Podcasts about emergency management agency

Sarah Potes is returning to lead Richland County’s Emergency Management Agency, bringing with her new skills and statewide experience. After previously serving as interim director and later managing emergency funding across 24 counties, she’s stepping back into the role with a renewed sense of purpose. County leaders say her appointment strengthens local preparedness as extreme weather events become more common.Support the show: https://richlandsource.com/membersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's officially wintertime in Mississippi. The Emergency Management Agency shares tips on how to protect your house.Then, seven families who had their houses destroyed in 2023 storms are being given a new place to call home.Plus, how thousands of toy donations are helping bring holiday cheer to the state's only children's hospital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a texthttps://www.dailyfetched.com/elon-musk-says-femas-inability-to-help-helene-victims-part-of-an-agenda-to-disenfranchise-voters/https://www.lifezette.com/2024/10/fema-caught-red-handed-rumor-claim-gets-debunked-by-their-own-website-watch/https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2024/10/04/the-governments-failure-to-help-after-helene-goes-far-beyond-what-the-media-is-willing-to-tell-you-n2180136https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1842284913279586447https://www.theblaze.com/shows/blaze-news-tonight/glenn-beck-travels-to-north-carolina-and-exposes-femas-absence-every-american-should-see-this?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb-comment_rant-nation&tpcc=social_fb-commenthttps://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-fema-funding-hurricane-disgrace-1964231https://nypost.com/2024/10/03/us-news/feds-say-theres-no-money-left-to-respond-to-hurricanes-after-fema-used-640-9m-this-year-on-migrants/www.LeagueOfLogic.com

Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency says 14 bodies have been recovered so far in central Niger State, where around 150 passengers are missing after a boat capsized late Tuesday. Authorities say the tragedy was caused by overloading the boat. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja

From the BG Ad Group Studio this is your news minute on the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast presented by Credit Union of Georgia. Today is Friday, September 27th, and I'm Keith Ippolito. Cobb Residents Advised to Shelter as Helene Floods Roads Cobb County is under a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Helene has caused significant flooding, closing multiple roadways and prompting several flood warnings for areas like Noonday Creek and the Chattahoochee River. Notable road closures include Woodland Brook Drive, Riverside Parkway, and parts of I-75 North. Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services emphasizes, "TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN," urging residents not to travel. The storm, downgraded from a Category 4 hurricane, still poses dangers with wind speeds up to 70 mph. Cobb's Emergency Management Agency advises against wading in storm water and warns that even six inches of water can be hazardous. Emergency crews have conducted multiple water rescues, and essential workers are actively responding to the crisis. Chairwoman Lisa Cupid has declared a state of emergency, advising residents, particularly in flood-prone areas, to consider relocating for safety. All non-essential county services remain closed until further notice. For more news about our community, visit mdjonline.com. For the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast, I'm Keith Ippolito. Produced by The BG Podcast Network NewsPodcast CurrentEvents TopHeadlines #BreakingNews #PodcastDiscussion #PodcastNews #InDepthAnalysis #NewsAnalysis #PodcastTrending #WorldNews #LocalNews #GlobalNews #PodcastInsights #NewsBrief #PodcastUpdate #NewsRoundup #WeeklyNews #DailyNews #PodcastInterviews #HotTopics #PodcastOpinions #InvestigativeJournalism #BehindTheHeadlines #PodcastMedia #NewsStories #PodcastReports #JournalismMatters #PodcastPerspectives #NewsCommentary #PodcastListeners #NewsPodcastCommunity #NewsSource #PodcastCuration #WorldAffairs #PodcastUpdates #AudioNews #PodcastJournalism #EmergingStories #NewsFlash #PodcastConversations #podcast #podcasts #podcaster #podcastlife #podcastshow #podcasting #podcasters #podcastersofinstagram #itunes #applepodcasts #spotifypodcast #soundcloud #youtube #radio #radioshow #comedy #music #hiphop #art #entrepreneur #covid #motivation #interview #repost #loveSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're joined by Washington City Paper's Mitch Ryals to talk about the fallout from a police shooting, a battle between a club and an investment bank, and the opening of a controversial memorial in the heart of downtown.  Check out our episode on the future of the National Mall here. It's National Preparedness Month, so every Friday, we're sharing a tip from our sponsor, DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Today's tip is “Prepare with your needs in mind. Your emergency kit may look different than a neighbor's. Download a checklist at ready.dc.gov/NPM2024.” Want some more DC news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter Hey DC. You can also become a member, with ad-free listening, for as little as $8 a month. Learn more about the sponsors of this September 13th episode: PaintCare HSEMA Gala Theatre The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Project Blue Book was deactivated in 1969, civilians were left with no official government body prepared to deal with UFO reports. This is still the case (the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office only takes reports from military personnel) and this has left local agencies, such as the police, as the organizations that people often turn to, and each one handles reports in its own way. It recently came as a surprise to Pennsylvania state representatives during a budget meeting when it was mentioned that UFO reports were received by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. Records recently acquired from PEMA provide an inside look into how they were handled by organizations in that state. Read more →Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/podcast-ufo--5922140/support.

ICYMI: On Mobile Mornings Dan Brennan and Dalton Orwig talked to Tom Tyler and Jessica Waters from Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency about their Local Hurricane Preparedness live stream which is set for May 7th at 1 p.m. on the Baldwin EMA's website.   Panelists on the stream will share information, resources, and tips to prepare for hurricane season along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Baldwin EMA is one trusted source for weather updates during hurricane season and also want to spread info to visitors about RIP CURRENT!   If you have family or friends visiting please help spread the word by sharing their website: Emergency Management Agency (baldwincountyal.gov)

A closer look at the state Attorney General's investigation into the Maui fires reveals a lack of urgency by Maui County's Emergency Management Agency.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Introduction Emergency Managers Andrea Davis, Mona Curry, and Jamie Quarelles join Steven Kuhr to discuss the contributions and challenges of women in Emergency Management. The panel hit broad topics including organizational leadership, mentorship, bias, the comfort zone, servant leadership, and much more. See biographical profiles below. Andrea Davis Andrea Davis is a recognized expert in the field of emergency management who has dedicated her career to bridging the silos between the public and private sectors to create a united approach when it comes to disaster risk reduction. Ms. Davis has held leadership roles with NGOs (The American Red Cross, Save the Children US), the US Federal Government (FEMA, The Federal Reserve) and for Fortune 500 Companies (Walmart, Disney). With each role, Ms. Davis used her influence to lead global initiatives focused on the importance of making risk informed determinations and engaging all members of the community in the decision-making process. Currently, Ms. Davis is the President and CEO of a Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), The Resiliency Initiative (TRI). Ms. Davis founded TRI out of a passion to serve the whole community before, during, and after an emergency. Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaeileendavis/ Mona Curry During her 28-year tenure with the City of Los Angeles Mona specialized in responding to disasters, fortifying disaster readiness and strengthening community resilience. Culminating her city career as an Emergency Manager for Operations Valley Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Her engagement extends beyond official capacities. As a consultant for a Hawaii-based non-profit, Mona is actively involved in an innovative project to provide community resilience. The Ko'olauloa Resiliency Hub will set a benchmark for similar resilience initiatives throughout the State of Hawaii. Mona also holds a position as a Board Member appointed to the State of Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency, serving on the Governor's Advisory Council. This appointment by Governor David Ige for the term spanning 2021 to 2025 underscores her commitment to driving impactful strategies for disaster response and readiness. Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monacurry/ Jamie Quarrelles Jamie Quarrelles CEM®, is with the Preparedness Bureau within the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). She is responsible for emergency management, homeland security planning and compliance activities within the District and the National Capital Region (NCR). She serves as a subject matter expert participating on numerous panels, advisory groups, task forces, and steering committees addressing emergency management issues. She delivered numerous presentations to communities and organizations locally, nationally, and internationally on emergency management and preparedness strategies. Ms. Quarrelles has extensive employment experience with Federal, State and Local Government, and private sector organizations. She also has numerous years of operational experience with the District of Columbia Government in the Executive Office of The Mayor, Department of Public Works, and the Department of Transportation. Her private sector experience includes the Executive Offices of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the National League of Cities. In 2017 she became a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) by the International Association of Emergency Managers. She is an Alumna of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI), through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Center for Public Leadership. Other Professional affiliations include Assessor for the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP), and a member of the International Association of Emergency Managers. Contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-quarrelles-cem-0225371/

Brad Bradford, candidate for Mississippi's Agriculture Commissioner, outlines how his experience as Director of Natchez-Adams County Homeland Security Program, Floodplain Management Program, Emergency 9-1-1 Coordinator, and Emergency Management Agency and Army service has prepared him for the Commissioner's duties and Representatives Robert Johnson and Cheikh Taylor comment on Mississippi's Democrat Party goals for upcoming elections. 

The Clarke County Commission approved a .1 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year Tuesday. The budget is several million more than normal because of a lot of one-time monies. County Administrator Christy Roberts explained that there is nearly .9 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), 3,000 from the Rebuild Alabama Fund and 0,000 from the Federal aid exchange Fund plus more. The ARPA funds are being used on energy efficiency needs in the courthouse and jail, for renovations to the damaged Emergency Management Agency office, a water extension project in northern Clarke County and more. Commission...Article Link

The scope and severity of what was happening in West Maui on the evening of Aug. 8 wasn't communicated to key leaders at the state level during the first 12 to 15 hours of the wildfire disaster, according to the head of the state's Emergency Management Agency. One key example of that: Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, HIEMA's director, said in an interview with HNN that no one told him anyone had died until the morning after Lahaina town was reduced to ash.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The scope and severity of what was happening in West Maui on the evening of Aug. 8 wasn't communicated to key leaders at the state level during the first 12 to 15 hours of the wildfire disaster, according to the head of the state's Emergency Management Agency. One key example of that: Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, HIEMA's director, said in an interview with HNN that no one told him anyone had died until the morning after Lahaina town was reduced to ash.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a selection of stories that Jim brought to the attention of listeners to wrap up the week-----Maui's Emergency Management Agency administrator announced his resignation claiming that he's resigning for health reasons. He defended not sounding sirens because he claimed that people would have gone -mauka- meaning they would have gone inland into the fire.----President Biden takes criticism for his -no comment- concerning the tragedy in Hawaii. He eventually made a public comment on Tuesday during another event but was not able to remember what island where the tragedy took place. He has offered one-time, per-household payments of -700 for those who've been displaced.----Former President Trump plans to skip the first GOP primary debate next week. Instead he will sit down to be interviewed by Tucker Carlson.----Donald Trump and 18 other defendants have been indicted by a Georgia grand jury in connection with the alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. He's facing 13 felony charges, including conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer and violating the Georgia RICO Act.----Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed that the trial begin on March 4, 2024, and also requested that the defendants be arraigned the week of September 5th.----Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said federal agencies withheld crucial information from him that indicated significant threats to the building on January 6, 2021. In addition, they shockingly declined to provide him with reinforcements during the riot that was taking place.

TOP NEWS | On today's Daily Signal Top News, we break down: GOP presidential candidates speak at The Gathering in Atlanta. Florida becomes the first state to sanction Medicaid providers for covering the attempted-gender transitions of minors.Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's office says there may not be support for a special session of Georgia's legislature. Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan subpoenas Citibank. The head of Maui's Emergency Management Agency administrator resigns amid the devastating wildfires that ravaged the island. Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's a selection of stories that Jim brought to the attention of listeners to wrap up the week-----Maui's Emergency Management Agency administrator announced his resignation claiming that he's resigning for health reasons. He defended not sounding sirens because he claimed that people would have gone -mauka- meaning they would have gone inland into the fire.----President Biden takes criticism for his -no comment- concerning the tragedy in Hawaii. He eventually made a public comment on Tuesday during another event but was not able to remember what island where the tragedy took place. He has offered one-time, per-household payments of -700 for those who've been displaced.----Former President Trump plans to skip the first GOP primary debate next week. Instead he will sit down to be interviewed by Tucker Carlson.----Donald Trump and 18 other defendants have been indicted by a Georgia grand jury in connection with the alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. He's facing 13 felony charges, including conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, solicitation of violation of oath by public officer and violating the Georgia RICO Act.----Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed that the trial begin on March 4, 2024, and also requested that the defendants be arraigned the week of September 5th.----Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund said federal agencies withheld crucial information from him that indicated significant threats to the building on January 6, 2021. In addition, they shockingly declined to provide him with reinforcements during the riot that was taking place.

News you Need For Friday, August 18, 2023. 5 hour standoff in Wickliffe, head of Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned yesterday after facing backlash, Browns had their third preseason game, Jamie Foxx says he finally feels like himself after health scare, Miley Cyrus releasing new music soon and Sam Asghari broke his silence on Instagram. 

News you Need For Friday, August 18, 2023. 5 hour standoff in Wickliffe, head of Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned yesterday after facing backlash, Browns had their third preseason game, Jamie Foxx says he finally feels like himself after health scare, Miley Cyrus releasing new music soon and Sam Asghari broke his silence on Instagram. 

Emergencies can happen at any time, cause damage, and even cost lives. On this week's Community Focus, I'm joined by Abby Buchhop, director of the Lucas County Emergency Management Agency, to discuss her team's response to the recent Point Place disaster.

In this episode, we discuss the recent tornado that tore through Silver City in Mississippi, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with at least 23 people dead and several injured. We look at the ongoing search and rescue operations and the efforts being made by emergency services to support those affected by the disaster. We also reflect on the importance of being prepared for such natural disasters and staying vigilant in the face of the immense power of nature.

Response to recent climate disasters was the focus as the National Emergency Management Agency appeared before the Governance and Administration Committee for its annual review.

There was a chemical fire of epic proportions in Ohio, and despite what seems to be a media blackout, the Ohio government initiated a controlled chemical fire that was not only massive, but the after-effects might be a lot more deadly than what the official narrative might lead one to believe. Moreover, along that line, a journalist over in Ohio was just arrested while reporting on this giant disaster. A freight train was derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio, launching 50 of the cars off the tracks. Among those derailed cars, 10 of them contained hazardous materials. Specifically, they contained pressurized vinyl chloride, hydrogen chloride, as well as ethyl-hexyl acrylate—which are extremely toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Due to the potential for a giant uncontrolled explosion, Gov. Mike DeWine took the suggestion of the state's Emergency Management Agency, and he authorized a controlled burning of the toxic materials. Although this solution does prevent the scenario of a giant explosion with shrapnel flying in all directions, the smoke and the effects of burning said mixture of chemicals is very toxic—so toxic, in fact, that it was used during World War I as a chemical weapon to kill soldiers hiding in their foxholes. ⭕️ Sign up for our NEWSLETTER and stay in touch

More than 3,800 people have died and more than 15,000 are injured after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Agency says at least 5,600 buildings collapsed during and after the quake. Kit Miyamoto is structural engineer and is headed to Turkey tomorrow to join a team from his company who are already on the ground. He tells Anderson Cooper how the search and rescue teams approach collapsed and unstable buildings. Plus, CNN National Correspondent Randi Kaye joins AC360 from Walterboro, South Carolina where the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh continues. The now-disbarred attorney is accused of killing his wife and son back in 2021.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

The National Emergency Management Agency issued the following information regarding the forecast heavy rain. Red Weather warnings,  which are the most severe warnings, are in place for Northland, North Auckland and Coromandel. This may cause further flooding, slips and damage People should stay up to date with the forecasts from MetService and continue to follow the advice of civil defence and emergency services If you have evacuated, please stay where you are until you are given the all-clear to go home Stay away from floodwater. Always assume that all flood water is potentially contaminated and ensure hands, clothes and property are thoroughly cleaned after contact with flood waters It is important to clean and dry your house and everything in it. Do not eat garden produce if the soil has been flooded Throw away all food and drinking water that has come in contact with floodwater, including things stored in containers Information about where to get help can be found on the Civil Defence website and from Auckland Emergency Management

Aucklanders are being warned to remain cautious and prepared, ahead of another onslaught of heavy rain. Red Heavy Rain Warnings are now in effect, for dangerous heavy rain in Northland and northern Auckland from this morning, and the Coromandel Peninsula from this evening. Orange Heavy Rain Warnings have been issued for the rest of Auckland and Bay of Plenty. Auckland is still under a state of emergency, with 77 homes red-stickered and about 5,000 others yet to be assessed. National Emergency Management Agency Director Roger Ball told Mike Hosking the rain is likely to impact people who are already badly affected. LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join WRBI News Director Tom Snape, and the rest of the WRBI Crew, for enlightening conversations with fascinating people in Southeast Indiana. Brew up your favorite beverage, relax, and listen every weekday morning at 9:30.

Join WRBI News Director Tom Snape, and the rest of the WRBI Crew, for enlightening conversations with fascinating people in Southeast Indiana. Brew up your favorite beverage, relax, and listen every weekday morning at 9:30.

As the Jan. 6 Committee releases its full report and we approach the second anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, host Jeff Pegues sits down for a bombshell exclusive interview with Christopher Rodriguez, the Director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency for the city of Washington D.C., who was in charge of D.C.'s response to the insurrection on January 6.Also, Jonathan Winer, a highly decorated award-winning State Department official with expertise in counter-terrorism, illicit networks, and corruption, analyzes the criminal jeopardy former President Donald Trump faces from the Jan. 6 committee as well as other jurisdictions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are several departments within the Bucks County Government that recommend its staff work well under pressure. Then there's the departments that require it - and they fall under the Bucks County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). Audrey Kenny, Director of EMA, joins us to talk about the eight departments she oversees and how the team develops plans and responds in the face of hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, a pandemic and, well, just about anything else thrown their way. And later, we talk to Rob Kay, Sr., a 911 dispatcher supervisor  and the current chair of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTokCheck us out online: BucksCounty.gov

A wake-up call for New Zealanders, as extreme weather events become more common. A National Emergency Management Agency survey shows only two in five Kiwis feel well-prepared for a disaster. The 2022 Annual Disaster Preparedness Survey found while New Zealanders have a good understanding of natural disasters, it's not being followed through with action. Communications manager Anthony Frith says the problem is falling into the trap of complacency. "Whenever we have a large-scale event, such as the Canterbury earthquakes or the onset of the Covid pandemic, we see preparedness spike. Which is great, except it's the wrong way round. We'd like to see it spike before an emergency, not afterwards." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richland County commissioners OK hiring of interim EMA director: https://www.richlandsource.com/news/richland-county-commissioners-ok-hiring-of-interim-ema-director/article_211255bc-3e8d-11ed-8eef-1bebd2c82ef8.html Leaning Tower celebrates 65 years of great food and better memories: https://www.richlandsource.com/life_and_culture/wellness/leaning-tower-celebrates-65-years-of-great-food-and-better-memories/article_68208962-3828-11ed-a450-277282c23e2e.html?block_id=1098581 Today – The loss of potential grant money prompted Richland County commissioners to hire an interim director of the local Emergency Management Agency.Support the show: https://www.sourcemembers.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clara DeCerbo, Director of the Providence Emergency Management Agency joins Dan to discuss yesterday's floodsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caty Luebbert, Public Information Officer, Missouri's State of Emergency Management Agency talks with Carol Daniel and Tom Ackerman about the Missouri opening Multi Agency Resource Centers for flooding.

Radar towers of the National Weather Service each cover a radius of about 75 miles. A large part of the country is covered but there is a circle in rural Alabama that is not covered and area Emergency Management Agency directors and others are working to try to rectify that with a new radar system. Clarke County EMA Director Roy Waite explained that there is a circle that includes northern Clarke, Marengo, Wilcox and other Alabama counties as well as a portion of eastern Mississippi that does not have adequate radar and consequently inadequate awareness of bad weather and tornadoes....Article Link

A nationwide emergency mobile test has been deemed a success.  Millions of mobile phones across the country buzzed loudly after receiving an alert last night National Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Anthony Frith told Mike Hosking the alert was successfully transmitted to every part of New Zealand that has cellphone reception.  He says a report came back from telecommunication companies including 2degrees, Spark and Vodafone confirming quickly that it worked. Frith says it's a well-oiled machine but it's important to check it is working well , as they don't want to find out in an emergency there is an issue. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Thursday this is the chocolate knox with your cross politic daily news brief for thursday febuary 24 2022 If the sky is blue, and water is wet be sure to hit the share button, just saying… thank you. Biden Extends US National Emergency Over COVID-19 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-extends-us-national-emergency-over-covid-19 In a letter released on the White House website, Biden told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that “there remains a need to continue this national emergency.” “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation. More than 900,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government,” he wrote, adding that his office has “determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared” almost two years ago. As of late last year, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Johns Hopkins University showed that there were 60,000 more COVID-19 deaths under the Biden administration than under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump had declared a national emergency, which allowed the freeing up of about $50 billion in federal aid. The emergency would have been automatically terminated unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the president sent a notice to Congress stating it would continue beyond the anniversary date. His decision to extend the emergency comes as several Democratic governors moved to rescind COVID-19 mandates, including mask rules, in recent days. The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced last week that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, following similar moves by New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oregon. Some critics have said, however, that Democratic leaders are turning away from COVID-19 rules because they fear losing control in either the House or Senate in the 2022 midterms. A Jan. 31 Monmouth University Poll showed that about 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement, “It’s time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.” PAPERBALL… US court of appeals judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is said to be the frontrunner as Biden looks for a nominee to replace supreme court associate justice Stephen Breyer. Joe Biden has interviewed at least three potential supreme court nominees and is expected to reveal his decision by the end of this month, according to multiple sources close to the president. Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and J. Michelle Childs – all Black women – were among the contenders who spoke with the president. Jackson, who has widely been considered the frontrunner, currently sits on the US court of appeals for the DC circuit after replacing the attorney general, Merrick Garland, in June 2021. Kruger is an associate justice of the California supreme court and has served as the acting principal deputy solicitor general under the Barack Obama administration. Childs currently sits on the US district court for the district of South Carolina and was previously nominated by Biden for a seat on the DC circuit court of appeals. On Sunday evening Cedric L Richmond, director of the White House office of public engagement, told members of the organization Win With Black Women that “we’re close”. “We know what some of the attacks are going to be: not qualified, affirmative action pick… Well, it wasn’t ‘affirmative action pick’ when we just picked friends, white friends of the president, for all these decades. You know, it was just patronage or whatever they wanted to call it,” Richmond said, according to a source who has direct knowledge of the private conference call. Biden has set the end of February as his deadline to pick a nominee. According to CNN, White House officials have reached out to liberal groups to inform them that Biden will not be shifting from his timeline and urged them to support “top tier” candidates against critics’ attacks. In a statement on Tuesday, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said Biden has not yet made a decision. “The President has not yet chosen a nominee. He continues to evaluate eminently qualified individuals in the mold of Justice [Stephen] Breyer who have the strongest records, intellect, character, and dedication to the rule of law that anyone could ask for - and all of whom would be deserving of bipartisan support. He looks forward to announcing a nominee this month.” PAPER BALL… Thousands of truckers are preparing to converge on Washington, D.C., in the coming days as an American Freedom Convoy plans to shut down the Capital Beltway. https://www.conservativereview.com/lawmakers-request-national-guard-presence-as-american-truckers-prepare-to-protest-in-washington-dc-2656777104.html Law enforcement agencies in the D.C. metropolitan area have called in support from the National Guard as they prepare for the American convoy to arrive in late February and stay in the area until late March. Participants in the trucker protest requested a permit from the National Park Service to allow 1,000 to 3,000 people to gather in the nation’s capital city. In response, members of the National Guard will be deployed in the area during the month of March. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the Department of Defense has received a request for assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Kirby said, “Those agencies have asked for National Guard personnel to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help the USCP and DC government address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries.” Bob Bolus, an organizer of the American trucker convoy, said that protesters are interested in shutting down the Capital Beltway as they stand in opposition against a multitude of policies such as vaccine mandates and disregard for immigration law. PAPERBALL… If you are headed to the Freedom convoy and you always wanted to play guitar but didn’t know where to start? Well, Fight Laugh Feast member David Harsh has created a unique, online monthly membership, that has community, a clear success path, and it’s super affordable. When you join this membership, you can learn at your own pace, from home, or a freedom convoy, alongside a community of guitarists including worship leaders, hobbyists, retirees, stay-at-home moms and more. Through video lessons, worksheets, and weekly Zoom calls, David will take you step-by-step towards becoming the musician you were made to be. GuitarSuccess4U is only $29 a month – that’s less than a dollar a day, and a fraction of the cost of guitar lessons. Join today and get 5 instant bonuses to help accelerate your progress! Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to start your guitar journey. That’s Guitar Success, the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. PAPER BALL… Progressive firebrand Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan will be delivering a response to President Biden’s State of the Union address next week. Tlaib, a member of the so-called "Squad" of progressive and diverse Democratic lawmakers in Congress, will give her address on behalf of the left-wing Workers Families Party, the group announced on Wednesday. Tlaib, a two-term lawmaker who made history as the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress, represents a congressional district that includes parts of Detroit and its inner suburbs. She is expected to praise the president’s stimulus bill and argue that liberals have pushed hard to pass Biden’s agenda. And she’s sure to take aim at Republican lawmakers and some moderate Democrats for blocking the passage of the major spending package being pushed by the White House and most Democrats in Congress. "Obstructionist Republicans and corporate Democrats have forced D.C. to a standstill while millions of kids are pushed into poverty and rising costs are making housing, healthcare, and childcare even more unaffordable," the Working Families Party tweeted in announcing Tlaib as their speaker. The speech will likely spotlight the fissure in the Democratic Party between the progressive left and the more moderate wing of the party ahead of November’s midterm elections, when the Democrats hope to hold onto their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. GOP leaders in Congress announced on Tuesday that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican Party's rebuttal to the president’s address. The president's expected to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET. PAPER BALL… Governor Ron DeSantis' backing of a Florida House Representatives measure to withhold $200 million from 12 school districts that defied the state's ban on mask mandates has sparked outrage from 11 Democratic members of Congress who are now calling for a probe. In a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the lawmakers argue that the funding reductions would "exacerbate an already strained school system" that they noted ranks 46 among states in per-pupil support, a measure that gages funding per student. "This proposal is another attempt to punish these school districts that implemented universal masking policies during an ongoing global pandemic," the letter read. "We write to request (the Department of Education) consider investigating the recent proposal." Under the proposal, the Orange County Public School District would lose $16.5 million worth of funding and the combined Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County school districts would lose $128 million worth of funds. Forbes reported that the money taken from these and other districts would be moved to the state's other 55 districts that did not defy the order. He has been a vocal critic of COVID-19-related mandates since the onset of the virus. DeSantis did not originally support the measure, which was introduced by state representative and House Education budget writer Randy Fine. However, last Tuesday the representative announced that he had garnered DeSantis' support on the measure. "What he [DeSantis] has asked, and what we agree with, is that ensuring our proviso says these reductions in growth must come entirely from central offices...there can be no programmatical cuts in programs facing students. So, the governor is on board, now," Fine said in response to a question about why the proposal did not originally garner the governor's support, WFSU public radio station reported. As it stands, COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida have dropped by 77 percent over the past two weeks and hospitalizations have fallen by 45 percent. These numbers stand above the national figures of a 66 percent decline in cases over the past two weeks and a 44 percent drop in hospitalizations. PAPER BALL… The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom. Home-price growth surged to a record in 2021, as low mortgage-interest rates prompted buyers to compete fiercely for a limited number of homes for sale. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 18.8% in the 12 months that ended in December, unchanged from the prior month. The calendar-year increase was the highest since the index began in 1987. The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom. Households took advantage of record-low rates and sought more space to work from home. Home sales climbed to a 15-year high in 2021. A shortage of homes for sale led to bidding wars, pushing price growth to new highs. The low inventory has persisted into this year, with the number of homes for sale sliding to a record low in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. First-time buyers are struggling to compete against cash buyers and investors. The share of first-time buyers in the market fell to 27% in January, down from 33% a year earlier, according to NAR. Home-price growth has decelerated in recent months and is expected to slow further in 2022 as mortgage rates continue to increase. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.92% as of Thursday, said mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, the highest level since May 2019.

Good Thursday this is the chocolate knox with your cross politic daily news brief for thursday febuary 24 2022 If the sky is blue, and water is wet be sure to hit the share button, just saying… thank you. Biden Extends US National Emergency Over COVID-19 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-extends-us-national-emergency-over-covid-19 In a letter released on the White House website, Biden told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that “there remains a need to continue this national emergency.” “The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation. More than 900,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government,” he wrote, adding that his office has “determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared” almost two years ago. As of late last year, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Johns Hopkins University showed that there were 60,000 more COVID-19 deaths under the Biden administration than under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump had declared a national emergency, which allowed the freeing up of about $50 billion in federal aid. The emergency would have been automatically terminated unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the president sent a notice to Congress stating it would continue beyond the anniversary date. His decision to extend the emergency comes as several Democratic governors moved to rescind COVID-19 mandates, including mask rules, in recent days. The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced last week that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, following similar moves by New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oregon. Some critics have said, however, that Democratic leaders are turning away from COVID-19 rules because they fear losing control in either the House or Senate in the 2022 midterms. A Jan. 31 Monmouth University Poll showed that about 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement, “It’s time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.” PAPERBALL… US court of appeals judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is said to be the frontrunner as Biden looks for a nominee to replace supreme court associate justice Stephen Breyer. Joe Biden has interviewed at least three potential supreme court nominees and is expected to reveal his decision by the end of this month, according to multiple sources close to the president. Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and J. Michelle Childs – all Black women – were among the contenders who spoke with the president. Jackson, who has widely been considered the frontrunner, currently sits on the US court of appeals for the DC circuit after replacing the attorney general, Merrick Garland, in June 2021. Kruger is an associate justice of the California supreme court and has served as the acting principal deputy solicitor general under the Barack Obama administration. Childs currently sits on the US district court for the district of South Carolina and was previously nominated by Biden for a seat on the DC circuit court of appeals. On Sunday evening Cedric L Richmond, director of the White House office of public engagement, told members of the organization Win With Black Women that “we’re close”. “We know what some of the attacks are going to be: not qualified, affirmative action pick… Well, it wasn’t ‘affirmative action pick’ when we just picked friends, white friends of the president, for all these decades. You know, it was just patronage or whatever they wanted to call it,” Richmond said, according to a source who has direct knowledge of the private conference call. Biden has set the end of February as his deadline to pick a nominee. According to CNN, White House officials have reached out to liberal groups to inform them that Biden will not be shifting from his timeline and urged them to support “top tier” candidates against critics’ attacks. In a statement on Tuesday, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said Biden has not yet made a decision. “The President has not yet chosen a nominee. He continues to evaluate eminently qualified individuals in the mold of Justice [Stephen] Breyer who have the strongest records, intellect, character, and dedication to the rule of law that anyone could ask for - and all of whom would be deserving of bipartisan support. He looks forward to announcing a nominee this month.” PAPER BALL… Thousands of truckers are preparing to converge on Washington, D.C., in the coming days as an American Freedom Convoy plans to shut down the Capital Beltway. https://www.conservativereview.com/lawmakers-request-national-guard-presence-as-american-truckers-prepare-to-protest-in-washington-dc-2656777104.html Law enforcement agencies in the D.C. metropolitan area have called in support from the National Guard as they prepare for the American convoy to arrive in late February and stay in the area until late March. Participants in the trucker protest requested a permit from the National Park Service to allow 1,000 to 3,000 people to gather in the nation’s capital city. In response, members of the National Guard will be deployed in the area during the month of March. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the Department of Defense has received a request for assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Kirby said, “Those agencies have asked for National Guard personnel to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help the USCP and DC government address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries.” Bob Bolus, an organizer of the American trucker convoy, said that protesters are interested in shutting down the Capital Beltway as they stand in opposition against a multitude of policies such as vaccine mandates and disregard for immigration law. PAPERBALL… If you are headed to the Freedom convoy and you always wanted to play guitar but didn’t know where to start? Well, Fight Laugh Feast member David Harsh has created a unique, online monthly membership, that has community, a clear success path, and it’s super affordable. When you join this membership, you can learn at your own pace, from home, or a freedom convoy, alongside a community of guitarists including worship leaders, hobbyists, retirees, stay-at-home moms and more. Through video lessons, worksheets, and weekly Zoom calls, David will take you step-by-step towards becoming the musician you were made to be. GuitarSuccess4U is only $29 a month – that’s less than a dollar a day, and a fraction of the cost of guitar lessons. Join today and get 5 instant bonuses to help accelerate your progress! Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to start your guitar journey. That’s Guitar Success, the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com. PAPER BALL… Progressive firebrand Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan will be delivering a response to President Biden’s State of the Union address next week. Tlaib, a member of the so-called "Squad" of progressive and diverse Democratic lawmakers in Congress, will give her address on behalf of the left-wing Workers Families Party, the group announced on Wednesday. Tlaib, a two-term lawmaker who made history as the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress, represents a congressional district that includes parts of Detroit and its inner suburbs. She is expected to praise the president’s stimulus bill and argue that liberals have pushed hard to pass Biden’s agenda. And she’s sure to take aim at Republican lawmakers and some moderate Democrats for blocking the passage of the major spending package being pushed by the White House and most Democrats in Congress. "Obstructionist Republicans and corporate Democrats have forced D.C. to a standstill while millions of kids are pushed into poverty and rising costs are making housing, healthcare, and childcare even more unaffordable," the Working Families Party tweeted in announcing Tlaib as their speaker. The speech will likely spotlight the fissure in the Democratic Party between the progressive left and the more moderate wing of the party ahead of November’s midterm elections, when the Democrats hope to hold onto their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. GOP leaders in Congress announced on Tuesday that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican Party's rebuttal to the president’s address. The president's expected to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET. PAPER BALL… Governor Ron DeSantis' backing of a Florida House Representatives measure to withhold $200 million from 12 school districts that defied the state's ban on mask mandates has sparked outrage from 11 Democratic members of Congress who are now calling for a probe. In a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the lawmakers argue that the funding reductions would "exacerbate an already strained school system" that they noted ranks 46 among states in per-pupil support, a measure that gages funding per student. "This proposal is another attempt to punish these school districts that implemented universal masking policies during an ongoing global pandemic," the letter read. "We write to request (the Department of Education) consider investigating the recent proposal." Under the proposal, the Orange County Public School District would lose $16.5 million worth of funding and the combined Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County school districts would lose $128 million worth of funds. Forbes reported that the money taken from these and other districts would be moved to the state's other 55 districts that did not defy the order. He has been a vocal critic of COVID-19-related mandates since the onset of the virus. DeSantis did not originally support the measure, which was introduced by state representative and House Education budget writer Randy Fine. However, last Tuesday the representative announced that he had garnered DeSantis' support on the measure. "What he [DeSantis] has asked, and what we agree with, is that ensuring our proviso says these reductions in growth must come entirely from central offices...there can be no programmatical cuts in programs facing students. So, the governor is on board, now," Fine said in response to a question about why the proposal did not originally garner the governor's support, WFSU public radio station reported. As it stands, COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida have dropped by 77 percent over the past two weeks and hospitalizations have fallen by 45 percent. These numbers stand above the national figures of a 66 percent decline in cases over the past two weeks and a 44 percent drop in hospitalizations. PAPER BALL… The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom. Home-price growth surged to a record in 2021, as low mortgage-interest rates prompted buyers to compete fiercely for a limited number of homes for sale. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 18.8% in the 12 months that ended in December, unchanged from the prior month. The calendar-year increase was the highest since the index began in 1987. The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom. Households took advantage of record-low rates and sought more space to work from home. Home sales climbed to a 15-year high in 2021. A shortage of homes for sale led to bidding wars, pushing price growth to new highs. The low inventory has persisted into this year, with the number of homes for sale sliding to a record low in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. First-time buyers are struggling to compete against cash buyers and investors. The share of first-time buyers in the market fell to 27% in January, down from 33% a year earlier, according to NAR. Home-price growth has decelerated in recent months and is expected to slow further in 2022 as mortgage rates continue to increase. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.92% as of Thursday, said mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, the highest level since May 2019.

Good Thursday this is the chocolate knox with your cross politic daily news brief for thursday febuary 24 2022If the sky is blue, and water is wet be sure to hit the share button, just saying… thank you. Biden Extends US National Emergency Over COVID-19https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-extends-us-national-emergency-over-covid-19 In a letter released on the White House website, Biden told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that “there remains a need to continue this national emergency.”“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation. More than 900,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government,” he wrote, adding that his office has “determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared” almost two years ago.As of late last year, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Johns Hopkins University showed that there were 60,000 more COVID-19 deaths under the Biden administration than under the Trump administration.President Donald Trump had declared a national emergency, which allowed the freeing up of about $50 billion in federal aid.The emergency would have been automatically terminated unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the president sent a notice to Congress stating it would continue beyond the anniversary date.His decision to extend the emergency comes as several Democratic governors moved to rescind COVID-19 mandates, including mask rules, in recent days. The governors of New York and Massachusetts announced last week that they would end certain mask mandates in their states, following similar moves by New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oregon.Some critics have said, however, that Democratic leaders are turning away from COVID-19 rules because they fear losing control in either the House or Senate in the 2022 midterms.A Jan. 31 Monmouth University Poll showed that about 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement, “It’s time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.”PAPERBALL… US court of appeals judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is said to be the frontrunner as Biden looks for a nominee to replace supreme court associate justice Stephen Breyer. Joe Biden has interviewed at least three potential supreme court nominees and is expected to reveal his decision by the end of this month, according to multiple sources close to the president.Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and J. Michelle Childs – all Black women – were among the contenders who spoke with the president. Jackson, who has widely been considered the frontrunner, currently sits on the US court of appeals for the DC circuit after replacing the attorney general, Merrick Garland, in June 2021.Kruger is an associate justice of the California supreme court and has served as the acting principal deputy solicitor general under the Barack Obama administration.Childs currently sits on the US district court for the district of South Carolina and was previously nominated by Biden for a seat on the DC circuit court of appeals. On Sunday evening Cedric L Richmond, director of the White House office of public engagement, told members of the organization Win With Black Women that “we’re close”.“We know what some of the attacks are going to be: not qualified, affirmative action pick… Well, it wasn’t ‘affirmative action pick’ when we just picked friends, white friends of the president, for all these decades. You know, it was just patronage or whatever they wanted to call it,” Richmond said, according to a source who has direct knowledge of the private conference call. Biden has set the end of February as his deadline to pick a nominee. According to CNN, White House officials have reached out to liberal groups to inform them that Biden will not be shifting from his timeline and urged them to support “top tier” candidates against critics’ attacks.In a statement on Tuesday, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said Biden has not yet made a decision.“The President has not yet chosen a nominee. He continues to evaluate eminently qualified individuals in the mold of Justice [Stephen] Breyer who have the strongest records, intellect, character, and dedication to the rule of law that anyone could ask for - and all of whom would be deserving of bipartisan support. He looks forward to announcing a nominee this month.”PAPER BALL…Thousands of truckers are preparing to converge on Washington, D.C., in the coming days as an American Freedom Convoy plans to shut down the Capital Beltway.https://www.conservativereview.com/lawmakers-request-national-guard-presence-as-american-truckers-prepare-to-protest-in-washington-dc-2656777104.html Law enforcement agencies in the D.C. metropolitan area have called in support from the National Guard as they prepare for the American convoy to arrive in late February and stay in the area until late March. Participants in the trucker protest requested a permit from the National Park Service to allow 1,000 to 3,000 people to gather in the nation’s capital city. In response, members of the National Guard will be deployed in the area during the month of March.Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the Department of Defense has received a request for assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police and the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Kirby said, “Those agencies have asked for National Guard personnel to provide support at traffic control points in and around the District to help the USCP and DC government address potential challenges stemming from possible disruptions at key traffic arteries.” Bob Bolus, an organizer of the American trucker convoy, said that protesters are interested in shutting down the Capital Beltway as they stand in opposition against a multitude of policies such as vaccine mandates and disregard for immigration law.PAPERBALL… If you are headed to the Freedom convoy and you always wanted to play guitar but didn’t know where to start? Well, Fight Laugh Feast member David Harsh has created a unique, online monthly membership, that has community, a clear success path, and it’s super affordable. When you join this membership, you can learn at your own pace, from home, or a freedom convoy, alongside a community of guitarists including worship leaders, hobbyists, retirees, stay-at-home moms and more. Through video lessons, worksheets, and weekly Zoom calls, David will take you step-by-step towards becoming the musician you were made to be. GuitarSuccess4U is only $29 a month – that’s less than a dollar a day, and a fraction of the cost of guitar lessons. Join today and get 5 instant bonuses to help accelerate your progress! Head on over to GuitarSuccess4U.com to start your guitar journey. That’s Guitar Success, the number “4” and the letter “U,” dot com.PAPER BALL… Progressive firebrand Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan will be delivering a response to President Biden’s State of the Union address next week.Tlaib, a member of the so-called "Squad" of progressive and diverse Democratic lawmakers in Congress, will give her address on behalf of the left-wing Workers Families Party, the group announced on Wednesday.Tlaib, a two-term lawmaker who made history as the first woman of Palestinian descent in Congress, represents a congressional district that includes parts of Detroit and its inner suburbs. She is expected to praise the president’s stimulus bill and argue that liberals have pushed hard to pass Biden’s agenda. And she’s sure to take aim at Republican lawmakers and some moderate Democrats for blocking the passage of the major spending package being pushed by the White House and most Democrats in Congress. "Obstructionist Republicans and corporate Democrats have forced D.C. to a standstill while millions of kids are pushed into poverty and rising costs are making housing, healthcare, and childcare even more unaffordable," the Working Families Party tweeted in announcing Tlaib as their speaker.The speech will likely spotlight the fissure in the Democratic Party between the progressive left and the more moderate wing of the party ahead of November’s midterm elections, when the Democrats hope to hold onto their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. GOP leaders in Congress announced on Tuesday that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican Party's rebuttal to the president’s address.The president's expected to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1, at 9 p.m. ET.PAPER BALL… Governor Ron DeSantis' backing of a Florida House Representatives measure to withhold $200 million from 12 school districts that defied the state's ban on mask mandates has sparked outrage from 11 Democratic members of Congress who are now calling for a probe.In a letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the lawmakers argue that the funding reductions would "exacerbate an already strained school system" that they noted ranks 46 among states in per-pupil support, a measure that gages funding per student. "This proposal is another attempt to punish these school districts that implemented universal masking policies during an ongoing global pandemic," the letter read. "We write to request (the Department of Education) consider investigating the recent proposal."Under the proposal, the Orange County Public School District would lose $16.5 million worth of funding and the combined Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach County school districts would lose $128 million worth of funds. Forbes reported that the money taken from these and other districts would be moved to the state's other 55 districts that did not defy the order.He has been a vocal critic of COVID-19-related mandates since the onset of the virus. DeSantis did not originally support the measure, which was introduced by state representative and House Education budget writer Randy Fine. However, last Tuesday the representative announced that he had garnered DeSantis' support on the measure."What he [DeSantis] has asked, and what we agree with, is that ensuring our proviso says these reductions in growth must come entirely from central offices...there can be no programmatical cuts in programs facing students. So, the governor is on board, now," Fine said in response to a question about why the proposal did not originally garner the governor's support, WFSU public radio station reported. As it stands, COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida have dropped by 77 percent over the past two weeks and hospitalizations have fallen by 45 percent. These numbers stand above the national figures of a 66 percent decline in cases over the past two weeks and a 44 percent drop in hospitalizations.PAPER BALL… The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom.Home-price growth surged to a record in 2021, as low mortgage-interest rates prompted buyers to compete fiercely for a limited number of homes for sale.The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major metropolitan areas across the nation, rose 18.8% in the 12 months that ended in December, unchanged from the prior month. The calendar-year increase was the highest since the index began in 1987.The Covid-19 pandemic kicked off a nationwide housing boom. Households took advantage of record-low rates and sought more space to work from home. Home sales climbed to a 15-year high in 2021.A shortage of homes for sale led to bidding wars, pushing price growth to new highs. The low inventory has persisted into this year, with the number of homes for sale sliding to a record low in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.First-time buyers are struggling to compete against cash buyers and investors. The share of first-time buyers in the market fell to 27% in January, down from 33% a year earlier, according to NAR.Home-price growth has decelerated in recent months and is expected to slow further in 2022 as mortgage rates continue to increase. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.92% as of Thursday, said mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, the highest level since May 2019.

Missed the show? No worries, we've got you covered with the ON Point podcast.  On this episode, Alex starts off speaking with Ben Eisen, a Sr. Fellow in Fiscal and Provincial Prosperity Studies and former Director of Provincial Prosperity Studies at the Fraser Institute. They talk about a new study released by the Fraser Institute that shows there are two distinct and separate Ontario's when it comes to job growth. Next, Alex speaks with retired Lt.-Col, David Redman, the former head of Alberta's Emergency Management Agency. They talk about the use of language by politicians and doctors that compare this pandemic to wartime efforts, and why that is not only incorrect, but completely misses the point of emergency management. Finally, Alex speaks with Bruce McIntosh, the President of the Ontario Autism Coalition. They talk about the lack of necessary supports for children with special needs while online learning, why after all these years autism support has still only reduced, and why all children, especially those with special needs require in-person learning. Let's get talking See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Missed the show? No worries, we've got you covered with the ON Point podcast. On this episode, Alex starts off speaking with Adrienne Batra, the Editor-in-Chief of the Toronto Sun. Alex and Adrienne break down and examine the Auditor General's report that show the Ford government gave hundreds of millions of dollars to ineligible companies during the pandemic, among other things. They talk about what this does to the Ford brand, what some of the other big mentions were in the report, and if the Premier can come back from this. Next, Alex speaks with Dr. Ian Lee, Associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. They talk about ReMax predicting that housing costs across Canada will increase 9.2% by next year, even with inflation only expected to go up. Alex and Ian discuss why the market will only increase, and if now would be the time to sell or hold if you are a home owner.  And finally, Alex speaks with David Redman, the former executive director of Alberta's Emergency Management Agency. They discuss this reactive measures Canada takes when it comes to new variants. Alex and David talk about why we keep reacting like we can keep the variants out, what we need to do to avoid lockdowns, and why we need to make peace with the thought that this virus is here to stay. Let's get talking See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Congress has conducted at least eleven bipartisan hearings to investigate the security failures that permitted a mob of American citizens to riot inside the Capitol Building and successfully disrupt Congress while they certified the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021. In this episode, hear key highlights pulled from over 30 hours of testimony to understand exactly what happened that day. Executive Producer: Forrest Pttman Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes Q: Into the Storm, HBO CD226: Lame Duck Bills H.R.1090 - District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act S.964 - Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 H.R.4192 - Confronting the Threat of Domestic Terrorism Act S.2043 - Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act H.R.4187 - Domestic Terrorism Penalties Act of 2019 Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act U.S. Department of the Treasury Articles/Documents Article: 587 people have been charged in the Capitol insurrection so far. This searchable table shows them all. by Madison Hall, Skye Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Jacob Shamsian, Azmi Haroun, Taylor Ardrey, and Erin Snodgrass, Insider, July 23, 2021 Article: Tampa man, 20, admits intending to block Congress with Oath Keepers in new Capitol riot guilty plea by The Washington Post, July 20, 2021 Article: Tampa man, 20, admits intending to block Congress with Oath Keepers in new Capitol riot guilty plea by The Washington Post, July 19, 2021 Article: What were the Capitol rioters thinking on Jan. 6? by The Washington Post, July 19, 2021 Article: “You're Gonna Have a Fucking War”: Mark Milley's Fight to Stop Trump from Striking Iran by Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, July 15, 2021 Article: To Trump's hard-core supporters, his rallies weren't politics. They were life. by The Washington Post, July 15, 2021 Article: Michael Flynn posts video featuring QAnon slogans By Marshall Cohen, CNN, July 7, 2021 Article: Latest alleged Oath Keeper arrested in Capitol riot turned over body armor and firearm by The Washington Post, July 2, 2021 Article: ‘Zip Tie Guy' and His Mother Plead Not Guilty to New Charges in U.S. Capitol Siege by Aaron Keller, Law & Crime, June 23, 2021 Article: Man charged with bringing molotov cocktails to Capitol on Jan. 6 has Texas militia ties, contacted Ted Cruz's office, court papers allege by The Washington Post, May 24, 2021 Article: Maryland man, indicted for bringing gun to Capitol riot, could face decades in prison by Jordan Fischer, Eric Flack, Stephanie Wilson, WUSA9, May 18, 2021 Article: DC medical examiner confirms causes of death of 4 who died in Jan. 6 Capitol riot By Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, 11NEWS, April 7, 2021 Article: The lawyer for the 'QAnon Shaman' wants to use Trump's speech before the insurrection as part of his defense by Jacob Shamsian, Insider, March 1, 2021 Two Members of the Proud Boys Indicted for Conspiracy, Other Charges Related to the Jan. 6 Riots By United States Department of Justice, January 29, 2021 Article: Former Army captain arrested after live-streaming Capitol riot By Kyle Rempfer, AirForceTimes, January 22, 2021 Article: 'Trump said I could': One possible legal defense for accused rioters. By Teri Kanefield and Mark Reichel, The Washington Post, January 11, 2021 Article: Did 5 People Die During Jan. 6 Capitol Riot? by Alex Kasprak, Snopes, January 7, 2021 Article: FBI focuses on whether some Capitol rioters intended to harm lawmakers or take hostages by The Washington Post, January 7, 2021 Article: Trump's supporters think they're being patriotic. And that's the problem. by Christine Adams, The Washington Post, January 7, 2021 Article: Capitol riot: Army vet who tended bar accused by FBI of conspiring in insurrection  by AMSNBS, 2021 Article: All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory by The Washington Post, January 3, 2021 Article: 'I just want to find 11,780 votes': In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor by The Washington Post, January 3, 2021 Article: Capitol riots by The Washington Post, 2021 Article: Another MAGA Rally To Take Place In D.C. On The Day Congress Declares Election Results by Matt Blitz, WAMU 88.5, November 27, 2020 Article: Trump's Election Attack Ends December 14—Whether He Knows It or Not by Lily Hay Newman, Wired, November 27, 2020 Additional Resources U.S.A. v. Mark Grods U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, June 28, 2021 Defense Timeline for January 6th Examining the U.S. Capitol Attack: A Review of the Security, Planning and Response Failures on January 6 Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Committee on Rules and Administration U.S.A. v. Christopher Alberts U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, January 27, 2021 U.S.A. v. Lonnie Leroy Coffman U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, January 11, 2021 U.S.A. v. Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohue U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, January 8, 2021 Video: Seeking Information: Pipe Bombs in Washington, D.C. F.B.I., January 5, 2021 Sound Clip Sources Hearing: USCP OVERSIGHT FOLLOWING JANUARY 6 ATTACK, Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, June 16, 2021 Watch on C-SPAN Witnesses: Michael Bolton Inspector General of the US Capitol Police Transcript: 36:40 Michael Bolton: To me the biggest failure is that because we have allowed certain elements within the Capitol Police to be autonomous, they conduct their own training, okay? That's the issue. Whereas you if you have a Training Services Bureau and let's call it an office of training that is fully incorporated, they handle all the training they conducted. They make sure you get the training, they hold your officials accountable, your people doing your training, guess what, we're sending a letter to the chief and they can no longer work until they get required or what have you. Hearing: The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions (Part II), House Committee on Oversight and Reform, June 15, 2021 Watch on Youtube Witnesses: Lt. General Walter Piatt Director of the Army Staff General Charles Flynn Commanding General of the US Army Pacific Chris Wray FBI Director Transcript: 30:41 Lt. General Walter Piatt: My involvement with our response to this emergency began shortly after entering the Secretary of the Army's office at 2:20pm to provide a report of a suspicious package. While I was there, a panic call came in reporting several explosions in the city. To understand the situation, to indentify, what was needed from the army Secretary McCarthy convened a conference call. During this call DC and Capitol authorities frantically requested urgent and immediate support to the Capitol. We all immediately understood the gravity of the situation. Secretary McCarthy went down the hall to seek approval from the Acting Secretary of Defense. Before departing, she directed me to have the staff prepare a response. I communicated this on the conference call. But those are more and more convinced that I was denying their request, which I did not have the authority to do. Despite clearly stating three times that we are not denying your request, we need to prepare a plan for when the Secretary of the Army gains approval. 1:46:02 General Charles Flynn: There's four things in planning that we could have done. And we should have done. The first one there should have been clearly a lead federal agency designated. The second one is we should have had an integrated security plan. The third one is and much of this has been talked about already is information and intelligence sharing on criminal activities before the sixth of January. And then the fourth one would have been, we should have pre-federalized certain National Guard forces so that they could have immediately been moved to the Capitol and had those authorities in place before this happened. 2:09:30 Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD): So that's what we are trying to do, keep our republic and to keep it from those who tried to overthrow this government who wanted to kill members of Congress, who wanted to hang Mike Pence. 2:43:37 Rep. Michael Cloud (TX): You mentioned domestic terrorism that this would qualify as that, would the riots that we saw across the cities for nights and nights and weeks and weeks on even months on end, qualify as domestic terrorism as well? Chris Wray: We've been treating both as domestic terrorism and investigating both through our Joint Terrorism Task Force. 2:51:19 Chris Wray: Among the things that we've taken away from this experience are a few. One, as you heard me say in response to an earlier question, we need to develop better human sources, right, because if we can get better human sources, then we can better separate the wheat from the chaff in social media. Two, we need better data analytics. The volume, as you said, the volume of this stuff is, is just massive, and the ability to have the right tools to get through it and sift through it in a way that is, again, separating the wheat from the chaff is key. And then the third point that I would make is we are rapidly having to contend with the issue of encryption. So what I mean by that is, yes, there might be chatter on social media. But then what we have found and this is true in relation to January 6th, in spades, but it was also true over the summer in some of the violence that occurred there. Individuals will switch over to encrypted platforms for the really significant, really revealing communications. And so we've got to figure out a way to get into those communications or we're going to be constantly playing catch up in our effort to separate as I said, the wheat from the chaff on social media. 3:01:00 Chris Wray: We consider the attack on capital on January 6 to be a form of domestic terrorism. 3:16:00 Chris Wray: As for social media, I think there's, there's it's understandable that there's a lot of confusion on this subject we do not we have very specific policies that Ben at the Department for a long time that govern our ability to use social media and when we have an authorized purpose and proper predication, there's a lot of things we can do on social media. And we do do and we aggressively do but what we can't do, what we can't do on social media is without proper predication, and an authorized purpose, just monitor, just in case on social media. Now, if the policies should be changed to reflect that, that might be one of the important lessons learned coming out of this whole experience. But that's not something that that currently the FBI has the either the authority or certainly the resources frankly, to do. 4:06:00 Rep. Pat Fallon (TX): Has anyone been charged with inciting an insurrection? Chris Wray: I think I responded to an earlier question. I don't believe that that has been one of the charges us so far. But again, with that many cases, I want to build a little room for the fact that I might not know all the cases. Rep. Pat Fallon (TX): So right as of right now, the answer would be no, fair to say? Chris Wray: That's my understanding. Rep. Pat Fallon (TX): Okay. Has anybody been charged with sedition to your knowledge? Chris Wray: Same answer. Rep. Pat Fallon (TX): Okay. No, again, Has anybody been charged with treason? Chris Wray: I don't believe so. Rep. Pat Fallon (TX): Okay, has anyone been charged with illegal possession of a firearm inside the Capitol? On that day? Chris Wray: I believe there has been at least one instance of someone arrested with a firearm in the Capitol. And there have been a number of arrests of individuals either en route to the Capitol or near the Capitol for the for the siege. 4:11:00 Rep. James Comer (KY): On December 31, Mayor browser requested DC National Guard assistance with the planned protest for January fifth and sixth, correct? Lt. General Walter Piatt: Correct, sir. Rep. James Comer (KY):And was that request for assistant ultimately approved by the Secretary of Army? Lt. General Walter Piatt: It was approved by the Acting Secretary of Defense as well. Rep. James Comer (KY):Were restrictions placed on that authority upon the request of Mayor browser and if so, what were those restrictions? Lt. General Walter Piatt: She had requested that they be unarmed and it did not take a place in any law enforcement activities. Hearing: The Capitol Insurrection: Unexplained Delays and Unanswered Questions, Committee on Oversight and Reform, May 12, 2021 Watch on Youtube Witnesses: Chris Miller Former Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Contee Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department Transcript: 00:22 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): Today the committee will examine one of the darkest days in our nation's history. The January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol. On that day, a violent mob incited by shameless lies told by a defeated president launched the worst attack on our republic since the Civil War. 00:42 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): We watched as the temple of our democracy, a building whereas familiar with as our own homes, was overrun by a mob bent on murdering the Vice President and members of Congress. 21:21 Chris Miller: I want to remind you and the American public that during that time, there was irresponsible commentary by the media about a possible military coup or that advisors the president were advocating the declaration of martial law. I was also very cognizant of the fears and concerns about the prior use of the military in June 2020 response to protests in the White House. And just before the electoral college certification 10 former Secretaries of Defense signed an op-ed published in The Washington Post warning of the dangers of politicizing inappropriately using the military. No such thing was going to occur and my watch, but these concerns and hysteria about them nonetheless factored into my decisions regarding the appropriate and limited use of our armed forces to support civilian law enforcement during the electoral college certification. My obligation to the nation was to prevent a constitutional crisis. Historically, military responses to domestic protests have resulted in violations of American civil rights and even in the case the Kent State protests of the Vietnam War, tragic deaths. In short, I fervently believe the military should not be utilized in such scenarios, other than as a last resort, and only when all other assets had been expended. 26:02 Chris Miller: I stand by every decision I made on January 6th and the following days. I want to emphasize that our nation's armed forces are to be deployed for domestic law enforcement only when all civilian assets are expended and only as the absolute last resort. To use them for domestic law enforcement in any other manner is contrary to the constitution and a threat to the Republic. I ask you this consider what the response in Congress in the media had been if I had unilaterally deployed 1000s of troops into Washington DC that morning against the Express wishes of the Mayor and the Capitol Police who indicated they were prepared. 40:52 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): Mr. Miller, you were the Acting Secretary of Defense on January 6th, did President Trump as the commander in chief of the US Armed Forces call you during the January 6 attack to ensure the capital was being secured? Mr. Miller? Chris Miller: No, I had all the authority I needed from the president to fulfill my constitutional duties. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): Did you speak with President Trump at all as the attack was unfolding? Chris Miller: On January 6th? yes. Chris Miller: No, I did not. I didn't need to I had all the authority I needed and knew what had to happen. I knew what had to happen. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): Did you speak with Vice President Pence during the attack? Yes or no? Chris Miller: Yes. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY): According to a defense department timeline, it was Vice President Pence and not President Trump, who called during the siege to say the Capitol was not secure. And to give you the direction to quote, 'clear the Capitol.' What specifically did Vice President Pence say to you that day? Chris Miller: Vice President's not in the chain of command, he did not direct me to clear the capital. I discussed very briefly with him the situation. He provided insights based on his presence there, and I notified him or I informed him that by that point, the District of Columbia National Guard was being fully mobilized and was in coordination with local and federal law enforcement to assist in clearing the Capitol. 1:05:28 Chris Miller: I think I'd like to modify my original assessment. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): Why am I not surprised about that? Chris Miller: Based on as Chief Contee said, we are getting more information by the day by the minute about what happened and the highlight some other observations that were made. It's clear now that there were organized... Although we're going to find out through the Department of Justice process in the law, and the legal system, it seems clear that there was some sort of conspiracy where there were organized assault elements that intended to assault the Capitol that day. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): Reclaiming my time, I'm just asking you the same question you've answered before. Did did the President's remarks incite members to march, the people in the crowd to march on the Capitol, or did they not? Chris Miller: Well, he clearly said offered that they should march on the Capitol. So it goes without saying that his statement resulted in that... Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): Reclaiming my time. Let me just share with the committee what you have said before. This is your quote. This is your quote. What anyone? Would anybody have marched on the Capitol and tried to overrun the Capitol without the president speech? I think it's pretty much definitive. That would not have happened. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): I think now, I would say that this is not the unitary factor at all. What's that? Chris Miller: I would like to offer I have reassessed. It was not the unitary factor at all. There was no...it's seems clear there was an organized conspiracy with assault elements. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): In your testimony for today. Reclaiming my time again, for your written testimony for today. For today, this morning, you stated the following about the President's quote, I personally believe his comments encouraged the protesters that day. So this is that this is that there's a very recent reversal of your of your testimony. Chris Miller: Absolutely not. That's ridiculous. Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): You're ridiculous. Chris Miller: Thank you for your, your thoughts. I also want to highlight... Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): No wait a minute, reclaiming my time, reclaiming my time. 2:06:30 Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI): Has there been any progress made it all on on? Who would have put these bombs there? Robert Contee: No arrests have been made no suspects identified, working without partners on the federal side. There's been surveillance videos that have been released publicly showing that individual placing the pipe bombs, but no arrests have been made at this point. 3:01:05 Rep. Andrew Clyde (GA): Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes, taking videos and pictures. You know, if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the sixth, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit. 3:12:18 Sen. Hank Johnson (GA): Were you ordered to delay deployment of troops? Chris Miller: 110% Absolutely not. No, that is not the case. 4:41:42 Chris Miller: If we had a valid request and a necessary requests from your body, I guarantee you that the Department of Defense would have been there in strength as required. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL): So when you would acknowledge we lost the battle we lost for the first time since 1814... Chris Miller: Horrifying. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL): And it was everybody else's fault but DoD. Chris Miller: I absolutely disagree with the statement that it was... Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) I'm paraphrasing you the only way that makes sense when you say 'you wouldn't do anything differently, you wouldn't do anything differently.' Okay, that implies what I'm saying that it was everybody else's fault in your mind, because it was a catastrophic failure. Chris Miller: And I just had an obligation to protect and defend the Constitution and guarantee that the armed forces were used appropriately, and not in a manner that would be seen as extraconstitutional. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) Look, the Constitution is not a treaty of surrender. It affords you the opportunity to do what's necessary to defend the people in the democracy of the United States. I mean, if looked upon the destruction afterwards, looking back, you say, 'well, at least I defended the Constitution' is another perverse way of looking at this. Nothing was DoDs fault. And at least you did, in your own mind, defend what you thought was right for the Constitution. Never mind how many people got hurt and how much damage was done to our government in the meantime. Chris Miller: I will absolutely take that on and take that as a compliment. Because the armed forces of the United States was completely prepared and ready to respond to any valid request from any department or agency or local or federal law enforcement office. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) You lost and you don't have the Intellectual fortitude to own up to your part of the responsibility. And I get it, a lot of people screwed up, you're one of them. I yield scaled back. Madam Chairman. Chris Miller: I respectfully disagree in that. Rep. Mike Quigley (IL) I was in the room, you weren't. Hearing: State and Local Responses to Domestic Terrorism: The Attack on the U.S. Capitol and Beyond, House Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism, March 24, 2021 Watch on Youtube Witnesses: Dana Nessel Attorney General, Michigan Aaron Ford Attorney General, Nevada John Chisholm District Attorney, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Transcript: 07:19 Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI): The post 9/11 era of security where the threats come from abroad is over. In the 20 years of the post 9/11 era, they came to an end on January 6th, the new reality is that we have to come to terms with is that it's our extremists here at home, seeking to explain internal divisions that pose the greatest threat. Hearing: JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Committee on Rules and Administration, March 3, 2021 Day 2 (March 3, 2021) Day 2, Part 2 (March 3, 2021) Witnesses: Robert Salesses Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security at the U.S. Department of Defense Major General William Walker Commanding General of the DC National Guard Jill Sanborn Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division Federal Bureau of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice Transcript: 06:42 Sen. Gary Peters (MI): But the January 6 attack must mark a turning point. There can be no question that the domestic terrorist threat and cluding violence driven by white supremacy and anti government groups is the gravest terrorist threat to our homeland security. Moving forward, the FBI, which is tasked with leading our counterterrorism efforts, and the Department of Homeland Security, which ensures that state and local law enforcement understands the threats that American communities face must address this deadly threat with the same focus and resources and analytical rigor that they apply to foreign threats such as ISIS and Al Qaeda. 30:19 Robert Salesses: Over the weekend of January 2nd and third, my staff contacted the Secret Service, the Park Police, the marshal service, the FBI, the Capitol Police to determine if they planned to request DoD assistance. None of these law enforcement agencies indicated a need for DoD or DC National Guard Support. 30:45 Robert Salesses: After consultation with the Department of Justice, the Acting Secretary of Defense approved the DC government request for National Guard personnel to support 30 traffic control points and six metro stations from January 5th to the sixth. The Acting Secretary also authorized a 40 person quick reaction force to be readied at Joint Base Andrews. 31:17 Robert Salesses: On January 5, the Acting Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army received a letter from the mayor of DC, stating MPD is prepared and coordinated with its federal partners, namely the Park Police, the Capitol Police and the Secret Service. Based on these communications with federal and local civilian authorities DoD determined that no additional military support was required on January 5th, and 6th. 32:20 Robert Salesses: At approximately 2:30pm, the Secretary of the Army met with the Acting Secretary of Defense and other senior leaders of the Defense Department. After this meeting, the Acting Secretary of Defense determined that all available forces of the DC National Guard were required to reinforce the DC Metropolitan Police and the US Capitol Police and ordered the full mobilization of the DC National Guard at 3:04pm. 33:08 Robert Salesses: After reviewing the DC National Guard's missions, equipping and responsibilities to be performed at the Capitol Complex and supported the Metropolitan Police and Capitol Police, and conferring with the DC Metropolitan Police at their headquarters, at 4:10pm, the Secretary of the Army received the Acting Secretary of Defense's approval at 4:32 and ordered the DC National Guard forces to depart the armory for the Capitol Complex 49:59 Major General William Walker: The District of Columbia National Guard provides support to the Metropolitan Police Department, the United States Park Police, the United States Secret Service, and other federal and district law enforcement agencies in response to planned rallies, marches, protest, and other large scale first amendment activity on a routine basis. The standard component of such support is the stand up of a off site quick reaction for us, an element of guardsmen held in reserve with civil disturbance response equipment, helmets, shields, battons, etc. They are postured to quickly respond to an urgent and immediate need for assistance by civil authorities. The Secretary of the Army's January 5th letter to me withheld that authority for me to employ a quick reaction force. Additionally, the Secretary of the Army's memorandum to me required that a concept of operation be submitted to him before the employment of a quick reaction force. I found that requirement to be unusual, as was the requirement to seek approval to move guardsmen supporting the Metropolitan Police Department to move from one traffic control point to another. 54:50 Major General William Walker: So the memo was unusual in that it required me to seek authorization from the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense, to essentially even protect my guardsmen. So no civil disturbance equipment could be authorized, unless it was came from the Secretary of Defense, now the Secretary of the Army, to his credit, did tell me that I could have force protection equipment with the guardsmen. So we do have helmets. shin guards, vest, we did have that with us. But that came from the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary of Defense told me I needed his permission to to escalate to have that kind of protection. 55:50 Major General William Walker: What it says, without my personal authorization, the District of Columbia National Guard has not authorized the following to be issued weapons, ammunition bayonets, batons or ballistic protection equipment such as helmets and body armor. Now, again, to be clear, the Secretary of the Army told me to go ahead and issue that equipment. So we never were going to have weapons or ammunition and we no longer have bayonets. But we do have ballistic protection equipment, helmets body armor, and so I did have that with each guardsmen. 57:02 Major General William Walker: And at that time, Chief Conte and Chief Soon passionately pleaded for District of Columbia National Guard to get to the Capitol with all deliberate speed. So the Army senior leaders did not think that it'd look good. It would be a good optic, they further stated that it could incite the crowd. So their best military advice would be to the Secretary of the Army who could not get on the call. So we wanted the Secretary of the Army to join the call, but he was not available. We were told that he was with the Secretary of Defense and not available. But the Army Senior leadership, expressed to Chief Conte, Chief Sohn, Dr. Mitchell, the deputy mayor and others on the call, that it would not be their best military advice to have uniform guardsmen on the Capitol. 58:26 Sen. Gary Peters (MI): General Walker was the issue of optics ever brought up by army leadership when the DC National Guard was deployed during the summer of 2020. Was that discussed? Major General William Walker: It was never discussed. The week of June it was never discussed July 4, when we were supporting the city was never discussed August 28th when we supported the city. Sen. Gary Peters (MI): Did you think that was unusual? Major General William Walker: I did. 1:00:32 Major General William Walker: So I had them ready to go shortly after the phone call. So I brought, at 1500, I directed that the quick reaction for us that was based at Andrews Air Force Base, leave the base, get to the armory at all deliberate speed. I had a police escort bring them to the armory. They returned to the Armory in about 20 minutes. So we had them sitting there waiting. And then, in anticipation of a green light, a go, we put guardsmen on buses, we brought them inside the armory, so nobody would see them putting on the equipment and getting on the buses, and then we just waited to get the approval. And that's why we were able to get to the Capitol in about 18 minutes. Sen. Gary Peters (MI): What time were they on the buses Ready to go? Do you recall? Major General William Walker: By five o'clock, but at five o'clock, I decided, hey, you know, there's got to be an approval coming. So get on the buses, get the equipment on, get on the buses and just wait. And then a few minutes after that we did get the approval. I was on a secure video conference when the army leadership conveyed to me that the Secretary of Defense had authorized the employment of the National Guard at the Capitol. So my timeline has 1708, 5:08pm is when is when we wrote down that we had approval and read was about eight people in the office with me when I got that. Sen. Gary Peters (MI): How many guardsmen were ready. You said write a video earlier and they have gotten 155. So you could have sent 155 much, much earlier, what would have been the impact of sending those 155 right around that two o'clock timeframe? Major General William Walker: Well, based on my experience with the summer and I have 19 years, I have 39 years in the National Guard, and I was in the Florida guard Hurricane Andrew I've been involved in civil disturbances. So I believe that number could have made a difference. We could have helped extend the perimeter and help push back the crowd. 1:13:49 Robert Salesses: The only decision makers on the sixth of January were the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy. There was a chain of command from the Secretary of Defense, to Secretary McCarthy to General Walker. That was the chain of command. 1:15:39 Sen. Rob Portman (OH): This morning, you have testified that you received this letter from our secretary McCarthy on January 5, so just the day before the attack on the Capitol. In that letter, did Secretary McCarthy prohibit you from employing the National Guard's quick reaction force without his authorization? Major General William Walker: So I have the letter in front of me, and his letter does not but it is the Secretary of Defense says that I have to use it as a last resort. But the Secretary of the Army told me and it's, I have the letter that I couldn't not use the quick reaction force. It would it would he with I'll just read it. Yeah, 'I withhold authority to approve employment of the District of Columbia National Guard quick reaction force, and will do so only as a last resort, in response to a request from an appropriate civil authority. I will require a concept of operation prior to authorizing employment of a civil- of a quick reaction for it. 1:16:05 *Major General William Walker:** Now a quick reaction force normally is a command was tool to go help either a civilian agency, but more typically to help the National Guardsmen who are out there in need, need assistance. 1:16:58 Major General William Walker: Just to be clear, the Secretary of Defense said I could use it as a last resort, right. But the Secretary of the Army says that I could only use it after he gave me permission. And only then after a concept of operation. Sen. Rob Portman (OH): Right, and we talked about the chain of command earlier, so your chain of command is both of these gentlemen. In other words, you you didn't have the authority to deploy that quick reaction force based on either the letter or the earlier memo that went from the Secretary of Defense, Acting Secretary defense to the Secretary of the Army. Is that correct? Major General William Walker: Yes, sir. 1:17:23 Sen. Rob Portman (OH): Yeah, I also thought it was odd and I think you said was unusual and very prescriptive that the January 5th letter required the Secretary of the Army to approve the movement of deployed guardsmen from one traffic control point to another. Did you find that unusual? Major General William Walker: In 19 years I never had that before happened. So on that day, the Metropolitan Police as they would any other day requested that a traffic control point move one block, one block over. No traffic was where they were. So they wanted the traffic control point to move one block. I had to get permission. I told him, I'll get back to you. I contacted Lieutenant General Piatt, who contacted Secretary of the Army, I had to explain where that contractor control point was in relationship to the Capitol. And only then did I get permission to move the three national guardsmen supporting the Metropolitan... Sen. Rob Portman (OH): These are three unarmed National Guardsmen who are helping with traffic control in parts of that Metropolitan Police can do other things. And they were not permitted to move a block away without getting permission from the Secretary of the Army. Is that true? Major General William Walker: That's correct. Yeah. 1:18:52 Sen. Rob Portman (OH): That January 4th memorandum from Acting Secretary Miller to the Army Secretary required the personal approval of the Secretary of Defense for the National Guard to be issued riot gear. Is that correct? Major General William Walker: That's correct. But but the secretary army told me to go ahead and put it into vehicles. So I give him credit for that. 1:19:08 Major General William Walker: Normally for a safety and force protection matter, a commander would would be able to authorize his guardsmen to protect themselves with helmet and protective equipment. 1:25:57 Sen. Roy Blunt (MO): General Walker if the restrictions on your authorities hadn't been put in place by DoD, what would you have done when Chief Sund called you at 1:49 on January 6, with an urgent request for National Guards assistance? Major General William Walker: I would have immediately pulled all the guardsmen that were supporting the Metropolitan Police Department. They had the gear in the vehicles, I would have had them assemble in the armory, and then get on buses and go straight to the armory and report to the most ranking Capitol Police Officer they saw and take direction. And just let me add this, so one of my Lieutenant Colonel's on his own initiative, went to the Capitol, anticipating that we were going to be called, so he would have been there and he met with Deputy Chief Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department who asked them, where is the National Guard? How come they're not here? And this Colonel said, Well, I'm sure they're coming. And I'm here to scout out where they're going to be when they get here. So that was the plan. I would have sent them there immediately. As soon as I hung up, my next call would have been to my subordinate commanders, get every single guardsman in this building, and everybody that's helping the Metropolitan Police. We mission them to the Capitol without delay. 1:32:11 Robert Salesses: That's when the Secretary of Defense made the decision at 4:32. As general Walker has pointed out, because I've seen all the timelines, he was not told that till 5:08 that's what Sen. Roy Blunt (MO): How's that possible? Mr. Salesses, do you think that the decision in the moment we were in was made at 4:32 and the person that had to be told, wasn't told for more than half an hour after the decision was made? Robert Salesses: Senator, I think that's that's an issue. 1:37:13 Sen. Maggie Hassann (NH): Looking back now, what might have made a difference in being able to move against some of those individuals sooner? Jill Sanborn: Yeah, I think that's great question. I think it's twofold. So it's the complexity of trying to gather the right intelligence that helps us predict indicators and warnings. And I spoke earlier about while there's a volume out there of rhetoric, trying to figure out that intent is very challenging for us in the intel community because it happens on private comms and encryption. So that's one aspect. And then the other aspect is of the people that we were investigating. So predicated investigations, we don't necessarily have the ability to mitigate the threat they might pose by travel if we don't have a charge. And so I think you're tracking that we were aware of some of our subjects that intended to come here. We took over action by going and talking them and trying to get them to not come and that worked in the majority of our already predicated cases. 1:49:46 To review the timeline at 1:49 Chief Sund contacted you. At 2:15 the capital was breached. I think in your testimony you said you had available 340 DC National Guard troops Is that correct? Major General William Walker: Sir, it was actually half of that. So, so half were on the streets helping the Metropolitan Police Department. The other half would have came in to relieve them, but we would have called them in to come in. 1:50:33 Sen. Ron Johnson (WI): How quickly could have you gotten? How many people to the Capitol? Major General William Walker: 20 minutes? Sen. Ron Johnson (WI): How many people? Major General William Walker: 150 1:56:47 Jill Sanborn: We're seeing people that got caught up in the moment got caught up in the sort of the energy etc. and made their way into the captain on those are probably the ones that you're seeing the charges simply of trespassing and then we're definitely seeing that portion that you're pointing out which is small groups and cells now being charged with conspiracy that coalesced either on site or even days or weeks prior and had sort of an intent that day and they to probably caught people up in the energy. PART 2 23:00 Jill Sanborn: The piece of information we received, again, was a non attributable posting to a message board. And so very raw, very unvetted, we actually didn't receive that information until late, very late in the afternoon on the fifth and almost into the evening. And because of our emphasis on we need any intelligence, even though it was raw and attributed, and unvetted, the Norfolk office quickly wrote that up specifically in a document following our processes to disseminate that. So a situation information report is for the intentional purpose of sharing that with state and local partners. Not only did they write that up, because they knew how important that was to get that information out into the hands of folks that might need it, our state and local partners, within 40 minutes, they sent an email to the Washington field office with that information and Washington Field Office also then followed up with an email to all Task Force officers. And so several different mechanisms were happened here. And you know, we'd like to use the phrase 'belt and suspenders' we didn't want to make sure that one method of communication failed. So we wrote it up in the document for dissemination. We sent it in an email to all taskforce officers in the National Capitol Region, and that does include Washington Metro as well as Capitol. But again, not wanting to rely on those two mechanisms only it was then briefed verbally in a command post and interagency command post that we were doing briefings every couple of hours, though, that every agency in that command post have what we call a common operating picture. Knowing what all of us knew at any given time, it was briefed at 8pm on the evening of the fifth, and then taking it one step further, because we didn't want to limit our aperture to just the National Capital Region, because there's collection opportunity out there for all state and local partners and federal partners to help us, we loaded that suspicious information report into what we call the Leap Portal. And that is accessible by all state and local partners. So we really tried in various ways to make sure that we did not rely on one communication mechanism and really tried to rely on several so that the information would get to the right people. 34:46 Sen. Rand Paul (KY): We can talk all we want about January sixth, but really it's the decision making leading up to that. Someone made a bad judgment call and we need to be better prepared. If we're gonna fix this in the future, it isn't about calling the National Guard out quicker. It's about having 1000 people standing there before the riot happens to the riot doesn't happen. Hearing: U.S. Capitol Police and House Sergeant at Arms, Security Failures on January 6, House Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, February 25, 2021 Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Timothy Blodgett Acting Sergeant at Arms; U.S. House of Representatives Yogananda D. Pittman, Acting Chief of Police, U.S. Capitol Police. Transcript: 09:11 ** Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (CA):** The United States Capitol Police Force is not meant to be an army, expecting 1600 officers to hold back an unruly mob of eight to 10,000 people, many of whom were armed and had their own homemade explosive devices or had came with or weaponized, everyday items. It's not a position we should ever have to be in. 20:51 Yogananda D. Pittman: There's evidence that some of those who stormed the Capitol were organized. But there's also evidence that a large number were everyday Americans who took on a mob mentality because they were angry and desperate. It is the conduct of this latter group that the department was not prepared for. Hearing: Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of Insurrection, Committee on Financial Services, February 25, 2021 Watch on YouTube Witnesses Iman Boukadoum Senior Manager, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Lecia Brooks Executive Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center Daniel Glaser Global Head Jurisdictional Services and Head of Washington, DC Office at K2 Integrity Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Board member at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority Former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, U.S. Department of the Treasury Daniel Rogers Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer at Global Disinformation Index Daveed Gertenstein-Ross CEO of Valens Global Transcript: 03:28 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): In the wake of the attacks of September 11th, we recast the entire federal government and worked feverishly to defund terrorist streams. To effectively disrupt domestic extremist groups, we need to better understand their financing. 03:54 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Unlike ISIS, for example, these organizations are not pyramid shaped where funding comes from a handful of easily disruptable areas. An online fundraising drive for a legitimate charity, and one that helps support an extremist group can look very similar. 04:57 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): We need to conscientiously be mindful of the civil liberties concerns at play here. Unlike international extremist groups, law enforcement is constrained by the Constitution when dealing with domestic extremists, balancing the desire to give law enforcement the tools necessary to disrupt these groups with the need to respect the rights of all Americans and the Constitution to which we have all pledged an oath is essential. 05:36 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): While we all live through a brutal event on January 6th, undertaken by right wing extremists, no location on the political spectrum has a monopoly on extremism or violence. 10:08 Rep. Maxine Waters (CA): We're here against the backdrop of the January 6th insurrection. A deplorable yet predictable display of white supremacists such as the Proud Boys, the oathkeepers QAnon and others and nationalist violence incited by President Trump against the members of this body and against democracy itself. 12:51 Iman Boukadoum: Last month violent insurrection heavily fueled by white supremacy and white nationalism shocked the world. 13:52 Iman Boukadoum: We know, however, that even well intentioned national security laws are invariably weaponized against black, brown and Muslim communities. And that white nationalist violence is not prioritized making that policy failure the fundamental reason for what transpired on January 6th, not lack of legal authority. For this reason we oppose any legislation that would create new charges for domestic terrorism or any enhanced or additional criminal penalties. The federal government, including the Treasury Department, has many tools at its disposal to investigate. And also the FBI and DOJ have 50 statutes, at least 50 statutes and over a dozen criminal statutes, 50 terrorism related statutes, excuse me and over a dozen criminal statutes that they can use. They just need to use them to target white nationalist violence. 19:33 Lecia Brooks: Today, some white nationalist groups and personalities are raising funds through the distribution of propaganda itself. In November SPLC researchers reported that dozens of extremist groups were earning 1000s of dollars per month on a popular live streaming platform called D-Live. 20:21 Lecia Brooks: Crowdfunding is also being exploited by hate groups to earn money in this new decentralized landscape. Crowdfunding sites played a critical role in the capital insurrection, providing monetary support that allowed people to travel to Washington DC. They've also played a crucial role in raising hundreds of 1000s of dollars in legal fees for extremists. 20:43 Lecia Brooks: The violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 should serve as a wake up call for Congress, the Biden administration, Internet companies, law enforcement and public officials at every level. 23:11 Daniel Glaser: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to talk about how the US government can employ similar tools and strategies against white nationalists and other domestic terrorist groups as it has employed against global jihadist groups over the past two decades. 23:33 Daniel Glaser: During my time at the Treasury Department, I fought to cut off funding to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and Hezbollah, as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bush Administration, and eventually as the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the Obama Administration. My primary responsibility was to lead the design and implementation of strategies to attack the financial networks of these groups and other threats to our country's national security. And while we should never let down our guard with respect to those still potent terrorist organizations, it has become tragically clear that there are domestic extremist groups that in some ways present an even greater threat to our ideals and our democracy. We have the responsibility to target those groups with the same determination, creativity and sense of purpose that we displayed in the years following 9/11. 27:42 Daniel Glaser: Potential measures in Treasury's toolbox include the issuance of guidance to financial institutions on financial type policies, methodologies and red flags, the establishment of public private partnerships the use of information sharing authorities and the use of geographic targeting orders. Taken together these measures will strengthen the ability of financial institutions to identify, report and impede the financial activity of domestic extremist groups and will ensure that the US financial system is a hostile environment for these groups. 30:10 Daniel Rogers: These groups leverage the Internet as a primary means of disseminating their toxic ideologies and soliciting funds. One only needs to search Amazon or Etsy for the term q anon to uncover shirts, hats, mugs, books and other paraphernalia that both monetize and further popular popularized the domestic violent extremist threat. Images from that fateful day last month are rife with sweatshirts that say, Camp outfits that until recently were for sale on websites like Teespring and cafe press. As we speak at least 24 individuals indicted for their role in the January 6 insurrection, including eight members of the proud boys have used crowdfunding site gifts and go to raise nearly a quarter million dollars in donations. And it's not just about the money. This merchandise acts as a sort of team jersey that helps these groups recruit new members and form further hatred towards their targets. We analyze the digital footprints of 73 groups across 60 websites, and 225 social media accounts and their use of 54 different online fundraising mechanisms, including 47 payment platforms and five different cryptocurrencies, ultimately finding 191 instances of hate groups using online fundraising services to support their activities. The funding mechanisms including included both primary platforms like Amazon, intermediary platforms, such as Stripe or Shopify crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe, payments facilitators like PayPal, monetized content streaming services, such as YouTube, super chats, and cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. All of these payment mechanisms were linked to websites or social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, telegram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, gab, picshoot and others. The sheer number of companies I just mentioned, is the first clue to the scale and the scope of the problem. 31:40 Daniel Rogers: We also found that a large fraction of the groups we studied have a tax exempt status with the IRS, a full 100% of anti muslim groups. 75% of anti-immigrant groups, and 70% of anti LGBTQ groups have 501-C-3 or 501-C-4 status. Over 1/3 of the militia groups that we identified, including the oathkeepers, whose leadership was recently indicted on charges related to January 6, have tax exempt status. This status gives them access to a whole spectrum of charity fundraising tools, from Facebook donations to amazon smile, to the point where most of the most common fundraising platform we identified across all of our data was Charity Navigator. 32:30 Daniel Glaser: I think it's important to remember that if you want to be able to use a cryptocurrency in the real economy, to any scale, it at some point doesn't need to be converted into actual fiat currency into dollars. That's the place where the Treasury Department does regulate cryptocurrencies. 42:10 Daniel Glaser: Cryptocurrency exchanges are regarded as money service businesses. They have full customer due diligence requirements. They have full money laundering program requirements, they have reporting requirements. The US Treasury Department just last month, issued a proposed rule relating to unhosted wallets of cryptocurrencies. And that's out for notice and comment. Right now. It addresses the particular issue of, of wallets that are not hosted on a particular exchange. And I think it's an important rule that's out there and I do encourage people to take a look at it, the comment period closes in May, and then hopefully, Treasury will be able to take regulatory action to close that particular vulnerability. 42:46 Rep. Jim Himes (CT): Mr. Glaser, you you, though suggested something new that I'd like to give you a maybe 30 seconds, 42 seconds I have left to elaborate on you said you were taught you were hopeful for sanctions like authorities against domestic actors. You did not to constitutional civil liberties concerns. But give us another 30 seconds on exactly what you mean. And perhaps most importantly, what sort of fourth amendment overlay should accompany such authority? Daniel Glaser: Well, thank you, thank you for the question. The fact is, the Treasury Department really does not have a lot of authority to go after purely domestic groups in the way that it goes after global terrorist organizations that simply doesn't have that authority. You could imagine an authority that does allow for the designation of domestic organizations, it would have to take into account that, the constitutional restrictions. When you look when you read the a lot of the court decisions, there's concerns could be addressed in the statute, there's concerns. A lot of the scrutiny is heightened because sanctions are usually accompanied with acid freezes. But you could imagine sanctions that don't involve asset freezes that involve transaction bounds that involve regulatory type of requirements that you see in Section 311 of the Patriot Act. So there's a variety of ways that both the due process standards could be raised from what we see in the global context. 44:37 Daniel Rogers: The days leading up to the insurrection, the oathkeepers founder Stuart Rhodes appeared on a podcast and solicited charitable donations to the oathkeepers Educational Fund. It can only be presumed that these funds which listeners were notably able to deduct from their federal taxes, went to transporting and lodging members of the group slated to participate in the ensuing riots. 46:06 Rep. French Hill (AZ): Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: In looking at the draft legislation that the majority noticed with this hearing, one bill stuck out to me and I think it's a good follow up for your from your most recent exchange. It seeks to amend title 31 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to allow designated employees of financial institutions to access classified information related to terrorism, sedition, and insurrection. Now, over the past three congresses, we've talked about the concept of a fusion center, not unlike we do in monitoring cyber risk and cyber crimes for this terror finance arena. We've never been able to come ashore on it legislatively. So I found that interesting. However, I'm concerned that when you deputize bank employees without any oversight, as to how the information would be protected or if there's really even a need for that. 46:53 Rep. French Hill (AZ): Could you describe how banks share information with law enforcement today and how they provide feedback on how we might change these protocols or if they're if that protocol change is necessary. Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: Thank you ranking member, there are four primary ways that banks share information now. The first is suspicious activity reports or the SAR. Financial institutions have to file these documents with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN. When there's a suspected case of money laundering or fraud, the star is designed to monitor activity and finance related industries that are out of the ordinary are a precursor to illegal activity, or can threaten public safety. Second, there's law enforcement's 314 a power under the Patriot Act, in which obtains potential lead information from financial institutions via fincen. Third, law enforcement can use its subpoena power, if a court issues a subpoena pursuant to an investigation, or to an administrative proceeding and forth where there are blocked assets pursuant to OFAC authorities, sanctions or otherwise, banks are required to report block assets back to OFAC. The information sharing in my view is currently quite effective. Treasury in particular has a very strong relationship with the US financial institutions. 48:24 Rep. French Hill (AZ): On 314 in the Patriot Act, is that a place where we could, in a protected appropriate way make a change that relates to this domestic issue? Or is that, in your view, too challenging? Daveed Gertenstein-Ross: No, I think it's a place where you could definitely make a change. The 314-A process allows an investigator to canvass financial institutions for potential lead information that might otherwise never be uncovered. It's designed to allow disparate pieces of information to be identified, centralized and evaluated. So when law enforcement submits a request to Finicen, to get information from financial institutions, it has to submit a written certification that each individual or entity about which the information is sought is engaged in or reasonably suspected of engaging in terrorist activity or money laundering. I think that in some cases 314-A, may already be usable, but I think it's worth looking at the 314-A process to see if in this particular context, when you're looking at domestic violent extremism, as opposed to foreign terrorist organizations, there are some tweaks that would provide ability to get leads in this manner. 1:15:15 Iman Boukadoum: What we submit is that the material support for terrorism statute, as we know, there are two of them. There's one with an international Nexus that is required. And there's one that allows for investigating material support for terrorism, domestic terrorism, in particular, as defined in the patriot act with underlying statutes that allows for any crimes that take place within the United States that have no international nexus. And we believe that that second piece of material support for terrorism statute has been neglected and can be nicely used with the domestic terrorism definition as laid out in the Patriot Act. And we hope that statutory framework will be used to actually go after violent white nationalists and others. 1:50:25 Daniel Rogers: I think there are a number of regulatory fronts that all kind of go to the general problem of disinformation as a whole. And I don't know that we have the time to get into all of them here, but I think they, they certainly fall into three three big categories, with the one most relevant to today's discussion being this idea of platform government and platform liability, that, you know, our data is showing how what a key role, these sorts of platforms play in facilitating the activities of these groups. And the fact that the liability is so nebulous or non existent through things like Section 230 and whatnot, which what we found is that there's there's already policies in place against all of these hate and extremist groups, but they're just simply not enforced. And so updating that kind of platform liability to help drive enforcement I think is one of the key areas that that that we can focus on. Hearing: JANUARY 6 ATTACK ON THE CAPITOL, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Committee on Rules and Administration, February 23, 2021 Day 1 C-SPAN Witnesses Captain Carneysha Mendoza Field Commander of the United States Capitol Police Special Operations Division Robert Contee Acting Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department Paul Irving Former Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives Michael Stenger Former Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate Transcript: 27:11 Captain Carneysha Mendoza: On January 6th, we anticipated an event similar to the million MAGA March that took place on November 14th, where we would likely face groups fighting among one another. 39:21 Robert Contee: MPD is prohibited by federal law from entering the Capitol or its grounds to patrol, make arrests or served warrants without the consent request of the Capitol Police board. 39:32 Robert Contee: The President of the United States not the Mayor of the District of Columbia controls the DC National Guard. 39:57 Robert Contee: Since Mayor Bowser declared a public health emergency last March, the district has not issued permits for any large gatherings. Although the district and MPD take pride in facilitating the exercise of first amendment rights by all groups, regardless of their beliefs. None of the public gatherings on January 5th and sixth were issued permits by the city. 47:13 Steven Sund: The intelligence that we based our planning on indicated that the January six protests were expected to be similar to the previous MAGA rallies in 2020, which drew 10s of 1000s of participants. 55:33 Paul Irving: We began planning for the protests of January 6th in December 2020. The planning relied on what we understood to be credible intelligence provided by various state and federal agencies, including a special event assessment issued by the Capitol Police on January 3rd. The January 3rd assessment forecast at the pros tests were ‘expected to be similar to the previous million MAGA March rallies that had taken place in November and December 2020.' Every Capitol Police daily intelligence report between January 4 and January 6, including on January 6th forecast the chance of civil disobedience or arrest during the protests as remote to improbable. 56:29 Paul Irving: The Chiefs plan took on an all hands on deck approach whereby every available sworn Capitol Police employee with police powers was assigned to work on January 6th. That meant approximately 1200 Capitol Police officers were on site, including civil disturbance units and other tactical teams. I also understood that 125 National Guard troops were on notice to be standing by for a quick response. The Metropolitan Police Department was also on 12 hour shifts, with no officers on day off or leave. And they staged officers just north of the Capitol to provide immediate assistance if required. The plan was brief to multiple law enforcement partners. Based on the intelligence we all believed that the plan met the threat. 1:00:57 Steven Sund: I actually just in the last 24 hours, was informed by the department that they actually had received that report. It was received by what we call, it's one of our sworn members that's assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is a task force with the FBI. They received it the evening of the fifth, reviewed it and then forwarded over to an official at the Intelligence Division over at the US Capitol Police Headquarters. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN): And so you hadn't seen it yourself? Steven Sund: No, ma'am. It did not go any further than that. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN): Okay. And then was it sent to the House and Senate Sergeant in Arms? I don't believe that went any farther than from over to the sergeant at the intelligence. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN): And Mr. Irving. Mr. Stanger, Do you did you get that report beforehand? Mr. Stanger, Did you get the report? Michael Stenger: No. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN): Okay, Mr. Irving? Paul Irving: I did not Sen. Amy Klobuchar (MN): Okay. 1:05:36 Sen. Klobuchar: Mr. Sund, you stated in your written testimony that you first made a request for the Capitol Police board to declare an emergency and authorized National Guard support on Monday January 4th, and that request was not granted. Steven Sund: That is correct, ma'am. 1:05:47 Sen. Klobuchar: Your testimony makes clear that the current structure of the Capitol Police corps resulted in delays in bringing in assistance from the National Guard. Would you agree with that? That's one of the things we want to look at. Steven Sund: Yes, ma'am. 1:06:02 Sen. Klobuchar: Do you think that changes are needed to make clear that the Capitol Police Chief has the authority to call in the National Guard? Steven Sund: I certainly do. I think in an exigent circumstances, there needs to be a streamlined process for the Capitol Chief of Police for the Capitol Police to have authority. 1:07:23 Sen. Klobuchar: Mr. Sund your written testimony states that you had no authority to request t

In the midst of hurricane season, it is almost inevitable that massive rainfall will cause flooding that will affect the District. Preparing yourself and your household is of utmost importance this time of year and we're happy to have someone that will provide you some insight. Our guest is Vermecia Alsop, Hazard Mitigation Officer with the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Through her experience and partnerships within this field, she is well-equipped to share best practices on how we can lessen the impact of flooding in our homes and businesses. We're grateful for her timely contribution to spreading awareness on this topic. Tune in and take note of this vital information that will increase your knowledge of flooding in DC and how to prepare for it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Interview with Don Gossell, Director Athens County Emergency Management Agency

This episode is brought to you by the Savannah Economic Development Authority Chatham Emergency Management Agency's hurricane preparedness champion, Chelsea Sawyer, breaks down evacuation protocol and reminisces about her days as a competitive cheerleader in the latest episode of the Difference Makers podcast. Podcast listeners: Get digital SMN subscription by clicking here for a special offer Make sure to follow The Commute podcast for daily news briefs from Adam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kenneth Hara, director of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, joined Spotlight Hawaii, a series from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that shines a spotlight on issues affecting our islands, today for a livestream video at 10:30 a.m. to takeand took viewer questions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's Local Matters…Ben Rodgers talks with Brandon Smith from Putnam County 911, and the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency. They discuss his transition into his current Emergency Management Agency position, updates on Putnam County 911, how dispatch works for the 911 office, as well as ways that people in Putnam County can stay weather aware whenever severe weather hits the area. Listen to the latest Local Matters Podcast… Presented by Office Mart.

Alex talks with David Redman, a retired Lieutenant-Colonel with 27 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and the former head of Alberta's Emergency Management Agency about why lockdowns are not the best option for handling the pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Residents of the capital city continue to face water outages following last week's winter storm.Then, a Mississippi agency assigned to distribute millions in federal pandemic relief funds is under pressure to get the program going or risk losing the money.Plus, the Mississippi Economic Council responds to the House's fast-tracked tax plan.Segment 1:The Mississippi National Guard has stationing tanker trucks outside several Jackson schools distributing non-potable water for residents in need. Parts of the city have not had running water for more than a week following last week's severe winter storm. The Guard has partnered with the City of Jackson and the Emergency Management Agency to supply the water through several large tanker trucks. Colonel Bobby Ginn is in charge of logistics. He shares more on the response with our Kobee Vance.Residents Carol Green and Estell Green express their frustrations.Segment 2:A Mississippi agency assigned to distribute millions in federal pandemic relief funds is under pressure to get the program going or risk losing the money. Mississippi Home Corporation says it has a waiting list of more than 3,000 people seeking emergency rental assistance. Executive Director Scott Spivey tells the Senate Housing Committee, the agency has $186 million in pandemic relief funds for the program, but a narrow timeframe in which to distribute the money. Segment 3:A tax overall championed by House Republicans has not yet received the endorsement of the Mississippi Economic Council. The Mississippi Tax Freedom Act was introduced and passed in the House earlier this week. The tax reform bill would - among other things - phase out the state income tax, reduce the grocery tax, and raise the sales tax. But, Scott Waller, President and CEO of the MEC, tells our Michael Guidry the Council still has to assess the potential impact of the plan. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) David Redman developed Alberta's Pandemic Plan back in 2004, as head of the province's Emergency Management Agency. He explains why he believes both provincial and federal governments have mishandled COVID-19, including controversial opinions on lockdowns and masks. Maclean's editor at large Scott Gilmore explains why he believes it's time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop working from home and head back to the PMO. Scott also looks back at his 2015 editorial on poverty and racism in Canada, and tells us if he thinks anything's changed over the past six years. With Bitcoin surging after the GameStop debacle on Wall Street and Elon Musk's unofficial endorsement, Bitcoin Well founder and CEO Adam O'Brien shares his thoughts on the fluctuation and future of the world's most prominent cryptocurrency. Oh, and we play the "I'm not a cat" viral video three times through to wrap the show up right! 7:16 - Lieut. Col. (Ret.) David Redman 40:13 - Scott Gilmore 1:14:19 - Adam O'Brien

Alex speaks with former Lt. Col David Redman, the Former Head of Alberta's Emergency Management Agency about Canada's Pandemic Playbooks - and why the country seems to be avoiding using them. Then, Jason Nickerson the Humanitarian Affairs Advisor for Doctors Without Borders speaks with Alex about Canada dipping into the COVAX fund, and how it negatively affects 3rd world nations. Then Alex speaks with Richard Owens, Professor of Law at University of Toronto and Munk Sr. Fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute about Canada's lack of vaccine production in the country See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lt.-Col. David Redman, Former Head of Alberta's Emergency Management Agency is urging Premiers across Canada to walk away from lockdowns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Months after an overwhelming vote, the new Mississippi state flag is finalized by Governor Reeves and raised above the state capitol.Then, vaccination roll-out in Mississippi is lagging behind - especially in long term care settings. Health officials and representatives from major pharmacies explain the delays during a hearing with lawmakers.Plus, the state's Emergency Management Director shares his battle with and recovery from COVID-19.Segment 1:It's official - Mississippi has a new state banner. Government leaders gathered yesterday to witness Governor Tate Reeves sign final certification of the November vote that made the new design featuring a white magnolia official.Last summer, as protests over racial injustice amplified the call for change, lawmakers took the first steps toward change by retiring the 1894 flag emblazoned with the confederate battle emblem. Speaker of the House Phillip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Gov. Tate Reeves, Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Rep. Zakiya Summers comment.Segment 2:The coronavirus vaccine rollout in the Magnolia State is lagging. Mississippi currently trails neighboring states for vaccinations in long term care settings, and lawmakers are searching for ways to speed up this process to protect vulnerable Mississippians. During a hearing with legislators yesterday, Dr. Thomas Dobbs explained some of the reasons for delays with the initial allocations of the vaccine.Segment 3:As the man on the right flank of Governor Tate Reeves during dozens of press conferences throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Colonel Greg Michel was immersed the state's mitigation efforts. The Director of the state's Emergency Management Agency, Michel coordinated the delivery of PPE to hospitals facilities and county health leaders, and managed preparations for emergency overflow hospitals in places like Camp Shelby. But during the pandemic's largest surge, not even Michel was spared from the virus. Now, he shares his personal COVID-19 story. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today's episode, we interview Rebekah Mena, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for the District of Columbia's - Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency we will be covering her experiences working in Public Affairs in the nation's capital. Rebekah's Bio:A passionate and highly motivated communications professional, Rebekah Mena serves as the Deputy Chief, Public Affairs for the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). As a member of HSEMA's Office of Public Affairs, Rebekah oversees the agency's internal and external communications efforts. Through her role, Rebekah utilizes the power of social media and public-facing websites to communicate emergency alerts and emergency preparedness tips and resources to ensure District residents and visitors get the right information at the right time so they can make informed decisions. Additionally, Ms. Mena serves as the agency's Internship Coordinator and is responsible for onboarding and coaching undergraduate and graduate interns entering the fields of homeland security and emergency management. Prior to joining the HSEMA team, Rebekah spent time working for the State of Florida and in the private sector at a digital marketing firm. Ms. Mena holds a bachelor's degree in forensic psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology and has recently completed her master's degree (MA) in communication management and public relations from the University of Denver.Rebekah can be found on twitter @rebekah_mena or on LindIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekahmena/Support the show (https://t.co/GOmAg9X6e8?amp=1)

Fervent supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his spurious claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town."I just want to keep up his spirits and let him know we support him," one loyalist, Anthony Whittaker of Winchester, Virginia, said from outside the Supreme Court, where a few thousand assembled after a march along Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza, near the White House.A week after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, demonstrations in support of Trump took place in other cities. Fury at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating, taking a cue the president's unrelenting assertion of victory in a race he actually lost.A broad coalition of top government and industry officials has declared that the Nov. 3 voting and the following count unfolded smoothly with no more than the usual minor hiccups — "the most secure in American history," they said, repudiating Trump's efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest.In Delray Beach, Florida, several hundred people marched, some carrying signs reading "Count every vote" and "We cannot live under a Marxist government." In Lansing, Michigan, protesters gathered at the Capitol to hear speakers cast doubt on results that showed Biden winning the state by more than 140,000 votes. Phoenix police estimated 1,500 people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to protest Biden's narrow victory in the state.The crowd in Washington was beginning to gather Saturday morning when cheers rang out as Trump's limousine neared Freedom Plaza. People lined both sides of the street, some standing just a few feet away from Trump's vehicle. Others showed their enthusiasm by running along with the caravan.They chanted "USA, USA" and "four more years," and many carried American flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally. After making the short detour for the slow drive around the site, the motorcade headed to the president's Virginia golf club.Among the speakers was a Georgia Republican newly elected to the U.S. House. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories, urged people to march peacefully toward the Supreme Court.The marchers included members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group known for street brawling with ideological opponents at political rallies.The march was largely peaceful during the day before turning tense at night, with multiple confrontations as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.In a pattern that kept repeating itself, those Trump supporters who approached the area were harassed, doused with water and saw their MAGA hats and pro-Trump flags snatched and burned, amid cheers. As night fell, multiple police lines kept the two sides apart. By early evening, police had arrested at least 10, including four on firearms charges, according to both The Washington Post and WTOP.Videos posted on social media showed some demonstrators and counterdemonstrators trading shoves, punches and slaps. A man with a bullhorn yelling "Get out of here!" was shoved and pushed to the street by a man who was then surrounded by several people and shoved and punched until he fell face first into the street. Bloody and dazed, he was picked up and walked to a police officer.The "Million MAGA March" was heavily promoted on social media, raising concerns that it could spark conflict with anti-Trump demonstrators, who have gathered near the White House in Black Lives Matter Plaza for weeks.In preparation, police closed off wide swaths of downtown, where many stores and offices have been boarded up since Election Day. Chris Rodriguez, director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the...

Fervent supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his spurious claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town."I just want to keep up his spirits and let him know we support him," one loyalist, Anthony Whittaker of Winchester, Virginia, said from outside the Supreme Court, where a few thousand assembled after a march along Pennsylvania Avenue from Freedom Plaza, near the White House.A week after Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner of the election, demonstrations in support of Trump took place in other cities. Fury at the prospect of a transfer of executive power showed no signs of abating, taking a cue the president's unrelenting assertion of victory in a race he actually lost.A broad coalition of top government and industry officials has declared that the Nov. 3 voting and the following count unfolded smoothly with no more than the usual minor hiccups — "the most secure in American history," they said, repudiating Trump's efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest.In Delray Beach, Florida, several hundred people marched, some carrying signs reading "Count every vote" and "We cannot live under a Marxist government." In Lansing, Michigan, protesters gathered at the Capitol to hear speakers cast doubt on results that showed Biden winning the state by more than 140,000 votes. Phoenix police estimated 1,500 people gathered outside the Arizona Capitol to protest Biden's narrow victory in the state.The crowd in Washington was beginning to gather Saturday morning when cheers rang out as Trump's limousine neared Freedom Plaza. People lined both sides of the street, some standing just a few feet away from Trump's vehicle. Others showed their enthusiasm by running along with the caravan.They chanted "USA, USA" and "four more years," and many carried American flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally. After making the short detour for the slow drive around the site, the motorcade headed to the president's Virginia golf club.Among the speakers was a Georgia Republican newly elected to the U.S. House. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories, urged people to march peacefully toward the Supreme Court.The marchers included members of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group known for street brawling with ideological opponents at political rallies.The march was largely peaceful during the day before turning tense at night, with multiple confrontations as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.In a pattern that kept repeating itself, those Trump supporters who approached the area were harassed, doused with water and saw their MAGA hats and pro-Trump flags snatched and burned, amid cheers. As night fell, multiple police lines kept the two sides apart. By early evening, police had arrested at least 10, including four on firearms charges, according to both The Washington Post and WTOP.Videos posted on social media showed some demonstrators and counterdemonstrators trading shoves, punches and slaps. A man with a bullhorn yelling "Get out of here!" was shoved and pushed to the street by a man who was then surrounded by several people and shoved and punched until he fell face first into the street. Bloody and dazed, he was picked up and walked to a police officer.The "Million MAGA March" was heavily promoted on social media, raising concerns that it could spark conflict with anti-Trump demonstrators, who have gathered near the White House in Black Lives Matter Plaza for weeks.In preparation, police closed off wide swaths of downtown, where many stores and offices have been boarded up since Election Day. Chris Rodriguez, director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said the...

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, director of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, joined us today

Attorney Thomas DeVore joins John Williams to explain the lawsuit against Governor Pritzker, arguing that the “stay-at-home” order is beyond his authority. Thomas represents a lawmaker downstate who was allowed to break the stay-at-home order, and he is representing several small businesses wishing to do the same.

Attorney Thomas DeVore joins John Williams to explain the lawsuit against Governor Pritzker, arguing that the “stay-at-home” order is beyond his authority. Thomas represents a lawmaker downstate who was allowed to break the stay-at-home order, and he is representing several small businesses wishing to do the same.

This weekend’s Easter Special originates again from Asheville, NC, where Bob has been working in public information for an Emergency Management Agency with the Covid-19 response. This is his fourth week away from home. This weekend show comes in two parts. First, Bob shares his thoughts about this time, and shares the audio soundtrack of a video he produced last week for this time of Easter. On the second half of the program, Bob brings on a special guest, Rev. Randell Graf to talk about the impact on people from much of the “Stay at Home” orders in effect in many parts of the country. He talks about ways to cope in these difficult times. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/support

This weekend’s Easter Special originates from Asheville, NC, where Bob has been working in public information for an Emergency Management Agency with the Covid-19 response. This is his third week away from home. On this special show, Bob reached out to several his friends in ministry to share their thoughts about this special time in our Christian Faith, and how many are celebrating differently in light of this world-wide pandemic. He welcomes to the show Bishop Ian Anderson, the former presiding Bishop of the Reformed Anglican Church, bishop Peter Robinson, the Presiding Bishop of the United Episcopal Church, Bishop Rick Reid, a Bishop of the Independent Anglican Church of Canada, Rev. Scott Lay, who is actually establishing a mission in these difficult times, and Rev. Randel Graf, a pastor and clinical phycologist, who shares timely thoughts about what we are all going through. The program features timely music that highlights this feast of the resurrection, and its hope for mankind. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/support

This weekend Bob is in North Carolina, helping in Emergency Management. Bob, though most of his life has been in broadcasting and active ministry, he spent a number of years working for an Emergency Management Agency as a Public Information Officer. With this current COVID-19 Pandemic, he was asked to come out of retirement to help with public information and helping a large county keep informed. The hours are long, but it is a worthy work he is happy to do. Next weekend’s show will originate from North Carolina. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/your-weekend-show/support

Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare today announced the establishment of the new National Emergency Management Agency from 1 December 2019.The National Emergency Management Agency will replace the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.Minister Henare told Chris Lynch this is bigger than just a name change. They’ve managed to take away some of the bureaucracy and make sure that the line of contact and accountability is to the minister directly.He says it’s about supporting more the work that is being done locally to better respond to emergencies.

Public mass shootings are all too common in our society. Conspiracy theories have become the gasoline on the fire of mass violence toward Jews, racial and ethnic minorities and yes, even Freemasons. Eric and Jason are joined by preparedness expert Bro. Adam Tager to talk about how to keep lodges safe during these difficult times. Adam’s Links: Ready.gov: Federal preparedness website filled with tips, tricks, and templates for a number of different threat types. Active Shooter Preparedness: Two-page FEMA guide on prepping for an active shooter. Active Shooter Response Guide: DHS guide for planning the response to an active shooter. Active Shooter Training: Free FEMA online active shooter training Other tips: Locate all points of entry and/or exit in your Lodge building Assign someone to lock the door of the building before going into the meeting Create a plan for dealing with a hostile intruder and practice the plan Contact your local police department to see if they do physical security walkthroughs Contact your local/county Emergency Management Agency to see what stakeholder resources they have  

Marc Pappas, Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. #WPRO Seven years after Superstorm Sandy struck southern New England, he talks about the lessons learned from the region's last brush with a hurricane. www.riema.ri.gov

Marc Pappas, Director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. #WPRO Seven years after Superstorm Sandy struck southern New England, he talks about the lessons learned from the region's last brush with a hurricane. www.riema.ri.gov

Cooling centers and so much more to focus on right now. It is very hot outside and Doug explains the dangers of this type of heat.

Megan Siu - CALL 2019 co-chair and Research Analyst with Learning and Design team of Emergency Management Agency of Alberta Ministry of Municipal Affairs.Highlights:Pulling together a strong team (along with co-chair Josette McEachren) to run a successful conferenceStrategies for designing agendas and finding the right speakersKey conference topics: AI and tech, Indigenous issues, diversity and inclusion, and moreManaging the unexpectedBuilding a welcoming environmentWhat brings young professionals to CALL and what keeps them coming backVideo of this interview available on YouTube

What's in store for Stark County today as the rains return? What can you do to keep yourself safe? And what special thing should you know about insurance??? Tim Warstler joined Canton's Morning News today to tell you

Severe weather, random power outages... there are several events that can be an emergency situation. Your family and you can be prepared to handle these events by having a kit and taking a few other steps to prepare. June is National Safety Month and Tyler Smith with the Emergency Management Agency talks with us about what those steps are and what you need to know to prepare.

It might seem like an abstract thought to many -- an actual nuclear attack on an Asian neighbor of North Korea, or on the United States -- but the situation between Washington and Pyongyang has wrought real tension not felt since the Cold War. Saturday, when Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency mistakenly issued an alert about a missile attack, it raised a question: Do Americans know what to do in the event of such a military emergency? What's the plan? Culture commentator Sheri Parks joins Dan for the conversation -- and a look back to the Cold War, Civil Defense and the Cuban Missile Crisis.Links:http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-hawaii-false-missile-alert-20180114-story.html

This week on Viewfinder, the podcast that keeps Winchester in focus, we are joined by Christopher Besse of MEMA to discuss the steps to take to make sure you and your family are properly prepared in the event of a disaster. We also talk to Melissa Russell of The Winchester Star to talk about the Winchester headlines this week. Topics include possibly controversial Wifi towers going up across Massachusetts, including Winchester, the summer trend of painted "kindness rocks" popping up all over town, and a brief outbreak of scabies at Winchester Hospital.

Jamie Turner, the recently retired Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency discusses the lessons learned from SuperStorm Sandy and other major events.

Chris Geldart, Director of Washington, DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency discusses the unique challenges of protecting the nation's Capitol.

Guest Commissioner Chris Monzel, host, panelists Cindy Todd, James Neighbors, Kelly Mordecai, with  Dan. Call in and you stay on the line. You too can Join our Round Table Discussion. Follow the Show to get email messages for upcoming episodes. Just hit the follow button of this Link http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bards-logic-political-talk These topics have local and national interest for our listeners.  Water/sewer ratepayers will continue to see year-over-year increases in sewer rates to pay for EPA mandated improvements to the system.  For many communities, this can be a significant long-term burden. The 1/4 percent sales tax proposal for the repair of Union Terminal/ Museum Center that will be decided by voters. What are the primary responsibilities of county government and what has Hamilton County done to achieve the goal of right-sizing county government. Chris Monzel began 2014 leading the charge for fiscal responsibility and efficient County government. His first term has presented a series of economic challenges as well as opportunities that required skilled leadership. Chris has been instrumental in cutting red-tape for business expansion and relocation as well as holding a tight line on department budgets while directing oversight of mandated upgrades to the Municipal Sewer District. As commission president, Chris also serves as President of the Emergency Management Agency, is a member of the Transportation Improvement District, Investment Advisory Committee,  Storm Water District Oversight Board and both the Executive Board and Region Workforce Investment Board. He has been a Designated a Six Sigma Black Belt recipient. Learn more about Chris Monzel at Monzel.com, Follow him on Twitter @VoteMonzel or Like his page on Facebook at Chris Monzel for Hamilton County Commissioner    

www.miGOnline.com www.TheHousingHour.com

In late June 2013, a team of SEI researchers attended a four-day music festival at the invitation of Adam Miller, director of the Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, Emergency Management Agency. The festival typically draws close to 100,000 concert goers to a rural farm in Pennsylvania that lacks significant infrastructure and is accessible only by a two-lane highway. Miller is charged with ensuring the public safety, so it seemed like a good match to partner with researchers from the SEI's Advanced Mobile Systems Team, which supports emergency responders and soldiers in the field who work in situations with limited computer resources, poor connections with networks, and highly diverse missions. This podcast highlights an interview that Bill Pollak, communication and transition manager in the SEI Software Solutions Division, conducted with Miller.  Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Millicent D. West, President and founder of West and Associates, LLC is a graduate of Florida A&M University’s School of Business and Industry.  With over 10 years of direct involvement in emergency response and recovery activities and over 25 years of supporting community building efforts around the world, West brings a fresh perspective to addressing the challenges that governments, the private sector and individual communities face as they work to build their capacity and resilience. Formerly, West served as the Director of the District of Columbia’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency  – the Agency responsible for supporting and coordinating homeland security and emergency management efforts in DC. She also served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation and  worked in various capacities at Serve DC, the Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism, and was named Executive Director in 2007. Under her leadership, volunteerism in the District of Columbia increased by over 200%. West conceptualized and developed DC’s emergency preparedness curriculum for youth ages 5-13, “Commander Ready.” In 2005, West led DC’s volunteer and donations management relief efforts in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. From 1995 to 2003, West served as one of 23 Executive Board members representing 1.2 million missionaries worldwide as the General Secretary of the Youth Missionary Society of the Women’s Home and Overseas Missionary Society of the AME Zion Church.  In that role she was responsible for all relevant programming for youth ages 13-21.  West lives in Washington, DC, is married and has two children. www.westandassoc.com