Morning Run: Biden Screening Questions, George Wendt “Norm” Dies, “The Punisher” Testifies, and Massive Cucumber Recall

Morning Run with Amy and TJ and iHeartRadio Podcast. Good morning everyone, Thanks for joining us for today's morning run. It's Wednesday, May twenty First, I'm Amy Robox.

And I'm TJ Holmes on the run this morning. From sympathy to scrutiny, Former President Biden tries to quiet criticism and reveals just how long it's been since his last prostate screening.

And New York Mayor old candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo is now under federal investigation. Plus a maintenance worker is arrested and charged with helping those ten New Orleans inmates escape. Meantime, please capture a fifth escapee with five others still on the lamp.

Also on the run this morning, the punisher testifies in the Diddy trial. Yeah, another day of wild revelations as a male escort and Cassieventura's mom take the stand.

Plus a TV legend. A familiar and friendly fixture at the Cheers Bar where everybody knew his name, George went aka Norm, has died.

Also a major food recall after dozens have been sickened in a salmonella outbreak. It's the cucumbers. Plus airline passengers listen up. Southwest has announced a new policy that might have other airlines following suit.

Plus, the twenty one year old friend of the fan who fell from the stands and onto the field at that Pirates game last month has now been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

And Patrick Mahomes, sa Kuon Barkley and some of your favorite NFL players could soon be going for goal. There's been a rule change that will let them compete in the twenty twenty eight Olympics. But in what sport? We'll explain. You know these names, now these yes, Okay, there was a whole thing that will let you in about this. But I was asking Robot, was we were writing that tease? Name a couple of football players, and who did you come up with?

I said, Tom Brady and Grunkowski Ron Grunkowski.

Both retired for some time. But it's okay, you do know the names when you hear them. But we're gonna have some fun with that story later. It'd be something to see these guys in the Olympics.

All right. But we begin our morning run with Joe Biden. So it turns out he had not been screened for prostate cancer in eleven years. That is concerning, Yes.

And we're not even sure. We'll explain some of this language here. The former president announced this week that he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. Sympathy came pouring in that was soon followed by scrutiny. Many wondered aloud, how is it possible that it hadn't been caught for years, this slow moving cancer that had made its way through his bones. How did nobody catch that, especially when he was getting the best medical treatment on earth as president?

That's right?

Well, now, Biden's office has come out with a statement that says the last known prostate screening for Biden was.

Back in twenty fourteen. Last known.

That is a curious phrase. Indeed, we don't really know what that means. The short statement said this President Biden's last known PSA was in twenty fourteen. Prior to Friday, President Biden has never been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Last known? Why would you? It's like there's another one maybe we didn't know about. Don't you just need to ask him? When was your last Yeah, somebody knows.

Why don't they just say this was his last screening screening that.

Is very okay, open ended and curious.

Okay, maybe they're just covering themselves. Doesn't mean there's a cover up. But when you have all this going on and people wondering how we rely to we need specifics, that doesn't help the situation, all right. They did not release any details about the results of that last known screening, which we assume was a PSA score of some kind, which is used to measure a man's likelihood of maybe

So for comparison, the results of President Trump's most recent physical does include a PSA score, and it was normal. By the way, in case you were wondering, prostate cancer is the leading cancer and men and the second leading cause of cancer death. And the truth is, in this situation, it's very similar to breast cancer. The sooner you find it, the better chance you have of surviving it. It is very survivable if it is caught early.

But like we you mentioned as well, the official government guidelines are that men over seventy should not be screened because it can come with false posits and calls them to take treatment action that's unnecessary.

But fine if you're a president of the United States.

Trump got one exactly. So what is it up to the I disgress you get it. This is the most important physical being on the planet.

A lot of people aren't buying it.

You know what, We'll skip that one. We don't need to know about it.

I think when I say a lot of people, I would say most people aren't buying it.

Look, we're trying here and take folks at their word, but we can understand why so many This is not going away Based on that statement.

That doesn't help because there are so many political implications obviously that have been discussed, because obviously his health was an issue, his mental acuity was an issue, and if there wasn't full transparency about where he was, what the state of his medical condition was while he was president and while he was running for reelection, there are always going to be theories and issues and finger pointing.

And yes, this is not going away.

You said full transparency. How does last known help?

That does not feel transparent whatsoever?

Right, we continue our run back here in New York City now where we might have another mayoral candidate facing federal investigation. This time it's Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who is now running for mayor of New York. And he's certainly a top candidate, and I believe robe you correct from what we've been saying, he's been leading in a whole bunch.

Of certainly with the Democratic primary he is. We know that Eric Adams, the former mayor, is running as an independent, but absolutely he is the front runner in those primary polls. The Justice Department is opening a criminal investigation now to determine if Cuomo lied to Congress when he gave testimony about the COVID nineteen pandemic. This according to multiple news outlets.

Spokesperson for the former governor says they have yet to be contacted by anyone at the Justice Department, but that doesn't mean they didn't have something to say. And yes, the spokesperson for Cuomo said this this is law fair and election interference plain and simple something President Trump and his top Department of Justice officials say they are against. So they're questioning the timing here of this so close to the election.

Yes, and of course, the other mayoral candidate, Eric Adams, was also under federal indictment up until recently.

He's also the current mayor.

He was facing federal corruption charges and was getting set for a trial before well, Trump's Justice Department dropped the charges.

And look, they said it. They need him to be able to carry out Trump's agenda, especially with immigration here in the city. So it's seeing that it's seen that Adams is boys with Trump. Trump got him out of trouble. Now Trump is going after his boy's political opponent. That is probably how I should have written this story.

That is how it appears.

Okay, we'll continue on our run this morning, and we're gonna head down to New Orleans, where you probably know the story about to talk about now. But check this out. A maintenance worker at the jail where ten inmates escaped last week has been arrested. Yes, a maintenance worker arrested.

Yes, authorities say Williams willfully and maliciously helped the inmates break out last Friday by shutting off the water to a toilet so the men could then rip the toilet off its hinges and escape through a hole behind it. Williams told police that one of the inmates threatened to shank him if he did not help them with their escape plan.

So he was so scared that he didn't tell anybody, and he helped out. But police say instead of reporting the inmate, Williams turned the water off as directed, which allowed them to carry out this scheme successfully. He's being held on a million dollar bond. For other jail employees have been suspended while this investigation continues.

Meantime, a fifth inmate was recaptured on Tuesday, but that still leaves five inmates on the run, and New Orleans has been on high alert now for six days. I mean, I can't even imagine how that must feel. All of these men who have been recaptured have been recaptured in the New Orleans area near the French.

Quarter where all those tourists are. And these are not just your run of the inmates.

These are men who have been charged with a range of violent crimes, including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery. They have hundreds of police officers searching for these escaped inmates. But I mean, it's pretty remarkable.

Five still the loose.

It seems like they just got out for a weekend getaway. It doesn't seem like they're actually trying to get away.

Yeah, they're staying in town here with friends and family who a police believe are most likely aiding and abetting them. But certainly scary if you're out there as a resident or a tourist.

We'll continue now on our run on this Wednesday morning, And what a day In the Ditty trial. Yesterday, a federal agent, Cassie Ventura's mom, and a male escort named the Punisher all testified. Regina Ventura gave pretty powerful testimony about having to take pictures of her daughter's injuries, injuries she allegedly sustained from abuse from Sean ditty Comb.

She also told this incredible story she and her husband in order to get their daughter free from Ditty took out a twenty thousand dollar home equity loan. Ventura testified that Combs contacted her and demanded the twenty thousand dollars in order to recoup his losses from his investment in Cassie's career, but after wiring the money to bad Boy, Ventura says it was returned to her within the week now.

Also on the stand yesterday, CHARAE. Hayes aka the Punisher. That name has come up several times in reporting of this case. He's the mail escort hired to have sex with Cassie during those so called frea colls. His testimony was full of jaw dropping detail, including the fact he says he was involved in several free calls before he even found out he was Ditty in the corner of the room controlling things. That's something he was told not to look over.

There in a darken person in the corner or something he didn't know shadow will know what.

Was going on, he said. The only way he found out one of the hotels he was supposed to go to, walking to the lobby, sees a big welcome sign that says welcome Sean Combs, and he kind of started putting things together. He said he was paid up to two thousand dollars for these sessions. He said, did he would actually direct them, look, not just tell them what to do in some physical way, but just lighting. That's just just angles.

I was gonna say free key, but then I realized that was playing into the name of what he called these sessions.

But also appropriate. We will can testimony continues here on this Wednesday, but we Robaka and I have been updating you in further detail, more than we would like to get into here and have time to get into. But you can catch those podcasts in our Amy and TJ podcast feed. They're just titled The Diddy Trial. What you're getting an update every single day, so we'll post another one for you today to give you all the details.

Next up on the run here, a beloved iconic television actor has passed.

George Went, best known for his role as Norm.

From Cheers, died Tuesday morning at his home peacefully in his sleep.

At the age of seventy six. According to his.

Family, Wind had six Emmy nominations for playing Norm Peterson, the daily and dedicated patron of the Cheers Bar in Boston, where everybody.

He knows your name.

You have to get the second part. Yes, everybody came. Everybody's shotting Norm and look, no matter what, I wasn't a regular watcher of that show. I know that scene. I know it well.

I was an avid watcher, you know.

And then everyone would replay if someone would come to the bar people Norm.

It was fun to do. He was so fun and.

Affable, but I didn't know. He also had a pretty good, pretty prominent stage and Broadway career. He was in Hairspray and Elf as well.

Yeah, that's right, and this is one of my favorite parts. After dropping out of the University of Notre Dame with a zero point zero grade point average, he started his acting and comedic career with the improv group that so many famous comedians come from Second City, and I love this. He put his grade point average on his bio when

And this was the statement from the family saying quote George was a doting family man, a well loved friend, and a confidante to all those lucky enough to have known him. He will be missed forever. I see his age seventy six, and that just seems young.

These things does seem young.

I'm sad, like, oh no, he died, so I know.

And one of so many of his former colleagues from Cheers weighed in on his passing. But I love what Ted Danson said. He said, It's going to take me a long time to get used to this. I love you, Georgie. Yeah, it seems sudden and shocking because he doesn't seem seventy six does seem so young to me these days.

Maybe it's the older I'm getting.

All right, Well, stay with us here on this Wednesday Morning run. When we come back, watch out for the cucumbers as a recall we need to tell you about. Also, airline passengers, a big change if you want to charge your phone when flying. Also, an arrest has been made after that fan fell to the field during a baseball game, and Patrick Mahomes could be going for gone.

Welcome back to this Wednesday Morning Run and next up on our run, another salmonella outbreak to tell you about. The FDA has announced a recall of cucumbers. Grown by a Florida company after at least twenty six people across fifteen states have fallen ill with salmonella infections, nine of them had to be hospitalized. So far, thankfully no one has died.

Yeah, the agency said the cucumbers have been distributed to restaurants, wholesalers, and retailers from April twenty ninth through May nineteen. Sounds like these things are all over the place. The FDA is currently still trying to figure out where the potentially contaminated cucumbers were sold. At my point, they're all over them. We don't even know where these things are.

This is deeply concerning. Listen to the next part of this story. This is further complicating the recall. The FDA is warning these cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, with or without a label that may not bear the same brand, product name, or best by date. So sounds like to me there's no real way to tell if you have one of the recalled cucumbers or not.

Okay, So this is actually a follow up to a salmonella outbreak at the same Florida grower last year. The sick at more than five hundred and fifty people. Several people who were sicking in this latest outbreak had the cucumbers on cruise ships that were leaving ports in Florida. So here's the thing, folks, bottom line, if you did not grow those cucumbers in your backyard garden, you probably should need them.

Yeah, because the CDC said, if you don't know the source of your cucumbers, you should throw them out.

Of course, I don't know.

I have some of the refrigerator. I'm throwing them out.

We have to, because you go into the store, you bodies individually, it's just a stack of cucumbers.

They don't necessarily have where they came from. We don't have a best by date on a cucumber. So yeah, this is kind of a this is a very difficult situation. So yeah, I really don't feel like getting salmonella poisoning right now, So throw them out, all right?

Next up on a run.

If you fly Southwest Airlines, you should know there was a new policy coming, the first of its kind in the airline industry. You will no longer be allowed to keep your portable phone batteries stored in your bags anymore. You're gonna have to keep them out and in plain sight.

Okay, we're talking about these really popular lithium ion batteries. These have been We have been using these a lot lately because they're just little charges. You don't have to plug them in anything. You just attach them to your phone. Well, I didn't realize a lot of people attach them and have their phones charging, but have the phones up in their bag. Yeah, the overhood. You and I use our phone so much that I didn't. It's always in front of us charging, but a lot of people don't. Things

Yes, and already this year there have been nineteen incidents that involve This is according to the FAA, extreme heat, fire or smoke on cargo and passenger flights, and these incidents have more than doubled over the past five years, and they have climbed every year since.

Okay, the new policy going into effect on May twenty eighth, but folks, yes, it's a Southwest, but there's an expectation that everybody's going to follow suit. So if you're hearing this out on't fly southwest anyway. You need to pay attention because it's probably going to impact you at some point in the near future.

That's right, all right. Next up on a run.

Remember that fan who fell from the stands and onto the field during an MLB game last month. Well, his friend has now been arrested in connection with that incident because he gave alcohol to Cavin Markwood who fell.

Yeah, the man arrested is twenty one year old Ethan Kirkwood. He is charged with providing alcohol to a minor. The man who fell Markwood, He is just twenty years old, I say, just, but that is not the legal drinking age. He is still recovering from serious injuries from that fall into the field during that Pirate's Cubs game last month.

Yeah, it's remarkable that he is actually recovering the way he is, because if you saw it, it was just difficult to watch.

Police say.

Kirkwood is seen on video at one point buying two twenty four ounce beers and then a short time later the two men are seen with each having a beer. Look, I don't know it cole with it. They're friends, they might even be a few months apart. One's twenty one, one's twenty. I think it's tough. It was a sad situation, I you know, whatever everyone thinks, But I just think that's unnecessary.

I mean, you have to punish somebody when something like this happens, right, And also, I mean what the twenty.

Year old isn't responsible for choosing to drink the beer? I mean I think, look, I it's a sad it was an accident.

I don't know, I don't I feel strongly.

This is how much does it play into also the railing? Does this now take responsibility away in some way from the ballpark and the railing not being high enough? If they can now prove that there's a legal situation that he well, I'd also.

Like to know what his what alcohol content was like, did that really contribute to it? Maybe it did, perhaps it did, But anyway, I think it's a little sad. These guys are friends and they're literally months apart, and it's tough.

But you know, his friend is already torn up, feeling terrible. Everybody's torn up. But there's a twenty year old man who made a decision.

To to have a drink, to have a beer.

And ah, that is a very very tough story, but he continues his recovery from very very serious injuries on the final leg of our run here on this Wednesday morning.

Ah.

NFL players now have a chance to become Olympians in their sport. Kind of sort of. NFL owners voted to allow players to compete in the twenty twenty eight Olympics. But what sport could they possibly do?

Robes flag football team owners voted unanimously and gave the ok for NFL players to try out for Olympic the Olympics. The Olympics committee will select players. Teams will only be made up of ten player rosters, so it could be competitive if a lot of NFL players are interested. Flag Football, by the way, is making its Olympic debut in LA in twenty twenty eight.

Kind of cool.

You see this with the NBA getting to go play in basketball and the Olympics, so I think it's pretty cool they're giving NFL players the same chance.

Well, I just can't imagine trying to chase Saquon Barkley around and grab a flag off of his hip.

But one could be kind of fun to watch.

Oh what God, it's I mean, I think I would enjoy that sport very I.

Hope they do it. I hope they have a lot of big name players all because then this is our sport.

Yeah, football, it's super cool.

I think we can't lose in la of sport. First time. You have to win it. Okay, Well with that, folks, as you go about your day on this Wednesday, something we'd like for you to take with you. It is our quote of the day.

This is from the files of TJ.

Holmes, and honestly, this isn't something I can imagine you saying.

So I want to hear this story. I cannot. This doesn't seem if this seems.

Too kumbaya for you, man, Yeah, here's the quote.

We may not seem.

To have it all together, but together we have it all.

Okay.

This is the I cannot remember the source, but the reason I liked it, And you're right, it is a little too kumbaya for me. But imagine in the context of being on the wall at the Good Morning America studio and the chaos we had to deal with every single day and came across this one. So, yeah, in this hallway, we in this studio, we don't have our ish together at all. We look like an absolute mess. We run around like a hair on fire. We don't seem to have it all together, but together we have

So that was for the folks at GMA who were running around. There is chaos in the morning usually, and now we have a little chaos of our own. So maybe this is this can be attributed to our morning.

Were not we should let people into our mornings because this is chaos.

We could do a whole podcast on putting on a podcast.

Video and behind the scenes. Okay, we promised we're gonna do that. We will later we're gonna get it together. But for now, folks, we may not seem to have it all, but together, well we.

May even get it right.

So the quote is I might not seem to have it together at all, but with amy, I might make it through the day. And with that, folks, enjoy your Wednesday on TJ can.

Baby Robock, thanks for running with us. We'll see you on the run tomorrow.