Ana Hummel’s Day Job Ends Early After Her Planned Final Week

We open with Ana Hummel in for Dawn Stensland and an unexpected ending to Ana’s other job. She plans to help finish the week and train her replacement, only to learn management wants her gone immediately. That leads into a report on young adults who still spend little or no time interacting with people face to face after the pandemic, with the crew debating phones, AirPods, stress toys and what younger workers have lost socially. The news stack starts with 14 people charged in an alleged cocaine-trafficking operation tied to two Penn State fraternities. We move to the disturbing Philadelphia City Hall surveillance footage of a young man in a Chucky-style mask chasing and threatening people, including a woman asked whether she was ready to die. We also cover a North Carolina basketball coach’s killing and a suspect arrested in Montgomery County, unsafe E. coli readings in Philadelphia waterways, Wawa employees restraining an accused knife attacker in Hockessin, and the Phillies extending their winning streak. Nick’s Big Take turns to Iran and the political bill coming due before the midterms. We cover the expiration of the 60-day negotiating period, Trump floating U.S. territorial control over the Strait of Hormuz, new Iranian threats, a massive polling swing away from Trump among Hispanic men and Wall Street Journal reporting that Iranian hardliners are preparing several paths for escalation. Ana and the crew debate what victory could even mean against ideological extremists before Dana Perino calls for a communications reset from the White House.