"IVF Scandal, Olympic Controversy & The Future of Black Wealth"

[00:00:13] Alright y'all, get ready for another edition of News and Trendz with your host Dave and Len.

[00:00:31] Welcome, welcome, welcome to News and Trendz with Dave and Len. This is one of your hosts, Mr. David Coker, proprietor of Dave Mark Inc., promoter, all around good guy, birthday boy, all of that stuff. You know, I just had a birthday yesterday so I'm still living live, you know, I'm still living and I'm happy and I'm live, you know, and in fact, in effect, I just swear. So, hanging out with my partner, Mr. Leonard Young, what's going on sir?

[00:00:58] Hey Dave, everything is good. This is Leonard Young, CEO of National Black Guide, DelawareBlack.com, Black Media Specialist, all around good guy. Happy birthday Dave. Thank you, sir. How does it feel? How does it feel? You know, it feels great because I'm still here. I mean, that's the main thing. So many people that came up with are not here any longer. And so I'm really thankful to be here.

[00:01:27] You know, 65, man, that's a big number, you know, so, you know, big number, you know, so. Yeah. Okay. All right, calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down. Again too. Yeah. You know, it's funny when you were. Extraordinary. Okay. It's almost like infinity. You know what I mean? Like. Well, you saw the post I put on Facebook about my 15 year old self and you know my.

[00:01:57] Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I posted for those that didn't see it or whatever. I posted a picture of me at 15, talking about 50 years later, you know, and meeting my 65 year old self. You know, you just never think, you know, at that time, you know, about numbers like this, you know, you be saying to yourself, you know, you're going to be young forever.

[00:02:21] And, you know, you think about getting old, you know, and here, you know, 50 years later, man, that's a lot of time. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. No, I know. Well, 50 years is older than you. I know. You don't got to tell me. I know. I know. Dave, yeah. Dave, what did you say? Moses was your classmate. I know. Yeah. More, more, not necessarily Moses, more like Jesus. Thank Jesus.

[00:02:52] Thank Jesus. He was in the New Testament, so I ain't that old, you know. I ain't that, Moses was in the Old Testament, so. But anyway, just thankful. And I want to thank everybody who's listening that has taken the time to, you know, send love, you know, as far as a birthday wish or whatever the case may be. Whatever way you expressed it, I want to thank you for taking the time out to do that. And I really appreciate each and every one of you.

[00:03:22] Okay. Dave, just to let you know, somebody sent me a text and said that I needed to do something on the air in relation to your birthday. Okay. So I'm going to relay their text in my words. Okay. Are you ready? I'm scared. Okay, go ahead. Okay. So someone told me, if you did not get a chance to celebrate this great guy right here, Mr. David P. Coker.

[00:03:50] And he doesn't know why I say this, so don't think he planned. Again, you can always hit his cash app. Okay. Because, you know, Dave, tell him there's nothing like birthday love, like the sound of your cash app going off. Oh, monetary birthday love. So Dave, just in case somebody may not see you, may not, you know, get to see you this week, what is your cash app, just in case one of our lucky listeners wants to bless your day? Okay.

[00:04:19] And that includes, that includes hosts too. Um, well, whoever that friend of yours was, I, you know, I appreciate they put that sort of your ears. I'll tell you after this job. I mean, after actually, actually, it doesn't, it's strange that it wasn't the host that said this on their own, but anyway. Um, um, well, what it, what is said is said. Okay. Okay. All right.

[00:04:45] Um, well, for those want to do something, the cash app is, uh, dollar sign, um, Laker man, lowercase L a K E R M a N. That's Laker man. Dollar sign Laker man. Okay. All right. There it is. In fact, Oh, damn, my phone died. I was just, I know, I know, I know all about it.

[00:05:14] Oh man. I, Dave, I was gonna do it big time too. Yeah, no, I know. Oh, well, you better stick that charger in there. You know, so, but anyway, but, uh, uh, thank you for that. I, uh, you know, and, um, it is what it is. I appreciate, I appreciate the love, whether people do anything or not, you know, it's,

[00:05:37] um, you know, at, when you get older, you really start to appreciate more these type of moments because it's important that, um, you know, as you start to get more seasoned that, uh, you know, you start to, you, you definitely don't want to fall off or be forgotten. You know what I mean? So I appreciate, yeah, you gotta stay relevant.

[00:06:06] So I appreciate these moments. So thank you. Um, you know, um, um, um, Tim is, um, doing something over at, um, Timothy's on Friday. Um, for those that are listening and he's, you know, in Delaware and Wilmington, Delaware at the riverfront. Um, and he's, you know, he said, Dave, we're going to celebrate you over there.

[00:06:32] So if you're not doing anything on Friday night, anytime at the eight o'clock, um, come on through, um, we'll be there. Okay. All right. Enough about the birthday guy. Um, you know, it's, um, we're supposed to have a pretty good week where, you know, well, we got to do a little weather report, but they have a pretty good week weather wise this week. So, uh, today was a nice day. Today was, uh, yeah.

[00:07:01] Uh, and yesterday was a nice day as well. So let's, uh, hope the week continues on. So, um, we, maybe the snow is going. What'd you think? Uh, should be, uh, I would be kind of surprised if we saw more. I would be like, I would be like, I'm going to get a little more snow or frost. Okay. At this point. Well, I think, uh, the groundhog said six more weeks and that was on the second. So we're about two weeks.

[00:07:28] We got a little less than two weeks left, I guess, um, for winter, according to the groundhog. So yeah, I think so. And the time jury changed soon in a couple of weeks. So everything will work out perfectly, hopefully. So we'll see what happens. Yeah. Okay. All right. All right. Well, I think we got a few stories to talk about today. Um, so let's get ready to get to them.

[00:07:57] Um, um, oh, before that, um, yesterday we had the passing of a legend. Um, Miss Roberta Flack, one of my favorite singers, um, were you a big fan of Roberta Flack? I mean, I was a fan. I wasn't a big fan, but yeah, I thought, I thought some good, great music, timeless music. Um, yes, she definitely had timeless music that still resonates even till today, you know? So, um, she was 88 years old.

[00:08:27] I didn't realize she was that. I didn't realize she was up there, you know? So, but you know, that's, that's awesome. Um, you know, but, um, she will be missed and her music will definitely live on. So I just wanted to acknowledge that. Um, so, um, moving into our stories.

[00:08:47] Um, first story, um, Georgia woman sues fertility clinic after IVF mix up with black baby. This, this seems to be happening a lot now for some reason. And I don't know why, but I guess these IVF clinics, you just never know. I guess I'm surprised it doesn't happen more. We don't hear about it more. Right. Right. But you know what?

[00:09:17] If it had been a white baby, she never would have known. Well, that's true. That's true. That is true. Yeah. Uh, it says, um, the story goes like this. It says a white Georgia woman is suing coastal fertility specialists after a IVF mix up resulted in giving her. Uh, giving birth to a black baby instead of a, her biological child.

[00:09:44] Uh, Christina Murray lawsuit claims the, um, clinics negligence caused her significant and physical. Why? Okay. Um, I have to laugh about this, uh, significant physical and emotional distress. Now I wonder why that was, is it because they mixed up the baby, you know, the DNA and all that stuff, the IVF part of it, or is it because the baby was black?

[00:10:14] What do you think it is? So I, I already kind of know the answer because I, I'm, I'm, I'm familiar with this story, but. Yeah. So. Yeah. Okay. All right. Well, I won't ruin the suspense. Okay. Okay. After a DNA test confirmed the mistake, she relinquished the child in May, fearing she would lose a legal battle.

[00:10:38] Murray claims she was unaware of the clinic's mistake until she gave birth in December, 2023. She and her sperm donor are both white, both the baby, but the baby she delivered was black. Coastal fertility specialists apologize for the, um, and unprecedented error that resulted in a, an embryo transfer mixed up in a statement.

[00:11:06] The company which operates clinics in Georgia and South Carolina says staffers have adopted new state safeguards to prevent similar mistakes from occurring in the future. Um, it said, um, Adam Wolf, one of Murray's attorneys, this error would continue until fertility clinics were subject to real regulations, reporting requirements,

[00:11:34] and mandatory certification programs to, for the lab staff. Um, the lawsuit states that Murray had no issues or concerns with the baby's race, other than the fact that it indicated to her that he was clearly not related to her. I wonder what gave that away.

[00:11:58] Um, you know, um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna stop there. Um, it's interesting. Would you keep the child regardless of the fact that it wasn't white? Are you saying for her or for, for you?

[00:12:24] If it was, if you were in that type of situation, would you keep the child if it was something other than what your race was? I think I would. Mm-hmm. I doubt. Because there was some type of connection with that child. Yeah. I mean. The child was born, came from inside of her because it was, you know, you know, so there was some type of connection. She birthed, she carried it, she birthed it. Yeah. Yeah. Um, she really wanted a baby.

[00:12:52] So it's, I mean, I mean, even if you think about, let's say the, the devil, uh, we call it, um, the other side of it. She really wanted a baby. And imagine having this baby and thinking you would be one and done. And even if it's not what you want it, you gotta give it up and try again. Yeah. Like, yeah, man, I don't know. Yeah. Because I mean, you figured she, she carried it.

[00:13:19] Um, she, she cared for it once it was delivered and she had that child for a half a year before she gave it up. Right. So, um, she bonded with the child. Um, you know, I mean, it'd be hard for me to get that child up. It really would be. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

[00:13:41] And you, when I was reading the article and I kind of understood, um, when she wanted to sue the clinic, the clinic let the legitimate embryo or whatever, you know, the donors parent, real parents know. And of course they lay, lay first claim to that baby.

[00:14:05] So, you know, um, I remember reading a lawyer was saying, there's no way a judge would not give that baby to his rightful owners. So, you know, for her to even go through with the case was just kind of pointless. So, you know, I, I do want to make it known she did want to keep her. I was just curious to say that. I was just curious to say that. She did not want to get the baby up. Yeah. She had connected with it. She, she felt that it was her child.

[00:14:30] And even to this day, um, or through the article, she still feels that that was her child, you know? Right. So, um, even though it didn't have her blood, she carried it and she did connect with the child.

[00:14:42] So she, she definitely is, you know, especially with the mistake that was made because not only was it, you know, she's looking at this from a monetary standpoint, cause it's not always about the money, but it's the fact that she, she connected with the child and now she's left with nothing. You know, she, she put her body at risk. Yep. Yep. She sure did.

[00:15:11] You know, I mean, um, so it's, it's, it's, it's really a shame. I feel bad for her that that happened. Um, you know, hopefully, you know, she's able to find some relief. Maybe, I don't know if she'll put herself through that again, but maybe she'll adopt or something, you know? Um, you know, but, uh, it's really a shame.

[00:15:37] I saw that story and I said, well, I couldn't, I couldn't even imagine going through that, you know, and, and then finding, you know, you know, and then not only the fact that it happened and you get this, this child that clearly isn't yours, but then you connect with the child. And you, you accept the child and you become that child's parent.

[00:16:01] And then, boom, you lose the child because it goes, ends up going to the biological parent. So, but, um, you guys give us your thoughts on how you feel about that. And what, you know, I mean, would you go to court? I mean, would you not go to court? And I mean, you know, it's a tough case. I mean, Leonard, you know, like Leonard said, you know, uh, you know, after all, it's not like the other parents didn't want the child. They did.

[00:16:34] All right. So moving on to our next story. Let's see. With everything that's been going on with in LA with the, the fires and everything, there was a question that came up. Should, should, should Los Angeles withdraw from hosting the 2028 Olympic games?

[00:17:01] And it said that hosting the Olympic games is expensive. And in many cases, the cost outweighs the revenues. The last time Los Angeles hosted the games in 1984, the estimated cost was around 20 billion and the revenue just over 200 million.

[00:17:28] But that was a different era. Yeah, I'm sure because them numbers are definitely different now. Um, today, LA is faced with unfathomable disasters. Ever since the drought began about a decade ago, it seems each year has been in competition with the last to see which one can produce the most fire damage.

[00:17:53] The worst being this year's 2025 where most of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas were devastated by wildfires. And then there's the ongoing homelessness crisis, where we learned that half of the 2023 budget was not spent. And millions of dollars cannot be accounted for at the Los Angeles homeless service authority. Oh, wow.

[00:18:23] That's not good. That's not good. There is a serious lack of tangible, comprehensive plan leadership and accountability to make matters even worse due to the fires. Thousands more people are now joining the ranks of the homeless. The mayor's inside safe crusade is lacking.

[00:18:48] Um, they said usually people when they plan a special event at home will pull out all the stops to clean and decorate for the occasion. The same thing goes for hosting and games. Have you noticed LA's crumbling infrastructure lately? Have you driven down Century Boulevard, the gateway to the LA airport, and noticed how bumpy and pothole filled it has become? Have you driven down Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards?

[00:19:17] There are just a few of outlining thoroughfare that stretched to some of the biggest visitor attractions in the world. And of the necessity, the city will undoubtedly make repairs leading up to 2028. The game is already on as the city leaders add planning, budgeting, and sponsorships to their to-do list. Let me say, you know, there's a lot that has to be done.

[00:19:47] Four years seems like it would be enough time to get it done. But is it really with everything that's happened with the fires and everything? And then of course, the homelessness. I have friends who live in LA and they, they say things are not good. It really isn't. And there's a lot of people who lost homes and, and, and lost places to live.

[00:20:11] So they're not even thinking about these gains right now because they're thinking about how to rebuild their lives. Right. Keep in mind, the insurance companies didn't pay a lot of people, you know, so they, you know, so people are, or had to really rebuild from scratch. They even ran out of places.

[00:20:33] They were running out of places to, to put people up in because of the fires, you know, so, you know, it's not a, it's not, you know, this is supposed to be a big time for them and bringing the games there. But is it going to be a, a, enough time for them to make it happen and be able to get anything out of it? I mean, what's your thoughts on this?

[00:21:03] Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I definitely think they should continue to have it. And I say, because, you know, a lot of people, I mean, you know, it's kind of like New Orleans after the, the flood where people were like, oh, you know, there's still going to be essence festivals. There's still going to be Marty raw. And, you know, some of those tourism dollars kind of helped rebuild the city.

[00:21:25] So it's kind of like, you know, with LA, to be honest, if I was a business owner or, you know, maybe even unemployed or semi-employed, I'm looking forward to the Olympics because I know, okay, my business can probably take advantage. You know, if I'm semi-employed, unemployed, hey, I know I can probably get a job because everybody will be hiring for something.

[00:21:51] And, you know, I think that's an opportunity to bring a lot of life and revenue and, you know, everything back to the city where, okay, if you don't have it, okay, like where does that economic boost come? I mean, I mean, you can sit around and wait for the government if you want to with it. You know, Dave, right now with our government, that ain't promised. Yeah, that's true. You know, but I mean, I think they should continue to have it. And you are right. Three and a half, four years sounds like a lot of time.

[00:22:20] I don't know if it is or isn't, but I mean, you know, three and a half years sounds like a lot of time. So, I mean, I think it's, and I did want to piggyback on that real quick when we were talking about the homeless in LA. I saw something on social media I never even thought about. And it said, if you're going to Atlanta, I mean, well, I'm sorry, if you are in Atlanta or LA and you're trying to rent a U-Haul, you're going to have a really hard time.

[00:22:47] Because a lot of homeless people are renting U-Hauls to, like, stay in. Because, you know, U-Haul is only $19 a day. Yeah. You know, and Dave, you know, one of those, the small ones, you could fit three or three people up in there. Yeah. I know. Well, you remember the story we did about our friend who had the storage container? Yeah. The storage container, I'm sure. He's not the only one that's done that. I'm sure.

[00:23:12] In fact, Dave, I saw one, and I say that, but I'll send it to you after the show. There was a girl who said she chooses to live in a, like, a storage facility. She chooses. Wait, did she give her a name and all that stuff like that? The other guy did? Well, I mean, I think she did. I think she did. When I listened to it, I had it on mute because I was doing something else.

[00:23:38] But, like, the caption was said, why I choose to live in a storage facility. And, of course, it showed her going to Planet Fitness to take a shower and all that. So, I don't know. I mean. Yeah. So, it's amazing because, you know, you kind of think about people and you say to yourself about how can people do stuff like this and why would people do stuff like this.

[00:24:08] But nowadays, with everything that's going on, it's all, that's basically what, you know, people do what they have to in order to make sure that they can survive. And especially when you're looking at Los Angeles and all that's happened out there and in the surrounding areas. I mean, when you got celebrities who lost their homes or whatever, and, you know, some of them,

[00:24:34] I'm sure have the money to be able to rebuild and all of that kind of stuff. But, you know, with those insurance companies canceling policies and so forth, you know, it's not good. It's not. It's really not good. And then with this whole thing with the Olympics, they got to do it because, first of all, we don't get Olympics every year. I mean, this is not, the United States don't, you know, what it comes around.

[00:25:02] Let me see, the last Olympics we had here was Los Angeles, right? Or was it? Or maybe Atlanta. Atlanta. That was 96. Yeah, 96, right? Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, you can't pass up the opportunity. I mean. That really is 24 years. Yeah. Unless they move it to another area, you know, in California. California. But, you know, then it won't be the Los Angeles Olympics.

[00:25:30] It'll be, I guess, if it turned into the California Olympics. Well, no, I mean, it'll still be the same. So, I know there's been other countries where, and so, for example, where was the Olympics? Like this, Paris, right? Yeah. So, I don't know if you remember, you know, they had the surfing. Surfing was in the Olympics.

[00:25:51] And the surfing part of the Olympics was in, like, around the Fiji Island or some islands off of, like, Southeast Asia. Because, you know, of course, the wave, they needed the waves. And, I mean, that was hundreds of miles away from the Olympics. But, I mean, I do agree. I think depending on how badly Los Angeles recovers, the Olympics may be a lot more spread out. You know, I'm sure they'll have certain stuff in the city.

[00:26:20] And other stuff may just be spread out to wherever they can, you know, kind of get it. Right, right. And that's what they'll probably have to do in order to make everything work. And, of course, they're going to have to do their best they can to try to make the city look good, too, you know, because that's another thing, too. You know, and we don't know what could happen between now and then out there because of the dryness of the weather out there.

[00:26:49] So, hopefully, they're able to get themselves together as far as that's concerned and be able to make it happen because we definitely need the Olympics to be here. You know, it's nice to be able to root our athletes and root for our athletes here at home. And, you know, it's one thing when they're out abroad, you know, competing and whatever, but it's nothing like being home and competing, you know.

[00:27:17] So, that's something, you know, we'll see what happens because the time will go by quickly. And, you know, we just need to make sure that keeping a watchful eye on what's going on out there because that's going to be very, very important how we respond to that.

[00:27:40] And especially with, you know, you figure we're going to have a lot of first-time Olympians, you know, because a lot of the people that we've been watching probably will not be competing at that time. You know what I mean? Yeah. So, you know, I'm sure they're looking forward to being able to compete at home and be able to, you know, show off at home as well, you know.

[00:28:05] So, but let's, well, I'm sure you and I keep an eye on that because everybody who's been listening to the show knows we're big Olympic fans. So, you know, so we definitely want to see what happens. I was watching, been watching some of the indoor racing. Have you been watching any of the indoor stuff with, Bob? No, I did see Grant Holloway win his. And I think that, I saw a bit some clip. I think I saw that too. Yeah, yeah.

[00:28:32] Yeah, but them Jamaicans, man, they got a young girl, a young guy, man, Thompson, Thompson, and girl's name. She's like 18, 19 years old, man. That girl ain't no joke, man. She's going to, she's going to be better watch herself, you know. And, of course, what's her name? The best woman in the world. Oh, yeah.

[00:29:02] She's been, she's been, she's been killing it, man. She's been killing it. From Barbados or. Yeah. Well, she's from Laos. What is it? Is it Laos? No, you're talking about the black girl? Yeah, the black girl. Where's she from? Yeah, yeah. No, she. God, why can't I think of her name? She's from Barbados. Yeah, Julian Alford. Yeah, Alford. Yeah, yeah. She's, yeah, okay. St. Lucid. St. Lucid. That's what it was. St. Lucid. It started with an L.

[00:29:32] I couldn't think of it. Well, I mean, Dave, that actually started with the S. But, yeah, we get it. Well, the L part, man. The L part. Okay. But, anyway, she, I've watched a couple of her rapes. She ain't playing around right now, man. That girl is not playing around. Yeah, she's not. So, let's hope that we are able to get everything organized and cleaned up and ready, presentable for what's about to happen.

[00:29:59] And hopefully bring some revenue into California, into the L.A. area, you know, to try. Okay, let's move on. We'll do. So, Dave, next we have, and I know you weren't up on this because you were supporting Anthony Mackie, Captain America.

[00:30:29] So, Dave, this was interesting. So, apparently today, of course, there are a lot of federal workers who were, who had to go back to work, had to go back into the office. Now, at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, when employees walked into the building, guess what they were greeted with?

[00:30:51] They were greeted with the video of, it was a fake AI generated video of Donald Trump with his mouth on the toes of, of course, his billionaire advisor, Elon Musk. So, he was sucking, rubbing, and kissing on Elon Musk's toes.

[00:31:21] And this video played, so apparently somebody hacked the system, generated the video, and when people arrived at work, so, I mean, of course, you know, this is Monday morning. They arrived at work Monday morning. That was playing on the video screen. Nobody in the building knew how to disconnect that, that feed.

[00:31:48] So, of course, they, they sent people to each floor to unplug the TVs. And, hold on, hold on, hold on. It was a hacker, right? Yeah, yep. Before you react, the video was captioned, long live the real king. And, of course, this is as Donald Trump is kissing or touching Elon Musk's toes.

[00:32:18] Interesting. So, I mean, of course, everybody's laughing about it. It has been spreading on social media. And, you know, so, of course, a representative from, you know, the HUD agency said, appropriate action will be taken for all involved. And, of course, the White House did not reply. President Musk also did not reply.

[00:32:43] So, I mean, you know, just very, and Dave, you want me to tell you the first thing that came to my mind? What ethnicity are usually the people who are doing this type of video hacking? Let's put it this way. It ain't up. I know. You know. So, yeah. So, but then that can also, hey, look, it may not even be somebody from here. It may not be. From outside the country, too. So, you know.

[00:33:13] So, but it's, it's, this says a lot about hierarchy here in the United States at the moment. Has anybody seen Vance at all? Who? Yeah, that's right. Yeah, who's that? Who's that? Yeah, yeah. I mean, if something happened to Trump and, you know, the next person up would be the person to take over that office, it would not be Vance.

[00:33:43] According to, but that's the way it's supposed to be. But the way that everything seems to be right now, you cannot go through your day without your phone buzzing. And something about Elon Musk pops up. I mean, have you noticed that? I mean. Yeah. I mean, continuous every single day. Every single day. You know. And you know what I think it is, too? What? Because of X? No.

[00:34:12] Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they like to just post everything they do. That's true. That's true. And half the stuff they do or say is crazy. So, you know, anytime they post it, it's almost like a news story every time. And half of it is ridiculous. It just makes no sense. Mm-hmm. But had that happen when you walk back into the building.

[00:34:39] Now, you know, some people might have left, but then I, you know, people should have been really concerned as well. Yeah. Because even though that might have been a joke or, you know, somebody playing a joke or whatever the case may be, obviously somebody feels that way. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:35:05] So, you know, I mean, and of course, you know, all the talking we've done about Elon and his status right now, you know, it does seem that Elon is running the country. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And on top of that, the scarier part is, okay, somebody hacked into the computer. Like, okay, what else can they hack into? Yeah. Yeah. The fact that they were able to pull that off is really, really crazy.

[00:35:32] I just watched, I think I mentioned this to you earlier, just watched something yesterday, over the weekend, about the, it's called Zero Day. It's on Netflix.

[00:35:53] And it stars Robert De Niro as the former president of the United States who's being pulled out of retirement to help with this big case that happens with, there's a hacker that hacks into the system and talking about how they're going to destroy the world and all of this stuff.

[00:36:21] And he's brought on to help find out who this is. And what you're going to believe it or not, Angela Bassett plays the president of the United States. She's the current president. He's the, he was the president before her. Well, here's the twist. He stepped down for, if you, I'm not going to say why he stepped down, but he stepped down. He was supposed to run for a second term. He only, he was, he was only in the office one term.

[00:36:50] He was supposed to run for a second term and mysteriously decided not to run. She was his vice president and his vice president ended up taking over. Okay. Does that sound familiar? You know, a black vice president, female, by the way. So, but, but the whole thing was about similar, you know, about people being able to hack into our system and be able to do something like what you just said.

[00:37:18] That happened with this thing with Musk and Trump. And, you know, same thing in the movie with what happened in the movie, you know? So we're really at a state where we're really vulnerable with, especially with Elon Musk having as much power as he does. Because he, you know, him being such a tech whiz, he can pretty much do anything he wants. Right. With that type of stuff. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:37:47] And, and, and Trump is letting them. Yeah. Who knows? Musk might've been the person that had that done himself. Yeah. So it's, it's scary because we're in that day and time. We don't know who or what, you know, you can't even look at a picture nowadays without looking at it hard. I know. To make sure it's real or not. You know, it's, it's, it's scary.

[00:38:13] We're, we're in a really scary day and time right now with all that can happen. You know? Yeah. It's, it's really, it's really crazy. Um, but anyway, any more to that story? I'm leaving. No, I mean, that, that, that was better. So of course it just happened, you know, Monday.

[00:38:39] So we'll see if they catch whoever is, uh, in charge of it. E-line or not E-line. We'll see. All right. Well, staying in line with the story that you just talked about, um, I came across this story. It says much of the black middle class was built by federal jobs. That may change. Well, it's already changing.

[00:39:08] Uh, this is the backdrop. It says, um, when Francine Verneen took a job as a clerk at the Internal Revenue Service in Houston in 1983, it was supposed to be a stopgap until something better came along. She didn't expect that 42 years later, she, um, would look back on it as a start of a rewarding career that provided growth in various management positions,

[00:39:38] upward mobility, and the opportunity to build a comfortable life for a family. I enjoyed my career, she said. She retired in 2019. I have no idea when I started that could have, um, that I could make more money. I mean, make the money that I did by the time I left. It is said that many other opportunities to have a similar career could be over. It said,

[00:40:06] For decades, the federal government provided both reliable jobs and guard rails to offset systemic racial bias in hiring and promotion golfers, an alternative for black workers who might be overlooked or ignored in the private sector. They played a crucial role in helping black workers like Verdeen join the middle class and thrive.

[00:40:29] But vast cuts by the Trump administration led by, here we go, Elon Musk, Department of Government Efficiency, are threatening to close down that once dependable path to financial stability. So the government, which has about 3 million employees, is the largest employer in the country.

[00:40:53] At least 75,000 of them accepted by our office and thousands were fired in the last several weeks. Many of the workers fired were either new hires or told they could, they were to go, they were let go for subpar performances. The federal workforce was a means to help build black middle class.

[00:41:23] It hired black Americans at a higher rate than private employers, said Sharia Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents the Education Department employees. As a part of the efforts, President Trump is angling to shut down the Department of Education, a move that will have dramatic repercussions around the country.

[00:41:51] Nearly 30% of education employees are black, according to a 2024 report by the department. Smith said that 74 workers at the department have been let go so far, 60 whom are black. I'm going to stop right there. You see the pattern in the story? Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[00:42:16] You know, oh, and I'm going to read one more line here. It says that the Department of Health and Human Services, who I work for, where more than 1,300 new hires were reportedly laid off, 20% of the staff was black. And at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which recently lost 1,000 employees, 24% of them are black. Now, that's on the federal side.

[00:42:43] You know, I work on the state side. But that's, it almost sounds like targeting in a way, right? Yeah. No, I mean, it is. Because, you know, it's like DEI. They all think DEI means black. And they target everything. It's affecting more whites than blacks right now. Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely affecting more whites than blacks right now. But they know that we're going to be involved in that group, too.

[00:43:12] So, and it's not just us. It's any minority person, really. So, DEI programs, I know when we first started talking about it, we didn't think it would be, we didn't think it would grow into what it is growing into now. Because remember, when I first mentioned it, in one of the stories we were talking about the colleges, you know, and what was going on with, like, schools like Alabama and Florida.

[00:43:38] But now, it's a whole different story now. Right. Because it's affecting everything. The federal government, and I know people personally who have gotten caught up in this. And yes, they are black. One was told they had to go back to work in the office in D.C.

[00:44:05] They had to go to work in D.C. every day. They've been working from home. They live here. They live here, but they had to commute to D.C. every day. That's not what she signed up for. But that's what she has to do to keep her job. And then I know two people that have been put on furlough from their jobs. They're getting paid right now, but they don't know how much longer they're going to get paid.

[00:44:33] It's scary for a lot of people on that side. You know, I had one person who just bought a brand new house out in Landover, Maryland. And they waited and waited and waited until they found the house that they wanted. They had been renting all these years. They finally get to buy their first home after work. And they've been working for the federal government for about 20 years.

[00:45:03] And they've been renting all this time. And they finally bought their first home. And she gets put on furlough a month after closing on the house. That's crazy. So right now, it's day-to-day for her until they let them know what they're going to do. Now, like I said, right now they're paying them.

[00:45:30] But we don't know how long that's going to keep going. So this is where we are. It's a lot going on right now with these jobs and the feds and the programs that they want to cut. You know, if you're a nonprofit, you should be worried, especially if you're a minority-ran nonprofit. The grants, all the stuff that's being fed into these programs.

[00:46:00] Even they said the homeless population, the shelters and everything, they're in big trouble, too. I mean, because a lot of the money that's coming. Everybody's struggling right now, man. So what's your thoughts on this? I mean, pretty much what we said. I mean, it's not just the federal government. It's some of everything. And I feel like everyone, you're either going to start to directly feel it. So kind of like federal employees being let go.

[00:46:28] Or you're going to feel it indirectly when you go to the grocery store, get gas, health care. You know what I mean? So I feel like everybody is going to start to feel it. The question is, will everybody recognize the one source that is causing it? Yep. Yeah, there's a lot. There's definitely a lot. And it's really a shame. It's scary right now.

[00:46:55] I was reading a line from the story that the president's sweeping changes began with ending DEI throughout the government, weaponizing it as a destructive, idealized, can't get the word out.

[00:47:21] Along the way, countless jobs have been lost in an area that was created to develop fair hiring opportunities. It says a lot of black people not only benefited from what they call DEI now, but the original affirmative action programs and the veteran preferences, Casey said, that combination helped a lot of people get a foothold into civil services.

[00:47:47] These efforts, he said, help people get middle-class salaries and build middle-class lives with an ecosystem of race-specific businesses around black communities. Why would you want to stop people from living? Greed. Yeah, it's got to be greed. It's got to be greed. Greed.

[00:48:15] I mean, you know, you got a lot of people. I mean, that's why when you look at a guy like Jeff Bezos, who, you know, people have said is a very nice guy. I mean, I've read articles about him. You know, of course, he's given out, you know, he's given to charities. He's given, he gives a lot of money away, you know, and so forth and so forth. But why would he align himself with this? Right. It just makes no sense to me.

[00:48:43] You know, your company basically has become a part of everybody's lives, you know, because of the convenience of it. When you don't have to leave your house and do what you're doing, you know, just by just hitting a couple buttons on your phone, you know, or on your on your computer. So, you know, it's man.

[00:49:11] I just get so upset when I this kind of stuff, man. It really it really upsets me. It really does. It really does. It's because and you got to understand, you know, you know, I was talking about, you know, turning 65. I've seen so much. In my life, you know, that's happening with the government and, you know, every time a new president comes in or, you know, these programs or whatever, their affirmative action program.

[00:49:38] That was a lightning rod when that happened, because a lot of people, they felt a lot of people were getting jobs that had no business getting the jobs only because they were black or, you know, a person of color. Well, they got rid of the affirmative action program the way it was written.

[00:49:54] But then they managed to bring in these other programs, which were the type programs to kind of masquerade it to make it look better, you know, because, you know, it didn't become just what they call the black thing back then, you know.

[00:50:13] But now here we are again with these DEI programs, you know, every, you know, we look at Trump's cabinet so far, everybody that he's put in positions since he took office. How many people have we seen of color that he brought in? Right, not a lot. Some leadership role. It's been what, two maybe? Something like that. Yeah. The pardons are that that. Yeah, her.

[00:50:42] And maybe the only one of public color, the FBI director. Yeah. Yep. So, like I said, two. Out of, but all these people that he's appointed so far, it's great. And they think about all the ones he let go. Oh, man. Yeah. We want to talk about that. A lot. A lot. I like my man, 21 Savage, does that song a lot. You know.

[00:51:12] Yeah. So, man, we need to pay attention. We need to pay attention to what's going on with these programs and these jobs and everything. Because, believe me, it's, you know, there's always a connection being made with everything. So, you know, it may, it may not affect you right now, but it could affect you later. Right. So, just pay attention.

[00:51:40] Just pay attention to everything that's going on. We got to stop them somehow. We got to figure out a way to stop these people. But right now, you know, even if we got Trump out of office, then we have to deal with Vance and Musk. I mean, you know, and right now, you know, the blues, the blues are taking over. Over. I mean, the red, the red, you know, we got the red right now. But I mean, but we don't have the right blues in the right place. I'm going to put it that way.

[00:52:11] That's what I'm going to say. So, anyway. All right. I'm done. I'm all on. Okay. So, going to Leonard's favorite part of the show, folks. This is Leonard's favorite part of the show. Day's Corner. He can't wait to hear what I'm about to say. So, I'm going to go ahead and put him out of his misery.

[00:52:40] If you could invent a holiday, what would you invent or celebrate or would that holiday be called? You know, if I could invent a holiday, I think I would call it Family Day. Okay. And this would be a holiday where specifically you got together with your families.

[00:53:09] Family, whether, you know, family reunion, whether it's your immediate family, but just something that kind of, I mean, then we have Mother's Day. We have Father's Day. We do birthdays. But, and I mean, Thanksgiving may be, you know, the closest to, you know, families kind of get together Christmas. But, you know, Dave, when is that day during the summertime?

[00:53:33] You know, between April and the end of August where, you know, a day dedicated for families to get together and, you know, fellowship. You know, we always talk about, you know, oh, man, we only see our families at weddings and funerals. So, I mean, this would be a day that, you know, was focused on family. Now, would it be a national holiday? This right here would be a federal holiday.

[00:54:02] Okay, there you go. But don't say the word federal. Okay, I'm on top. Yeah. A national holiday. Keep in mind, you know, the feds were taking back, doing team feds, taking back Martin Luther King. I know. Yeah, so keep that in mind. So, all right, all right. Okay, that's my bet. That's my bet. Now, what about? Wait, hold on. There should be a day that you should be able to set out and there should be some rules in place that you can only have that day off if you're spending it as a family.

[00:54:32] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Two or more. Yeah, there you go. Almost like that HOV lane. There you go. There you go. There you go. So, Dave, what about yourself? If you couldn't have been a holiday, what would you celebrate and what time of the year would it be?

[00:54:53] Well, I think this is a very apropos holiday, which would be Delaware Day. Dave, we already got that. No, we don't. 3-0-2 Day. No, no, no. This is a real Delaware Day. Because keep in mind, we are the state that started it all, you know?

[00:55:20] So, we should have a national holiday just because we signed first. You know what I mean? And we did it all. We had the whole day off, you know? And it would be a day just geared to us, Delawareans. Okay? So, if you lived in the state of Delaware. Nobody else gets it all. Just us. The state of Delaware. That's what I'm saying.

[00:55:47] But it would be a national holiday for the state of Delaware because we are the first state. And we have little events around Delaware Day and all those types of things, you know? I would want it to be during the summertime, you know, where we can enjoy, you know? Where we can celebrate? Spring or summer. Spring or summer. Yeah. Where we can enjoy and do some nice outdoor events or whatever the case may be. But, yeah, Delaware Day is what I would do. That's what I would do.

[00:56:17] Okay. You know, let them know. We're the smallest state. You know, we may be small, but we're mighty. You know what I mean? There you go. Yeah. We're the second smallest state. The second small. I know. Well, no. Hold on. No. We are. Okay. Rhode Island is smaller than Delaware. Rhode Island is smaller than Delaware. So. All right. There it is. But we're the first state, though. See, that's. That is true. Nobody else can claim that. No. None at all. Yeah. So.

[00:56:47] So, there we have it. Folks, how would you answer that question? What holiday would you create and what would you celebrate for that holiday? Let us know. You know, hit us up like you normally do with your thoughts on that. You know, of course, our Facebook pages, you know, Instagram, you know, Twitter. You can hit us up on anything. You know, we're out there. So. So. I guess that's everything we have to talk about tonight.

[00:57:17] You got anything you want to add, Mr. Young? Yeah, Dave. So, why don't you recap how people can celebrate you or celebrate with you coming up? Well. He's speechless, y'all. He's speechless. Yeah. As Leonard has said, you know, if you want to, if you want to send something out to me monetarily,

[00:57:44] you can send it out to dollar sign, um, uh, Laker man, or lowercase letters, L-A-K-E-R-M-A-N. Of course, everybody wondering what that, what that means is because I was a, I'm a big time Laker fan. Always have been. And, uh, Dave, Dave, can I say, so when Dave showed me his 15 year old picture, I was like, he looked like LeBron James.

[00:58:09] Like, Dave, your 15 year old picture looked like a young LeBron James facial feature. So just, just add a eye. Well, do you think if you would pass me at 15 years old out on the street, you think that you would know that was me? You know what I'm saying? No, not at all. No. Yeah. Cause that doesn't look like me, right? To you. Nope. Okay. Okay. All right.

[00:58:34] But it's funny, you know, people that have known me all my life, they say, a lot of them say, oh, I, I would know you anywhere. You haven't changed. You know, that, you know, anyway, Friday, um, Tim, DJ, Tim dog. Um, that's the person you hear in our outro and our, um, intro.

[00:58:59] Um, yeah, Timothy's at the riverfront, um, on Friday night from eight to 12. And we are celebrating my birthday over there. According to him, you know, he's making me the guest of honor. So, um, so for anybody who wants to come over and celebrate with, with us, feel free to do so.

[00:59:26] There is a $5, um, door, um, charge, um, being charged by Timothy's that night. But, um, um, if you want to come over and hang out for some dancing and, you know, be doing some line dancing and all types of different music and whatever the case may be. Um, so come on over and have a good time. Okay. Sounds good. Sounds good. All right. All right.

[00:59:56] Well, folks, that's our show for the night. That's what we're going with and that's what we're sticking to. Thank you for taking the time to listen and we will talk to you next week. All right. Have a good night. Join us next week for another edition of news and trends with your host Dave and Lynn.