[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IF YOU’VE BEEN IN THE WORKFORCE LONG ENOUGH–

ODDS ARE YOU TOOK SOME ON-THE-JOB TRAINING AT SOME POINT.

MAYBE YOUR COMPANY SWITCHED TO A NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAM…OR YOU WERE PROMOTED AND NEEDED NEW SKILLS.

YOU PROBABLY SPENT TIME WITH COLLEAGUES IN THE SAME BOAT AS YOU… SO YOU CAN ALL GO BACK TO YOUR JOBS WITH A LITTLE MORE KNOWLEDGE AND KNOW-HOW THAN YOU HAD BEFORE–

AND MAYBE SOME MORE CONFIDENCE TOO. 

IN THE WORLD OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS THOUGH…WHERE ON-THE-JOB-TRAINING IS A CONSTANT…SOME OF THE BEST TECHNOLOGIES, AND THE INSIGHTS IN HOW TO BEST USE THEM…DON’T ALWAYS MAKE IT TO THE FRONTLINES. 

AND THAT’S WHERE BUILDING MOMENTUM COMES IN…A SMALL BUSINESS WITH A BIG IDEA–TRAIN TIP-OF-THE-SPEAR OPERATORS HOW TO USE TOP-OF-THE-LINE TECH IN THE MOST OUT-OF-THE WAY PLACES.

U.S. GENERAL JOHN PERSHING–THE COMMANDER OF US EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN EUROPE DURING WORLD WAR I SAID INFANTRY WINS BATTLES…LOGISTICS WINS WARS. 

IN A MILITARY SENSE–LOGISTICS IS BASICALLY GETTING THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND EQUIPMENT IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME…AND MAKING SURE BOTH WORK WHEN THEY ARRIVE.

BUT IN THE WORLD OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS…WHERE OPERATORS ARE OFTEN  DEPLOYED IN SMALL TEAMS, COVERTLY INTO HOSTILE FOREIGN TERRITORIES…

IT’S NOT LIKE YOU CAN JUST RADIO HQ FOR MORE SUPPLIES…IN THOSE SITUATIONS–IT’S A RACE TO THE CLEVER. 

Brad Halsey

We want them to be able to go into the, you know, Radio Shack of Morocco and figure that stuff out.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

AS THE CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF BUILDING MOMENTUM…IT’S BRAD HALSEY’S JOB TO MAKE SURE HIS CLIENTS CAN NOT JUST RUN THE RACE…BUT WIN IT. 

HE WAS A SPECIAL OPERATOR IN THE NAVY AND SERVED IN IRAQ BEFORE BEING INJURED

[BRAD]

And then that surgery went bad. And so I was a disabled veteran. And so after that, I was like, you know what? I want to use my brain instead of my broken body to make a living.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

SO HE DID. HALSEY WORKED FOR RESEARCH INSTITUTES AND THINK TANKS, DEVELOPING WHAT HE SAYS WERE SOME AMAZING TECHNOLOGIES.

[BRAD]

And so this was, you know, post-September 11. We were in Iraq, we were in Afghanistan. And I was just really frustrated that all the technologies I was working on for DARPA, for the agency, for you know, all these organizations, none of that was actually going anywhere, it was just going on to the Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know, like warehouse shelves. 

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IN 2008, HALSEY SPENT A YEAR IN IRAQ–LEARNING FIRSTHAND WHAT SOLDIERS FIGHTING ON THE EDGE NEEDED TO WIN. 

BRAD

2:19 I had a lab in Baghdad that I made a lot of technology and solutions from, that I pushed out all across the country. 

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

FROM ITS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN BAGHDAD…BUILDING MOMENTUM IS NOW AT THE FOREFRONT OF GIVING SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES THE UNIQUE ON-THE-JOB TRAINING THEY NEED TO COMPLETE COVERT MISSIONS IN THE MODERN WORLD–

LIKE 3-D PRINTING A SPARE PART IN THE FIELD OR BUILDING AERIAL DRONES WITH STICKS. 

Looking at your your client list. I mean, SOCOM, JSOC, Rangers, EOD, Space Force, I mean, Airborne, you guys are helping to train, like, at the edge. You’re helping to equip folks at the edge.

Brad 

Yeah, so today, we’ve trained almost 10,000 service members across every organization except for Coast Guard. Because you guys know what you did. No, because just we haven’t stumbled across that yet. And Ukraine is sort of validating all the stuff that we’ve been doing for almost 10 years now. 

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

STUFF LIKE PROTOTYPING NEW DESIGNS ON THE FLY–USING WHAT’S AVAILABLE AT THAT MOMENT. 

Brad

you know, how do you go out onto the economy and build a drone in Thailand? You know, how do you do this stuff with what you have around you? What can you what can you resource and source very fast to make that solution?

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

BUILDING MOMENTUM OFFERS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT IBCs FOR ITS CLIENTS…OR INNOVATION BOOT CAMPS.

THE INITIAL WEEKLONG COURSE IS MORE OF AN INTRODUCTION TO THINGS LIKE 3D PRINTING, ROBOTICS, CIRCUITRY, CODING…FROM THERE, BUILDING MOMENTUM TAILORS THE INSTRUCTION TO THE CLIENTS. 

Brad

So we’ll listen to what they’re saying. Like recently, we just did autonomous boats out in Japan, because the the Marine Corps saw what Ukrainians were doing, they saw how, you know, the South China Sea is a really important thing to understand right now. And so we built, we showed them how to build these 12 foot boats that autonomously go out and drop sensors off, and come back to shore all you know, on their own right

Chris Sargeant

 in my opinion, that’s where that’s where building momentum shines is that tailoring of the courses, 

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

CHRIS SARGEANT IS A NEWLY RETIRED US MARINE. HE JUST GOT OUT WITH 20 YEARS AND TWO DAYS. HE SPENT THE LAST PART OF HIS SERVICE DOING A FELLOWSHIP WITH BUILDING MOMENTUM.

HE SAYS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THE COMPANY DOES FOR ITS CLIENTS–IS CHALLENGING NOT JUST HOW THEY APPROACH A PROBLEM–

BUT THEIR ENTIRE THOUGHT PROCESS AROUND IT

[CHRIS]

As a Marine, especially in you know, the, the more complicated MOS is like explosive ordnance disposal, which I I’m an EOD tech, by trade, or in the Special Operations community. MARSI, Rangers, Green Berets, I came from MARSOC it failure is looked at very negatively, right? So if you fail, you failed, right? By getting the back in the line, you can try again later, right? Them enabling you to fail, fail fast and learn from it and view it as a positive thing, in my opinion, is, is huge, right? 

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

CHRIS SAYS IT’S HIS HOPE THIS WAY OF THINKING–OF TRYING NEW SOLUTIONS AND FAILING FAST– PERMEATES INTO THE RANKS OF THE REGULAR MILITARY..AT LEAST TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. 

CHRIS AND BRAD BOTH SAY IF THE CONCEPTS BUILDING MOMENTUM TEACHES COULD BE MORE INGRAINED INTO THE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF OUR MILITARY AS A WHOLE…IT WOULDN’T JUST BENEFIT SPECIAL OPERATORS…BUT THE ENTIRE FIGHTING FORCE. 

[BRAD]

Let’s imagine we push everything out to the right, and we’re going into some crazy, you know, a post apocalyptic thing, or whatever, it’s still going to be all these clever solutions that people will be doing, because all the big toys will be broken, all the big things will be done, all the satellites will be down or name a thing, you know, name some horrible thing. And now it’s going to be a race to the clever, it’s always going to be a race to the clever and technology has made it so accessible,

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

WHILE BUILDING MOMENTUM MAY BE A  VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS THAT WORKS WITH SOME OF THE MOST ELITE WARRIORS ON THE PLANET….

THEY DO CORPORATE EVENTS TOO…AND THERE ARE SOME BOOT CAMPS COMING UP THIS SUMMER AND FALL WHERE INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE PART BY BUYING A SEAT IN THE CLASS AS WELL…MIGHT JUST HAVE TO SCHEDULE A TEAM BUILDING RETREAT FOR THE GUYS HERE AT THE SHOW.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

FOR OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK WE ARE HEADING ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO CHECK OUT THE BRITISH ARMY’S CHALLENGER 3 BATTLE TANK. A BULLY THAT’S SETTING SOME NEW STANDARDS FOR TANK WARFARE. 

LIKE IT’S NAME IMPLIES THE CHALLENGER 3 IS THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF THE CHALLENGER 2 MAIN BATTLE TANKS THE BRITS HAVE BEEN USING SINCE 1998. WITH THAT EVOLUTION COMES SOME SIGNIFICANT UPGRADES. NOTABLY IN FIREPOWER. MORE ON THAT IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST HERE ARE SOME PERTINENT DETAILS. 

WEIGHING 66 TONS, AND BUILT FOR A CREW OF FOUR, THE CHALLENGER 3 IS MADE  BY RHEINMETALL BAE SYSTEMS LAND, YES THAT IS A MOUTHFUL, IN TELFORD ENGLAND. THE BRITISH ARMY IS DUE TO RECEIVE EIGHT PROTOTYPES, AND EVENTUALLY FIELD A FLEET OF 147 TANKS. THE CHALLENGER 3 COMES EQUIPPED WITH AN ALL NEW TURRET, AN IMPROVED HULL. AND IMPROVED ARMOR.

OF COURSE THE MAIN FEATURE IS THE 120 MM L-55-A-1 SMOOTHBORE HIGH PRESSURE GUN. VERY IMPRESSIVE SOUNDING, BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN? 

WELL, WHEN PAIRED WITH THE LATEST 120MM DM-73 AMMUNITION IT NOW CHECKS IN WITH AN ENGAGEMENT RANGE OF UP TO 5,000 METERS. 

FOR THOSE OF US NOT YET ON THE METRIC SYSTEM, THAT’S A LITTLE MORE THAN THREE MILES! A STAT THAT’S NOT LOST ON THE TROOPS THAT WILL BE TRAINED TO TAKE IT INTO COMBAT IF THE NEED ARISES. 

[COLONEL WILLIAM WAUGH]

In terms of the lethality, we’re pairing the latest 120 millimeter smoothbore gun, high pressure gun, and we’re pairing that with the most lethal ammunition available, so this will be one of the most lethal tanks in here.

All of this is capped off with a new set of sets of sighting systems that allows us to direct that authority with with much greater precision 24 hours a day, and overall whole capability is total step change to what we currently have We challenge you to.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

SO WHAT CAN PEOPLE ON THE BUSINESS END OF THIS BEAST EXPECT? THE CHALLENGER 3 CAN FIRE THE LATEST ARMOR-PIERCING FIN-STABILIZED DISCARDING SABOT ROUNDS, HIGH-EXPLOSIVE ANTI-TANK ROUNDS, AND PROGRAMMABLE AIRBURST MUNITIONS. THAT VERSATILITY ALLOWS CREWS TO ENGAGE A WIDE VARIETY OF TARGETS.

AND IF YOU’RE THINKING YOU WANT ONE FOR WEEKEND OUTINGS WITH THE BOYS, BETTER START SAVING NOW. WELL EQUIPPED IT’S GOING TO COST YOU A COOL $5 MILLION PER. 

[LAUREN TURNER]

STUDENTS AT AN ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICT HAVE BEEN RECEIVING TICKETS FOR MISBEHAVING TO THE TUNE OF HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS PER CITATION. 

NOW A NEWLY FILED FEDERAL COMPLAINT ACCUSES ROCKFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS OF USING DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES WHEN DISCIPLINING BLACK STUDENTS.

THE COMPLAINT FILED WITH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ALLEGES – ROCKFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS UNNECESSARILY REFERS STUDENTS TO SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS – WHO ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WITH THE ROCKFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT – FOR ROUTINE DISCIPLINARY MATTERS.

THIS INCLUDES ADDRESSING MINOR BEHAVIOR ISSUES THE COMPLAINT SAYS SHOULD BE DEALT WITH BY PARENTS, TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERS RATHER THAN LAW ENFORCEMENT.

ACCORDING TO THE FILING, BLACK STUDENTS ARE 3.2 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE REFERRED TO S-R-OS THAN THEIR WHITE PEERS – LEADING TO POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, FEELINGS OF DECREASED CONNECTION AND SUPPORT WITH TEACHERS AND PEERS, AND HIGHER RATES OF DROP OUT. BLACK STUDENTS ALSO REPORTING FEELING LESS SAFE AT SCHOOL WHEN POLICE ARE PRESENT.

UNLIKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, S-R-OS ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ISSUE TICKETS. AND SOME OF THE CITATIONS HAVE RESULTED IN FINES FOR STUDENTS EXCEEDING $750. 

AND IF AN OFFICER DOES TICKET A STUDENT – THE STUDENT IS FORCED TO MISS SCHOOL AND ATTEND A HEARING IN WHICH THEY DO NOT RECEIVE APPOINTED COUNSEL. 

THE COMPLAINT SAYS THIS “HAS LED TO THE CRIMINALIZATION OF YOUTHFUL BEHAVIOR” AND EXPOSED FAMILIES TO DEBT – AND BLACK STUDENTS “BEAR THE BRUNT OF THIS HARM” AND ACCUSES  S-R-OS OF VIOLATING TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT BY UNLAWFULLY TARGETING BLACK STUDENTS.

THE FILING ALSO SAID OVER THE LAST 6 SCHOOL YEARS, MORE THAN 75 PERCENT OF TICKETS ISSUED BY ROCKFORD S-R-OS WERE TO BLACK STUDENTS AND 2.7% OF TICKETS WERE GIVEN TO WHITE STUDENTS.

AND EVEN THOUGH ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FINE STUDENTS FOR BEHAVIORAL ISSUES – IN 2022, PROPUBLICA INVESTIGATED AND FOUND THAT FROM 2019-2021, ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE GIVEN NEARLY 12-THOUSAND (11,800) TICKETS.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M LAUREN TURNER.

IF YOU WANT MORE, UNBIASED STRAIGHT FACTS – DOWNLOAD THE SAN APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

NEW REVELATIONS RELATED TO LAST YEAR’S TOXIC TRAIN DERAILMENT IN EAST PALESTINE. 

THE N-T-S-B SHARING THEIR FINDINGS THAT THE DECISION BY NORFOLK SOUTHERN TO RELEASE AND BURN TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM FIVE DERAILED TRAIN CARS MAY HAVE BEEN THE WRONG ONE.

INVESTIGATORS SAY THE BURN OFF WAS UNNECESSARY AND ONLY HAPPENED DUE TO “MISINTERPRETATION OF RISK” BY THE RAILWAY AND CONTRACTORS. 

THE INFORMATION COMING DURING THE BOARD’S FINAL MEETING ON THE DERAILMENT ON TUESDAY. 

AFTER THE TRAIN DERAILED IN FEBRUARY OF 2023, A FIRE ERUPTED– HEATING UP FIVE TANK CARS CONTAINING TOXIC VINYL CHLORIDE. 

THE NTSB SAID THE RAILROAD AND CONTRACTORS IGNORED THE FACT THE TEMPERATURE OF THE CARS WAS DROPPING– AN INDICATION THE THREAT OF AN EXPLOSION HAD FALLEN.

THEY THEN WENT AHEAD WITH THE DECISION TO RELEASE THE CHEMICALS.

INVESTIGATORS ALSO FOUND FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY CREWS STAYED ON THE SCENE TOO LONG.

THE REASON: NORFOLK SOUTHERN FAILED TO SHARE TIME-SENSITIVE INFORMATION -THAT TOXIC CHEMICALS WERE ON THE TRAIN– UNTIL AN HOUR AFTER FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVED.

THE NTSB SAID, “THIS RESULTED IN GREATER EXPOSURE OF EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AND TO THE PUBLIC TO POST-DERAILMENT HAZARDS.”

A PLUME OF SMOKE ROSE FROM THE BURN SITE– WHICH LED TO A BEVY OF LAWSUITS FROM THOSE LIVING NEARBY WHO REPORTED ILLNESSES AS A RESULT OF THE TOXIC FUMES. 

A RECENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT SHOWS THOSE CHEMICALS HAVE NOW BEEN DETECTED IN 16 STATES. 

WHILE THIS WEEK’S MEETING WAS THE LAST FOR THE N-T-S-B – THE RAIL DISASTER HAS ALREADY LED TO INDUSTRY-WIDE CHANGES.

MONDAY, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ANNOUNCED A NEW RULE REQUIRING RAILROADS TO ALERT LOCAL EMERGENCY AGENCIES ABOUT ALL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS BEING CARRIED THROUGH THEIR AREAS. 

THE NTSB’S FINAL REPORT IS EXPECTED IN SEVERAL WEEKS– WITH FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

FOR MORE UPDATES TO THE EAST PALESTINE DERAILMENT AND MORE– DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP– AND SIGN UP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

[KARAH RUCKER]

WHAT IS A “CHEAP FAKE” VIDEO?

THE DEFINITION –

DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK.

IT’S BECOME THE LATEST POLITICALLY POLARIZING POINT OF CONVERSATION THIS ELECTION CYCLE.

LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS ARE CALLING CHEAP FAKES “MISLEADING VIDEOS” USED BY THE RIGHT TO MISREPRESENT PRESIDENT BIDEN. 

RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS SAY “CHEAP FAKES” IS A TERM MADE UP BY THE LEFT TO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT’S IMAGE AMID A SERIES OF VIRAL BIDEN VIDEOS.

THE TERM REALLY TAKING OFF AFTER A PRESS CONFERENCE –

WHERE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY KARINE JEAN PIERRE ADDRESSED THE CONTROVERSY.

[KARINE JEAN PIERRE]

“I think you all have called this the cheap fakes video and that’s exactly what they are, they are cheap fakes video, they are done in bad faith and some of your news organization have been very clear that right wing critics of the president have a credibility problem. Because of the fact checkers have repeatedly caught them pushing misinformation – disinformation.” 

[KARAH RUCKER]

HERE ARE HEADLINES FROM LEFT LEANING NEWS OUTLETS –

NBC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND WASHINGTON POST –

ALL REFERRING TO SO-CALLED CHEAP FAKES AS “MISLEADING”.

“MISLEADING GOP VIDEOS OF BIDEN ARE GOING VIRAL.”

“HOW MISLEADING VIDEOS ARE TRAILING BIDEN.”

“HOW REPUBLICANS USED MISLEADING VIDEOS TO ATTACK BIDEN.”

HERE ARE HEADLINES FROM RIGHT LEANING NEWS OUTLETS –

THE NEW YORK POST, FOX, AND THE DAILY WIRE.

“WHITE HOUSE MAKES WRONG CLAIMS WHILE ACCUSING POST OF MISREPORTING VIDEOS”

“LIBERAL MEDIA OUTLETS ‘RUNNING COVER’ FOR BIDEN BY CALLING VIRAL CLIPS CHEAP FAKES”

AND “MEDIA GOES ALL IN ON WHITE HOUSE’S CHEAP FAKES NARRATIVE.”

SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THESE VIDEOS BEING REFERRED TO?

HERE ARE  RECENT EXAMPLES.

BIDEN AT THE G7 SUMMIT – BREAKING FROM THE GROUP OF WORLD LEADERS DURING A PARACHUTING PRESENTATION.

THE POST AND OTHERS ON THE RIGHT UPLOADED THIS VIDEO AND DESCRIBED  BIDEN AS “WANDERING OFF”.

MSNBC AND OTHERS ON THE LEFT NOTED THE PRESIDENT WAS “GREETING A PARACHUTIST”’ – WHICH IS SEEN MORE CLEARLY FROM THIS ANGLE IN A DIFFERENT CLIP OF THE SAME EVENT.

THE ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER – TAPPING BIDEN ON THE SHOULDER TO REJOIN THE GROUP.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE – AT A DDAY CEREMONY IN FRANCE – 

THE POST CALLED IT “AN AWKWARD MOMENT” AS THE PRESIDENT WENT TO SIT WITHOUT ANYONE ELSE JOINING HIM. SOME ON THE RIGHT EVEN CLAIMED THERE WAS NO CHAIR BEHIND HIM WHEN THERE WAS. 

THOSE ON THE LEFT POINT TO A LONGER CLIP ONLINE SHOWING EVERYONE – INCLUDING BIDEN – SITTING FOR THE CEREMONY MOMENTS LATER.

THEN THERE’S BIDEN ON STAGE WITH OBAMA AT A HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISER.

THE POST DESCRIBED IT AS BIDEN “APPEARING TO FREEZE UP ON STAGE” WITH OBAMA “ESCORTING” BIDEN OUT.

NBC AND OTHERS ON THE LEFT CLASSIFIED IT AS BIDEN “STARING INTO THE AUDIENCE FOR A MOMENT” BEFORE “OBAMA SIGNALED IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE THE STAGE.”

THESE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES –

OF VIDEOS GONE VIRAL ONLINE – THE CONTEXT MORE THAN THE CONTENT – BEING QUESTIONED –

WITH DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT’S HAPPENING.

WHILE BIDEN IS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THE SUBJECT OF THESE VIRAL CLIPS –

THIS PICTURE OF TRUMP EXITING A RALLY RECENTLY WENT VIRAL –

TRUMP AND HIS SON DON JUNIOR LOCKED HANDS –

WITH SOME ONLINE SPECULATING TRUMP NEEDED TO BE GUIDED OFF STAGE.

BUT THE VIDEO OF THE TWO WITH LOCKED HANDS –

SHOWS A MUCH FASTER HANDSHAKE AS THE PRESIDENT LEAVES THE RALLY.

BEING IN A DIGITAL AGE –

COMES WITH ITS CAMPAIGN ADVANTAGES.

A CANDIDATE CAN REACH MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH ONE POST.

OR RAISE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS – WITH ONE CLICK OF A BUTTON.

BUT THE FLIP SIDE – IS WHETHER CHARACTER ATTACKS CAN HAPPEN THAT FAST TOO – ALL FROM AN IMAGE OR VIDEO ONLINE TAKEN AT FACE VALUE.

I’M KARAH RUCKER.

FOR MORE ELECTION-RELATED STORIES –

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD OUR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS MOBILE NEWS APP.

OR VISIT US AT SAN DOT COM.

Simone Del Rosario: Doctors use stress tests to find out how well one’s heart works when pumping harder than normal. The Federal Reserve does the same for banks and this year’s health results will be released Wednesday after markets close.

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed determined it was a good idea to test how banks would hold up in the face of a severe global recession. Now, they run these stress tests annually on the nation’s biggest banks.

In this year’s fictional scenario, the unemployment rate peaks at 10%, which is what it peaked at during the Great Recession. Housing prices fall 36% and commercial real estate prices tank 40%. The largest banks are also subject to hypothetical global market shocks. In all, the Fed stress-tested 32 banks this year.

I want to bring in former Fed adviser and current CEO of QI Research, Danielle DiMartino Booth. And Danielle, just to set the stage here, before we get into all of this, why should the average American care about how banks perform on these tests?

Danielle DiMartino Booth: I think what’s critical is to not have too short of a memory. I realized that 2008, 2009, at this point we’re talking almost 20 years ago. But it was very disruptive to the U.S. economy when the banks in the country were lining up like dominoes, one after the other, and effectively failing and requiring bailouts of some semblance. It was extremely disruptive to the economy.

Credit to households and businesses was abruptly cut off. That is going to be a huge impairment whether you’re running a business or if you’re trying to buy a car. We’ve seen that a hacking exercise that really run amok with the nation’s automobile dealerships was enough to kind of bring auto to its knees.

A similar set of circumstances can certainly unfold if banks end up being weaker than what we think they are and lending comes to a halt.

Simone Del Rosario: How do you think banks are going to fare when we get the results on Wednesday?

Danielle DiMartino Booth: We really are talking about the nation’s 32 largest banks. And if you could carve out the largest four banks, they have been very aggressive in recognizing losses and actually going so far as to push through charge-offs for some of their more problematic commercial real estate loans. I think that that is going to leave the very biggest U.S. banks in a good position to pass these stress tests.

When it comes to some of the mid-sized banks, I would say that’s where things might get a little bit more treacherous because some of your smaller banks that are still, nonetheless, multi-billion-dollars-in-assets banks, some of them haven’t really had the wherewithal, the ability to be that aggressive with their write-offs. So we’re kind of in a wait-and-see mode there. And we’ll see what those stress tests look like for them.

Overall though, one of my greater concerns is credit cards. I think banks have been a little bit more aggressive, surprising me, as the U.S. consumer has weakened. So I’ll be interested to see how their credit card loan books fare in the aftermath of these stress tests.

Simone Del Rosario: What are you concerned about when it comes to credit cards?

Danielle DiMartino Booth: Banks continue to grow their credit card loan books long after they had really clamped down and stopped growing their automobile loan books. And if you think about it, they walk hand in hand. If somebody is going to have trouble paying on their car loan, in many cases, they’re also going to have trouble making good on their other obligations that are in the form of debt.

And yet banks continue to increase the size of their loan books as if this fairly new phenomena of “buy now, pay later” was not running in the background and racking up about a third of whatever we were seeing increases in credit card debt on a per month basis. Buy now pay later was increasing by about a third of that growth rate, yet it’s not reflected on bank balance sheets. It’s not reported to credit agencies.

And that was really what surprised me with banks becoming as aggressive as they have their first quarter bank call sheets. It looks like they finally may have taken a step back, a little bit more risk averse on that front. I’ll be anxious to see what the Fed has to say about their credit cards.

Simone Del Rosario: Banks have gotten a lot better at passing these stress tests. Do you think there’s a chance they are too backward-looking? Let’s hope we don’t repeat the mistakes that led to the 2008 financial crisis, but are we accounting enough for future risks that are more indicative of the time that we’re living in?

Danielle DiMartino Booth: Things indeed are different. I just mentioned buy now pay later, which certainly was not around 10, 15 years ago. And you’re right, driving through the rearview mirror can be very problematic, fighting the last war.

It remains to be seen where the true stress lies in the system. The fault lines have decidedly moved. We are a much more global and interconnected banking system than we were.

Prior to the pandemic, we heard a lot every day about de-globalization. But in the aftermath of the great financial crisis, there were a lot more entities, countries, banks, and firms internationally that took out debt that was dominated in dollars. And that’s just one example that I can think up of where we might not know where the stresses lie.

We just had a very large Japanese bank declare that it was going to be sustaining very large losses based on its holdings of U.S. Treasuries.

Simone Del Rosario: Separate from these stress tests, large banks also undergo living will exercises, which test how quickly the largest banks could unwind Wall Street contracts in the event of a catastrophe. Four of the eight largest banks fell short this time around. What does that tell us?

Danielle DiMartino Booth: That tells you that bankers are really being bankers. It is a bank’s business model to have as much of their capital deployed, working for the bank, making loans, growing the asset base. That is what banks do.

It does not necessarily surprise me to hear that they have failed in writing their own wills. They have shareholders that they have to look out for, and you would normally want to see something of the nature of a will be more of a back and forth, something that is apt to be negotiated after the fact until regulators are comfortable that banks are where they need to be.

But does it surprise me that banks have not been aggressive enough? Absolutely not.

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

THEY’RE ON EVERYTHING FROM YOUR WATERPROOF CLOTHES TO YOUR NONSTICK COOKWARE — EVEN YOUR DENTAL FLOSS – AND HEALTH EXPERTS SAY THEY POSE A THREAT TO YOUR HEALTH.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT SO-CALLED “FOREVER CHEMICALS” OR “PFAS.”

A NEW COLORADO LAW OUTLAWS HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS CONTAINING PFAS — INCLUDING CLEANING PRODUCTS, COOKWARE, DENTAL FLOSS, MENSTRUATION PRODUCTS, WATERPROOF APPAREL AND SKI WAXES BY 2028.

CRITICS ARGUE THE STATE LAW WILL END UP MAKING PRODUCTS MORE EXPENSIVE FOR CONSUMERS — BOTH BY LIMITING THE SUPPLY OF LEGAL HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS AND INCREASING REGULATORY COSTS. 

BUT LAWMAKERS AND ADVOCATES SEE IT AS A VICTORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH.

ONE 13-YEAR-OLD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST WHO TESTIFIED BEFORE STATE LAWMAKERS TOLD C-B-S NEWS THESE CHEMICALS HAVE AN IMPACT ON EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING.

[L3: MADHVI CHITTOOR]

“THEY DON’T BIODEGRADE, AND BIOACCUMULATE INTO ALL LIVING BEINGS, WHICH INCLUDES OUR FOOD, EVEN IN OUR WATER, OUR SOIL, ALL OVER THE ECOSYSTEM, IN ANIMALS, AND NOW EVEN IN OUR BODIES. IT’S SEEN EVEN IN FETUSES, AND IT CAUSES SO MANY HEALTH EFFECTS, AND IT’S A VERY BIG PROBLEM.”

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

FOREVER CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN USED FOR DECADES AND RESEARCH HAS LINKED THEM TO CANCER, HEART DISEASE AND INFERTILITY.

COLORADO IS THE LATEST OF 28 STATES TO ADOPT LAWS AND REGULATIONS LIMITING PFAS.

FOR THE LATEST HAPPENINGS IN THE U-S AND BEYOND– DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP– AND SIGN UP FOR NEWS UPDATES.

LAUREN TAYLOR: THE US SURGEON GENERAL IS DECLARING GUN VIOLENCE A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS.

VIVEK MURTHY / US SURGEON GENERAL: “FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF OUR OFFICE, I AM ISSUING A SURGEON GENERAL’S ADVISORY ON FIREARM VIOLENCE. IT OUTLINES THE URGENT THREAT FIREARM VIOLENCE POSES TO THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR COUNTRY.”

LAUREN TAYLOR:  DR. VIVEK MURTHY MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT TUESDAY AS THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES RELEASED NEW STAGGERING STATS ON GUN VIOLENCE.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT – GUN VIOLENCE LEADS TO CASCADING HARM ACROSS ALL OF SOCIETY – NOT ONLY THOSE WHO ARE PHYSICALLY AFFECTED BY GUN VIOLENCE BUT ALSO THOSE WHO WITNESS IT, LOSE A LOVED ONE FROM IT, OR ARE EXPOSED TO IT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES – INCLUDING SCHOOLS. GUN VIOLENCE CREATES COLLECTIVE TRAUMA AND FEAR FOR COMMUNITIES.

SINCE 2020 – GUN-RELATED INJURY HAS BEEN THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH FOR AMERICAN KIDS AND ADOLESCENTS – BETWEEN THE AGES OF ONE AND 19.

THE U-S ALSO SAW MORE THAN 48-THOUSAND FIRE-ARM RELATED DEATHS IN 2022 (THE MOST RECENT YEAR WHERE DATA IS AVAILABLE?)- WHICH IS 8-THOUSAND MORE THAN IN 2019 – AND 16-THOUSAND MORE THAN IN 2010.

AND EVEN THOUGH WE SEE MASS SHOOTINGS IN THE NEWS EVERY YEAR – MASS SHOOTING DEATHS ACCOUNT FOR ONLY ABOUT 1% OF ALL FIREARM-RELATED DEATHS.

HOWEVER, MASS SHOOTINGS ARE BECOMING MORE FREQUENT.

BETWEEN 2020 AND 2023 – THE U-S EXPERIENCED MORE THAN 600 MASS SHOOTING INCIDENTS EACH YEAR, COMPARED TO AN AVERAGE OF 400 PER YEAR BETWEEN 2015 AND 2018.

VIVEK MURTHY / US SURGEON GENERAL: “OUR CHILDREN SHOULD NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR THAT THEY ARE GOING TO GET SHOT IF THEY GO TO SCHOOL. NONE OF US SHOULD HAVE TO WORRY THAT GOING TO THE MALL, OR A CONCERT, OR A HOUSE OF WORSHIP MEANS PUTTING OUR LIVES AT RISK. OR THAT WE’LL GET A CALL THAT A LOVED ONE IN A MOMENT OF CRISIS HAS TAKEN THEIR OWN LIFE WITH A FIREARM.”

LAUREN TAYLOR: 51% OF TEENS SAY THEY WORRY ABOUT A SHOOTING HAPPENING AT THEIR SCHOOL OR CLOSE TO HOME, AND 79% OF ADULTS EXPERIENCE STRESS FROM THE POSSIBILITY OF A MASS SHOOTING, WHILE 33% SAY FEAR PREVENTS THEM FROM GOING TO CERTAIN PLACES.

THE SURGEON GENERAL SAYS FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO GUN VIOLENCE ARE COMPLEX – BUT THAT IF WE ALL GET ON BOARD – WE CAN TURN THE TIDE ON GUN VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY.

DR. MURTHY RECOMMENDS COMMUNITIES CREATE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES, IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY GUN VIOLENCE, AND EXPAND RESEARCH FUNDING FOR PREVENTION STRATEGIES.

VIVEK MURTHY / US SURGEON GENERAL: “FIREARM VIOLENCE IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS. OUR FAILURE TO ADDRESS IT IS A MORAL CRISIS. TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY OUR CHILDREN, WE MUST NOW ACT.”

LAUREN TAYLOR:  FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M LT.

WE HAVE A LINK TO THE SURGEON GENERAL’S FULL REPORT ON OUR WEBSITE, SAN DOT COM.

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

FINANCIAL “SEXTORTION” SCAMS ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON – AND IT APPEARS TEENAGED BOYS ARE PAYING THE PRICE. 

ANTI-CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE THECHNOLOGY COMPANY THORN LOOKED AT MORE THAN 15 MILLION REPORTS FROM THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN – OR NCMEC – FROM 20-20 TO 20-23. 

IT FOUND SEXTORTION – ESPECIALLY FINANCIAL SEXTORTION – IS A GROWING PROBLEM. 

THE F-B-I DEFINES SEXTORTION AS WHEN SOMEONE IS THREATENED OR COERCED INTO SENDING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT IMAGES ONLINE. 

FINANCIAL SEXTORTION IS WHEN SOMEONE USES THOSE IMAGES AS BLACKMAIL – BASICALLY SAYING SEND MONEY OR WE’LL RELEASE THEM. 

THE STUDY FOUND REPORTS OF SEXTORTION WENT UP DRAMATICALLY AFTER 20-22… TO MORE THAN 600 A WEEK. 

IN THE PAST – SEXTORTION SCHEMES FREQUENTLY TARGETED GIRLS… BUT THIS NEW STUDY SHOWS TEENAGED BOYS ARE NOW THE MOST COMMON VICTIMS OF FINANCIAL SEXTORTION – WITH 14- TO 17-YEAR-OLD BOYS ACCOUNTING FOR 90 PERCENT OF THE FINANCIAL SEXTORTION REPORTS TO NCMEC. 

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT… THE VAST MAJORITY OF CHILD SEXTORTION CASES START WITH “CATFISHING” – USUALLY SOMEONE POSING AS ANOTHER TEENAGER TO GET TEEN BOYS TO SEND SEXUALLY EXPLICIT IMAGES OR VIDEOS OF THEMSELVES. 

THE PERPETRATOR WILL OFTEN THEN THREATEN TO RUIN THE TEEN’S LIFE BY SHARING THE PICTURES WITH THEIR FRIENDS OR FAMILY – IF THEY DON’T SEND MONEY. 

THE STUDY ALSO FOUND INSTAGRAM WAS THE MOST COMMONLY USED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM FOR FINANCIAL SEXTORTION. IT WAS MENTIONED IN MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF THREATS… AND USED MORE THAN HALF THE TIME TO FOLLOW THROUGH. 

INSTAGRAM WAS ALSO THE MOST POPULAR WAY PERPETRATORS MADE INITIAL CONTACT WITH VICTIMS… BUT THE REPORT ALSO NOTED A TREND OF USING END-TO-END ENCRYPTED MESSAGING APPS – LIKE WHATSAPP OR TELEGRAM – TO COMMUNICATE WITH VICTIMS… 

AND GIFT CARDS AND CASHAPP WERE IDENTIFIED AS THE MOST COMMON PAYMENT METHODS. 

META – WHICH OWNS INSTAGRAM – SAID FINANCIAL SEXTORTION IS A “HORRIFIC CRIME” AND IT’S ALREADY IMPLEMENTING NEW FEATURES TO HELP PROTECT PEOPLE. 

THE COMPANY SAYS IT’S CURRENTLY TESTING A FEATURE THAT WOULD BLUR NUDITY IN DIRECT MESSAGES… DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY TO HELP IDENTIFY ACCOUNTS THAT MAY *POTENTIALLY* BE ENGAGING IN SEXTORTION SCAMS.