NASA pilot Joe Walker sits in the pilot’s platform of the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) number 1 on Oct. 30, 1964. The LLRV and its successor the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) provided the training tool to simulate the final 200 feet of the descent to the Moon’s surface. The LLRVs, humorously referred to as flying bedsteads, were used by NASA’s Flight Research Center, now NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, to study and analyze piloting techniques needed to fly and land the Apollo lunar module in the moon’s airless environment. Learn more about the LLRV’s first flight. Image credit: NASA
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Edgardo Quinones-Hiraldo, age 35, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, pled guilty today to escape and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to court documents, Quinones-Hiraldo served 51 months at a federal corrections facility in Florida for a firearms trafficking conviction in Puerto Rico. He was released to Dismas Charities Residential Reentry Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Quinones-Hiraldo failed to report to the facility and was arrested in Clarksburg. He had a revolver and a pistol with him at the time of his arrest.
Quinones-Hirado faces up to five years in prison for the escape charge and faces up to 15 years for the firearms charge. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated.
More than 34,000 members of the TWU-IAM Association, a union alliance of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) at American Airlines, have overwhelmingly ratified contract extensions that greatly increase pay, quality of life and more.
The Association’s negotiating committees had reached tentative agreements with the carrier after roughly a month of negotiations. IAM Districts 141 and 142 represent mechanic and related, fleet service and related, and stores workers at American Airlines.
The two-year extensions, from Jan. 1, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2027, includes: • Average wage increase for covered employees in January 2025 ranging from 10.8% to 16.7% and 18% to 26% over the life of the extension. • 3% out year increases in January 2026 and 2027 that also match the highest in the industry. • Several non-economic quality of life issues were also addressed. • Increases in License Pay, Skill Pay, and Crew Chief Pay. • Increases in IAM National Pension Plan contributions. • No concessions/givebacks.
“IAM members at American Airlines have more than earned this industry-leading contract,” said IAM Air Transport Territory General Vice President Richie Johnsen. “By negotiating quickly and efficiently to get the increases our members deserve, we have again delivered on our commitment to continuously improve the lives of all airline workers.”
“The IAM is the world’s most powerful airline union because of our numbers, strength and solidarity,” said IAM Air Transport Territory Chief of Staff Edison Fraser. “Thanks to our success at American Airlines, airline workers across the industry will see further gains in future contracts.”
“American Airlines is successful because of the IAM members who operate the carrier each and every day,” said IAM Airline Coordinator Tom Regan. “This agreement shows once again that IAM representation is the best way for airline workers to get their fair share.
“We would like to sincerely thank our members at American for your support, strength, and solidarity leading up to this vote,” said IAM District 142 President and Directing General Chair John M. Coveny Jr. “We are proud that you have ratified this contract extension. You have earned this through your continuous hard work, professionalism, and dedication to your craft.”
“Your voices and commitment to ratify these proposals speaks volumes and carries tremendous weight,” said IAM District 141 President and Directing General Chair Mike Klemm. “This signifies that the right decisions were made considering the proposals, and further represents the times we live in today.”
After the IAM held in-person and virtual informational meetings on the extension, members voted electronically on the contracts.
The TWU-IAM Association, the largest union at the carrier, was formed after the merger of American Airlines and US Airways in 2012.
Key Resources Are Helping the Weatherization Workforce Provide Benefits for Low-Income Households
Two weatherization technicians carry a new furnace into a manufactured home. Photo from Energy Resource Center
The perfect winter coat should be comfortable to wear—not too warm and not too cold. It’s affordable, sturdy, and protects you well from the wind, rain, and snow.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) helps thousands of low-income families find the perfect coat for their homes every year. Installations and upgrades through weatherization services work to increase the energy efficiency and safety of homes—ensuring that they can stay comfortable through the changing seasons, with lower energy bills and health benefits for residents.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) supports WAP in strengthening the weatherization and home performance industry through robust, collaborative resources for building up a qualified workforce and quality work.
This Weatherization Day, NREL is celebrating its work on key resources developed over the past year to highlight and advance WAP’s impact across states and territories.
Telling the Story of Weatherization
An energy auditor chats with the owner of a home being weatherized. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL
As weatherization enhances homes through upgrades, it changes lives.
One homeowner in Utah was paying energy bills that were higher than her house payments. Once WAP worked on her home, not only were her bills reduced, but potential safety issues in her home were also addressed. “It’s a game changer,” the homeowner said.
NREL is working to compile stories like these in WAP’s Successes & Solutions Center, a database of short examples that WAP organizations can use to improve their own processes and celebrate positive impacts for clients. Stories include successes in workforce development, technical solutions, and more.
“There are so many innovative processes that WAP agencies across the country use every day, but not everybody knows about them,” NREL researcher Allison Moe said. “By highlighting these solutions, we aim to give the weatherization network more insight into new methods they can try out in their work.”
These examples provide useful details for replicable solutions—and photos can be just as helpful for inspiring better processes. Maintained by NREL, DOE’s Weatherization Image Gallery is a free-to-use resource with over 150 high-quality images. The gallery contains images of weatherization installations, mechanical equipment, and materials. These photos are vetted by NREL researchers for accuracy and compliance with the Standard Work Specifications, an industry guide to ensure home energy upgrade work is effective, durable, and safe. WAP organizations can use these images to enhance their field guides, presentations, marketing materials, and more to help visualize the impact of weatherization.
Supporting Weatherization Workers in the Field
An energy auditor inspects a refrigerator during the audit of a home. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL
Residential energy auditors are always on the go, providing in-depth house assessments and developing comprehensive scopes of work for upgrades needed in client’s homes. NREL’s Residential Energy Auditor Resource Repository gathers useful resources into one place for energy auditors in the field, so they can save time searching for the online tools needed to complete their assessments.
As part of this effort, NREL supported a makeover of DOE’s Refrigerator and Freezer Energy Rating Search Tool. With a variety of brands, model numbers, and manufacture years to search by, the tool allows energy auditors to quickly discover the energy consumption for these appliances in client’s homes.
“During a comprehensive energy audit, the accuracy of an energy auditor’s assessment is key,” said Cory Chovanec, NREL weatherization colead. “This resource repository aims to help energy auditors locate accurate information more quickly in support of data collection or analysis of residential buildings.”
This summer, NREL began work with the Association of Energy Engineers on another effort to support a qualified workforce: a virtual field exam. Historically, aspiring energy auditors must pass an online written exam and in-person field exam at an approved field-test site. By adding a simulated exam as an option, energy auditors will have more flexibility in pursuing their certification.
“Accessibility is important to support growing a diverse and equitable weatherization workforce,” NREL researcher Meredith Cummings said. “Introducing a simulated field exam provides trainees with a potentially more convenient option if needed.”
A pilot of the new simulated field exam is expected to launch in 2026.
Paving the Way for Technical Advances
More local and state WAP programs are using solar to help clients save money on energy bills. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL
In 2022, DOE issued guidance streamlining the inclusion of solar photovoltaics in weatherization services for clients. The number of local and state WAP programs utilizing solar is growing, and NREL research is helping these programs determine which solar pathways are right for them.
NREL developed a technical report, an online decision guide, and case studies to help programs make informed decisions about how to integrate solar into their work. These resources assist agencies with developing a plan for solar that works best for their service area. Solar technologies might include rooftop solar, community solar, or solar water heaters.
“WAP implementers can be key contributors in broadening solar energy access for low-income households,” said Juliana Williams, NREL weatherization colead. “These resources can help them maximize benefits for clients.”
NREL also contributed to a new toolkit with relevant guidance for installing heat pumps in homes. DOE’s Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump Toolkit provides technology information, consumer information, weatherization and efficiency program partner resources, guidelines and training for contractors, and ongoing technology development and case studies.
Learn More About Weatherization
To learn more about how NREL supports weatherization work, visit NREL’s weatherization page or contact weatherization.support@nrel.gov.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – Consistent with longstanding Justice Department practices, U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe is highlighting the office’s efforts to ensure all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots free of discrimination, intimidation, or criminal activity in the election process, and to ensure elections are secure against foreign malign interference.
“The Justice Department prioritizes ensuring fair elections, and our success will depend on the assistance we receive from the American electorate,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “It’s critical for those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud to make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
U.S. Attorney Crowe designated Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Reed to lead the efforts in southern Illinois for the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5 general election.
AUSA Reed serves as the District Election Officer for the Southern District of Illinois, and in that capacity, is responsible for overseeing the handling of election day complaints for voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.
The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted due to a disability or inability to read or write in English.
AUSA Reed will be on duty while the polls are open and will be responsible for responding to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud and directing them to the appropriate authorities. He can be reached by calling (618) 977-3332.
In addition, the FBI has agents available throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. You can reach the FBI online at www.tips.fbi.gov or dialing 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
Concerns for violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.
Report crimes of violence or intimidation by calling 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
The NFL has avoided overt political messages since former 49er Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protests against police brutality against Black Americans. But what are the implications of a white player displaying an overt political message right before the United States presidential election?
U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, centre, and John Carlos extend gloved hands skyward in racial protest during the playing of national anthem at the 1968 Olympics. (AP Photo)
In turn, Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and historic inequalities was seen as unpatriotic, and faced significant criticism.
Will Bosa face a similar backlash? It seems highly unlikely, especially since Bosa’s support for Trump will probably be framed as patriotic due to the former president’s populist rhetoric about returning America to greatness.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) and outside linebacker Eli Harold (58) kneel during the playing of the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
But when Bosa donned a piece of campaign merchandise on national television a little over a week out from a contentious presidential election, it was overtly political — arguably just as overtly political as taking a knee during the national anthem.
Rather, they don’t want to see political views they oppose being platformed in professional sports spaces.
If they agree with the politics, sporting events are seemingly just another stop on the campaign trail.
Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
One-third of patients with irritable bowel syndrome aslo have disordered eating habits and perceptions about food that may cause symptoms in and of themselves.(Shutterstock)
Many people find that wheat or gluten cause them to react in some way: Some people have a wheat allergy, some have the autoimmune condition celiac disease, but the majority find they have some sort of intolerance or sensitivity to wheat and gluten.
This is challenging to diagnose because there still aren’t any reliable biomarkers to confirm gluten or wheat sensitivity, and clinicians typically rely on patient self-reports.
In irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), patients experience gastrointestinal symptoms without any visible damage to the digestive tract. Many patients with IBS believe that specific foods, like gluten or wheat, trigger their symptoms, prompting them to exclude these foods from their diets without consulting a dietitian or their doctor.
Unsurprisingly, about a third of IBS patients develop disordered eating habits and perceptions about food that may cause symptoms in and of themselves, such as orthorexia, or an unhealthy preoccupation with healthy eating. This may cause a “nocebo effect,” where patients experience symptoms due to their beliefs and expectations about a substance they assume is causing their issues but is actually inert — a “nocebo.”
Identifying the true sensitivities for patients with IBS is a controversial research area, with some studies finding gluten avoidance to be beneficial versus others finding it to have [no significant effect. (Shutterstock)
As a nutrition researcher at McMaster University’s Farncombe Institute, I’m a member of a team that ran a clinical trial to find out whether wheat, gluten or a gluten-free nocebo caused symptoms in IBS. And the results were surprising: even though some patients experienced worse symptoms from gluten or wheat, they weren’t very different from the nocebo, with similar proportions of patients reacting to each.
These results are similar to other published studies. Identifying the true sensitivities for patients with IBS is a controversial research area, with some studies finding gluten avoidance to be beneficial versus others finding it to have no significant effect.
Researchers from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands published an innovative study from the Lancet medical journal. Patients with reported gluten sensitivity were divided into four groups: Two groups were given gluten-free bread, but one of these groups was told it contained gluten and one was told it didn’t. Two other groups were given bread that did contain gluten, with one group believing it was gluten-free and the other believing it contained gluten.
The results showed that the patients who ate gluten and were also told they were eating gluten had significantly worse symptoms than the other three groups.
Why are people concerned about gluten?
Patients with IBS are often left to navigate conflicting online resources and test new diets to treat their symptoms. (Shutterstock)
Given the controversial evidence that not only gluten, but other wheat components like fermentable carbohydrates or immune-stimulating proteins, may exacerbate IBS symptoms, it’s possible for this hot topic to get blown out of proportion or taken out of context, contributing to nutrition misinformation.
All of these factors — that it is often diagnosed by excluding all other options, the significant psychological component, the division in the scientific community and clinicians who often discount patients’ experiences — make treatment difficult for patients with this disorder.
As a result, patients with IBS are often left to navigate conflicting online resources and test new diets to treat their symptoms.
How patients respond to evidence
When researchers challenge patients with gluten, wheat or a nocebo, they rarely report the personalized results back to the patients and see how this information impacts patient behaviour.
At McMaster University, we wanted to see how presenting personalized nutrition information would affect our patients. After providing them with personal results about their gluten and wheat reactions, we followed up with patients after six months or more to see how this impacted their beliefs, behaviours and symptoms.
Again, we were in for a surprise! Patients largely kept similar beliefs about gluten, maintained a gluten-free diet and had consistent symptoms even after learning that most of them did not react to gluten or wheat. This begs the question: when people more generally learn new information that conflicts with an existing belief, what may help them to change accordingly?
The role of psychology in treating IBS
IBS has been long understood as a disorder of the gut-brain interaction. Psychological treatments are being increasingly investigated to minimize patient fears of foods, or nocebo effects, and to treat IBS symptoms more generally. At Harvard, a recent study found that exposure-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) showed promise to improve IBS symptoms in five sessions with a nurse practitioner.
However, IBS is a complex disorder which may be exacerbated due to many different causes, and psychological treatment will likely be only one component of an effective treatment plan for many patients.
Diet plays an important role in human health, but how it does so — especially among those with gastrointestinal diseases — becomes complicated by the emotional aspects of eating and the real needs for people to have nutritious, well-balanced diets without risking malnutrition. If you have concerns that certain foods, like gluten, trigger your symptoms, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor or a registered dietitian.
Caroline Seiler receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
For weeks, IAM and other union members in Pittsburgh and from across the country have flocked to the Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council office to pick up materials before heading out to door-knock as part of the national AFL-CIO’s political program.
In the first stage of the program, political volunteers visited union members’ households to provide information about the candidates endorsed by their unions and to gauge union voters’ priorities.
Now, less than a week before Election Day, door-knockers are just trying to make sure registered voters get to the polls.
“It is imperative that we motivate our members to vote in the election of our lifetime,” said IAM Air Transport Territory Grand Lodge Representative Sean Ryan, who has been in and out of Pittsburgh to assist get-out-the-vote efforts.
IAM Political and Legislative Assistant Ty Richardson has also been on the ground speaking with union members in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“We’re talking to union members to make sure they know how this election will directly affect their lives and livelihoods,” said Richardson.
IAM members are working with members of the other affiliate unions like the Ironworkers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, American Federation of Teachers, Association of Federal Government Employees, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, and United Steelworkers.
The AFL-CIO’s political program has focused efforts on the seven “swing” states considered to be the states that will decide this election: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona.
In Pittsburgh, the AFL-CIO affiliate unions are advocating for the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz presidential ticket, Bob Casey for re-election in the U.S. Senate, and Summer Lee for Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
For information on the union-endorsed candidates, go tobetterinaunion.org.
In the ever-evolving aerospace industry, collaboration and mentorship are vital for fostering innovation and growth. Recent achievements highlight the positive impact of Mentor-Protégé Agreements (MPA) facilitated by Jacobs Engineering Group, now known as Amentum Space Exploration Group. Two standout partnerships have demonstrated remarkable success and expansion, underscoring the value of such initiatives. CODEplus and Amentum Space Exploration Group The 24-Month MPA between CODEplus and Amentum Space Exploration Group has proven to be a game-changer. Recognized as the FY24 Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year, this collaboration has significantly boosted CODEplus’s operations. Since the agreement’s inception on March 1, 2023, CODEplus has expanded its workforce to ten full-time employees and currently has two active job requisitions. This growth exemplifies the transformative potential of mentorship in nurturing small businesses within the aerospace sector. KS Ware and Amentum Space Exploration Group / CH2M Hill Another exemplary partnership involves KS Ware, which has benefitted from a 36-Month MPA with Amentum Space Exploration Group and CH2M Hill. This agreement has garnered accolades as both the FY23 NASA Agency Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year and the FY23 MSFC Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year. Through targeted business and technical counseling, KS Ware successfully launched a new drilling division in 2022 and expanded its offerings to include surveying services in 2023. The impact of this mentorship is evident, with a remarkable 30% growth rate reported for KS Ware. These success stories highlight the critical role of Mentor-Protégé Agreements in empowering small businesses in the aerospace industry. By fostering collaboration and providing essential support, Amentum Space Exploration Group has not only strengthened its partnerships but also contributed to the broader growth and innovation landscape. As the aerospace sector continues to evolve, such initiatives will be essential in driving future success. Published by: Tracy L. Hudspeth
The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), with support from The Gary and Mary West Health Institute and John A. Hartford Foundation, implemented the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program to recognize those emergency departments that provide excellent care for older adults. We are excited to announce that UConn John Dempsey Hospital Emergency Department has achieved the silver standard — Level 2 GEDA accreditation, the only hospital in Hartford County to hold this accreditation.
Led by a remarkable team of interdisciplinary leaders, including Dr. Matthew Babcock, Geriatric ED Physician Champion, Shannon Curtis, RN, Geriatric ED Nurse Champion, Beata Labunko, Wendy Martinson, RN and Jan Marie Anderson, as well as many other colleagues; UConn John Dempsey Hospital’s accreditation signals to the public that our institution is focused on the highest standards of care for our communities’ older adults.
The GEDA program is the culmination of years of progress in the emergency care of older adults. In 2014, ACEP along with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Emergency Nurses Association, and American Geriatrics Society, developed and released geriatric ED guidelines, recommending measures ranging from adding geriatric-friendly equipment to specialized staff to more routine screening for delirium, dementia, and fall risk, among other vulnerabilities.
“I am so proud of and grateful to the team and the hard work that went into the accreditation,” says Caryl Ryan, COO, UConn John Dempsey Hospital, CNO, Vice President, Quality and Patient Care Services and Interim Vice President, Patient Experience. “This is tremendous for the hospital and the patients who are cared for here.”
Babcock, with support from the chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at UConn John Dempsey Hospital, Dr. Robert Fuller, played a key role in formalizing guidelines and data tracking-focused efforts to standardize practices and improve the quality of emergency care for elderly patients. Curtis’s focus had a big impact on geriatric care and staff education.
Older adults visit emergency departments at a high rate, they often present with multiple chronic conditions and face more social and physical challenges than the general population.
“No one wants to have their senior loved one in an Emergency Department. Knowing that the UConn ED has made a special effort to build a space and put into practice systems which can support a geriatric ED visit, should make families feel better. The GED accreditation reflects our commitment to make the care sensitive to the special needs of the senior members of our community,” says Fuller.
“Our focus is to take excellent care and improve outcomes for the geriatric population who often have complex health issues that require specialized approaches,” says Curtis.
The voluntary GEDA program, which includes three levels similar to trauma center designations, provides specific criteria and goals for emergency clinicians and administrators to target. The accreditation process provides more than two dozen best practices for geriatric care, and the level of GEDA accreditation achieved depends upon how many of these best practices an emergency department can meet. A Level 2 emergency department must incorporate many of these best practices, along with providing interdisciplinary geriatric education and having geriatric-appropriate equipment and supplies available.
To improve patient outcomes, we must provide standardized approaches to care that address common geriatric issues, ensure optimal transitions of care from the ED to other settings (inpatient, home, community-based care, rehabilitation, long-term care), improve emergency department throughput, make a positive impact on the bottom line, and support geriatric-focused quality improvement.
“As an Accredited Geriatric Emergency Department, John Dempsey Hospital’s protocol-driven approach to geriatric care allows us to provide superior, tailored care,” says Babcock “Seniors who visit our emergency department can be assured that the facility has the necessary expertise, equipment, and personnel in place to provide optimal care. We’re excited that our dedication to this population has been recognized and look forward to many more years of building the best geriatric emergency department.”
Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Defendant Forfeits 194 Firearms, More Than Three Tons of Ammunition,
Nearly $470,000 in Cash, and a Machinegun Conversion Device
OKLAHOMA CITY – PHILLIP NILES MARTIN, 69, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to serve 24 months in federal prison for firearms trafficking and unlawful possession of a machinegun, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to public record, Martin was the subject of two previous Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigations for similar conduct. In 2013, Martin received a verbal warning for dealing firearms without a license and was advised that even with a license he could not deal firearms at an Oklahoma City swap meet. In 2020, he acknowledged receipt of an ATF cease-and-desist letter after a firearm that he had purchased was recovered at a crime scene in Mexico.
Public record further reflects that in June 2022, ATF received multiple tips that Martin was illegally dealing in firearms at an Oklahoma City swap meet. An investigation revealed that Martin was still dealing firearms without a license and sold firearms at significantly inflated rates – approximately double retail price – without completing the background checks required by law.
Pursuant to a search warrant executed at Martin’s residence, agents seized 194 firearms, approximately 6,100 pounds of ammunition, approximately $469,520 in cash, and a machinegun conversion device, commonly known as a “switch,” which when installed, converts a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic machinegun. Possession of these devices violates federal law.
On February 16, 2024, Martin was charged by Information with a conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms and with unlawful possession of a machinegun.
Martin pleaded guilty to the Information on March 11, 2024, and admitted he knowingly conspired with others to traffic firearms and that he illegally possessed a machinegun conversion device. Martin also agreed to forfeit all 194 firearms, the ammunition, approximately $469,520 in cash, and the machinegun conversion device.
At the sentencing hearing on October 23, 2024, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman sentenced Martin to serve 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years in supervised release. In announcing the sentence, Judge Dishman noted the seriousness of the offenses and the fact that Martin had not been deterred from such conduct by prior warnings from law enforcement.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Connolly prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. This case is also part of “Project Switch Off,” the Western District of Oklahoma’s local implementation of PSN. “Project Switch Off” targets illegal machinegun conversion devices to address the significant danger these illegal devices present and to remove them from our streets. For more information about PSN, please visit https://justice.gov/psn and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok.
Reference is made to public filings for more information.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07)
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) are advancing bipartisan oversight to tackle improper payments and fraud in federal government programs. In a letter to the Comptroller General at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Gene Dodaro, they request information on how federal agencies are identifying root causes of improper payments and implementing corrective actions and ask GAO to provide recommendations to help reduce improper payments across federal agencies.
“The Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce recently held its third hearing related to improper payments and fraud in the federal government. The goal of that hearing was to discuss agencies’ progress preventing improper payments and fraud in the federal government’s lifesaving programs,” wrote the lawmakers. “The Subcommittee seeks to continuously evaluate whether agencies are getting better or worse at ensuring the levels of fraud seen during the pandemic will “never happen again.” Unfortunately, because of limited or unreliable information maintained by federal agencies, the Subcommittee has been unable to adequately assess agencies’ progress.”
The Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce recently held a hearing where the GAO highlighted improper payments and fraud across government, totaling $2.7 trillion in improper payments since 2003. Witness testimonies at prior hearings made clear that continuing to do the same things to address improper payments is not fully addressing a long-term problem. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has identified a list of high priority programs, which are those with the highest dollar value or rate of improper payments or those with the highest risk of improper payments.
“Federal law requires [high priority] programs report information such as the root causes of their improper payments, mitigation strategies, and corrective action measures. However, the amount of improper payments within these programs continues to grow,” continued the lawmakers. “We ask that GAO regularly update Subcommittee staff on the progress of this review and provide periodic briefings on known practices that have helped prevent improper payments and fraud.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (Virginia 4th District)
Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court granted a stay of the lower court’s injunction of Governor Glenn Youngkin’s voter purge:
“Governor Youngkin’s decision to purge 1,600 Virginians from the voter rolls 90 days before the election violates federal law. Governor Youngkin and Virginia officials further compounded the situation by failing to take any additional measures to verify impacted individuals’ citizenship status. We know lifelong Virginians and long-term voters were wrongfully removed from the rolls by this haphazard, shortsighted, and inaccurate voter purge.
“Governor Youngkin’s purge and the Supreme Court’s refusal to stay the decision pending appeal on the merits demonstrate a blatant disregard for the fundamental right to vote of American citizens caught up in their zeal to prevent something that is already illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison. In a government by, of, and for the people, lawmakers and government officials should take extra steps to ensure they do not infringe on the right to vote of a single eligible American citizen. That did not happen here.
“My office has already received calls from constituents who were inaccurately removed from the rolls. With less than a week until the most consequential election of our lifetime, impacted citizens must now take additional actions to ensure their vote will still count. It’s an unreasonable burden to place on voters in a state with an ugly history of voter suppression. I will continue fighting in Congress to shore up voter protections and ensure every American can exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
Today, Dr. Brendan Hanley, Member of Parliament for the Yukon, on behalf of the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and Minister responsible for PrairiesCan and CanNor, announced a federal investment of nearly $100,000 in Northern Garments Inc., a Dawson City-based small business widely known as SKOOKUMbrand.
October 30, 2024 — Dawson City, Yukon — Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Small businesses across the North are providing unique high-quality products while boosting community growth, providing good jobs and contributing to regional and territorial economic development.
Today, Dr. Brendan Hanley, Member of Parliament for the Yukon, on behalf of the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and Minister responsible for PrairiesCan and CanNor, announced a federal investment of nearly $100,000 in Northern Garments Inc., a Dawson City-based small business widely known as SKOOKUMbrand.
Through this two-year project, SKOOKUMbrand will upgrade its production equipment to include computer-aided design technology so it can build capacity and meet increasing demand for its award-winning custom-made winter clothing. This investment will also support the purchase of small capital equipment to enhance productivity at the rural worksite and help address challenges with staff recruitment. Additionally, this project includes upgrades to the company’s website to increase its reach and expedite order processing.
The Government of Canada is supporting small business growth across the North. Investing in territorial entrepreneur and innovator ecosystems supports dynamic and strong economies and provides benefits to Yukoners and Northerners alike.
Quotes
“Supporting small businesses in rural areas to grow is essential to building strong economies and resilient communities. SKOOKUMbrand is contributing to the territorial economy, providing jobs, and designing clothing made in the North for northern weather. By investing in projects like this, our government is supporting northern businesses to expand, adopt new technology and address northern challenges.”
The Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs and Minister responsible for PrairiesCan and CanNor
“Small businesses contribute so much to the Yukon. For nearly 20 years, SKOOKUMbrand has produced high-quality Yukon-made outdoor clothing for Yukoners and have shipped its creations to people around the world. By implementing digital technologies, enhancing their online presence, and building capacity, this company can access wider markets.”
Dr. Brendan Hanley, Member of Parliament for the Yukon
“Our government is proud to stand behind Yukoners, driving local growth and strengthening our economy. By investing in local businesses, we are helping Yukoners enhance their communities, expand their businesses, and contribute to a resilient, sustainable future for our territory. SKOOKUMbrand embodies the spirit of Yukon—innovative, community-driven and proudly local, crafting products tailored specifically for Yukoners. Through the Economic Development Fund, we are excited to help this outstanding local company grow and reach new heights.”
Ranj Pillai, Premier and Minister of Economic Development, Government of Yukon
“Doing business from the North is always challenging. We operate in isolation from our industry peers and face skilled labour shortages, so we need to be resourceful and look to technology to for solutions that enable us to fill the demand for our products. The assistance we’ve been able to access through CanNor and the Yukon government is helping us to expand to become fully digital in sales and manufacturing, provide employee transit to our workplace and scale up to the next level of development. We are extremely grateful for this timely and focused assistance.”
Megan Waterman, Owner, Northern Garments Inc.
Quick facts
CanNor is contributing up $99,999 over two years for this project through the Inclusive Diversification and Economic Advancement in the North (IDEANorth) program. This program makes foundational investments in economic infrastructure, sector development and capacity building to help position Northerners in the territories to take advantage of Canada’s innovation economy.
The Government of Yukon’s Economic Development Fund (EDF) is also investing more than $20,000 in this project between 2023 and 2025. The EDF supports projects and initiatives that provide long-term, sustainable economic benefits to Yukoners and Yukon communities.
SKOOKUMbrand is a woman-owned small business located in Dawson City, Yukon. Since 2005, the company has been designing and manufacturing winter outerwear, such as fur-trimmed parkas, and accessories for circumpolar lifestyles.
Associated links
Contacts
Kyle Allen Director of Communications, Parliamentary Affairs and Issues Management Office of the Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister Responsible for PrairiesCan, and Minister Responsible for CanNor kyle.allen@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca
Leighann Chalykoff Communications Advisor, Yukon Region Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) leighann.chalykoff@cannor.gc.ca
Damian Topps Government of Yukon, Economic Development 867-667-5378 damian.topps@yukon.ca
Headline: South Carolinians Affected by Hurricane Helene Can Apply for FEMA Assistance and SBA Disaster Loan at the Same Time
South Carolinians Affected by Hurricane Helene Can Apply for FEMA Assistance and SBA Disaster Loan at the Same Time
In addition to applying for FEMA assistance, homeowners and renters in designated South Carolina counties have the option to apply for a low-interest disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration at various stages of their recovery. While FEMA doesn’t require survivors to apply for an SBA loan before being considered for FEMA assistance, the SBA can offer financial support to individuals and business owners to aid their recovery.Homeowners and renters in Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lexington, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union and York counties and the Catawba Indian Nation can apply for federal assistance.How To Apply for FEMA AssistanceThe quickest way to apply is to go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.To get in-person assistance, you can visit any Disaster Recovery Center. To find a center close to you, please go to fema.gov/drc or text “DRC” and a Zip Code to 43362. You can also apply using the FEMA App for mobile devices or calling toll-free 800-621-3362. The telephone line is open every day. Help is available in many languages. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Service (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. For a video with American Sign Language, voiceover and open captions about how to apply for FEMA assistance, select this link FEMA programs are accessible to survivors with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. FEMA assistance is available for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.How To Apply for SBA Disaster LoansThe SBA offers disaster loans to assist businesses, private nonprofits, homeowners and renters with their recovery. Homeowners and renters are eligible to apply for disaster loans to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate and damaged or destroyed personal property. Businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply for loans to cover physical damage. Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are also available to qualified businesses and nonprofits to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. dalton.kramer Wed, 10/30/2024 – 18:38
Headline: FEMA Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Laurens County
FEMA Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Laurens County
ATLANTA – FEMA opened an additional Disaster Recovery Center in Laurens County to provide one-on-one help for Georgians affected by Hurricane Helene. The center is open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.Center location: Laurens CountyOld West Laurens Middle School338 West Laurens School RoadDublin, GA 31021Additional centers are open in Appling, Chatham, Coffee, Liberty, Lowndes, McDuffie, Richmond, Toombs and Washington counties. Additionally, Mobile Disaster Assistance Centers are open in Berrien, Telfair and Ware counties for a limited time. Mobile centers give survivors another option to get help with their application and find other resources.Open Monday – Saturday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday 1 – 6 p.m.Appling CountyAppling County Agricultural Center2761 Blackshear Highway, Baxley, GA 31513Chatham CountySavannah Technical CollegeStudent Enrichment Center Building5717 White Bluff Road, Savannah, GA 31405Coffee CountyThe Atrium 114 N. Peterson Avenue, Douglas, GA 31533Liberty CountyMiller Park/HQ Fire Station 6944 E. Oglethorpe Highway, Midway, GA 31320Lowndes CountyCity of Valdosta4434 North Forrest Street Extension, Valdosta, GA 31605McDuffie CountyThomson Depot 111 Railroad Street, Thomson, GA 30824Richmond CountyHub for Community Innovation631 Chafee Avenue Augusta, GA 30904Toombs CountyGeorgia Department of Human Services 162 Oxley Drive, Lyons, GA 30436 Washington CountySandersville School Building Authority514 North Harris Street, Sandersville, GA 31082 FEMA Mobile Registration Center location and hoursBerrien County Carrie Dorsey Library315 W. Marion Ave., Nashville, GA 31639Wednesday, Oct. 30, through Friday, Nov. 1 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Telfair CountyPiggly Wiggly Parking Lot 48 East Oak Street, McRae-Helena, GA 31055 Monday, Oct. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 2 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.Ware County Courthouse Annex 305 Oak Street, Waycross, Georgia, 31501Monday, Oct. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 2 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. For the latest information about Georgia’s recovery, visit fema.gov/helene/georgia and fema.gov/disaster/4821. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA Blog on fema.gov, @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on X, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and via FEMA YouTube channel. Also, follow Administrator Deanne Criswell on Twitter @FEMA_Deanne. larissa.hale Wed, 10/30/2024 – 18:31
Source: US State of California Department of Justice
OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined 16 attorneys general in supporting a federal prohibition on price gouging. While 40 states across the country, including California, ban price gouging, there is no federal price gouging prohibition. Because so many product supply chains are nationwide, states face heightened challenges when protecting consumers from price gouging. A complementary federal price gouging prohibition would provide critical partnership to state enforcement, protect both consumers and small businesses, and strengthen existing state laws.
“During and after a crisis, it is unfair — and harmful to our economy —for companies to reap higher profits for selling goods and services that families need to survive. That is why California’s price gouging law protects Californians during and after wildfires, severe weather storms, and other emergencies,” said Attorney General Bonta. “A federal price gouging prohibition that complements state law would build on successful partnerships between states and the federal government to protect consumers by making it easier to enforce price gouging prohibitions nationally, up the supply chain. This would benefit California consumers and small businesses who currently bear the brunt of their suppliers’ price setting.”
Price gouging refers to sellers who take unfair advantage of consumers during an emergency or disaster by greatly increasing prices for essential consumer goods and services. Price gouging prohibitions are not price caps; prohibitions place temporary limits on a business’s ability to raise its profits on essential goods in a crisis. Price gouging prohibitions allow businesses to raise prices to cover costs, but those price increases should not result in an increase in their profits.
In the letter, the attorneys general explain that the current gap in federal regulations allows larger companies outside of state control to raise prices and pass down costs to smaller businesses. Without a federal prohibition, consumer-facing retailers — often small businesses — bear the burden of reputational and legal consequences of crisis-induced higher prices, even when the most significant price gouging activity may be happening up the supply chain. A federal price gouging prohibition that complemented state prohibitions would allow federal enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, to identify and restrain irrational price increases throughout the entire supply chain.
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that price gouging laws have key benefits that strengthen the economy. Price gouging laws:
Prevent inefficient pricing overreactions in the heat of a crisis. Setting prices too high may damage a business’s reputation and harm long-term profitability.
Encourage the production of essential supplies. Increasing production and selling more products, instead of selling the same amount at a higher price, allows businesses to increase their gross profits but not their profit margins and helps ensure people have enough essential supplies at reasonable costs.
Prevent hoarding. Encourages businesses to directly limit inefficient over-consumption.
Keep prices competitive. If consumers have no choice but to buy an essential product from one particular seller, price gouging prohibitions can restrain high prices for products where there is very little competition.
In sending today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta joined the attorneys general of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.
In California, price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396. Californians who believe they have been the victim of price gouging should report it to their local authorities or to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report.
For additional information, please see DOJ’s FAQs on price gouging here.
Gremex Shipping S.A. de C.V., a Mexican corporation that managed several ships, including the M/V Suhar, pleaded guilty and was sentenced today in federal district court in Pensacola, Florida, for creating and providing false records to the U.S. Coast Guard to conceal its illegal discharge of oily bilge waste into the ocean, which is a felony violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS).
The charge stems from a Coast Guard investigation of the ship once it arrived in Pensacola on Aug. 25, 2023. The Suhar is a 7,602 gross ton Panamanian-flagged ocean-going bulk carrier that routinely hauled cement from Tampico, Mexico, to Pensacola. Since March 2021, day-to-day operation of the ship was undertaken by Gremex, which was responsible for hiring all crew, and ensuring compliance with all policies on protection of the environment in accordance with international regulations. After boarding the ship to determine compliance with all applicable laws, Coast Guard personnel determined that the vessel’s crew had regularly discharged untreated oily bilge water into sea in a manner that bypassed onboard pollution control equipment, and then falsified the ship’s oil record book to conceal these discharges.
As part of normal vessel operations, large ocean-going ships like the Suhar generate oily bilge water that periodically needs to be discharged for the vessel to operate safely. The United States and Panama are both parties to an international treaty known as MARPOL, which regulates and limits the at-sea discharge of oily bilge water. To satisfy these marine pollution requirements, vessels typically discharge oily bilge water after it has been processed through an oily water separator, a piece of onboard pollution control equipment which removes oil from bilge water prior to discharge. Ships are required to maintain an oil record book that documents all discharges of oily bilge water so authorities can monitor ships for compliance with these international requirements. Federal law requires that foreign ships arriving at U.S. ports maintain an accurate oil record book.
Consistent with a sentencing recommendation jointly proposed by the government and Gremex, the court sentenced the company to pay a $1.75 million fine, serve a four-year term of probation and commit to developing and implementing an environmental compliance plan that will be in effect during the time the company is on probation.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida made the announcement.
The Coast Guard’s Investigative Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Joel La Bissonniere of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Love for the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
NEW YORK/JERUSALEM, October 30, 2024 — The Israeli Knesset’s ban on UNRWA operations represents a devastating blow to Palestinians, further jeopardizing their survival in Gaza and greatly impacting communities in the West Bank, said Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières.
UNRWA is the largest health provider in Gaza, with over half of Gazans relying on it for essential health care services, including for the treatment of chronic diseases, displacement-related conditions, maternal and child heath, and vaccinations. Each day, UNRWA’s health teams provide over 15,000 consultations in the Gaza Strip. The ban of its activities threatens to create a vast gap in services within an already largely destroyed health system in Gaza—directly and indirectly endangering the lives of Palestinians.
“UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestinians,” said Christopher Lockyear, MSF’s secretary general. “If implemented, the ban on UNRWA’s activities would have catastrophic implications on the dire humanitarian situation of Palestinians living in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank—now and for generations to come. We strongly condemn this decision, which is the culmination of a long-running campaign against the organization.”
If implemented, the ban on UNRWA’s activities would have catastrophic implications on the dire humanitarian situation of Palestinians living in Gaza, as well as in the West Bank—now and for generations to come.
Christopher Lockyear, MSF secretary general
The newly voted legislation will make it almost impossible for UNRWA to work in Gaza or the West Bank. Coordination with Israeli authorities will be impeded and entrance permits to either of the occupied territories will be denied, essentially blocking delivery of UNRWA aid into and within Gaza. UNRWA handles almost all the distribution of UN aid coming into the Strip. This vote adds to the endless physical and bureaucratic impediments imposed by Israel to limit the amount of aid reaching Gaza, and contradicts Israel’s claims that it is facilitating humanitarian assistance into the Strip.
Earlier this month, the US sent a letter to Israel demanding they take steps to improve the humanitarian situation within 30 days, and not adopt this legislation. As the leading provider of military and financial support to Israel, the US has an obligation to assess if the conduct of the war is consistent with international and US laws designed to protect civilians and to apply the appropriate legal procedures.
The Israeli parliament’s passage of legislation banning UNRWA is shocking in its cruelty … In the face of this blatant criminalization of humanitarian aid, the US government yet again offers only weak warnings while maintaining its support for a war without rules.
Avril Benoît, chief executive officer of MSF USA
“After a full year of death, destruction, and deprivation in Gaza, Israel is moving to make it impossible for the largest humanitarian actor to deliver assistance and services amid the most severe humanitarian crisis Palestinians have ever endured,” said Avril Benoît, chief executive officer of MSF USA. “The Israeli parliament’s passage of legislation banning UNRWA is shocking in its cruelty. This ban would suffocate the humanitarian response in Gaza and cut off people’s access to basic services in the West Bank. In the face of this blatant criminalization of humanitarian aid, the US government yet again offers only weak warnings while maintaining its support for a war without rules and for the continued collective punishment of civilians.”
The impact of UNRWA’s ban will extend beyond Gaza. Critical services, including refugee camp management, health services, education, and social programs across the West Bank are also at risk of destabilization under this legislation. These bills set a grave precedent for other conflict situations where governments may wish to eliminate an inconvenient United Nations presence.
Israeli bill to designate UNRWA a terrorist organization is an attack on humanitarian aid
Walled up in our silos, we fear what the people in the other silo might inflict on us. The frightening visions have different names and faces, but everyone seems to fear the future.
Halloween’s ghoulish displays seem to have generated more sales than ever this year, inflation be damned. What with school shootings, random violence and a general atmosphere of threats, one would think we didn’t need to scare ourselves more.
But as psychologist Sarah Kollat has recently written, Halloween thrills and chills can feel warming and reassuring. People who have survived a frightening shared ordeal, be it a hurricane or flood or fire or war or even, apparently, a haunted house, feel significantly connected to those who have experienced the same fearful event alongside them.
Our fear can bring us together. It can also tear us apart.
Halloween provides the language to talk about threats, real or imagined. “The zombies have arrived, and we have to figure out how to navigate around them,” a citizen of a Vermont town was recently quoted as saying. She was talking about homeless people.
‘Treachery, Rage and black Fear’
It’s both easy and helpful to personify fear as something outside of us – to give it, in Shakespeare’s phrase, “a local habitation and a name.”
Fear looms and fades; visits at night; thrives in certain conditions. In his epic “The Aeneid,” the Roman poet Virgil describes the war god, Mars, as accompanied by his posse: “the god’s retainers – Treachery, Rage, and black Fear – pound beside him.”
This nightmare troika has a contemporary ring. If by treachery we understand traps, tricks, ambushes, we can plug in political debate, rife with accusations of mendacity; tricks and rage also characterize a good deal of public discourse. And isn’t anger the opposite side of the coin of fear?
Virgil, a great psychologist of many kinds of unease, also depicts a less aggressive manifestation of fear: “Up on the wall stood frightened mothers, gazing/After the dust cloud and the bronze-bright squadrons.” Uneasy spectators, helpless to protect their loved ones, they watch their sons marching to war. In a similar passage, “mothers, the unarmed commons,/And weak old men came pouring out to fill/Towers and roofs.”
Those of us not on a battlefield are in a position of tense watching and waiting.
We feel powerless to affect the outcome; the stakes are high; we fear the worst.
Love and heroism in short supply
Fear is linked to love. In Homer’s “Iliad,” Achilles is reluctant to fight for the Greek side not because he’s afraid of death, even though he knows his life may be short. Rather, he’s too angry to sacrifice his life for a cause and commanders he no longer believes in – until his beloved Patroklos is killed by Hector. Only then do Achilles’ mood and motivation change; he eagerly rejoins the fight.
Characters in Greek tragedies can make terrible decisions, be subject to madness, destroy themselves and others – but they are rarely afraid. The fear and pity Aristotle ascribes to tragedy are the emotions of the spectator.
In connection with fear, one of the only characters in Greek tragedy who readily comes to mind is Admetus, the husband of Alcestis in Euripides’ play of that name. Informed that he is fated to die, Admetus scrambles frantically for a substitute to die in his place. His own father huffily refuses, but his wife Alcestis volunteers.
When at the end of the play a veiled, silent figure we presume to be Alcestis reappears, there’s relief, as well as some nervous laughter. This play, with its – sort of – happy ending, turns out not to be a tragedy after all. It’s closer to dark comedy.
In our own time, rather than fear of death, fear of loss looms large – fear of isolation, humiliation, status; fear of poverty; fear of change. Elsewhere in “the Aeneid,” a character in the underworld makes a resonant remark about the afterlife: “Each bears his own ghosts.”
Maybe each of us has our own flavor of fear. There’s not much love or heroism in evidence these Halloween and preelection days. Anger and treachery, fear’s companions, are on daily display.
Rachel Hadas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
As Election Day arrives, people’s feelings of eagerness and anxiety can intensify. It’s normal to want to know the results, but it’s also important to make sure that when the results are announced, they’re accurate.
The Conversation U.S. has covered many aspects of the election, including the mechanics of tallying and reporting the votes. Here are selections from some of those articles:
1. How long did it take to count votes in 2020?
In 2020, Election Day was Nov. 3. While some results emerged that evening and over the subsequent days, it was not until four days later, Nov. 7, that The Associated Press called the race for Joe Biden over Donald Trump.
Waiting can be unsatisfying, wrote John M. Murphy, a communications scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but it’s key to getting accurate results.
Murphy warned: “People tend to see what they want to see. … Partisans want that beautiful picture of triumph, blue or red seas cascading across screens on election night.” But, he observed, that might be a mirage – and realizing it’s a mirage means one thing: “Wait. … Wait until we know it’s real.”
Election officials count ballots at the Allegheny County elections warehouse in Pittsburgh in 2020. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
2. Why do candidates’ leads change as the results emerge?
Every state counts votes slightly differently. Some, like Colorado, allow election workers to begin counting absentee ballots in advance of Election Day, while in other states, like Illinois, the count can’t even start until the polling places close at the end of Election Day.
In addition, various communities report their results in different ways. Some may release preliminary results every so often while the counting continues, while others may wait until counting is fully complete before announcing any results.
That’s why vote counts change over time: Partial results are updated, and additional results are added to statewide tallies. In a 2020 article, Kristin Kanthak, a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh, went through the whole process, including the release of partial results:
Election officials take their jobs very seriously and work hard to count all the eligible votes accurately while under great pressure. They have specific rules and processes for how to handle ballots and vote-counting.
Derek Muller, an election-law scholar at the University of Notre Dame, explained those steps in detail, highlighting the focus on verifiable facts rather than people’s opinions about the process:
“Certifying an election is a rather mundane task. … It is little more than making sure all precincts have reported and the arithmetic is correct. But it is an important task, because it is the formal process that determines who won the most votes.”
Washoe County employees in Nevada open ballots as they begin processing mailed ballots in the 2024 primary election. AP Photo/Andy Barron
4. Who invented the Electoral College?
Of course, the candidate who gets the most votes doesn’t necessarily win the presidency. The official decision is made by the Electoral College.
Phillip VanFossen, a civics educator at Purdue University, explained that the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787 came up with three ideas, but couldn’t agree. Determined to find common ground, even if it was imperfect, the delegates told 11 men to come up with a solution, which was the Electoral College.
VanFossen explained that “with this compromise system, neither public ignorance nor outside influence would affect the choice of a nation’s leader. (The delegates) believed that the electors would ensure that only a qualified person became president. And they thought the Electoral College would serve as a check on a public who might be easily misled, especially by foreign governments.”
5. Why does the US still have an Electoral College?
Other nations were inspired by the U.S. Constitution, but not for long, as Westminster College political scientist Joshua Holzer explained:
“None have been satisfied with the results. And except for the U.S., all have found other ways to choose their leaders.”
Many people in the U.S. also aren’t satisfied with the Electoral College, and Holzer identifies one effort under way to replace it without amending the Constitution. But even that won’t ensure that the person who becomes president is supported by at least half of the people who cast ballots.
Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –
On October 30, 2024, the National Economic Forum named after D.S. Lvov was held at the Information Technology Center of the State University of Management, within the framework of which a new master’s educational program of the Eurasian Network University “Economics of Integration Processes in the Eurasian Economic Union” was opened.
The plenary session was attended by: Vice-Rector of the State University of Management Maria Karelina, Co-Chair of the Forum, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Institutional Economics of the State University of Management Georgy Kleiner, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Albert Bakhtizin, Head of the Scientific Direction “Macroeconomics and Institutional Theory” of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Viktor Dementyev, Director of the Department of Support of New Businesses of the State Corporation “Rosatom” Dmitry Baidarov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements of the Institute of Economics and Finance of the State University of Management Sergey Glazyev. The moderator was Director of the IEF of the State University of Management Galina Sorokina.
The renewal of the tradition of holding the Forum will allow the State University of Management to advance in economic science. This was stated by the Vice-Rector of the State University of Management Maria Karelina. Addressing all participants, students of Academician Dmitry Lvov and future economists, she also noted that this decision will contribute to interdisciplinary research, which is especially relevant today.
It should be noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of Dmitry Lvov’s graduation from the Moscow Ordzhonikidze Engineering and Economics Institute (now the State University of Management). The head of the Department of Institutional Economics at our university, Georgy Kleiner, delivered a report to the audience. Georgy Borisovich drew attention to the fact that not many economists offered their economic paradigm to the world. Academician Lvov saw the essence of economics in the fusion of material factors, spiritual quests, emotions and institutional influences. It is thanks to this science that we are a society. A person is not only the main resource of the economy, but also a beneficiary, a source of progress. He should not be a hostage to the economic system, but a part of it. Dmitry Lvov’s key idea was that the economy should be a link between man and humanity. It was to study such global issues that Academician Lvov created the first Department of Institutional Economics in Russia at the State University of Management.
During the active work of Dmitry Lvov, the Internet had not yet penetrated into all spheres of life, but today the academician’s speeches would be constantly on everyone’s lips, because he outraged the space with uncomfortable questions. This was very subtly noted by the director of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Albert Bakhtizin. Back in 2004, he drew attention to the depopulation of Russia, the unfair division of resources, noted the importance of contacts with China, described the instruments of pressure of the USA on other countries, that is, he saw the contours of the future world order. The speaker analyzed modern economic problems in detail, in particular, he noted that even experts in the USA understand how harmful excessive dollarization is for the world economy.
Viktor Dementyev, head of the Macroeconomics and Institutional Theory research department at the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, gave a report on the topic of “The Resilience of Russian Regional Economies under Different Shocks.” According to him, the modern economy has experienced four shocks: the Great Recession of 2009, the sanctions wave of 2015, the pandemic, and, of course, the second wave of sanctions, which is still ongoing. Research has shown that entities that are resilient to one shock are also resilient to others. But at the same time, methods for successfully overcoming one crisis do not always work under another.
Dmitry Baidarov, Director of the Department for Support of New Businesses at the Rosatom State Corporation, expressed the opinion that economic challenges facing Russia did not appear after the start of the SVO or during the pandemic – they have always been there, it’s just that the attitude towards them was different before. The history of Rosatom shows that if you pay attention to a gap in the economy in time, you can quickly and effectively fill it. For example, the corporation currently fulfills 88% of global orders for the construction of nuclear power facilities. Dmitry Baidarov regretfully noted that the paradigm of a competitive rather than a partnership economy, imported from outside, still prevails in Russia. The speaker said that Rosatom only realized two years ago how much engineers and economists are needed in production, and there are almost none left on the labor market, so the focus of the State University of Management on training just such specialists is very timely.
Sergey Glazyev, Head of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the Institute of Economics and Finance at the State University of Management, said that Dmitry Lvov was his academic advisor, with whom they substantiated the priorities of Russia’s new economic development and discussed the need to create state corporations as opposed to the fragmentation of production cycles. China has followed this path and achieved a lot, and we are facing dynamic catch-up, which is also impossible without the creation of state corporations. For an economic breakthrough, we need not just a sharp increase in investment, but targeted investment lines. The experience of Asian economies shows that this is the only way it works. If we followed the ideas of Lvov, who claimed that money cannot be a moral value and the core of the economy, we would already be world leaders along with India and China, where this is carefully monitored.
The second part of the plenary session was no less interesting and productive. It was dedicated to the opening of the educational program of the Eurasian Network University “Economics of Integration Processes in the Eurasian Economic Union”.
The program was presented by the Vice-Rector of the State University of Management Dmitry Bryukhanov, who noted that questions about the “fifth freedom”, freedom of knowledge, are becoming increasingly loud today, so the opening of the new program is fully supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and Rossotrudnichestvo. The Vice-Rector reported that the program was developed with the assistance of the Eurasian Economic Commission and about 20 master’s students have already been enrolled, and training will start this week. The process will be hybrid, for which a special information environment has been developed.
One of the developers of the program, Deputy Director of the Department of Macroeconomic Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission Kanybek Azhekbarov wished all applicants good studies and drew the attention of those gathered to the fact that the program was created on the basis of additional professional education, which has already trained 40 specialists.
The head of the program, Sergey Glazyev, thanked the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the government of Kyrgyzstan and the State University of Management for their support. He shared plans to expand the program and noted that the Eurasian Economic Union and its labor market cannot effectively exist without a common educational space, and the State University of Management is an excellent platform to begin forming it.
At the end of the new program, students were presented with a symbolic pass to the State University of Management. After the break, the Forum continued in sections and round tables.
Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 10/30/2024
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
“Over the past five years, the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation has had great success in facilitating investments in natural resources and is ready to leverage investments in agriculture, telecommunications and transportation projects with up to $3 billion in loan guarantees.
“Building on the achievements of the AIOC, I am thrilled to announce that the AIOC’s mandate is now expanding to include tourism. With a growing interest in Alberta’s tourism sector, and a high global demand for authentic cultural and land-based tourism, it makes sense to expand the AIOC’s mandate to include Indigenous investment in major tourism projects.
“This new focus will open doors to even more opportunities for Indigenous communities to be partners in prosperity while showcasing their rich cultures, histories, and traditions to the world.
“Tourism is a powerful driver of economic growth, and with the AIOC’s support, we can ensure that Indigenous communities are at the forefront of this vibrant industry.”
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, is pleased that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has proactively waived the 2024 filing requirement for bare trusts, unless it makes a direct request.
OTTAWA, October 30, 2024 – The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, is pleased that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has proactively waived the 2024 filing requirement for bare trusts, unless it makes a direct request.
In July 2024, the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson announced that our Office was opening a systemic examination into whether the CRA had respected taxpayers’ rights in its administration of bare trust filing requirements for the 2023 tax year.
In carrying out the examination, we heard from stakeholders that the bare trust information the CRA provided for the 2023 tax year had value, but like the 2023 exemption, it came too late. Many tax preparers complete their hiring and training in the fall for each upcoming tax season. Therefore, announcing relief or an exemption beyond November is not timely.
In August and September 2024, the Department of Finance Canada consulted with Canadians on technical amendments clarifying the trust reporting rules. It indicated that the legislative proposal would seek to reduce the administrative burden and to exempt bare trustees from the 2024 bare trust filing requirement.
The CRA’s role is to administer the tax legislation in a manner that is fair and reasonable for taxpayers. It appears unlikely that a bill reflecting the proposed amendments would receive royal assent before many tax preparation firms begin planning for the 2025 tax-filing season. Therefore, it was important that the CRA proactively communicate this exemption, which it did this week.
We are currently in the final stages of drafting our report on our examination into the CRA’s administration of the 2023 bare trust filing requirements. We have met with stakeholders, examined complaints we received, and sought answers from the CRA. We plan to publish the report in early 2025.
Background information
The Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson works independently from the CRA. Canadians can submit complaints to the Office if they feel they are not receiving the appropriate service from the CRA. Our main objective is to improve the service the CRA provides to taxpayers and benefit recipients by reviewing individual service complaints and service issues that affect more than one person or a segment of the population.
The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson assists, advises and informs the Minister of National Revenue about matters relating to services provided by the CRA. The Ombudsperson ensures, in particular, that the CRA respects eight of the service rights outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.
The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, will make an announcement about the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
October 30, 2024, Scarborough, Ontario – The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, will make an announcement about the Canadian Dental Care Plan.
There will be a media availability following the announcement.
Date
October 31, 2024
Time
10:00 a.m. (ET)
Location
The event will be held in-person at:
ACSA Community Services Dorset Park Community Hub 1911 Kennedy Road, Unit 105 Scarborough, ON
Jason Tower is the country director of the Burma Program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where he closely follows Myanmar’s civil war, human trafficking, and the industrialization of scam compounds, which have spread across Southeast Asia in recent years.
He holds unique insights into what is happening on the ground in Myanmar and has authored several reports for USIP over recent years, which include dire warnings about the conflict and the impact this is having on the civilian population.
A veteran with two decades of experience in regional security, Tower also sounded the alarm on the growth of human trafficking and scam compounds in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, which are “rapidly evolving into the most powerful criminal network of the modern era.”
Tower spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt at length about the fall of Myawaddy to anti-regime forces in April and what actually happened afterwards in regards to the Karen National Union and the local Border Force Guard and why many in the rebel camps felt betrayed.
He also talks about the spectacular failures of the military on the battlefield and China’s expanding role in the conflict as it shores up its own financial and strategic interests – including its oil and gas pipeline that cuts across the country – by drawing ever closer to the junta and its leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
This includes the complex relationship between the Arakan Army and the Rohingya in Rakhine state where the fighting has been brutal in recent months with the military desperately trying to hang on to what few areas it still controls.
On an airplane, motions of the air on both small and large scales contribute to turbulence, which may result in a bumpy flight. Turbulence on a much larger scale is important to how stars form in giant molecular clouds that permeate the Milky Way.
In a new NASA-funded study in the journal Science Advances, scientists created simulations to explore how turbulence interacts with the density of the cloud. Lumps, or pockets of density, are the places where new stars will be born. Our Sun, for example, formed 4.6 billion years ago in a lumpy portion of a cloud that collapsed.
“We know that the main process that determines when and how quickly stars are made is turbulence, because it gives rise to the structures that create stars,” said Evan Scannapieco, professor of astrophysics at Arizona State University and lead author of the study. “Our study uncovers how those structures are formed.”
Giant molecular clouds are full of random, turbulent motions, which are caused by gravity, stirring by the galactic arms and winds, jets, and explosions from young stars. This turbulence is so strong that it creates shocks that drive the density changes in the cloud.
The simulations used dots called tracer particles to traverse a molecular cloud and travel along with the material. As the particles travel, they record the density of the part of the cloud they encounter, building up a history of how pockets of density change over time. The researchers, who also included Liubin Pan from Sun Yat Sen University in China, Marcus Brüggen from the University of Hamburg in Germany, and Ed Buie II from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, simulated eight scenarios, each with a different set of realistic cloud properties.
[embedded content]
This animation shows the distribution of density in a simulation of a turbulent molecular cloud. The colors represent density, with dark blue indicating the least dense regions and red indicating the densest regions. Credit: NASA/E. Scannapieco et al (2024)
The team found that the speeding up and slowing down of shocks plays an essential role in the path of the particles. Shocks slow down as they go into high-density gas and speed up as they go into low-density gas. This is akin to how an ocean wave strengthens when it hits shallow water by the shore.
When a particle hits a shock, the area around it becomes more dense. But because shocks slow down in dense regions, once lumps become dense enough, the turbulent motions can’t make them any denser. These lumpiest high-density regions are where stars are most likely to form.
While other studies have explored molecular cloud density structures, this simulation allows scientists to see how those structures form over time. This informs scientists’ understanding of how and where stars are likely to be born.
“Now we can understand better why those structures look the way they do because we’re able to track their histories,” said Scannapieco.
This image shows part of a simulation of a molecular cloud. The colors represent density, with dark blue indicating the least dense regions and red indicating the densest regions. Tracer particles, represented by black dots, traverse the simulated cloud. By examining how they interact with shocks and pockets of density, scientists can better understand the structures in molecular clouds that lead to star formation. NASA/E. Scannapieco et al (2024)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is exploring the structure of molecular clouds. It is also exploring the chemistry of molecular clouds, which depends on the history of the gas modeled in the simulations. New measurements like these will inform our understanding of star formation.
Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Note: The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports. SEL4
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 694 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 205 PM CDT Wed Oct 30 2024
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of South-Central Kansas Western into Central/North-Central Oklahoma
* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 205 PM until 900 PM CDT.
* Primary threats include… A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts to 75 mph possible Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5 inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY…Developing supercells will pose a threat for large to very large hail initially (up to 1.5-2.5 inches in diameter). Later this afternoon into the evening, the threat for a few tornadoes will increase. A strong tornado or two appears possible, especially early this evening. Scattered severe/damaging winds will also become a concern later this evening as thunderstorms eventually form into a line.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles northeast of Hutchinson KS to 35 miles east of Clinton OK. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 693…
AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 24035.
…Gleason
SEL4
URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Tornado Watch Number 694 NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK 205 PM CDT Wed Oct 30 2024
The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a
* Tornado Watch for portions of South-Central Kansas Western into Central/North-Central Oklahoma
* Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 205 PM until 900 PM CDT.
* Primary threats include… A few tornadoes likely with a couple intense tornadoes possible Scattered damaging winds likely with isolated significant gusts to 75 mph possible Scattered large hail and isolated very large hail events to 2.5 inches in diameter possible
SUMMARY…Developing supercells will pose a threat for large to very large hail initially (up to 1.5-2.5 inches in diameter). Later this afternoon into the evening, the threat for a few tornadoes will increase. A strong tornado or two appears possible, especially early this evening. Scattered severe/damaging winds will also become a concern later this evening as thunderstorms eventually form into a line.
The tornado watch area is approximately along and 55 statute miles east and west of a line from 35 miles northeast of Hutchinson KS to 35 miles east of Clinton OK. For a complete depiction of the watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU4).
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings.
&&
OTHER WATCH INFORMATION…CONTINUE…WW 693…
AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail surface and aloft to 2.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind gusts to 65 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 500. Mean storm motion vector 24035.
…Gleason
Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas. SAW4 WW 694 TORNADO KS OK 301905Z – 310200Z AXIS..55 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE.. 35NE HUT/HUTCHINSON KS/ – 35E CSM/CLINTON OK/ ..AVIATION COORDS.. 50NM E/W /32SSE SLN – 48W OKC/ HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..2.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..65 KNOTS. MAX TOPS TO 500. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 24035.
LAT…LON 38419640 35329760 35329955 38419843
THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS FOR WOU4.
Watch 694 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.
Note: Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes
Probability of 2 or more tornadoes
Mod (60%)
Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes
Mod (40%)
Wind
Probability of 10 or more severe wind events
Mod (60%)
Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots
Mod (30%)
Hail
Probability of 10 or more severe hail events
Mod (50%)
Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches
Mod (40%)
Combined Severe Hail/Wind
Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events
High (90%)
For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.
Headline: FEMA Officials Meet Local Officials as Helene, Milton Recovery Progresses
FEMA Officials Meet Local Officials as Helene, Milton Recovery Progresses
WASHINGTON – More than a month after Helene made landfall, FEMA officials remain on the ground coordinating with local officials in affected states to help guide their recovery. Visits included Victoria Salinas, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator, meeting with officials over several days in North Carolina and Florida. There Salinas and other FEMA officials discussed how the communities were progressing in their recovery and surveyed the effectiveness of modern building codes in minimizing storm-related damage.FEMA has approved more than $1.3 billion in direct assistance to Hurricanes Helene and Milton survivors. These funds help survivors with housing repairs, personal property replacement and other essential recovery efforts. Additionally, over $1.1 billion has been approved for debris removal and emergency protective measures, which are necessary to save lives, protect public health and prevent further damage to public and private property. More than 1,400 FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance team members are in affected neighborhoods across affected states helping survivors apply for assistance and connecting them with additional state, local, federal and voluntary agency resources. Also, FEMA now has 76 Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout the hurricane affected communities. Center locations can be found at FEMA.gov/DRC. Centers can provide survivors in-person help with their applications and answer questions they have about available resources to help with their recovery.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Operation Blue Roof which is a free service to homeowners for 25 counties in Florida impacted by Hurricane Milton. Residents can sign-up at www.blueroof.gov or by calling 888-ROOF-BLU (888-766-3258). The sign-up period deadline is Nov. 5.FEMA encourages Helene and Milton survivors to apply for disaster assistance online as this remains the quickest way to start your recovery. Individuals can apply for federal assistance by: Applying online at disasterassistance.govUsing the FEMA AppCalling 800-621-3362, Staffed daily from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. local timeVisiting a Disaster Recovery Center to talk with FEMA and state agency officials and apply for assistancePresident Joseph R. Biden has approved major disaster declarations in six states–Florida, Georgia North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia–affected by Helene. He has also approved a major disaster declaration for Florida following Hurricane Milton.These photos highlight response and recovery efforts across states affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
SWANNANOA, North Carolina – FEMA sets up a mobile Disaster Recovery Center in an affected North Carolina community. Helene survivors in Swannanoa and nearby areas can visit this center to apply for federal disaster assistance and ask questions about available state and federal resources for their recovery.
SAVANNAH, Georgia – FEMA staff and FEMA Corps members help survivors of Hurricane Helene at the Disaster Recovery Center in Savannah.
CORTEZ, Florida – Victoria Salinas, FEMA Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator, and other FEMA personnel join Manatee County officials in the Hunters Point Neighborhood in Cortez. There they spoke with an owner of a property development to talk about how building codes helped the community following the recent hurricanes.
COLLETSVILLE, North Carolina – Victoria Salinas, FEMA Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator, surveys the flood damage from Wilson Creek along Brown Mountain Road with members of the Collettsville Fire Department. Salinas also talked with the owners of the Brown Mountain Resort as they shared their story of surviving the flood from Hurricane Helene.
FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Toolkit provides graphics, social media copy and sample text in multiple languages. In addition, FEMA has set up a rumor control web page to reduce confusion about its role in the Helene and Milton response and recovery. annie.bond Wed, 10/30/2024 – 17:58
Source: United States of America – The White House (video statements)
Ethel Kennedy was there as soon as I entered political office in 1972 when I lost my family in an automobile accident. And she was there for me 50 years later when I was elected president.
She was a hero in her own right.
May she be reunited with the blessed pieces of her soul.
