the sand or take the sides of the elected officials.
So good on them.
This is all about what's called the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission executive director in particular, her name is Cheryl Davis, and last winter she was given a gift. Now, Cheryl is the head of this Human Rights Commission. It's a nonprofit group and it does work and contracting work with the local government there in San Francisco. And she was given a gift by an entity called the Urban Education Academy.
What was the gift?
What we hear about gifts all the time, right, all the kickbacks at politicians and the like get whether it's sports tickets you know, lak or floor seats tickets to theater, expensive dinners, expensive trips, flights, things like that, and it's all about horring, right, It's all about what you're going to give to the elected officials to get them to
give you the lucrative contract. And they're more likely to give you the contract if you give them stuff because they're children and they're whoors at the same time, which makes a really uncomfortable situation. But I have never heard a more on the nose gift than this one. This group gave this Human Rights Commission executive director a large, a massive, brightly color portrait of.
Herself of herself.
I mean, who is the person that puts a self portrait of themselves up? I have heard a story ps from a former hairstylist that Anderson Cooper has a massive portrait of Gloria Vanderbilt, his mother, framed above his bed. How creepy is that you're going to do the dirty with Anderson Cooper and you're looking at his mom the whole time. I'll just let you sit with that for
a minute, anyway. But they give her a picture of herself and she's almost tearing up last fall when she gets this beautiful commissioned portrait.
And the director of this.
Academy that's hoping to secure this lucrative contract with San Francisco, who signs off of on it. By the way, a witch Cheryld Davis that would sign off on this urban education academy getting this big contract. They say to her at the time, You've done so much for this city, so much for this organization with our partnership. Anyway, now in papers as all of this is litigated, she's been axed by the way. She was making an s ton of money. This wasn't the only gift she was getting.
But as soon as this gift was given to her, reporters started digging into her relationships with city contractors, her management of this initiative that her friend Mayor London Breed hooked her up with. London Breed was the one who got rid of her, by the way, because this woman, Cheryl Davis, was acting super dirty and getting kickbacks left and right. But it was the very portrait of herself that was a gift given to her that started the ball rolling that led to her demise.
A portrait of herself.
I mean, how perfect is that when it comes to the narcissism that exists with these people who think they're doing the work of the people, when all the while they're worried about themselves and what they're getting out of the deal. It's never for the childer, and it's never for the people and the angelinos. It's for themselves too
often of the time. And how apropos that what brought her down was a gift given to her by this entity that wanted a lucrative contract with the city, and the gift was the ultimate gift for a narcissist.
A picture of herself. I love that it is poetic.
Keana and I were just talking about man cup of noodles so hard kind of made a cup of noodles and we're just sitting here looking at it. It's got the fork, the fork over the top so that it can cook up, the noodles can cook up, And said to her, it's the longest three minutes, just waiting for a cup of noodles to get nice and tender. And the problem is is, sometimes, especially with the new cup
of noodles, it takes longer than three minutes. Sometimes I find the noodles are still too hard, and I've got to nuke them for another minute or so.
Sometimes I have to forget about the noodles. Yeah, and then remember that who.
Is that person who forgets about the noodles. You have to leave them in another room. They're like a phone. You can't have it in the same room with you. Otherwise it's a distraction.
But if I left them in the break room, they'd be gone.
Right.
You have to put them in a locked office. Somebody would touch them or do something. I understand your chain of custody needs for the cup of noodles, but it is the hardest thing to look at. One of the hardest things to look at is the fork over the cup of noodles while the noodles get ready.
By the end of this segment, they should be ready. I'm hoping they're around. It's a long segment. That's gonna be a long time, all right. I feel your pain coming up.
We will be going to the East coast to find out all that we want to know about Trump's addressed to Congress. As I mentioned, he is talking about it on truth Social saying that it's going to be musty TV and that he's going to tell it.
Like it is.
So I think you're going to see and embolden Trump, especially what happened with Zelensky today. You know, he got some heat after what went down in the Oval office. About the argument and the altercation in front of all those cameras and how they both behaved. And Zelensky came out this morning and said that he regrets the way that meeting went and that he is ready to fall
in step essentially with Trump. He's definitely playing the game that Trump wants him to play, and I think that's going to embolden Trump as he goes before Congress, which, by the way, he hasn't needed. He has signed this flurry of executive orders and he's only needed a number one, the guy that he looks at in the mirror so far, and who does that embolden that same guy? So we will go to the East coast get an update on the reaction around Capitol Hill as we get ready, as
we get ready for that address. Also with the tariffs mean as well. Gene Hackman and his death his wife's death remain a mystery. As we talked about yesterday, it's going to be several weeks before we find out what exactly happened. Whether we ever know what exactly happened, I don't know. But the tests will come back, we'll find out if they had anything in their system. Christiane Hackman
ninety five, his wife sixty five. One of the comments or the concerns has been, well, if they were left there, if they were dead for nine or ten days, like some of the medical experts are opining, where was everybody? Did they have help at home? Where were the kids?
What's going on? Well, it turns out they were kind of indicative of what happened to many of us after COVID, kind of keeping to ourselves, not interacting with the neighbors as much, maybe not having people over, maybe not having as many interactions with humans as we had pre pandemic. This is Santa Fe Summit where they live. It's a gated community just east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and some of their nearest neighbors said they had seen no
sign of the couple in recent years. The only way that they knew they were still there was the trash cans were put out waiting to be picked up on the days when that would happen. This is not a shocker that the couple did not attend homeowners' association meetings.
Who does that?
I mean, I know there are people who do that, and I support the people that do that, so that I don't have to do that, but Gene Hackman's not going to an HOA meeting the annual picnics they would have, they were not there, and they did have their share of friends around town. Gene Hackman had invested in a local restaurant where his paintings hung on the walls, so apparently he was a painter. She had the wife, Betsy, had co founded a store nearby that sells home goods.
But they said that after COVID, the couple retreated further from public life, that they enjoyed the neighborhood's solitude. There were only about fifty five homes in the whole development there, and their privacy was respected. They've got neighbors that include other people that like their privacy, doctors, lawyers, executives that have been lured to the community for just that stunning views and privacy. But close enough to Santa Fe where if they want to go into town they can do that.
They said that the only signs of life in the neighborhood when everyone descended upon said neighborhood following the discovery of the bodies, or just maintenance construction workers. It's not obviously a well trafficked place. Those who have bumped into Gene Hackman or Betsy over the year. Say they were friendly. They had an obvious love for their three dogs that
they used to walk them in the neighborhood. One of those dogs, of course, they had three German shepherds, one of which was found dead in the house with them. I remember in that closet near where Betsy's body was discovered in the bathroom. There is a neighbor that says, you'll never forget the first time they met Gene Hackman more than a decade ago, that he pulled up alongside him in a truck, looked at their dogs and said, what cute puppies, Gene Hackman said, So apparently they were
dog lovers. They loved it, and apparently one of the neighborhood dogs won some sort of dog prize. And Betsy had told the neighbor at the time, we noticed your dog in the paper. We recognized your dog in the paper. So it seems like nothing was afoot with this relationship, at least not with the neighbors. But how often do you see your neighbors? I mean, I've got a couple sets of neighbors that we see from time to time. One set is really good with having people over on
occasions where we all see each other. But other than that, I would have no idea if I had dead neighbors next to me, Like if the neighbors two houses down were dead in there for ten days, I'd have no
idea because I never see them. It's weird about neighborhoods, how infrequently you see your neighbors because you're going and leaving at different times, I guess, as opposed to like those old pictures of the fifties where all the dads would leave and they'd all back out of the tracked home neighborhoods at the same time and come home at the same time for dinner.
It's very different now.
I rarely see my neighbors out and about, so it's not odd for people to be I mean, how many dead people do you think you have in your neighborhood right now?
It could be a bunch. You don't know. You don't know. It's a dark thought. How's the cup of noodles? How are we doing with that? They're almost almost after the break.
Yeah, I was gonna say, I don't think they're done yet. I feel like because one of the things with cup of noodles is. Cup of noodles is like McDonald's. It's been the same taste your whole life. You know exactly what you're going to get, and if it's different, it's a disappointment.
Yeah. And sometimes if you don't.
Wait long enough and you get into those noodles and they're still a little hard, it's a disappointment.
Either they're hard and cold or they're really really soft that they fall apart on your fork and burning hot. It's like no in between you. I almost have to catch it. There's like a small window. Yeah, hoping to catch that window.
I'm one hundred years old and I still burn my tongue routinely on things that I know is going to burn, like pizza, Like just wait, just wait, do you really need to eat that right away?
The cheese?
It's the cheese, And then you've got this burning sensation of flesh on the roof of your mouth all day. That's awful. Back from dead neighbors to burning flesh. That's what we do here for you. On the Gary and Shannon Show, we will go live to DC to talk about the president's big address to him, calling it musty TV.
Tonight at six. We'll take it live here on KFI.
We'll find out what they're talking about on Capitol Hill when we come back to Gary and Shannon.
You've been listening to The Gary and Shannon Show.
You can always hear us live on FIAM six forty nine am to one pm every Monday through Friday, and any time on demand on the iheartradiol app