Podcasts about Troop

Abbie Robinson Wyss CMF shares her remarkable journey from joining the British Army in 2014 to becoming the first qualified female farrier in the Army in 2024. In this episode, Abbie talks about life in King's Troop, the challenges of Army farrier training, balancing ceremonial duties with horsemanship, and the pressure of qualifying through a demanding apprenticeship program. She also discusses her current pursuit of the AWCF and the unforgettable experience of meeting the late Queen and handmaking shoes for the funeral horses. This conversation offers a unique look at military farriery, dedication to the craft, and the opportunities that come from pushing yourself to the next level. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Subscibe here to hear the full episode and if you do before July 1, 2026, you'll be entered into a draw for a Tyler Joos rounding hammer: mullinsfarrier.supercast.com

The all-new novel of terror from “one of the hottest horror authors on the planet” (Paste) and writer of the #HorrorBookTok sensation The Troop!On a remote island in the Canadian wilderness, five elderly volunteers from different walks of life are given a tantalizing offer: to stall their biological clocks or even reverse them, restoring their lost youth. The chance to put death on pause—forever, perhaps. The remarkable secret lies in the high-tech harnessing of an ancient and extraordinary biological agent…one with no conscience, yet possessed with a single-minded purpose that has helped it persist for eons: the will to survive. The dark heart of unbridled human ambition finds its apex in an unholy experiment that now tests the limits of both creator and subject, eclipsing all bounds of morality and sanity….Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/houseofmysteryradio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Preview for Later Today: Judy Dempsey analyzes the strategic uncertainty caused by potential U.S. troop reductions in Europe. She highlights how a lack of clear communication regarding these changes creates confusion and security concerns among various NATO allies.1909 BRUSSELS

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Retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective Gary Jenkins sits down with former NYPD officer Jimmy Dennedy and NYC Brooklyn prosecutor Michael Vecchione for a gripping discussion on violent crime, justice, and redemption. Jimmy recounts the shocking murder of NYPD officers Rocco Laurie and Gregory Foster by the Black Liberation Army, while Michael reveals the challenges of prosecuting those responsible. The conversation then shifts to something unexpected—redemption. After retiring, Jimmy began working in prison ministry, where he witnessed firsthand how even hardened criminals, including mobsters, can change their lives. This episode dives deep into: The reality of cop killings in New York City The struggle to prosecute violent offenders Inside stories from mob cases Redemption and transformation inside prisons Get the book Hard Guys Cry. If you're interested in true crime, mafia history, and real law enforcement stories, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Subscribe for more mafia history and true crime stories every week. Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. [0:00] Hey, all you wiretappers, good to be back here in studio, Gangland Wire. This is Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective and now turned podcaster. And I have another retired cop here on the show, Jimmy Dennedy. Jimmy, I tell you what, I had it down, Dennedy, like Kennedy. And our friend who’s been on here several times, Michael Vecchione. Welcome, Michael. Welcome, Jimmy. Thank you very much for having us, Gary. Thank you. All right. Michael has several books out there. He’s, he’s prosecuted the mob. That’s how I got onto him. He prosecuted the, he had something to do with the mob cops, Louis Eppolito. And I can’t remember exactly now. I should have made a note on that, Michael. What was the name of that book? [0:48] The name of the book? Friends of the Family. Friends of the Family. Is that those two New York PD coppers that were in the pay of? Louis Eppolito and Louis Eppolito was one of the cops. And you know what, Gary? during the, when Jimmy, when you talk to Jimmy, Jimmy has a kind of a, an odd situation regarding Louie Eppolito. And, and it’s a good story. I think he should tell you, tell your listeners. All right. Great. We look forward to that, Jimmy and Jimmy Denity, who was a New York city policeman. And he has a book, tough dies to cry. Hard guys cry. Let me do that over again. Yeah. I said, I left, I had it written down here and he had Jimmy Denity is here with us. He is a retired New York City copper, and he has a book, Hard Guy’s Cry. So welcome, Jimmy. [1:34] Good morning. Thank you very much for having me. All right, Michael, you and Jimmy, did you guys work together a little bit on the job? Did you know each other back then? Yeah, we certainly did. We’ve probably known each other now for maybe 45 or more years. I got to know Jimmy because I got assigned a case involving, unfortunately, the death, the murder of two New York City police officers who were assigned to Jimmy’s precinct at the time in Bed-Stuy. And it was a case that had been tried twice before I got it. And there were hung juries in both of the cases. And the DA at that point was going to just simply decide to not prosecute it anymore. And the head of the policeman’s union went to the DA, the district attorney, and said, listen, just give it one more shot. So I was at the time the head of a group called the Major Offense Bureau in the Brooklyn DA’s office. And I got, I’ll never forget this. I was sitting at my desk and the boss of the unit, the bureau that I was part of, came into my office and said, come with me. We’ll go to see the DA. [2:41] I didn’t know. I thought maybe I was in trouble for some reason, but I sat down and he said, listen, I want to give you one more shot. I want to take this case to trial one more time and you are the guy that we want to do it. So I was happy to do it. I tried a lot of cases by that point. And, and the best part of the whole situation, Gary is I met Jimmy Danity. That was, he, we became fast friends and I got to tell you a little funny story. He had been involved in the two other trials. [3:11] But when he sat down with me, the first thing he said to me was, or one of the first things was, do you eat lunch? I said, yeah, of course I eat lunch. Why? He said, the guy that tried the case before you and the one before him, they didn’t eat lunch. And by the time the afternoon came, their energy was all waned, had waned. And he said, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to have lunch on your desk every time you come back for the lunch break from the trial. And he did. There was a sandwich waiting for me every day when I came back, and he is the guy that brought it to me. But before the trial, we went out. Me, Jimmy, and detective from the Homicide Bureau, who was assigned to the case. [3:57] Tony Martin, went out to the scene. And again, another one of these scenes, which I’ll never forget. The scene was in the middle of Bed-Stuy on Troop Avenue. Jimmy, that was the, yeah. [4:10] Willoughby and Troop. Willoughby and Troop. So we’re on the street and the three of us are standing there right on the sidewalk. And we look around and I said to Tony, did you hit every one of these buildings looking for witnesses? Because there was a problem with the case with the witnesses. One had died in a very strange way. And so he looked around I don’t know if you remember this, Jimmy And he pointed to a building Diagonally across from the spot Where the two cops were shot And he said, Mike We never went into that building, And Jimmy and Tony went into the building, canvassed it and came up with two new witnesses. And so it was a wonderful experience working with Jimmy. He was a hard worker. He really was tied to this case in the sense that these guys were his friends. They were two guys who were gunned down for really no reason by a member of the Black Liberation Army at the time who was part of the Attica riots here in New York. He was actually one of the guys who started the Attica riots in New York. And he was out and he was with another guy. And we believe that they were going to meet another one of their fellow. [5:27] I don’t want to call them gang members, to set up a robbery. And that’s why they were in Brooklyn. And the case had so many ups and downs and twists and turns. And it was something which I obviously will never forget. But the best part about it, I’ll repeat myself, is that I met Jimmy Denity. And he and I have been friends from that point on until today. And so let me just get to the book because Hard Guy’s Cry to me was a labor of love. It really was. I got a call one afternoon and I’m sitting out on my deck and Jimmy calls me and we just got to talking and he asked me about doing a book about his life and his story. And I said, it’s great. There are lots of books out there about cops and street cops and what they’ve done on the street. He said, so he said, oh, but he started to now expand on it. And then he told me the second part of his career, which was the prison ministry in the federal prison and a state prison here in New York. And I said, Jimmy, you buried the lead. That’s the part of this book that I can sell to a publisher. Because Gary, you probably know this. You probably interviewed these guys who do books when they retire. This was just going to be one of those. Jimmy’s career on the street was terrific. [6:47] The only problem was there are lots of guys who have books out there like that. So when he told me the story about his prison ministry, I was working at the time with a partner of mine, Jerry Schmetterer, who has now passed away. And we both talked about it and we said, this is definitely a story. This is definitely a book. And it’s been a long journey, Jim, until we got to this point. We’ve had COVID. We’ve had the Minneapolis, the guy in Minneapolis who was killed and agents saying to us, nobody wants to publish a book about a good cop. Nobody wants to do that. You can’t sell this until I didn’t give up. I really didn’t give up. And I took the proposal and I rewrote it after Jerry died. And then I sent it out to a couple of publishers and one of them grabbed it and said, yes, I want to do this. And then believe it or not, Gary, his publishing company hit the skids in terms of being able to spend money. He went out of business. So I had one more shot and I gave it to the publisher of my novels. [7:55] And she finally is the one who said, yes, let’s do this. And then here we are today. [8:01] It’s really, again, I said this before, but it was a journey of love. It really was to tell this guy’s story. and we, I know I’m repeating myself, but we became such good friends that our families got to know each other. I went to Jimmy’s house for holidays. We really just became very good friends. And here we are. And I’m so happy that I was able to write this book because I really believe that the people who read it will say, wow, this is a great guy. This is a great guy. And he is. Interesting. Hey, Jimmy, I got a couple of questions for you. Now, you worked, that was the Rocco and Lori case, if I remember right. And everybody who worked big city policing at the time, that scared the dog shit out of us. It was like these guys just laid in wait for a couple patrolmen to walk by, stepped out and shot them. That was my impression. And I worked that kind of a neighborhood. And we were jumping. We were pretty jumpy for quite a while. And it wasn’t solved for a while. We knew it was some kind of a political act, or at least that’s what we’re led to believe. Did you guys feel the same way in New York? Let me just stop you for a second. The case that I did with Jimmy was Norman Cerullo and Christina Soames years later. The one that you’re talking about, Rocco Laurie and Gregory Foster, was much earlier. [9:21] Jimmy was involved in it because he was a good friend of Rocco Laurie. They went to the academy together. But I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to make sure that we were talking about the right thing. [9:33] So that kind of a case, you actually went through two of them. So tell us about your feelings about that. Did that, how did that affect your dealings on the street? I was in the academy with Rocco Laurie, right? And we had both come out of the Marine Corps at the same time. And we worked out together. We boxed together. And some of the guys were slacking off. The guy’s name was Mr. Clean. He was the instructor. He would say, okay, now you’re going to box with Denny or you’re going to box with Laurie. Of course, they were slacking. We weren’t slacking. Oh, God. That was me. They said, Jenkins, go over there and box with one of those guys. No brother in Lime. [10:12] So we became close we we knew his wife he knew that time it was my girlfriend but that was my wife we had gone out to dinner and he was a really good man in the academy i won the gun for physical fitness he won the gun for overall excellence and we got pictures with our guns together and stuff. So I was working at midnight with this guy, Victor Grillo, nice guy. And a job came over. Cops shot in Manhattan. We were in Brooklyn. It’s on the other side of the bridge. So we’re saying, wait. And that became the ninth precinct. That’s where Rocco worked. So we used to call him the Rock. I hope it’s not the Rock. And it turns out it was him. These guys executed him. They were basically a domestic terrorist group. They were robbing banks. They were killing cops for no reason. They just walked past them, turned around, opened up on them. And they shot them all over the face to the groin. And then they took their guns and shot them. And some of the guns actually wound up out in St. Louis or in West Area. [11:16] So did it affect me? Absolutely. I became, I don’t want to say callous, but I was very leery of everybody. [11:26] And I started, my niche was guns. I locked up a lot of guys for a lot of guns. But anything to do with it, Black Liberation Army or anything, I used to accumulate information, intelligence information, and my locker was full of it. I’d lock up a guy, and they used to have years ago the little address books. I used to take their address books, and they would ask me information, the FBI, the Major K-Squad, Jimmy, have any information on this guy? And which I did many times, right? Fast forward several years later, I’m out, and I’m having a few cocktails, and then i drove back to the precinct the 79th precinct to meet a friend of mine bobby perry, and while i was at the front of the desk there’s a place they could check your messages if anybody calls you messages so i’m checking my messages and it came over shots fired then it came over cop shot then it came over two cop shot then i drove down to my civilian car right it was dark, and it was like help you know radio card door is open you know I mean blood all over the place he also shot his friend right and he’s laying it dead with a gun in his hand his blood all over the place it was a nightmare so let me figure this out but now everybody name others coming down because he’s cop-killing students a doubleheader so to speak and then I see the blood going across the street and the blood stops. [12:53] So obviously somebody was shot. It’s not our guys. And then I assume he got into a car. [13:00] So I’m trying to figure, is he going to go to the Spanish neighborhood or deeper into the black neighborhood? And I said, let me go to the hospital. So I drive to the hospital to see if they need blood or anything. And out of the corner of my eye, when I passed Lexington Avenue, I see there had been a car accident. A guy hit parked cars. I kept going. And then I told Mike, you know, my father gave us a game when we were kids. It was called Game in the States. at a map of the united states and you had two little electric wires and you plug one into the state and there’s a list of capitals on the other side and when you hit that the light would go on you got the right answer and as god is the lord a light went off in my head just like it was the right state capital yeah went to the hospital and they did you know and then this guy paulie has ever seen him he’s crying he was in plain clothes anti-crime i said paulie listen to me Two things. Once, I want to come in the car. I’m going to go back to the scene. Because when I got there, there was a Spanish guy on the pool across the street. And he was a little biggazy type guy himself. But he used to give me information. He used to give me information on his competitors. Yeah. [14:10] Yes. So when he saw me, you know, he ran. Right? I wanted to come back and talk to him. But on the way back, I said, Paul, I’m going to stop at this accident scene. This is, it’s just there. Yeah. Go back there. Ambulance is starting to pull away fire truck was there pulling away so i went over there they said it’s an accident scene the guy’s injured i said what kind of injury is it the guy said well he dressed his wound because he won he refused medical aid this guy so i said i just dressed his wound i saw undress the wound let me look at it i’m not undressing the wound i went over and i just ripped it off and it’s a gunshot wound yeah right yeah so all he had a radio calls the sergeant down and they bring a witness from willoughby avenue she comes down she says that’s the guy who killed the two cops so we get him put him in the ambulance right in the ambulance he’s a big boy this guy right and he goes reach and grabs my gun from my holster so now it’s like an arm wrestle for the gun between me him and paulie saracena and during this arm wrestle necessary force was used and the necessary force was used until he dropped the gun or he got the gun from him. Goes to the hospital. He has a Derringer behind his belt buckle and he has police handcuff key. [15:38] These guys are the real deal. Yeah, that’s a real deal. They train for this stuff. They associate but others that train they shoot you know what i mean so it’s just uncanny that rocko was my friend and he was murdered in a double police homicide and then a few years later i lock up a guy from the same team that killed two of my friends you know it was a nightmare and then we went to trial and that’s how i met mike and it’s a very. [16:09] It’s pressing on your brain. Yeah. Something like this happens. And then, and I don’t have to tell you, Gary, but then you get other cases. So you’re making more gun arrests, but you still have this. You know what I mean? It’s, it’s tough. It’s tough. But it was. I just want to interrupt for one second. One of the, Jimmy mentioned her. They brought a witness back to the scene to identify the, the bad guy. And, uh, and she was a great witness. She was there when the shooting occurred. She was actually moving into the building that the shooting happened in front of. And so the case was, we had a couple of, she was the best eyewitness to the case. And as Jimmy and Tony Martin, the detective who were assigned together after the actual arrest, because we had, they had to get the case together and look for more witnesses, et cetera. [16:58] They went one day to see this particular young woman to talk to her and see what was, if everything was still good, if she was okay. Turns out she was in the hospital nobody knew this she had gone into the hospital we were told because she had a cold she died in the hospital gary from a cold which is what we thought turns out she had encephalitis but the thing was at the time we said who goes into a hospital number one with a cold and who dies from a cold so we at that point not me but i wasn’t on the case yet, but others. And then when Jimmy told me this later on, I said to myself. [17:42] It’s got to be some connection to the bad guys. Maybe they poisoned her. Maybe they did something and we looked into it. It turned out, Jimmy, what was the disease that she had? I think she had herpes viral encephalitis in the brain. It’s a possibility that it can be induced. Yeah. So that’s what we looked at. And the medical examiner at the time of the death never really looked. The DA who had the case at the time thought, ah, this is a slam dunk. We had this witness, that witness. Jimmy arrests the guy and he’s got the bullet, which another thing happened. He wouldn’t allow the medical people to take the bullet out of his leg. It was the cop’s bullet. Yeah. So we wouldn’t, he wouldn’t let him do it. So we had to go with a, an x-ray of the bullet at the trial instead of the bullet itself. But it was, it’s a case with, as I said before, excuse me, many twists and turns. And it’s the whole story is in the book. And I don’t want to take away from Jimmy’s story here, but I have a legal question. You couldn’t get a search warrant to take the bullet out of a person. Is that? [18:51] We tried, and you know what the judge said? No. Uh-huh, okay. I just, I never ran into that. I’ve heard that before where the bullet stays inside and you can’t get it. I just. [19:03] I tried. The judge wouldn’t give us the search, the ability to search, quote unquote, which meant taking the bullet out of his leg. Anyway, so that’s where we, that’s where we met. And it was, it was quite a case. And Jimmy, I understand you, you go through your career and you see all these horrible things and you’re harding yourself. And you know, the title of your book, hard girls, hard boys, hard men cry. I don’t know why I got hard guys cry. I don’t know why I can’t remember. I should remember from Norman Mailer’s tough guys don’t dance, but hard guys cry. And so you harden yourself all those years, but then something happened in your life. Apparently that changed, changed that. I know after I retired, partly what happened to me is I became a lawyer and I started dealing with people from not particularly criminals, but many times relatives of people who had gone to jail. And I worked for public defenders and really got to know people on the other side and realize that we’re just two sides of the same coin many times trying to get along and trying to get by. So what happened in your life that changed that, your attitude? [20:11] When I retired, there was an old man who was a farmer, and it was like a late-year-type situation. This farmhouse was falling apart. The second floor was owned by raccoons. He had electricity in one room and no running water, but he was the calmest, nicest, most spiritual guy you ever wanted to meet. Almost no teeth. He had one tooth. And there was Louis Adamski. We used to call him Louis the farmer. So I used to take care of Louis. was taking over my house for Thanksgiving, Christmas, driving down this long driveway, see how he’s doing. And I didn’t see him for a while. So I drove down the driveway one particular day and I said, Louie, I haven’t seen you. You haven’t called. He said, he had bladder cancer. I said, really? I said, wow. He said, you had two surgeries. I said, you’re going for follow-up treatment? And he said, I’m supposed to go every 90 days, but he had no insurance, zero, no Social services, nothing. And the doctors were suing him. And they wanted his farm. He owned one-tenth of his farm. It had about 80 acres. But it was heirs. Everybody in his family had passed away. I said, Louie, you got to get follow-up treatment. So there was a city that’s not about a half hour away called Newburgh, New York. And there was a urologist I was familiar with. So I told him the story. This guy has nothing. He said to me, if you will drive him, I will treat him like the president of the United States. [21:40] So for two and a half years, just about every month, sometimes twice a week, it all depends when his visits were, I would drive Louie. So it was like an all day affair almost because I have my own business, so I don’t show up for work. What do I care? So I take care of Louie all this time and my friends are patting me on the back saying, oh, you’re Louie’s angel. So one particular day we go in and… [22:03] He, if Louis checker, he calls me into the, uh, his consultation room and he says, so your friend’s cancer is back. She got to be kidding me. He said, yeah, I feel it on his prostate. He said, he has someone for biopsy Friday. This was on a Wednesday. I said, I don’t know how he’s going to get there. It’s an old day. I said, doc, listen, I’m married to this guy for two and a half years. I said, I’ll take him. He said, you sure? It was an old day. I said, doc, I don’t care. He said, all right. He said, I’ll tell you what, as long as you’re going to take them, your PSA is just borderline high. He said, I feel there’s nothing on your prostate, but if you’re going to take it, let me give you a biopsy too. I said, fine, I don’t care. So I take, we both get the biopsy. The next Wednesday, he calls them both of us in. I have cancer as well, worse than his, right? So he got radiation. I went out to New York City. There was a top flight surgeon in Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. And I told him the story like I’m telling you now. So he said, you got to cut that out of there. You don’t want it in there. So they cut me a half. They took it out. And in the recovery room, he comes in and he says to me, you weren’t Louis’ angel. Louis was your angel. He said, you had a C-grade cancer. It was starting to spread, but I got everything. [23:15] So he said, you would have been dead about a year and a half. He said, because you had no signs, no symptoms. By the time you had the symptoms, it would be all over. Yeah. So it changes the way you think that I was invited to go on to this, a religious retreat weekend, a Cresillo weekend. I didn’t want to go. I’m not a holy roller. It’s not my cup of tea, but I socially boxed in like friends. So then your wife has to go too. So my wife, Noraline said, oh, I’ll go. And I said, oh, yeah, now I got to go. So I go on this week. it’s it’s thursday friday saturday sunday you can’t bring a watch you didn’t have cell phones then right so you’re stuck there so i went and i hooked up for a couple of other ex-marines and this actor mike was poorly he was on the sopranos so i sit in the back like we’re just going to ride this one out oh we can write it out it turns out that it was very moving, it’s very moving and people spoke that thought they were like punks i knew them indirectly they had quite a story to tell and then, weekend was over and on the way back it was November and I was telling Mike I rolled the windows down it was like spring, spring in my mind you see things differently like these computer generated pictures you see what it is but if you stare at it long enough another picture comes out within the picture and kind of life came out of life for me I saw things differently, Then these guys asked me to go into the prison. [24:42] Listen, I say, listen, you’re a carpenter. You’re a plumber. You don’t know what these guys are. I’ve thrown these guys down stamps and shot a guy at my house. Crazy. Again, I’m socially boxed in. So we go up to the prison. It was 41 of us, 41 of us. It’s called the Kairos. It’s an interdenominational… [25:01] Prison ministry. So I sit in a big circle, piece of paper, it passes around. When you get it, you have to say who you are, where you’re from. So I get it. I said, my name’s Jimmy Danity. I live in Orange County, New York. I’m married. I have two children, and I retired from the Oak City Police Department. They booed me. I told Mike, it was like an old dog growling. Yeah. Yeah. I said, what am I doing here? So the next day, because you had to sleep up in the prison too, The next day, you’re at a table. So you have an inmate on either side. So there’s like maybe nine people at the table. And there’s three of us, six of them. And don’t ask them what they did. Never referred them as a prisoner, as a resident. They were like, guys, I grew up with their neighbor. I said, what did you do? You stupid. So it becomes, it was a religious weekend. But also, it’s practical life. And you guys were good. You know what I mean? I got along well with them. So we did every day and it was friday saturday sunday they finished and that’s it i’m done i’m done with this i said i’d do it and i’m saying i wonder if any of my guys would show up to a wednesday night they have a wednesday night follow-up at this organization i wonder if any of my guys would be there so you know what let me show let me go to one wednesday right all my guys. [26:22] Oh, my gosh. And that was the only, Gary, that was the only table where all of them showed up again. So that’s why he knew that this was the right thing for him. I’m sorry, Jim. I just want to know. And so this was still in the prison. Yeah. Back up the prison. Yeah. And they invited these guys. If you want, you can come to this follow up. At that time, every Wednesday at six o’clock, they could go into the chapel to this particular group meeting. So I just want to see if any of my guys are going to show up. They all showed up and then the volunteers drop off and then i said let me do another wednesday, and another wednesday and it comes like everybody wants to talk to you it’s like when you go into the pet store where puppies say they want you to pick them like pick me and it you get you wind up with a group i tell mike they’re my guys and then you wind up it’s a spiritual thing no question about it right it’s brand involved and everything but you go through life with these guys and a lot them have a lot of crazy situations yeah and one guy is a mafia guy and i think frankie and he wants to say jimmy this new guy he wants to talk to your jug it’s all right so he takes me behind this little interdenomination altar they got there right so i said hey don’t you he says remember me i said no he said you should you broke my nose so i said when did i break your nose He said. [27:46] Yeah, in the park on 53rd Street where we used to play hockey. He said, your brother, I remember you. I mentioned his name, his last name. I said, you were messing with the park attendant. I slammed a basketball in his face. You know what I mean? He never forgot it. They told Frankie, yeah, he was crazy before he went to the Marine Corps. I’d make guys in there. [28:04] I worked. Yeah. The drug cases that they had. [28:09] You know, I knew who their bosses were. I testified in Philadelphia against one of these guys’ big bosses. And it’s just, it was like almost an inside straight. It was like meant to be. It was meant to be. And then my parish priest, so then I started, I was in the denominational night. The Catholic guys had nothing. I started a Catholic night with a few other good guys, my friend Brian and a few other guys, right, on Thursday. So now I’m going there Wednesday and Thursday. So my parish priest said, the state maximum security doesn’t have anything like this. Let’s start one there. So I’m going Wednesday, the federal prison, Thursday to the state max. You know, and it, I did it for 25 years, two days a week. Wow. And if the guys in Brooklyn, where I was a cop, knew I was doing this, they say, wrong guy, definitely. Somebody else, you got the wrong guy. Yeah. It’s the way the good Lord leads you. Now, something changed in your life and it’s not like you had any control of it. It just, it changed. You opened yourself up. It seems to me like it. And you just didn’t have any choice but to go down this path. And you know what it is also, Gary, it’s also like you’re preventing crime. You’re doing the same thing only from the inside. From the inside, you want to change the way they think, the way they act. And there’s a million things I could tell you how I was able to change things in a prison. They’re going to stab somebody. The guy who was a rat. [29:32] And they didn’t like him. I didn’t like him. And I told him, listen, I like the guy. He said, you like the guy? Don’t get involved in this. I said, do what you want to do. I like the guy. They never touch the guy. Because if they do something like that, then they’re going to hurt you. [29:46] Gary, I think Jimmy should tell you, he’s talking about the effect he had on these guys. What really was the point of the prison ministry was to essentially make these guys, I think, better people and to change their lives. I think you should tell him, ask Jimmy, tell him the story of the Boston mobster because this one, this story has, it really hits home as to exactly what effect he had on someone who was one of guys that you might have on your show. someday. This guy was a really bad guy. And he was up there with Whitey Bulger, et cetera, in Boston. So I think it’s worthwhile to tell the story. And it really hits home in terms of how effective Jimmy was after being effective on the street, locking up these guys, what he did with the prison. So if you have a bit of time, I think it’s worthwhile to hear the story. Yeah, let’s hear it. I always want to hear stories about mobsters, anyhow. Yep. Go ahead, Jim. We were up at the federal prison, and it was during the holiday season, right? And the volunteer chaplain was Father Paul Papara, and he was giving a talk on forgiveness. So we had all these wise guys. It was a mess. They had all different guys. This particular time, a couple of wise guys, they had their arms folded, and they said, Father, you want me to forgive the guy that ratted me out? [31:05] He’s home with his family, and I’m here doing X amount of years left on my bid. So I raised my hand. so I said listen if this guy is lying and put you in prison for no reason shame on him he should rot in hell but if he just exposed what you did anyway you know you did it if you did it the good lord see you live in a fishbowl the guy just exposed you for what you did that’s, You have no bitch here, pal. Jimmy, this guy Jimmy, he’s a different name than him. Jimmy stands up and he says, listen, I’ve been in jail. I’ve killed people. I don’t want to, I forgive anybody. I want forgiveness. I’ll forgive anybody. So that was it. Eventually, Jimmy, a couple years later, goes home. So he called me at my office a couple years later and he wanted me to write a letter of reference to work at the docks with Homeland Security. I said, I don’t know how to write it. Put down that I was a prisoner and just what you thought of me. No problem. So I met him in the prison, stuff like that, right? [32:03] About a year after that or so, I get a call from him again. He says, hey, Jimmy, you got time? Hey, Jimmy. I said, good. I got all the time in the world for you. He said, what’s up, pal? He said, I was on a train platform. He says, and I see this guy. Him and his associate tried to kill me. They had stabbed me 13 times. He said, I already took care of his friend. And I walked up to him like a face-to-face with him. Then he recognized me the guy turned white and urinated all over himself because he knows he’s there jimmy says to me i put my finger on his face and i told him you know that thing you’re worried about right get out of here i forgive you i get the fuck out of here now and he says to me jimmy it would have been easier for me to clip this guy and to forgive the guy but i forgave him, And I’m saying, Jimmy, I’m so proud of you, I can’t, just, and he, for him to call me to tell me how he responded to that situation, you know, which was completely out of character to the old guy, the old Jim. He was very proud of himself, and I was very proud of him. [33:09] So that’s the story Mike has told. It was the story, quite frankly, Gary. Didn’t he have one of the Westies in there with him? They were some particularly brutal crew in New York City. Yeah, yeah, he did. [33:25] We had a few of them up there. We had Jimmy Coonan, who started the Westies. Oh, okay. Jimmy was there, and I was friendly with Jimmy because I knew guys that he knew. The guys at Otisville Prison is a high medium. [33:38] Lewisburg is a max so when guys behave even a max they could come down to the media so when he came down he never came to the services and stuff we were talking all the way on the side but another fellow was a Westie a tough guy you know what I mean they would, drive through jewelry stores, 50 miles an hour go inside and rob everything but they would go in there before with their girlfriends looking good dressed nice they knew where this stuff was and they would take everything and he wound up getting locked up for almost like a Lufthansa type thing at the airport only they got caught so he was at my first weekend in the prison and we became very close friends and I tried to help him and he responded very positively, and he’s sitting in a circle there’s a cross, whoever has the cross has the microphone, nobody interrupts when you’re done, the next guy talks, he was talking and we finished, the Spanish kid so the Spanish kid is talking and he’s talking, so I told him what are you talking for Rich he can’t be talking like that the kid’s talking so he didn’t come for a few months then he comes back right and we’re sitting there talking and then he has a cross and he puts his head down. [34:54] And he starts talking and he says, you know, something happened to me. You can’t explain it. You had a Spanish kid in the next cell, right? It was a new guy. They robbed the sneakers and the kid had no sneakers. I know he’s got his head down. Now I’m thinking maybe he robbed the kid’s sneakers, right? He says, I gave him my sneakers because I had an extra pair. And as he’s telling the story, his head is down. The floor is gray, but getting darker, the teardrops. He’s telling the story he’s crying and then he says maybe I’m not all bad after all yeah I said how can you think of yourself like that he eventually goes home so, we my wife Norley and I get invited to his wedding which is a no-no but the guy was home so and the wedding is on Mulberry Street in Little Italy. [35:46] Yeah so we go down at the wedding and we’re like the oddball there but He could introduce us to enough people, you know, and if you see change in people, it’s wonderful. If on the street, if you go to these religious retreats, people go jumping out like a gazelle. But in prison, if an elephant jumps in it, it’s a miracle. Yeah. I mean, if you see somebody that thinks that they’re ugly, they’re not ugly inside. So I found it very rewarding. And. They, I didn’t think they’d respond to retired law enforcement, but they responded well. Yeah. Because I spoke their language. Yeah. So it lasted 25 years, Gary. Yeah. I’ve got a couple of guys here in Kansas city that it’s not a spiritual kind of a thing, but I’ve become friends with them. And one guy told me, he’s fine. He said, he said, I can talk to you and you understand what I’m talking about. He said, all the rest of the people in my life anymore, cause he’s out of the life. He said, they don’t understand what I’m talking about. He said, I don’t have to get back into life, but I can talk to you and you know, you know, the people I’m talking about, you know what I’m talking about. I said, yeah, I do. [36:56] So obviously in case it was pretty obvious that we were, when we started to hear all these stories, when he told, told Jerry and I the story of the, the mobster who was crying because given the sneaker, that’s where the books, the title of the book comes from, art guys cry. But there’s one other guy in there that you should ask him about. And that is we had this, I don’t even know what to call him. He was really an oddball guy, a criminal in New York. He was a rich guy who owned a lot of, he ran art galleries and collected art galleries and collected paintings and got into the art world and was advising rich people as to what art they were buying. And it turns out he was basically a sadist. And he had another guy with him who he and the other guy wound up, he didn’t get charged with this, his partner did, wound up killing somebody. And when they found the body buried laying in the woods in upstate New York, he had one of those. [38:02] Sadomasochistic masks on him, his black mask. And this individual was one of Jimmy’s guys and he was a hardcore, am I right, Jimmy, in terms of not wanting help at all. He was just the kind of guy who, you know, if you help them, it was going to be a miracle. And he did. He helped them and it’s a miracle. And it’s worthwhile to tell the story about this guy. His name was Andrew Crispo. He’s no longer alive. And he was all over the newspapers here in New York City because of the whole masochistic, the sadomasochist activity that he was involved in. And that the picture of the dead body with that black mask on was all over the newspapers. And this guy, we have his picture in the book. If you see him, it’s butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He looked like the nicest guy in the world. Businessman. Turns out he was really one of the worst guys in terms of how he treated people. And Jimmy finally got to him. It was, to me, one of the more miraculous transformations when I heard all of the stories was this one because of what he was on the outside and what he became after Jimmy had him and he got out. He did not repeat his life the way that he was before here. Chris Bowe was a tough guy, right, Jimmy, in terms of getting to him? [39:28] Andrew, Sky Andre brought him down to one of our groups. And he asked me if he could bring his friend down the shirt. Everybody’s welcome, of course. And you’ve been around tough guys your whole life. Everybody’s a tough guy. You’re a tough guy. Everybody’s a tough guy. This guy had no muscle tone. He was like ashing in color. He looked like a raccoon. He had like rings around his eyes. And he was like creepy, creepy. So he came. And then he came for about seven years all the time. You get to know him, right? And he got grabbed for that sero-masochistic murder, but they couldn’t prove it. He got locked up, attempted kidnapping, the three-year-old daughter of the federal trustee. That’s why he was in jail now federal jail but he if you make a long story short he, doesn’t know who his parents are right and i’m not bleeding on i’m just telling you the way it is, he was dropped off at an orphanage as an infant and i was there for sentencing and this is what the judge said mr crispo he said before i sentence you i’d like you to know that i researched your history as a newborn you were dropped off in an orphanage right you remain there for 18 years where you were repeatedly beaten up and raped and. [40:47] But after leaving there, you managed to raise yourself up to get on the top of the art world, even owning a world-renowned art gallery in New York City. He said, for that, he said, I give you credit. However, then he banged him for seven years on the other thing. But he came down, and he had nothing spiritually. And if you sit with him and you talk with him, he kind of listened. He came around. [41:13] Like I told Mike, there was another guy. colombian guy his wife used to bring his daughter to work all the time so he came into the group a little late and he’s crying and then i said what’s the matter he said he said i’m not gonna see my daughter for two weeks i said well the comment told me once there’s a price for loving the price for loving is the absence of love you have to experience the love to miss it mr andrew who was sitting on our group andrew could you tell him a little bit about yourself oh yeah he said see the visiting room that you were in with your wife and the child, I’ve never been in there, and I’ll never be in there. And they said, there’s nothing worse than being alone, than being alone and no one cares. [41:56] And he came, and the rings went from his eyes, and then he became involved in all this other stuff. And he actually became a kind guy. He got involved with the church and things like that. And then he eventually went home. I’ll tell you the money he had. You need the money for an appeal? He sold one painting for $2.46 million. Oh wow the attorney’s fee that’s just one thing he had money but he had nothing yeah he had nothing and then when he went home he used to correspond you know and he’d write beautiful things thanks for the prayers thanks for your wife how’s your dog it’s not the same guy but he wasn’t like like what he’s tattooed tough guys he was like creepy tough and at the end when he left my opinion He was not. So if you can help somebody, it’s nice to help somebody if you can. Yeah. That’s interesting. That’s a true shift in the personality and to give somebody some spiritual hope in their life that they can, from what you’re describing to what he was to what he left when he left. That’s amazing. Exactly. That’s an amazing story. [43:01] There it is. Cry, The Journey of a Tough Cop from the Mean Streets to a Prison Ministry, Jimmy Dennedy and Michael Vecchione. Jimmy and Michael, I appreciate you guys so much for coming on and telling these stories. And guys, there’s a lot more stories just like this and better in the book. I’ll have links to get it down in the show notes. [43:22] And guys, you got anything last words you want to say? Anything you left out? [43:28] Gary, listen, keep getting those pension checks. [43:33] Yes, I will. I told my wife, Nora, put my feet in potting soil. If my toenail grows, that’s a sign of life. Keep getting that check. Really? [43:44] Thanks so much, Jimmy. All right. I just want to thank you. You’ve been terrific. And I hope that, I really mean this when I say this, people who get this book and read it or listen to it or however they want to get it into their, their mind, they’re going to love it because this guy’s story is just fantastic. And we touched on a few things, but we didn’t really touch, we didn’t get into the real meat that that’s there. And it’s, it was a, again, a pleasure to do this. So I’ve got one guy, I got one guy I talked to that has prison stories. I tell you what guys, there are so many great stories that come out of the penitentiary. It’s just, it’s amazing. I think part of these people don’t have much else current to talk about, so they tell stories from their past, and you get some great stories coming out of the prisons. Thanks a lot, guys. Gary. Thank you. God bless my friend.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sought to reassure allies after US rowed back on plans last week to cancel long held plans to deploy 4,000 US troops to Poland and instead send an extra 5,000 troops there. The move has caused confusion amongst NATO allies.Also in the programme: Thousands of Cubans have taken part in a state-organized protest in the capital, Havana, in support of the country's former leader, Raul Castro, who was charged with murder and other crimes in the United States this week; and Carlo Petrini who began the Slow Food movement as a protest against a McDonalds opening in Rome has died at the age of seventy six.Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets press after NATO foreign ministers meet in Helsingborg, Sweden. Credit: JOHAN NILSSON/TT/EPA/Shutterstock

In our news wrap Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with NATO allies amid confusion over recent statements on U.S. troop levels in Europe, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are banning funeral wakes and large gatherings to try and slow the Ebola outbreak and a judge in Tennessee dismissed the human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with NATO allies amid confusion over recent statements on U.S. troop levels in Europe, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo are banning funeral wakes and large gatherings to try and slow the Ebola outbreak and a judge in Tennessee dismissed the human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Dr. Constanze Stelzenmüller, the director of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, joined "Forbes Newsroom" to discuss how European leaders are viewing the current state of the war against Iran and the whiplash regarding commentary on U.S. military presence in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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For review:1. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez insisted Cuba "poses no threat" to the United States and doesn't have "aggressive plans or intentions against any country," after Axios reported that the island nation has hundreds of military drones and has been allegedly discussing plans to strike the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay and potentially Florida's Key West.2. The Republic of Somaliland will open an embassy in Jerusalem, its first anywhere in the world, the state's ambassador to Israel said Tuesday.Currently, seven countries have embassies in Jerusalem — the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Fiji. 3. US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he had called off a major attack against Iran, which he claimed was slated to take place on Tuesday after Gulf allies assured him that a deal with Tehran was now possible thanks to the renewal of “serious negotiations.”4. The US State Department has cleared potential military support deals worth a combined $428.2 million for India's Apache rotary-wing aircraft and M777A2 155mm howitzers.5. The Trump administration is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities that the U.S. would have available to assist the alliance's European nations in a major crisis.6.  NATO Supreme Allied Commander: Europe should “absolutely” expect additional United States troop withdrawals in the future as European NATO allies strengthen their capability to provide more of their own  conventional defense. 

US Vice President JD Vance says the planned deployment of more than 4,000 US-based troops to Poland has been delayed rather than canceled.

DOD Abruptly Halts Troop Deployment to Poland To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Big Al and the crew shout out moms, bonus moms, those trying to become mothers, and those grieving a mother or child. After introductions and jokes, Al shares an embarrassing church moment: he bought a Mother's Day card for a woman he liked, only to notice an engagement ring right as he was about to give it to her. The group reflects on what Mother's Day means, including Christian's difficult relationship with his mom, Matthew being a “rainbow baby,” Owen's sister going into labor (with Baby Miles arriving during the episode), and memories of childhood discipline. Troop, who is also a pastor, summarizes his sermon comparing Eve, Jezebel, and Hannah and explains complementary roles of fathers and mothers, ending with a prayer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AP's Lisa Dwyer reports that an Army brigade is no longer heading to Poland.

Vladimir Putin's isolation and paranoia were evident during a significantly diminished Victory Day parade in Moscow. Ivana Stradner notes that North Korean troop presence reflects Russia's military degradation and growing domestic security concerns. (1/16)1922

Ankara has voiced alarm at Cyprus's announcement that France will deploy soldiers on the Mediterranean island. The move has fuelled Turkish fears of encirclement, as Cyprus and Greece continue to deepen defence ties with Turkey's rival Israel. Turkish officials have strongly criticised France's plan to send soldiers to Cyprus, warning it could escalate tensions. Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded following a coup backed by Greece. The north is governed by a Turkish Cypriot administration recognised only by Turkey. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides stated that the French deployment is part of a Status of Forces Agreement to be signed in June. France increased its military support, sending forces to the area after Iranian missiles targeted the island. But Ankara sees the move as part of a growing rivalry with Paris. “Turkey and France are geopolitical rivals. They have been competing with each other in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean,” explains international relations professor Serhat Guvenc of Istanbul's Kadir Has University. “France is inclined to view Turkey as a potential revisionist power, pursuing hegemonic aspirations in the region,” he said, adding that Cyprus is a small island and a concentration of military power without unified command could lead to unwanted escalation. Cyprus's EU presidency: seeking resilience in a new world order Christodoulides downplayed Turkish concerns, stating that any French deployment would serve “humanitarian purposes". However, former Cypriot ambassador Euripides Evriviades argues that Turkey's military presence is the primary security threat in Cyprus. “These things are happening because we feel very insecure – it is 40,000 Turkish troops on the island in an aggressive posture,” said Evriviades. “The insecurity on the island stems directly from the continued occupation and violations of human rights that come with any occupation." French backing Macron's support for Cyprus echoes his strong backing of Greece. During a recent visit to Athens, he said there was “no room for doubt” about France's military support for Greece against any threats, a statement widely interpreted as being aimed at Turkey. France's increased support for Greece and Cyprus coincides with Athens and Nicosia strengthening security ties with Israel. Cyprus urges EU to agree plan for defence of member states ahead of summit “The Cyprus problem is no longer the Cyprus problem per se, but has become a part of the wider geopolitical rivalries in the region,” said Guvenc. Turkish-Israeli relations remain tense, with both sides viewing each other as a threat. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that the alignment of Cyprus, Israel and Greece is an attempt to “encircle Turkey". Ankara fears that such a military alliance could be used to advance Greek and Cypriot claims over the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, where Turkey and Greece have multiple territorial disputes. “If they combine their military and naval capabilities, they may attempt to deny Turkey access to the Eastern Mediterranean. So this is a danger,” said Guvenc. Cycle of distrust The upcoming Washington summit involving Greece, Cyprus and Israel is likely to intensify Ankara's concerns about isolation. Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the German Marshall Fund office in Ankara, warns that the region is caught in a growing cycle of distrust, and any new military deployment to Cyprus is likely to prompt a reciprocal response. “Turkey could make new deployments, drones, even fighter jets,” he said. Turkey steps up as Europe's indispensable and uncomfortable defence partner Unluhisarcikli also cautions that renewed tensions over Cyprus are a dangerous distraction from the ongoing Russian threat. “At a time when the transatlantic community at large is facing much larger external threats, NATO allies should not be posturing against each other, and that's what we are seeing. This is unacceptable." “The risk of a real confrontation is very limited, but it will lead both sides to double down on their current positions,” he added. Turkey, which has the second-largest army in NATO, is viewed by some in the European Union as a potential answer to concerns about the United States' commitment to Europe's defence amid the ongoing Russian threat. However, renewed tensions over Cyprus may undermine these expectations.

Max and Donatienne talk about the Trump administration's announced withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany while simultaneously delaying a planned deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles. They then turn to a conversation with Dan Kelemen, McCourt Chair at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, on what the Orbán era in Hungary tells us about how the EU handles democratic backsliding. (00:00) Intro (01:25) U.S. troop withdrawal from Germany (14:45) Dan Kelemen

Robin Lustig and Alex von Tunzelmann discuss the American troop drawdown in Germany and Mark Carney joining a summit of the European Political Community in Yerevan. Plus: Joe Luc Barnes’s book, ‘Farewell to Russia’See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode has a Kentucky Derby recap, and discusses the Supreme Court rules on Voting Rights, U.S. Troop reduction in Germany, 3rd assassination attempt, Spirit Airline service ends, and the UAE leaves OPEC.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on Europe's response to President Trump's decision to pull out thousands of U.S. troops from Germany following a spat with its chancellor.

Listen to the May 3rd, 2026, daily headline round-up and find all the top news that you need to know.

The Republican chairmen of the US congressional armed services committees have said they're very concerned about the Pentagon's decision to withdraw five thousand troops from Germany. Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers warned that prematurely reducing America's forward presence in Europe risked undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin. NATO says it's seeking clarification from Washington about the plan.Also in the programme: FIFA will allow a team of Afghan women refugees to represent their country in international tournaments; and we look back on the life of a former racing driver and Paralympian.(Photo: A soldier pilots a drone during the 'Combined Resolve' exercise at 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels. More than 3,800 personnel participate in the exercise series, which is a reoccurring U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercise held several times throughout the year for its rotationally deployed troops. US-led army exercise 'Combined Resolve' - media day, Hohenfels, Germany - 30 Apr 2026. CREDIT: ANNA SZILAGYI/EPA/Shutterstock)

The Pentagon says its pulling 5,000 troops from Germany, while the White House is fast-tracking $8.6 billion in weapons sales to Israel and Middle East allies, bypassing Congress. U.S. President Donald Trump is raising tariffs on EU cars and trucks to 25%. Al Qaeda-linked insurgents have seized territory in Mali, threatening Russia's influence in West Africa. Spirit Airlines is shutting down following the economic shock of the Iran war. Plus, a new Banksy statue appears in London. Watch the latest On Assignment podcast episode: Inside Chornobyl. Listen to On Assignment podcast episode In Search of Banksy. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.  Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.  You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's Headlines: Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry suspended the state's congressional primary elections — which were supposed to start tomorrow — citing the Supreme Court's redistricting ruling as cover to let the Republican-controlled legislature redraw the map first and set a new election date, which will conveniently be a jungle primary where Republicans could theoretically sweep all six of Louisiana's House seats without a single Democrat winning anything. Speaking of elections being quietly dismantled, a previously unknown Jeffrey Epstein suicide note has been sitting sealed in a New York courthouse since his death, discovered by his cellmate and hidden inside a graphic novel written on yellow legal pad paper — the DOJ says it hasn't seen it, the Times says it hasn't seen it, and somehow this is just now coming out. Former AG Pam Bondi finally agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee about the Epstein coverup, but only after Democrats filed civil contempt charges against her for blowing off her first appearance, and even then she negotiated it down from a sworn deposition to an unsworn interview, which is lawyer for "I can lie more freely." Trump pulled his surgeon general nominee Casey Means — the non-doctor health influencer — after a single Republican senator who is an actual doctor couldn't bring himself to vote for her, replacing her with Fox News contributor and real radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier, who wrote a book in 2020 called "Make America Healthy Again." Congress passed a spending deal that ended the partial DHS shutdown, funding everything except ICE and Border Patrol for now, which Democrats are calling a win in the same way you call it a win when you only stub one toe. Trump shocked Pentagon officials and European allies alike by spontaneously posting on social media that he's pulling US troops out of Germany — the first anyone on either side of the Atlantic had heard of — possibly triggered by the German Chancellor calling the US "humiliated" by Iran. The Atlantic published a piece called "The Yolo Presidency" reporting that Trump has stopped comparing himself to Washington and Lincoln and has upgraded to Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon,. Disney and ABC told the FCC they won't be renewing their broadcast licenses early, won't be firing Jimmy Kimmel, and are prepared to fight it in court — Kimmel mocked Trump again anyway, and Trump responded by posting that people are "angry" and it "better be soon." Resources/Articles mentioned: Shreveport Times: Trump praises Governor Jeff Landry for suspending Louisiana elections CNN: How Janet Mills was boxed out of the Maine Senate race by Graham Platner's rise NYT: Jeffrey Epstein's Possible Suicide Note Hidden From Public View CNN: Bondi will testify in House Oversight Committee's Jeffrey Epstein probe NBC News: Trump pulls Dr. Casey Means' nomination for surgeon general, announces replacement Axios: House Republicans cave to Senate with vote to end 75-day DHS shutdown Axios: Scoop: Rep. Chuck Edwards under investigation by House Ethics The Atlantic: The YOLO Presidency - The Atlantic Politico: Trump's call to reduce US troops in Germany shocks Pentagon WSJ: Shark Tank's Mr. Wonderful Is Planning One of America's Biggest Data Centers WSJ: Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Trump Again After FCC Opens Review of ABC TV Licenses Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss the US-Europe security relationship as Donald Trump threatens to pull troops from Italy and Spain after making the same threat to Germany. Is an increasingly antagonistic Trump accelerating European military independence? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States is reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops stationed in Germany, with a decision expected “over the next short period of time.”German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made news recently when he said on April 27 that Iran was “humiliating” the United States.The United States had more than 36,000 active-duty troops stationed in Germany as of December 2025. Only Japan had more U.S. troops, with more than 54,000.The suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, Cole Allen, is making his initial court appearance today. A petition to keep the suspect in custody reveals he is accused of planning the attack for weeks. Allen faces life in prison if convicted on just the attempted assassination of the president charge.

Joe Troop & The Truth Machine have a new EP out, The Truth Machine 5 songs for right now, this week!  If you love bluegrass you’ll enjoy this 5 piece ensemble of excellent players and their fun political humor and gravity, both. Check them out. Joe Troop has many musical projects going, another one is Larry & Joe, with Larry Bellorín from Monagas, Venezuela. • Joe Troop on YouTube Music by: Joe Troop & The Truth Machine The post Joe Troop & The Truth Machine appeared first on Paradigms Podcast.

Keir Starmer says closer co-operation with France will help stop the small boats crisis — but is Britain paying hundreds of millions for more failure and inaction?Alex Phillips - stepping in for Julia - is joined by former Border Force chief Tony Smith to break down Labour's latest Channel deal, including the extra cash for France, the promise of tougher beach enforcement, the role of French riot police, and why surveillance alone will not stop illegal crossings in the Channel.They also look at the key questions ministers still have not answered: what happens when migrants are intercepted, why detention capacity matters, whether Belgium is now becoming a new launch point, and how people-smuggling gangs are using social media and encrypted platforms to stay one step ahead. If you want serious insight into border security, illegal migration and the real-world limits of government policy, this is essential listening.Also: Andrew Allison from Popular Conservatism joins Alex to discuss the mounting pressure on Keir Starmer, the mood inside Labour, and the growing row around Attorney General Lord Hermer.They examine concerns over the power of unelected figures at the heart of government, the controversy surrounding legal claims brought against British soldiers, and wider questions over who is really shaping policy on national sovereignty, immigration and the Chagos Islands.In response to claims he had prosecuted British soldiers despite knowing claimants were lying, a spokesman for Lord Hermer said that he had “always acted with the highest professional standards, and the suggestion the Attorney acted for individuals with the knowledge that their claims were false is categorically untrue”.Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily and Saagar discuss troops surged to Iran, dire economic warnings, JD Vance begs young voters, Italy clashes with Israel. Lauren Conlin: https://x.com/conlin_lauren Shaiel Ben-Ephraim: https://x.com/academic_la Robert Pape: https://escalationtrap.substack.com/ To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.com Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode was recorded on February 22nd, 2026 at the Joan C. Edwards PAC in Charleston, WV. The lineup includes Stephen Kellogg, Emily Scott Robinson, Joe Troop & The Truth Machine, Kindred Valley, Corduroy Brown. https://bit.ly/4mHj455

6. Focusing on the 1914 Battle of the Marne, Lloyd explains how Joffre's nerve and strategic troop movements halted the Germanadvance. He details the breakdown of German command between Moltke and Kluck, which forced an "inward wheel" and prevented the encirclement of Paris, leading to the trench stalemate. (6)1944 MONTGOMERY

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: Project Hail Mary and a bookish guest bedroom Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: all about our book budgets Before We Go: our new segment featuring bookish friend posts and a something Kaytee is curious about Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). . . .   :10 - Bite Size Intro 1:50 - Currently Reading Patreon 2:42 - Fabled Bookshop 2:44 - Book Lover Weekend 4:43 - Bookish Moments of the Week 5:01 - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 6:13 - @sciencewhizliz on Instagram 9:33 - "You've Been Poisoned" teacup 10:35 - Your Guide To Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson 11:52 - Current Reads 12:03 - Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Kaytee) 12:40 - White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson 12:41 - Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson 16:22 - The Deep by Nick Cutter (Meredith) 19:38 - Sphere by Michael Crichton 20:35 - The Troop by Nick Cutter 21:06 - Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 21:26 - In the Shadow of the Mountain by Sylvia Vasquez-Lovado (Kaytee) 21:57 - CR Season 6: Episode 48 25:16 - The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (Meredith) 29:56 - North is the Night by Emily Rath (Kaytee) 34:24 - Good People by Patmeena Sabit (Meredith) 35:49 - An Unlikely Story  42:03 - Deep Dive: Our Book Budgets 43:01 - @deadendbooks_rva 50:12 - Book of the Month 50:20 - Goldsboro Book Subscriptions 51:17 - Libro.fm 51:25 - Storygraph 51:47 - Sarah's Bookshelves Live Patreon 51:58 - Shelf Respect by the Popcast 52:30 - Aardvark Book Club 52:33 - Satisfiction 52:35 - Fairyloot 53:19 - Sleuth Box w/Fabled 55:48 - Before We Go Meredith highlights a bookish friend post 56:22 - Fairyloot Epic Fantasy subscription Kaytee brings something she is curious about 57:33 - Inside Literary Prize 57:58 - Canada Reads 58:20 - South to America by Imani Perry 58:27 - Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 58:39 - 2026 Inside Literary Prize Shortlist   Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. April's IPL is brought to us from a new to us bookstore, Two Friends Books in Bentonville, Arkansas Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads | Substack | Youtube The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!

Despite the build-up of US troops in the Middle East, Trump has announced that the war may end soon. Then: Pakistan emerges as an unlikely mediator. Plus: how do you count the population of India?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Girl Scouts Troop 109 Ankeny by STAR 102.5/Des Moines

GUEST: JUDY DEMPSEY (5)HEADLINE: Judy Dempsey Explains the Vital Role of US Bases in Germany (6)SUMMARY: Judy Dempsey addresses populist calls for US troop withdrawal, emphasizing that the current Germancoalition views bases like Ramstein as essential. These installations remain the political and military heartland of America's European presence. (7)1922 RHINELAND PALATINATE

Rudyard and Andrew reflect on Trump's mixed messaging about the war with Iran. Troop deployment to the region would suggest he is escalating this conflict which could throw the world economy into a recession. What happens when Trump leaves office? Does America snap back to normalcy or does another Trump-like leader take his place? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Andrew turn to the NDP and their newly elected leader, Avi Lewis. Lewis's election signals the federal NDP has become a party that values identity politics over the working class and is uninterested in pragmatism or trying to reach power by gradual steps. Could Avi Lewis surprise us all and energize young people like Zohran Mamdani has done in New York City? And if so, what is the galvanizing issue on the left? Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to full episodes of Munk Dialogues with Andrew Coyne. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up.

Trump has insisted that it's up to Iranian leaders to convince him to halt the war, saying he doesn't care about making a deal. Iranian state media has said the regime has “complete doubt” about Washington's willingness to negotiate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Al and the Broken But Blessed crew kick it off with jokes about T - Hop's “shirtless wonder” reputation and his San Jose business dates, including a debate on how many hours he was shirtless. Chance shares highlights from a Europe trip—Paris (Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, architecture), Switzerland (cold mountains and rude encounter), and Italy (surprising food choices, pricey meals, paid restrooms, and McDonald's). Chance also unveils his new drawing character, the Shirtless Wonder, whose powers activate only when he takes his shirt off. The guys recap Big Al's Panama City Beach spring break trip with his granddaughter Charlie and Troop's family, then pivot to Matthew's housing search struggles and a church lesson comparing God's kingdom to yeast before closing in prayer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Big Al and the Broken But Blessed crew kick it off with jokes about T - Hop's “shirtless wonder” reputation and his San Jose business dates, including a debate on how many hours he was shirtless. Chance shares highlights from a Europe trip—Paris (Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa, architecture), Switzerland (cold mountains and rude encounter), and Italy (surprising food choices, pricey meals, paid restrooms, and McDonald's). Chance also unveils his new drawing character, the Shirtless Wonder, whose powers activate only when he takes his shirt off. The guys recap Big Al's Panama City Beach spring break trip with his granddaughter Charlie and Troop's family, then pivot to Matthew's housing search struggles and a church lesson comparing God's kingdom to yeast before closing in prayer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iran rejects a U.S. proposal to end the war and offers a different peace plan. Thousands more U.S. troops are deployed to the Middle East as President Trump considers seizing Iranian oil infrastructure. An unprecedented verdict against Meta and Google finds the tech giants responsible for mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Gerry Holmes, Tara Neill, Brett Neely, Alice Woelfle, and HJ Mai. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas, and Chris Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange, and our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.(0:00) Introduction(01:58) Iran Rejects US Peace Proposal(05:47) Troop Deployment(09:30) Social Media TrialTo manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Even Republicans know this is a mess. The lack of coherent information from Trump and his cabinet about his Iran War has some Republicans worried about an escalating fight and a loss of control. House Armed Services Committee chair Congressman Mike Rogers left a briefing saying members told defense officials they need clear details about Operation Epic Fury and offered warnings that troop movements in the Middle East should be “thoughtful and deliberate.” This as public support for Trump's Iran War continues to drop. We'll have the latest on Trump's so called Iranian excursion. Former federal prosecutor, now defense attorney, David Katz will stop by to talk about the mail in ballot case before the Supreme Court, the DOJ deal to pay ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn a million dollars and the verdict against Meta in a child exploitation case.

Wednesday, March 25. The seven stories you need to know today.Read today's briefing.

In the current war in Iran, what looks like hesitation may actually be strategic deception. This episode explains how global power players use negotiations, military threats and even market timing as tools of war, and why President Trump's sudden “backtrack” could be a calculated move to tighten control rather than lose it. From secret backchannels to looming military escalation, the discussion unpacks how modern warfare isn't just fought with bombs, but with psychology and leverage.

The 90's gave Us some of the best troop builders in the line and we go over our top 5 by elimination....BURG GI Joburg is grateful to 3DJoes.com for all the good looking pics. The amatuerish ones are most likely taken by us! Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0W3wPhykE4Z6NDF5WgdGew/join Got something to say to GI Joburg? We can be reached at arealsouthafricanhero@gmail.com We have an official Patreon page! Go to https://www.patreon.com/GIJOBURG?fan_landing=true Want some of the most unique GI Joe apparel out there? Check out our official GI JOBURG merch at: https://teespring.com/stores/gi-joburg-the-merch  

There is wide reporting about the 7 members of the U.S. military who have died in Trump's war against Iran. It turns out many others have been hurt. We are now learning that about 140 United States troops have been injured in the 10 days since the start of this conflict. Of those, 8 are hospitalized with severe injuries and 108 have returned to duty. How much of a toll will American's accept as Trump's war continues?Mo Kelly will be in to discuss it all. Presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann will also drop by to weigh in.The Mark Thompson Show 3/11/26Today's Guests LinksJohn Rothmann https://www.spreaker.com/show/around-the-political-world  https://www.youtube.com/@aroundthepoliticalworld_Cindy Cohn https://www.eff.org/Privacys-DefenderPatreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you'd like to help, here's our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you're more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you'll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.comThe Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page.  Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/Show sponsors:coachellavalleycoffee.com  - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%Zelmins.com - use code MarkT to save a 15% off your first orderSuite106bakery.com use code MarkT to save 15%

The panel debates credibility, disinformation, and political risk as the Iran conflict unfolds. They discuss giving credit when it's due, Trump's high-stakes gamble, market reactions, midterm implications, and whether this becomes a historic peace breakthrough or a prolonged war.

This week Erin's back from a surprising weekend getaway in Austin, and Bryan learns a new podiatric way of feeling the music by an experienced elder at the LA Philharmonic. Erin celebrates Alysa Liu's gold medal-winning performance at the Winter Olympics and how her return to the sport is changing the antiquated techniques that have been used to train female athletes for decades. Bryan discusses a recent court ruling in Texas halting enforcement of "DEI bans" including the banning of LGBTQ+ clubs in schools and deadnaming students in Houston, Plano and Katy. To buy Girl Scout Cookies from Troop 6000 click here. For Voter ID assistance or to see rules for your state, visit voteriders.org For adoptees needing legal representation or advocacy: https://adopteerightslaw.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.