Congressional Reporter, Dow Jones Newswires and Wall Street Journal
Congressional reporter for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal; former reporter for Congressional Quarterly
PROFILE
Patrick Yoest
Guest
FROM Patrick Yoest
To the Point
Former WaMu CEO and Executives Testify before Congress Former executives of Seattle-based Washington Mutual are talking to Congress for the first time since the bank collapsed because of the housing crisis. Today, they responded to a Senate Subcommittee’s findings that WaMu crated a "mortgage time bomb" with subprime loans they knew would go bad but which they packaged into Wall Street securities. Patrick Yoest reports for Down Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal .
Which Way, L.A.?
Is America Ready for the Next Disaster? Around the county, disaster planners at the state level are roasting the Department of Homeland Security . Since Katrina, they say, Washington has been trying to minimize its own exposure and blame the states for not being prepared. Despite past promises, they say, the states have not been allowed to help draw up what’s called the National Response Framework .
To the Point
Is America Ready for the Next Disaster? At a hearing last week in Washington, the president of the National Association of State Emergency Planners , told Congress that, when it comes to disaster planning, he has "never experienced a more polarized environment between the states and the federal government." Oklahoma's Albert Ashwood said the legacy of Katrina for Washington is to minimize federal exposure while blaming states for not being prepared. As an example, he cited the National Response Plan , now revised as the National Response Framework--a formerly secret document leaked to Congressional Quarterly . State leaders say it's not a plan, and they don't understand it. A high-level veteran of FEMA during the Clinton years says federal agencies no longer know what they're supposed to do either. What are the implications for homeland security?
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Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.