You're listening to Wake Up Call on demand from KFI AM six forty KFI and KOST HD two Los Angeles, Orange County.
And they'll do something I hate most of all. Every who down and who will live tall and the small must stand close together with Christmas spells week they stand end in hand those cools most stop singing.
It's time for your morning wake up call, and good morning.
This is your wake up call for Monday, December twenty third, twenty twenty four. I'm Michael Monks from the KFI News team, filling in for Amy King this week.
I'm working this week. Are you working this week?
Are you awake right now on your way to the office for maybe one last time before the holidays fully kick in, or are you off today just enjoying a little peace and quiet, maybe having a cigarette in the backyard because there's family in the house, little moment of silence before all of the craziness of this week. Our thoughts are with you. But for those of you, like me who are going to work, let's get through it. You know, apparently one in four Americans work even on
Christmas Eve. One in ten will be working on Christmas Day. We're not alone, About fifty seven percent of full time employees say they do plan to work at some point during their holiday break. So when you see all those posts about how weird this time of the year gets, I don't know what day it is between Christmas and New Year's. Some of us know what day it is because we are at work, and I'm glad you're at
work with me today. Again, we'll get through it. Try to look busy, do your best to make it look like you're on task, even though everybody else has their out of office reply on. We are going to get through this together. Here's what's ahead on your wake up
call on this Monday of Christmas week. Big news in the world of cars, Nissan and Honda say they want to be together as one, and Starbucks workers, meanwhile, have expanded their nationwide strike after days excuse me, days after a location here in Burbank was shut down by baristas, the union and the coffee chain have disagreed on wages. Collective bargaining and legal disputes will take a look at that.
And there's a ban on burning wood inside and outside that's been extended across much of southern California for today. The forecast of high air pollution prompted that extension. We'll also have some conversations with our friends at ABC News. Congress avoided a government shut down with a last minute vote last week as lawmakers scrambled to reach a deal on spending. President Trump. President elect Trump was deeply involved with how it all went down, so was Elon Musk.
So how is the President elect feeling now? We'll talk with ABC Steven Portnoy about that. And he was purp walked into New York like a Marvel movie villain. And now he's headed back to court today. Accused killer Luigi Mangioni faces federal and state charges. This time he'll make an appearance on those state charges. We'll have a conversation with an ABC reporter about that, and of course, at the top of the next hour, six oh five, it's handle on the news. We'll have a lot of fun
with that one, I'm sure as well. We'll start with some of the news stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Japanese automaker's Nissan and Honda have announced they are in talks on a merger that would catapult them to the number three spot in a global industry undergrowing undergoing tectonic shifts as it transitions away from reliance on fossil fuels while facing intensifying competition from China.
These rivals, Nissan, Honda, and Mitsubishi announce in August that they would share components for electric vehicles like batteries, and jointly researched software for autonomous driving to adapt better to drastic changes around electrification.
Following a preliminary agreement in.
March, Starbucks workers have expanded their nationwide strike. Baristas at a store in Burbank shut down that location Friday at Alameda Avenue and Shelton Street. The union representing Starbucks workers as the coffee chain has failed to honor earlier commitments to improve collective bargaining and to resolve legal disputes all right.
A government shutdown was narrowly avoided last week, as the House and Senate in Washington finally reached a deal and sent a funding bill to the desk of President Biden. The deal includes many of the same provisions of an earlier deal that fell apart when President elect Trump and billionaire Elon Musk got involved. So how did all of that go down? We're joined now by ABC News National correspondent Steven Portnoy. Good Monday morning, to you, Steven.
And to you.
So this bill contains a lot of what was in that other bill that apparently died when the president elected and Elon Musk got involved. So what ended up being different about what was finally approved?
What's it all about, Alphie?
Look, the fact is you're right.
This is the same structure of a bill that extends government funding through March fourteenth at the current levels. That didn't change one hundred plus billion dollars for disaster relief. That didn't change thirty plus billion dollars for the farmers, That didn't change phil federal funding for the Francis Scott
Keybridge in Baltimore. What came out hundreds of pages of bipartisan agreed upon text that were not directly related frankly to federal spending, but became the subject of criticism from Elon Musk and others online midweek last week. These are things that were sort of, you know, simmering, had been really set on the shelf, agreed upon by both parties, waiting for a must pass vehicle at the end of the year to sort of ride on to sail to
President Biden's desk. Some of these things were controversial, however. For example, provision was added that would have enacted automatic pay increases from members of Congress their first adjustment for inflation in their rate of pay since two thousand and nine. That came out, so there'll be no pay raise for members of Congress. But otherwise, things such as pediatric cancer relief was taken out of funding, I should say was
taken out research taken out of the bill. In the end, however, that money was actually restored by the Senate because there was a bill that had already passed the House that dealt with that issue that was waiting on the shelf
in the Senate. So as they passed this short term spending bill, they took up a separate bill that saw to the cancer research also being funded, and a measure that turns over administrative responsibility for the RFK Stadium plot here in Washington, d C. That has been in the hands of the National Park Service, sitting there as an I sore in an empty vacant lot. They want to turn it into the new stadium for the Washington Commanders.
And the cr deal that was written last week had a provision that would transfer control from the National Park Service to the government of the District of Columbia. And now Elon Musk was not accurate when he said that that's a three billion dollar giveaway to.
Taxpayers. Are spending that much money. That's not the case.
It's just a matter of transferring control of that property from one entity to another governmental entity, a federal entity to a locally controlled city entity. So the point is that also was done by the Senate taking up a House passed bill that did that. So it's sort of
how the sausage is made here. But the bigger question beyond all of what's in the bill and what does it all mean, what does it mean for Mike Johnson, Because a week from Friday, as the Congress reorganizes, the first question for the House is who's going to be the speaker, and by not addressing this debt ceiling issue that President elect Trump demanded in the final days here, the big question is whether Mike Johnson has drawn the
ire of Magaworld. Now we don't know, we'll see, but we're talking to some Republican members who are saying that they have some qualms about voting for Johnson, and perhaps this will prevent him from taking the gable on the first ballot. Wouldn't be the first time.
No, we have seen some pretty unique votes on Speaker of the House recently. And Stephen, I know you've got a run soon. But there is another player here that you've referenced a couple of times. Elon Musk, the owner of x formerly known as Twitter. He took a pretty significant role in shaping public opinion on this package that was voted on last week. I'm wondering what you're hearing on Capitol Hill about what do people think his role
will be. We know he's got sort of a quasi role in government, but I don't think we expected to see it unleashed the way that it was last week.
What are you hearing, Well, Look, Elon Musk, if Vikramaswami are going to lead this unofficial doze effort Department of Government Efficiency, which I've said on this program is a better official as the Department of Tortured Poets.
But nevertheless it is.
The whole idea here is it's an advisory role where Elon Musk is going to use his brain power and kind of sort of pour over the budgets and identify inefficiencies and really could have a significant impact in the operations of the executive branch. Nevertheless, you know, one of the things we saw last week was Elon Musk putting out I think something like one hundred and fifty messages on his ex account to kill by partisan agreement. And one of the unanswered questions is why, what's in it
for the richest man in the world. What was in that fifteen hundred page bill that had to do, perhaps with China that so angered Elon Musk that without addressing that issue directly, he sought to prevent that bill from becoming law. He was successful in that, but one lingering question is why.
Well.
I hope we can and get an answer to that at some time soon. And from one tortured poet to another, ABC Stephen Portnoy, I really appreciate the time you gave us. I'll look forward to talking to you again soon.
You bet.
That was ABC News National correspondent Stephen port Noy. Want to let you know that there's a ban on indoor and outdoor woodburning. It was extended today for a large swath of southern California, and that is because there is some pollution in the air, and they say that burning some of this wood could send some of those harmful particles that could trigger asthma. So just be aware that we are still keeping an eye on that. No wood
burning in most of southern California. Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a fire at a home in Eagle Rock where a man was killed. The man's body was found yesterday as firefighters put out the fire at the home on North Townsend Avenue. They say there was excessive storage in the home, which made it hard for them to get into the room where that fire started.
President Biden has announced he is commuting the sentences of thirty seven of the forty people on federal death Row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment, mere weeks before President elect Donald Trump takes office. The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings, including the slayings of police and military officers, people on federal land, and those involved in deadly bank robberies or drug deals, as well as the killings of guards or prisoners in federal facilities. It
means just three federal inmates are still facing execution. They are Dylan Rufe, who carried out the twenty fifteen racist slayings of nine black members of Mother Emmanuel ame E Church in Charleston, South Carolina, twenty thirteen, Boston Marathon bomber, Zokar Zarnev and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot eleven congregants at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life Synagogue in twenty eighteen. That
was the deadliest anti Semitic attack in US history. And a Congressional commission in charge of planning the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is running out contests for school kids. Rosie Rios, Chair of America two fifty, says America's Field Trip is a contest for kids in grades three through twelve who get to answer the question of what America means to them.
This is a great way to engage kids, parents, teachers and really think about what it means to be civically minded and actively participate in something that is really unprecedented in scope and scale for our country.
Rio says, school kids can submit essays, pieces of art, are poems. Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan have announced plans to join forces forming the world's third largest automaker by sales. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding and that smaller Nissan Alliance member Mitsubishi Motors is
also part of these talks. LA County District Attorney Nathan Hawkman will make an announcement this morning in the case against Charlotte play Tez and Lombardo Palasios, who each spent more than seventeen years in prison for the two thousand and seven murder of Hector Luis Flores in East Hollywood. A judge in LA on Friday vacated their sentences and dismissed the charges. Both were teenagers at the time of
the killing and have maintained their innocence. A coalition of civil rights activists will hold a news conference today to demand justice in what they consider to be the racially motivated beating of a thirteen year old eighth grade student, Saltarres at Ernest Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth. They say
that a male parent beat this child. They say the attack is part of a quote troublesome uptick in the racist attacks of African American children by other students and adults in the Valley Torres is black, the parent is white and coming up at six ZHO five it is handle on the news. Stay tuned for that. Luigimanjoni is expected to make his first appearance in state court today, where he is charged in the death of United Healthcare
CEO Brian Thompson as an act of terrorism. Majoni appeared in federal court last week, but today's hearing will be the first time lawyers for the twenty six year old will be able to respond to the allegations made by the Manhattan District Attorney. Prosecutors have suggested that the state case against Mangoni will go to trial before the federal case. He faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted in that state case. Peter Harlambu's ABC News investigative reporter,
is in New York and joins US now. Good morning to you, Peter, Good morning, thanks for having me. We saw Luigi Mangoni in federal court last week. It was quite a dramatic transfer from Pennsylvania to New York. Procedurally, though, what is happening here?
That's a great question, and Manjaroni's attorneys are raising it now as he faces basically the same case both in state court and in federal court. What's really the only difference being the penalty. The cteral case carries that penalty the state case is life in prison without parole. Manjaroni's attorneys have argued that these case theories can inflict with one another, and that these are basically the same case
being tried twice, raising a constitutional issue. Expect that to come up today in today's arraignments, though we're unlikely to get clarity for sure for a while once we see how the federal case shakes out.
Sometimes when we see that there are charges in any state, but also charges at the federal level for the same case, they end up being just one trial. Do we see that as a possibility here that will merge into a single federal case.
I think there's a possibility that one of these cases gets whittled down, though I'm not sure if we'll really see kind of a joint effort between local and federal prosecutors. I think one will have to win out. Alternatively, we could see a timeline which the federal case goes second, the state case goes first. On a quicker timeline, Prosecutors
have suggested that's what they would do. But Magngioni's attorneys have argued that this is basically unprecedented and unfair, so we could see a judge be receptive to that argument. We'll have to see this as we get more clarity and how exactly this will work procedurally.
We note that Manjoni faces life in prison in this eight case, but is it accurate to say the federal case could bring the death penalty.
That's exactly right. Even though we've seen kind of an effort this morning from the Minding administration to cut back on the death penalty, by the time this case goes to trial, it's the Trump administration. It's a whole different ballgame. And the case being brought by federal prosecutors poses the
possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted. That's associated with the murder charge with the use of a firearm, and it's mentioning face is the very real possibility of that if he's convicted.
In Stakehoort, we saw on Saturday Saturday Night Live over the weekend, a mention of man Joni received favorable applause from the audience. We've also seen a polls showing younger people are supportive of him and what he did, and this seems to be Peter a pretty unique case where an accused murderer has so much support from parts of the public. Are we hearing from prosecutors or even the defense team about any challenge end your opportunity this presents in the case.
You know, it's interesting. We saw Mangioni's attorney mention how they are thankful for all the public support. But it's hard to balance that public support for Mangonian is kind of this folk hero as someone who's standing up against the insurance industry and his claim of not being guilty in this case, because a lot of that folklore status is associated with what he's actually allegedly done here, not
his innocence. So you know, it could lead to sympathy with the jury that they have to toe the line when it comes to that public support.
Well, speaking of jury, I assume we're a little bit of way before we get to that at either level of the case, whether it be the state or the federal government.
So, but what does happen next?
I mean, we can't expect to see too many more of these dramatic perp walks or procedural hearings in the near future, can we.
I think we're unlikely to see anything for a few weeks, so we'll calm down for the holidays. But I fully expect to see a flurry of hearings come January February, in which we kind of see that these two cases shake out, which one is going to go forward, which one fairly can proceed because Manngingoni's attorneys, I'm sure are going to mount an effort to at least have one of them dismissed. Again unclear. Friending judge is going to
be receptive to that. But in the eyes is a defense Council, it's unconstitutional in their eyes that these cases are proceeding on two parallel tracks.
Peter Harlambus's ABC News investigative reporter. He's in New York with US Live today. Peter, thank you so much for the time. We do appreciate it.
N thanks for having me, and.
You're listening to Wake Up Call on KFI. I'm Michael Monks filling in for Amy King.
This morning.
President Biden has commuted the sentences of thirty seven of the forty people on federal death robe. We just heard a reference to that from Peter. He converted their punishments to life in prison. Biden said in a statement that the commutations are consistent with the moratorium his administration has imposed on federal executions executions in cases other than terrorism and hate motivated mass murder. President elect Trump campaign on
expanding the use of capital punishment. Biden says he cannot, in good conscience stand back and let a new administration resume the executions he stopped. An oil drill site in West LA will start shutting down operations as part of an agreement between the operator and the city. The Pacific Coast Energy Company has agreed to work with city council Woman Katie Rslovsky's office on a conditional use permit for
necessary equipment to plug oil wells. City officials say the process will be done over three phases within five years of each other. So if you're wondering whether Santa Claus is going to be able to visit you in your neck of the woods this year, one, of course, it does depend on your behavior, and we hope you've all been good or bad, and if bad, you've covered it up well enough to be counted as good. But whether you live in the mountains the desert, the inner city,
the beaches. Yes, Santa Claus is going to be able to find you. And we got a little bit of proof of that over the weekend, because not only was Santa himself able to find some remote areas, he was able to get there early. It's not even Christmas yet, not even in that hemisphere. Santa Claus braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to children in a village near the
Brazilian city of Manaos. The visit was arranged by Amigos del Papaye Noel, a Brazilian charity that has been taking gifts to children in the Amazon rainforest for the past twenty six years. A quote from that organization says, for the children of the rivers, the people of the countryside, nothing new happens This year for us was a gift
from God. More than six hundred children from different villages gathered in Cataleo to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves, and red suit while enduring the stifling jungle he so to get to the kids. Though Rudolph wasn't involved here, not at this point anyway, neither were any of the other eight reindeer. The Brazilian Santa sailed on a large boat down the Amazon River
and then paddled a canoe along a swampy tributary. How about that, Santa Claus will find you wherever you are as long as you are good. And it is Monday, December twenty third, just two days away before Santa makes his way out here to the Pacific coast. We are all hoping for a very merry Christmas for you and all of your loved ones. I am Michael Monks, filling in for Amy King, and yes it is Festivus. Can't
wait to hear all about your feats of strength. One of the great holidays created in the series Seinfeld back in the nineties also a greater period of time in history, probably for being honest about.
It, and Seinfeld still holds up. So if you've got some.
Time alone around the holidays, it's not a bad thing to flip on and have going.
In the background.
We are following news though for you now in the KFI twenty four hour newsroom, and big news out of the car world. Honda and Nissan, the Japanese automakers say that they have announced plans to work toward a merger and that would put them in like the top position of this industry that is in the midst of some pretty big transitions as the industry moves away from fossil fuels.
Those two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their business, and that also includes a smaller Nissan Alliance member called Mitsubishi Motors, so they're part of these talks as well. News of a possible merger surface earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of thirty seven of the forty people on federal death row,
converting their punishments to life imprisonment. This is just weeks before President elect Donald Trump, who is an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes the office. In a statement issued Monday, Biden says, quote, these commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions in
cases other than terrorism and hate motivated mass murder. He also went on to make a reference to Trump, who did campaign on expanding capital punishment, Biden said, quote, in good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted. The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of United Healthcare is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan court on state murder and
terror charges. Luigi Mangioni was formally charged last week by the Manhattan DA with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism. Case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney will run parallel to his federal case. His court appearance was preempted by federal prosecutors bringing their own charges. The federal charges could carry the possibility of the death penalty, while the maximum sentence for his state charges are life
in prison without the possibility of parole. At the top of the hour, six oh five, we've got Bill Handel and Handle on the news.
Hope you'll stick around for that. Before we get to that.
At five point fifty two, anonymous teenagers from Texas and their families are suing character AI, claiming the chatbot encourages self harm and violence against family members. Talk about that with ABC's Jim Ryan. For now, we'll get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. A man in his seventies has been killed in a house fire in Eagle Rock.
The man was found dead inside the home, which caught fire late Sunday morning. The Los Angeles Fire Department says a man who was the only person inside the home home was handicapped, which may have affected his ability to evacuate.
Kfi's Mark Mayfield says it took firefighters about a half hour to put out the fire. They say excessive storage in the home made it difficult to get where the fires started. With Christmas two days away, workers at four Amazon warehouses in southern California are on strike today on claims the corporate giant refuses to recognize their union and
negotiate fair contracts. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing one point three million workers across the country, Canada and Puerto Rico, announced their members in Palmdale, Victorville, Industry, and San Bernardino voted to authorize strikes. This is a move that came after Amazon ignored a deadline on December fifteen to come to the bargaining table. That's according to the union. Amazon workers represented by the union went on strike at three
o'clock Thursday morning. They joined Amazon union workers across the country who also went on strike. Who else isn't working today? Starbucks workers. They're said to expand a nationwide strike against the coffee giant, three days after a walkout closed one of the company's Burbank locations at Alameda Avenue and Shelton Street. The strike, led by Starbucks Workers United, began Friday morning in key markets, including right here in La as well
as Chicago and Seattle. Walkouts are expected to expand daily, impacting hundreds of stores nationwide by Christmas Eve. On Sunday, Union baristas in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Saint Louis also joined others who have already been on strike, like here in La, Chicago, Columbus, Denver, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. Workers shut down dozens of stores on Saturday, and their walkouts are expected to keep going through the final days
of holiday shopping before Christmas. A ban on indoor and outdoor wood burning has been extended today for a large swath of southern California due to a forecast of high air pollution in the area. The residential woodburning ban is to be in effect until at least eleven point fifty
nine PM, that's to night, a minute before midnight. The order does not apply to the mountain communities above three thousand feet, but it does include all the non desert portions of La Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, all of Orange County, and Meanwhile, the Southern Coast Air Quality Management District is one that issues this. They say that homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low income households, and those without natural gas service are
also exempt from the requirement. Residents in these affected areas are reminded that burning wood in their fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood burning device is prohibited, as is burning manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper. Find particles in woodsmoke and get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems such as asthma. So no chestnuts roasting on an open fire in most part
of southern California, yet, keep those chestnuts wrapped up. Curb your enthusiasm will get to those at some point point. Hopefully this band could be lifted by midnight tonight. A seven year old boy hit by a drone in Florida is recovering from heart surgery. The boy's mom, Adriana Edgerton, says they were watching a holiday light show Saturday when the drone fell from the sky and hit her son in the chest.
Everyone's natural instinct was to like duck and scatter, and right when we knew it like, my daughter found my son on the floor, unconscious, blood coming out his face.
His face was cut by one of the propellers. Mom says people should expect to be safe at such a show. The FAA is investigating that crash. Government figures show the cost of a dozen eggs shot up more than a dollar since the beginning of this year. Homemade holiday treads add to the season's warm nature, but with a higher price tag. You may not go back for seconds of
your homemade eg nog. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cost jump from two dollars and fifty two cents to three dollars and sixty five cents as of last month. The dramatic increase is linked to the spread of bird flu in the US, which prompted a state of emergency in California this week. A quick check of the Walmart in Burbanks show that its brand of cage free large white eggs twelve count are currently going for five dollars
and forty two cents. Andrew Caravella KFI News the eggs went up for four dollars and forty two cents in December of twenty twenty two and two dollars and sixty seven cents way back in the good old days of twenty nineteen. I gotta tell you, I've been out doing a little bit of Christmas shopping myself, and I'm not all that impressed with some of the sales that I saw. I live in and shop a bit in downtown LA. I do have some bad news to report from downtown LA.
And not the usual kind of bad news we have from downtown LA. This is business related. I was shopping at the block at the Macy's there. They always have a beautiful Christmas light display, and it's a fun place to take in a coffee and justcab a little bit of the Christmas spirit. But I was able to confirm with some of the workers at the Macy's there that it is on the list not the not the good list, Santa's list. Yeah, will these The downtown Macy's is apparently closing.
Oh wow.
So that's a bit of a shock because it's it's an anchor for the block, and now that area is going to be tasked with finding a new anchor for that as that downtown Macy's joins the growing list of Macy's all across the country, including others here in southern California. They are closing down, but will The good news is I've lived in an area where Macy's closed before, and if you get there at the right time, boy, yeah, those are some good sales.
I was just at the Macy's in Northridge and it was there's no shortage of customers there. That one will not be closing anytime.
Well that's good to hear, because I've got Macy's rewards money. I'm going to have to spend somewhere once my neighborhood wind goes away. You know, I spend a little bit of money last week, and then they, you know, they bribe you to come back. You never get to leave Macy's. You check in, you can't check out of a Macy's. They have you coming back constantly, but apparently nothing's actually cheaper than as cheap as the rewards money they give you, so you kind of spend a little more. It's all
a scam, and I am happy to participate in. And I'm just sad it will be downtown anymore. I want to make a very quick correction to something I said in the previous segment. I noted that Festivus was created in an episode of Seinfeld. That's not entirely true. I want to make sure that we attribute this susteemed holiday to the appropriate person. Was created by author Daniel O'Keefe, who was a longtime editor apparently of the Reader's Digest, and his son was a writer on Seinfeld, and so
that's how these traditions made it into that episode. And in any case, I hope you're out celebrating Festivus a couple of days before we get to Christmas. So good luck with your feats of strength out there. We are still monitoring the news here in the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Golfers and Carson may still be checking their rule books after a small aircraft crash landed at Victoria golf Course on Sunday afternoon, two people inside were hospitalized.
There was no fire on the ground, no one else was hurt, and we're still looking into the cause of what brought that plane down. A three day series of connector on ramp and lane closures on the seventy one and sixty freeways in Pomona for road repair work starts today. The closures will go Thursday and Friday as well. Drivers should expect delays and are strongly advised to avoid that area,
use alternate routes and check traffic conditions before leaving. You can also listen to KFI, of course, and we'll have your updated traffic. Where it gets good, where it gets bad. And the holiday season battle of big budget family movies Paramount Pictures, Sonic the Hedgehog three sped past the Walt Disney Companies Moufasa The Lion King to take the top spot at the box office. The results came just ahead
of the lucrative Christmas Corridor in theaters. According to studio estimates, Sonic the Hedgehog three debuted with sixty two million dollars in ticket sales over the weekend. Mufasa, however, was humbled and its opening weekend coming in notably shy of expectations, it returned just thirty five million dollars in domestic ticket sales. Coming up at six ' oh five, We've got handle
on the news, so stay tuned for that. Two anonymous teenagers from Texas and their families are suing Character Ai, claiming the chatbot encourages self harm and violence against family members. The lawsuit alleges that character Ai presents a danger to American youth, causing serious harm to thousands of kids, including suicide, self mutilation, sexual solicitation, depression, and anxiety. And response to public concerns, companies that produce Companion chatbots have made changes
to their bots. ABC News correspondent Jim Ryan is in Dallas and joins US Now Live. Good morning to you, Jim, Hey Michael, how are you. I'm doing well, so glad you could be with us. I want to start with just the basics. What is character Ai.
Character AAI is a company that produces chatbots, essentially Companion chatbots specifically, and there are others out there too, companies with products called Replica or Kindroid or no Me and other similar services like that. They are a way for people to communicate with someone you know and there are benefits. I supposed to this advocate say that a kid who doesn't have a lot of friends at school doesn't have
to have a lot of outside relationships. This really perhaps started to take off during the pandemic when people were so isolated, and yet there have been issues that seventeen year old here in Texas, according to his family's attorney, was taught how to harm himself by the chatbot he had built this relationship with that he harmed himself in front of his siblings, had to be hospitalized because of that. He had signed up for this account when he was fourteen.
His parents didn't even realize that he had this chatbot. And even more tragic case in Florida and a fourteen year old there who took his own life, and his mother says it's all the fault of the chatbot, this relationship, this fake relationship that the kid had built up and it all came crashing down.
Is this chatbot similar to maybe more popular ones or more well known ones like chat GBT or maybe even groc on Twitter.
Well, it is, although I mean there are differences too, because this is more specifically a companion chatbot. It's not necessarily you know you're looking for information or something like that. It's more about building a friendship. And I've heard the voice one of the voices on Character AI, and it sounds for all the world like a person. This one had been designed to sound like a teenage girl. Then you can customize that the voice, the gender, the nationality,
all sorts of aspects of this character. So and attorneys, you know, the attorneys who are filing suit against Character AI, say that first of all, it shouldn't be available to anybody over under eighteen, and yet as it is, kids who are thirteen can sign up.
So this is really an opportunity for our kids who might be lonely or ostracized or maybe, like you noticed during the pandemic, these are folks who are really looking for a friend more than they are any type of research opportunity.
Well, yes, and yet they're families. Now they're attorneys the Social Media Victims Law Center and believe it or others, oh a law firm dedicated to filing suit against these companies. And that's one thing critics have said, Michael, was that they're claiming that it's say, a money grab by lawyers, that it's an attempt by parents to find a simple solution or simple answer to their kids' mental health issues. And yet these families and these attorneys are saying, look,
this is a real problem. Artificial intelligence has gotten out in front of the companies that are offering it to people, specifically to kids, and now AI is telling kids how to harm themselves or encouraging them to do harm to themselves or to others.
One of the biggest concerns about the growth of artificial intelligence, especially around young people in college age students, is that you know, they want have to do their own schoolwork anymore, they'll just plagiarize everything. But this lawsuit seems to indicate a pretty significant concern outside of that. I'm wondering, how do kids get to have character AI. Is there any type of age verification or is it just wide open?
Well, yeah, that's a part of this lawsuit too. If you know, if the companies are not going to set an eighteen year minimum age limit, then there should be some sort of verification so that a kid who is thirteen or fourteen or fifteen, you know that there's some way to show that that in fact they are and character AI, the maker of that one, specifically has a
new advisory. So every user who logs in and starts the conversation is told every time they log in, Hey, listen, yeah, you're starting a conversation, but it's not with a human. It's with a chatbot. You're talking to artificial intelligence, not to a human. Just as a reminder to the users that don't get you know, don't go crazy here because you're not talking to a person. Don't think for the minute that you are. And yet that product sounds just like a person.
I'm sure that that extends beyond children into grown ups as well, and beyond character AI into some of the other ones.
I mean, this is you.
Get to ask it a question, and it's pretty cool how how it can help solve some problems or help you with some creative writing challenges, or help you figure out questions to ask when you have a guest on your radio show. Even I'm sure that's an option for some folks, but it is. But there are folks who are developing very close intimate relationships with something that's not real.
That's true, you know, And I think as long as you recognize that, as long as you're fully aware. Look, I'm reading a book and I'm enjoying the characters. I know these characters aren't real. It's a novel, and I'm having fun with this. So in that same way, if you approach AI with that frame of mind, then you know there could be some benefit to it. AI cuts
both waves, though. I teach a journalism class at a college here in Dallas Fort Worth, and two years ago a kid wrote a paper that I knew him, and I knew his language and how he did. This paper was clearly written by AI, right, and yet he turned it in. I couldn't show that it wasn't AI or that it was not original material. And so I mean, he got a grade on it. But two weeks ago I had a kid submit a paper and it was red flagged all over the place. So I ran it
through an AI program. He had written it last year for his high school newspaper. Oh busted, right gets to zero. So AI gives and it takes and it you know it's there are tools that are useful.
Now, wait, Jim, you didn't hold it against him for plagiarizing himself, did you?
Absolutely I did, And it's right there in the syllabus, right there in the at the beginning of this course, it says your work must be original and must not have been produced or published anywhere else, even in a high school newspaper.
Well, those are the rules. Now, hey, character AI. Google is involved in this, right, I mean are they part of this company somehow?
I don't know about that if Google is or not. I mean Google has its own, you know, outlets for this sort of AI technology, but I'm not sure that they're involved with character ai.
Well to that point.
I mean, some of the tech world's biggest players, they're getting into this game, they are well into it. I'm wondering if situation like this have them concerned about any vulnerabilities that they may have exposed themselves to.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean who knows what these lawsuits and what the result is going to be, But they're not going to stop as soon as that, and as long as people are using them, and as long as people have the perception that they're harming kids, then these lawsuits will continue. And maybe it's not just monetary. Google can afford to pay a million dollar settlement to somebody, but it's the reputation, it's the pr damage that can be done that could last lunch much longer.
ABC News correspondent Jim Ryan is in Dallas where he'll gladly hand out zeros to his students before the holidays. But he's a very fine journalist. Indeed, Jim, I appreciate the time you gave us today.
Thanks Mony all.
Right again, coming up at six oh five, we've got handle on the news. Please stay tuned and join us for that fun. Meanwhile, officials are investigating what caused a crack in a Colorado ski lift that forced the evacuation of over one hundred and seven these stranded skiers and snowboarders. The evacuation happened Saturday on a gondola lift at Winter Park Resort. A spokesperson says the lift stopped automatically when a craft excuse me, when a crack was detected and
a structural piece of the lift. Passengers were lowered down by ropes over the course of about five hours. No injuries were reported during the rescues, which came at the start of the busy holiday season. The son of Tiger Woods delivered a magical moment of his own Sunday. Charlie Woods made his first hole in one during the final round of the PNC Championship. He hit seven iron from one hundred and seventy five yards on the par three fourth hole of the Ritz Carlton Club, Orlando. The crowd,
of course, went crazy, and so did his father. Tiger gave his fifteen year old son a hard hug and then playfully shoved him away. Charlie Woods wasn't even sure the ball went into the hole when the crowd erupted in cheers and television camera has informed him of the ace. Like father, like son in Orlando, no doubt, and a big time Christmas present for a young Charlie Woods. Merry Christmas to you out there on this Monday, December twenty third.
If you're headed into work, our thoughts are with you. I am right alongside you. I am with you all week long at work. So if you're clocking in Monday through Friday like it's any other week, you are in a good company, I assure you. If today is your last day before you disappear for a little holiday break, congratulations, Or if you're just sitting at home sipping hot coco as well.
Stay tuned.
You've got the news for you and all kinds of fun stuff coming up. This is KFI and kost HD two Los Angeles, Orange County Southland weather from KFI Partley, Clowny with some fog this morning. It's heavy in some places. We'll have highs in the mid to upper sixties for Metro la at or above seventy in the valleys and Inland Empire upper sixty in the Antelope Valley. Right now, it is fifty eight in Huntington Beach, Colder and Claremont,
where it's forty seven. We lead local live from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom for producer A and technical producer KNO and traffic specialist Will. I'm Michael Monks filling in for Amy King. This has been your wake up call. If you missed any of wake Up Call, you could listen anytime on the iHeart Radio app.
You've been listening to wake Up Call with me, Amy King.
You can always hear wake Up Call five to six am Monday through Friday on KFI Am six forty and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.