Podcasts about infrastructure committee

Tynwald's Environment and Infrastructure Committee held an evidence session with officers from the MUA last week and there were several revelations which should be of interest to us all. A thousand Manx households are contributing 7 megawatts of renewable energy to the Manx grid and the MUA is working closely with private sector renewable energy projects in the south and north of the Island. So what does this mean for future energy production for the Isle of Man? Has government been too focussed on renewable energy production and not clear enough in helping the MUA understand future energy usage. The vital sparks at the MUA reveal all.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Congressman Tom McClintock of California's 5th District discusses illegal immigration, the realities of repatriation and deportation, and his forestry bills, the Put Out the Fire Act and the Proven Forest Management Act, which aim to improve wildfire response and expand successful forest management practices nationwide. Congressman Addison McDowell of North Carolina's 6th District shares his work to combat the fentanyl crisis, including the HALT Fentanyl Act and the BIDEN Act to end the use of automated signing devices for key presidential actions. Finally, Financial expert Gary Gygi joins with insight on whether the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates and what that could mean for the economy.   www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds X: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@breakingbattlegrounds Show sponsors: Santa Has A Podcast - This episode of Breaking Battlegrounds is brought to you by Santa Has a Podcast — a show for the whole family filled with kindness challenges, North Pole stories, elf updates, and a sprinkle of Christmas magic all year long. Listen now at SantaHasAPodcast.com. Invest Yrefy - investyrefy.com Old Glory Depot Support American jobs while standing up for your values. OldGloryDepot.com brings you conservative pride on premium, made-in-USA gear. Don't settle—wear your patriotism proudly. Learn more at: OldGloryDepot.com Dot VoteWith a .VOTE website, you ensure your political campaign stands out among the competition while simplifying how you reach voters. Learn more at: dotvote.vote 4Freedom MobileExperience true freedom with 4Freedom Mobile, the exclusive provider offering nationwide coverage on all three major US networks (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) with just one SIM card. Our service not only connects you but also shields you from data collection by network operators, social media platforms, government agencies, and more. Use code ‘Battleground' to get your first month for $9 and save $10 a month every month after. Learn more at: 4FreedomMobile.com About our guest: Tom McClintock represents the people of California's historic Sierra Nevada foothills and fertile Central Valley in a district that stretches from Placerville to Modesto, through the Yosemite Valley and on to Kings Canyon. Often described as "the gold standard" for fiscal conservatism in Congress, the National Taxpayers Union rated him the best vote for taxpayers in the House four times, most recently in 2020. Citizens Against Government Waste recently named him as one of the perfect votes in the House fighting wasteful government spending. McClintock is a member of the House Judiciary Committee where he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement and also serves on the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. He is a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee where he serves on the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, which he chaired from 2015 to 2018, and on the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries, which he chaired from 2011 to 2015. The Congressman is also a member of the House Budget Committee and has proposed major fiscal reforms to curb unauthorized appropriations, control mandatory spending, balance the budget and protect the nation's credit. Prior to his election to Congress, McClintock served 22 years in the California legislature, where he became one of its most recognized conservative leaders. He twice received the Republican nomination for State Controller, narrowly missing election in 2002 by 23/100ths of one percent. He ran as the conservative standard bearer for Governor in California's historic recall election in 2003. - Addison McDowell proudly represents North Carolina's 6th Congressional District. Motivated by the tragic loss of his younger brother, Luke, to a fentanyl overdose, McDowell's top priority in Congress is to tackle the drug crisis and strengthen border security to protect families and communities from the dangers posed by illegal immigration. Addison currently serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Budget Committee. Through these committee assignments, he is fighting to make sure the critical needs of North Carolina's Sixth District are met. Prior to Congress, Addison's public service included serving on staff for Congressman (now U.S. Senator) Ted Budd and Congressman Richard Hudson, where he spent each day helping constituents in need. Addison earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During this time, he met his wife, Rachel, through YoungLife Ministry. A native of Lexington, North Carolina, Addison and Rachel now reside in Davie County, where they are raising their two daughters and are active in their local church.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota to discuss his latest bills, including the No DOT Funds for Sanctuary Cities Act, the FASTER Act, and legislation to protect women's sports at military academies. Johnson also shares insights from his committee work on Agriculture, Infrastructure, and the China Select Committee and explains why he's running for governor. Next, AEI's Daniel Buck dives into the broken world of American education, from Harvard's “Queering Education” course to why no one actually likes high expectations, laying out how ideology has replaced academics and what real reform could look like. Finally, Congressman Andy Biggs joins us in studio to talk about federalism in the Trump era, what Congress must prioritize before year's end, and why he's running to replace Katie Hobbs as Arizona's governor. And as always, stay tuned for Kiley's Corner, where she discusses the Devil's Den double homicide and what one furious woman did after catching her boyfriend cheating. Don't miss this packed episode! Subscribe at BreakingBattlegrounds.Vote or wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegroundsTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@breakingbattlegroundsShow sponsors:Santa Has A Podcast - This episode of Breaking Battlegrounds is brought to you by Santa Has a Podcast — a show for the whole family filled with kindness challenges, North Pole stories, elf updates, and a sprinkle of Christmas magic all year long. Listen now at SantaHasAPodcast.com.Invest Yrefy - investyrefy.comOld Glory DepotSupport American jobs while standing up for your values. OldGloryDepot.com brings you conservative pride on premium, made-in-USA gear. Don't settle—wear your patriotism proudly.Learn more at: OldGloryDepot.comDot VoteWith a .VOTE website, you ensure your political campaign stands out among the competition while simplifying how you reach voters.Learn more at: dotvote.vote4Freedom MobileExperience true freedom with 4Freedom Mobile, the exclusive provider offering nationwide coverage on all three major US networks (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) with just one SIM card. Our service not only connects you but also shields you from data collection by network operators, social media platforms, government agencies, and more.Use code ‘Battleground' to get your first month for $9 and save $10 a month every month after.Learn more at: 4FreedomMobile.comAbout our guest:Dusty Johnson brings an energetic and optimistic style to Washington as South Dakota's lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. An outspoken leader on issues related to border security, countering China, and welfare reform, he serves on the Select Committee on China, Agriculture Committee, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He also chairs the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group of 80 solutions-focused conservatives. Prior to being elected to Congress, he served as chief of staff to the Governor and as vice president of an engineering firm specializing in rural telecommunications. Dusty lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons.-Daniel Buck is a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), director of the Conservative Education Reform Network (CERN), and an affiliate of AEI's James Q. Wilson Program in K–12 Education Studies, where his work focuses on K–12 education, charter schooling, curriculum reform, and school safety and discipline.Before joining AEI, Mr. Buck was a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an assistant principal at Lake County Classical Academy, and a classroom teacher at Hope Christian Schools, Holy Spirit Middle School, and Green Bay Area Public Schools.His work has appeared in the popular press, including The Wall Street Journal, National Affairs, and National Review. Mr. Buck is the author of What Is Wrong with Our Schools? (2022).Mr. Buck has a master's degree and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. You can follow him on X @MrDanielBuck.-Congressman Andy Biggs is an Arizona native and currently serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arizona's Fifth District. He lives in Gilbert with his wife of 40 years, Cindy. They have six children and seven grandchildren.Congressman Biggs received his bachelor's degree in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University; his M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University; and his J.D. degree from the University of Arizona. He is a retired attorney, who has been licensed to practice law in Arizona, Washington, and New Mexico.Before being elected to Congress, Congressman Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature for 14 years – the last four as the Arizona Senate President.Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Oversight and Reform committees. He is chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, co-chair of the Border Security Caucus, co-chair of the War Powers Caucus, and Chief Regulatory Reform Officer of the Western Caucus.Congressman Biggs has a lifetime rating of 100% with the Club for Growth, 98% lifetime score with FreedomWorks, 95% lifetime score with Heritage Action, 100% rating in the 116th Congress for National Right to Life, and a 99% career grade from NumbersUSA.The Arizona Republic named Congressman Biggs as one of its "10 Arizona people you'll want to watch in 2019," arguing that "Biggs makes the public case for the conservative position and often in defense of the Trump administration. He's very good at it. His advocacy tends to be well-reasoned and persuasive, not inflammatory...To keep an eye on what congressional conservatives are thinking and advocating, Biggs is increasingly one to watch." biggsforarizona.com Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

On this week's Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Baruch Feigenbaum of the Reason Foundation returns to talk about developments in Michigan for a road user charge (RUC) model for funding roads. The concept is also referred to as mileage-based user fees (MBUF) by some.Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason, testified June 24 at a Michigan House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about the concept, addressing concerns about privacy and other aspects. A pilot program included in both the Gov. Whitmer's and the Senate's proposed budgets would gather feedback from residents and examine implementation strategies. 

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1 Praying for Chris Arps as he is in Israel 16:59 SEG 2 Dr. Bob Onder, Congressman for Missouri’s 3rd District | TOPIC: Bob Onder's bill, H.R. 3424, the Shared Property Agency and Collaboration and Engagement Act of 2025 (SPACE) Act passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday | The Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Trump’s birthday | Big Beautiful Billonder.house.gov/x.com/BobOnderMO 34:27 SEG 3 https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

THE TIM JONES AND CHRIS ARPS SHOW 0:00 SEG 1 Praying for Chris Arps as he is in Israel 16:59 SEG 2 Dr. Bob Onder, Congressman for Missouri’s 3rd District | TOPIC: Bob Onder's bill, H.R. 3424, the Shared Property Agency and Collaboration and Engagement Act of 2025 (SPACE) Act passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday | The Army’s 250th anniversary parade on Trump’s birthday | Big Beautiful Billonder.house.gov/x.com/BobOnderMO 34:27 SEG 3 https://newstalkstl.com/ FOLLOW TIM - https://twitter.com/SpeakerTimJones FOLLOW CHRIS - https://twitter.com/chris_arps 24/7 LIVESTREAM - http://bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMS RUMBLE - https://rumble.com/NewsTalkSTL See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Voice Of GO(r)D podcast is very excited to bring you a deep dive discussion about the implementation of autonomous trucks on our highways, and the use of human truckers as teaching ‘Guinea Pigs' in this enterprise.Paulette Nobles is a trucker who just recently left Hirschbach Transportation and she joins the show with Mitchel Riesgraf, a driver with Long Haul Trucking and the Truckxedo TikTok channel. I met both through CDL - Drivers Unlimited, a driver advocacy organization that is … hibernating?Paulette and Mitchel share their experiences and research with us, and some of it is quite alarming, especially the use of driver facing cameras to scrape driver performance and behavior in an effort to collect data to teach the robots assumed to be our replacements. Paulette also has some insights to share regards Hirschbach, a carrier partner with Aurora Innovation in their project to make truckers extinct. We explain in the discussion why all of their rhetoric otherwise is pure and unadulterated BS and that you ought be skeptical of anything these people say.It should be noted, and I forgot to mention in the intro I recorded, that today we have reports that the Ukrainian military used drone swarms numbering in the hundreds which took out numerous on the ground aircraft of the Russian Air Force, launched from over a thousand miles away. Automated warfare to automated truckers, and it is really people who end up in the crosshairs.Lean into NeoLuddism!Links -Aurora's letter to the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee attempting to sell them on the safety of their systems -https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:44226229-4a9f-4199-b953-8a12801ddeccA cringe video made by Hirschbach in which their own employees celebrate their replacement -https://vimeo.com/1052465404Aurora's announcement of driver back in (for now)https://aurora.tech/newsroom/updating-our-driverless-operationsA market research firm pours some water on Aurora -https://www.bleeckerstreetresearch.com/research/aurora-innovation-aurhttps://www.stealingfire.tech/https://www.jamesyear.com/James has been on my show about 8 times now, but here is the first of our roundtable discussions looking into Autonomous Trucks -And finally, AI and automated tech are also in the news in the world of politics, as a part of Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' has a sneaky insert which lets AI and related tech development off of numerous hooks for a decade, and Vice President Vance gave a recent interview where he spoke out of both sides of his mouth where it concerns workers affected by all of this.Read about all of that here -https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/p/the-propaganda-pushing-autonomousFor more links, files, and videos mentioned in the introduction and throughout the show, head on over to my Substack post about this podcast - there is always much more info and often photos or videos that Spotify and others won't let me link to. https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/p/teaching-the-robots-through-workerWhile you are there, smash that subscribe button and never miss a podcast or any of my written work, as it will show up instantly in your inbox. As mentioned on the show - I'm writing a book about the fate of the North American trucker in 2025, and you can read about that here -https://autonomoustruckers.substack.com/p/book-project-announcement-and-a-majoIf you've got a couple of bucks to spare to help me see the book through - https://www.givesendgo.com/EndOfTheRoadQuestions, comments, suggestions, corrections and Hate Mail are welcomed and Strongly Encouraged - gordilocks@protonmail.com

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Ari Blaff, features writer at the National Post, who dives into his eye-opening report on rising antisemitism at Toronto Metropolitan University and how Canadian institutions are failing Jewish students—plus his take on how media hype, more than real influence, helped create the Andrew Tate phenomenon. Later, Congressman Burgess Owens returns to share insights on restoring American values through faith, family, and education, as well as his work to codify Trump-era executive orders, defend school choice, and investigate Nike's involvement in controversial gender studies. And in Kiley's Corner, a graphic deep-dive into the Canadian hockey scandal—listeners are warned, this segment contains disturbing content and is not for sensitive ears or stomachs.www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegroundsTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@breakingbattlegroundsShow sponsors:Invest Yrefy - investyrefy.com4Freedom MobileExperience true freedom with 4Freedom Mobile, the exclusive provider offering nationwide coverage on all three major US networks (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) with just one SIM card. Our service not only connects you but also shields you from data collection by network operators, social media platforms, government agencies, and more.Use code ‘Battleground' to get your first month for $9 and save $10 a month every month after.Learn more at: 4FreedomMobile.comDot VoteWith a .VOTE website, you ensure your political campaign stands out among the competition while simplifying how you reach voters.Learn more at: dotvote.voteAbout our guest:Ari Blaff is a reporter with National Post. He writes news and features. Before that, he was a breaking news writer at National Review and a Tablet Magazine fellow.-Burgess Owens is the Congressman from Utah's Fourth Congressional District. Raised in the segregated South, he saw people of all backgrounds come together to work tirelessly against adversity.As a young man, Burgess was one of the first four black athletes recruited to play football at the University of Miami and the third black student there to receive a scholarship, ultimately earning BS in biology and chemistry. He was the 13th pick in the first round of the 1973 NFL draft and joined the New York Jets, later playing safety for ten seasons in the NFL for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders, winning the Superbowl with the 1980 Raiders' team.After retiring from the NFL, Burgess worked in the corporate sales world and eventually moved the Owens family to beautiful Utah. Before being elected to Congress, he started Second Chance 4 Youth, a non-profit dedicated to helping troubled and incarcerated youth.Burgess now serves as a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Burgess believes in dreaming big and follows the four guiding principles of faith, family, free markets, and education.As a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee and Chairman of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, Congressman Burgess Owens is dedicated to fostering the best opportunities for students to learn, workers to succeed, and the job creators of tomorrow to thrive. Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

The Vulcanair V1 training aircraft will be built in a new US manufacturing facility and offered as an affordable option for flight schools. In the news, air traffic control problems at Newark and government actions, the impacts of tariffs on commercial aviation, a call for in-cockpit video recorders, the timely availability of weather forecasts for aviation, Real ID goes live, and wildlife at airports. The V1 trainer, courtesy Vulcanair. Guest Stephen Pope is the Director of Communications for Vulcanair Aircraft North America. Vulcanair is establishing a manufacturing facility in the US and plans to make the Vulcanair V1 trainer aircraft affordable for flight schools.  Steve describes the history of the company and how it optimized the V1 model piston airplane for the US flight training market. The V1 is similar to the Cessna 172, but costs less and is easier to maintain. To address the problem of very old training aircraft at flight schools that are expensive to replace, Vulcanair has formed a leasing company that will offer the V1 to schools for $79 per hour. Vulcanair plans to cover the cost of engine and propeller overhauls. Vulcanair is building a factory in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, with a planned opening date of September 2025. It is sized to produce up to 100 aircraft per year, and the workforce will come from area military veterans. The facility will serve as the main parts hub in the US. After the opening, Vulcanair will build five aircraft for production certification, which they hope to receive in 1Q2026. Vulcanair Aircraft was established in 1996 with private capital to become a General Aviation manufacturer worldwide. Between 1996 and 1998, Vulcanair purchased all the assets, type designs, trademarks, and rights of Partenavia and the SF600 Series Program, including type certificates, tooling, and rights from Siai Marchetti. Vulcanair Aircraft introduced modern tools, a modern organization, and a world-class engineering team to enable aircraft design upgrades and improvements. Vulcanair Aircraft North America is the corporate identity for Ameravia Inc., which was founded in 2015 to serve as the U.S. distributor for Vulcanair aircraft. The company has expanded its operations by offering the P68 line of twin piston- and turbine-engine aircraft, and the V1 single-engine training aircraft. Before joining Vulcanair Aircraft North America, Steve was an Aircraft Sales Counselor with LifeStyle Aviation and a sales and marketing executive with Spectro | Jet-Care. He was Editor in Chief at Flying Magazine, as well as Editor at Business Jet Traveler. Aviation News House Panel Approves $12.5 Billion Boost in ATC Funding The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee added $12.5 billion for air traffic control modernization and controller funding. At the same time, the Committee dropped grants for sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, and other low-emission technology projects. A provision that would have prohibited the use of funds to privatize or sell portions of the ATC system was voted down.  See: House Panel To Consider $15B ATC Boost, SAF Grant Cuts and The FAA wants to hire more air traffic controllers, but that won't happen overnight. United removes 35 round-trip flights per day from Newark Airport schedule as travel woes continue Some air traffic controllers walked off the job after systems went down. Runway construction and a lack of controllers contributed to the flight cancellations. United CEO Scott Kirby said, “This isn't just about schedules or pay. It's about a system on the brink of collapse.” See: Chaos grips Newark Airport as controllers walk out, exposing FAA crisis Major airlines deliver dire warning to Trump administration as grim new twist emerges in tariff drama Air France and Lufthansa reported that transatlantic bookings from Europe to the US are down in the first quarter of the year. The Financial Times reported that the total numbe...

As a Councilmember, Meeka Owens leads the Climate, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee and is also a member of the Budget and Finance and Equitable Growth and Housing Committees. In her first term, she successfully advocated for the 2023 Green Cincinnati Plan and now aims to maintain the collaborative approach that drives significant systemic changes within and around City Hall.  Podcast Produced by Jennifer Osborn Podcast recorded on March 3, 2025 Questions or comments: embracingchange2021@gmail.com For more information on Lucretia Bowman, please visit www.lucretiabowman.com

Minnesota Farm Bureau President Dan Glessing recently testified before the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit on the importance of maintaining rural roadwaysSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Representative Rob Wittman is a Republican representing Virginia's 1st Congressional district in the US House of Representatives. Representative Pat Ryan is a Democrat representing New York's 18th Congressional district, and is a former Army intelligence officer who deployed to Iraq.  Together, they formed the House Modernization Caucus, driving key policies in national security innovation. On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground, Representative Wittman and Representative Ryan discuss the launch of the bipartisan Defense Modernization Caucus and early wins from the caucus in the 2025 NDAA. They explain the challenges for the Pentagon to move from a hardware centric organization to a software centric one, and discuss opportunities for the caucus to drive impact in defense innovation.  This episode is hosted by Jeff Phaneuf and Helen Phillips.    Congressman Wittman:  Congressman Rob Wittman was first elected to the United States Congress to serve Virginia's First Congressional District in 2007. While in office, he has focused on strengthening our military and supporting our nation's veterans, promoting a flourishing economy through fiscal responsibility and pro-growth policies, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, increasing access to high-speed internet, and promoting workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs. In the U.S. Congress, Congressman Wittman serves as vice chairman of both the House Armed Services Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee, where he is well-positioned to represent the needs of Virginia's First District. He has earned a strong reputation for being an advocate for our men and women in uniform and for being a champion of the Chesapeake Bay. Congressman Wittman was re-elected for his ninth full term in the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2024 and prior to that, he served in several levels of government. Congressman Wittman won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as mayor. In 1995, he was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007. Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as field director for the Virginia Health Department's Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier in his career, he worked as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia's Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.   Congressman Ryan:  Congressman Pat Ryan is a fifth-generation Hudson Valley native, proud Kingston High School alum, and the first West Point graduate to represent the Academy in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan served two combat tours in Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars. Prior to his 2022 election to Congress, Ryan served the community that raised him as Ulster County Executive. There, Ryan led the County through the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheaded policies that delivered relief to working families while never raising taxes. He led the charge to revitalize the former IBM site, now known as iPark 87, helped put money back in small business owners and residents' pockets, took on corporate special interests, and delivered new investments in mental health services. In Congress, Ryan is focused on defending fundamental freedoms and delivering relief for Hudson Valley families. Serving on the House Armed Services Committee, Ryan is working on issues of military preparedness, countering the threat of a rising China, and investing in the United States Military Academy and the next generation of military leaders. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Ryan is committed to improving the daily lives of all residents in NY-18. Whether you commute to work on Metro North, travel Route 17 through Orange County, or need broadband access in Dutchess County, he will fight every day to improve our region's infrastructure. Ryan has also championed efforts to expand access to affordable health care, support local law enforcement, preserve Social Security and Medicare, prevent gun violence, and protect a woman's right to choose. Ryan lives in Gardiner, NY with his wife, Rebecca, and their two young sons, Theo and Cameron.

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On this week's edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Zach Rable, a federal policy specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, who talks about priorities for funding as a new Congress convenes.The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will expire in September 2026, and members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are in early discussions about the next reauthorization and what it should include. Three members of the committee are from Michigan: Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City.Some key points from an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) analysis of the IIJA:The IIJA reauthorizes surface transportation programs, with 34 percent more funding than the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provided.The IIJA provided close to $500 billion for road and bridge programs in communities across America.The act included 21 new DOT grant programs that will make targeted investments to repair bridges, improve the resiliency of our surface transportation system, and more.These funds go a long way to address the $1.2 trillion, 10-year surface transportation funding gap that ASCE identified in the 2021 Report Card.

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Sam Graves will remain chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and that has big implications for a number of trucking issues. Also, what are traffic ticket services, how do these membership-style clubs work and how do you make sure they get the job done? Road Law explains. And a so-called truck-eating bridge dubbed the Can Opener that's located in Delaware, Ohio, is showing up on Google Maps as a historic site. 0:00 – Newscast 10:06 – The truth behind traffic ticket services 25:00 – Truck-eating bridge gets historic status on Google 39:51 – Graves may accelerate issues like truck parking

We're back for another week of giving critical insights into the current situation of the freight market! Today, Chris Burroughs is back on the show for his valid opinions on broker transparency. Chris also highlights regulatory challenges related to modifying its regulation and concerns about its implications for small carriers and brokers, prioritizing the resolution of fraud and safety over broker transparency!   About Chris Burroughs Chris Burroughs is Vice President of Government Affairs for the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA). He brings over 18 years of Congressional affairs experience to TIA. As the Vice President of Government Affairs for TIA, Chris leads the Government Relations department including the legislative, regulatory, PAC, and internal policy committee functions. Chris serves as the staff liaison for the Highway Logistics Conference, the Intermodal Logistics Conference, and several other policy committees within TIA. Chris additionally serves on the Board of Directors for the Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) as the Subcommittee Chairman of Industry Advisory Subcommittee and sole representative of the 3PL industry. During his time on Capitol Hill, Chris gained invaluable knowledge of the legislative process. He began his career working on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in 2006 and then later the House Natural Resources Committee. In 2009, Chris joined the Twenty-First Century Group, a bipartisan government affairs firm, as their Director of Government Affairs. In this position, Chris advocated on behalf of multiple clients involved in the transportation, telecommunications, health care, tax, and defense arenas. Additionally, he represented TIA on their issues of interest on Capitol Hill.  Chris lives in Gainesville, Virginia with his wife Stacey and children Kelly, Christopher, and Connor. Chris earned a BS degree in Political Science from Shepherd University located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  

What does Rep. Sam Graves' return as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee mean for major trucking issues? Also, brokers are among the most infuriating problems truckers deal with – and that includes their lack of transparency. Then, from a trucking company that helped a trucker in need to a court that made a bad decision on tolls, we'll offer up some Roses and Razzberries. And a California lawmaker is taking aim at CARB's recent updates to its low-carbon fuel standard – something that will increase the price of fuel. 0:00 – What trucking issues will Sam Graves put first? 10:06 – OOIDA makes big push on broker transparency 25:00 – Roses and Razzberries 39:51 – Lawmaker plans to fight CARB fuel standard

On this Salcedo Storm Podcast:Congressman Brian Babin serves the people of Texas' 36th Congressional District. He serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Some 45,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports are returning to work after their union reached a deal to suspend a strike that could have caused shortages and higher prices if it had dragged on. Arizona State Representative David Cook joins the show this morning to discuss what his plans are for trading and shipping in the future. Representative Cook is Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. 

Chairman Sam Graves of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee joins us to discuss WOTUS, funding the government, and other topics. Our Farmer Forum features Ben Riensche of Iowa and P.J. Haynie of Virginia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Boeing's commercial market outlook, the AirVenture and Farnborough air shows, Airbus' A321XLR certification, funding for FAA infrastructure, Embraer's Eve flying taxi prototype, JetBlue's unpaid leave offer to flight attendants, and first officers decline to upgrade to captain. Aviation News Boeing Forecasts Demand for Nearly 44,000 New Airplanes Through 2043 as Air Travel Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels Boeing released its Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) for 2024-2043, including an interactive dashboard. CMO forecast highlights through 2043: The global commercial fleet is projected to grow 3.2% annually. The air cargo fleet will increase by two-thirds by 2043, to support 4.1% annual air cargo traffic growth. The number of global routes served by commercial airlines has returned to 2019 levels, even though nearly 20% of them are new, illustrating the adaptability of aviation in a dynamic market. Single-aisle airplanes will make up 71% of the 2043 fleet. The global widebody fleet will more than double, with twin-aisles comprising 44% of the Middle East fleet. It's Opening Week for Two of the World's Largest Airshows EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is July 22 – July 28, 2024. EAA has about 300,000 members worldwide. AirVenture sees more than 500,000 attendees over the week-long event they call The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration®. The Farnborough International Airshow is held every two years, alternating with the Paris Air Show. This year Farnborough is July 22 – July 26, 2024, and targets the global aerospace industry. See Farnborough Air Show 2024 - Preview from the Royal Aeronautical Society. Airbus A321XLR Receives EASA Type Certification The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued Type Certification for the Airbus A321XLR powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines. Airbus has a backlog of over 500 single-aisle A321XLR orders. Iberia is the launch customer and EIS is expected in November 2024. Airbus also has orders from Qantas, Icelandair, and IAG Group. Certification for the Pratt & Whitney GTF variant is to come next. Groups Push Lawmakers To Up FAA's ATC Equipment Budget Twenty-six industry associations sent a letter to the Appropriations Committees, the Senate Commerce Committee, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asking for more ATC modernization funding. The associations represent business and general aviation, airlines, air traffic controllers and specialists, pilots and flight attendants, and manufacturers. The groups note an uncommitted balance in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) that could be used for the FAA's Facilities and Equipment (F&E) account. “We… believe more must be done to not only maintain and sustain the ATC system but also to modernize it.” The Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF), also known as the Aviation Trust Fund, was established in 1970 to help finance the FAA's investments in the airport and airway system, independent of the General Fund. Embraer's Eve rolls out flying taxi prototype, cash needs covered until 2027 Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility revealed their full-scale eVTOL prototype. The fixed-wing aircraft uses eight propellers for vertical flight and an electric pusher motor. The first prototype does not have a cabin or pilot. The final aircraft will seat four passengers and a pilot. Eve was founded in 2020 and plans to obtain certification and enter service in 2026. Five conforming prototypes are planned for 2025. The company says they have letters of intent for 2,900 eVTOLs that seat four passengers and a pilot. Investors include United Airlines, BAE Systems, Thales, and Rolls-Royce. Eve eVTOL protype. JetBlue to Offer Six Months of Unpaid Leave to Flight Attendants, Trim Number of Crew Members On Transatlantic Flights A Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) memo says JetBlue is taking steps to reduce costs. Flight attendants should expect “significantly reduced” flying sched...

A ruling from a Texas federal court recently dismantled a mandate placed by the Biden administration on states and cities to tabulate and implement strategies for curbing greenhouse gas emissions associated with transport. Critics, primarily from the Republican fold, characterized the rule, proposed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), as an excessive reach of federal power. These critics suggested that this move was essentially the Biden administration imposing its climate-focused policy on more traditionally conservative states. This idea resulted in Texas taking legal action in December to invalidate the rule, a move which gained favor with the court this past Wednesday. The court noted that a federal administrative body does not have the ability to act without the sanction of Congress. The ruling stated that the FHA created a rule that imposed requirements on states to establish, report, and set progressively reducing goals for the carbon dioxide releases from vehicles using the interstate and national-highway systems. This was deemed as an overreach of their authority. Texas put the compliant forward, stating that the administrative agency did not have the authority to implement such a rule. The court concurred with this viewpoint, citing the statutory language and context that clearly demonstrated the lack of requisite authority. The Judge, James Hendrix, appointed by Trump, penned this decision in a 49-page file. Judge Hendrix stressed on the point that the Department of Transportation made unsuccessful attempts to override the clear legislative limit on approved performance measures. He noted these measures should be restricted to those that evaluate the physical state and efficacy of the national and interstate highway systems. Judge Hendrix emphasized that for any mandate from the federal government obliging states to undertake greenhouse gas assessments, an amendment to an existing law or the execution of entirely new legislation is mandatory. The law in question that might call for an amendment is the 23 U.S. Code Section 150, related to national-highways and interstates. The opinion of Hendrix was consistent with a popular understanding of governmental overreach. Earlier, Congressional authority would be required if the federal government were to oblige states to invest the necessary time and resources to determine and record emissions and to define gradually reducing emission goals, he said. Judge Hendrix stressed, 'If the citizens, through their elected representation in Congress, determine that states should allocate the resources toward monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, and setting targets for their progressive reduction, then they may do so by changing Section 150 or passing a new legislation. It is not the place of an agency to make this judgement on behalf of the people.' The court's decision was hailed by Republican Congressional representatives. Significant among them were Sam Graves (R-MO), the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rick Crawford (R-AR), the Chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. The celebration of the court's decision among these Republican leaders was due to their belief that this was an absolute example of overreach on part of the Biden administration. They commended the court for its affirmation that a 'federal administrative agency cannot act without congressional permission.' Graves and Crawford jointly stated, 'From the outset, this was clearly a case of the Biden Administration exceeding its remit, and we applaud the Court's ruling.' They noted that the agency acted without the requisite Congressional mandate, which makes the overreach even more egregious. They pointed out that the inclusion of a greenhouse gas performance measure prerequisite was explicitly declined when the infrastructure law was formulated. Thus, they argued that the Biden administration's rule-making was an unlawful attempt to sidestep Congress and impose this burden on every state and community in the nation, regardless of their unique circumstances. The sense of victory reverberated among the states that held similar views to the notions of the Republican leaders. Their belief was that the federal mandate, particularly without the prerequisite legal authority, constituted an undue imposition on the states. With this decision, those in agreement perceive it as a necessary check on the powers of the executive branch. For these states and cities, the ruling protects their sovereignty, allowing them to make decisions best suited to their specific circumstances rather than being subject to a one-size-fits-all requirement. Above all, this particular case offers an insightful study into the ongoing debate about federal overreach. The issue of greenhouse gas emissions and the related regulations are indeed crucial discussions for our time, but they ought not to be imposed in a way that overrides the necessary due processes set in place to ensure balance of power. Real News Now Website Connect with Real News Now on Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealNewsNowApp/ X Twitter: https://twitter.com/realnewsapp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realnews/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realnewsnowapp Threads: https://www.threads.net/@realnews/ Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/realnewsnow Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@RealNews YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@realnewsnowapp End Wokeness: https://endthewokeness.com #realnewsnow   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GUEST 1 OVERVIEW: Congressman Randy Weber is a public servant, proven conservative, former small business owner, and third-generation Texan representing the 14th District of Texas. In Congress, he serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee in Congress. Weber also serves on the Science Space and Technology. For over 70 years, Randy Weber has called the Gulf Coast home - a place to start a family and build a business. Although juggling work and family takes great amounts of time and effort, Weber makes time to be an active member of his church and community. Weber built his air conditioning company, Weber's Air & Heat, in 1981 from scratch and grew his business by using what his grandfather used to call ‘good old-fashion Texas horse sense and a strong work ethic.' Like others who have successfully moved from business to public service, Weber's real-world experience in the private sector underpins his commitment to lower taxes, his contempt for wasteful spending, and his firm dedication to better schools. Prior to being elected to Congress, Weber served four years in the Texas State House. During his tenure, Weber served on the committees of Environmental Regulation, Public Education, and as Vice Chair of Border and Intergovernmental Affairs. While serving in the Texas House, Randy Weber authored landmark legislation to combat human trafficking and protect women, young girls, and boys - some as young as 12 years old. Weber has lived in a 20-mile radius all his life and has been married to Brenda Weber, a retired schoolteacher, for over 47 years. He is a graduate of Alvin Community College, and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Houston at Clear Lake. Randy and Brenda have three children and eight wonderful grandchildren. He previously served on the House Foreign Affairs and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.   GUEST OVERVIEW: Andrew Loposser is the President of APL consulting, Creator of The Political Playbook Substack. With nearly two decades of hands-on experience, Andrew has become a go-to expert in the realm of political campaigning, working closely with candidates across local, state, and federal levels. His journey has seen him collaborate with dozens of candidates, building a network rich with respected party leaders and dedicated activists. In Virginia's political scene, Andrew's influence is unmistakable. He proudly serves as Virginia's 8th Congressional District GOP Chairman and is the man behind 'The Political Playbook,' a weekly Substack publication that offers a deep dive into the nuances of the political world.    

Congressman Scott Perry represents Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. Perry serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Committee on Oversight. Perry is also a member of the House Freedom Caucus. Prior to becoming a member of Congress, Perry served in the United States Army as a Brigadier General and in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.Follow Rep. Scott Perry on X: @RepScottPerrySUPPORT OUR WORK https://www.judicialwatch.org/donate/thank-youtube/ VISIT OUR WEBSITE http://www.judicialwatch.org

Transport Topics is the news leader in trucking and freight transportation. Today's daily briefing features news on Class 8 retail sales in January, priorities in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and XPO's efforts to reduce its leverage after acquiring some Yellow locations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On U.S. 26 between Portland and Bend, Ore., sits one spot where both the state and national governments are needed for developing a solution to a very local problem. Doug Decker of Oregon Solutions joins us to discuss what's being done. Also, how many tickets is too many? We speak with the guys at Road Law about what happens when repeat offenders seek legal help. And later this week, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The State of Transportation.” But what specifically will this focus on, and how will it affect you? 0:00 – Newscast 10:07 – Oregon group seeks solutions to local truck parking problem 24:49 – How many tickets is too many? 39:14 – House committee looks at the state of transportation

The previous government's plans for a second Waitemata Harbour Crossing have been roundly rejected by Auckland council. The draft business case was for the construction of two underwater road tunnels, and light rail connecting the CBD to the North Shore. It would have cost $56 Billion. Aside from one councilor who abstained due to a conflict of interest, all members of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee voted to oppose the plan. Acting committee chair Christine Fletcher speaks to Lisa Owen. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6342498527112

Auckland city council is a step closer to hitting peak hour commuters in the wallet - in a bid to coax some of them off the city's congested motorways. Council's Transport and Infrastructure Committee voted 18 to 2 to set up a team to oversee the implementation of the 'time of use' charges. Mayor Wayne Brown had earlier proposed charges between $3.50 and $5 a trip for travel during peak times on State Highway One between Penrose and Greenlane, and State Highway 16 between Lincoln Road and Te Atatu Road. And those charges could come into effect as soon as 2025.

Auckland Council and Auckland Transport will now start work implementing congestion charges on some of the city's busiest roads. Auckland's Transport and Infrastructure Committee voted 18 to two in favour of setting up a team to oversee the implementation of the 'time of use' charges, which could come into effect as soon as 2025. It's a move that's got support from some business advocates, with activist group Extinction Rebellion even breaking into song at the meeting to support mayor Wayne Brown's proposal. But Tim Welch, a senior lecturer in urban planning at Auckland University, says the current plan doesn't go quite far enough. Welch spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss..

 This week, the Michigan Senate's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard testimony on legislation that would allow for the use of safety cameras to monitor the speeds of vehicles driving through road construction projects. Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director of External Engagement at the Governors Highway Safety Association, returns to the podcast to tout the effectiveness of the technology in other states. Later, Gregg Brunner, chief engineer and chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation, explains why he supports the legislation and his takeaway after viewing a demonstration of the technology along a busy freeway. Michigan could join 17 other states employing the technology to lower speeds in work zones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. According to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, more than 100,000 crashes occurred in work zones in 2020, resulting in an estimated 44,000 work zone injury crashes and 857 work zone crash deaths. From a report on the topic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): "The relationship between driving speed and the risk of a crash and/or fatality is well established. In 2019, 26 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities occurred in crashes in which at least one driver was speeding." 

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Capitol Hill. He represents 39 counties across northern Missouri, representing Audrain and Randolph counties in the 939 the Eagle listening area. One of the biggest issues he's also been involved in is trying to obtain federal funding to help replace Jefferson City's aging tri-level. The tri-level bridges were built in 1964. The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says rebuilding the tri-level will cost about $40-million, adding that the nearby Rex Whitton Expressway would also have to be rebuilt for an additional $53-million. While Congressman Graves has been hopeful of finding some intrastate highway dollars for the project, he tells listeners that he's not as optimistic as he was. However, Chairman Graves tells listeners that it's still in the works and that he's still working on the process. Congressman Graves, a Mizzou graduate, also predicts Mizzou will beat Tennessee in Saturday afternoon's top 20 showdown in Columbia:

Welcome to the daily304 – your window into Wonderful, Almost Heaven, West Virginia.   Today is Wednesday, Oct. 18  Starlink high-speed internet is now available throughout West Virginia…State agencies and higher-ed institutions team up to tackle a shortage of veterinary technologists…and an advanced manufacturing work-study program is putting students to work faster…on today's daily304. #1 – From WVPB – About 5,000 Space-X Starlink satellites are now orbiting the earth, able to provide internet service to the highest mountain and deepest hollow. Del. Daniel Linville, R-Cabell, chairs the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee. He said Starlink now has the capacity to clear its West Virginia waiting list and offer internet service everywhere — except for the restricted Green Bank Observatory area. The service offers an immediate option for any West Virginian to get connected.    “It's true broadband speeds,” Linville said. “Your kids can game online if they wish, or you can stream movies or do telehealth or education or anything that you would need to do.” Monthly rates begin at $90. Some households may qualify for the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides a $30 monthly discount regardless of internet provider.  Learn how to connect to Starlink at www.starlink.com. Read more: https://wvpublic.org/internet-from-space-now-available-throughout-w-va/   #2 – From WDTV – West Virginia University, West Virginia State University and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture have developed a new initiative called Vet Start, designed to address the shortage of veterinary technologists in the state. The four-year program will better prepare students, giving them more hands-on experience to make them career ready by the time of graduation.   Cheat Lake Animal Hospital will also provide assistance with this project. Co-owner Dr. Jesse Fallon believes that this program will benefit all clinics around the state. “We need folks that are trained, that are licensed, and who can help us take care of our patients better,” Fallon said. “So the more veterinarian technicians we have, the better skilled veterinarian technicians we have, the better veterinarian medicine we can provide.” Read more: https://www.wdtv.com/2023/10/09/new-vet-tech-program-vet-start/   #3 – From WV GAZETTE-MAIL – Madelyn Ward says she was talking to her hairstylist about trying to find a pathway to a career without going into massive student loan debt and was surprised when she had the perfect solution. “She mentioned her husband was in an advanced manufacturing training program at BridgeValley Community and Technical College in South Charleston. She said it might be a perfect fit for me and it really got my attention, so I looked into it,” Ward said. Ward was one of 20 students the Kanawha Valley Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) chapter chose for its inaugural 2023 cohort.  Students in the 2023 BridgeValley Advanced Manufacturing Technology program applied for and were selected for a paid, part-time position with Toyota West Virginia, Nucor Steel West Virginia or Kanawha Scales and Systems. Ward was one of three students to sign a letter of intent to participate in the work sponsorship program with Nucor. “Being able to go to school, work at the same time and graduate debt-free was a big factor for me,” she said. “Being able to graduate with a degree while making good money and have the opportunity to get a good job with good benefits at Nucor is really awesome. It's really a blessing for me and my son.” To learn more about the FAME program, visit pcda.org/fame-usa. Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/business/manufacturing-apprenticeship-program-offers-wv-students-debt-free-pathway-to-high-paying-jobs/article_ba233013-c925-5328-b548-bc06bf6f32c0.html?es_id=4c0e1e97f5   Find these stories and more at wv.gov/daily304. The daily304 curated news and information is brought to you by the West Virginia Department of Commerce: Sharing the wealth, beauty and opportunity in West Virginia with the world. Follow the daily304 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @daily304. Or find us online at wv.gov and just click the daily304 logo.  That's all for now. Take care. Be safe. Get outside and enjoy all the opportunity West Virginia has to offer.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 3: Jonathan Dienst, Courtney Copenhagen, and Tom Winter of NBC 4 in New York report that “[f]ederal prosecutors are looking into whether an admitted felon helped arrange to give gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez or his wife in exchange for help.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/did-sen-bob-menendez-and-wife-improperly-take-gold-bars-from-corrupt-bank-exec/4697207/ In a video that has gone viral on social media, Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy confronts Washington Post journalist Emily Heil over a “hit piece” she wrote about him—the article is expected to be published soon. During Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) asked Merrick Garland about the Department of Justice and FBI persecuting traditional Catholics. The question resulted in any angry Garland screaming at Van Drew. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. During one fiery exchange, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) called out the Biden Administration for subsidizing the production of electric vehicles people don't want, advancing crippling energy regulations, and causing harm to the long-term health of the American automotive industry. While appearing on CNN, New York Governor Kathy Hochul told migrants: “If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else.” New York City has been hit particularly hard by an influx of illegal migration.

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (09/21/2023): 3:05pm- On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington D.C. to meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Notably, Speaker McCarthy rejected Zelensky's request to appear before the entirety of the House of Representatives. Earlier in the day a group of House Republicans rejected a defense spending bill that would have sent billions more to Ukraine. Zelensky will now meet with President Joe Biden. 3:15pm- Despite an inability to prevent illegal migration along the U.S. Southern border, the Biden Administration has announced it will grant “legal status” to 470,000 Venezuelans who entered the U.S. unlawfully. You can read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2023/09/20/border-influx-migrants-biden/ 3:20pm- While appearing on CNN, New York Governor Kathy Hochul told migrants: “If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else.” New York City has been hit particularly hard by an influx of illegal migration. 3:25pm- In a bizarre opinion piece, Stephanie Farr defended Sen. John Fetterman's relaxed attire and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's decision to suspend the Senate's dress code in order to greenlight the Pennsylvania Senator's wardrobe preferences. You can read the editorial here: https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/senator-john-fetterman-dress-code-clothing-20230920.html 3:30pm- “The Great One” Mark Levin Show—Nationally Syndicated Radio Host & Seven-Time #1 New York Times Best Selling Author—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his new book, “The Democrat Party Hates America.” Plus, does Mark think the Philadelphia Eagles will finally hit their stride this week against the Buccaneers? You can learn more about Levin's book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Democrat-Party-Hates-America/Mark-R-Levin/9781501183157 3:50pm- Listeners call-in: Listener Greg wishes his father Aubrey “Brownie”, a World War II veteran, a happy birthday. He turns 100 years-old today! You can wish him a happy birthday by calling West Chester Rehabilitation and Nursing Home at 610-696-3120. Plus, caller Ray wonders if his wife is too liberal to visit The Rich Zeoli Show remote broadcast in Cape May on October 13th. 4:05pm- While speaking with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) called the Ukraine government a “corrupt regime” and noted that Zelensky's Administration has temporarily paused elections in the country Paul also notes that as a U.S. Senator his primary responsibility is to “keep our government open” not Ukraine's—and that we've already provided them with hundreds of billions of dollars. 4:20pm- While appearing on Fox News with Jesse Waters, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) explained that “five years from now…you're going to find a lot of people got rich from this”—referring to money earmarked for Ukrainian aid and military assistance falling into the wrong hands. 4:30pm- Guy Ciarrocchi— Fellow at The Commonwealth Foundation & Columnist at Broad + Liberty—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to recap his participation in Wednesday's Chester County Prison Board meeting which addressed the escape of convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante. You can find Ciarrocchi's work here: https://broadandliberty.com/author/gciarrocchi/ 4:50pm- The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released six songs to remind young Americans to adopt safety procedures which will lead to longer, healthier lives. Some of the topics include wearing helmets while on bicycles and regularly checking their smoke detectors. 4:55pm- Are you ready to eat 3D printed salmon? 5:00pm- Jonathan Dienst, Courtney Copenhagen, and Tom Winter of NBC 4 in New York report that “[f]ederal prosecutors are looking into whether an admitted felon helped arrange to give gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez or his wife in exchange for help.” You can read the full report here: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigations/did-sen-bob-menendez-and-wife-improperly-take-gold-bars-from-corrupt-bank-exec/4697207/ 5:15pm- In a video that has gone viral on social media, Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy confronts Washington Post journalist Emily Heil over a “hit piece” she wrote about him—the article is expected to be published soon. 5:20pm- During Wednesday's House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) asked Merrick Garland about the Department of Justice and FBI persecuting traditional Catholics. The question resulted in any angry Garland screaming at Van Drew. 5:25pm- On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. During one fiery exchange, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) called out the Biden Administration for subsidizing the production of electric vehicles people don't want, advancing crippling energy regulations, and causing harm to the long-term health of the American automotive industry. 5:45pm- While appearing on CNN, New York Governor Kathy Hochul told migrants: “If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else.” New York City has been hit particularly hard by an influx of illegal migration. 6:05pm- Rich has to leave the show early to attend a charity dinner with listeners—so, Mike Opelka hosts the final hour of the show! 6:10pm- Despite an inability to prevent illegal migration along the U.S. Southern border, the Biden Administration has announced it will grant “legal status” to 470,000 Venezuelans who entered the U.S. unlawfully. You can read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2023/09/20/border-influx-migrants-biden/ 6:20pm- On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Washington to meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Later in the day he spoke with President Joe Biden in the White House. 6:30pm- The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released six songs to remind young Americans to adopt safety procedures which will lead to longer, healthier lives. Some of the topics include wearing helmets while on bicycles and regularly checking their smoke detectors. 6:40pm- Lauren Fix—automotive expert and analyst—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. According to reports, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are holding their ground in negotiations which could lead to an expansion of labor strikes within the automotive industry. You can find her work here: https://carcoachreports.com

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified before The House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today who grilled him on a summer of air travel troubles, rail safety and the administration's push on electric vehicles. Secretary Buttigieg said that flight cancellations are down to pre-COVID days and touted thousands of infrastructure projects in all states. The state of air travel in the United States was the focus though, with the FAA without a head administrator and the looming government shutdown which would have a large impact on air traffic controllers.   FOX's John Saucier speaks with Chad Pergram, FOX News Chief Congressional Correspondent, about the testimony from the Secretary, where the spending bill fight stands and later touches on the Senate relaxing their dress code.  Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testified before The House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today who grilled him on a summer of air travel troubles, rail safety and the administration's push on electric vehicles. Secretary Buttigieg said that flight cancellations are down to pre-COVID days and touted thousands of infrastructure projects in all states. The state of air travel in the United States was the focus though, with the FAA without a head administrator and the looming government shutdown which would have a large impact on air traffic controllers.   FOX's John Saucier speaks with Chad Pergram, FOX News Chief Congressional Correspondent, about the testimony from the Secretary, where the spending bill fight stands and later touches on the Senate relaxing their dress code.  Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by friend of the show, Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Later in the program, we speak with Dr. James Bosbotinis, a UK-based specialist in defense and international affairs.-Dusty Johnson brings an energetic and optimistic style to Washington as South Dakota's lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. A recognized leader in issues related to rural America, agriculture, and welfare reform, he serves on the Agriculture Committee and as Chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee. As a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Dusty has been focused on finding solutions to the supply chain crisis through his Ocean Shipping Reform Act which passed the House in 2021. Appointed to the Select Committee on China, Dusty addresses the 360-degree threat posed by China, especially their ownership of American ag land and ag businesses and control over tech. Prior to being elected to Congress, he served as chief of staff to the Governor and as vice president of an engineering firm specializing in rural telecommunications. Dusty lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons.-Dr James Bosbotinis is a specialist in defence and international affairs. He has particular expertise in the study of contemporary maritime strategy, assessing naval and air force developments, geopolitical analysis, and generating understanding of the connections between maritime strategy and national policy. Dr Bosbotinis has extensive experience encompassing academic and policy-relevant research and analysis for a range of customers, including UK government bodies. He has written widely on issues including the development of British maritime strategy, maritime airpower, Russian maritime doctrine, naval and wider military (including nuclear) modernisation, long-range strike technologies (including hypersonic weapons) and their impact on strategy, and China's evolving strategy. He is the Book Reviews Editor of The Naval Review, and an Associate Member of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, King's College London.”-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds- TranscriptionSam Stone: [00:00:11] Welcome to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. Folks, up first as our guest today, a returning guest and friend of the program. Welcome to Congressman Dusty Johnson, the lone representative from South Dakota. He serves on the as chairman of the Commodity Markets Digital Assets and Agriculture Committee. Or sorry, I am all over the place reading this today. He serves on the Agriculture Committee and as chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets and Rural Development Subcommittee and as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He's also been doing a lot of work as part of the Select Committee on China. Dusty, thank you so much for joining us and welcome to the program.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:00:53] Well, thanks for having me again. I'm glad I didn't flunk the first appearance.Chuck Warren: [00:00:57] We are, too. I've been horrible for ratings. All right. So China has made a secret agreement with Cuba, which is about 100 miles south of Florida. For those of you who bet on geography that they're going to do electronic eavesdropping facility in Cuba, is this alarming or should it be?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:01:16] It is alarming. It's alarming for two reasons. Number one, I mean, they're going to have the capability to do all kinds of electronic surveillance across the southeastern United States from there. That's going to give them access to stuff that they don't otherwise have. They can't get this same stuff from space. They could get it from balloons. But obviously, balloons are pretty easy to to bring down. So this is going to give them new capabilities, particularly to scoop up information communications from military sites in the southeastern United States. But the second reason it's concerning is that it shows additional provocation by Xi Jinping. They just keep pushing the envelope. They keep pushing us. They want us to know that they're going to be the bosses of the next 100 years. And it's a problem. I mean, we have a rules based international system was largely erected by the United States after World War II and our allies. And China hates it. They just hate it. They don't think those rules of fair play make any sense. They want to knock down that system and build a new international system with their values at the core of it. And all of these provocations are just part of a longer term strategy. And I would just say this by way of closure. They have a strategy. I'm not sure our country does. I think we just we don't have a thoughtful and deliberate plan on how to make sure that the next century continues to be part of, you know, an American century.Chuck Warren: [00:02:46] Speaking of that, so now we're talking about Cuba. Is the United States with really no strategy neglecting Central and South America, which China seems to be focusing on?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:02:58] Yes. Yeah, we. So many Americans. I mean, we're in a little bit of an isolationist time. People want to, you know, America first. And listen, of course, when we make policies, we should look first to how is it going to impact America, How is it going to strengthen American prosperity and security? But America first can't mean America. Only some people will sometimes say, well, why would we care about Guyana? Why would we care about, you know, Qatar? Why would we care about Ukraine? But when we recede from international leadership and create a vacuum, China is all too willing to step up and fill that void. They love it. They love it when Americans put our head in the sand. They what I would call the Southern globe. They really are trying to be the dominant force there. China is the largest trading partner with every single South American country. That's it used to be America, and now it's China. In public opinion surveys, increasingly, citizens of African nations are saying that it is China that is the leader of the world and not the United States.Sam Stone: [00:04:03] Well, and that is a matter of world opinion, not U.S. Opinion, too. I think we have to take that into consideration. You can't be the leader of the world just because the people in your country say so.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:04:14] Right. Yeah, that's a really good point. And I just think a world where people think China is in charge is a more dangerous world for freedom. And the thing that I've loved about America through the last 247 years is that to a greater degree than any other country in the history of the world, we have been on the side of the right guys, of the good guys, and we've fought for values. And, you know, we haven't been perfect, but we've gotten it right way more often than anybody else has. And that is not China's track record.Chuck Warren: [00:04:46] Well, and it's interesting. China has sort of become the world's loan shark. It's loaning money to these third world countries for ports, infrastructure. When they can't pay it back.Sam Stone: [00:04:57] They kneecap.Chuck Warren: [00:04:57] Them. They kneecap them. Exactly. And trademarked that term. And so we do that. And so that brings me to we talked about I feel the United States for decades has ignored Central and South America. Right? I mean, we have every abundant resource in the world in our hemisphere. We seem to ignore it. And now you have The Washington Post came out this morning with the Saudi crown prince privately threatened a major economic pain on the US amid a showdown over oil cuts. Leaked intelligence show. And now you have Saudi Arabia inviting China over. We just dropped the ball here. I mean, I don't I don't think I have felt this insecure about our ability in the world right now since I have the late 70s.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:05:44] And I would tell you, this sort of sense of populism that's growing on both sides of the aisle is contributing to that. Free trade is out of vogue. It used to be that that was a key Republican value, that a willing buyer, a willing seller, that kind of free trade without undue government intervention that made both sides more prosperous. Again, it's voluntary. I mean, they're only going to enter into it if they if it makes their individual lives or country stronger. Correct? At least in theory. I mean, Colombia is the fifth largest market for American corn. Is that because Colombia's a top five nation in population or wealth? No, is because Colombians have some unique tastes for corn. No, it's because we have a free trade agreement with Colombia. And so the invisible hand just kind of wants this American product to flow toward that country. And this administration, the Biden administration has no trade policy, Zero. There have been no there's been no progress on any trade deal in the last two and a half years. And the world when I have people come to my office from other countries, they they want to do business with America. They want to buy our beef, our dairy, our corn. They want to buy our manufactured goods. And we are not making it very easy for them. And you're right, that kind of stepping back of American leadership is absolutely. Injuring American competitiveness.Sam Stone: [00:07:14] Well, they want to buy our products because our products are well made. They're safer than food coming from China. Know all of those things. We have this really good capitalist system, but at the head of it is a government that has no idea what it's doing and keeps making radical course changes between administrations. That has to be throwing out all of our allies for a loop.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:07:37] That it is they they still realize that, you know, when we lead, we're the best leader in the world. There's nobody else can bring to the table what America does. They get a little nervous when they feel like America is too inward focused. Tony Blair, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, told me a few months ago that America's political division is a global security threat, that when our Republicans and our Democrats are bickering, the rest of the world gets concerned. And when we're getting along, when America is united, the whole world just breathes a sigh of relief. Oh, thank goodness. Mom and dad, they're the cops on the beat. There's going to be more security. There's going to be more free trade. There's going to be more prosperity across the globe. When we drop the ball, everybody feels it.Sam Stone: [00:08:30] How much is what China is doing right now is really reminiscent of an economic version, if you will, of the Empire Building of the 18th and 19th and early 20th century. How did they how do Chinese people view what they're trying to do in their territorial ambitions? Have you gotten any information on that from your briefings? I mean, do they have real popular support in their country for this sort of muscular foreign diplomacy?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:09:00] We heard from two survivors of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Last week, it was the anniversary of the massacre. And what was most interesting to me about that briefing wasn't just replaying the terrible events of that day, but about how little awareness there is among the Chinese people about the actions of their government. The Great Chinese Firewall is for real. It is very difficult for everyday Chinese people to gain understanding of what their government is doing. And this is the most sophisticated surveillance state that has ever been constructed with human knowledge. And I don't I think Americans don't understand how bad it is. I mean, there are regions in China where you can only get toilet paper in a public restroom by scanning your ID. They want to know where you are. They want to know what you're doing. They want to know how much toilet paper you're using. This is an almost breathtakingly deep invasion of people's privacy, so people are not comfortable speaking out there. There is not a free media. And I not only do they not understand what their government is doing today, there is almost no historical memory of the fact that this has been a repressive and oppressive regime for decades. It is a major problem. The Chinese people are not are not an adversary to our nation. It is just Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party.Sam Stone: [00:10:35] Well, and that brings up a good point. You talk about the digital wall that they've created. I mean, one of the ways that we've really advanced towards ending the Cold War and ending the antagonism with the Soviet Union was with Voice of America, with other communications, where they started seeing on TV the lies their government was telling. Because their government says everyone in America, its poor, it's racked by race riots. All the time. It's a terrible place to live. And then I talked to one ex-Soviet who said, hey, they showed us that. But then they're saying these are the ghettos and everyone has cars and none of us had cars. How do we break through the digital wall? I mean, is there a way for us to start trying to to direct more information to these folks?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:11:25] Yes. And I think things like low earth, low orbit satellites can can play a role in giving people access to Internet that doesn't go through the great Chinese firewall. It can help, you know, one, 1.5 billion Chinese people understand that their regime is evil and is working to make them subservient every single day. But that requires an investment like putting satellites up in space and giving people access to, you know, the World Wide Web. This is not something that happens for free. And I think in our political system right now, if somebody said, well, we want, you know, X hundreds of millions or, you know, a few billion dollars to be able to deploy these satellites like the Voice of America to cut through these tyrannical regimes. What do you all think? I mean, I think a lot of Americans would say, well, why do I care what's going on in Hong Kong? Why do I care what's going on? I mean, I just it seems like it doesn't affect my life.Chuck Warren: [00:12:24] And well.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:12:25] The so I think we've got some information sharing we got to do. Well.Chuck Warren: [00:12:28] We're almost out of time here for this first segment. But I think my final comment here real quick is there's just so much going on in the world. You're saying, how much can I handle mentally? I think that's a big part of it. Now, we're with Congressman Dusty Johnson, South Dakota. This is breaking battlegrounds. Find us at breaking battlegrounds, dot vote or your favorite podcast. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds. I'm your host, Chuck Warren and Sam Stone. We are honored to have friend of the show, Congressman Dusty Johnson, Republican from South Dakota, a true leader in Congress. And folks, are you concerned about your retirement? You probably should be. Things aren't getting cheaper. Social Security going to have to be altered some, whether you like it or not, in the future. That's why Sam and I are recommending to you Yrefy? They are a great opportunity to help students pull out of their private loan college debts, and you can get up to a 10.25% return. That's right, 10.25%. So learn more about how to make your investment dollar go further better than the stock market, actually. And that's why we suggest you call Why Yrefy at eight, eight, eight. W Yrefy two four? Again, call eight, eight, eight Yrefy two four and tell him Chuck and Sam sent you.Sam Stone: [00:14:00] Congressman, thank you for sticking with us, folks. He's going to be on for one more segment after this. Also. So, Congressman, we very much thank you for your time this morning. But one thing we wanted to touch on before we move on to other topics is we've been talking about China. You're part of the China Select Committee. We had Congressman Dunn on the program a couple of weeks ago, and he told us something that I actually was not aware of and hadn't heard that all those little South Pacific islands that MacArthur used as essentially the latter to Japan and that we would, quite frankly, need in a war between Taiwan and China to be able to effectively operate in that theater. The Chinese, just like you were talking about in South America, they're making both economic and military overtures and essentially weaponizing that ladder against us. Can you tell us any more about that or is what are they doing? Because it seems very clear that they are gearing up for an attack on Taiwan.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:01] Everything you said is absolutely spot on. And we talked about in the first segment about American leadership receding a fair amount across the broader world. There are diplomats who say, oh, you know, from from these smaller countries who say, when I talk to the Chinese, I get an airport. When I talk to the Americans, I get a scolding.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:22] And.Sam Stone: [00:15:24] I'll take the airport. Thanks.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:15:27] Yeah. And that's what they're saying now. They know that the airport is going to be built in a very shoddy manner. They know that there's this loan shark mentality that you described, but these are poor countries. And there are times when they've got their backs up against the wall where they don't really know what else to do. They also don't get the sense that this is I mean I mean, Americans have a tendency to view things in pretty stark terms in kind of black and white. I think, by the way, that's when we look at the Chinese Communist Party. We are right to look at them as the bad guys. I think it is that simple. I think Xi Jinping is every bit as big a villain and a tyrant as the famous tyrants of the 20th century we all learned about in third grade. And so I do think that that we are right to look at it in those terms. The rest of the world, you know, these poor countries, they're not so sure. They're trying to make sure their people are fed. And so when these overtures that you're talking about are made, they are far more open to them because America is a little missing in action. Now, I think we have an opportunity here to step up our game because they don't want to cut these deals with the Chinese, but we have to give them an alternative. One more thing in there have been some recent years where where China's Belt and Road initiative invested more money in the developing world than the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund combined. And so it's not just America that's getting outspent by the Chinese. It's really the entire free developed world. We just were getting lapped.Chuck Warren: [00:17:00] Do you think the American public, especially those under the age of 40, really understand what communism is?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:17:05] No, and in part because both political parties are free to use those terms whenever they think that it will provide a short term political benefit. So we really don't I mean, there's not a deep understanding of different political philosophies. No, it is with some communities. It's very clear. I mean, Carlos Gimenez from Florida is on the Select Committee on China with Neal Dunn and myself. And he having spent some time early on in his life in Cuba, I think does understand the backbreaking poverty that can be caused by communism, by socialism. So it's not I mean, it is not unusual among Cuban Americans or among people who emigrated from Eastern Europe for them to understand those concepts. But native born Americans, we just don't get it.Chuck Warren: [00:17:56] I want to switch subjects real quick here. Let's talk about Isgs for a moment. So there's a report out today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation that says under Biden, oil and gas investment is down 80%, 80%. So we just talked earlier about Saudi Arabia threatening economic sabotage on the American economy because Biden doesn't know what he's doing. And now you have these folks that are afraid to put capital on new oil and gas wells, refineries, pipelines, etcetera. We have a problem here because we can be you know, look, there's two things. America should always be self-sufficient on food and energy. There's no reason for it. How do we turn this around?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:18:38] And that is really well said. I do think food and energy are they are the very base of the pyramid. It's hard to build anything upwards if you don't have those as the foundation. And we know that it's almost impossible to cite big projects, whether they be energy or infrastructure in this country. The same project that you can get done in two years in France or Germany takes you five years to get done in this country. I mean, France is not generally considered a paragon of regulatory efficiency. So when we are getting our butts kicked by France, I think that is a should be a major wakeup call. And this is bipartisan, by the way. We've had Secretary Buttigieg come to our transportation committee and talk about how we need to streamline permitting. We have clearly, Senator Manchin has tried to be a leader on this issue. We have really made no meaningful progress until last week. Where the debt ceiling deal, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which I think was pretty unfairly maligned by, you know, far right conservatives for the first time since the 1970s made major improvements in how we can streamline these things. It gives a shot clock for environmental review on energy projects and other projects. So you can't take five years to complete an environmental impact statement. It makes sure that there's a federal government, one agency who's the coordinator who's trying to drive these decisions to fruition. I mean, it does a lot of things that we've been talking about for a long time, but we need even more of it because I think affordable energy is a is an American competitive advantage and we are squandering it.Sam Stone: [00:20:21] Yeah, that's also very well said. It's a huge advantage. We have just about a minute here before we go back to break. We're going to be coming back for our third segment with more from Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Congressman, how do folks follow you and your work? Stay in touch with both what you're doing at the Capitol and while you're at home there in South Dakota?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:20:41] Well, at Rep Dusty Johnson, so Rep, Dusty Johnson kind of on all of the social media platforms, not TikTok, because that's just Chinese malware, but basically everywhere else, that's where we're at. And we'd love to have people join the conversation.Sam Stone: [00:20:56] I did a thing not too long ago for a group of folks asking about different social medias. I went through the purpose of each one of them. I got to Tik Tok and I said, If you have this, throw away your phone.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:21:06] Yep, yep. It's true.Sam Stone: [00:21:09] Congressman, thank you so much. We're going to be coming back here with more from Congressman Dusty Johnson on breaking battlegrounds in just a few moments. We want to touch a little bit on something else that's going on that the congressman has been working on, particularly relating to food security here in the United States and to our our food systems. That has been a major focus of his. And thank goodness we do have some folks in there focusing on it. Folks, make sure you download and tune in to our podcast only segment. You can get that wherever you get your podcasts. We are doing quite a bit on that these days. Those segments keep getting longer and longer and Chuck and I have a nice argument for you at the end of this one. So folks, breaking battlegrounds. Back in just a moment. Welcome back to Breaking battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. On the line with us right now, Congressman Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. Congressman, one of the things that you've been working on really since the pandemic has been our food supply security, its supply chain crisis overall. You've been working on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. Tell us what's going on in both of those areas, because I think Americans still don't realize how fragile our supply chain has been ever since 2020 and continues to be right now.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:22:37] There are a lot of factors that make that supply chain pretty fragile. I mean, we're 80,000 truck drivers short. We only have five major ocean carriers. And so if 1 or 2 of them decide that they're not interested in fairly hauling American products to market, we've got a problem. We had done somewhat of an underinvestment in infrastructure over the previous 20 years. I think that's beginning to move back in the right direction. So we do listen. We have some work to do. And just to give you an example, during the kind of the 18 months after the worst of the pandemic, so we've moved past the worst of health issues, but we were still dealing with some economic fragility. 60% of containers that were going back to Asia were going back empty. This at a time when we had American food products literally rotting on the on the on the docks there because the foreign flagged ocean carriers just wanted to make a quick turn. They didn't want to haul American goods. They wanted to get back, grab Chinese iPhones and bring them back quickly. And I totally get it in a in a true free market system. Okay.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:23:49] Listen, you get to decide how you want to make your money. If you can make more money doing that, I guess, good on you. But these guys are using American ports. And I just think at some point you need some basic reciprocity. And we pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. It was signed into law last year that said, there has to be if you're going to use American ports, you've got to play by some very basic rules of the road, like not ignoring American goods just because you think it's convenient to do so. And then we're also passed out of committee two weeks ago, a bill that would allow trucks if they add a sixth axle to increase weight so we can have those truck drivers when they're on the road do so safely. It doesn't cause more damage to the roads, it doesn't cause more accidents. It just allows those hardworking men and women to to work smarter and more efficiently. But we've got about 100 other things like that we've got to do throughout the system. If we fail to act, we're just going to give China that much more control over the global economic system.Sam Stone: [00:24:48] Congressman, how much do you think and you touched on this earlier, talking about China, but also talking about just our investment, whether it be a low orbit satellite system here in the southwest. We desperately need some new consideration for desalination and pipelining of water. The power grid across the country is very vulnerable and needs to be hardened. There are all these major infrastructure needs or or project needs here and around the world that we should be participating in investing in. How much more would the American public trust our government if we just started getting these things done?Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:25:29] There is a sense that the era of big projects in America is kind of in the rear view mirror. And I think that's sad because I think the story of the 20th century in this country was so much about big projects, big dreams coming to fruition. I mean, rural electrification. The universal service where we everybody got a dial tone. The interstate highway system. We connected every one of the states. The the damn system that provides, you know, 15 or 20% of the electricity for this country. I mean, it was just major homerun after major homerun where we said this is America, this is the land of builders. And now it's like you can't I mean, you can't get anything built without spending, you know, ten years in litigation.Chuck Warren: [00:26:20] Right. Right.Chuck Warren: [00:26:21] And and it's people it.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:26:22] Makes me sad because we need we need to bring back that American swagger of just competence and construction. That doesn't mean we're going to roll over any landowners rights, but I think it does mean that these getting a maybe answer after ten years is obnoxious. Let's give these companies a yes or no so they can figure out what to go invest in.Chuck Warren: [00:26:44] Well, maybe he's the third worst answer. The best answer is yes. Second best, no. The worst answers may be and that's what we keep doing and what's finally what's funny is the progressives want to keep pushing these things that delay these projects, which would help a lot of low income and middle income families. And I sort of have to agree with Sam. Sam thinks this is on purpose because they want to break America. Congressman 30s, tell us what's going good in America right now.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:27:06] Well, research and development, technology, I mean, those are really the things that make people's everyday lives better. Government tries to screw that stuff up, but thank goodness we're failing and innovation continues.Chuck Warren: [00:27:21] We're with Congressman Dusty Johnson. Congressman, thank you for joining us today. You can find him on all social media, on Twitter at Rep. Dusty Johnson, same thing on Instagram, same thing on Facebook. Congressman, thanks a million.Sam Stone: [00:27:33] Never on TikTok.Chuck Warren: [00:27:34] Never on TikTok. It's communist. Thank you, Congressman. We appreciate it.Congressmen Dusty Johnson: [00:27:38] You bet. Thank you.Chuck Warren: [00:27:38] Bye bye. Bye.Sam Stone: [00:28:06] All right. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone. Folks, are you concerned with stock market volatility, especially with Joe Biden in office? What if you could invest in a portfolio with a high fixed rate of return that's not correlated to the stock market? A portfolio where you know what each monthly statement would look like with no surprises, you can turn your monthly income on or off, compound it, whatever you choose. There's no loss of principle. If you need your money back at any time, your interest is compounded daily, you're paid monthly and there are no fees. So go to investyrefy.com that's invest the letter Y, then refy.com or call them at 88yrefy 24 and get yourself in line to earn up to a 10.25% fixed rate of return. That's right, folks. 10.25% fixed. It's the best deal out there in investing today. So give them a call.investyefy.com or 888 y refy 24 and tell them Chuck and Sam sent you? All right, Chuck. Next up, a guest I'm very excited to talk to doing some very good work in the area of military affairs particularly, he is a specialist in defense and international affairs. They focus on maritime and Air Force developments. Welcome to the program, Dr. James Bosbotinis, He and thank you for joining us this morning. You have some fantastic pieces out on hypersonic weaponry that's being developed. Can you tell us first what is a hypersonic weapon?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:29:29] Thank you very much. And, uh, it's my pleasure to be speaking to you today. A hypersonic weapon is basically a missile that travels at speeds of in excess of Mach five or faster than the five times faster than the speed of sound. The difference between a hypersonic missile as attention is being drawn to now and a traditional ballistic missile which travel at speeds above Mach five and have been in service, uh, for decades now, is that the new generation of hypersonic weapons that are being developed? Hypersonic glide vehicles and hypersonic cruise missiles can maneuver within the atmosphere. Which complicates detection, tracking and defense.Sam Stone: [00:30:27] That's one of the first questions. Thank you. That was one of the first questions I was going to ask, because obviously a traditional ICBM is actually coming in faster than than these things go. And we have developed some systems to try to at least target those and be able to shoot them down. But your concern, you say, with these.Sam Stone: [00:30:46] Is.Sam Stone: [00:30:48] There's almost no way to for our current defense systems, our ship point defense systems, our national defense systems to deal with this threat as it evolves at this time.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:31:00] Defense against the latest hypersonic threats at present is very limited. The United States has said it has a nascent capability against, for example, hypersonic glide vehicles, with the Sm6 deployed on US Navy warships. And it's working to develop a glide phase interceptor, which will enter service later this decade, and that will be capable of intercepting the latest hypersonic threats that are being developed, as we have seen most recently in Ukraine. The Patriot Air defense. Air and missile defense system does offer a capability against the Russian kinzhal The Kinzhal is described as a hypersonic weapon system. And strictly speaking, it is. It travels faster than Mach five. But. It's a sort of entry level hypersonic system. It's an it's effectively an air launched ballistic missile. It's an air launched version of the Russian Iskander Ground launched tactical ballistic missile. So it it falls within the intercept capability of existing systems such as Patriot. The higher end systems glide vehicles such as the Chinese DF 17 or a hypersonic cruise missile. They are much more taxing.Chuck Warren: [00:32:30] Why should Americans, our brothers and sisters, the United Kingdom, freedom loving countries be concerned about Russia and China having hypersonic missiles? Explain to them what is the danger of them in practical terms.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:32:46] A hypersonic weapons by virtue of their speed, their flight paths, their unpredictable trajectories and maneuverability, make detecting, tracking and engaging them very difficult. So they are particularly well suited to striking very high value targets. It's why the United States, for example, is working to develop its own hypersonic weapons capability. If you want to hit something that is extremely high value, such as an aircraft carrier or a deeply buried, hardened command facility, a hypersonic weapon provides. That effective means of penetrating an adversary's own missile defenses and striking it. Are not a panacea. They're not going to be silver bullets. They form part of a wider strike complex, but because of those particular characteristics, they pose particular challenges. And that is why they are eliciting so much concern in terms of potential adversaries deploying them.Chuck Warren: [00:34:02] The United States obviously omits and shows its power around the world through our aircraft carriers. There are amazing vessels. They show amazing presence. Why would a hypersonic missile mean to our aircraft carrier presence throughout the world? Let's say Russia or Iran have one. What does that mean?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:34:24] It provides a potent means of targeting the carrier. But a carrier is inherently an extremely difficult target to prosecute. It's mobile. A US carrier will be moving hundreds of miles a day. The maritime environment is inherently dynamic, and to find, fix, track and target a carrier is difficult. You need a very robust supporting kill chain or intelligence surveillance reconnaissance systems that can locate the carrier, keep track of it and help cue long range strike systems onto it. And those systems can be targeted kinetically so reconnaissance aircraft can be shot down. They can be targeted for electronic warfare and cyber means. So the system can be disrupted in a in a variety of means. But. Assuming that it's still functioning, the adversary can launch a hypersonic missile, which because it travels so much quicker than a long range than other subsonic long range strike systems, the time a subsonic cruise missile would take to travel, say, 600 miles in an hour. A hypersonic missile can do in, say, ten minutes. So because it's compressing the time that it takes to travel to the target, it means that the carrier and its strike group have a much shorter window in which to detect, track and engage the incoming threat. So that is why hypersonic weapons are seen as posing such a challenge to time critical targets such such as an aircraft carrier.Chuck Warren: [00:36:07] You need people who think on their feet.Sam Stone: [00:36:09] Yeah. One of one of your recent articles on that same point, it's not just compressing the time that a carrier or carrier group has to deal with an incoming threat, But the potential for these missiles to be used in both conventional and nuclear configurations means that for political decision makers, these may compress the time in ways that really, really restrict their ability to react to a situation intelligently. Right.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:36:39] Yes, there's always the problem with dual capable systems, that is weapon systems which are both nuclear and conventional, that when one is traveling towards you, you don't know whether it is a nuclear weapon on its way or a conventional weapon. And that poses all sorts of challenges in terms of escalation control. Uh, for example, the Chinese DF 26 intermediate range ballistic missile is both conventional and nuclear. And if one is launched in the event of hostilities at Guam, uh, there is no way of telling until it detonates what warhead it it is carrying. So with any dual capable long range strike system that discern that, discerning whether it is nuclear or conventional is a particular problem. And, uh, certainly hypersonic missiles would be would be no different. And, uh. The Russian Kinzhal system, which is being employed against Ukraine, is a dual capable system. And. It's likely that other hypersonic weapon systems will also be dual capable.Chuck Warren: [00:37:56] With Dr. James Bosbotinis, he is a United Kingdom based specialist in Defence and International Affairs. He is co CEO of JB Associates, a geopolitical risk advisory. What have we learned about Russia's military capabilities in Ukraine?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:38:13] We have learnt that pre-war assessments governing how Russian military modernisation efforts have proceeded over the past decade or so were. Overoptimistic, shall we say, the rush, the deep, deep structural flaws in the Russian military, which are reflective of the wider Russian state, have not been addressed. The Russian. The Russian military. Has. Made fundamental errors. For example. In the employment of the ballistic and cruise missile forces. They spent 20 plus years developing a doctrine of how to employ these. And when war broke out, they didn't actually use them as they had written about how they would use them, which was extremely fortunate for Ukraine. The Russians haven't conducted large scale combined arms training. Their air force does not train to anywhere near the level of Western air forces. They haven't developed the joint command structures, all various issues. Their logistics system is, as we have seen.Sam Stone: [00:39:39] When I was about 11 years old, I had a chance to visit still the Soviet Union, and we were there with a group of writers who were it was the start of glasnost. They were talking about some of the environmental damage. We came back. Everyone was plowed drunk one night from a Georgian restaurant in Moscow. One of the big writers in front of us was trying to open his door to his hotel room. He fell into the door, the door frame and all fell into the room, splintered apart. He rolls over, laughing. He looks back at us and says, And you were afraid of our missiles. I think that in certain sense still describes the nature of Soviet manufacturing and weapons propaganda.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:40:14] Yes, a lot of Russian weapons systems are not anywhere near to the same standard of equivalent Western missile systems or other weapon systems. On the other hand, they're the they're long range strike systems. They're iskandar's. They're cruise missiles, for example. They have worked uh, it's a question more of the human element in how in how the weapons are employed rather than the actual effect themselves. When a when an Iskander hits a target, it is detonating and it is causing damage and their cruise missiles have proved devastating. But the Russians, instead of launching these weapons at critical national infrastructure targets at the start of the war. Air defense systems, command and control facilities, they used them against civilian targets and firing, for the most part, firing a ballistic missile or a cruise missile against a civilian apartment block is apart from being an absolute war crime, it's also a complete waste of a weapon system. So they didn't actually employ their systems, right? Had they employed them differently, we could have seen a very different. Progression of the conflict.Sam Stone: [00:41:35] Do you think that's partially because they were trying to simply get the Ukrainian people to force a capitulation at that point? Or because that seems like the only reason you do that instead of targeting military assets.Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:41:50] Yes, indeed. The operational planning was guided by completely false assumptions. The Russian government, the Russian government thought that a Ukrainian resistance would collapse after about three days and the Ukrainian people would simply greet the Russians with open with open arms. And so perhaps they thought that there's no need to conduct air strikes against infrastructure targets. Yeah. Dr..Sam Stone: [00:42:20] Dr. James Bosbotinis is a UK based specialist in defense and international affairs, particularly focus on maritime and Air Force development. Dr. How do folks follow you and your work?Dr James Bosbotinis: [00:42:29] I'm on Twitter, I'm on LinkedIn. I write on a freelance basis for a variety of publications.Sam Stone: [00:42:36] We appreciate you having having you on the program here today. I want to bring you back on again in the future. Thank you so much. We're running out of time here in the program, Dr.. But I very much appreciate your time this morning. Well, welcome to the podcast. Only segment of breaking battlegrounds. Want to say thank you to both of our guests today, Congressman Dusty Johnson and Dr. James Bosbotinis. Good discussions there from both of them, Chuck. But there's obviously some really big news kind of stirring the country right now. Broke last night with the indictment of Donald Trump on a number of charges, which are frankly hard to deny that that he did do those things. And it's hard, hard to say he didn't commit a crime, on the other hand. The prosecution. I have a real issue with the prosecution of Donald Trump. When you're not prosecuting Hillary Clinton, when you're not prosecuting everyone else who's taken the documents, it's this way.Chuck Warren: [00:43:40] It's again, a double standard. And that's the problem with it. You know what? I understand and this could be wrong, is he was contacted by our archives and he delivered in January 20th, 22, 15 boxes of documents that they said should not have been taken from the White House. So he gave those back. And then through tips or something, I don't know. It's a little unclear. He supposedly had more documents and that's hence we end up getting a raid in August. So the question is, you know, what they're saying is different versus other people is that when he was approached about it or confronted however you want to term it, he sort of dug his heels on some documents. Now, again, you and I have discussed this. I have always believed that there was such chaos in that White House in the last days that who knows what's packing those boxes, right? Well, yeah. I mean I mean, who knows? I mean, stuff gets thrown in boxes all the time. I mean, they're talking about finding pictures within there and Newsweek and and magazines. So it tells me this wasn't a really well conceived conspiracy to take documents. So the question is, I think.Sam Stone: [00:44:52] They were just throwing everything in the offices in boxes and moving.Chuck Warren: [00:44:55] Out the door. And I think and I think they're going fast because they were disputing 2020. So I think that was their focus plus running the country. And then I think, oh my goodness, it's Sunday and we got to leave Tuesday or whatever. And but I.Sam Stone: [00:45:07] Also don't think that's terribly different than what ends up getting taken out of there by every previous president. Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:45:13] And and that's what I just don't know. I really wish they would tell us what these documents supposedly are that are endangering national security.Sam Stone: [00:45:19] I mean, my problem with that is claiming it's endangering national security at all, because at the end of the day, Donald Trump is not some foreign asset or weapon that whole narrative has been garbage. If anything, he kept these things for ego. You know, I mean, it's as many presidents do, have a giant ego and they want to be able to, you know, show people after their career this letter they got from the president of France or whatever.Chuck Warren: [00:45:46] Well, there's going to be so much more to come. Again, it does show why Hillary Clinton is not biased, why DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden. These are concerning matters. And if you're going to apply the rule of law, I want it to be applied. Even Steven, I don't want you to be picking who you decide should be prosecuted and who should not. And right now, I think this is the problem for DOJ. Now, I think it's really funny. Look, if you prosecuted.Sam Stone: [00:46:17] Clinton, I would have no problem with them.Chuck Warren: [00:46:19] Prosecuting. I think I think a real funny thing is here's the Biden administration saying we didn't know anything about it till we saw the indictment come through. Oh, come on. Just just I mean, just it's just better say I don't know. It's just such a lie. And the thing is, it puts when they do that.Sam Stone: [00:46:32] Well, they can't be honest because they're using the DOJ to target their political adversary.Chuck Warren: [00:46:36] So if you are a Trump supporter or are you inclined to believe the government is doing rotten things, making a statement like that, people like, come on, of course you know about this, right? And so it will be interesting. You know, we still have the investigation of January 6th. We still have the Georgia investigation, which I'd be surprised if indictments don't come out of that. I mean.Sam Stone: [00:47:01] They're going to.Chuck Warren: [00:47:02] It's a big it's a becoming. Is it becoming just such white noise now that people are ignoring it? That's my.Sam Stone: [00:47:08] Question. It's white noise right up until the point where they actually convict him and lock him up. I mean, which they're really threatening, like lengthy prison sentences with some of this. Yeah. I mean, so we'll see how this plays out. But I got to say, I mean, yeah, I agree. He broke the law and there should not there should be consequences when you break the law. But on the other hand, if the consequences apply only to one side, then you don't have a law.Chuck Warren: [00:47:31] You just. Well, that's.Chuck Warren: [00:47:32] Well, that's that's not rule of law. Yeah. And that's the problem with it. So, you know, it's got to be clearly implemented for everybody or not at all. And that's what apparently that's not what we're even at. We're just like we're going to depending who the political party opponent is, we're prosecuting.Sam Stone: [00:47:48] So this is this is a really politicized federal law enforcement and DOJ right now. And it's really damaging to.Chuck Warren: [00:47:54] It really needs to be cleaned up. It would be I would truly be interested in Congress passing something about some sort of lack of a better term term limits in the DOJ.Sam Stone: [00:48:07] Yeah, absolutely.Chuck Warren: [00:48:09] Something has to be done. It's too entrenched with bureaucratic attorneys.Sam Stone: [00:48:12] Well, you know what I was thinking about the other night and I didn't realize it at the time, but I remember some of these articles from the time period Clinton towards the end of his term, and then Obama went big with this. They didn't place people leaving their administration in your typical political appointee positions. They got them jobs inside the bureaucracy in all these agencies. And now we're seeing the the fruit of having ceded all the federal agencies with political Democrat political activists rather than people who were there to actually do the job. They are infiltrated in every bureaucracy from the mid levels up. Right. And that's a hard thing to dis entrench.Chuck Warren: [00:48:54] Exactly. Exactly.Sam Stone: [00:48:56] You're talking about trenches switching topics here, Chuck, But there was a big announcement recently by the governor of Arizona about our water situation here, where they project a 4% deficit in water over the next hundred years.Chuck Warren: [00:49:11] How much was.Sam Stone: [00:49:11] It? 4% over 100 years. So we're not talking end of the world stuff. But the way they did the press conference, it certainly made it sound that way. And they made a big announcement about we're going to stop new construction in Arizona. Now, what they meant was new construction outside of areas served by water grids. Right. If you're on the Phoenix Water or Tucson Water, Flagstaff, water, whatever, that wasn't what they were talking about. But the way they present it, I really believe the environmentalist movement is pushing for planet wide population reduction. They don't want any new growth. They don't want any of this stuff. And this governor fell in this trap. And all week long I've been dealing with businesses from across the country going, hey, we were considering Arizona. We don't think that's viable. Now, if what your governor just said, they botched this thing from top to bottom. Katie Hobbs is utterly incompetent when it comes to handling the routine business of government, because you could have put this out in a press release with nothing else, instituted the exact same policy. We're not going to allow growth in these wildcat areas where you don't have water. That's that is smart policy. Right. But the implementation of it and how she went about it. So Ham handed that it's literally hurt the state of Arizona and that ties to what we're talking with Congressman Johnson. Look, the solution to all of this. The entire US Southwest needs water enhancements. We need new water, whether from the Snake River to the north, the Mississippi, Missouri's to the east or from the Gulf of Mexico, You.Chuck Warren: [00:50:44] Know, And the.Chuck Warren: [00:50:45] Technology is there to.Sam Stone: [00:50:45] Do it. Yeah, it is. But the problem.Chuck Warren: [00:50:47] Is you're gonna have a bunch of environmentalists sue, which you're going to delay at 10 to 20 years. And this is literally issues you can resolve in two years.Sam Stone: [00:50:54] It absolutely is. And that's the other point we brought. I brought this up with one of the other congressmen we've had on the program. But I don't understand why we don't just declare if something is environmentally beneficial and taking the southwest off of groundwater and off of river water would be massively environmentally beneficial. Augmenting our river water, taking us off of groundwater would help the environment here tremendously, period. No question. In that case, why? Why are these why are they allowed to sue on Nepa or any of this other stuff? The project should go forward. You just do the engineering reviews and you're done.Chuck Warren: [00:51:31] Well, it should be like something. Eminent domain. Yeah, that's.Sam Stone: [00:51:33] What I mean.Chuck Warren: [00:51:34] Come on in. And just this needs to be done and it's just ridiculous.Sam Stone: [00:51:37] Like in this case, Look, all your lawsuits. No, you know, we don't even entertain those things in this type of situation because it is an issue of national security and safety for our citizens here in the southwest and to have an assured water supply.Chuck Warren: [00:51:49] And it helps the environment.Sam Stone: [00:51:51] And it helps the environment.Chuck Warren: [00:51:52] Yeah. What do you say? You support helping the environment, but you're fighting something that can absolutely help the environment, right?Sam Stone: [00:51:59] That that is the ridiculousness of the modern environmental movement, which to me is frankly just a eugenicist movement in hiding.Chuck Warren: [00:52:07] Let's finish one last topic here. The Tampa Bay Rays are a third through the season and they are almost 30 games above 500.Sam Stone: [00:52:16] Chuck, I'm a Red Sox fan and this is the podcast segment, so I can say what I really feeling right now, which is f**k you, man. Seriously, they are. No, they're amazing.Chuck Warren: [00:52:25] They're amazing. They are an amazing organization.Sam Stone: [00:52:28] What they do with no money, I mean, no money.Chuck Warren: [00:52:32] And you sort of get the sense the Diamondbacks have taken a page from them, what they've building up on their farm system.Sam Stone: [00:52:36] I've said for years, if you if you watched and do what Tampa does, but just add a little money to the mix where you can keep some of your best players from time to time and you don't watch them go to the Padres. That's that's the that's the formula.Chuck Warren: [00:52:49] I agree.Chuck Warren: [00:52:49] I agree.Sam Stone: [00:52:50] Well, in which the Diamondbacks can go lock up Corbin Carroll right now.Chuck Warren: [00:52:55] Well, they have, haven't they.Sam Stone: [00:52:56] Did they? Yeah. Did I miss.Chuck Warren: [00:52:57] That? Was that the ten year deal?Chuck Warren: [00:52:59] I don't. Corbin Carroll? Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:53:00] Corbin Carroll, ten years.Sam Stone: [00:53:01] We're looking at the girl in the studio who's getting married to a professional ballplayer. And she doesn't.Chuck Warren: [00:53:05] She knows.Chuck Warren: [00:53:05] Nothing. She knows nothing. Corbin She hasn't.Sam Stone: [00:53:08] Even given us an update on the Idaho murders.Chuck Warren: [00:53:10] I believe. I believe Corbin Carroll signed a ten year deal. That's what everybody's been going on about early. They just tied him in. So. Okay.Sam Stone: [00:53:15] Well, thank goodness for that. Yeah.Chuck Warren: [00:53:17] By the way, anything before we close off on the Idaho murders that we should be aware of?Kiley Kipper: [00:53:20] No, not too much. I think they had like a few 20 days ago or something like that. They had 60 days to determine if he was going to get the death penalty or not. And then Brian Kielburger has now come out and said that he doesn't want cameras in the courtroom. So now that's the whole hot discussion is like, well, then let's have them, because why does he not want why do we care what he says?Speaker4: [00:53:40] Chuck.Sam Stone: [00:53:41] You okay with the death penalty? In this case?Chuck Warren: [00:53:44] I'm always okay of the death penalty.Speaker4: [00:53:46] It's a rare.Chuck Warren: [00:53:47] Exception that I'm not okay with the death penalty.Sam Stone: [00:53:50] And that's the final.Sam Stone: [00:53:51] Word today from Chuck.Chuck Warren: [00:53:54] Maybe with those 9% shoplifters you wrote about.Sam Stone: [00:53:56] Oh, yeah. No, we can start with them for sure.Sam Stone: [00:53:59] Right?Sam Stone: [00:54:00] Retail theft off with his head.Chuck Warren: [00:54:03] Sam, closing here. How much does it cost the average American annually for shoplifting?Sam Stone: [00:54:07] Yeah. So go go on. Our substack folks, because we ran the numbers on this Capital One putting out a survey and then I broke the numbers down $318 per person.Chuck Warren: [00:54:17] That's probably.Chuck Warren: [00:54:17] Undercounted and.Sam Stone: [00:54:18] That's undercounted. If you read the article, you realize that's the direct cross from the losses that they're taking from shoplifting. Then you add in all the additional security, the other measures that they're putting in place. Those things all cost money, too. There's probably a lot, as we saw with Lululemon, that's not reported because of politics, essentially where they're fired, two employees for even just reporting a theft to the police. I doubt they're reporting their numbers accurately and probably there's a bunch like them. This might be a $5,600 per person a year tax is what we're facing.Chuck Warren: [00:54:53] Well, and folks, if you are purchasing from Lululemon, realize there is a shoplifting tax assessed on your clothing, whether whether they listed or itemized it or not, you're paying for.Sam Stone: [00:55:03] It before they go to Lululemon, though, Chuck, and this is a free plug. Isn't your former assistants, Katrina, doesn't she have a a clothing line or company that she.Chuck Warren: [00:55:12] Works with a clothing line in Salt Lake knowing the ownership, they will not tolerate shoplifting.Chuck Warren: [00:55:17] So okay.Sam Stone: [00:55:18] What's the name? Do we do you know? Do I know?Chuck Warren: [00:55:21] We'll tell We'll put.Chuck Warren: [00:55:22] It on our social.Sam Stone: [00:55:23] On our substack. Yeah. Hey, look. Good opportunity to pay pay for a product from someone who actually feels the way you do.Chuck Warren: [00:55:29] Exactly. Well, folks, we hope you have a great weekend. We hope you enjoyed our guests today, both wonderful people to have on the show and we hope you share it. You can download our podcast, go to breaking battlegrounds, dot vote, share it, rate it. We'd appreciate it. Help our audience grow. Have a great weekend. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

In this week's North American Ag Spotlight Chrissy Wozniak gets an update from Congressman David Rouzer on the #WOTUS ruling and President Biden's recent veto. Congressman David Rouzer proudly represents North Carolina's 7th Congressional District, stretching from the beautiful coastline of Southeastern North Carolina west to the small-town, agricultural communities around Lumberton and Fayetteville.  Elected to the United States Congress in 2014, David is beginning his 5th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. David serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where he currently serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.  He has served as a ranking member or chairman of a subcommittee on both since his first day in office, which has enabled him to better address the unique needs of his district and state.  He is a member of a number of caucuses in Congress including as a founding member of the Primary Care Caucus and the Supply Chain Caucus, as well as co-chairing the United Kingdom Caucus.Prior to Congress, David formed his own business doing consulting and sales work, predominately in the agricultural arena.  His public service includes two terms in the North Carolina Senate representing Johnston and Wayne counties (2009-2012) where he was consistently ranked as one of the most effective pro-business legislators.  David also served as assistant to the dean and director of commodity relations for the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences at NC State University in between two stints with U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, where he started out as a legislative assistant and later served as senior policy advisor.  He was also senior advisor for U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole.  In 2005, he took a senior level appointment at USDA Rural Development and helped manage a program level budget of more than $1.2 billion and a loan portfolio of more than $5 billion in investments in rural America.  David has garnered a number of awards during his career for his work in each of these capacities as well as a Member of Congress. David, a Southern Baptist, was raised in Durham and spent his summers working on the family farm just outside of Four Oaks, N.C.  The money he earned those summers enabled him to pay his tuition at N.C. State University where he graduated with three degrees in Agricultural Business Management, Agricultural Economics, and Chemistry.  He is also a graduate of The Fund for American Studies.  David resides in Wilmington, N.C. Learn more about the issue at https://rouzer.house.gov#farm #farming #agricultureNorth American Ag is devoted to highlighting the people & companies in agriculture who impact our industry and help feed the world. Subscribe at https://northamericanag.comWant to hear the stories of the ag brands you love and the ag brands you love to hate? Hear them at https://whatcolorisyourtractor.comNeed help with your agriculture based company's marketing plan? Visit https://chrissywozniak.comDon't just thank a farmer, pray Why you should not miss FIRA USA 2023!Join the experts during 3 days of autonomous and robotics farming solutions in action!FIRA USA, the traveling AgTech event is back from September 19-21, 2023 at the Salinas Sports Complex, Home of the California Rodeo SalinasRegister at - https://fira-usa.com/ Sponsored by Tractors and Troubadours:Your weekly connection to agriculture industry newsmakers, hot-button industry issues, educational topics, rural lifestyle features and the best in true country music. Brought to you by Rural Strong Media.Listen now at https://ruralstrongmedia.com/tractors-and-troubadours/Subscribe to North American Ag at https://northamericanag.com

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, May 9th, 2023. Samaritan Ministries: Don’t be limited by restrictive networks. There’s another way. A Biblical way. Samaritan Ministries. Say you have a medical need. You don’t have to check and see what hospital is in your network, or be concerned about the doctor being in-network, too. No. You go to the hospital you choose, and don’t give a second thought as to what’s in-network and what’s not, because with Samaritan Ministries, you’re in control of your health care. Afterwards, fellow members pray for you, and send money directly to you to help you pay your medical bills. And when they have a medical need, you’ll do the same for them. That’s what Biblical health care sharing looks like. Check it out today at samaritan ministries dot org slash cross politic First, we start with the news of a coronation for our friends across the pond. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/06/europe/coronation-king-charles-ckc-gbr-intl/index.html King Charles III is crowned in once-in-a-generation ceremony Britain’s King Charles III has been crowned in a once-in-a-generation royal event witnessed by hundreds of high-profile guests inside Westminster Abbey, as well as tens of thousands of well-wishers who gathered in central London despite the rain. While Charles became King on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last September, the coronation on Saturday was the formal crowning of the monarch. The service was a profoundly religious affair, reflecting the fact that aside from being head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, Charles is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In the most significant moment of the day, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church then declared: “God Save the King.” The intricate service lasted just over two hours – about an hour shorter than Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 – and followed a traditional template that has stayed much the same for more than 1,000 years. However, it has been modernized in certain key ways. The archbishop acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK during the ceremony, saying the Church of England “will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely.” The King took the Coronation Oath and became the first monarch to pray aloud at his coronation. In his prayer he asked to “be a blessing” to people “of every faith and conviction.” In what is considered the most sacred part of the ceremony, the King was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also presented with the coronation regalia, including the royal Robe and Stole, in what is known as the investiture part of the service. Then, for the first time in coronation history, the archbishop invited the British public, as well as those from “other Realms,” to recite a pledge of allegiance to the newly crowned monarch and his “heirs and successors.” Ahead of the event, some parts of the British media and public interpreted the invitation as a command, reporting that people had been “asked” and “called” to swear allegiance to the King. In the face of such criticism, the Church of England revised the text of the liturgy so that members of the public would be given a choice between saying simply “God save King Charles” or reciting the full pledge of allegiance. The ceremony also included a reading from the Bible by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and, in another coronation first, gospel music. Once the King was crowned, his wife, Queen Camilla, was crowned in her own, shorter ceremony with Queen Mary’s Crown – marking the first time in recent history that a new crown wasn’t made specifically for this occasion. After the ceremony, the newly crowned King and Queen rode back to Buckingham Palace in a much larger parade, featuring 4,000 members of the armed forces, 250 horses and 19 military bands. The pomp and pageantry concluded with a royal salute and the customary balcony appearance by the King and family members. They and the crowds below watched a flypast of military aircraft, slimmed down because of the poor weather. Despite the splendor of the occasion, it has not been without controversy. Some have objected to millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent on a lavish ceremony at a time when millions of Britons are suffering a severe cost-of-living crisis. Security is by far the most costly element of large events and the Met said ahead of time that Saturday would be the largest one-day policing operation in decades, with more than 11,500 officers on duty in London. The coronation has also attracted anti-monarchy demonstrations, with a small number of protesters arrested in central London on Saturday morning before the event began. Republic, a campaign group that calls for the abolition of the monarchy, said the idea of the “homage of the people” was “offensive, tone deaf and a gesture that holds the people in contempt.” Some eyebrows were also raised earlier this week when a controversial and widely criticized UK public order bill came into force. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, there have been a number of instances of anti-monarchists turning up at royal engagements to voice their grievances against the institution. The new rules, signed into law by the King on Tuesday, just days before the coronation, empower the police to take stronger action against peaceful protesters. https://thepostmillennial.com/biden-to-veto-house-remain-in-mexico-bill?utm_campaign=64487 Biden to veto House 'remain in Mexico' bill On Monday, the White House announced that Joe Biden would veto an immigration bill coming out of the House of Representatives that would reinstitute several Trump-era policies including construction of the border wall and the remain in Mexico policy, which stated that anyone seeking asylum had to wait in Mexico as their claim was processed. According to the Associated Press, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement, "While we welcome Congress' engagement on meaningful steps to address immigration and the challenges at the border, this bill would make things worse, not better. Because this bill does very little to actually increase border security while doing a great deal to trample on the nation’s core values and international obligations, it should be rejected." On Thursday, the House is set to vote on the 213-page Secure the Border Act. Thursday also marks the expiration of Title 42, the Trump-era policy instituted under Covid that granted Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security officials the ability to expel illegal immigrants over health concerns. The Secure the Border Act would also require employers to verify a worker's immigration status for employment and institute the E-Verify system House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said, "Joe Biden sent a message that America’s border is open, and millions of people answered that call and started coming across our border illegally. We’re going to show the president how to solve the problem." The Daily Mail reports, the Secure the Border Act would limit federal funds for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that aid illegal immigrants crossing the border, would end Biden's expedited entry policy for Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Cubans, and grant more money for hiring additional border agents. Joe Biden loosened restrictions along the southern border after he took office and HHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the announcement that migrants seeking asylum would be permitted entry into the US as would unaccompanied minors. US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said that over the weekend 26,382 apprehensions were made by border patrol and that 11 pounds of fentanyl and 83 pounds of meth were seized. Mexican cartels have exploited Biden's border crisis, with 2,378,944 illegal immigrant encounters reported in the 2022 fiscal year and 1,659,206 reported in FY 2021, by trafficking humans and drugs, especially fentanyl across the border in record numbers. https://www.dailywire.com/news/airlines-may-soon-be-on-the-hook-for-delayed-and-canceled-flights-transportation-dept-says Airlines May Soon Be On The Hook For Delayed And Canceled Flights, Transportation Dept Says Transportation Secretary Pete Boo-tuh-jeg announced on Monday that the agency introduced rules requiring airlines to reimburse customers who incur expenses due to certain delayed and canceled flights, a move which comes as the industry faces elevated demand and a constrained labor force. The proposed rules, which would apply when an airline delays a flight for more than three hours or cancels a flight for a “controllable” reason, would mandate that the firms offer compensation for stranded passengers, as well as a meal or meal voucher, overnight accommodations, and ground transportation between the airport and hotel. “When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement, noting that the proposed reimbursement rules would be the first in American history. The move comes after Southwest Airlines experienced holiday travel disruptions last year due to extreme winter weather conditions, staff shortages, and an outdated computer system. The carrier canceled thousands of flights days after other carriers had resumed normal operations. Buttigieg told the company, which has since promised to compensate passengers for all expenses incurred during that time, that the disruptions were “unacceptable” and promised that his agency would exercise “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” to ensure customers are reimbursed. The new proposals also occur as the sector faces a severely limited pool of available pilots and frontline staff. Carriers previously encouraged commercial pilots to retire as worldwide lockdowns caused demand for air travel to plummet in the spring of 2020, worsening a previous trend toward a lack of available pilots. Elevated prices for airline tickets and a rapid return in travel demand, however, are now prompting lawmakers to consider the problem. Regional Airline Association CEO Faye Malarkey Black told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month that more than 50% of current pilots would be forced to retire within the next 15 years because of federal rules mandating that pilots exit their positions once they reach 65 years of age, even as only 8% of pilots are below 30 years of age due to the high cost of flight education. Buttigieg has opposed legislation that would increase the retirement threshold to 67 years of age, contending that “the answer is to make sure we have as many and as good pilots ready to take their place, to have a stronger pipeline.” https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fecal-transplant-pill-fda-approval-rcna81779 FDA approves first pill for fecal transplants, made from healthy bacteria in human waste U.S. health officials on Wednesday approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections — an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants. The new treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some medical specialists have used for more than a decade to help patients. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the capsules for adults 18 and older who face risks from repeat infections with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause severe nausea, cramping and diarrhea. diff is particularly dangerous when it reoccurs, leading to between 15,000 and 30,000 deaths per year. It can be killed with antibiotics but they also destroy good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections. The new capsules are approved for patients who have already received antibiotic treatment. More than 10 years ago, some doctors began reporting success with fecal transplants — using stool from a healthy donor — to restore the gut’s healthy balance and prevent reinfections. The FDA approved the first pharmaceutical-grade version of the treatment last year from a rival drugmaker, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. But that company’s product — like most of the original procedures — must be delivered via the rectum. Cambridge, Mass.-based Seres will market its drug as a less invasive option. The treatment will be sold under the brand name Vowst and comes as a regimen of four daily capsules taken for three consecutive days. Both of the recent FDA approvals are the product of years of pharmaceutical industry research into the microbiome, the community of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the gut. Currently most fecal transplants are provided by a network of stool banks that have popped up at medical institutions and hospitals across the country. While the availability of new FDA-approved options is expected to decrease demand for donations from stool banks, some plan to stay open. The FDA warned in its approval announcement that the drug “may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents. It is also possible for Vowst to contain food allergens,” the agency noted. The FDA approved the treatment based on a 180-patient study in which nearly 88% of patients taking the capsules did not experience reinfection after 8 weeks, compared with 60% of those who received dummy pills.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, May 9th, 2023. Samaritan Ministries: Don’t be limited by restrictive networks. There’s another way. A Biblical way. Samaritan Ministries. Say you have a medical need. You don’t have to check and see what hospital is in your network, or be concerned about the doctor being in-network, too. No. You go to the hospital you choose, and don’t give a second thought as to what’s in-network and what’s not, because with Samaritan Ministries, you’re in control of your health care. Afterwards, fellow members pray for you, and send money directly to you to help you pay your medical bills. And when they have a medical need, you’ll do the same for them. That’s what Biblical health care sharing looks like. Check it out today at samaritan ministries dot org slash cross politic First, we start with the news of a coronation for our friends across the pond. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/06/europe/coronation-king-charles-ckc-gbr-intl/index.html King Charles III is crowned in once-in-a-generation ceremony Britain’s King Charles III has been crowned in a once-in-a-generation royal event witnessed by hundreds of high-profile guests inside Westminster Abbey, as well as tens of thousands of well-wishers who gathered in central London despite the rain. While Charles became King on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II last September, the coronation on Saturday was the formal crowning of the monarch. The service was a profoundly religious affair, reflecting the fact that aside from being head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, Charles is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England. In the most significant moment of the day, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown on Charles’ head. The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church then declared: “God Save the King.” The intricate service lasted just over two hours – about an hour shorter than Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 – and followed a traditional template that has stayed much the same for more than 1,000 years. However, it has been modernized in certain key ways. The archbishop acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK during the ceremony, saying the Church of England “will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely.” The King took the Coronation Oath and became the first monarch to pray aloud at his coronation. In his prayer he asked to “be a blessing” to people “of every faith and conviction.” In what is considered the most sacred part of the ceremony, the King was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was also presented with the coronation regalia, including the royal Robe and Stole, in what is known as the investiture part of the service. Then, for the first time in coronation history, the archbishop invited the British public, as well as those from “other Realms,” to recite a pledge of allegiance to the newly crowned monarch and his “heirs and successors.” Ahead of the event, some parts of the British media and public interpreted the invitation as a command, reporting that people had been “asked” and “called” to swear allegiance to the King. In the face of such criticism, the Church of England revised the text of the liturgy so that members of the public would be given a choice between saying simply “God save King Charles” or reciting the full pledge of allegiance. The ceremony also included a reading from the Bible by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and, in another coronation first, gospel music. Once the King was crowned, his wife, Queen Camilla, was crowned in her own, shorter ceremony with Queen Mary’s Crown – marking the first time in recent history that a new crown wasn’t made specifically for this occasion. After the ceremony, the newly crowned King and Queen rode back to Buckingham Palace in a much larger parade, featuring 4,000 members of the armed forces, 250 horses and 19 military bands. The pomp and pageantry concluded with a royal salute and the customary balcony appearance by the King and family members. They and the crowds below watched a flypast of military aircraft, slimmed down because of the poor weather. Despite the splendor of the occasion, it has not been without controversy. Some have objected to millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being spent on a lavish ceremony at a time when millions of Britons are suffering a severe cost-of-living crisis. Security is by far the most costly element of large events and the Met said ahead of time that Saturday would be the largest one-day policing operation in decades, with more than 11,500 officers on duty in London. The coronation has also attracted anti-monarchy demonstrations, with a small number of protesters arrested in central London on Saturday morning before the event began. Republic, a campaign group that calls for the abolition of the monarchy, said the idea of the “homage of the people” was “offensive, tone deaf and a gesture that holds the people in contempt.” Some eyebrows were also raised earlier this week when a controversial and widely criticized UK public order bill came into force. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, there have been a number of instances of anti-monarchists turning up at royal engagements to voice their grievances against the institution. The new rules, signed into law by the King on Tuesday, just days before the coronation, empower the police to take stronger action against peaceful protesters. https://thepostmillennial.com/biden-to-veto-house-remain-in-mexico-bill?utm_campaign=64487 Biden to veto House 'remain in Mexico' bill On Monday, the White House announced that Joe Biden would veto an immigration bill coming out of the House of Representatives that would reinstitute several Trump-era policies including construction of the border wall and the remain in Mexico policy, which stated that anyone seeking asylum had to wait in Mexico as their claim was processed. According to the Associated Press, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement, "While we welcome Congress' engagement on meaningful steps to address immigration and the challenges at the border, this bill would make things worse, not better. Because this bill does very little to actually increase border security while doing a great deal to trample on the nation’s core values and international obligations, it should be rejected." On Thursday, the House is set to vote on the 213-page Secure the Border Act. Thursday also marks the expiration of Title 42, the Trump-era policy instituted under Covid that granted Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security officials the ability to expel illegal immigrants over health concerns. The Secure the Border Act would also require employers to verify a worker's immigration status for employment and institute the E-Verify system House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said, "Joe Biden sent a message that America’s border is open, and millions of people answered that call and started coming across our border illegally. We’re going to show the president how to solve the problem." The Daily Mail reports, the Secure the Border Act would limit federal funds for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that aid illegal immigrants crossing the border, would end Biden's expedited entry policy for Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Cubans, and grant more money for hiring additional border agents. Joe Biden loosened restrictions along the southern border after he took office and HHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the announcement that migrants seeking asylum would be permitted entry into the US as would unaccompanied minors. US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said that over the weekend 26,382 apprehensions were made by border patrol and that 11 pounds of fentanyl and 83 pounds of meth were seized. Mexican cartels have exploited Biden's border crisis, with 2,378,944 illegal immigrant encounters reported in the 2022 fiscal year and 1,659,206 reported in FY 2021, by trafficking humans and drugs, especially fentanyl across the border in record numbers. https://www.dailywire.com/news/airlines-may-soon-be-on-the-hook-for-delayed-and-canceled-flights-transportation-dept-says Airlines May Soon Be On The Hook For Delayed And Canceled Flights, Transportation Dept Says Transportation Secretary Pete Boo-tuh-jeg announced on Monday that the agency introduced rules requiring airlines to reimburse customers who incur expenses due to certain delayed and canceled flights, a move which comes as the industry faces elevated demand and a constrained labor force. The proposed rules, which would apply when an airline delays a flight for more than three hours or cancels a flight for a “controllable” reason, would mandate that the firms offer compensation for stranded passengers, as well as a meal or meal voucher, overnight accommodations, and ground transportation between the airport and hotel. “When an airline causes a flight cancellation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said in a statement, noting that the proposed reimbursement rules would be the first in American history. The move comes after Southwest Airlines experienced holiday travel disruptions last year due to extreme winter weather conditions, staff shortages, and an outdated computer system. The carrier canceled thousands of flights days after other carriers had resumed normal operations. Buttigieg told the company, which has since promised to compensate passengers for all expenses incurred during that time, that the disruptions were “unacceptable” and promised that his agency would exercise “the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers” to ensure customers are reimbursed. The new proposals also occur as the sector faces a severely limited pool of available pilots and frontline staff. Carriers previously encouraged commercial pilots to retire as worldwide lockdowns caused demand for air travel to plummet in the spring of 2020, worsening a previous trend toward a lack of available pilots. Elevated prices for airline tickets and a rapid return in travel demand, however, are now prompting lawmakers to consider the problem. Regional Airline Association CEO Faye Malarkey Black told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month that more than 50% of current pilots would be forced to retire within the next 15 years because of federal rules mandating that pilots exit their positions once they reach 65 years of age, even as only 8% of pilots are below 30 years of age due to the high cost of flight education. Buttigieg has opposed legislation that would increase the retirement threshold to 67 years of age, contending that “the answer is to make sure we have as many and as good pilots ready to take their place, to have a stronger pipeline.” https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fecal-transplant-pill-fda-approval-rcna81779 FDA approves first pill for fecal transplants, made from healthy bacteria in human waste U.S. health officials on Wednesday approved the first pill made from healthy bacteria found in human waste to fight dangerous gut infections — an easier way of performing so-called fecal transplants. The new treatment from Seres Therapeutics provides a simpler, rigorously tested version of stool-based procedures that some medical specialists have used for more than a decade to help patients. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the capsules for adults 18 and older who face risks from repeat infections with Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause severe nausea, cramping and diarrhea. diff is particularly dangerous when it reoccurs, leading to between 15,000 and 30,000 deaths per year. It can be killed with antibiotics but they also destroy good bacteria that live in the gut, leaving it more susceptible to future infections. The new capsules are approved for patients who have already received antibiotic treatment. More than 10 years ago, some doctors began reporting success with fecal transplants — using stool from a healthy donor — to restore the gut’s healthy balance and prevent reinfections. The FDA approved the first pharmaceutical-grade version of the treatment last year from a rival drugmaker, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. But that company’s product — like most of the original procedures — must be delivered via the rectum. Cambridge, Mass.-based Seres will market its drug as a less invasive option. The treatment will be sold under the brand name Vowst and comes as a regimen of four daily capsules taken for three consecutive days. Both of the recent FDA approvals are the product of years of pharmaceutical industry research into the microbiome, the community of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the gut. Currently most fecal transplants are provided by a network of stool banks that have popped up at medical institutions and hospitals across the country. While the availability of new FDA-approved options is expected to decrease demand for donations from stool banks, some plan to stay open. The FDA warned in its approval announcement that the drug “may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents. It is also possible for Vowst to contain food allergens,” the agency noted. The FDA approved the treatment based on a 180-patient study in which nearly 88% of patients taking the capsules did not experience reinfection after 8 weeks, compared with 60% of those who received dummy pills.

The Biden Administration has been “too little too late” in countering Russia, and is increasingly playing by the same rules with the Chinese Communist Party. The latest national security spectacle played out over a full week before the White House ordered the shoot down of the Chinese spy balloon that floated from the tip of Alaska all the way through the coast of the Carolinas. The questions surrounding this event are numerous: what was NORAD doing while it watched this slow-moving CCP target drift into American airspace? If this has happened in the past, as the White House maintains, why don't we have a standard operating procedure to deal with it? But beyond this incident, it is the implications of the U.S. reaction that truly matter – if it takes a civilian standing in a field in Montana to point out a security threat to prompt the White House to action, we have a problem. If we don't get serious, fast, about China, we're adding to the problems we already face with the CCP. And if we continue to hedge on defense spending, and see Chinese incursions and major wars as isolated crises, the nation will pay a much heavier price down the road. Representative Mike Gallagher (WI-08) is the new Chairman of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. He is also on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He has served in the House since 2017. Before that, he served for seven years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, including two deployments in Iraq. He also served as the lead Republican staffer for the Middle East and Counterterrorism on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Download the transcript here.

All it took was one corrupted file to take down the entire Federal Aviation Administration, delaying thousands of flights and temporarily grounding all domestic trips this week. Republican Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) and member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee claims that the current NOTAM system used for real-time updates about flight quality is antiquated and needs to be updated to improve air travel safety. He explains how this outage could have been easily avoided, details the piece of legislation he is pushing for flight efficiency, and calls into question Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's ability to prevent future travel meltdowns.   President Biden visited the U.S.-Mexico border this past week for the first time since taking office, just a few days after he outlined various initiatives that he believes will manage the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country. Executive Director at the America First Policy Institute and former Acting Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf weighs in on the President's plan, criticizing his push for individuals to apply for asylum and says that the real focus should be discouraging illegal behavior and rooting out fraud in the asylum system. Chad later offers his own solutions for the crisis at the southern border and expresses his wish for the American people to hold this Administration accountable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans across the country had their holiday plans interrupted by flight cancellations. As various flyers found themselves stuck at the airport for days with their luggage nowhere to be found, airlines are being bombarded with questions about why this has happened on such a massive scale.  Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) and her family were also impacted by the delays. She joined the FOX News Rundown's Dave Anthony to discuss her experience and whether or not airlines like Southwest should be held accountable for the massive disruption.  Mace, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, discussed what factors aside from weather may have led to this meltdown, and what regulations the government should and should not enforce on the industry.  The South Carolina Congresswoman, who recently won her reelection campaign, also weighed in on the Beltway drama surrounding Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the next Speaker, as well as the controversy surrounding Rep-Elect George Santos (R-NY), who has now admitted to lying about his past.  Due to time limitations, we could not include all of the conversations in our original segment. On the FOX News Rundown Extra, you will hear our entire interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and you'll hear even more of her take on the airline industry's problems ... and the problems the GOP will have to face this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans across the world have had their holidays interrupted by flight cancellations due primarily to the severe winter storm that hit the U.S. last week. As various flyers find themselves stuck at the airport for days while their luggage is nowhere to be found, airlines are being bombarded with questions about why this has happened on such a massive scale. One particular airline under fire is Southwest, which is responsible for over half of the flight cancellations worldwide. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced plans to hold the airline accountable and investigate the origins of this meltdown to ensure nothing like this will happen again. Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC), a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has felt the pain of these travel issues firsthand after her children were stranded in Baltimore without their luggage last weekend due to a sudden flight cancellation. Rep. Mace joins the Rundown to discuss what factors aside from weather may have led to this meltdown, how she believes Congress should hold Southwest Airlines accountable, and what other issues she hopes to prioritize when sworn into the new Congress next week.   It was one of the most talked about stories of 2022. Back in March, the 94th Oscars Ceremony left audiences speechless when comedian Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith after making a joke about the actor's wife. Smith went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor that night, but would later get himself banned from the Oscars and other Academy events for 10 years after. Today, we look back at our conversation with FOX Across America's Jimmy Failla, FOX Nation's Tyrus, and comedian Alli Breen from March 30th when the panel discussed the controversial slap and what the response told us about the state of race relations, masculinity, and comedy in America today.   Plus, commentary from FOX News Contributor Joe Concha.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this installment of Best Of The Gist, we resurfaced a couple clips from our Tuesday interview with Douglas Farah (author of Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible), which we intentionally left on the cutting room floor but later decided they might be fun for listeners. Dust off your 90s NBA references! And then we listen back to Mike's Thursday Spiel about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's testimony to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee this past week. Despite it being a rare example of Congress doing real work and a Biden Administration official giving solid answers, it got reduced to lowest common denominator. If you're bored and want to see the federal government in action, here's a link to the full hearing. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A former aide to Peter Navarro rips his actually heroic former colleagues as hos and “thots”. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's testimony to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee gets reduced to the stupidest quasi-dispute. And in the interview, Scott Small, the Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Columbia University, discusses his new book, Forgetting: The Benefits Of Not Remembering. Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com To advertise on the show, visit: https://advertisecast.com/TheGist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices