The Daily Signal

Cleanup after wildfires is inherently more difficult than recovery from other natural disasters, according to Brian Cavanaugh, a visiting fellow for Cybersecurity, Intelligence, and Homeland Security at The Heritage Foundation.Unlike a hurricane, which mainly creates wind and water damage, Cavanaugh says, fires damage the structural integrity of buildings and often leave dangerous chemicals behind. “Wildfire rolls through a community, and you essentially lose everything all the way down to the foundation,” says Cavanaugh, who has former senior-level experience serving in the Department of Homeland Security, at the White House, and at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Now, you think once you've lost everything down to the foundation, start the rebuild process, but, everything as it burns leaves chemicals and other items on the ground. You've got to pick up the personal effects that are salvageable. [There are] a lot of environmental regulations involved with wildfire, so that all takes time.”Aug. 8 marked one year since a wildfire raged through Lahaina, Hawaii, on Maui. The fire took 102 lives and “destroyed more than 2,200 structures and caused about $5.5 billion in damages,” according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Cavanaugh, a senior vice president at American Global Strategies, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what led to the Lahaina fire and what the status of the rebuilding process is a year after the disaster. Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Mark Zuckerbeg admits Facebook censored content related to COVID-19. The Heritage Foundation held an event yesterday covering the Secret Service’s performance before, during, and after the July 13 Trump assassination attempt. Israel rescues a 52-year-old hostage from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza. Ukraine deploys US-made F-16 fighter jets against Russia. American business faces red tape in reducing America's dependence on Chinese manufacturing.  Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/27/biden-admin-pushed-facebook-censorship-says-zuckerberg/https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/26/dan-bongino-predicts-another-security-incident-says-secret-service-worse-today-trump-assassination-attempt/https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/27/china-set-to-cut-off-us-military-from-key-mineral-as-americas-own-reserves-remain-buried-under-red-tape/ Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been six weeks since the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the American public’s questions about the nature of the attack and the security failings that led to Trump’s brush with death largely go unanswered.Jason Chaffetz, a Fox News contributor and former Utah Congressman who once chaired the House Oversight Committee, joined The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss the apparent security failures and ongoing investigations into what transpired in Butler on July 13.“I thought the extraction was very slow. I thought it was fairly pathetic,” Chaffetz told The Daily Signal. “It’s been illuminated more now that even though he was the Republican nominee, even though he was the former president, he wasn’t getting the full protective detail that a sitting president would get. And I have a problem with that.”Chaffetz believes the failures are structural. Poor recruitment and training, as well as heavy workloads create a perfect storm for the kinds of security lapses witnessed on July 13 in Butler, Chaffetz suggested. These problems have long plagued the Secret Service. When Chaffetz chaired the House Oversight Committee, he conducted the largest investigation into the Secret Service’s operations in American history. The investigation resulted in a more than 400 page report titled, “United States Secret Service: An Agency in Crisis.”The former Utah Congressman remains “skeptical” that the current investigations in Congress will yield the policy changes necessary to improve the Secret Service without Congress using the power of the purse to “hold them accountable.”Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Monday marks three years since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.  Rocket and drone attack between Hezbollah and Israel comes to an end.  The Trump and Harris campaigns are in disagreement over whether candidates’ microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak during the Sept. 10 debate.   California moves ahead with plans to approve loans for illegal aliens who want to buy a home.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. is racing toward a national debt of $36 trillion and will likely surpass this benchmark before the end of the year, according to public finance economist EJ Antoni. In homes across the country, Americans are indirectly feeling the weight of the national debt through inflation, and Antoni, who serves as a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, uses the analogy of wine to explain how. The Federal Reserve finances a great deal of the national debt, Antoni explains, but "unlike the Treasury, which has to finance everything either through taxes or borrowing money, the Federal Reserve actually can just create money.” When the Federal Reserve creates money, “it's like you're pouring water into wine and you're literally watering it down," Antoni says. "So yes, you now have more wine per se, but you don't have the same concentration of alcohol. So if you were to, as a bartender, pour this out to a bunch of glasses, ... you are now cheating each of your customers on exactly the amount of water you have put into all of their glasses. That's essentially what the Federal Reserve has done by creating literally trillions of dollars in just a few years in order to finance the runaway deficit spending we've seen here in Washington.” The political environment in which the Federal Reserves operates makes it “very easy to see that these massive government deficits are really what's at the heart of inflation, even if they don't cause it in a strictly academic sense,” according to Antoni. Antoni joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to address growing concerns over a recession and what the immediate future may hold for the U.S. economy.Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump. The Secret Service placed at least 5 members on administrative leave. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer demanded information from TSA about Tulsi Gabbard allegedly being placed on a suspected terrorist watch list. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris addressed the Democratic National Convention last night. Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/23/rfk-suspends-campaign-endorses-trump/https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/08/21/rand-paul-tsa-open-skies-surveillance-program/Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FBI agent turned whistleblower Steve Friend discussed his experience in the FBI, why he left, and the weaponization of the FBI against those deemed to be "losers," like pro-lifers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz delivers a high energy speech at the DNC.  Pro-Palestine protests have continued on the streets of Chicago.  Former President Donald Trump visits the southern border in Arizona  Demand for Electric cars is slowing down.  A longtine religious debate is back in the news.  Relevant Links:https://www.heritage.org/china/report/how-the-forced-energy-transition-and-reliance-china-will-harm-america https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/47 Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been 2 1/2 years since Russia invaded Ukraine. The war has taken an unexpected turn in the past two weeks as Ukrainian troops launched a successful incursion into Russia and have now taken control of over 400 square miles in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine in southwestern Russia. After months of gridlock in the fighting, the successful incursion could be a critical turning point in the war.“There's certainly always a chance,” Victoria Coates said when asked if Ukraine can win the war. Coates, vice president of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation says the question now is, “Has the administration and our major NATO partners been supplying Ukraine in a way to set them up for victory?” “That's what's not clear to me,” Coates said, answering her own question. Coates told “The Daily Signal Podcast” she has further concerns over the current silence from the Biden-Harris administration.“I searched,” Coates said, “for any statement from the president, from the vice president, who's now the nominee of the Democrat Party for president, from the secretary of state, from the secretary of defense. Not a peep about the fact that the Ukrainians have done something rather extraordinary and gone into Russian territory.” Coates joins the show to explain why the Biden administration might be silent on Ukraine’s incursion into Russia and the likelihood of a Ukrainian victory. Enjoy the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Barack and Michelle Obama bash Donald Trump at the DNC.  The Trump campaign rolls out a new website to troll Harris.  A group of veterans criticizes Gov. Tim Walz over comments he has made regarding his military service. US job growth for much of the past year is much less than was initially reported. Ukraine launches a large drone attack on Russia.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices