News Stories and Events for 2024 October thru December
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OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES BOEING ON BEHALF OF TEACHERS, EMPLOYEES
Monday, October 28, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says Boeing has safety issues costing Ohioans.
Yost sued the aerospace giant on behalf of two Ohio pension funds, claiming a pattern of safety and compliance failures have hurt the companies and its investors.
“The safety failures at Boeing are endangering lives and threatening the financial security of shareholders,” Yost said. “Running a safe, respectable company starts with the people at the top – and it’s time for them to be held accountable.”
The attorney general's office is representing the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. The lawsuit accuses Boeing board members of breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to oversee the company.
Boeing has been under fire for reportedly rushing production and thus compromising quality. Lawmakers and aviation experts raised concerns about the American aerospace company at two Senate hearings in April.
In January, a door blew off of a Boeing 737 Max 9 while in the air. Later, former CEO David Calhoun said on an earnings call that “we caused the problem,” which was apparently related to missing bolts on the door.
The Department of Justice and the Federal Aviation Administration also investigated Boeing. The FAA said in March after an audit it "found multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements."
Ohio’s lawsuit also says board members and senior management, including Calhoun, failed to implement adequate safety measures or to address whistleblower concerns about the company’s production processes.
“The failure of Boeing’s directors and officers to implement and oversee Boeing’s safety and compliance functions in good faith led to incalculable damage to Boeing’s relationships with its regulators, customers, lenders, potential employees, and the flying public,” the lawsuit says.
In August, the board hired Robert K. Ortberg as its new president and CEO, replacing Calhoun. The board approved an annual base salary rate of $1.5 million for Ortberg, and an annual incentive award target of $3 million for 2025, as well as a long-term incentive award target of $17.5 million for 2025, according to an SEC filing.
LAROSE SUES HOMELAND FOR ACCESS TO CITIZENSHIP DATA
Monday, October 28, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square
Less than two weeks after 16 Republican attorneys general pressured the Department of Homeland Security for voter registration information, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose sued.
LaRose wants access to citizenship records to continue to remove noncitizens from the state voter rolls.
“I swore an oath to uphold our state constitution, and that document clearly requires that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections,” LaRose said. “The Biden-Harris administration is engaging in obstruction and outright abuse of power to prevent us from removing noncitizens from our voter rolls. I take my duty seriously, so if they want a fight over the integrity of our elections, they’ve got it.”
The lawsuit says the Biden administration failed to give LaRose access to federal citizenship records four times and eventually denied the state access to the Systematic Alien Verification and Entitlements database Oct. 10.
Last week, 16 attorneys general, led by Ohio's Dave Yost, called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to provide voter registration information to states, particularly when it relates to citizenship status.
The state prosecutors “raise grave concerns that by failing to work with States to verify voter registration information, your office has failed to discharge its duty ahead of a national election,” the letter to Mayorkas states.
In May, LaRose announced an effort to verify citizenship status of registered voters in the state, calling on county boards of election to review people who appear to be noncitizens from the rolls.
He also said he was taking steps to verify citizenship status that required cross-checks with other databases and asked for citizenship data from the federal SAVE database, access to citizenship-identifying records from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration and federal District Court records.
In August, he announced more than 200,000 people were removed from the state’s voter rolls, including 500 noncitizens. He said state officials confirmed the noncitizens through federal records.
LaRose’s lawsuit also comes two days after an emergency motion was filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern Ohio to stop recently established questions and regulations for voters to show proof of citizenship before voting just days before the November election.
The filing from the ACLU of Ohio says the same court ruled those requirements were unconstitutional in 2006.
The ACLU said LaRose revised the form used by election officials to challenge voters at the polls based on citizenship. Early voting is already underway in the state.
“Requiring naturalized citizens to bring additional documentation to verify their eligibility to vote is not only burdensome and discriminatory, it’s unlawful," said Freda Levenson, legal director of the ACLU of Ohio. "After nearly 20 years of compliance with the federal injunction, Secretary LaRose suddenly decided to defy the injunction and impose an 11th-hour requirement forcing naturalized citizens to produce these papers. We are hurrying back to the court, asking it to enforce its long-standing order.”
PROPOSAL: IF IN OHIO, WOULD NEED TO BE IN USA LAWFULLY
Monday, October 28, 2024
J.D. Davidson | The Center Square
New legislation in the Ohio House would make it a crime for someone illegally in the United States to enter or attempt to enter the state.
The bill’s sponsor said The America First Act supports federal immigration law.
“Ohioans are charitable, gracious, kind and welcoming," said Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery. "However, we expect those who would join us to reciprocate by following our laws, including immigration laws. The America First Act only addresses immigration already determined to be unlawful on the federal level.”
If passed and signed into law, the act would carry a penalty of a $500 fine and a year in jail. Offenders would also have to leave the state within 72 hours of being released.
The act also contains provisions for those trying to get an extension of their visa and those seeking refugee status.
“The America First Act sends the message that we welcome lawful immigrants, and we value those who value America enough to knock and come through the front door,” Click said. “More than once, legal immigrants have come and expressed their gratitude for this great country and how offensive it is to them that others would disrespect our nation so much that they would enter in any way but the legal way. They take legitimate pride in the fact that they did it by the book. They did it the American way.”
It’s the second piece of legislation introduced by Republicans in the House in less than a month that targets immigration. The first, the Protecting Ohio Communities Act, was introduced in late September and strips sanctuary city protections in the state.
There are no sanctuary cities in Ohio. Only Hamilton and Franklin counties are sanctuary jurisdictions.
Both come while lawmakers are not in session and focused on the November general election, and both come with less than a month expected in the general session.
IRS URGES TAXPAYERS TO ACTIVATE IDENTITY-THEFT PROTECTION MEASURE
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Naveen Athrappully | The Epoch Times
Nearly two million potential identity theft cases were discovered by the IRS by early February for the 2024 filing season.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) asked taxpayers to sign up for extra security measures ahead of the 2025 tax season by obtaining their identity protection personal identification number (IP PIN).
An IP PIN is a six-digit number that “prevents someone else from filing a federal tax return using a taxpayer’s Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,” said an Oct. 23 press release from the agency. This “simple yet crucial step” protects against tax-related identity theft, and the agency encouraged citizens to sign up before the Nov. 23, 2024 deadline.
“Signing up for an IP PIN now will ensure that a taxpayer’s identity is protected when the filing season begins. New IP PINs are generated for the 2025 filing season during this period, so online enrollees must retrieve their new IP PIN starting early January 2025,” according to the press release.
Taxpayers ought to sign up for an IRS Online Account, which offers an “easy way” to obtain the IP PIN, said the agency.
The IP PIN is known only to the individual and the IRS. It confirms taxpayer identity when filing electronically, making it difficult for malicious actors to breach and access sensitive information, the agency said.
Taxpayers start by providing identity verification when applying through the IRS Online Account. Once verified, they can click the profile tab to request for an IP PIN. After a PIN is issued, the taxpayer uses this number when filing federal returns, whether via paper or electronically.
According to the IRS, an IP PIN is valid for a period of one year, with a new number generated at the beginning of each calendar year. Some taxpayers receive their PIN via mail rather than online.
“IP PIN users should share their number only with the IRS and their tax preparation provider. The IRS will never call, email, or text a request for the IP PIN,” the agency said.
For those who wish to apply for PINs via mail, the IRS imposes an income threshold.
This option is available to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income on their last filed return was below $79,000. For married people filing jointly, the threshold is $158,000.
The taxpayer must apply using Form 15227. The IRS will get in touch with the person for the purpose of validating their identity, following which the IP PIN will be mailed.
In case the individual is unable to verify their identity with Form 15227, they can schedule an in-person meeting at a local Taxpayer Assistance Center.
“Please bring one current government-issued picture identification document and another identification document to prove your identity. Once we verify your identity, you will receive your IP PIN via the U.S. Postal Service usually within three weeks,” the agency states.
Tax-related identity theft is a major issue for the IRS. In the 2024 filing season, the agency identified almost 1.9 million tax returns for additional review as of Feb. 29, citing suspected identity theft fraud, according to an April report by watchdog Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
More than 15,200 tax returns were confirmed to be fraudulent, preventing the issuance of more than $180 million in refunds to criminals. This is up from more than 12,600 returns in the 2023 filing season.
SECURITY INCIDENTS, IP PIN REISSUE
Although the IRS says the IP PIN safeguards taxpayers from identity theft, there have been incidents of criminals stealing taxpayer PINs.
In 2016, there were complaints of IP PINs being compromised. According to a March 2016 blog post by cyber security expert Brian Krebs, the issue at the time was that the IRS allowed taxpayers to retrieve their IP PIN from the agency’s website if they provided answers to “four easy-to-guess questions.”
These questions were about things like the previous address of the taxpayer, loan amounts, and such. Criminals can either randomly guess this information or access them from platforms such as Facebook and Zillow, Krebs noted.
At the time, the IRS then temporarily suspended the IP PIN tool; reinstating the measure later on with tightened security measures.
While IP PINs can be easily accessed online by taxpayers, some individuals may not be able to do so in certain cases.
In such situations, taxpayers can contact the IRS at 800-908-4490 for assistance and get their IP PIN reissued. “An assistor will verify your identity and mail your IP PIN to your address of record within 21 days,” the agency states.
Several lawmakers have promoted IP PIN use among taxpayers. In 2021, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) asked Maine taxpayers to apply for IP PIN “to thwart tax-related identity theft.”
In June this year, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) also said that the IP PIN program could reduce the risk of taxpayers’ returns being fraudulently filed.
GEAUGA COUNTY RESOLUTION #24-144, APPROVED JULY 30, 2024, BACKFIRES ON COMMISSIONERS, RESULTING IN OCTOBER 10 SPECIAL MEETING TO RESTORE FISCAL SECURITY
Friday, October 10, 2024
Back on July 30, 2024, when Commissioners were concerned about receiving return of their original monetary investment in the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Court from the Portage County Commissioners and also receiving some disappointing news about potential building purchases in Geauga County which turned sour, no one thought too much about the fallibility of the $10 million dollar reserve fund that was being held in reserve as a result of the Geauga- Chardon City legal mediation to correct the Geauga Courthouse structural defects.
Resolution 24-144, “Approving the use of ARPA Standard Allowance Funds and Authorizing the Establishment of the Necessary Payroll Accounts within the ARPA Fund,” was signed on July 30, 2024, a day when Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri was absent, leaving responsibility for any future successes or failures to Commissioner Jim Dvorak and outgoing Commissioner Tim Lennon.
Apparently, the impact of Resolution 24-144 had immediate unexpected negative results as Financial Budget Officer, Adrian Gorton, came face-to-face with on October 8 when he discovered that the first withdrawal of funds from Geauga’s Standard Allowance Funds occurred during the very first pay period of August and has been ongoing continuously so as to affect Real Estate Assessment Fund, Clerk of Courts Fund, Engineer’s Road Fund, Prosecutor’s Victims Witness Fund, and two distinct delinquent tax funds.
Based on his discovery within the week that $447,530 has been depleted from the expected $10 million reserve fund in and the total number of payroll periods remaining, Adrian Gorton anticipates that the county could realistically be depleted by $1million. He noted that it is not regular procedure to check on these funds for unexpected withdrawal of assets, but nevertheless, he expressed his regrets for not thinking to do the checking sooner. He added that one area creating a sense of relief is that the County’s September bills for Capital Improvements have been lower than they could have been, providing some wiggle room.
Gorton presented two text versions of Resolution 24-180 to all three Commissioners: Ralph Spidalieri, Jim Dvorak, and Tim Lennon. Both were largely identical in presenting the background of explaining the Board of Commissioners option of choosing the “standard allowance” of loss of $10 million with Resolution 22-053 on April 26, 2022.
The first option, rejected by the Commissioners, would have limited the use of ARPA funds to pay salaries and benefits in the the General Funds only with the extra condition that the Auditor’s Office would from October 10, 2024, forward “apply deductions only to the General Fund.”
Option #2, “LIMITING THE USE OF ARPA STANDARD ALLOWANCE FUNDS . . .TO PAY FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES PROVIDED ONLY BE THE GENERAL FUND AND REQUIRING THE RETURN OF FUNDS THAT WERE OUTSIDE THE GENERAL FUND” was the text unanimously approved because it authorizes the Auditor to act thusly:
“The Auditor’s Office shall then advise departments how to submit payroll in compliance with this resolution the remainder of the year for only their General Fund payroll submissions. This resolution does not apply to any funds that the above offices [Auditor, Clerk of Courts, Commissioners, Coroner, Engineer, Prosecutor, Recorder, Sheriff, Treasurer, ADP, Building Department, Board of Elections, Public Defender, and the Veterans Commission] have outside of the General Fund.”
And the final sentence:
“Any salaries and benefits that are or have already been paid [since August 1, 2024] with ARPA money from funds outside the General Fund [sic] shall be compelled by the Auditor to return those funds to the ARPA fund within thirty days of the date of this resolution.”
Spidalieri spoke over and over about “good faith commitments, employee salary increases over a three-year period” and his hope “that the Auditor’s Department will do the right thing. . .” because “that $10 million was supposed to be committed to the Courthouse Project.”
Commissioner Lennon cited the “need to make the $10 million ARPA Fund whole again. Whatever has gone out has to come back.”
Adrian Gorton hoped “that there will be no more room for discrepancy.”
The official meeting adjourned about 2:45. Adrian Gorton and Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, in attendance the entire meeting “to answer any questions that might come up, “discussed various aspects of the unexpected ARPA fund shortage. There was conversation about funds that the Engineer Department may have received and concern that once funds had been paid out, there might be difficulty in receiving them back.
Although Adrian Gorton noted that he had attempted to communicate with Ron Leyde of the Auditor’s Department, he did not receive any word back until the morning of the Special Meeting.
There was also an acknowledgment that without clear assurance of the $10 million to finance the Courthouse Project,the Commissioners would have been totally unable to undertake any architectural correction. Readers will note that the Courthouse Correction Project has been the subject of recent angst because the original estimated cost of $14-$15 million dollars has been subject to overruns that place the total actual cost at $20-21 million dollars.
NOTICE OF SPECIAL GEAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
The Geauga County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. to consider and if necessary approving a resolution regarding the use of ARPA Standard Allowance Funds and Necessary Payroll Account Adjustments. This meeting will be held at Commissioners’ Offices at 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Room B303, Chardon, Ohio.
Christine Blair, Commissioners’ Clerk
ELON MUSK TO ATTEND TRUMP RALLY AT SITE OF ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Zachary Stieber | The Epoch Times
Elon Musk said on Oct. 3 that he will attend former President Donald Trump’s upcoming rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“I will be there to support!” Musk wrote on X, the social media platform that he mostly owns.
Trump has a rally scheduled for Saturday, October 5th at the Butler Farm Show, where he was struck by a bullet during an event in July.
Authorities say Thomas Crooks, who was shot dead by a U.S. Secret Service agent, attempted to assassinate Trump.
About 30 minutes later, Musk shared video footage of Trump rising to his feet and holding a fist up after surviving the attempted assassination. Musk said he endorsed the former president.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” Musk wrote at the time. “The martyr lived. Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt,” he wrote in a follow-up post.
The business mogul, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said in another post on Thursday that backing Trump has become “essential to saving America!”
Musk’s posts frequently support Trump and Republicans while denigrating Vice President Kamala Harris and members of the Democratic Party.
Trump welcomed Musk’s endorsement at the time and said in a September speech that, if elected, he would, on Musk’s advice, create a government efficiency commission tasked with improving government operations.
The exact security protocols in place for Trump’s next Butler rally have not been disclosed but the U.S. Secret Service says it is prepared.
A spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency has, since the attempted assassination attempt, “made comprehensive changes and enhancements to our communications capabilities, resourcing, and protective operations.” Trump, he said, is receiving heightened protection.
The agency has said previously that Trump is receiving the same level of protection as President Joe Biden and Harris in the wake of the assassination attempt by Crooks and another apparent attempt by a man at a golf course in Florida.
“Regarding the October 5th event in Butler, PA, we are coordinating closely with the Pennsylvania State Police as well as local law enforcement in and around Butler Township. We are also leveraging other federal security resources to expand personnel and technology,” the spokesman said.
“To maintain the integrity of our protective operations, we cannot go into the specifics regarding the security enhancements. Residents in the area should expect traffic delays and an increased presence of state, local, and federal law enforcement as part of our efforts to ensure a safe and secure event.”
DEA WARNS OF COUNTERFEIT PAIN PILLS WITH FENTANYL AT ILLEGAL ONLINE PHARMACIES
Saturday, October 6, 2024
Brett Rowland | The Center Square
A federal agency is warning consumers about using illegal online pharmacies after an increase in sales of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl and methamphetamine.
The warning comes after the death of one person who bought what she thought was oxycodone but died of fentanyl poisoning.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported an increase in illegal online pharmacies selling and shipping counterfeit pills made with fentanyl and methamphetamine to unsuspecting customers in the United States. The customers thought they were buying real pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax and other drugs from legitimate pharmacies.
The increase comes as more Americans turn to online pharmacies to buy medications.
The agency issued a Public Safety Alert to warn of an increase in illegal online, often foreign-based websites that are targeting American consumers.
The DEA has identified websites being operated in India and the Dominican Republic.
"Many of these sites purport to be legitimate, U.S. based or FDA approved sites, but are actually working with drug traffickers to fulfill online orders with fake pills," according to the agency. "These website operators are going to great lengths to make the websites look like legitimate online pharmacies – they offer 24-hour customer service, post online reviews and safety facts, and offer deep discounts to deceive customers into believing they were buying from a reputable business."
DEA officials said these illegal websites often appear professional.
"These companies operate illegally, deliberately deceiving American customers into believing they are purchasing safe, regulated medications when they are actually selling fake, counterfeit pills made with fentanyl or methamphetamine," according to the agency. "Fake medications can lead to serious health risks, including harmful side effects, ineffective treatment, and even death."
One U.S. based buyer had ordered what she believed to be oxycodone from an online pharmacy. Instead, she got fake pills made with fentanyl. Fentanyl is more powerful than oxycodone.
"The pill looked identical to a real oxycodone, but it was not – it was made with fentanyl and filler," according to the DEA. "Days after receiving the medication, the victim passed away from acute fentanyl poisoning as a result of taking one of the pills sent to her."
The agency identified nine fake pharmacies in a recent criminal investigation. The sites included: Curecog.com, Pharmacystoresonline.com, Careonlinestore.com, yourphamacy.online, MD724.com, Greenleafdispensarystore.com, Whatishydrocodone.weebly.com, Orderpainkillersonline.com and USAMedstores.com.
DEA also offered tips and red flags to look for to avoid fake pharmacies:
*Sells prescription drugs without requiring a valid prescription from a healthcare provider
*Offers much cheaper prices than what is typically seen in the market
*Lists prices in a foreign currency
*Does not contain proof of a valid pharmacy state license or DEA registration
*Medicine arrives in broken or damaged packaging or in a foreign language
*Medicine does not have an expiration date or is expired
*Medicine looks different from what you have received in the past from your trusted pharmacist
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's provisional estimated overdose deaths in 2023 declined about 3.1% to 107,543. That's down from 111,029 in 2022. Two out of every three deaths involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, a cheap and potent opioid smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.
The pills are often made with precursor chemicals from China.
The DEA's most recent National Drug Threat Assessment found the purity level of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. drug market has increased and the amount of fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills has increased, making the nation's top drug threat even more dangerous.
A lethal dose of the potent opioid is about 2 milligrams, depending on the opioid tolerance of the user.
In 2022, the average fentanyl pill contained 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl, according to analysis by DEA forensic chemists who test random samples of the fentanyl seized in the U.S. Overall, the tested samples ranged from a low of .03 milligrams to a high of 9 milligrams.
‘TENTATIVE AGREEMENT’ KEEPS PORTS OPEN AND ECONOMY RUNNING, FOR NOW
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Casey Harper | The Center Square
Dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coast are returning to work and reopening U.S. ports for new shipments after reaching a deal with the Maritime Alliance that boosts workers pay.
The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 45,000 dockworkers, released a statement Thursday saying they had reached a “tentative agreement,” preventing a major supply chain and cost issue just weeks before the U.S. election.
“Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," ILA said in a statement.
The deal gave workers a 62% raise over the next six years and extends the current contract until Jan. 15, beyond Election Day. Biden-Harris administration officials reportedly helped mediate the deal, which also includes promises to avoid automation, though those details are not yet finalized and public.
Negotiators will keep hammering out the details of that agreement in the weeks to come, and there is a small chance the deal, which has not been signed off on by workers, could fall through.
Workers rejecting union deals is not uncommon. Last month, Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest rejected a union leadership-negotiated pay raise of 25% over four years and are currently on strike, even after Boeing has since offered to up the raise to 30%.
Vice President Kamla Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, praised the deal. If it were to fall through before Election Day, she could have a political liability on her hands. Prices would begin to rise steeply after already rising more than 20% since she took office.
“This step indicates progress toward a strong contract and represents the power of collective bargaining,” Harris said in a statement. “As I have said, this is about fairness – and our economy works best when workers share in record profits. Dockworkers deserve a fair share for their hard work getting essential goods out to communities across America.”
The longshoremen had brought much of the U.S. economy to a halt this week with a workers strike that effectively closed the entire East Coast and Gulf Coast’s shipping capabilities.
Many experts warned earlier this week of the high cost of the strike, predicting escalating prices on all kinds of goods, from groceries to alcohol to cars and more.
President Joe Biden lauded the agreement on Thursday.
“I applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding,” Biden wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Collective bargaining works.”
The strike had sparked criticism for the Biden-Harris administration for not acting sooner to avert it as well as critiques of the longshoremen, many of whom are well paid compared to the average American salary. Negotiators had been trying to find an agreement since June.
The potential shipping disruption came amid the recovery from Hurricane Helene, a disaster that has caused billions in damage, destroyed infrastructure, caused food and water shortages, and left many dead or missing.
“Disrupting the distribution of food, equipment, and supplies as the Southeast U.S. recovers from Hurricane Helene is unacceptable,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wrote on X.
“Floridians need a reliable, steady supply of resources and building materials to keep their families fed and rebuild their homes and businesses,” he added.
OFFICIALS SAY FEMA DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUNDING TO LAST HURRICANE SEASON
Saturday, October 6, 2024
Samantha Flom | The Epoch Times
The agency spent $1.4 billion over the past two years to house illegal immigrants.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) does not have enough money to make it through the hurricane season, and lawmakers representing areas devastated by Hurricane Helene are voicing their frustration.
“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas told reporters aboard Air Force One on Oct. 2.
But officials expect another hurricane to hit before the end of the season on Nov. 30, and FEMA “does not have the funds” to last that long, Mayorkas said.
That reality did not sit well with Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), where Helene left catastrophic damage in her wake.
“It’s outrageous that the Biden-Harris administration claims that FEMA may not have the money to make it through hurricane season after they allocated over $1.4 billion to house illegal aliens who should have never been in this country,” Budd wrote on Oct. 3 on X.
Helene barreled through the Southeast last week, making landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm hammered Florida’s Gulf Coast with record storm surges and brutal winds before pommeling the rest of the region with historic flooding, wiping out entire towns.
At least 215 people have died, with rescue efforts still underway.
FEMA personnel have been at work delivering meals, water, generators, and other supplies to survivors. But with the agency’s coffers about to run dry, President Joe Biden has suggested that he may request an emergency spending package to replenish its reserves.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has given no indication that he intends to bring such a package up for a vote, though Congress recently allocated $20 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief efforts in a short-term spending bill to fund the government through Dec. 20.
Other Republicans, like Budd, have been quick to point out that the agency’s recent expenditures were to benefit noncitizens.
In April, FEMA allocated $640.9 million to state and local governments to offset the costs of the overwhelming surge of illegal immigrants flooding their communities.
Those funds added to the $780 million FEMA awarded to affected communities last year through its Shelter and Services Program and its Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who represents the hard-hit Clearwater area in Pinellas County, said the funds should “be used to house Pinellas residents!” she wrote in an X post.
President Joe Biden visited affected communities in Florida and Georgia on Oct. 3 after surveying the damage in the Carolinas the day prior.
“You’ve been through hell,” Biden told residents in Ray City, Georgia. “And I want you to know, I see you, I hear you, I agree with you, and I promise you, we have your back.”
More than 150,000 households have registered for FEMA assistance, according to Frank Matranga, an agency representative. That number is expected to climb as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
UNCERTAINTY CLOUDS NORTH CAROLINA’S 2024 ELECTION AFTER HELENE: HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Jack Phillips The Epoch Times
The area impacted by the storm is significantly more Republican than Democratic, the state election board shows.
Officials in North Carolina warned that voting in some parts of the battleground state might be impacted due to Hurricane Helene’s impacts.
During Helene, critical infrastructure in large swaths of western North Carolina and especially parts of the Appalachian Mountain areas were damaged or totally destroyed.
“There may be polling places impacted by mudslides, there may be polling places inaccessible because of damaged roads, and there may be polling places with trees that have fallen on them,” Karen Brinson Bell, the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, told NPR on Tuesday.
HOW MANY VOTERS IMPACTED?
According to the North Carolina elections board website, five county boards of elections were closed as of Thursday morning. That includes Avery, Buncombe, Mitchell, Watauga, and Yancey counties, it shows.
In Avery, Buncombe, and Watauga counties, elections staff are working or taking calls. The status of Mitchell and Yancey counties is not clear as the elections website lists them as “closed” with no other details.
The website also includes a breakdown by party among registered voters in the 25 counties designated as disaster zones. Some 480,000 voters are registered as Republican and 292,000 as Democratic.
Another 490,000 are unaffiliated with either major party, the elections website shows. Around 10,000 people are registered with third parties in the affected areas.
KEY DATES
North Carolina’s voter registration deadline for the coming election is Oct. 11, or 25 days before the Nov. 4 election, although some voters can register in person at early voting sites during the early voting interval, lasting Oct. 17 to Nov. 2, according to the elections board website.
For mail-in voters, a county board of elections has to receive a completed voter registration application no later than 20 days before the general or primary election, the election board says. Meanwhile, the deadline to request an absentee ballot in the state is 5 p.m. ET on the Tuesday before Election Day, which falls on Oct. 29. The deadline to return a mail-in ballot is 7:30 p.m. ET on Election Day itself.
A tracking website provided by the University of Florida’s Election Lab shows that about 16,000 people have already cast early votes in the state. All of them are mail-in ballots.
EXPECTED TO BE CLOSE
North Carolina is expected to be a key swing state in the 2024 election, coming four years after then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, narrowly defeated then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden by more than 70,000 votes, or 1.3 percent.
The Cook Political Report moved North Carolina to “toss-up” for the 2024 election between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in August. Recent polls in the state have shown the two candidates are neck-in-neck with one another, it noted.
Both Harris and Trump have made numerous stops to the Tar Heel State this year.
‘DAUNTING’ LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY
On Tuesday, Brinson Bell, the state election director, described the storm as causing a “daunting” level of uncertainty, with early in-person voting scheduled to start in just over two weeks on Oct. 17. Still, she said the state is prepared to help voters navigate the emergency.
“We’ve battled through hurricanes and tropical storms and still held safe and secure elections, and we will do everything in our power to do so again,” Brinson Bell told reporters. “Mountain people are strong, and the election people who serve them are resilient and tough, too.”
FEDERAL OFFICIALS, NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED
More than 6,700 Army and Air National Guard members have been deployed to areas that were hard-hit by Hurricane Helene last month, while a federal official confirmed that more than 5,000 federal employees are responding.
Some 6,700 guardsmen from 16 states were activated, with more than 1,100 members being sent to North Carolina, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) said in a statement.
Frank Matranga, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), told reporters earlier this week that federal agencies have sent 5,000 personnel to help with the response in the southern United States, including more than 1,500 FEMA staff members.
“I cannot thank enough all of the people across this country, across the federal family, across private and nonprofit sectors that are dedicating their time and energy to help the people in impacted areas and especially help the people of Western North Carolina,” Matranga said in a news conference. “We know it’s a big job and we know there’s still work to do, but we are making steady progress.”
FEDERAL AGENCIES WARN OF POTENTIAL VIOLENCE ON FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF HAMAS ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Saturday, October 5, 2025
Matt McGregor | The Epoch Times
“Over the past year, we have observed violent extremist activity and hate crimes in the United States linked to the conflict,” the FBI and DHS said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued a statement warning of potential violence on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group.
The anniversary of the attack that ignited the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict could be a “motivating factor” for extremists to commit hate crimes and threaten public safety.
“Over the past year, we have observed violent extremist activity and hate crimes in the United States linked to the conflict,” the federal organizations said in a joint statement. “Jewish, Muslim, or Arab institutions—including synagogues, mosques/Islamic centers, and community centers—and large public gatherings, such as memorials, vigils, or other lawful demonstrations, present attractive targets for violent attacks or for hoax threats by a variety of threat actors, including violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators.”
These actors may see the anniversary as an opportunity to orchestrate an attack or conduct other illegal activity leading to terrorist acts, the agencies said.
Foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) are expected to continue to “exploit narratives” connected with the attacks to perpetuate violence, the agencies said.
“Online messaging associated with FTOs and other violent extremists highlighting the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks could motivate threat actors across ideologies, including those who espouse violent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, to engage in violence,” the agencies said. “Individuals inspired by this online messaging could act alone to commit an attack with little to no warning.”
US TARGETS HOUTHI POSITIONS IN YEMEN WITH AIRSTRIKES
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Chase Smith | The Epoch Times
U.S. forces conducted 15 strikes in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, announced on Friday.
CENTCOM stated that the targets were related to “Houthi offensive military capabilities.”
“These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels,” CENTCOM said in a statement on social media.
The strikes were reported earlier by Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi terrorist group, which controls significant parts of Yemen.
According to Al Masirah TV, the strikes were in response to a “massive rally” held in support of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Nasrallah was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike last week—a move that led to Iran retaliating by firing a barrage of missiles directly at Israel earlier this week.
Iran’s direct assault on Israel has led to increased tensions in the region and an escalation of military operations in Lebanon by Israel.
The Houthi outlet reported that the rally was held to express anger toward the United States and Israel for their actions against the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
Al Masirah TV added that the airstrikes targeted the provinces of Hodeidah, Baidha, Dhamar, and the capital city of Sanaa.
President Joe Biden at a White House Press Briefing responded to a question about his statement the previous day, where he mentioned that the United States and Israel were “discussing” targeting Iranian oil facilities in response to Iran’s recent direct missile barrage on Israel. On Friday, Biden clarified that he believed Israel should explore alternative targets.
“Look, the Israelis have not concluded what they are going to do in terms of a strike,” Biden said at the press briefing. “That’s under discussion. I think if I were in their shoes, I would be thinking of other alternatives than striking oil fields.”
He added that “no administration has helped Israel more than [his] has” and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “remember that.”
The U.S. airstrikes follow recent threats by the Houthis to escalate military operations against Israel. This comes days after they claimed responsibility for downing a U.S. military drone over Yemen and a week after asserting responsibility for an attack targeting U.S. ships in the Red Sea.
According to U.S. officials cited by The Associated Press, the Houthis recently fired ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and drones at three U.S. ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, all of which were intercepted by Navy destroyers.
The Houthis have reportedly targeted numerous merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the escalation of the Israel–Hamas conflict. They have seized one vessel and sunk two others in a campaign that has resulted in casualties.
Other missiles and drones have been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels.
The group maintains that it targets ships linked to Israel, the United States, or the UK to assert pressure for an end to Israel’s military actions in Gaza. However, many of the attacked ships have had little or no connection to the conflict.
US ECONOMY ADDS 254,000 NEW JOBS, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DIPS TO 4.1 PERCENT
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Andrew Moran | The Epoch Times
The U.S. economy created a much larger-than-expected number of new jobs in September, spotlighting the persistent strength in the national labor market.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 254,000 new jobs were added last month, topping the consensus estimate of 140,000 positions. This was up from 159,000, which was adjusted higher from 142,000.
The unemployment rate dipped for the second straight month, sliding to 4.1 percent from 4.2 percent.
Food services and drinking places led the employment gains, creating 69,000 new jobs. This was followed by health care (45,000), government (31,000), social assistance (27,000), and construction (25,000). Manufacturing payrolls shed 7,000.
Average hourly earnings rose at a higher-than-expected month-over-month pace of 0.4 percent, down from 0.5 percent in August. Year-over-year average hourly earnings also advanced by 4 percent, up from 3.8 percent in the previous month.
The labor force participation rate held steady at 62.7 percent while average weekly hours dropped to 34.2.
Full-time employment increased by more than 400,000, and part-time jobs declined by 95,000. The number of individuals working two or more jobs hit an all-time high of 8.659 million.
The gap between U.S.- and foreign-born workers widened.
Foreign employment levels soared by 1.2 million to 31.414 million in September from a year ago. The number of employed U.S.-born workers fell by 825,000 to 130.632 million.
MARKET REACTION
U.S. stocks rallied in pre-market trading following the September jobs report, with the leading benchmark indexes up as much as 1.3 percent before the opening bell.
Treasury yields were green across the board. The benchmark 10-year yield rose by 11.5 basis points to 3.965 percent. The two-year yield surged 16 basis points to top 3.74 percent, while the 30-year bond added more than 9 basis points to above 4.27 percent.
The U.S. dollar index, a greenback measurement against a basket of currencies, rocketed above 102.50 after the labor data.
September employment figures indicate that the U.S. economy is still not close to slipping into a downturn, says Bryce Doty, the senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates.
“Impressive jobs report. Still no signs of the economy sinking into a recession,” Doty said in a note. “The key for us will be if this strong jobs report translates into higher inflation. We don’t see signs of that.”
Chris Zaccarelli, the CIO of Independent Advisor Alliance, says these numbers should eliminate the notion that the economy is “about to fall off a cliff or that imminent doom is on the horizon.”
“While we don’t want to get too overly optimistic from this single report, we also try not to get too overly pessimistic when one or two reports come in softer-than-expected and what we have now is an economy that is expanding, a job market which is solid (if not strong) and a Federal Reserve that has not only stopped raising rates, but is actually cutting them,” Zaccarelli said.
The September jobs data might lower the expectations for the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates by another 50 basis points at the November policy meeting, says Gina Bolvin, the president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.
“With oil prices rising because of Middle East tensions ratcheting up, and average hourly earnings rising, the Fed may worry about inflation rearing its ugly head,” Bolvin stated. “We may be back to them focusing on a 50/50 dual mandate.”
FLURRY OF LABOR DATA
A flurry of employment data heading into the September jobs report release offered mixed signals about the labor market’s health.
It kicked off with the federal agency’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS). The monthly report showed that the number of job openings in August unexpectedly rose to 8.04 million, the highest level since May.
Job quits—a metric examining the number of people who voluntarily quit their positions and an indicator of how confident workers are about the labor market—declined to 3.084 million, the lowest reading since August 2020.
Hirings and layoffs flatlined in august.
Payroll processor ADP reported that private employers added a larger-than-expected 143,000 jobs in September. The growth was fueled by leisure and hospitality (34,000), construction (26,000), and education and health services (24,000). Manufacturing also added jobs for the first time since April.
“Stronger hiring didn’t require stronger pay growth last month. Typically, workers who change jobs see faster pay growth. But that premium over job-stayers shrank to 1.9 percent, matching a low we last saw in January,” said Nela Richardson, the chief economist at ADP, in the firm’s National Employment Report.
Wage growth for job-changers eased to 6.6 percent from 7.3 percent, while pay gains for job-stayers slowed to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent.
According to global recruitment firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, layoffs tumbled 4 percent monthly in September, with U.S.-based employers announcing 72,821 terminations. This was up 53 percent from a year ago.
Year-to-date hiring plans were the lowest since 2011, further highlighting that companies are staying still in the current economic climate.
Weekly unemployment benefit claims rose by 6,000 for the week ending Sept. 28 to a three-week high of 225,000. While they are down from their July 2024 peak of 250,000, initial jobless claims are above the averages registered earlier this year.
SOME DOCKWORKERS EARN MORE THAN $400,000 A YEAR
Tuesday, Oct 1, 2024
Brett Rowland | The Center Square
Some longshoreman regularly earn more than the president of the United States along with most other U.S. workers.
Under the existing contract with the East Coast union, a top-scale longshoreman could earn up to $39 an hour, which translates to about $81,000 a year. However, many workers take overtime and extra shifts that have higher rates.
Some 50,000 International Longshoremen's Association members went on strike Tuesday against the East and Gulf Coast ports, hampering the flow of goods in what some predict could be the most disruptive strike in decades.
Dockworkers often earn more than $100,000 a year because of work rules and overtime requirements.
More than half of 3,726 dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey earned more than $150,000 in the fiscal year that ended in 2020, according to the port's regulator, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. About one in five dockworkers at the port earned more than $250,000 that year.
Eighteen dockworkers brought in more than $450,000 that year – more than the annual salary of the U.S. President ($400,000) and more than most U.S. workers. The real median household income for all Americans was $74,580 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Some dockworkers get paid even if they don't work.
"Every terminal within the Port still has special compensation packages given to certain ILA longshore workers, the majority of whom are white males connected to organized crime figures or union leadership," according to the Commission's 2019-2020 annual report. "Based on the industry's reported figures, the Commission has again identified over 590 individuals who collectively received over $147.6 million dollars last year in outsized salaries, or for hours they never worked."
The report noted the special packages were not memorialized in the applicable collective bargaining agreements. Rather than eliminate or cap them, the NYSA and ILA negotiated a 2013 Memorandum of Settlement of Local Conditions in the Port of New York-New Jersey. That guarantees special packages to certain people. Those individuals are paid for hours not worked or hours worked by others, as long as they are at the Port for 40 hours each week, according to the Commission's report.
Such conditions have endured for decades, according to the Commission's report.
"The hearings revealed that the hiring, training and promotion practices of the industry led to low-show jobs, favoritism and nepotism, the abusive and illogical interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, and the impact of those practices both on the competitiveness of the Port and on the morale and career prospects of decent, hard-working Port employees," according to the report. "Connected individuals are awarded high paying, low-show or no-work special compensation packages, in some cases earning salaries in excess of $500,000. Such positions were overwhelmingly given to white males connected to organized crime figures or union leadership."
The ongoing strike, which extends from Maine to Texas, could affect everything from bananas to European beer and automobiles.
The International Longshoremen's Association blamed the United States Maritime Alliance for refusing a contract offer.
It's the first strike at these ports since 1977. The strike will affect 36 U.S. ports handling about half of U.S. ocean imports. Included are Boston, New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
Negotiations have been tense since June. The disagreement is between the International Longshore Association and Warehouse Union, which represents port workers across the country, and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents terminal operators and ocean carriers.
Wages of East and Gulf coast workers are a base wage of $39 an hour after six years. The union is asking for a 77% pay increase over six years. It is also asking for more restrictions and bans on the automation of cranes, gates, and container movements used to load or unload cargo.