Guests – Corinne Cliford, Juan Ciscomani, Chris Hoar, Joel Strabala, Katey McPherson

Washington Insider: White House Press Briefing Room Update

Corinne Cliford, independent journalist and White House press corps member, joined Winn Tucson live from the White House press briefing room ahead of a 1pm Eastern press conference. Cliford, who also serves as spokesperson for SAT-123, a satellite communications company specializing in emergency services, offered insights on several pressing national issues.

"We're in the press briefing room right now, and we'll be covering every topic today," Cliford noted, highlighting that Arizona's concerns would be central to the conversation.

When discussing the government shutdown, Cliford pointed to the political dynamics at play: "The House sent a pretty much clean resolution to the Senate, and the Democrats are trying to pin this on the Republicans. This is political theater, and the Democrats aren't taking this seriously."

Cliford highlighted healthcare access as a particular concern for Arizona residents, claiming that "if you go to a hospital in Arizona for an emergency, you might have to wait hours because migrants are taking up Medicaid, hospitals, and medical attention."

Addressing the recent federal ruling on National Guard deployments, Cliford expressed disappointment about a judge's decision to temporarily block National Guard troops in Portland. "I've been to Portland. I've covered all the protests there. I cover Antifa protests across the United States," she said. "What I've seen since 2019 is that these Antifa groups are really used by the media."

Regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas negotiations, Cliford expressed optimism about President Trump's approach: "I do believe this can be sustainable. President Trump has made the best peacekeeping decisions possible. He's the president of peace and knows exactly how to sit at a table with our enemies and make a peace treaty."

Emergency Communications and Preparedness

As spokesperson for SAT-123, Clifford emphasized the importance of satellite communications during emergencies: "This is so important because right now I'm in the White House with my satellite phone. If there's an emergency, I could always communicate. My satellite phone works everywhere."

Cliford recommended that families equip themselves with emergency gear: "You need a bulletproof backpack, you need a Faraday bag. You have to have this emergency gear in your car, in your RV, in your office, in case an emergency happens."

She noted that these tools are essential for staying safe in today's world: "People can steal your credit cards, your keys. That's the kind of world we live in right now."

Government Shutdown Analysis with Congressman Ciscomani

Congressman Ciscomani joined Winn Tucson to discuss the ongoing government shutdown, now in its sixth day. "We were supposed to be back in Washington this week to carry on with business, but we're staying here until there's work to do up there," he explained.

The Congressman emphasized that House Republicans fulfilled their responsibilities: "We did our job. We passed the CR to continue the government being open out of the House. Republicans in the Senate have voted in favor. Even three senators that caucus with the Democrats have come over and voted with Republicans on this."

Ciscomani highlighted the growing pressure as critical services face funding shortfalls: "WIC payments going out for families in need for food - that money is running out this week. Then we have our troops being paid every 15 days. They were paid at the beginning of the month, but their second payment is coming up shortly."

The Congressman called out both Arizona senators for their positions: "I've been very vocal putting pressure specifically on both our senators, Reuben Gallego and Mark Kelly, who both have voted repeatedly against opening the government."

Regarding congressional pay during the shutdown, Ciscomani noted that he chose to withhold his own compensation: "For a member of Congress to choose to still get paid is beyond me. I don't know how that would be, even more so one that actually voted for the shutdown."

When asked who bears responsibility, Ciscomani pointed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: "He's more afraid of AOC than his own constituents, 100 percent. Schumer allowed this same CR to go through in March, and he paid a price for it. His far-left wing came after him hard."

The Congressman expressed frustration about Democrats' opposition to rural healthcare funding: "They want to do away with $50 billion for rural hospitals which will go directly to them with our relationship with the White House. We expect these dollars to flow into CD6, specifically."

Ciscomani remained optimistic about resolution: "I don't know how long Schumer is going to be able to hold the line with his people. But we're standing united. The members of Congress from Arizona together wrote a letter to Senators Gallego and Kelly urging them to vote for that CR today so we can open the government up."

Satellite Communications: Critical Infrastructure Protection

Chris Hoar, disaster response and telecom national security spokesperson for SAT-123, discussed recent threats to America's communications infrastructure, particularly the US Secret Service's discovery of a massive hidden telecommunications network in New York City.

"This is just the latest type of attack we've discovered," Hoar explained. "The network was composed of around 300 servers, and each server can service hundreds or even more SIM cards. When connected together, they can generate millions of text messages per minute."

This network was found within 35 miles of the UN during the United Nations General Assembly, suggesting nefarious intent: "Clearly, the intention was to send out millions of messages per minute which would take down the cell towers in and around the UN."

Hoar emphasized the vulnerability of standard communications infrastructure: "We completely rely on the ability to use our cell phones, and so do first responders and local and state federal government."

As co-founder of a satellite communications business in the early 2000s, Hoar recommended satellite phones as a reliable alternative during emergencies: "These phones communicate directly with satellites in the sky, which means they work anywhere on earth. If cell towers are down, if power is down, and all you have is a cell phone, you're going to be out of luck."

Hoar noted increasing threats to American infrastructure: "The Chinese, the Russians, the North Koreans, the Iranians have been running concerted efforts to disrupt our infrastructure. The lowest hanging fruit for those guys is our infrastructure. To attack us via our digital networks is an awful lot cheaper and more efficient."

Recent examples highlight the vulnerability: "We've seen air traffic control systems attacked here in the U.S. and around the world. A few months back the country of Spain was entirely taken off the power grid in what was clearly a concerted cyber attack, leaving most of Spain without power for more than 24 hours."

Satellite phones have proven critical during natural disasters: "We saw what happened around the time of Katrina. It made me realize that cell phones were great but vulnerable. There are still parts of New Orleans today where cell phone service was never restored."

For those interested in emergency preparedness, Hoar directed listeners to SAT-123.com or to call 941-841-0844 for more information about satellite phones, Faraday bags, and bulletproof backpacks.

Teen Suicide Prevention and School Safety

Katey McPherson, an advocate for students and against teen suicide, discussed concerning trends in youth mental health and school safety issues.

McPherson highlighted a recent cluster of suicides in Mesa: "In the Mesa area, we unfortunately had two completions of suicide and then one attempt at the same school in a period of about 10 days."

She explained that certain times of year show higher risks: "When we look at peaks of when children and adults struggle throughout the school year, it's typically August and September when they're getting into a new routine, especially for freshmen, juniors, and seniors in high school."

McPherson identified coping skills as a critical factor: "If I could just name an overall theme to all of this, it's coping 100 percent. The coping mechanisms of this generation are weak. It's not a muscle that they've developed, and their lack of ability to cope can cost them their lives."

The conversation shifted to accountability in schools, with McPherson discussing a case in the Chandler Unified School District involving inappropriate conduct by teachers: "One of the administrators voluntarily surrendered his certificate for the next five years on his 30th year of being in education. Accountability is coming slowly."

McPherson revealed a new case involving volleyball coaches: "Currently, there are two volleyball coaches who are assigned to home on paid leave with allegations of repeated harassment, intimidation, and illegal recruiting to their club team. This was reported to a whole new cohort of administrators who did the same thing as the last guys - they pretty much did nothing."

She emphasized the impact on students: "More than 20 families have stepped forward and said, 'yes, this was happening to my daughter too.' A lot of it has to do with the pursuit of playing the sport in college."

McPherson noted legislative progress spurred by these incidents: "They inspired us to pass Senate Bill 1437. There was a new law inspired by their missteps and their absolute refusal to tell law enforcement and DCS about child abuse."

She concluded with a call for vigilance: "These administrators, these superintendents, these directors - in my mind, they're enabling the predation and grooming. They're not intervening. To me, they're a close second to the perpetrators by allowing this to happen."

City of Tucson Election Information

Joel Strabala provided important information about upcoming City of Tucson elections. "Today is the last day you can register to vote for City of Tucson elections," he noted. "The election will be held on November 4th, but on Wednesday of this week, early ballots are going to go out."

Strabala emphasized that this is a mail-in election: "The City of Election is 100% mail-in ballot. Get your ballot, fill it out and mail it back in." He noted that drop-off locations are available on the Pima County Recorder's website.

For voters, Strabala highlighted two key items on the ballot: "Anybody who lives in the City of Tucson can vote for all of the candidates for wards 3, 5, and 6. There's two Republicans running, Janet Wittenbacker and Jay Tokoff."

He also mentioned Proposition 417: "This is Tucson City Plan 2025. For those that are familiar with the March 2025 Proposition 414, this is that ballot initiative on steroids without the improvements to first responders."

Strabala called for election observers to ensure transparency: "We need election observers for signature verification, ballot processing, tabulation, and at the early vote centers and on election day." Those interested can sign up at PimaGOP.org.