You're listening to KFI AM six forty wake Up Call with me Amy King on demand on the iHeartRadio app.
KFI and KOST HD two Los Angeles, Orange County.
It's time for your morning wake up call. Here's Amy King. Good morning.
This is your wake up call for Thursday, March thirteenth.
I'm Amy King. It's five o'clock straight up. Time to get going, and you might want to get on it.
No dilly dallying this morning, because you should probably leave a little bit early. As a news person, I would never tell you what to do. As the host of wake up Call, I'm gonna tell you slow down and go and get on the road a little bit early because it's probably gonna take you a little longer. When I was driving in this morning, I was driving like a ninety year old woman on the freeway. I was going like fifty miles an hour and there were people passing me, and I was like, well, good on you,
that's fine. But then on my way in, I hit several big puddles and was hydroplaning. And that is the scariest thing because you have no control when you hit those the deep water and your car loses traction, and Will's going to be telling us about that all morning because there's a lot of recks out there, and I would imagine it's just gonna get worse.
Yeah, Okay, I switched.
Things up a little bit today. Wanted to share the news with you. I normally have oatmeal. I'm having cream of wheat this morning. What I know, breaking out of my box. Here's what's ahead on wake up call. A flash flood warning is expiring pretty much right now for the Eton and Sunset burned scars, but a flood advisory
remains in effect for much of southern California. Six o'clock tonight is when that goes in two and it's lots of areas Thousand Oaks, Malibu, North Hollywood, Burbank, Van Nuy's, Universal City, Griffith Park, Hollywood and Sino Northridge, Beverly Hills, Santa Clarita, Downtown, La Chatsworth, Santa Monica, Woodland Hills, Pasadena, Alta, Dina, Alhambra, Mount Wilson, and Agra Hills.
So just a couple of areas.
Snow is falling in the Grapevine, but the roadway does remain open. Will's going to keep us up to date on whether that's going to change. Snow is also falling in Big Bear Lake and on our eagles on the nest where Jackie and Shadow are protecting their young eaglets, and the snow is blowing. I'd like to see the snowfall nice and soft on the nest, but it's blowing.
But Jackie's there, she's protecting the kids.
It's raining now, so we might not be thinking about protecting our homes against wildfire, but now is the time to do it. We'll give you some hints on how you can protect your house and make sure that it doesn't become a victim of a wildfire. We're going to be talking with the Wildfire Division director of the National Fire Protection Association.
That's coming up.
At five point fifty. Wiggle Waggle Walk is also coming up. We're going to be talking with Kevin McManus at Pasadena Humane. He's going to tell us how the money you donate when you walk with us is making a huge difference for thousands of animals in southern California. Let's get started with some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Heavy rain has moved into southern California.
The storm has led to evacuation orders, flood warnings, and road closures, especially in the burn areas that include Pacific Palisades, Hollywood, Silmar, and Sierra Madre. Forecasters say La County could see nearly an inch of rain per hour during the peak of the storm. All evacuation orders and warnings are in effect until six tonight. The National Weather Services the rain is expected to linger into tomorrow before it clears up ahead of the weekend. Snow's expected at elevations as low as
twenty five hundred to three thousand feet. As we mentioned snow's falling in the Grapevine. Also in Big Bear News brought to you by Simper, Solaris three in La been charged with fraud for allegedly filing false claims for federal disaster relief from the fires in January. Acting US Attorney Joseph McNally says the trio defrauded taxpayers and took advantage of those suffering from the tragedy.
That included false claims to damages to property that the defendants did not own, rent, or live in, as well as false claims of damage to property that was not affected by the wildfires.
McNally says FEMA tries to get relief money to victims quickly, and that creates an industry of fraud because many times claims are not vetted right away. Officials in San Bernardino County say a report of a possible shooter at Loma Linda University Medical Center was bogus. Sheriff Shannon Dika says, it appears to be a swatting hall.
It does sound like we.
Do have some evidence available on this specific suspect. I'm going to be very vague about sharing any of that with you right now because the one thing I want this suspect to know this is the wrong county to do those things.
In the hospital was evacuated yesterday. Some people were told to shelter in places. Pillice searched the buildings. People who were there say they were told it was not a drill and that words like hide, run, and fight were used. They say it was very scary. The mayor of San Jose has a plan to arrest homeless people if they refuse to get help.
Mayor Matt Mahon tells KFI his idea would force people into housing or face arrest if they refuse three times in an eighteen month period.
Police officer could arrest the person for trespassing, that our city attorney could press charges with the goal really of getting them into our drug court.
He says.
The city has invested in two thousand interim houses and shelters, and there's really no excuse not to take advantage of these programs. He says over two hundred people die on the streets of San Jose each year. Critics say his plan would criminalize the homeless.
He's saying people don't want to get inside. That's not true.
The plan still has to go before the city Council for a vote. How the Brooker KFI News.
Let's say good morning now to the National Weather Services Aril Cohen.
Good morning, Aril.
Good morning. Thank you for having me today.
Hey, thanks for making some time for us. Last time we talked to you was in January because of dry, dangerous conditions, and now we're talking to you because it's wet, dangerous conditions. So it's been raining pretty good for the last few hours. Tell us what's going on and is this expected to continue.
We've had overnight quite a bit of rain in areas, especially on the coast facing slopes of the mountains and foothills across southern California mounts. Upwards of locally three inches of rain fell in the mountains and foothills, with lesser upwards of a half inch to an inch across many of the lower elevations, including the Los Angeles Basin and elsewhere up towards the Oxnard Plain. So you know, this amount of rain fell relatively quickly, and we have many
airports of roadway flooding occur. We also didn't have i'mpacks of the heavier rain over the burnt scars, so we still have yet to see if we did experience anything in the way of any debris flows or landslides. Also over many areas steep terrain that certainly could have occurred over the overnight hours, and so everyone who's going out and about on the roads this morning is just encouraged to travel very carefully. Never drive through a flooded roadway,
turn around, don't drown. Even after the heaviest rains of pushing off into areas farther to the south and southern California, we still could have those lingering impacts from the heavy rains overnight in areas where any rock slides or mudslides or to brief flows occurred, those will be especially dangerous areas for travel, so again, just be very cautious when you're traveling out in about today. Turn around, don't drown,
never drive through flooded roadway. Over the next several hours, we are expecting, despite the heavier rains having pushed through the area, intermittent moderate rains, so some showers moving through the area as the core of the upper level whether disturbance moves across the region. Showers won't last long at any given location, but we could pick up a quick quarter inch or so, and if that were to occur over some of the burn scar locations, that could exacerbate
the risk for debris flows and flooding. So everyone should stay at a high state of readiness as we head through the day as we're not done with this activity quite yet. Also want to mention, although it's highly unlikely the kind of weather pattern that we're going to be having over southern California as favorable for the development of a few thunderstorms to affect the region, and with that activity can't roll out some very small hail what we
call groppel. The meteorology field, and also a couple funnel clouds. It can't be ruled out. While very unlikely, there's at least a very small chance for a couple small, brief and weak tornadoes as we have a lot of spin in the atmosphere moving through. So we're not out of the woods in terms of weather houses just yet. Just to encourage everyone to stay weather ready and if you are vulnerable to these conditions, make sure you have a quick access to a safe place endoorse okay.
And then a quick question for you, Ariol.
You said that there's going to be intermittent storms and maybe some brief periods of kind of heavy rain. But even after the rain moves out, those burn scars are soaked. So is it possible to have mud and debris flows like a couple of days after the rain stops.
Oh, even weeks afterward. And certainly we saw that a year ago when we had mud slides impacting portions of the Santa Monica's, especially around Hollywood and by Hilly Hills, going on for weeks after the very heavy rain ended. We do have another round of some light to maybe moderate rain coming through again, you know, in the next couple of days and so we're not going to be
out of the woods. So even if it is not, even if you're not experiencing heavy rain, certainly landslides, mudslides, and debrief flows will be possible in areas that have recently burned or any areas of steep terrain. So just be cautious, be aware of your surroundings. If you're in an area that's particularly susceptible to land movement, make sure that you have multiple ways to to get out of harm's way very quickly.
Okay.
Ri L.
Cohen with the National Weather Service, thanks so much for the reminders and the information.
We appreciate it.
Stay, thank everyone.
Okay, thanks Ario.
Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats will not vote for the government spending bill approved in the House.
Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input any input from Congressional Democrats.
Schumer says his caucus is unified on a clean continuing resolution that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass. The deadline to pass a funding bill and avert a partial government shutdown is tomorrow. A federal judge has ruled pro Palestinian activist Macmoud Khalil will remain jailed in Louisiana after a deportation hearing in New.
York Manhattan, Federal Judge Jesse Furman has ruled that Khalil, a thirty year old Columbia graduate student, will remain held in Louisiana while he weighs further arguments in the deportation case. Khalil, a Green card holder, was arrested at his Columbia owned department Saturday night by Ice agents. The White House says his pro Palestinian activism was anti Semitic and pro hamas his lawyers planned to file a new petition to free him. I'm Sarah Lee Kessler.
A woman in Connecticut has been arrested for allegedly holding her step son captive for twenty years.
You've been locked in that room since he eleven.
He was given two cups of water per day, even a lock of connections.
Fourth grade prosecutors say Kimberly Sullivan is facing several charges, including assault and kidnapping.
Pelisse.
The step son, who's now thirty one years old, in their words, endured prolonged starvation, severe neglect, and inhumane treatment. He weighed only sixty eight pounds when he escaped by setting fire to the house. Sullivan's defense attorney says his client is innocent and denies the allegations. Just hearing these stories is just heartbreaking, and it reminds us yesterday we did an Amy's on It about the docu series Devil in the Family. I mean, it's just crazy that these
things happen. And then of course the Turpin family in Riverside County from a couple of years ago.
Anyway, it's Karumba for the Rumba.
The company that makes the robotic vacuum cleaners is in trouble. I Robot is telling investors it has maybe a year left to figure out its financial issues. At the start of twenty twenty four, a deal to have Amazon purchase the company for nearly two billion dollars fell through. That led to the I Robot CEO quitting and about half
the workforce getting let go. The company now says it has substantial doubt about its ability to continue, and after that remark, yesterday shares for the company plunged more than thirty percent. Andrew Caravella KFI News, the.
Long awaited mission to swap out astronauts on the International Space Station is going to have to wait a while longer. Planned SpaceX launch to the International Space Station planned for yesterday afternoon our time, had to be scrubbed because of a hydraulics issue.
Place X Dragon.
Wekafiall space flits past you went.
You're tougher, We'll be ready, We'll be quotinized. Yeah. Sorry about the unfortunate result today, but we'll get you back up here and there soon.
The SpaceX Dragon was about an hour from liftoff from Cape Canaveral when they called it off. The rocket is supposed to bring back two astronauts who have been stuck on the space station since June. Remember, Sunny and Butch were supposed to be up in space four a week. They got nine months instead.
Iheartradios.
Wango Tangos returning to southern California and is headed to the beach. What a great place to have a show Saturday May tenth at Huntington City Beach. Wango Tango's All Star lineup will feature performances by Megan Trainer and mix A two O May and Hearts to Hearts Plus at Sunset Love This When the Sun Goes down, Orange County Zone Gwen Stefani takes the stage. Tickets go on sale Friday, March fourteenth, that's tomorrow at ten am on AXS dot com.
A flood advisory and evacuation warnings and orders remain in effect until six pm as a storm moves through. Officials have warned of debris flows and mudslides in the burn areas, including in the San Gabriel Mountain, foothills, Pacific Palisades, and canyons near the airport fire in Orange County. The heaviest rains expected to move out by eight am, but as we were talking to Ariel Cohen with the National Weather Service, we've got showers off.
And on through the day.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to pass the House approved deal to fund the government. If a deal isn't struck to bring over some Democratic support, the government will shut down Friday at midnight. The Rams have released Super Bowl MVP Cooper Cup. The RAMS have had An initially said that they were planning to trade him in the off season. The move will save the Rams fifteen million dollars in salary cap space
next season. Cup, drafted by the Rams in twenty seventeen, caught the game winning catch in Super Bowl fifty six. In twenty twenty one, at six oh five Tandle on the news, the new head of the EPA says, the Green new Scam, as he calls it, is dead. Bill's going to tell you what's next. But right now, let's say good morning to ABC's Jordanah Miller in Jerusalem, so Jordana.
President Trump sent a letter to Iran's Supreme leader and said he wants to negotiate a deal with Iran, but Irana says no, that's right.
The Supreme Leader, Iolajomene, gave a speech in which he said that you know he is not going to engage in negotiations with President Trump, and he mentioned that President Trump pulled out of a deal that Iran negotiated with the United States back in twenty fourteen under former President Barack Obama. And when Trump came into power the first time during his first term, he pulled the United States
out of that deal. So Homione was basically saying, why am I going to engage and talks with you again when you pulled out of a deal that Iran already signed. Homione also said he's not going to engage in talks. Well, the United States has tightening sanctions and under what other officials have called threats. And thirdly, he said that hey, you know, Iran has not developed nuclear weapons and if they wanted to, they would have already done it. There's
nothing United States can do. All of that, of course, has to be taken with a grain of salt, because there is a lot of evidence that Iran has been pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program for a very long time, and they've enriched uranium up to sixty percent. They have a lot of this highly enriched uranium which very quickly can be weaponized. And what the international community thinks, the US, the UN, and Israel, by the way, believe iron could
produce anywhere between four and six nuclear warheads. The problem the Iranians have is actually putting those warheads on missiles and deploying them. But you know that's one or two years away. So this is a serious situation. We're going to have to see what comes next.
Okay, and so Jordana, you're are you saying that they right now could build warheads if they wanted to, or they're getting close to that point.
They could very Yet they they have the material to easily weaponize from sixty percent to ninety percent, which is what you need to weaponize enriched uranium. They have large amounts of sixty percent. And the international for example, the u N, the i a e A, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has said that Iran has enough material that it could quickly have enough material for three or four or five or six the estimates between four and six
nuclear warheads. Now, what Iran can't do is put them on a missile yet and deploy them. Right what becomes so they're they're still.
Clothes, Yeah, and then what becomes concerning on that is that as things shift and new alliances are made, that they could make a deal with Russia, they could make a deal with North Korea or China and get those warheads or get the rockets.
That they need for them. Yeah, get the means. Yes, yes, yes, they're they've been trying to uh, you know, to get that technology to build those uh you know, to build the warheads, you know, uh, the shell if you will, all right to hold to all the nuclear material, it's clear.
I mean.
One of the reasons that President Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal back in twenty and seventeen was that he felt it didn't put enough restrictions on Iran and there were all kinds of what they called sunset clauses that actually were due to expire now in twenty twenty five, and he didn't feel that it was really a deal that had enough peace for example, put no limits on their R and D for centrifuges or developing, for example, the capability to deploy these nuclear warheads.
Though the deal did.
Keep Iran's enriched material, you know, the levels which it could enrich very low, around three point seventy three point eight percent. Since the United States pulled out, Iran has leapt forward and enriched uranium very very high levels now. As so, you know, it looks like Iran right now is not going to play game and talk with.
The United States.
But let's remember Iran doesn't have a lot of great options right now. Their economy is terrible. They've just taken a huge hit from Israel in this war. Right when I say that, I mean they're proxy has Ballah has been really heavily, heavily, heavily damaged, and Israel took out a lot of their air defense systems around their nuclear facilities.
So they're in a very weak position right now. And their economy remains very weakened, in terrible shape, so, you know, and with Russia talking to the United States, they can't really look to Russia.
For a lot of help.
And they've just lost Syria as an ally, right, so Iran's in a bad position. So they are probably gonna, you know, come around, but right now they're staking out a very you know, strident position.
Yeah, and it's an interesting dance because they want to appear strong even if they're not, so they've got to kind of make their moves very carefully, you know, I mean, I get it. It's all just a big game of chess. But all right, Geordana Miller, thanks for the updated information.
We appreciate it.
Yep, we'll talk soon, all right.
Take care.
Public health officials in la are advising beach goers to stay out of the water, although it's raining and cold, so why would you want to go in? They say, storm runoff can carry bacteria, chemicals, and hazardous debris from city streets and mountaineers into the ocean. Swimmers and surfers should avoid the water for at least seventy two hours after rains, especially near storm drains, creeks, and rivers. A high surf advisories in effect from nine this morning until
three tomorrow afternoon. A bill in California seeks to address the housing crisis by supporting affordable homes for teachers and school staff.
If every school district that has surplus property built at least fifteen units, we'd find ourselves having something upwards of two million units, probably about the year twenty thirty one.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurman says affordable housing is vital for stable communities. The bill would allow districts to use state funds for planning costs, and around seventy five thousand acres of unused school land could be developed into affordable housing. Thurman says the idea also has practical applications for other workforce sectors like first responders and city and county employees.
A reward of up to twenty.
Thousand dollars has been offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the person who decapitated a sea lion in northern California. The sea lion was found dead back on Christmas Day at Doron regionald Park in Bodega Bay. A park employee noticed it had been mutilated. A witness told park staff that a man used a black eight inch knife to take off the sea lion's head, put it in a clear plastic bag, and then rode away on an e bike. A brother and sister been charged
with killing a man in Curritos. The man was shot last month near a bicycle trail in the Coyote Creek riverbed. The man and woman were seen on video leaving the area around that same time. They're charged with murder and attempted second degree robbery. They allegedly shot the man when he tried to steal his car and he refused to hand over, or when they tried to steal his car and he refused to hand over the keys. A man is facing a second degree murder charge for two fentanyl
related deaths in Sacramento County. The charge relates to a December twenty twenty two overdose in Fulsome that killed a nineteen year old guy. The men's also linked to a twenty twenty one fentanyl overdose in Elk Grove that killed a seventeen year old. The guy's accused of supplying the fentinyl in both cases. He's being held without bail doing court today. The deadline for people to get a real ID is approaching.
Beginning May seventh, the Real ID Enforcement Act takes place That means you will need an upgraded government form of ID, like your driver's license.
Kayfight's Phil Farar says the program was supposed to start five years ago but was delayed because of the pandemic. A real ID or a passport will be needed for people to fly or to enter federal property. Hundreds of emergency workers remain in place as a late winter storm that could trigger mud and debris flows in burn areas moves through. Evacuation Warnings and orders remain in place in the San Gabriel Foothills, Pacific Palisades, and around the burn
area of the airport fire in Orange County. Two people from southern California and one in Texas have been charged with filing fraudulent claims for wildfire relief funds. US Attorney Joseph McNally says the three were paid tens of thousands of dollars in benefits they weren't entitled to. The woman from Texas got nearly thirty thousand dollars even though she had no connection to a home in Pasadena and has never lived in California. More anti Muslim discrimination complaints have
been filed in California than in any other state. Last year, the Council on American Islamic Relations says complaints hit an all time high Nationwide. CARE says students, workers and activists have faced retaliation for condemning Israel's war in Gaza and the treatment of Palestinians. At six five a handle on the news, there's a big problem with making IRIS workers go back to the office.
Not enough desks.
Let's say good morning now to the director of pr and Communications for Pasadena Humane.
Our friend, Kevin McManus, Good morning, Kevin.
Good morning, Amy, how are you.
I'm good.
So we're getting ready to wiggle and waggle, So give us a little info on the wiggle Waggle walk and run for Pasadena Humane.
Well, it's our biggest fundraiser of the year and it's coming up April sixth at the Rose Bowl at Brookside Park. And it's just that wise, you know, it's just a really fun fun day to come out with your dog and support Pasadena Humane and have a great walk around the Rose Bowl and do all kinds of other fun things.
Okay, And so we know that we do this walk every year, and like you said, it's a lot of fun.
There's food vendors and people you know, show off their pups, and there's costume contests and all that stuff.
But that we're raising money, and that's right.
People are being bombarded for donations, you know, from kind of every angle. So let's talk about Pasadena Humane, what you do, and why people should consider donating some of their hard earned money to Pasadena Humane.
Well, I think eating fire certainly kind of shed a light to like probably a wider audience of the work that we do on a daily basis for the animals in our community. And you know that includes you know, having a state of the art I see you for animals who came in during the fire who were burnt, we were able to provide them with care. We're still reeling from, you know, the kind of the aftermath and still caring for a lot of pets that people who
don't have homes to go back to. You know, we're basically kind of dog sitting for in a definite amount of period for some of these folks and other you know, just amazing things that we do on a daily basis, like our Spain Mouter clinics and our amazing foster program. It's now being pushed to its limits as well, and
we're on the verge of kitten season. So yeah, even though and certainly we've been among them asking for donations most recently, but this is our chance to kind of fund the programs that we do every day for the rest of the year.
Yeah, in Pasadena, I think you're right that, Like we've known about because we work with you, so we know about the great work that you guys do to take in animals, make sure they're healthy, check them out, and get them ready to get into their new homes. But then being inundated with you, it was more than a thousand animals that came in after the fires, right.
Right, Yeah, it was well twelve hundred through the shelter, but that was really just a fraction of the ones we are caring for because of all the other work that we did out in the field in the burn area.
Yeah, and we got to go.
We came to visit and took some video and in fact it's on my Instagram at Amy King. You can see we go in and you're treating some of the animals and you can see there, you know, where they're burned and singed, and you guys are patiently like nursing them back to health and making sure that they're you know, that they're ready for their owners when they come to get them or if they if they can't find the owners, that they're ready to find.
A new home.
That's right. Yeah, I mean, we still have a couple of the burn victims who are still receiving care and hopefully Yeah, I mean I was talking to our chief veterinarian yesterday and she's say, one of these poor cats who came in very early on in the fire like still needs a couple more surgeries before and thankfully we know who her her family is. But yeah, she's had a real long road, but hopefully soon it will be you know, back with her loving family.
And that's why Pasadena Humane is there. That's just one of the many things you do. Hey, if you don't have a dog, can you still come walk?
Oh of course please. And well if you're in the market for a dog, we're going to have some adoptable animal that are Wiggle Waggle Wagon which will be there. But you know, it's definitely if you like dogs. If you love dogs, it's a really fun day to come out and we really want to you know, even if you don't like come out and you know, hang out with us, come celebrate you know, our our shelter and all the hard work that we do. I'm in have a good day at the Rose Bowl.
Absolutely again, it's April sixth, the Wiggle Waggle Walk. We have a team that you wake up call Wigglers. I'd love for you to join us and come walk with us.
And you can do that.
Sign up to either walk with us or to donate KF I am six forty dot com slash Wiggle And before I let you go, you have a I got an alert capacadying and humane to find your four legged clover.
You're doing this great adoption.
That's one of my favorite times of the year being you know, of Irish descent. So yeah, we're kind of well for for big dogs and this is always a
problem for us, but we see it even now. You know, we had such great luck with adoptions the first couple of weeks after we kind of restarted that, but we still have a lot of big dogs are looking for homes, and so if you're in the market for a big dog this week, well from now until Tuesday you can find your four legged clover, and adoption fees are waived for any dog over forty pounds.
I love it.
Kevin McManus with Pasadena Humane can't wait to see you at the Wiggle Waggle Walk on April sixth.
Thank you, Thank you so much. Amy, talk talk to.
You soon again.
If you want to take a look at some of the animals and the work that they do at Pasadena Human, you can check out my ig at Amy K. King and of course I'd love it if you would follow me. You can also see it at KFI AM six forty. Time to get in your business now with Bloomberg's Courtney Donah. Good morning, Courtney, good morning. I'm glad my son didn't hear that whole entire interview.
Telling me to go get a dog.
Well, luckily you're on the East coast. Oh yes, but he wants one so badly every single day.
Mom, I want a dog. Well, Pasadena Humane has lots of them and their loves. But okay, let's talk business.
So Spirit Airlines actually has some good news exiting bankruptcy.
Yeah, it's twenty percent smaller than it was a year ago.
So they filed for Chapter eleven in November, so it's only been four months that they've made this turnaround brought down their debt. They lost ground to larger airlines that also began to offer rock bottom fares, and this is why they ended up getting into trouble. So now what they're doing when they're coming out of bankruptcy is they plan to rebrand themselves. As they emerge from bankruptcy, they're putting in some premium offerings because they want to win over more upscale flyers.
They don't want to just rely on the cheap folks.
They want to get some more people, especially the more expensive business fares on there. So they said that they're solely focused on taking a hard look at where they fly and their cost structure to.
Okay, so next timey five maybe check out Spirit just in case. Starbucks rolling out some more changes to bring the coffee house Vibe back.
Yes, they've been going through an overhaul.
We've been talking about that to try to get Americans to once again view the chain as the go to place to hang out. We've talked about them offering ceramic mugs to those who want to stay. We also talked about the condiment bar coming back. We've been waiting for that to add our own milk. Now, more changes are on the way. The company is betting people will order more lattes if they can find a cozy spot to charge of their phones and their laptop, so they're expanding
their seating options. They're adding more power outlets so you can charge your laptop charge phone. The chain is also looking at a redesigned espresso bar. They didn't really give too many details on that, but that sounds fun.
Okay, Well, I think it seems like Starbucks used to be that way. It was like the cool place to go and hang out and they had comfy chairs, and then they kind of took it out and to sort of streamline stuff, and now they're going back.
Yeah, I'm mobile ordering kind of changed the whole dynamic. They wanted to be able to bring in more people, turn over more and now they said, you know what, we looked at sales. That's just not working anymore for us. So now they said, let's go back to the basics
of what made us the company that we are. Let's bring back those customers who want to stay, spend a little bit of time and spend more money per visit as opposed to just swinging in and out with their just grabbing their latte and going Okay.
Well, I like that idea.
Let's talk about markets really quick. We had a couple of really down days and then yesterday not so bad. But what's today and what's been started out?
Well, I wish I could give you some better news for your portfolios, especially for the weather that you guys are facing today.
But futures are pointing to modest losses today. The risk of a.
Government shutdown, if it's not one thing, it's another, it seems to be. And everybody's nervous here on Wall Street. So we have the risk of a government shutdown, and Wall Street is so hypersensitive to everything right now, So that showdown in DC adding a layer of worry for people who are already worried about the job cuts coming from the government, and also the tariff war. So Dow futures are down eighty points, SMP futures falling two tenths of a percent. Yesterday we did get a little bit
of a bat back. We had that cooler than expected consumer price data that we talked about. The S and P five hundred gains half a percent.
Okay.
We have Bloomberg's Courtney Donaho with us every day to get in your business. Thank you so much, Cartney, see you later. How I get TOI TA tomorrow?
Be safe out there.
All right, let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. The woman who sued jay Z alleging he raped her when she was thirteen has been heard on tape admitting the assault didn't happen. A report by ABC News is the woman claims her lawyer pushed her to sue. She alleges jay Z was there but didn't have anything to do with the sexual acts towards her. The suit has been dismissed.
Police are looking for a guy caught on a security camera throwing an injured cat into his dumpster.
The cat was rescued from the dumpster just minutes before it was scheduled to be emptied. A camera recorded the act in Laguna Hills and now the cat has been placed in the care of Mission Viejo. Animal Services. Workers there have asked for the public to help locate the man responsible. They've posted the video on their website and social channels. The cat has been named Willow and despite extensive injuries, is said to be on the path to a full recovery. Michael Monks KFI News for.
Villagers from Indonesia sued San Diego based Bumblebee Tuna. The men say they took the jobs after being promised good wages, but were abused daily, had to work around the clock, were burned and even stabbed by the captain, and were denied medical care. Bumblebee says it does not comment on pending litigation. The US is cracking down on long term visits from Canadians. Canadians planning to stay in the US more than a month are now going to be required
to register with the government. Canada used to be exempt from that requirement. It comes as the US, Canada, and Mexico are locked in a trade war over President Trump's new tariffs. An active shooter report at Loma Linda University Medical Center has turned out to be a hoax. Someone called nine one one saying they were inside the hospital with an AR fifteen and we're about to start shooting. Part of the hospital had to be evacuated yesterday. No
shooter was found. San Bernardino County to say it appears to have been a swatting call. A bill introduced in the state legislature would help teachers and school staff get affordable housing. The law would allow school districts to use state money for planning costs, and around seventy five thousand acres of unused school land could be developed into affordable housing. A couple of astronauts stuck on the International Space Station since June are going to have to wait a little
longer to come home. SpaceX had to scrub yesterday's scheduled launch from Cape Canaveral because of hydraulic issues with a clamp that keeps the rocket upright. The next launch attempt is scheduled for tomorrow, butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams were only supposed to be on the International Space Station for one week. We're just minutes away from handle. On the news this morning, there will.
Be a global trade war apparently, things to look forward to. Bill's going to talk about that.
Let's say good morning now to the Wildfire Division director at the National Fire Protection Association, Michelle Steinberg.
Good morning, Michelle, Good morning.
So we're not really thinking about fires right now because it's raining and people in the burn areas are worried about mudd and debrief flows. But watching the aftermath of the fires may be the perfect time to start preparing for the next wildfire. And one of the best ways to get ready for wildfire get your home ready. So give us some tips and tricks on what we should be thinking about and start doing now.
Thanks Amy. What we can be doing now is to look around our home and look for anything that an ember could catch. So we know that a lot of the fire impact on homes is driven by wind driven embers when they land on roofs, in gutters in the near spaces to the home within that first five feet. So what we can do right now is take a look around to make sure from the roof down to the eaves, the siding down to the foundation, and then out into that five foot space, is there anything that
could ignite. So if they're flammable, mult for example, if you've got loose shingles, maybe you've got a ripped screen. These are some sort of DIY things that people can do that actually are very effective at limiting the impact of an ember should it reach the home.
Okay, and you mentioned mulch, which I think is really a good thing to mention because you don't think of that as something that's flammable. You think of like a brush or something leaning up against the house. Ors just stuff too close to the house, and that's just down on the ground.
But it's wood, right, So if you have something that's combustible and many mulches are that needs you can still use multineal landscape, but that really needs to be planned out. You need to rake it away from that first five feet, replaced maybe with some gravel or stone, think about some different designs. There's lots of different options that people have for making something that's pleasing and aesthetically beautiful but does not present that hazard. But yeah, embers can get that
into that moulten. If it's right up against the siding of your home, that can really be an issue because it will smolder and then start to flame.
Okay, and then we're speaking of the embers as well.
We were talking to you our home guy, Dean Sharp, who is a designer and contractor, and he was telling us that a lot of the fires start not because of embers landing on a roof, but the embers get underneath and get into the attics through those through the vents.
Correct, So particularly gable end vents which are on the side of the house, those can if the position with the wind, you're going to get that straight line wind. So we want to make sure that any kind of vent openings are screened with metal mash. Our recommendation is one eighth inch or smaller. You still get allowed for ventilation, but you want to minimize the likelihood embers are going to get in there. The other thing I noticed, you know, visiting in Los Angeles at the end of January, a
lot of the beautiful Spanish towle roofs. To make sure that the end camps are sealed. Usually you think of them as bird stops. Well, if a bird can get in, an ember can definitely get in. So we want people to make sure that those openings are either sealed or screened, and that you're paying attention to those little entry ways.
Okay, and Michelle Steinberg is with us with the National Fire Protection Association. For those who did suffer some damage in the wildfires, maybe their homes are still standing, they've got repairs to do, or people who were near what are some ways to rebuild in what your organization calls firewise ways.
Right so Farways is our program to organize communities and help educate across the neighborhood. And the concepts are really supported by science. So it's any place again that an ember can enter or a smolder, that's where you want to pay attention to the immediate house. But in rebuilding, choosing the products that are noncombustible or are rated to be ignition resistant is critical and happily California has excellent
guidance in their building code around wildfire. It's some of the best in the country.
So those are they.
Actually list the different products that are considered to be noncombustible or ignition resistant, so they don't make it difficult for you to find out what you need to do in terms of choosing those different building materials and the different techniques. But they're very basic and it gives consumers a lot of choice on what they can use okay.
And then Michelle, if you're not technically in a wildfire zone, what can you say to convince people to take for questions anyway?
Well, you know, I live in New England and I would walk around with friends of family and point out, gee, it's great that they put some of that rock or gravel near the foundation and oh look their foundation wall goes up more than six inches where there's nothing flammable, And people say, oh, why is that important? So I explain, you know, even if there was a barbecue grill on a windy day, if there was a cigarette into the mulch,
that's going to protect you from that exterior ignition. You don't need to have a weldfire to have a risk. And so I've been able to educate people that way that these are simple precautions that really everybody can follow and reduce that likelihood of having flames outside the house that could cause problems.
Okay, Michelle Steinberg, the Wildlife Division or Wildfire Division director with the National Fire Protection Association, thank you so much for taking some time with wake Up Call this morning.
It's my pleasure, Amy, thank you.
Take care.
Let's get back to some of the stories coming out of the KFI twenty four hour newsroom. Winter storm morning has been issued for parts of Riverside County because of the rain and win gus up to sixty miles per hour. Forecasters say mountain areas are expected to get snow down to three thousand feet by tonight or tomorrow morning. The National Weather Service says estimated snowfall totals above sixty five hundred feet eight to twelve inches, up to two feet
possible above seventy five hundred feet. LA City Fire crews have plucked a person from an area along the La River in Boyle Heights. The person was in a concrete alcove this morning next to the rising water. LA Fire says cruise lowered a ladder and the man was able to climb out. Anti Muslim sentiment has reached a record high, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations.
PIERRE has released its annual report on Islamophobia and says the issue has reached unprecedented levels across the country. The organization says campus protests against the Hamas Israel war has fueled anti Muslim sentiment. That war followed a terrorist attack against Israeli civilians in October twenty twenty three in California.
The group says there were more than eight thousand civil rights complaints by Muslims in twenty twenty four, an increase from seven hundred and fifty six filed the year before. More than eighty six hundred complaints were filed across the country. Michael Monks, KFI News, I love that theme.
Warner Brothers is offering guests so one Day Superman Themed two, tappening on April eighteenth. The studio made the announcement yesterday, saying it's in celebration of Superman Day. The tour will take guests around the Historic Lot in Burbank, offering a look at iconic sets in the creative process behind bringing DC's storytelling to life.
I just got to see Superman suit so cool.
Ticket Holders will also have the opportunity to meet DC artists and attend a screening of the nineteen seventy eight Superman film.
Tickets eighty nine bucks. They're available online.
This is KFI and KOST HD two Los Angeles, Orange County, Southland. Weather from KFI. The heaviest rain from this storm is pretty much moved through, but it's not over yet. Showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms are expected Today. Igs will be in the fifties forties for the Antelope Valley, clearing tonight, then cloudy with a good chance of showers again tomorrow afternoon and evening, becoming mostly sunny on Saturday, with highs in the sixties. Mostly cloudy Sunday, slight chance
of rain Monday and Tuesday. It's fifty six in bray A, fifty four Lake Forest, fifty one in Marina del Rey, fifty in Burbank. We lead local live from the KFI twenty four hour newsroom.
I'm Amy King. This has been your wake up.
Call, and if you missed any wake up call, you can listen anytime on the iHeartRadio 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.