Latest / The Breakfast Club / Trump Will Pay You to Report Fraud, Backlash Over a Halloween Display, and Sherri Shepherd Makes Broadway History

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Trump Will Pay You to Report Fraud, Backlash Over a Halloween Display, and Sherri Shepherd Makes Broadway History · The Breakfast Club

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: President Trump wants Americans to turn in fraudsters, and he's
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: offering cash rewards.
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: So here's what we're going to be doing. If you
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: turn somebody in and you find a billion dollars, we
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: are giving a commission.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Plus, a Halloween display showing bodies hanging from a tree
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: is sparking outrage in Pennsylvania. At first I looked, it
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: was a little different. And Sherri Shepherd is making Broadway history,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: taking on a role no woman has played before. It's Thursday,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: October 22nd. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: This is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Stay with me. President Trump has a new way for
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Americans to make money. By turning in people they believe
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: are committing fraud. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance announced
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: a new $ 25 million reward program that pays people for
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: reporting fraud to the federal government. It's called the Fraud
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Whistleblower Incentive Program, and here's how it's supposed to work.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: If you know someone who's stealing money from the government,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: you can submit a tip online at america.gov slash fraud.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: If that information helps the government build a successful case,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: you could get a cash reward. Trump says the goal
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: is to recover money he believes is being stolen from taxpayers.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: So here's what we're going to be doing. Anybody that
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: can prove that he turned somebody, in other words, he
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: or she... If you turn somebody in and you, let's say,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: report and you find a billion dollars, we are giving
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: a commission to that person of 1%. It's a lot
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: of money.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Now here's where things get a little confusing. The White
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: House website and President Trump are giving two different explanations
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: about how much money people can actually collect. The website
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: says rewards can go up to $ 30, 000 if a tip
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: leads to criminal charges. But Trump says there's no limit
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: and some people could walk away with millions. There's also
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: a difference in when people could get paid. The website
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: says a tip must lead to criminal charges. Trump says
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: people get paid when the government actually recovers the stolen money.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: And if two people report the same fraud, Trump says
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: he'll personally decide who deserves the reward. Now, the first
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: person reportedly getting paid is conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley. Fox
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: News reports he's set to receive $ 10, 000. surely went viral
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: last year after posting a video alleging fraud at child
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: care centers in Minnesota. The reward program is part of
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: a larger effort by Vice President J.D. Vance to crack
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: down on fraud involving federal money. But there are still
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: questions how the reward will be calculated and who will
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: ultimately decide how much people receive. And how far is
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: too far when it comes to Halloween declarations? That's the
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: debate happening in a Pennsylvania neighborhood where one homeowner's decorations
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: are upsetting residents and now the local NAACP is getting involved.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: This is happening in Bristol Borough, just outside of Philadelphia.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: The homeowner has what appears to be dead bodies wrapped
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: in black bags hanging from trees in front of his yard.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: And for some people in the neighborhood, this goes far
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: beyond Halloween. The local NAACP says the display brings painful
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: images of lynchings when black Americans were murdered and hanged
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: from trees. The organization says even if the homeowner doesn't
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: mean to offend anyone, that doesn't change how the display
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: makes people feel. The issue has now made its way
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: to the local borough council, where residents are speaking out.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: It's not appropriate for 2026.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: Just so you know, our borough inspector did stop there
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: and talk to him. But we were unsuccessful.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, when you say unsuccessful... He feels our Halloween decorations
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: and he won't take them down. The homeowner told the
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: local news he bought the decorations online as a kid
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: and never intended to offend anyone. And some neighborhoods are
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: defending him, saying Halloween decorations are supposed to be scary.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: But the NAACP says there's a difference between trying to
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: scare people for Halloween and displaying something that reminds Black
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: Americans of racial violence. For now, the declarations are still
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: hanging from the tree, and the NAACP is continuing to
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: push for their removal. And finally, Sherri Shepherd is making
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: history on Broadway. She's becoming the first woman to play
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: the genie in Disney's Aladdin. Now, if you've ever seen Aladdin,
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: you know the genie is usually played by a man.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: But Sherri says she's bringing something completely different to the role.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: She's bringing a mother's touch. She says Aladdin doesn't have
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: a mother, so instead of playing the genie as just
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: this funny, magical friend, she's approaching the character as someone
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: who's also nurturing and protective. And Sherri admits she was
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: terrified to take on the role. But she says she's
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: always believed in doing things that scare her. And it's
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: no easy job because one of the Genie's biggest musical numbers,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Friend Like Me, lasts nearly eight minutes. That's eight minutes
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: of singing, dancing, and performing in front of a live
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: Broadway audience. But what's really special about this moment is
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: how Sherry got her start. Before she became a comedian, actress,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: and talk show host, she worked as a legal secretary.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: She wanted to take a stand-up comedy class, but it
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: cost $ 600, money she didn't have. So her co-workers and
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: the attorneys at her job chipped in to pay for it.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: That one class helped launch her entire career. And now,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: years later, those same co-workers are flying from California to
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: New York to watch her make Broadway history. Sherry says
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: she's especially excited for little girls to see a woman
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: play the genie. Because this time, the woman isn't waiting
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: for someone to grant her wishes. She's the one with
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the power to grant them. That's your Front Page. I'm
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to you by the
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Black Effect Podcast Network.