Podcasts about Title X

  On this episode, the fifth installment of our eight-part, issue-specific series, we'll explore how nonprofits can boldly and safely advocate for gender and reproductive justice. We'll review recent policy developments and discuss how nonprofits can respond through legislative, executive, and judicial branch advocacy. Join us as we break down the rules and share recent examples of how nonprofits are advancing gender and reproductive justice.     Attorneys for this episode    Quyen Tu  Brittany Hacker  Melissa Marichal Zayas    Shownotes  Gender and Reproductive Justice Headlines  Executive Branch Actions  Since taking office, President Trump has signed several sweeping executive orders that undermine the rights of transgender people and women and reduce access to reproductive health care.   These include, for example, orders that terminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; rescind executive orders that expanded access to reproductive health care; ban transgender people from serving in the military; limit coverage for gender-affirming care; and require federal agencies to recognize only two, “not changeable” sexes.  The DOJ has announced that, outside of extraordinary circumstances, it will stop enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a law that protects reproductive clinic staff from violence and harassment.   HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has directed the FDA to review its approval of the medication abortion pill Mifepristone.   We've also seen major funding cuts across several agencies. HHS, for example, has terminated NIH grants focused on LGBTQ+ health issues and frozen millions of dollars of Title X funds, which help provide reproductive health services in low-income communities.    Litigation  Many nonprofits, as well as state attorneys general, have filed lawsuits challenging the executive orders that seek to curtail LGBTQ+ rights and DEI initiatives.   In February, for example, a group of several civil rights nonprofits, along with Crowell & Moring LLP, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Chicago Women in Trades to challenge the Trump administration's anti-DEI executive orders. As a result, a federal court has temporarily blocked the Labor Department from requiring Chicago Women in Trades and other federal contracts or grant recipients to certify that they don't operate any programs that violate Federal anti-discrimination laws, which one of these EOs would require.   Many other provisions of these EOs, however, remain in effect as the cases make their way through the courts.   The National Council of Nonprofits has a continuously updated chart tracking executive orders that impact nonprofits and their current legal status. Just Security has an even broader resource that is tracking all legal challenges to Trump administration actions.    Legislation  Congress is currently considering deep cuts to Medicaid. These proposed cuts would lead to an estimated 8 million Americans becoming uninsured, and would eliminate all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, including funding for preventative health screenings and testing. Proposed budget cuts would also further restrict transgender peoples' access to gender-affirming care.   In Missouri, the state legislature recently approved a new ballot referendum that, if passed, would repeal last year's voter-approved constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion. This ballet referendum will appear on the ballot in November of 2026 or earlier if Missouri's governor calls a special election.     What can 501(c)(3)s do to respond?   As a reminder, 501(c)(3)s cannot support or oppose candidates for elective public office. This means they can't engage in activity that helps or hurts the chances of a candidate winning an election.  But here's what they can do: They can engage in an unlimited amount of non-lobbying advocacy, and they can engage in a limited amount of lobbying.    Non-Lobbying Advocacy   Educate the public about issues of importance to your organization  The Center for Reproductive Rights' tool, Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch, which tracks key Trump administration appointments and actions related to reproductive health.   PFLAG is tracking and reporting on federal and state legislation and litigation impacting the LGBTQ+ community through its weekly Policy Matters Newsletter and Executive Orders Explainers and Resources web page.  The National Women's Law Center has released a report highlighting how the cuts would impact women and LGBTQ+ individuals.  Engage in administrative advocacy  A March letter sent by Equal Rights Advocates and several other civil rights organizations to Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas urges her to immediately withdraw a series of letters and guidance documents pressuring employers to abandon DEI programs.   Hold a rally  In April, the Coalition for Inclusive Schools & Communities, Live in Your Truth, and the Montgomery County Pride Family held a  rally in support of inclusive education outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor.  Initiate or participate in litigation  In May, a Michigan state court permanently struck down three of Michigan's abortion restrictions, agreeing with Northland Family Planning Centers and Medical Students for Choice—two nonprofits plaintiffs represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights—that the restrictions violate the state's constitutional amendment.  Fund advocacy  Public and private foundations can fund advocacy through general operating grants or specific project grants.    Lobbying  501(c)(3) public charities can engage in lobbying, but they are limited in how much lobbying they may engage in.  Under the federal tax rules, most public charities can choose between two tests to determine how much lobbying they can engage in: the insubstantial part test or the 501(h) expenditure test.  Under either test, lobbying includes attempts to influence legislation at any level of government. The exact activities that will count as lobbying will depend on which test the organization uses.   When engaging in lobbying, remember to track and report your lobbying on your annual Form 990, stay within your lobbying limits, and use unrestricted funds.   In addition to the tax rules, federal, state, or local level lobbyist registration and reporting requirements may apply when engaging in legislative and executive branch advocacy. These requirements vary by state and city, so make sure to confirm the types of activities and thresholds that trigger reporting in the jurisdictions where you are lobbying.   The IRS considers ballot measure advocacy a form of direct lobbying because the voters act as legislators when they vote to approve or reject a ballot measure, but keep in mind that your organization may also be required to register and report on ballot measure activity under state or local campaign finance laws.  Since 2022, 501(c)(3) public charities have helped to pass ballot measures that establish a right to abortion in eleven states.    Resources  The Advocacy Playbook for Gender and Reproductive Justice  Public Charities Can Lobby (Factsheet)  What is Advocacy? 2.0 (Factsheet)  Administrative Advocacy: Influencing Rules, Regulations, and Executive Orders (Factsheet)  What Nonprofits Needs to Know About Lobbying in Your State    Understanding the Federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (Factsheet)  Investing in Change: A Funder's Guide to Supporting Advocacy 

Planned Parenthood of Michigan closed four clinics this year. Kate Wells, health reporter for Michigan Public, explained why operational costs and the loss of Title X funding may be the biggest threat to abortion access. She also discussed the role telehealth services have played in changing the reproductive care landscape, particularly in rural areas. Looking for more conversations from Stateside? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work. Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Title X, under the Public Health Services Act, allows for a family planning and reproductive health-based pool of funding that government agencies and nonprofits can apply for and use to support patients. Providers who receive Title X funding see all patients regardless of insurance status and income level. Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), sits down to talk with us about the recent and extremely harmful changes to Title X announced by the new administration.At the beginning of April 2025, the government announced the withholding of 22 Title X awards. These awards, given consistently to projects who are years into their research, were rescinded with one day's notice. On an annual basis, this impacts about $66 million in Title X funds-- about a quarter of all Title X grants. As of today, there are no Title X funded services in eight states, and 15 other states have lost either some or most of their Title X funding. About 842,000 people were served under these grants, and the number of health centers that are affected totals 865. These changes will impact access to care (particularly for young people and those with low incomes), affordability, and contraceptive choice.For more information check outThe Nocturnists: https://thenocturnists.org/Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Sunday on PBS News Weekend, as 25 percent tariffs on imported auto parts take effect, what will they do to new and used car prices? How the freezing of Title X funds affects family planning for low-income Americans. A new book tells the little-known story of daring women who flew combat planes in the face of danger during WWII. Plus, why young adults are finding themselves lonelier than ever. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For more than 50 years, millions of federal dollars in Title X grants have funded clinics that offer free or discounted family planning services to mostly low-income Americans. In April, the Trump administration froze more than $65 million in grants, forcing some providers to shut their doors. Brittni Frederiksen, associate director for Women's Health Policy at KFF, joins Ali Rogin to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For more than 50 years, millions of federal dollars in Title X grants have funded clinics that offer free or discounted family planning services to mostly low-income Americans. In April, the Trump administration froze more than $65 million in grants, forcing some providers to shut their doors. Brittni Frederiksen, associate director for Women's Health Policy at KFF, joins Ali Rogin to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News … MORE TRUMP FUNDING CUTS… New Jersey's Attorney General Matt Platkin joins a multi-state coalition pushing back against the Trump administration's cuts to Title X grants; Plus, CASHING IN…a legal scam that left nursing home residents starving while lining the pockets of its owners; Also, NJ DECIDES 2025, we're profiling each of the Republican candidates ahead of next week's GOP Gubernatorial Conversation . Today, a look at Senator Jon Bramnick; And, LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION… New Jersey celebrates the growth of its film and TV industry at the inaugural NJ Film Expo… setting the stage to become the Hollywood of the East.

Scared? Got Questions about the continued assault on your reproductive rights? THE FBK LINES ARE OPEN! Just call or text (201) 574-7402, leave your questions or concerns, and Lizz and Moji will pick a few to address on the pod! Your fav Buzzkills are talking about the trend of reclassifying things like abortion meds and birth control, and then outlawing them in the process! You know, the ol' “make them sound terrible then use it to strip away your rights” trick. We've also got lots to say about the Catholic Papi's passing and what he DIDN'T do for abortion, shenanigans that are popping up out of Louisiana and which other states are hopping on the bandwagon, PLUS all of the other abobo-related news your earholes need to hear this week.  WHO ARE OUR GUESTS THIS WEEK? WE'RE STACKED.We're yapping with Medicaid and repro care expert, Dr. Cat Duffy of the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), about the harsh realities of what the proposed trash Medicaid cuts could mean for reproductive rights, how YOU can fight back, and how not allowing abortion in the Medicaid system is racist as hell.  PLUS, musician and comedian Shonali joins the pod to remind us that reproductive rights and abortion are PUNK AS FUCK, and gabs with us on art and disco as revolution, the power in being yourself, how she's channeling her rage, on being detained at the border, and her incredible new album, One Machine at a Time.  Times are heavy, but knowledge is power, y'all. We gotchu.  OPERATION SAVE ABORTION: You can still join the 10,000+ womb warriors fighting the patriarchy by listening to our OpSave pod series and Mifepristone Panel by clicking HERE for episodes, your toolkit, marching orders, and more. HOSTS:Lizz Winstead IG: @LizzWinstead Bluesky: @LizzWinstead.bsky.socialMoji Alawode-El IG: @Mojilocks Bluesky: @Mojilocks.bsky.social SPECIAL GUESTS:Dr. Cat Duffy Bluesky: @nhelp.bsky.social Shonali IG/TikTok: @shonaliofficial GUEST LINKS:National Health Law Program (NHeLP)DONATE: National Health Law ProgramMedicaid Defense – Resources and AnalysisShonali WebsiteBUY: Shonali's Album on Vinyl + CDShonali Tour Dates NEWS DUMP:Indiana's Consent Requirement Stripped From Sex Ed BillMontana: ‘Personhood' for Embryos Fails, Other Abortion Bills Head to Governor's DeskA Trump Baby Boom? A Baby Bust Is More Likely.Proposed Louisiana Law Would Expand Definition of ‘Coerced Abortion'Louisiana's New House BillTrump's Budget: Gutting Medicaid to Pass Tax Cuts? EPISODE LINKS:Here's What the Late Pope Francis Said About LGBTQ+ People, Abortion and Other Key IssuesADOPT-A-CLINIC: Midwest Reproductive Health 6 DEGREES: Sources Describe How Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem's Gucci Bag Was Stolen From Under Her Chair Winnie Harlow in Gucci's Uterus DressBUY AAF MERCH!Operation Save AbortionSIGN: Repeal the Comstock ActEMAIL your abobo questions to The Feminist BuzzkillsAAF's Abortion-Themed Rage Playlist SHOULD I BE SCARED?Text or call us with the abortion news that is scaring you: (201) 574-7402 FOLLOW US:Listen to us ~ FBK Podcast Instagram ~ @AbortionFrontBluesky ~ @AbortionFrontTikTok ~ @AbortionFrontFacebook ~ @AbortionFrontYouTube ~ @AbortionAccessFrontTALK TO THE CHARLEY BOT FOR ABOBO OPTIONS & RESOURCES HERE!PATREON HERE! Support our work, get exclusive merch and more! DONATE TO AAF HERE!ACTIVIST CALENDAR HERE!VOLUNTEER WITH US HERE!ADOPT-A-CLINIC HERE!EXPOSE FAKE CLINICS HERE!GET ABOBO PILLS FROM PLAN C PILLS HERE!When BS is poppin', we pop off!

There's a grab bag of sexual and reproductive health news from around the U.S. From the wins to celebrate to the updates to keep an eye on, Garnet Henderson, investigative reporter specializing in sexual and reproductive health and disinformation, sits down to talk with us about a host of SRHR issues that are moving through the political and judicial landscape.  Issues discussed include: Nevada's parental notification law, blocked since 1985 and made permanent in 1991, was overturned recently by a judge and will go into effect on April 30th; the Trump administration has been citing “DEI” as a reason Planned Parenthood and other affiliate's Title X funding is being “reviewed” and threatened; the Supreme Court recently heard the arguments for Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic at the beginning of the month; and Wisconsin voters elected a Democratically-backed candidate to serve on the state's Supreme Court, despite Elon Musk's fundraising and $100 million dollars invested in the opposing candidate.You might be interested in the Public Health is Dead podcast: https://www.publichealthisdead.com/ 9o03Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.social Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Headlines for April 04, 2025; Reproductive Rights Crackdown: Planned Parenthood CEO on Supreme Court Case, Title X & More; “An Attack on Labor”: Washington Farmworker Organizer “Lelo” Detained in Trump Immigration Crackdown; “Can’t Look Away”: New Documentary Examines How Social Media Addiction Can Harm — Even Kill — Kids

On today's show: Reproductive Rights Crackdown: Planned Parenthood CEO on Supreme Court Case, Title X, and More “An Attack on Labor”: Washington Farmworker Organizer “Lelo” Detained in Trump Immigration Crackdown “Can't Look Away”: New Documentary Examines How Social Media Addiction Can Harm — Even Kill — Kids   The post Democracy Now 6am – April 4, 2025 appeared first on KPFA.

Talks of a global recession spread following President Trump's historic tariff announcement. Plus, back here in Alaska, Planned Parenthood is sounding the alarm over DHH's move to freeze $1 million in Title X funding for Alaska.

Birth control users listen up: President Donald Trump has frozen Title X funding in a number of states including Utah. Assistant Professor in Division of Family Planning at University of Utah, Dr. Rebecca Simmons joins host Ali Vallarta to explain what this means for access to low cost contraceptives in Utah. Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It's the best way to support our work and help make sure we are around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Salt Lake Bees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indiana Planned Parenthood has Title X funding withheld by Trump administration. Plus, guest host Jeff Boggs talks about his experience being a conservative in Hollywood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This Day in Maine for Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

Top headlines for Thursday, March 27, 2025In this episode, we explore the White House's stance on Planned Parenthood funding, amidst swirling reports of a potential grant freeze. Next, we'll discuss the uproar caused by a new KFC ad in the UK and Ireland, which has sparked hundreds of complaints over perceived mockery of religious practices. Plus, we turn our attention to the University of North Carolina Asheville, where tensions have escalated after an attack on a pro-life student group's on-campus display.00:11 Planned Parenthood may be stripped of Title X grants01:10 KFC ad in UK prompts outrage for allegedly promoting cultism02:02 Duluth pastor resigns over past sexual abuse of 2 girls02:50 Teachers accused of sexually abusing student at Christian school03:46 4 Christian reactions to Disney's 'Snow White' remake04:32 Pro-life group's display at North Carolina university attacked05:25 Illinois may force faith orgs. to hire those who have abortions06:22 Greg Laurie says 'House of David' is opportunity for evangelism#DefundPlannedParenthood #TaxpayerMoney #KFCControversy #BrandFails #ChurchAbuse #PastorScandal #SchoolSafety #TeacherMisconduct #DisneyRemake #SnowWhite2025 #CampusFreedom #ProLifeMovement #ReligiousFreedom #FaithUnderFire #Evangelism #GregLaurieSubscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercastFollow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeGet the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for AndroidSubscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!Links to the NewsPlanned Parenthood may be stripped of Title X grants | PoliticsKFC ad in UK prompts outrage for allegedly promoting cultism | BusinessDuluth pastor resigns over past sexual abuse of 2 girls | Church & MinistriesTeachers accused of sexually abusing student at Christian school | U.S.4 Christian reactions to Disney's 'Snow White' remake | EntertainmentPro-life group's display at North Carolina university attacked | U.S.Illinois may force faith orgs. to hire those who have abortions | PoliticsGreg Laurie says 'House of David' is opportunity for evangelism | Entertainment

This Clinical Chats podcast episode features Dr. Aletha Akers, a national expert in adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare, with hosts Dr. Kristin Metcalf-Wilson and Dr. Tammy Bennett. In this episode, Dr. Akers provides insights into best practices for healthcare providers when caring for adolescents, including making practices adolescent-friendly, navigating confidentiality, and utilizing screening tools and scripts. This episode aims to enhance the knowledge of sexual and reproductive health professionals, particularly Title X clinicians.

Welcome to the One CA Podcast. Today, Brian Hancock interviewed Ismael Lopez about OHDACA and Humanitarian Relief and his experiences as a Marine Civil Affairs Officer.  Brian's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-j-hancock/ Ismael's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishrlopez/  Transcript available below. --- One CA is a product of the civil affairs association  and brings in people who are current or former military, diplomats, development officers, and field agents to discuss their experiences on the ground with a partner nation's people and leadership. We aim to inspire anyone interested in working in the "last three feet" of U.S. foreign relations.  To contact the show, email us at CApodcasting@gmail.com  or look us up on the Civil Affairs Association website at www civilaffairsassoc.org --- Great news! Feedspot, the podcast industry ranking system rated One CA Podcast as one of the top 10 shows on foreign policy. Check it out at: https://podcast.feedspot.com/foreign_policy_podcasts/ --- Special Thanks to the creators of Jazz & Bossa Cafe for the sample of Positive March Music. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHeCxa0rMQ4 --- Transcript: 00:00:10 BRIAN HANCOCK Welcome to One Civil Affairs Podcast. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Brian Hancock, and I will be your host for this session. Today we have with us Major Ishmael Lopez to discuss civil affairs and the ongoing relief effort in the Gaza Strip. Let's talk a little bit more about that training piece. Part of readiness is being able to do your job. The Marine is an expeditionary force, perhaps becoming even more expeditionary with the expeditionary advanced base operations. construct, the chief of the Navy signed off on. So very interesting training opportunities for the fleet right now. And you mentioned Balakatan and some of those other exercise type missions that you've done. 00:00:53 BRIAN HANCOCK And I know you've probably done Marine Corps Warfighting exercise and mentioned JRTC. But what are some of these other missions you've done? You've talked about a dock up. A dock up is joined at the hip with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, HADR. The Navy has a huge role in HADR for just a whole bunch of reasons. Has your detachment participated in any HADR missions? Is that another training opportunity that you have with your Marines in detachment? 00:01:21 ISMAEL LOPEZ We as a detachment have not. However, I do have individual Marines who have participated in HADR missions. Not a whole lot of experience, but there's some resident within the detachment. And to your point, there is huge training opportunity there for understanding how to integrate into an HADR response specific to DOD's role in supporting the State Department. We do have the opportunities for training with USAID, but that's all classroom. And we try to get as much exposure to that as possible. But as far as real-world HADR scenarios where we're able to integrate with the State Department and even into a joint task force or a multinational task force, it is very limited. I know that that is being discussed for future iterations of Balakatan specifically to have a HADR response, which makes sense, right? Because Balakatan is becoming a massive multinational exercise that features activities across the spectrum of military operations. Once that piece of it is integrated, then it's truly a well -thought -out, deliberate exercise on how to integrate HADR, whereas right now it's sort of sprinkled on top. The Marines, sailors, and even the Army, civil affairs practitioners that are supporting, are supporting steady -state engineering projects. And I think that's a missed opportunity because there's so much more that we can provide than project management. And there are opportunities there, but... If I'm a commander sitting on top of a joint task force, that's not where I would place those assets because it's going to happen. They're not caught off guard and they understand, okay, where is the USAID person that I need to be linked up with? Who do I need to be syncing up with? Again, looking for those opportunities. 00:03:22 BRIAN HANCOCK opportunities. I hear you. I know you've done a fair amount of work in South America with all the attention on ACOM and sometimes UCOM. I don't think we talk enough about, I think there are many opportunities in South America to do great things. And if we take a look at the Tierra del Fuego with all the earthquakes and the volcanoes and the things happening there and climate change and disasters, there seems to me more disasters, which is going to increase the chance that our government is temporarily overwhelmed and might have to issue a diplomatic cable and request assistance. For us in Title X, that's probably just some of our unique capabilities like rotary wing, pull up a nuclear ship and just start giving power to a large area. There's amazing things that we can do. And I know that there are disasters happening in South American countries, which tend to be a little more fragile. Do we have those opportunities? Is that something that we just haven't mapped out? How would we go about helping our South American brothers? 00:04:25 ISMAEL LOPEZ struggle with this because like you, I see the opportunities that are down there and they're plentiful. I worked down at the embassy in Bogotá, Colombia for three years during my FAO tour. And while I was there, I was a counter -narcotics maritime operations planner. So really fancy title for managing Section 333 funding programming. But our partners in that region are all about working with us. training with us, opening up their countries for us to train. They want to fight with us. In Colombia, we were trying to organize an additional exercise outside of the standard unit toss that goes on in South America. So as we started trying to test, does this concept work? What are going to be some of the challenges? What does it look like for closing ship to shore in a contestant environment? Colombia has amazing terrain that is very similar to that that you will find in the first island chain, surprisingly. A lot of people wouldn't know that, but it's there. So when you consider distance and cost associated with being able to provide realistic training that mimics the future fight, you have it in the same hemisphere. The challenge is, the NDS calls out very specifically, services, your priority is... UCOM. Your priority is AFRICOM. Your priority is CENTCOM. Your priority is writ large is Indopaycom. We'll focus on that. And so that automatically causes the services to look elsewhere rather than looking down south. And so that means that resources, manpower, etc. are going to get pulled to support efforts down there because it's not called out specifically in the NDS. And now it's being focused on other parts of the world. Fortunately, Marine Forces Reserve has shifted from trying to compete with the active component to adding relevancy by focusing on developing those opportunities in Latin America. I know the Army does a lot with the TSOCs down there, but more can be done and should be done, in my opinion. I think the relevancy is there and transferable to other parts of the globe. It's just getting past the, hey, I understood that this document calls this out. but there are opportunities here that align to what we're trying to get after in the NDS. And the other piece of that too is when you consider if we're having assets down there, it reduces the number of available resources that can respond to contingencies. And I think that's part of that equation. 00:07:09 BRIAN HANCOCK I think so. It's really not a bridge too far from our existing mental models. The energy may be in PayCon, but at the same time, you're still going to JRTC. Is that the Deep Pacific? No, not at all. But there's still value in that training. If you can go to Columbia and move through similar islands, have similar river problem sets, similar terrain problem sets, and get that experience at a fraction of the cost of going to the Deep Pacific, that's not something we should overlook. And we can't ignore the fact that there's increasing levels of adversary activity in South America, I don't think we should take that for granted. And doing these mill to mill and working together side by side on various projects, there's nothing but good stuff there. So I'm hopeful that we may in the future put a little bit more energy into that theater. 00:08:02 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah. And the one last piece of it I think that we take for granted is the belief that our partners in the Western Hemisphere are going to stay aligned to us. because we have those shared values. But when you have our competitors knocking on the door and saying, hey, we want to train with you. We want to provide you money. We want to do all these things. And we're taking for granted that relationship. It's only going to last so much longer before the number of partners that we have on there are going to be very limited. Yeah. 00:08:33 BRIAN HANCOCK You know, it kind of reminds me of the Sims game. I don't know if you've played this. But there's a relationship meter. And if you want to have positive relationships with another avatar in this simulation, you have to interact with them. You have to do that fairly regularly because over time, that relationship meter decays. Relationships aren't static like that. They're usually moving forward or they're sliding backwards. And if we're not in that game and we have hungry competitors, we can see where that could go. Let's talk about some of your work as a foreign area officer. That's a very coveted job for civil affairs and folks who think they may have a future intent to work for Department of State. A lot of folks don't get there. What did you do as a foreign area officer, and how do you get involved in that kind of work? 00:09:25 ISMAEL LOPEZ For the Marine Corps, I was actually able to use my experience as a civil affairs officer to springboard. into becoming a Latin America FAO. So in the Marines, we have two different ways of becoming a foreign area officer. There is the experience track, which is the one I fell into. And then the other one is a study track. So either route, you have solicitation for candidates, individuals who have experiences overseas, working specifically on the civ. side of the house, not necessarily the mill -to -mill piece, right? Because we're looking at international relations, foreign relations, etc. And then you have the study track, which is you get selected, you get sent to Monterey to earn a master's degree in international relations. Then they send you to the language school, DLI, for a language, and you get assigned a region. And then you get sent either to combatant command to work as a desk officer. or you get sent to a country overseas and you're going to work out at the embassy. So for me, I was able to parlay my experiences as a civil affairs officer, and then the board selected me as a Latin America foreign area officer. And what that did was that it opened me up to that role in the embassy. So my wife's active duty Air Force, and she's also a Latin America foreign area officer. She got sent to Naval Postgraduate School, earned her master's. Didn't have to go to DLI because she already spoke Spanish. And then she got orders to the embassy in Columbia. Family and I obviously went along. And as we were doing our introduction with the scout chief, she mentions my husband's a civil affairs officer and a FAO. And his eyes just lit up. He's like, we haven't had a Marine sitting in the naval mission for the Section 333 program in quite some time because we just don't have them. Part of the challenge is the cost associated with bringing one down. But since I was already there, in his eyes, he was getting two fails for the price of one. So because I had that, I was able to meet the requirement for the billet. And then I was able to serve as the program manager for the Section 333 program for roughly three years. 00:11:38 BRIAN HANCOCK Well done. And what an exciting mission. If I was younger, I'd want to run off there too and do something like that. I mean, my Spanish needs to be a little bit better, but I know I could brush it up. Hey, let's talk about the... Very difficult situation in Gaza right now. I don't think we can approach that with anything but sympathy for all involved. Certainly there's great suffering there by many different parties. And I know you were one of those folks who raised his hand and said, hey, I will help with some of that Gaza relief and did that mission, at least for some time. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with the Gaza relief mission? And are you comfortable sharing any lessons learned from your time? 00:12:20 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah, so it was very interesting when the Gaza relief mission kicked off for several reasons, right? The challenge there, very, very dynamic event, very tragic event. And then on one hand, we have to support our ally in Israel. But on the other hand, great suffering occurring to the people in Gaza as a result of the mission out there. So the struggle within DOD at the time was, what should we do from an ATA perspective to help those that are suffering in Gaza? So when we look at it from within DSCA, we were really waiting for inputs from OSD and even the NSC as to what is an appropriate humanitarian aid response. One that's not going to undermine our partner. But at the same time, sending a strong message to the people in Gaza and the international community that the United States is not going to sit idly by while people are suffering. So it's a very delicate balance that had to be found. So from an access property standpoint, I was looking into what could we do and how close could we get to provide items from the inventory that could provide life -saving support or even just support for those that are being displaced. into neighboring countries. What ended up happening was we, DSCA, specifically the humanitarian aid and the humanitarian demining division, was ordered to reallocate all the ODACA funding that had already been provided to the combative commands and used to support the Gaza relief missions, specifically the maritime bridge. So we had to deliver the bad news to the combative commands, like, hey, Any money that you have not obligated at this point, we have to pull. You were going to utilize that specifically for this mission. Concurrently, we had to assume risk. This was in the summer, right? Heading into the peak of hurricane season. So we had to decide what number were we comfortable with holding back in the event that a hurricane hit or earthquake hit and we knew it was coming and a partner was going to ask for assistance. And we wouldn't necessarily have the ability to ask Congress for additional funding. It was a fine balance there. At the end of the day, we ended up avoiding any major hurricanes in the Caribbean where a partner asked for support. So avoided that. We were able to support the Gaza Relief Mission, specifically the Maritime Pier, getting aid out there, providing those flight hours, the ship hours, getting aid as close as possible. But then we had to stop supporting that because the bridge was not as structurally sound as we all thought it was going to be. And we've been looking at other avenues of providing that support to the people of Gaza, primarily through our partners. The other challenge there is we can't actually enter an area of conflict for obvious reasons. So that added another layer of complexity to support the mission. But as we can and as we are allowed to, we continue to provide support. CENTCOM has been great identifying requirements and coordinating with the SCA to ensure that the folks that need that aid are getting that aid from us. 00:15:49 BRIAN HANCOCK That's great. It's a tricky situation. It goes out to everyone involved, but I'm glad there are folks out there like yourself who are doing what we can do to try and provide some support. Looking after civilians in conflict is a core part of what we do in civil affairs, no matter what branch you happen to be in as a civil affairs officer. So that is fantastic. I'd like to talk a little bit about one of the differences in the Army and the Marine Corps for civil affairs officers, such as yourself, and I'm beside myself, is that as a Marine civil affairs officer, 00:16:19 ISMAEL LOPEZ and I'm 00:16:22 BRIAN HANCOCK a Marine civil affairs officer, you at some point have to return to your primary branch. Whereas I can continue as a... civil affairs officer for the rest of my career if I choose to. Do you see that changing? Clearly there is a need for career professionals such as yourself to be able to stay in that MOS. What are your thoughts on that? 00:16:41 ISMAEL LOPEZ So this is the same thing with the foreign area officers, the Marine Corps. We have to go back and forth and because the primary mission of the Marine Corps is to support the infantry, right? I can make an argument for how Fayos and civil affairs does that too, but that's a harder conversation to have at the top. But I'm not sure if the, once the 17XX MOS is fully approved and implemented, how that's going to look for officers. Are they going to be able to just stay on that track? I've heard maybe it's going to happen. I've heard, no, it's not going to happen. So it's hard to say. 00:17:20 BRIAN HANCOCK it's hard to say. I saw a pre -decisional slide on that, which showed a glide path moving between civil affairs and PSYOP and space operations, 00:17:33 BRIAN HANCOCK operations, et cetera, all the way up to full kernel. That gave me the impression that it would become a career, though you would move around within that. But how things are rolled out, you know, the devil's in the details. 00:17:47 ISMAEL LOPEZ in the details. We shouldn't be bouncing back and forth because then you lose credibility in the field on both sides of it, right? So I am, by trade, a tank officer. 00:17:47 BRIAN HANCOCK in the details. 00:17:56 ISMAEL LOPEZ I no longer have an MOS in the Marine Corps because we did away with tanks. But if I'm out of tanks for three years because I'm serving in a civil affairs capacity or as a foreign area officer, and to say I did my company command time and I come back in and now I'm vying for a staff job or vying for battalion command, me being gone hurts me. It doesn't help me. 00:18:19 BRIAN HANCOCK Right. They see it like an additional duty. All of the Marine Corps civil affairs officers and NCOs I work with have been nothing but extremely professional and competent. So that is really a shame that that kind of stigma follows. 00:18:34 BRIAN HANCOCK But I see the chain of logic there. If we are forced to flow through it, the Marine Corps is very agile, turns a little faster than the Army. You've stood up these meth information groups. Where are you going to get the professionals to fill those ranks? At some point, we want to fill them with Marines instead of Army contractors. Right. 00:18:52 ISMAEL LOPEZ Right. 00:18:52 BRIAN HANCOCK So this is a capability to do that if you can stay in that field and move through these MOSs. You get three MOSs for the price of one. I thought it was a great idea. 00:19:02 ISMAEL LOPEZ Yeah. And I hope what you saw is correct. I think that's great. But I also see a challenge with civil affairs, psyops, MISO, very different capabilities. We all work within the information realm. You can't necessarily have a psyoper doing civil affairs and you can't have a civil affairs practitioner doing psyops because the way we approach that is not the same. And that in and of itself is challenging. So I think the Marine Corps really has to work and think through that because there is the influence Marine, which is a Marine that's trained in psyops, cyber and civil affairs. But it's going to take a level of maturity and professional understanding to do each one of those roles and stay in that lane without crossing over and potentially losing your credibility within one of those hats. I could totally see it in a civil engagement where all of a sudden now, because I am a PSYOP -er or because I have my PSYOP hat on, I'm thinking now through the threat lens. well, I'm supposed to be having this friendly conversation. Now it gets out of hand and the person I'm speaking to probably doesn't trust me as much as they initially did. That takes a lot of role -playing, a lot of training, a lot of reinforcing of this is what it is you're doing, vice the other. Yeah. 00:20:25 BRIAN HANCOCK Yeah. Well said. We're hitting the end of our time, so I'm going to ask you my last question, and that's next for Ishmael Lopez. 00:20:34 ISMAEL LOPEZ So I'm actually rotating out of... first civil affairs group. And I'm going to be joining Six Anglico up in Seattle, Washington joint base. Louis McCord, actually. I'm going to be a salt leader and then potentially transitioning to be the executive officer there. And this is part of the, I have to go back to my primary MOS, even though I don't have one. So I'm not in civil affairs for too long as it hurts my career progression. On the DSCA side of things, We're adding the civil affairs liaison title responsibilities to me specific to humanitarian aid and ODACA. So I'm going to be working closely with the combatant commands, country teams, hopefully the civil affairs schoolhouses across the services to provide HA specific training for civil affairs. And this is just a capability gap that I identified a year ago. So DSCA, we provide training to security cooperation professionals. But what they do is very different than what civil affairs does. So tailoring the training for the civil affairs audience. So very excited about the new opportunity. That's outstanding. 00:21:48 BRIAN HANCOCK outstanding. And I think you've identified a good opportunity there. I graduated from the civil military operations planners course there at Moss, and we didn't spend much time on this. It's a short course, of course, and you can't do everything. A little bit more robust opportunity for HADR and ODACA. Those are nothing but win -win missions, and you do them at every phase of conflict, including competition. So huge opportunity there. Whoever ends up getting you is going to be very lucky. You're an amazing Marine and a great person. So thank you for taking your time. If the audience has questions, feel free to write to One Civil Affairs Podcast, and we'll do our best to make a connection. Thanks again for your time, Ishmael, and have a good evening, Al. 00:22:39 ISMAEL LOPEZ Thank you so much, Brian. Thank you for the opportunity, and very kind.

It's Monday, February 17th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus 18-year-old Catholic woman escapes Pakistani Muslim man An 18-year-old Pakistani woman has been reunited with her Catholic family after six months of captivity, forced conversion to Islam, and coerced marriage to the Muslim who abducted her, reports Morning Star News. Huma Allah Ditta's ordeal began when she failed to return home from her job at a call center in Lahore  on June 28. Her distraught parents began a desperate search after police failed to lift a finger. On August 4th, her parents discovered that she had been abducted by a Muslim man named Abdul Basit Butt.  2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” The Catholic mother said, “My husband and I decided to put this matter in God's hands and started praying vigorously for our daughter's return.” The couple's prayers were answered on January 16th, when Huma managed to escape from Butt's custody and was reunited with her family. JD Vance slams Europe for violating free speech of pro-life Christians Last Friday, Vice President J.D. Vance used a speech addressing European leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany to slam Europe for violating the free speech and religious rights of pro-life Christians, reports LifeNews.com. VANCE: “When I look at Europe today, it's sometimes not so clear what happened to some of the Cold War's winners. … Perhaps most concerningly, I look to our very dear friends, the United Kingdom, where the backslide away from conscience rights has placed the basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs. “A little over two years ago, the British government charged Adam Smith-Connor, a 51-year-old physiotherapist and an Army veteran, with the heinous crime of standing 50 meters from an abortion clinic and silently praying for three minutes. Not obstructing anyone, not interacting with anyone, just silently praying on his own. “After British law enforcement spotted him and demanded to know what he was praying for, Adam replied simply it was on behalf of the unborn son he and his former girlfriend had aborted years before. Now, the officers were not moved. “Adam was found guilty of breaking the government's new buffer zones law, which criminalizes silent prayer and other actions that could influence a person's decision within 200 meters of an abortion facility. He was sentenced to pay thousands of pounds in legal costs to the prosecution.” Vice President Vance expressed disappointment that the United Kingdom had penalized so-called thought crimes. He warned European leaders against censoring pro-lifers. VANCE: “Now, I wish I could say that this was a fluke, a one-off, crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person. But no, this last October, just a few months ago, the Scottish Government began distributing letters to citizens whose houses lay within so called ‘safe access' zones, warning them that even private prayer within their own homes may amount to breaking the law. Naturally, the government urged readers to report any fellow citizens suspected guilty of thought crime. “In Britain and across Europe, free speech, I fear, is in retreat.” RFK, Jr. vows to implement Trump's pro-life policies Last Thursday, February 13th, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed in a 52-48 vote and sworn in as President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), reported The Epoch Times. Prior to that, during the Senate Health Committee hearing, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri asked Kennedy about whether he would implement President Trump's pro-life policies. Listen to their exchange. HAWLEY: “Under the first Trump presidency, HHS stopped new [National Institutes of Health] research that involved human fetal tissue from elective abortion. You said, ‘Stem cell research today can be done on umbilical cords. You don't need any fetal tissue.'  -- which is correct. My question to you is, ‘Will you reinstate President Trump's policy that ensures that no federal research and no federal tax dollars is conducted on fetal tissue taken from elective abortions?'” KENNEDY: “Yes.” HAWLEY: “Fantastic! Let me ask you just about Title X which prohibits the funding of the use of federal taxpayer funding for abortions or to flow to entities like Planned Parenthood that perform abortions or refer people to abortions. You were asked yesterday if you would support President Trump's rule that says, ‘No Title X funding for those who perform abortions or refer people to abortions.' I think your answer was, ‘Yes. You would reinstate that rule.' I just want to be sure I'm right about that. KENNEDY: “Yes.” HAWLEY: “Fantastic! Last point that I have for you. On mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug, you said yesterday that you would study its safety. I think that's good. I want to make an additional point here just about how the Biden administration changed the rules on mifepristone that I hope that you'll take into consideration because you pointed out that we need to honor the wishes of voters in states and their right to set life policy. “The Biden administration's rule on mifepristone, which they did after the Dobbs decision, means that in any state, including ones like mine [Missouri], where voters or state legislators say, ‘We don't want abortion performed after a certain point,' if the Biden administration rule on chemical abortion stands and you can mail in these abortion drugs without a doctor visit or referral, that means no state ban, no state decision, no voter decision is going to matter. We're going to have a one-size-fits-all policy set here in Washington. I hope you'll take that into consideration.” KENNEDY: “I will implement President Trump's policies.” Valentine's Day birthed through Christian martyr's death And finally, have you ever wondered why we just celebrated Valentine's Day on February 14th, this past Friday? Well, Pastor Valentine or Valentinus was a clergyman in the Roman Empire who lived during the reign of Claudius Gothicus or Claudius II. Because the Emperor was having difficulty getting young men to volunteer to serve in the army to fight his wars, he prohibited marriage which would further hurt the conscription rate. Pastor Valentine, who celebrated God's love and Biblical love between husband and wife, secretly married Christian couples in the forest which ultimately led to his arrest and imprisonment.  While Claudius took a liking to Pastor Valentinus, the bold preacher tried to convert the Emperor which resulted in a sentence of death. In Romans 10:14, the Apostle Paul asks, "How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Valentine was beaten with clubs and stones.  And when that failed to kill him, Valentine was beheaded on February 14th, A.D. 269. And now you know the rest of the story. Get the children's book entitled Valentine: God's Courageous Evangelist. Close And that's The Worldview on this Monday, February 17th in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

It's Friday, January 31st, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Chinese pastor sentenced to 2 years for distributing Christian materials The drawn-out saga between the Chinese People's Court of Shunde District in Guandong and the Shengjia House Church seems to be ending, reports International Christian Concern. On January 17, the People's Court sentenced Preacher Deng Yanxiang to two years in prison. He is scheduled to be released in May because he has already served more than 18 months.  He joins four other members of his house church who have been imprisoned for alleged illegal business operations, a charge frequently used against unregistered Chinese house churches by the Communists. The charges were tied to the church's publications, including “Daily Bible Readings and Interpretations,” which were sold and distributed to local believers.  In Luke 6:27-28, Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. faced contentious committee over HHS nomination President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees continue to be scrutinized by the U.S. Senate.  On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a former Democrat, was vilified by the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee about his interest in becoming President Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services. Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin was highly annoyed with his Democratic colleagues. JOHNSON: “Thank you for your decades-long advocacy for a clean environment, for children's health. I can't say as I'm surprised by the hostility on the other side. I'm highly disappointed in it. I don't know if you remember when you called me up and you were contemplating setting your political differences aside, joining forces with President Trump on an area of agreement, [and] addressing chronic illness. “My first response was, ‘Bobby, this is an answer my prayers.' We need to heal and unify this divided nation. I thought, ‘Wow! Here's somebody from the Left, somebody I don't agree with on many issues politically, coming together with President Trump and focusing on an area of agreement, something that the American people desperately want.' What has caused autism? What is causing chronic illness? “I think I know the personal and political price you've paid for this decision. I want to say publicly, I thank you for that. I truly appreciate what you're doing here.” (applause) Kennedy agreed, saying that he wanted to solve chronic disease problems for all Americans. KENNEDY: “When I launched my campaign, it was about uniting Americans -- Democrats and Republicans. There's no issue that should unite us more than this chronic health epidemic. There's no such thing as Republican children or Democratic children. These are our kids. Sixty-six percent of them are damaged. "I didn't know anybody with a food allergy growing up. Why do five of my kids have allergies? Why are we seeing these explosions in diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological diseases, depression? All these things that are related to toxics in the environment. Why can't we just agree with each other to put differences about so many issues, intractable issues, aside as and say we're going to end this?” Kennedy explained why he is uniquely qualified to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. KENNEDY: “I don't think anybody is going to be able to do this like I have, because of my peculiar experience, because I've litigated against these agencies. When you litigate against them, you get a PhD in corporate capture and how to unravel it. I've written six books about these agencies. I know a lot about them, and I know how to fix it. “There's nobody who will fix it the way that I do because I'm not scared of vested interest. I don't care. I'm not here because I want a position or a job. I have a very good life and a happy family. This is something I don't need.” And Kennedy explained why he has endured such hostility from the Democrats who once were his greatest friends. KENNEDY: “All these Democrats are opposed to me for partisan issues. They used to be my friends, agreed with me on all the environmental issues I've been working on for my whole career. Now they're against me because anything that President Trump does, any decision he makes, has to be lampooned, derided, discredited, marginalized, vilified.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr committed to Trump's pro-life policies On abortion, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, whom President Trump nominated to lead Health and Human Services, said he agreed with Trump that “every abortion is a tragedy,” adding that “we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year,” reports The Christian Post. Kennedy also said the president told him that he wants to work to oppose late-term abortions, support conscience protections for those opposed to abortion, and end federal funding of abortions. Kennedy noted, “I'm going to support President Trump's policies on Title X. I serve at the pleasure of the president. I'm going to implement his policies.” Proverbs 31:8 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania thought Wednesday's Senate Finance Committee hearing with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr was contentious and doubted whether Kennedy would even make it out of the 25-member committee, much less get 51 votes in the U.S. Senate, reports TheHill.com. Elon Musk: We need shorter bills that people can understand Tech mogul and presidential adviser Elon Musk had a brainstorm. MUSK: “Any laws need to be short enough that everyone can read them.” Imagine that. If this idea became a reality, it would make it more difficult to hide controversial goals within bills, reports LifeSiteNews.com. Trump is bewildered and angry about the helicopter/plane crash And finally, President Donald Trump reacted to the Wednesday night crash of the American Airlines Eagle plane with the Army Blackhawk helicopter over the Potomac River by Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C. On TruthSocial, he wrote, “The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time. It is a CLEAR NIGHT. The lights on the plane were blazing. Why didn't the helicopter go up or down or turn? Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane? This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!” WTOP reports that there were no survivors and the rescue mission turned to a recovery operation as of 8:00am Thursday morning. At that time, 28 bodies had been recovered. It is the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly 24 years. Close And that's The Worldview on this Friday, January 31st in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

It's Inauguration Day, Monday, January 20th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 125 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Indonesian officials allow church permit Want some good news about our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ? Well, a church in East Jakarta, Indonesia, is getting a home after 56 years without one, reports International Christian Concern. The Pasundan Christian Church Congregation of Kampung Tengah recently received a certificate of ownership from Nusron Wahid, the minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning. The certificate handover, which took place on Christmas Day 2024, marked the end of the congregation's long journey in obtaining legal certainty for the land they use as a place of worship. As officially recognized landowners, the congregation, established in 1968, can now conduct worship more calmly and comfortably.  President-elect Donald Trump to be sworn in today Today, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in to serve a second term as the 47th president of the United States of America. The swearing-in ceremony, which is expected to begin at 12 noon Eastern Time, will feature Trump getting sworn in on two Bibles – the Bible his mother gave him in 1955 at First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, New York and the Bible Abraham Lincoln used in 1861, reports The Hill.com. Exodus 18:21 offers guidance for selecting civic leadership.  Our leaders should be “men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain.” Because of the frigid weather forecast today in the nation's capital, Trump's inauguration ceremony has been moved indoors to the Capitol rotunda. The last time the ceremony was held indoors was in January 1985 for President Ronald Reagan. Country music star Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful.” Other performers include Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood as well as Liberty University's Praise Choir. You can watch the inauguration on any major news outlet and at CSPAN beginning at 12 noon Eastern. Trump's Defense Chief pick affirms support for Israel In the midst of the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Trump nominee Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, a protestor interrupted the proceedings to make this verbal accusation against Hegseth. PROTESTOR: “You are a Christian Zionist.” Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas followed up with this comment and question. COTTON: “The first one accused you of being a Christian Zionist.  I'm not really sure why that is a bad thing. I'm a Christian. I'm a Zionist. Zionism is that the Jewish people deserve a homeland in the ancient holy land where they've lived since the dawn of history. Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist?” HEGSETH: “I'm a Christian, and I robustly support the State of Israel and its existential defense. And the way America comes alongside them as a great ally. COTTON: “Great. Thank you. Another protester, and I think this one was a member of Code Pink, which, by the way, is a Chinese communist front group these days, said that you support Israel's war in Gaza. I support Israel's existential war in Gaza. I assume, like me and President Trump, you support that war as well, don't you?” HEGSETH: “Senator, I do. I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has vowed to uphold Trump's pro-life policies Following four years of the Biden administration reversing the pro-life federal policies established during President Trump's first term, Republican senators are expressing confidence that the incoming Trump administration will re-implement pro-life policies, reports LifeNews.com. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris allowed federal funds to go to abortion businesses, blocked pregnancy resource centers from receiving federal funds, and used tax dollars to promote abortion internationally. After Trump nominated former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as his secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, concerns arose that pro-life policies would be sidelined. During his presidential run, Kennedy had called the abortion issue “nuanced and complex” and also said that the state should not “dictate choices that the woman is making” regarding abortion. He has also previously supported (and walked back support for) three-month pro-life protections. However, Senate Republicans like Josh Hawley of Missouri say they have received personal assurances from Kennedy that he will not pursue pro-abortion policies while in office and will, in fact, enact pro-life ones. Last month, Hawley posted a series of tweets describing his conversation with Kennedy regarding the issue. Hawley wrote, Kennedy “committed to me to reinstate President Trump's pro-life policies at HHS. That includes reinstating the Mexico City policy & ending taxpayer funding for abortions domestically.” The senator further noted Kennedy's promise to have all pro-life deputies at Health and Human Services, and that he “believes there are far too many abortions in the US and that we cannot be the moral leader of the free world with abortion rates so high.” In addition, Hawley stated that Kennedy promised to reinstate “the bar on Title X funds going to organizations that promote abortion” and to “reinstate conscience protections for healthcare providers.” This morning, Biden that “the Equal Rights Amendment is now the law of the land.” Well, there you have it: The Constitution has a 28th amendment, and women's rights have been enshrined across the country. Biden falsely claimed Equal Rights Amendment part of Constitution On Friday, President Joe Biden falsely claimed that the Equal Rights Amendment had become the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Listen.   BIDEN: “Just over 100 years ago, a pioneering group of women proposed Equal Rights Amendment to enshrine the principles of gender equality our Constitution. Throughout my career, I've been clear. No one should be discriminated against based on their sex. “And in order for the amendment to be ratified, it requires three-fourths of the states to ratify it. That benchmark was passed when Virginia ratified the E.R.A. a few years ago. “Today, I affirm the Equal Rights Amendment to have cleared all the necessary hurdles to be added to the U.S. Constitution now. The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land now. It's the 28th Amendment to the Constitution now. “I consulted dozens of constitutional scholars to make sure there was all within the power to do this, and the fact is, we did.” However, according to the National Archive and Records Administration Archivist Colleen Shogan, the Equal Rights Amendment died on June 30, 1982 when only 35 states ratified it, reports The Epoch Times. 50,000 Scriptural booklets will be handed to inauguration attendees Dozens of volunteers led by a Florida-based Christian ministry are expecting to give out 50,000 Bible booklets to attendees at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump today, reports The Christian Post. The evangelistic organization Faith & Liberty, working with Seedline International and HOPE to the Hill, will pass out the Bible booklets, which contain the scriptural books of John and Romans, to commemorate President Donald Trump's 2025 Inauguration. Peggy Nienaber, the Senior Vice President of Faith & Liberty, said,  “In times of national division like America has recently seen, a new presidential administration can offer hope. The commemorative scripture booklets were published for this significant occasion for that same reason — to offer hope to people in the Savior Jesus Christ.” In Isaiah 55:11, God said, “My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Inauguration Day, Monday, January 20th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Subscribe by Amazon Music or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Your Feminist Buzzkills are BACK, BABY!! And we've got marching orders for the year ahead. Look, no one needs a crystal ball to know that 2025 is going to SUCK ASS. With the inauguration of the Queef-in-Chief, the confirmation of the cabinet of blunders, and the March For Life, this inauspicious start to the year bears grim tidings. As always, your Buzzkills GOTCHU on what to keep your ears and eyes peeled not just for the next 300+ days, but also the abobo tea from this week! From updates on the trash act for “abortion survivors” to which state government has proved to hate abortion the MOST. Plus, Moji unpacks just how intense the approval for medication abortion was, which should shut down the anti-abortion ass clowns–but it won't. So we live to podcast another day.   GUEST ROLL CALL! Joining us to lay out how sham, FAKE clinics will quickly become the epicenters of evil is researcher, comms, and data guru at the Women's Law Project Tara Murtha. PLUS, what do REM's “Fables of the Reconstruction” and abortion have in common? Rock legend Jason Narducy hops in the mix and chats with us about his tour with Michael Shannon and how Abortion AF is a part of it all! Yes, a bunch of white guys are actually doing something cool to support abortion access! It's a whopper of a way to start a new year, but we'll be here with a dose of hope and a box of abortion pills through it all. Times are heavy, but knowledge is power, y'all. We gotchu. HOSTS:Lizz Winstead IG: @LizzWinstead Bluesky: @LizzWinstead.bsky.socialMoji Alawode-El IG: @Mojilocks Bluesky: @Mojilocks.bsky.social SPECIAL GUESTS:Tara Murtha IG: @womenslawproject Bluesky: @womenslawproject.bsky.socialJason Narducy IG: @jasonnarducy Bluesky: @jasonnarducy.bsky.social Threads: @jasonnarducy GUEST LINKS: Women's Law ProjectWLP Action AlertsMichael Shannon & Jason Narducy TourSplit Single LinktreeVerböten Linktree NEWS DUMP:Senate Republicans Introduce Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection ActArkansas Takes Top Spot as the Most Pro-life StateMississippi Bill: Life in Prison for Aiding Teen AbortionsIs Ken Paxton the Boss of New York?FDA's “Belt and Suspenders” Approach to Mifepristone Approval EPISODE LINKS:CALL/TEXT BIDEN TO PUBLISH THE ERA: 202-456-11111/18 JOIN US: The People's March in Minnesota 1/22 CALL TO ACTION: Feminist Women's Health Center's Winter Thankathon ADOPT-A-CLINIC WISHLIST: Choices Rising Clinic 6 Degrees: Coors Light Changes Its Name for the Worst Monday of the YearSTREAM: No One Asked You on JoltOperation Save AbortionSIGN: Repeal the Comstock ActEMAIL your abobo questions to The Feminist BuzzkillsAAF's Abortion-Themed Rage Playlist FOLLOW US:Listen to us ~ FBK Podcast Instagram ~ @AbortionFrontBluesky ~ @AbortionFrontTikTok ~ @AbortionFrontFacebook ~ @AbortionFrontYouTube ~ @AbortionAccessFrontTALK TO THE CHARLEY BOT FOR ABOBO OPTIONS & RESOURCES HERE!PATREON HERE! Support our work, get exclusive merch and more! DONATE TO AAF HERE!ACTIVIST CALENDAR HERE!VOLUNTEER WITH US HERE!ADOPT-A-CLINIC HERE!EXPOSE FAKE CLINICS HERE!GET ABOBO PILLS FROM PLAN C PILLS HERE!When BS is poppin', we pop off!

Darren discussed these topics:Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he's stepping down.McDonald's announced that they're rolling back their diversity policies while Costco remains steadfast in their diversity program.The Biden Administration issued a rule that removes medical debt from credit reports.Incoming FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened Disney over ABC's retransmission rights with their affiliates.The Ottawa County, Michigan Board of Commissioners gave a $454,000 grant to a pro-life group, possibly threatening the county's Title X position.The Justice Department intends to release only part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on Donald Trump.The Supreme Court decided 5-4 to allow Trump's New York sentencing in his hush money case to happen.And the Justice Department accused six major landlords of price fixing and collusion to keep rents high.

In this episode, John Gerardi and Jonathan Keller dive into the latest Trump administration cabinet picks and their implications for pro-life issues. They explore how key figures like RFK Jr., Marco Rubio, and others may shape policies on abortion, Planned Parenthood funding, Title X, and more. The duo also dissects controversial topics, such as RFK Jr.'s fluctuating abortion stance and the ethics of fetal tissue research.

 Next week, the Supreme Court term will begin. While there are no abortion cases on the docket yet, there are many cases that concern sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice and the rights of the LGBTQI+ community. Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and co-host of Rewire News Group's podcast Boom! Lawyered, sits down to talk with us about some cases that face SCOTUS this term, as well as potential cases to keep a careful eye on.  United States v. Skrimetti, which will be before the Court this term, involves challenges to Kentucky and Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and whether those bans violate the equal protection clause of the Constitution. In addition, some cases that could make their way up the docket include a grouping of conservative attorneys general are attempting to bring back challenges to mifepristone access, Idaho's resurrection of EMTALA challenges, and Oklahoma's appeal to challenge the Biden administration on requirements for Title X funding. Lastly, a petition currently sits before the Supreme Court that could potentially end the case that green-lit wrongful death suits related to invitro fertilization in Alabama. Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Top headlines for Monday, September 9, 2024In this episode, we explore the Supreme Court's decision to deny $4 million in Title X funds for Oklahoma due to the state's stance on abortion, the arrest of Colin Gray, linked to his son Colt Gray's school shooting, and how inflation is affecting church donations. We also delve into the lawsuit filed by book publishers against Florida officials over First Amendment rights related to explicit books in libraries. Subscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercast⠀Follow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTube⠀Get the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for Android⠀Subscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!⠀Links to the NewsSCOTUS denies Okla. request to restore fed family planning funds | Politics5 findings from Covenant shooter Audrey Hale's complete diary | U.S.Appeals court upholds religious exemption for Christian colleges | EducationA dangerous intellectual virus loose on American campusNewsboys' response to Christian celebs who have deconstructed | PodcastFewer churchgoers giving more to cover church expenses: study | Church & MinistriesBook publishers file lawsuit against Florida education officials | EducationTim Walz subpoenaed over $250M COVID fraud scheme | U.S.

Thanks for listening to The Morning Five!Thanks for listening, rating/subscribing The Morning Five on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about the work of CCPL at www.ccpubliclife.org. Michael's new book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, is now available! You can order on Amazon, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or at your favorite local bookstore. Join the conversation and follow us at: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@michaelwear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, @ccpubliclifeTwitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@MichaelRWear⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, @ccpubliclifeAnd check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tsfnetwork⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by: King Sis#politics #faith #religion #religious #culture #news #prayer #scripture #election #2024 #HHS #Oklahoma #SCOTUS #campaign #abortion #NewYork #China #espionage #foreignaffairs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How in the HECK have we gotten to the 300th mini episode?! It's all thanks to you listeners. I wish we could give you a more uplifting episode for the occasion, but this week, Madigan discusses a lawsuit filed by the state of Oklahoma to the Supreme Court in regards to Title X grants and abortion access, as well as the disheartening state of investigations into child sexual abuse cases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love to hear from you; “Send us a Text Message”Tom Hampson is co-hosting with me today and we are grateful to be with Monica Cline, founder of “It takes a family”.Monica joins us to explain the nefarious nature of the National Sex Ed standards, also called Comprehensive Sex Ed, being pushed across the nation to rob children of their innocence. Monica knows firsthand as a former Comprehensive Sex Educator (CSE) and Title X (family planning) Training Manager who was trained by the LGBTQ community and Planned Parenthood. She shares her story including a conversion to Christianity, which prompted her to deeply question comprehensive the sex education and crisis pregnancy counseling that she was involved in. Today, Monica boldly exposes the secular ideology behind comprehensive sex education and the abortion industry, which aim to destroy our children, families, and culture.  Monica encourages parents to RECLAIM PARENTHOOD by accepting their God given role as the primary authority and educators for their children.  She teaches parents to follow God's command in Deuteronomy 6:7 to impress God's truth onto their children continually, because IT TAKES A FAMILY to raise strong children, build healthy communities, and form a great nation. Contact Monica and support her at It Takes A Family"Please consider making a  financial contribution to support our work, Glory Be To God"--JackFollow us and watch on X: John Paul II Renewal @JP2RenewalOn Rumble: johnpauliirc Or new on YouTube hereCatch up with the latest on our website: jp2renew.org and Sign up for our Newsletter!!  Contact Jack: info@jp2renew.orgRead Jack's Blog substack.com/@jackrigert  Support the Show.

President Trump joins Stigall to kick off a new week in a wide ranging interview. What does his family think of him being forced to miss his son Barron's graduation? Does he support Speaker Johnson and the $95 billion dollar aid package to Ukraine passed over the weekend? His reaction to Biden re-writing Title X, the Senate refusing to take up an impeachment trial of Secretary Mayorkas, early ballot collection in states like Pennsylvania, and much more! -For more info visit the official website: https://chrisstigall.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisstigallshow/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisStigallFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.stigall/Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/StigallPodListen on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/StigallShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the same week Biden shredded Title X protections for women and girls, a scandal was brewing in a suburban Philadelphia school district and parents are righteously angry. Hear the grizzly details of an attack on a 13-year old student who was one of many targeted by a student who'd been transferred into their school just two day prior to the attack. A mother of one of the girls threatened joins Stigall to tell her story and what she plans to do with her kids going forward. Then you'll hear some inspirational anger from a local business owner in the community who spoke at the school board meeting last week and he'll leave you with hope that average folks are waking to this madness. Plus, a portion of an important Bill Maher monologue from Friday touching on very similar themes that's worth hearing. -For more info visit the official website: https://chrisstigall.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisstigallshow/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisStigallFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.stigall/Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/StigallPodListen on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/StigallShowSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In response to the rising rates of congenital syphilis infections, the CTC-SRH's own Associate Director, Tammy Bennett, discusses point-of-care testing and same day treatment for syphilis infections, and how Title X sites can implement these services in their own clinics.

In the final episode of the four-part series on the pregnancy-associated death crisis in the US, The CTC-SRH speaks with Dr. Nicole Tchalim, from Columbia University's Women and Reproductive Mental Health, or WARM, program, and how Title X and other family planning clinicians can address mental health struggles and suicidality in their own patients.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on two First Amendment cases that ask whether the REAL victims of government coercion today are… conservatives with fringe views! Leah, Melissa, and Kate preview those cases, along with the mifepristone case the Court will hear next week. Plus, they do a deep dive on how SCOTUS uses the shadow docket to clear the way for executions.Strict Scrutiny is headed back to DC for another live show! Get your presale tickets NOW with the code SCRUTINY. Head to crooked.com/events for more info! --> Washington DC TicketsHere's the full episode in which we called pretty much the entire outcome of the Title X family planning program case in the Fifth CircuitICYMI, Melissa's book with Andrew Weissmann, The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary, hit #1 on the New York Times' Bestseller List! If you haven't gotten your own copy, code STRICT10 will get you 10% off at Bookshop.org Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Threads, and Bluesky

This week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, which challenges teens' ability to access birth control without parental consent. The Fifth Circuit, unsurprisingly, ruled in favor of Deanda, upending four decades of federal precedent.Jess and Imani break down the appeals court's decision and why the ruling is a ticking time bomb for Title X in other states, too.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

This week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, which challenges teens' ability to access birth control without parental consent. The Fifth Circuit, unsurprisingly, ruled in favor of Deanda, upending four decades of federal precedent.Jess and Imani break down the appeals court's decision and why the ruling is a ticking time bomb for Title X in other states, too.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

In part three of a four-part series, the CTC-SRH speaks with Dr. Karen Trister Grace about the effects of intimate partner violence on pregnancy, homicide as a cause of pregnancy-associated death, and how Title X clinicians can address it in their practices.

In the second of the four-part series on the pregnancy-associated death crisis in the US, The CTC-SRH speaks with Dr. Tricia Wright from UCSF about the role substance use disorder and overdoses play in these death rates, and how Title X and other family planning clinicians can help prevent overdose in their own patients.

In this first of a multi-episode series, the CTC-SRH talks with epidemiologist Dr. Maeve Wallace about pregnancy-associated deaths in the US, how often they happen, and the top causes, and what this information means for Title X practitioners and staff.

Full episode transcript HERE. SAVE THE DATE: March 26th is the date the Supreme Court will hear the abortion pill (mifepristone) case! What does this mean? What quack evidence did the anti-abobo clowns drag in? The Buzzkills got you. And when the awful-est activists in the country aren't in court trying to destroy us? They're working tirelessly behind the scenes on an anti-abobo-core thing called Project 2025. WTF is it? How will it fuck with your rights? And what can we do about it? We'll decode it all for you. PLUS une énorme abobo win in France, oui oui! WOOF. WHAT A WEEK. Who did we call in for backup? SPECIAL GUEST ROLL CALL: Sociologist Dr. Gretchen Sisson talks about her upcoming book, Relinquished,  which explores the realities of choosing adoption, how we should talk about adoption and abortion together, and what she learned on her 10-year journey examining all of it. PLUS, the hilare comedian and video maker Dylan McKeever takes us to Queer University! She gabs it up with us on monogamy, dating Zillennials, creative autonomy, comedy in times of darkness, and how she relaxes. Times are heavy, but knowledge is power, y'all. We gotchu. OPERATION SAVE ABORTION: You can still join the 10,000+ womb warriors fighting the patriarchy by listening to our five-part OpSave pod series and Mifepristone Panel by clicking HERE for episodes, your toolkit, marching orders, and more. HOSTS:Lizz Winstead @LizzWinsteadMoji Alawode-El @MojiLocks NEWS DUMPER:Molly Gaebe @MollyGaebe SPECIAL GUESTS: Gretchen Sisson IG/Threads: @gretchen.sisson / TW: @gesissonDylan McKeever IG: @deemakes / TikTok: @deemakes_ NEWS DUMP:Six Anti-abortion Extremists Found Guilty of Conspiring and Blockading Tennessee ClinicMississippi Ballot Initiative Proposal Would Not Allow Changes to Abortion LawsPA Supreme Court Allows Challenge to 1982 Law Prohibiting Medicaid Payments for AbortionsFrance On-Track to Constitutionalize Abortion RightsACLU Warns Supreme Court That Lower Court Abortion Pill Decisions Relied on “Patently Unreliable Witnesses”The Anti-abortion Plan Ready for Trump on Day OneAbout Project 2025 ​GUEST LINKS:PRE-ORDER Gretchen's Book: RELINQUISHEDAdvancing New Standards in Reproductive Health WebsiteThe Turnaway StudyDylan McKeever's Website EPISODE LINKS:Kacsmaryk References a Wack Study for the Mife Case2015 Study on Major Complications in Medication AbortionMichael Shannon & Jason Narducy TourSF Indiefest: No One Asked You6 Degrees: Nicki Minaj Says Her Abortion Has ‘Haunted' HerSIGN UP 2/6: Religion & Repro Training SIGN: Mifepristone PetitionBUY: Reproductive Rights Wall Art!EMAIL your abobo questions to The Feminist BuzzkillsAAF's Abortion-Themed Rage Playlist FOLLOW US:Listen to us ~ FBK Podcast Instagram ~ @AbortionFrontTwitter ~ @AbortionFrontTikTok ~ @AbortionFrontFacebook ~ @AbortionFrontYouTube ~ @AbortionAccessFrontTALK TO THE CHARLEY BOT FOR ABOBO OPTIONS & RESOURCES HERE!PATREON HERE! Support our work, get exclusive merch and more! DONATE TO AAF HERE!ACTIVIST CALENDAR HERE!VOLUNTEER WITH US HERE!ADOPT-A-CLINIC HERE!EXPOSE FAKE CLINICS HERE!GET ABOBO PILLS FROM PLAN C PILLS HERE!When BS is poppin', we pop off!

The CTC-SRH talks with Robin Summers, JD senior counsel and vice president at the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, about the recent federal ruling in Ohio v. Becerra.  Robin interprets the current ruling for listeners and provides insight about what Title X providers and staff can anticipate next in the case.

The demise of the constitutional right to privacy, conservatives' attacks on birth control, and Jess and Imani's ol' pal U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. What do these things all have in common?The case Deanda v. Becerra—about whether teens can get birth control from federally funded health centers without their parents' consent. Kacsmaryk, a Trump judge, has ruled that teens can't despite Title X regulations saying they can.Jess and Imani get into why the case is such a big deal, what might happen if the case reaches the Supreme Court, and more.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

The demise of the constitutional right to privacy, conservatives' attacks on birth control, and Jess and Imani's ol' pal U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. What do these things all have in common?The case Deanda v. Becerra—about whether teens can get birth control from federally funded health centers without their parents' consent. Kacsmaryk, a Trump judge, has ruled that teens can't despite Title X regulations saying they can.Jess and Imani get into why the case is such a big deal, what might happen if the case reaches the Supreme Court, and more.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

TAP IN with Worldwide as he discusses the Ring General's historic IC title reign and feud with Chad Gable. He also discusses Jey Uso's popularity and the Top 5 Champions who made their title's matter.   Host: Brandon Willis   Facebook Group: The League of Melanated Gentlemen Podcast Instagram: The League of Melanated Gentlemen Podcast YouTube: The League of Melanated Gentlemen Podcast

Since May 2022, Congress has held three hearings looking into Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and the possibility of non-human intelligent life flying aircraft on Earth. In this episode, hear testimony from three Defense Department officials and three credible whistleblowers, whose testimony is often as contradictory as it is shocking. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Whistleblower Protections Clayton E. Wire. 2020. Ogborn Mihm LLP. Security Classifications Security Classification of Information, Volume 2. Principles for Classification of Information. Arvin S. Quist. Oak Ridge National Laboratory: 1993. UAP Background Brian Entin. June 6, 2023. NewsNation. Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal. June 5, 2023. The Debrief. May 16, 2021. 60 Minutes. Ralph Blumenthal. December 18, 2017. The New York Times. Helene Cooper et al. December 16, 2017. The New York Times. Independent Research and Development National Defense Industrial Association. SCIFs Derek Hawkins et al. April 26, 2023. The Washington Post. Kirkpatrick Response Letter D. Dean Johnson (@ddeanjohnson). Twitter. Audio Sources July 26, 2023 House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Witnesses: , Former Commanding Officer, United States Navy Ryan Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Aerospace David Grusch, Former National Reconnaissance Office Representative, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, Department of Defense Clips timestamps reflect C-SPAN video 4:30 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): The National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 established the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office or AARO to conduct or to coordinate efforts across the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to detect, identify and investigate UAPs. However, AARO's budget remains classified, prohibiting meaningful oversight from Congress. 19:50 Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): We know the Senate is taking up an amendment to their defense authorization bill which will create a commission with broad declassification authority and we should all agree that that is an important step. 27:40 Ryan Graves: Excessive classification practices keep crucial information hidden. Since 2021, all UAP videos are classified as secret or above. This level of secrecy not only impedes our understanding, but fuels speculation and mistrust. 27:55 Ryan Graves: In 2014, I was an F-18 Foxtrot pilot in the Navy fighter attack Squadron 11, the Red Rippers, and I was stationed at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. After upgrades were made to our jet's radar systems, we began detecting unknown objects operating in our airspace. At first, we assumed they were radar errors. But soon we began to correlate the radar tracks with multiple onboard sensors, including infrared systems, and eventually through visual ID. During a training mission in Warning Area W-72, 10 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Two F/A-18F Super Hornets were split by a UAP. The object, described as a dark gray or a black cube inside of a clear sphere, came within 50 feet of the lead aircraft and was estimated to be five to 15 feet in diameter. The mission commander terminated the flight immediately and returned to base. Our squadron submitted a safety report, but there was no official acknowledgement of the incident and no further mechanism to report the sightings. Soon these encounters became so frequent that aircrew would discuss the risk of UAP as part of their regular pre-flight briefs. 29:00 Ryan Graves: Recognising the need for action and answers, I founded Americans for Safe Aerospace. The organization has since become a haven for UAP witnesses who were previously unspoken due to the absence of a safe intake process. More than 30 witnesses have come forward and almost 5000 Americans have joined us in the fight for transparency at safeaerospace.org 29:20 Ryan Graves: The majority of witnesses are commercial pilots at major airlines. Often, they are veterans with decades of flying experience. Pilots are reporting UAP at altitudes that appear above them at 40,000 feet potentially in low Earth orbit or in the gray zone below the Karman Line, making unexplainable maneuvers like right hand turns and retrograde orbits or J hooks. Sometimes these reports are reoccurring with numerous recent sightings north of y and in the North Atlantic. Other veterans are also coming forward to us regarding UAP encounters in our airspace and oceans. The most compelling involve observations of UAP by multiple witnesses and sensor systems. I believe these accounts are only scratching the surface and more will share their experiences once it is safe to do so. 31:30 David Grusch: I became a whistleblower through a PPD 19 urgent concern filing in May 2022 with the intelligence community Inspector General following concerning reports from multiple esteemed and credentialed current and former military and intelligence community individuals that the US government is operating with secrecy above congressional oversight with regards to UAPs. My testimony is based on information I've been given by individuals with a long standing track record of legitimacy and service to this country, many of whom also have shared compelling evidence in the form of photography, official documentation, and classified oral testimony to myself and my various colleagues. I have taken every step I can to corroborate this evidence over a period of four years while I was with the UAP Task Force and do my due diligence on the individual sharing it. Because of these steps. I believe strongly in the importance of bringing this information before you. 33:30 David Grusch: In 2019, the UAP Task Force director asked me to identify all Special Access Programs and Controlled Access Programs, also known as SAPS and CAPS. We needed to satisfy our congressionally mandated mission and we were direct report at the time to the [Deputy Secretary of Defense]. At the time, due to my extensive executive level intelligence support duties, I was cleared to literally all relevant compartments and in a position of extreme trust both in my military and civilian capacities. I was informed in the course of my official duties of a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse engineering program to which I was denied access to those additional read-ons when I requested it. I made the decision based on the data I collected to report this information to my superiors and multiple Inspectors General and, in effect, becoming a whistleblower. 35:20 Cmdr. David Fravor: We were attached to carrier 11, stationed onboard USS Nimitz and began a two month workup cycle off the coast of California. On this day, we were scheduled for a two v two air-to-air training with the USS Princeton as our control. When we launched off Nimitz, my wingman was joining out, we were told that the training was going to be suspended and we're going to proceed with real world tasking. As we proceeded to the West, the air controller was counting down the range to an object that we were going to and we were unaware of what we're going to see when we arrived. There, the controller told us that these objects had been observed for over two weeks coming down from over 80,000 feet, rapidly descending to 20,000 feet, hanging out for hours and then going straight back up. For those who don't realize, above 80,000 feet is space. We arrived at the location at approximately 20,000 feet and the controller called the merge plot, which means that our radar blip was now in the same resolution cell as a contact. As we looked around, we noticed that we saw some whitewater off our right side. It's important to note the weather on this day was as close to perfect as you could ask for off the coast of San Diego: clear skies, light winds, calm seas, no white caps from waves. So the whitewater stood out in a large blue ocean. All four of us, because we were in an F/A-18F F, so we had pilots and WSO in the backseat, looked down and saw a white tic tac object with a longitudinal axis pointing north-south and moving very abruptly over the water, like a ping pong ball. There were no rotors, no rotor wash, or any sign of visible control surfaces like wings. As we started clockwise towards the object, my WSO I decided to go down and take a closer look with the other aircraft staying in high cover to observe both us and the tic tac. We proceeded around the circle about 90 degrees from the start of our descent, and the object suddenly shifted its longitudinal axis, aligned it with my aircraft and began to climb. We continued down another 270 degrees, and we went nose low to where the tic tac would have been. Our altitude at this point is about 15,000 feet and the tic tac was about 12,000. As we pulled nose-on to the object within about a half mile of it, it rapidly accelerated in front of us and disappeared. Our wingmen, roughly 8000 feet above us, lost contact also. We immediately turned back to see where the whitewater was at and it was gone also. So as you started to turn back towards the east the controller came up and said "Sir you're not going to believe this but that thing is that your cat point roughly 60 miles away in less than a minute." You can calculate the speed. We returned to Nimitz. We were taking off our gear, we were talking to one of my crews that was getting ready to launch, we mentioned it to them and they went out and luckily got the video that you see, that 90 second video. What you don't see is the radar tape that was never released, and we don't know where it's at. 37:55 Cmdr. David Fravor: What is shocking to us is that the incident was never investigated. None of my crew ever questioned and tapes were never taken and after a couple days it turned into a great story with friends. It wasn't until 2009 until J. Stratton had contacted me to investigate. Unbeknownst to all, he was part of the AATIP program at the Pentagon led by Lue Elizondo. There was an unofficial official report that came out it's now in the internet. Years later, I was contacted by the other pilot Alex Dietrich and asked if I'd been contacted and I said "No, but I'm willing to talk." I was contacted by Mr. Elizondo, and we talked for a short period of time, he said we'd be in contact. A few weeks after that I was made aware that Lue had left the Pentagon in protest and joined forces with Tom DeLonge and Chris Mellon, Steve Justice, and others to form To the Stars Academy, an organization that pressed the issue with leading industry experts and US government officials. They worked with Leslie Kean, who is present today, Ralph Blumenthal, and Helene Cooper to publish the articles in the New York Times in 2017. It removed the stigma on the topic of UFOs, which is why we're here today. Those articles opened the door for the government and public that cannot be closed. It has led to an interest from our elected officials, who are not focused on Little Green Men, but figuring out where these craft are, where they are from, the technology they possess, how do they operate. It also led to the Whistleblower Protection Act in the NDAA. 39:45 Cmdr. David Fravor: In closing, I would like to say that the tic tac object we engaged in 2004 was far superior to anything that we had on time, have today, or are looking to develop in the next 10 years. If we, in fact, have programs that possess this technology and needs to have oversight from those people, that the citizens of this great country elected in office to represent what is best for the United States and best for the citizens. I thank you for your time. 40:20 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Are your pilots, or pilots that you interact with as part of your organization, do you feel adequately trained and briefed on how to handle encounters with UAPs? Ryan Graves: No. Right now, military witnesses to UAP have limited options for reporting UAP. But more more concerning is that the commercial aviation sector has not adapted to the lessons that the military has implemented. The military and Department of Defense have stated that UAP represent a critical aviation safety risk. We have not seen that same language being used in the commercial markets, they are not acknowledging this. 41:05 Ryan Graves: Right now we need a system where pilots can report without fear of losing their jobs. There's a fear that the stigma associated with this topic is going to lead to professional repercussions either through management or perhaps through their yearly physical check. So having a secure system, reducing the stigma, and making this information available through the public is going to reduce the concerns that aircrew have. 41:30 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Can you just give me a little idea the degree to which reports in the past are not made public right now? Ryan Graves: Well, I don't think there has been a proper reporting system to gather those reports and thus not report them. So to answer your question, I think there is a dearth of data due to the fact that the reporting has been limited up to this time. 41:45 Ryan Graves: There's certainly some national security concerns when we use our advanced sensors and our tactical jets to be able to identify these objects. However, there's no reason that the objects themselves would be classified. I would be curious to see how the security classification guideline actually spells out the different nuances of how this topic is classified from the perspective of UAP, not national security. 43:00 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Mr. Fravor, the tic tac incident that you were engaged [in] occurred in 2004. What kind of reporting took place after that incident? Ryan Graves: None. We had a standard debrief where the back-seaters went down to our carrier intel center and briefed what had happened, and that was it. No one else talked to us. And I was in the top 20 in the battle group, no one came that the Captain was aware, the of Admiral was aware, nothing was done. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Did your commanding officers provide any sort of justification? Ryan Graves: No, because I was the commanding officer of the quadron. So no. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Was this incident the only UAP event that you encountered while you were a pilot? Ryan Graves: Yes, it was. 43:50 Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI): Do you believe UAPs pose a potential threat to our national security? Ryan Graves: Yes, and here's why: the technology that we faced was far superior than anything that we had, and you could put that anywhere. If you had one, you captured one, you reverse engineered it, you got it to work, you're talking something that can go into space, go someplace, dropped down in a matter of seconds, do whatever it wants and leave. And there's nothing we can do about it. Nothing. 44:20 Ryan Graves: I would also like to add from a commercial aviation and military aviation perspective, we deal with uncertainty in our operating space as a matter of our professional actions. Identifying friend from foe is very important to us. And so when we have identified targets and we continue to ignore those due to a stigma or fear of what it could be, that's an opening that our adversaries can take advantage of. 44:55 Ryan Graves: There needs to be a location where this information is centralized for processing and there needs to be a two-way communication loop so the operators on the front end have feedback and can get best practices on how to process information, what to do, and to ensure that their reporting is being listened to. Right now there is not a lot of back and forth. 46:25 Ryan Graves: When we were first experiencing these objects off the eastern seaboard in the 2014 to 2015 time period, anyone that had upgraded their radar systems were seeing these objects. So there was a large number of my colleagues that were detecting these objects off the eastern seaboard. They were further correlating that information with the other onboard sensors. And many of them also had their own eyesightings, as well, of these objects. Now, that was our personal, firsthand experience at the time. Since then, as I've engaged this topic, others have reached out to me to share their experiences both on the military side as well as the commercial aviation side. On the military aviation side, veterans that have recently got out have shared their stories and have expressed how the objects we are seeing in 2014 and 2015 continued all the way to 2019, 2020, and beyond. And so it became a generational issue for naval aviators on the Eastern Seaboard. This was something we were briefing to new students. This is something that was included in the notice to airmen to ensure that there was no accidents. And now with commercial aviators, they are reaching out because they're having somewhat similar experiences as our military brothers and sisters, but they do not have any reporting system that they can send this to. 47:55 Cmdr. David Fravor: It's actually, it's a travesty that we don't have a system to correlate this and actually investigate. You know, so if you took the east coast, there's coastal radars out there that monitor our air defense identification zone. Out to 200 miles, they can track these. So when you see them, they could actually go and pull that data and get maneuvering. And instead of just having the airplanes, there's other data sources out there. And I've talked to other government officials on this. You need a centrally located repository that these reports go to. So if you just stuck it in DOD, you wouldn't get anything out of the Intelligence Committee because they have a tendency not to talk. But if you had a central location where these reports are coming in, not just military, but also commercial aviation, because there's a lot of that going on, especially if you talk to anyone that flies from here to Hawaii, over the Pacific they see odd lights. So I think you need to develop something that allows you a central point to collect the data in order to investigate. 51:20 Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): Mr. Grusch, finally, do you believe that our government is in possession of UAPs? David Grusch: Absolutely, based on interviewing over 40 witnesses over four years. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): And where? David Grusch: I know the exact locations and those locations were provided to the Inspector General, and some of which to the intelligence committees, I actually had the people with the firsthand knowledge provide a protected disclosure to the Inspector General 52:15 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Mr. Graves. Again, I'd like to know, how do you know that these were not our aircraft? Ryan Graves: Some of the behaviors that we saw in a working area. We would see these objects being at 0.0 Mach, that's zero airspeed over certain pieces of the ground. So what that means, just like a river, if you throw a bobber in, it's gonna float downstream. These objects were staying completely stationary in category four hurricane winds. The same objects would then accelerate to supersonic speeds 1.1-1.2 Mach, and they would do so in very erratic and quick behaviors that we don't -- I don't -- have an explanation for. 55:50 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Mr. Fravor, do you believe that you witnessed an additional object under the water in relation to your encounter? Cmdr. David Fravor: I will say we did not see an object. There was something there to cause the whitewater and when we turned around, it was gone. So there was something there that obviously moved. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, it was not the same object, though, that you were looking at, correct? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, we actually joked that the tic tac was communicating with something when we came back, because the whitewater disappeared. 56:15 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): We were, in another instance, told about the capabilities of jamming when there were some people chasing some of these objects. Did you experience any of that jamming, or interrupting your radar or weapon system? Cmdr. David Fravor: My crew that launched, after we landed, experienced significant jamming to the APG 73 radar, which was what we had on board, which is a mechanically scan, very high end system, prior to APG 79. And yes, it did pretty much everything you could do range, velocity, aspect, and then it hit the lock and the targeting pod is passive. That's when we're able to get the video on. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): I'm about to run out of time, but are you aware of any of our enemies that have that capability? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, no. 57:40 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): You've identified these as taking place on the East Coast. Is it just on the East Coast where these encounters have been reported? Ryan Graves: No. Since the events initially occurred, I've learned that the objects have been detected, essentially where all Navy operations are being conducted across the world. And that's from the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office reporting. 58:50 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): Are there common characteristics to the UAPs that have been sighted by different pilots? And can you describe what the convergence of descriptions is? Ryan Graves: Certainly. We were primarily seeing dark gray or black cubes inside of a clear sphere. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): I'm sorry, dark gray or black cubes? Ryan Graves: Yes, inside of a clear sphere where the apex or tips of the cube were touching the inside of that sphere. And that was primarily what was being reported when we were able to gain a visual tally of these objects. That occurred over almost eight years, and as far as I know, is still occurring. 59:45 Ryan Graves: I think we need both transparency and the reporting. We have the reporting, but we need to make sure that information can be propagated to commercial aviation as well as the rest of the populace. 1:05:00 Ryan Graves: In the 2003 timeframe, a large group of Boeing contractors were operating near one of the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base when they observed a very large, 100-yard-sided red square approach the base from the ocean and hover at low altitude over one of the launch facilities. This object remained for about 45 seconds or so before darting off over the mountains. There was a similar event within 24 hours later in the evening. This was a morning event, I believe, 8:45 in the morning. Later in the evening, post sunset, there were reports of other sightings on base including some aggressive behaviors. These objects were approaching some of the security guards at rapid speeds before darting off, and this is information that was received through one of the witnesses that have approached me at Americans for Safe Aerospace. 1:06:15 Ryan Graves: I have not seen what they've described. This object was estimated to be almost the size of a football field, and I have not seen anything personally that large. 1:07:05 Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): With the FAA, to your understanding, pilots that are seeing this, commercial airline pilots, are they receiving cease and desist letters from corporations for coming forward with information in regards to safety for potential air airline passengers? Ryan Graves: I have been made privy to conversations with commercial aviators who have received cease and desist orders. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): So the American public should know that corporations are putting their own reputations ahead of the safety of the American people. Would you agree with that statement? Ryan Graves: It appears so. 1:08:15 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): So what about G forces? Let's talk about G forces in those vehicles. Could a human survive those G forces with known technology today? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, not for the acceleration rates that we observed. 1:08:45 Cmdr. David Fravor: So we got within a half mile of the tic tac, which people say that's pretty far, but in airplanes that's actually relatively close. Now it was perfectly white, smooth, no windows, although when we did take the original FLIR video that is out there, when you put it on a big screen it actually had two little objects that came out of the bottom of it. But other than that, no windows, no seams, no nothing. 1:09:05 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Mr. Grusch, as a result of your previous government work have you met with people with direct knowledge or have direct knowledge yourself of non-human origin craft? David Grusch: Yes, I personally interviewed those individuals. 1:09:40 Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Do you have knowledge or do you have reason to believe that there are programs in the advanced tech space that are unsanctioned? David Grusch: Yes, I do. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Okay. And when you say that they're above congressional oversight, what do you mean? David Grusch: Complicated question. So there's some, I would call it abuse here. So congressional oversight of conventional Special Special Access Programs, and I'll use Title X, so DOD, as an example. So 10 US Code section 119 discusses congressional oversight of SAPS, discusses the Deputy Secretary of Defense's ability to waive congressional reporting. However, the Gang of Eight is at least supposed to be notified if a waived or waived bigoted unacknowledged SAP is created. That's Public Law. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): I don't want to cut you off, but how does a program like that get funded? David Grusch: I will give you generalities. I can get very specific in a closed session, but misappropriation of funds. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Does that mean that there is money in the budget that is set to go to a program but it doesn't and it goes to something else? David Grusch: Yes, have specific knowledge of that. Yep. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL): Do you think US corporations are overcharging for certain tech they're selling to the US government and that additional money is going to programs? David Grusch: Correct, through something called IRAD. 1:12:45 Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA): Mr. Grusch, in your sworn testimony you state that the United States government has retrieved supposedly extraterrestrial spacecraft and other UAP related artifacts. You go so far as to state that the US is in possession of "non human spacecraft" and that some of these artifacts have circulated with defense contractors. Several other former military and intelligence officials have come forward with similar allegations albeit in non-public setting. However, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the Director of AARO, previously testified before Congress that there has been and I quote, "no credible evidence" thus far of extraterrestrial act activity or "off world technology" brought to the attention of the office. To your knowledge, is that statement correct? David Grusch: It's not accurate. I believe Dr. Kirkpatrick mentioned he had about 30 individuals that have come to AARO thus far. A few of those individuals have also come to AARO that I also interviewed and I know what they provided Dr. Kirkpatrick and their team. I was able to evaluate -- Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-VA): Okay, I need to go on. David Grusch: Sure. 1:21:25 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Has the US government become aware of actual evidence of extraterrestrial or otherwise unexplained forms of intelligence? And if so, when do you think this first occurred? David Grusch: I like to use the term non-human, I don't like to denote origin, it keeps the aperture open scientifically. Certainly, like I've just discussed publicly, previously, the 1930s. 1:21:45 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, can you give me the names and titles of the people with direct, first-hand knowledge and access to some of these crash retrieval programs and maybe which facilities, military bases that the recovered material would be in? And I know a lot of Congress talked about, we're gonna go to area 51. And, you know, there's nothing there anymore anyway, it's just you know, we move like a glacier. And as soon as we announce it, I'm sure the moving vans would pull up, but please. David Grusch: I can't discuss that publicly. But I did provide that information both to the Intel committees and the Inspector General. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): And we could get that in the SCIF, if we were allowed to get in a SCIF with you? Would that be probably what you would think? David Grusch: Sure, if you had the appropriate accesses, yeah. 1:22:30 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): What Special Access Programs cover this information? And how is it possible that they have evaded oversight for so long? David Grusch: I do know the names, once again, I can't discuss that publicly. And how they've evaded oversight in a closed setting I could tell you this specific tradecraft used. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Alright. 1:22:50 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): When did you think those programs began and who authorized them? David Grusch: I do know a lot of that information, but that's something I can't discuss publicly because of sensitivities Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Alright. 1:24:05 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Title 10 and title 50 authorization, they seem to say they're inefficient. So who gets to decide this, in your opinion, in the past? David Grusch: It's a group of career senior executive officials. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay. Are they government officials? David Grusch: Both in and out of government and that's about as far I'll go there. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Well, that leads to my next question, which private corporations are directly involved in this program? How much taxpayer money has been invested in these programs? David Grusch: Yeah, I don't know the specific metrics towards the end of your question. The specific corporations I did provide to the committees in specific divisions, and I spent 11 and a half hours with both Intel committees. 1:25:30 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Has there been an active US government disinformation campaign to deny the existence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena? And if so, why? David Grusch: I can't go beyond what I've already exposed publicly about that. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay, I've been told to ask you what that is and how to get it in the record. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): What have you stated publicly in your interviews, for the Congressional Record? David Grusch: If you reference my NewsNation interview, I talk about a multi-decade campaign to disenfranchise public interest basically. 1:28:00 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): When it comes to notification that you had mentioned about IRAD programs, we have seen defense contractors abuse their contracts before through this committee. I have seen it personally, and I have also seen the notification requirements to Congress abused. I am wondering, one of the loopholes that we see in the law is that there is, at least from my vantage point, depending on what we're seeing, is that there are no actual definitions or requirements for notification, are there? What methods of notification did you observe? When they say they notified Congress, how did they do that? Do you have insight into that? David Grusch: For certain IRAD activities....I can only think of ones conventional in nature. Sometimes they flow through certain out of say SAP programs that have cognisant authority over the Air Force or something. And those are congressionally reported compartments, but IRAD is literally internal to the contractor. So as long as it's money, either profits, private investment, etc, they can do whatever they want. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): To put a finer point on it, when there is a requirement for any agency or company to notify Congress, do they contact the chairman of a committee, do they get them on the phone specifically, is this through an email to hypothetically a dead email box? David Grusch: A lot of it comes through what they call the PPR, Periodic Program Review process. If it's a SAP or Controlled Access Program equity, and then those go to the specific committees. 1:30:40 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY): For the record, if you were me, where would you look? Titles, programs, departments, regions? If you could just name anything. And I put that as an open question to the three of you. David Grusch: I'd be happy to give you that in a closed environment. I can tell you specifically. 1:35:40 Cmdr. David Fravor: Things are over-classified. I know for a fact the video or the pictures that came out in the 2020 report that had the stuff off the east coast, they were taken with an iPhone, off the east coast. A buddy of mine was one of the senior people there and he said they originally classified a TSS CI, and my question to him was what's TSS CI about these? They're an iPhone, right, literally off the vacates, that's not TSS CI. So they're over classified, and as soon as they do that, they go into the vault, and then you all have to look for them. 1:37:20 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Has any of the activity been aggressive, been hostile in your reports? David Grusch: I know of multiple colleagues of mine that got physically injured. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): By UAPs, or by people within the federal government? So there has been activity by alien or non-human technology and or beings that has caused harm to humans? David Grusch: I can't get into the specifics in an open environment, but at least the activity that I personally witnessed, and I have to be very careful here, because they tell you never to acknowledge tradecraft, right. So what I personally witnessed, myself and my wife, was very disturbing. 1:38:20 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): You've said that the US has intact spacecraft. You said that the government has alien bodies or alien species. Have you seen the spacecraft? David Grusch: I have to be careful to describe what I've seen firsthand and not in this environment. But I could answer that question behind closed doors. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): Have you seen any of the bodies? David Grusch: That's something I've not witnessed myself. 1:40:45 Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO): These aircraft, have they been identified that they are being produced by domestic military contractors? Is there any evidence that that's what's being recovered? David Grusch: Not to my knowledge. Plus the recoveries predate a lot of our advanced programs. 1:48:05 David Grusch: I've actually never seen anything personal, believe it or not. 1:51:00 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): If you believe we have crashed craft, stated earlier, do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted this craft? David Grusch: As I've stated publicly already in my NewsNation interview, biologics came with some of these recoveries. 1:51:15 Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): Were they human or non human biologics? David Grusch: Non human and that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program I talked to that are currently still on the program. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): And was this documentary evidence video, photos, eyewitness like how would that be determined? David Grusch: The specific documentation, I would have to talk to you in a SCIF about that. 1:53:10 Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Commander Fravor, we've all seen the floating tic tac video that you engage with on November 14, 2004. Can you briefly talk about why you were off the coast of San Diego that day? Cmdr. David Fravor: Yeah, we were at a work up with all the battle groups. So we integrate the ships with the carrier, the airway with the carrier and we start working. So we were doing an air-to-air defense to hone not only our skills, but those of the USS Princeton, and when they had been tracking him for two weeks. The problem was, there were never manned aircraft airborne when they were tracking them. And this was the first day and unfortunately, we were the ones airborne and went and saw it. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Do you remember the weather that day? It was a cloudy or windy or anything out of the ordinary on the Pacific coast. Cmdr. David Fravor: If you're familiar with San Diego, it was a perfect day. Light winds, no whitecaps, clear skies, not a cloud. For flying, it was the best. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now, is it true that you saw, in your words, a 40 foot flying tic tac shaped object? Cmdr. David Fravor: That's correct. Or for some people that can't know what a Tic Tac is, it's a giant flying propane tank. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Did this object come up on radar or interfere with your radar or the USS Princeton? Cmdr. David Fravor: The Princeton tracked it, the Nimitz tracked it, the E2 tracked it. We never saw it on our radars, our fire control radars never picked it up. The other airplane that took the video did get it on a radar as soon as it tried to lock in to jam the radar, spit the lock and he's rapidly switched over to the targeting pod which you can do in the F/A 18 Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): From what you saw that day and what you've seen on video. Did you see any source of propulsion from the flying object including on any potential thermal scans from your aircraft? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, there is none. There is no IR plume coming out. And Chad who took the video went through all the EO, which is black and white TV and the IR modes, and there's no visible signs of reflection. It's just sitting in space at 20,000 feet. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): In your career. Have you ever seen a propulsion system that creates no thermal exhaust? Cmdr. David Fravor: No. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Can you describe how the aircraft maneuvered? Cmdr. David Fravor: Abruptly, very determinant. It knew exactly what it was doing. It was aware of our presence. And it had acceleration rates, I mean, it went from zero to matching our speed and no time at all. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now if the fastest plane on Earth was trained to do these maneuvers that you saw, would it be capable of doing that? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, not even close Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Just to confirm, this object had no wings, correct? Cmdr. David Fravor: No wings. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): Now the aircraft that you were flying, was it armed? Cmdr. David Fravor: No, never felt threatened at all. Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY): If the aircraft was armed, do you believe that your aircraft or any aircraft in possession of the United States could have shot the tic tac down? Cmdr. David Fravor: I'd say no. Just on the performance, it would have just left in a split second. 1:58:10 Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Is there any indication that these UAPs could be essentially collecting reconnaissance information? Mr. Graves? Ryan Graves: Yes. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Grusch? David Grusch: Fair assessment. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Fravor? Cmdr. David Fravor: Very possible. 1:59:05 Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN): Mr. Graves and Fravor, in the event that your encounters had become hostile, would you have had the capability to defend yourself, your crew, your aircraft? Ryan Graves: Absolutely not. Cmdr. David Fravor: No. 2:00:55 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): I might have asked this before, but I want to make sure. Do you have any personal knowledge of someone who's possibly been injured working on legacy UAP reverse engineering? David Grusch: Yes. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Okay. How were they injured? Was it something like a radioactive type situation or something we didn't understand? I've heard people talk about Havana syndrome type incidences. What what was your recollection of that? David Grusch: I can't get into specifics, but you could imagine assessing an unknown unknown, there's a lot of potentialities you can't fully prepare for. 2:02:10 Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Are you aware of any individuals that are participating in reverse engineering programs for non terrestrial craft? David Grusch: Personally, yes. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN): Do you know any that would be willing to testify if there were protections for them? David Grusch: Certainly closed door, and assurances that breaking their NDA, they're not going to get administratively punished. 2:03:45 Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL): Referring to your news nation interview, you had referenced specific treaties between governments. Article III of the nuclear arms treaty with Russia identifies UAPs. It specifically mentions them. To your knowledge. Are there safety measures in place with foreign governments or other superpowers to avoid an escalatory situation in the event that a UAP malevolent event occurs? David Grusch: Yeah, you're referring to an actual public treaty in the UN register. It's funny you mentioned that, the agreement on measures to reduce the risk of outbreak of a nuclear war signed in 1971, unclassified treaty publicly available. And if you cite the George Washington University national security archives, you will find the declassified, in 2013, specific provisions in this specific Red Line Flass message traffic with the specific codes pursuant to Article Three and also situation two, which is in the the previously classified NSA archive. What I would recommend and I tried to get access, but I got a wall of silence at the White House, was the specific incidents when those message traffic was used, I think some scholarship on that would open the door to a further investigation using those publicly available information. 2:05:20 David Grusch: I have concerns, based on the interviews I conducted under my official duties, of potential violations of the Federal Acquisition Regulations, the FAR. 2:06:10 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): What was your general attitude or perspective on the UFO discussion before that happened? Cmdr. David Fravor: I never felt that we were alone with all the planets out there. But I wasn't a UFO person. I wasn't, I wasn't watching History Channel and MUFON and all that. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And have you had any experiences or encounters since that happened? Cmdr. David Fravor: No. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And so, have you formed any general conclusions about what you think you experienced then? Cmdr. David Fravor: Yes, I think what we experienced was, like I said, well beyond the material science and the capabilities that we had at the time, that we have currently, or that we're going to have in the next 10 to 20 years. 2:06:55 Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): You've been able to answer in great detail on certain questions, and then other things you say you're not able to respond to. Can you just explain where you're drawing the line? What's the basis for that? David Grusch: Yeah, based on my DOPSR security review and what they've determined that is unclassified. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): I see, so you're answering any questions that just call upon your knowledge of unclassified questions, but anything that relates to classified matters you're not commenting on in this context? David Grusch: In an open session, but happy to participate in a closed session at the right level. 2:08:15 Ryan Graves: Certainly I think the most vivid sighting of that would have been near mid air that we had at the entrance to our working area. One of these objects was completely stationary at the exact entrance to our working areas, not only geographically but also at altitude. So it was right where all the jets are going, essentially, on the Eastern Seaboard. The two aircraft flew within about 50 feet of the object and that was a very close visual sighting. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And you were in one of the aircraft. Ryan Graves: I was not. I was there when the pilot landed. He canceled the mission after. I was there. He was in the ready room with all his gear on with his mouth open. And I asked him what the problem was and he said he almost hit one of those darn things. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): He said he was 50 feet away from it? Ryan Graves: Yes, sir. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): And his description of the object was consistent with the description you gave us before? Ryan Graves: A dark gray or black cube inside of a clear sphere. Rep. Jaime Raskin (D-MD): Inside of a clear sphere. With no self evident propulsion system. Ryan Graves:: No wings, no IR energy coming off of the vehicle, nothing tethering it to the ground. And that was primarily what we're experiencing out there. April 19, 2023 Senate Committee on Armed Services Witnesses: , Director, All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office Clips 2:00:50 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: The AARO team of more than three dozen experts is organized around four functional areas: operations, scientific research, integrated analysis, and strategic communications. 2:01:25 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: Consistent with legislative direction, AARO is also carefully reviewing and researching the US government's UAP-related historical record. 2:02:05 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: AARO is the culmination of decades of DOD, intelligence community, and congressionally directed efforts to successfully resolve UAP encountered first and foremost by US military personnel, specifically navy and air force pilots. 2:03:15 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: However, it would be naive to believe that the resolution of all UAP can be solely accomplished by the DOD and IC alone. We will need to prioritize collection and leverage authorities for monitoring all domains within the continental United States. AARO's ultimate success will require partnerships with the inner agency, industry partners, academia and the scientific community, as well as the public. 2:04:15 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: I want to underscore today that only a very small percentage of UAP reports display signatures that could reasonably be described as anomalous. The majority of unidentified objects reported to AARO demonstrate mundane characteristics of balloons, unmanned aerial systems, clutter, natural phenomena, or other readily explainable sources. While a large number of cases in our holdings remain technically unresolved, this is primarily due to a lack of data associated with those cases. Without sufficient data, we are unable to reach defendable conclusions that meet the high scientific standards we set for resolution, and I will not close a case that I cannot defend the conclusions of. 2:06:00 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: AARO is a member of the department's support to the administration's Tiger Team effort to deal with stratospheric objects such as the PRC high altitude balloon. When previously unknown objects are successfully identified, it is AARO's role to quickly and efficiently hand off such readily explainable objects to the intelligence, law enforcement, or operational safety communities for further analysis and appropriate action. In other words, AARO's mission is to turn UAP into SEP, Somebody Else's Problem. 2:07:30 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, offworld technology, or objects that defy the known laws of physics. In the event sufficient scientific data were ever obtained that a UAP encountered can only be explained by extraterrestrial origin, we are committed to working with our interagency partners at NASA to appropriately inform [the] U.S. government's leadership of its findings. For those few cases that have leaked to the public previously and subsequently commented on by the US government, I encourage those who hold alternative theories or views to submit your research to credible peer reviewed scientific journals. AARO is working very hard to do the same. That is how science works, not by blog or social media. 2:13:20 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: How are we going to get more data? We are working with the joint staff to issue guidance to all the services and commands that will then establish what are the reporting requirements, the timeliness, and all of the data that is required to be delivered to us and retained from all of the associated sensors. That historically hasn't been the case and it's been happenstance that data has been collected. 2:17:20 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: As of this week we are tracking over a total of 650 cases. 2:17:45 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: Let me walk everyone through what our analytic process looks like. We have essentially a five step process. We get our cases in with all the data, we create a case for that event. My team does a preliminary scrub of all of those cases as they come in, just to sort out, do we have any information that says this is in one of those likely categories? It's likely a balloon, it's likely a bird, it's likely some other object, or we don't know. Then we prioritize those based off of where they are. Are they attached to a national security area? Does it show some anomalous phenomenology that is of interest? If it's just a spherical thing that's floating around with the wind and it has no payload on it, that's going to be less important than something that has a payload on it, which will be less important than something that's maneuvering. So there's sort of a hierarchy of just binning the priorities, because we can't do all of them at once. Once we do that and we prioritize them, we take that package of data in that case and I have set up two teams, think of this as a Red Team Blue Team, or competitive analysis. I have an intelligence community team made up of intelligence analysts and I have an S&T team made up of scientists and engineers, and the people that actually build a lot of these sensors are physicists, because you know, if you're a physicist, you can do anything. But they're not associated with the intel community, they're not intel officers. So they they look at this through the lens of the sensor, of what the data says. We give that package to both teams. The intelligence community is going to look at it through the lens of the intelligence record, and what they assess, and their intel tradecraft, which they have very specific rules and regulations on how they do that. The scientific community, the technical community is going to look at it through the lens of "What is the data telling me? What is the sensor doing? What would I expect a sensor response to be?" and back that out. Those two groups give us their answers. We then adjudicate. If they agree, then I am more likely to close that case, if they agree on what it is. If they disagree, we will have an adjudication. We'll bring them together, we'll take a look at the differences, we'll adjudicate. Why do you say one thing and you say another? We will then come to a case recommendation that will get written up by my team. That then goes to a Senior Technical Advisory Group, which is outside of all of those people, made up of senior technical folks and intel analysts and operators retired out of the community. And they essentially peer review what that case recommendation is. They write their recommendations, that comes back to me, I review it, we make a determination, and I'll sign off one way or the other, and then that will go out as the case determination. Once we have an approved web portal to hang the unclassified stuff, we will downgrade and declassify things and put it out there. In the meantime, we're putting a lot of these on our classified web portal where we can then collaborate with the rest of the community so they can see what's going on. In a nutshell, that is the process. 2:27:10 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: There are emerging capabilities out there that in many instances, Russia and China, China in particular, are on par or ahead of us in some areas. So previously, I used to be the Defense Department's intelligence officer for science and technical intelligence. That was our job to look for, what does all that look like? And then my last several years of course, in Space Command, doing space. The adversary is not waiting. They are advancing and they're advancing quickly. If I were to put on some of my old hats, I would tell you, they are less risk averse at technical advancement than we are. They are just willing to try things and see if it works. Are there capabilities that could be employed against us in both an ISR and a weapons fashion? Absolutely. Do I have evidence that they're doing it in these cases? No, but I have concerning indicators. 2:43:45 Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick: So the vision is, at one point, at some point in the future, you should not need an AARO. If I'm successful in what I'm doing, we should be able to normalize everything that we're doing into existing processes, functions, agencies and organizations, and make that part of their mission and their role. Right now the niche that we form is really going after the unknowns. I think you articulated it early on, this is a hunt mission for what might somebody be doing in our backyard that we don't know about? That is what we are doing, but at some point, we should be able to normalize that. That's why it's so important the work we're doing with joint staff to normalize that into DoD policy and guidance. We are bringing in all of our interagency partners. So NASA is providing a liaison for us, I have FBI liaison, I have OSI liaison, I have service liaisons, half of my staff come from the [Intelligence Community], half of my staff come from other scientific and technical backgrounds, I have DOE. So what we're trying to do is ensure, again, as I make UAP into SEP they get handed off to the people that that is their mission to go do, so that we aren't duplicating that. I'm not going to go chase the Chinese high altitude balloon, for example. That's not my job. It's not an unknown, and it's not anomalous anymore. Now it goes over to them. May 17, 2022 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Witnesses: , Deputy Director, Office of Naval Intelligence , Under Secretary of Defense Intelligence and Security, Department of Defense Clips 10:00 Ronald Moultrie: The NDAA for fiscal year 2022 has helped us to establish a dedicated office to oversee processes and procedures for the timely collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of UAP related data. 10:15 Ronald Moultrie: What are UAP? Put simply, UAP are airborne objects that, when encountered, cannot be immediately identified. 10:25 Ronald Moultrie: It is the department's contention that by combining appropriately structured, collected data with rigorous scientific analysis, any object that we encounter can likely be isolated, characterized, identified and if necessary, mitigated. 10:40 Ronald Moultrie: We know that our service members have encountered unidentified aerial phenomenon. And because UAPs pose potential flight safety and general security risks, we are committed to a focused effort to determine their origins. Our effort will include the thorough examination of adversarial platforms and potential breakthrough technologies, US government or commercial platforms, Allied or partner systems, and other natural phenomena. 11:15 Ronald Moultrie: We also understand that there has been a cultural stigma surrounding UAP. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma by fully incorporating our operators and mission personnel into a standardized data gathering process. We believe that making UAP reporting a mission imperative will be instrumental to the effort's success. 11:45 Ronald Moultrie: To optimize the department's UAP work, we are establishing an office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. That office's function is clear: to facilitate the identification of previously unknown or unidentified airborne objects in a methodical, logical, and standardized manner. 13:50 Scott Bray: Since the early 2000s, we have seen an increasing number of unauthorized and or unidentified aircraft or objects in military controlled training areas and training ranges and other designated airspace. Reports of sightings are frequent and continuing. We attribute this increase in reporting to a number of factors, including our work to destigmatize reporting, an increase in the number of new systems such as quad copters and unmanned aerial systems that are in our airspace, identification of what we can classify as clutter (mylar balloons and other types of of air trash), and improvements in the capabilities of our various sensors to detect things in our airspace. 14:50 Scott Bray: The basic issues, then and now, are twofold. First, incursions in our training ranges by unidentified objects represent serious hazards to safety of flight. In every aspect of naval aviation, safety of our air crews is paramount. Second, intrusions by unknown aircraft or objects pose potential threats to the security of our operations. Our aviators train as they would fight, so any intrusions that may compromise the security of our operations by revealing our capabilities, our tactics, techniques or procedures are of great concern to the Navy and Department of Defense. 16:40 Scott Bray: The direct result of those efforts has been increased reporting with increased opportunities to focus a number of sensors on any objects. The message is now clear: if you see something, you need to report it. And the message has been received. 18:55 Scott Bray: As detailed in the ODNI report, if and when individual UAP incidents are resolved, they likely fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, US government or US industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, or another bin that allows for a holding bin of difficult cases, and for the possibility of surprise and potential scientific discovery. 22:20 Scott Bray: If UAP do indeed represent a potential threat to our security then the capabilities, systems, processes and sources we use to observe, record, study, or analyze these phenomena need to be classified at appropriate levels. We do not want, we do not want potential adversaries to know exactly what we're able to see or understand or how we come to the conclusions we make. Therefore, public disclosures must be carefully considered on a case by case basis. 23:35 Rep André Carson (D-IN): This is the third version of this task force and, to be frank, one of Congress's concerns is that the executive branch, in administrations of both parties, has been sweeping concerns about UAPs under the rug by focusing on events that can be explained and avoiding events that cannot be explained. What can you say to give the American people confidence that you aren't just focusing our attention on low hanging fruit with easy explanations? Ronald Moultrie: Congressman, I'll start and then Mr. Bray, please feel free to weigh in. So the way that we're approaching it is with a more thorough, standardized methodology than what we have in the past. First and foremost, the Secretary Defense is chartering this effort, this is not someone lower in the Department of Defense, and he is assigned that task to the Office of Secretary of Defense's Under Secretary for Intelligence Security, that's me, because I'm responsible for looking at intelligence matters, I'm responsible for security matters, and this is potentially both. So we're concerning ourselves with the safety of our personnel, the safety of our installations and bases. There's no other higher power than what we have in actually getting after this. And as you have stated, we have been assigned that task to actually stand up an office, the AOIMSG, which I believe the name server will likely change, but we have moved forward in terms of moving to establish that office. We have, as of this week, picked the director for that effort, a very established and accomplished individual. 42:00 Scott Bray: I would say that we're not aware of any adversary that can move an object without discernible means of propulsion. The question then becomes, in many of these cases where we don't have a discernible means of propulsion in the data that we have, in some cases, there are likely sensor artifacts that that may be hiding some of that, there's certainly some degree of something that looks like signature management that we have seen from some of these UAP. But I would caution, I would simply say that there are a number of other events in which we do not have an explanation. There are a small handful in which there are flight characteristics or signature management that we can't explain with the data that we have. 43:40 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA): With respect to the second two videos showing the small triangles, the hypothesis is that those are commercial drones that because of the use of night vision goggles appear like triangles, is that the operating assessment? Scott Bray: Some type of drone, some type of unmanned aerial system, and it is simply that that light source resolves itself through the night vision goggles onto the SLR camera as a triangle. 47:55 Scott Bray: Allies have seen these, China has established its own version of the UAP task force. So clearly a number of countries have observations of things in the airspace that they can identify. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH): And do we share data with some, with all? Are they sharing with us? Scott Bray: We share data with some and some share data with us. Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH): But not necessarily all that have publicly reported something? Scott Bray: That's correct. 52:25 Scott Bray: When I say we can't explain, I mean, exactly as you describe there, that there's a lot of information, like the video that we showed, in which there's simply too little data to create a reasonable explanation. There are a small handful of cases in which we have more data that our analysis simply hasn't been able to fully pull together a picture of what happened. Those are the cases where we talked about where we see some indications of flight characteristics or signature management that are not what we had expected. When it comes to material that we have, we have no material. We have detected no emanations within the UAP task force that would suggest it's anything non-terrestrial in origin. 59:35 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): There have been no collisions between any US assets and one of these UAPs, correct? Scott Bray: We have not had a collision, we've had at least 11 near misses though. 59:55 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And there's been no attempt, there's no communications, or any kind of communication signals that emanate from those objects that we've detected, correct? Scott Bray: That's correct. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And have we attempted to communicate with those objects? Scott Bray: No. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): So we don't we don't even put out an alert saying, you know, "U.S., identify yourself, you are within our flight path," or something like that? Scott Bray: We haven't said anything like that. We've not put anything out like that, generally speaking. For example, in the video that we showed earlier, it appears to be something that is unmanned, appears to be something that may or may not be in controlled flight, and so we've not attempted any communication with that. 1:00:55 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): And I assume we've never discharged any armaments against a UAP, correct? Scott Bray: That's correct. 1:01:05 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): How about wreckage? Have we come across any wreckage of any kind of object that has now been examined by you? Scott Bray: The UAP task force doesn't have any wreckage that isn't explainable, that isn't consistent with being of terrestrial origin. 1:01:20 Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL): Do we have any sensors underwater to detect on submerged UAPs, anything that is in the ocean or in the seas? Ronald Moultrie: So I think that would be more properly addressed in a closed session. 1:05:30 Ronald Moultrie: So one of the concerns that we have is that there are a lot of individuals and groups that are putting information out there that that could be considered to be somewhat self serving. We're trying to do what's in the best interests of, one, the Department of Defense, and then two, what's in the best interest of the public, to ensure that we can put factually based information back into the mainstream and back into the bloodstream of the reporting media that we have, so people understand what's there. It's important because we are attempting, as this hearing has drawn out to understand, one, what may just be natural phenomenon, two, what may be sensor phenomenology or things that were happening with sensors, three, what may be legitimate counterintelligence threats to places that we have or bases or installations, or security threats to our platforms. And anything that diverts us off of what we have with the resources that have been allocated to us, sends us off in the spurious chases and hunts that are just not helpful. They also contribute to the undermining of the confidence that the Congress and the American people have that we are trying to get to the root cause of what's happening here, report on that, and then feed that back into our national security apparatus so we are able to protect the American people and our allies. So it is harmful, it is hurtful, but hopefully, if we get more information out there, w

This week Andrew discusses the Biden Administration's political maneuvering with Title X funding and pro-life states. He also looks at new data concerning marriage and the trend of putting it off until later. Andrew finishes the show discussing legislative actions that are disincentivizing marriage and parenthood.  Listen as Andrew discusses this more on this week's episode.     Show Notes: Title X: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tennessee-rep-green-introduces-states-choose-life-act-stop-biden-admins-retribution-pro-life-states?intcmp=tw_fnc   Marriage: https://nypost.com/2023/07/01/record-high-number-of-40-year-olds-in-us-have-never-been-married-study/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost_sitebuttons   Disincentivizing Marriage: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/house-republican-plan-penalizes-marriage

June 24th, 2023 marked one-year since the overturning of Roe v. Wade via the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court case. Between July and December 2022, an estimated 66,000 people have not been able to access abortion care in their home state. Becca Andrews, reporter at Reckon News and author of No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right, talks to us about the myriad of ways in which the abortion landscape has changed in the past year, including the ways anti-abortion ideology has led to a chipping away at democracy.  The lives of providers, clinic staff, patients, abortion storytellers, abortion fund workers, reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates and reporters have changed dramatically in the past year. In abortion hostile states, many providers and clinic staff have been prevented from providing care or are hesitant to provide care due to vague legal limits. Reporters like Becca, who follow stories on abortion access and care, are being silenced algorithmically on social media. Abortion fund workers scramble, against extreme time frames and travel requirements, to put together funding for procedures and transportation. The denial of human rights is leading to a steady building of authoritarianism. States are telling patients and doctors what care they can access or provide, newsrooms (particularly those that are local and state-based) are shrinking, and mis-and disinformation is rapidly spreading (Reminder: the disinformation that informs anti-abortion sentiment also informs the anti-LGBTQI+, anti-democracy, and anti-science sentiment). Without access to information and up-to-date news or social media, people do not have immediate interaction with necessary knowledge and the national conversation is stifled more broadly. This prevents them from fully realizing their human right to sexual and reproductive health care.      Take Action Follow Becca Andrews on Twitter, find her pieces on Reckon News, and check out her book. Set up reoccurring donations to BIPOC- and low-income and queer-led abortion funds. These grassroots organizations are providing safe, dependable mutual aid for those who are particularly in need. Support organizations like We Testify, who are erasing abortion stigma one story at a time. As appropriations season ramps up, tell your Congress members that reproductive health and rights is funded—that UNFPA, Title X, international family planning is funded, and the Helms amendment and Hyde amendment is repealed. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121. Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

On Friday, April 8, 2023, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued an unprecedented ruling out of Texas that has the ability to impact medication abortion access nationwide. Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law, sits down to talk to us about the recent ruling on mifepristone, what the FDA can do, and what this currently means for medication abortion access in the U.S. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. The FDA was overseen by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has a vast history of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive health and rights rulings, including blocking contraceptive access for Texas teens under the Title X program on the grounds of parental religious objection. For a deep-dive into the case itself, you can find more information in our recent podcast episode.  Never before has a federal judge claimed the authority to revoke or suspend the FDA's approval for a drug. This ruling has also positioned the pharmaceutical industry to become much more involved in conversations surrounding abortion rights, due to their recognition of the threat at the core of this ruling—that endless cases could attempt to block medications on the hypothetical grounds that they could harm somebody else's patient in the future. This precedent undoubtedly threatens gender-affirming medications and other medications, as well.  The decision included a number of anti-science, anti-medicine rhetoric to justify the ruling. The complication rate of medication abortion is incredibly low, and the serious complication rate is near zero. Yet Judge Kacsmaryk cited a “study” funded by an anti-abortion, far-right institute claiming mifepristone causes harm to patients. Judge Kacsmaryk used language rooted in “fetal personhood,” throughout the ruling. In addition, Judge Kacsmaryk referenced the Comstock Act—an antiquated, Victorian-era law that banned the mailing of “sexual materials, birth control, or abortion-causing drugs” and is very carefully applied to avoid unconstitutionality –in the ruling to support his claims.   Judge Thomas Rice's ruling out of Washington state ruled that the FDA continue allowing mifepristone in the 17 states and D.C. which brought the case, leading to a stay on the FDA's ability to alter mifepristone's status while deliberation occurred, and resulting in a preemptive measure intended to conflict with Kacsmaryk's decision. The FDA is now under two competing court orders. The FDA does have enforcement discretion,  meaning even if Judge Kacsmaryk's stay goes into effect, it may not have to necessarily mean that the FDA has to comply. LinksAidAccess.orgThe Lawless Ruling Against the Abortion Pill Has Already Prompted a Constitutional CrisisTweet thread by Dr. Daniel Grossman on anti-science in the mifepristone rulingSupport the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!

Medication abortion is safer than Tylenol, and it's certainly safer than carrying a pregnancy to term. So why is there a case out of Texas that claims medication abortion is dangerous and must be banned? Jessica Mason Pieklo, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor at Rewire News Group and Co-Host of the Boom! Lawyered podcast, sits down to talk with us about the frivolous framework of this case and how it threatens nationwide access to abortion pills. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. The FDA is out of the northern district of Texas, where anti-abortion advocates are arguing that, 20 years after the fact that the Food and Drug Administration has ruled on the safety and efficacy of mifepristone (one of two drugs used in a medication abortion), the drug is in fact dangerous and must be pulled from the market. This case sits in front of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed judge who has a vast history of anti-LGBTQ+, anti-reproductive health and rights rulings, including blocking contraception access for Texas teens under the Title X program on the grounds of parental religious objection.  This case has the potential to reach into abortion-protective states by prohibiting the FDA from keeping the drug on the market, meaning your location in California, Washington, New York, or other like-minded states will not protect you from this direct attack on medication abortion. The introduction and legitimization of this case creates confusion about the status of abortion access in one's state, leading many to not feel that they can access care. There is also a likelihood that the FDA can ignore this ruling and be within their rights to do so; the FDA's enforcement power is discretionary and has the power itself to approve and remove drugs from the market—a power that federal courts do not hold. Anti-abortion advocacy groups are also attempting to block abortion providers (using intentionally vague language) like Plan C, Aid Access, and Choix, from providing abortion or even education about or advocating for abortion. LinksJessica Mason Pieklo on TwitterRewire News Group on TwitterRewire News Group on FacebookFDA Just Made it Easier to Access Medication Abortion PodcastThe Texas judge who could take down the abortion pillBoom! Lawyered: Big Pharma Could Save One of the Abortion Pills (Yikes!) Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Email us: jennie@reprosfightback.comRate and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!