demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalExclusive: Search-and-rescue units respond without tornado-tracking tool after Noem's team let contract lapse
Source: CNN
As deadly tornadoes tore through the Midwest and Plains last weekend, state and local search-and-rescue crews rushed to the devastated areas to look for survivors. It wasn’t until the teams deployed that they realized they were operating without a critical tornado-tracking tool typically provided by FEMA.
That left responders with a less precise picture of where to search first, two sources familiar with the situation told CNN.
The mapping tool pinpoints a tornado’s path of destruction within minutes of touchdown, helping responders focus on the hardest-hit neighborhoods as quickly as possible. Even in storms where FEMA itself doesn’t respond, state and local rescuers rely on the mapping tool, which is provided to them through the agency.
But it wasn’t available this time, because FEMA’s roughly $200,000 contract with the company that provides the data expired in February, and the agency’s request to renew it is still moving through Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s strict spending-approval process, according to the two sources and internal documents reviewed by CNN.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/13/politics/fema-response-tornado-tracking-tool-kristi-noem
Talarico: ... what do the American people care more about -- pronouns or prices?"
Talarico: "There's another war in the Middle East. There's a cost of living crisis. There's a secret pedophile ring & no one has been prosecuted. So the people responsible are trying to distract us with the same old culture wars ... what do the American people care more about -- pronouns or prices?"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-13T01:34:01.197Z
Press Release: "First Lady Melania Trump Calls on Women to Be Courageous and Take Risks"
No president in American history has done more to demean women, damage their lives, undermine their freedoms...to actively abuse them and then to attack his victims...than Donald Trump. And she has enabled it, defended it, cashed in on it.The Trumps are active, undeniable enemies of women and girls.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf.bsky.social) 2026-03-12T21:10:20.107Z
This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed
This is Nathan Cavanaugh, another DOGE staffer explaining how he flagged grants at NEH for "DEI" which would be reviewed for termination. 404 Media has reviewed hours of this footage and we'll have more soon.
— 404 Media (@404media.co) 2026-03-12T15:33:08.258Z
Part of a lawsuit by @acls1919.bsky.social, @modernlanguage.bsky.social + @historians.org
Kash Patel Confirms UFC Fighters Will Train FBI Agents This Week, Calling It A "Historic Opportunity"
“I’m thrilled to announce this historic seminar between the FBI and the UFC at Quantico,” said Patel in a statement released today by the UFC. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our FBI agents to learn and train with some of the greatest athletes on earth — helping the world’s premier law enforcement agency be even better prepared to protect the American people.”
The training will provide insight into UFC fighters’ training methods as well as fighting techniques and tactics. It will take place at the FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico on March 15 and 16 and is for “academy students as well as senior FBI staff from around the world.”
Patel first floated the idea in a teleconference with the heads of the FBI’s 55 field offices just after he took charge at the Bureau last year.
UFC CEO Dana White is a longtime supporter of President Trump, having spoken at the RNC in 2024 and at Trump’s victory rally in 2025. The duo have also announced a UFC fight at the White House on Trump’s birthday.
https://deadline.com/2026/03/kash-patel-ufc-fighters-train-fbi-agents-1236750897/
Q: What more do you have to do militarily for this operation to end? TRUMP: More of the same
Q: What more do you have to do militarily for this operation to end?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-11T16:39:58.969Z
TRUMP: More of the same
BREAKING: The operators of the Canadian-financed Gordie Howe Bridge have announced their toll rates.
BREAKING: The operators of the Canadian-financed Gordie Howe Bridge have announced their toll rates.
— Chad Livengood (@chadlivengood.bsky.social) 2026-03-11T16:19:08.116Z
And they're significantly less than the Ambassador Bridge, whose private owner has lobbied the Trump administration to block Gordie Howe from opening.
www.detroitnews.com/story/busine...
Commercial shippers that sign up for the Gordie Howe bridge's "Breakaway" discount toll program will pay charges of $6.90 U.S. dollars per axle. The comparable rate for A-Pass and E-ZPass holders crossing the Ambassador Bridge is $15 U.S. dollars per axle.
For typical five-axle semi-trucks, that represents a $40.50 cost advantage for a truck to cross the new publicly owned Gordie Howe Bridge rather than the privately owned Ambassador Bridge.
For passenger vehicles, the Breakaway toll on the Gordie Howe Bridge will be $4.35 USD per crossing. The minimum rate available on the Ambassador is $10.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2026/03/11/gordie-howe-ambassador-bridge-toll-rates-how-much-are-they/89099085007/
Oh, this is delicious!
Maren Morris (country singer): ... Fox News is a propaganda machine of Cocomelon brain-rot for Boomers.
House Oversight Committee to depose Epstein's longtime accountant
Source: ABC News
The House Oversight Committee is set to depose Jeffrey Epstein's longtime accountant on Wednesday, potentially shedding light on how the disgraced financier was able to manage his multimillion-dollar fortune.
Richard Kahn served as Epstein's accountant for over a decade, and some of Epstein's victims allege he played an instrumental role in creating the "complex financial infrastructure" that enabled the financier's crimes.
Kahn has consistently denied any wrongdoing and says he was unaware of Epstein's crimes while serving as his accountant. The closed-door deposition -- a recording of which is expected to be released by the committee -- could provide a rare window into how Epstein paid for his lavish lifestyle and funneled thousands of dollars to his victims.
While some of the recent witnesses deposed by the House Oversight Committee -- including Bill and Hillary Clinton and retail billionaire Leslie Wexner -- have drawn immense publicity, the interviews have largely left unchanged the public's understanding of Epstein's life and crimes.
Read more: https://abcnews.com/Politics/house-oversight-committee-depose-epsteins-longtime-accountant/story?id=130956011
US Senate confirms National Security Agency director, ending long vacancy
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed General Joshua Rudd on Tuesday to lead the National Security Agency and the nation's Cyber Command, filling a position that had been vacant since President Donald Trump abruptly fired his predecessor in a national security purge.
The Senate voted 71-29 to confirm Rudd, making him a four-star general.
Trump nominated Rudd, then a lieutenant general and No. 2 at the military's Indo-Pacific Command, for the so-called dual-hat position in December.
The NSA monitors, collects and processes information and data for global intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. Cyber Command conducts offensive and defensive cyber operations, an increasingly important part of military campaigns including the current Iran war.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-senate-confirms-national-security-agency-director-ending-long-vacancy-2026-03-10/
18 Senate Dems just voted to confirm Trump's NSA director:
— Jonathan Cohn (@jonathancohn.bsky.social) 2026-03-10T20:36:52.754Z
Baldwin
Coons
Cortez Masto
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Kelly
King
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Schiff
Shaheen
Slotkin
Warner
Whitehouse
Earlier thread from Sen. Wyden:
This week the Senate is going to vote on Joshua Rudd to be Director of the NSA. He's a dangerous nominee to lead an agency with a history of abusing domestic surveillance capabilities. Here's why:
— Senator Ron Wyden (@wyden.senate.gov) 2026-03-10T14:50:43.399Z
During his confirmation hearing, I pressed Rudd on the NSA's sprawling surveillance powers and whether he would spy on Americans. During that questioning, he showed no understanding of the Fourth Amendment and the basic constitutional right to privacy of every American.
— Senator Ron Wyden (@wyden.senate.gov) 2026-03-10T14:50:43.400Z
Donald Trump is weaponizing agencies like ICE to surveil and target American citizens. The Senate has no business putting someone in charge of the NSA who won’t commit to protecting Americans’ constitutional rights.
— Senator Ron Wyden (@wyden.senate.gov) 2026-03-10T14:50:43.401Z
*more
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