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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its intent to extend the REAL ID full enforcement date by 24 months, from May 3, 2023 to May 7, 2025.

DHS Announces Extension Of REAL ID Deadline

One of the responsibilities of Hamilton County (Ohio) Probate Court Judge Ralph Winkler is to finalize adoptions. In 2022 alone, Judge Winkler oversaw more than 180 adoptions. And since 2015, he’s helped create 2,150 new families in his courtroom!&nbsp;“I feel blessed to be the adoption judge here in Cincinnati and it’s been really the highlight of my judicial career to be able to do the adoptions.”“The importance of adoption in our society is paramount, because I feel like all kids deserve to live in a loving, safe, and caring home.”The judge, who has more than 20 years on the bench in various roles, and before that as an assistant prosecutor, cites addiction or mental health issues – or both - for about 90% of the cases where birth parents find themselves unable to properly care for a child. “Thankfully, it’s fairly rare that there’s extreme abuse or a problem like that.”&nbsp;Winkler says judges aren’t supposed to cry on the bench, but he explains what people might see now and then are his “happy tears” on an adoption day.&nbsp;(<a href="https://soundcloud.com/emf-public-affairs-audio/a-heart-for-children-judge-ralph-winkler-has-presided-over-2000-adoptions?si=5d969087b84140dfa76ef0c2a1f7e909&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing">here's our full interview podcast</a>)Because some cases he presides over involve serious matters not involving adoption, the judge shares a strategy that brings him some balance. “I like to start Monday morning with an adoption, and I like to end my week – my last case on Friday – I always try to schedule an adoption. I start the week off great and I end the week, great – but in between that time, I do a lot of other cases that aren’t usually quite as happy.So, for me (adoption finalizations), it’s kind of like Christmas Day,” he smiles.“I just have a soft heart for families that adopt. And adoption is not easy. It requires a lot of courage and a lot of times the children have special medical issues and I admire the courage of adoptive parents to step up and help these children out.” One of Winkler’s goals has been to try and change the mindset about adoption, telling people “You don’t have to be perfect to adopt.” As a parent himself, “I tried my hardest with my children and I did the best I can, but I can’t say I was a perfect parent.” He shares, “It’s a lot of hard work being a parent,” but he believes “if you’re willing to love and care for and keep a child safe, then you’re qualified to foster and/or adopt a child and it really helps the community.”&nbsp;Judge Winkler is a man of faith. “I do feel like I was given a chance for this job by God because I had a heart for children and coaching my whole life.” He credits his parents with encouraging him to volunteer and help people in the community. “I consider it my ministry to be the adoption judge and I had some prompting I feel by God to run for Probate Court (an elected position).” He had been a judge since 1999, but didn’t become the adoption judge until January of 2015.&nbsp;In his earlier judicial role, he was sometimes given serious criminal and civil cases where children were hurt or abused. It weighed on his heart. And stuck with him.&nbsp;And separately, he noticed in pre-sentence reports that involved felony convictions, “the thing I started realizing, they were all very different people, but there was one common thing in every repeat offender report: they either didn’t have a family or they were mistreated by their family. So I kind of wanted to change that dynamic (as adoption judge) so we could get a child into a loving, caring, safe home as soon as possible – and out of a dangerous home” because “on the (earlier) criminal cases, the worst offenders were where something usually bad happened to them as a child.”&nbsp;Well-known adoptions“When I have my adoptions, I talk about the superheroes that were adopted, fictional characters – Superman, Spiderman and Batman were all adopted in different ways,” which helps the kids being adopted to better understand what adoption is.&nbsp;Funny things can happen with kids in a courtroom. When the judge asked a 5-year-old boy if he knew that Spiderman was adopted, “he was like, ‘yeah, I knew that’” and shows the whole courtroom his Spiderman underwear!&nbsp;Faith factorAdoption reports that the judge sees contain a great deal of family information, including what their faith, if any, is. He finds that in his adoption cases “over 90% of the people that are adopting identify as Christians… so the church must be doing something right. So even though we as Christians are not perfect – and the churches aren’t perfect – it’s kind of a good note that Christians adopt at a much higher rate than non-Christians.”&nbsp;If a family does not mention faith in court, the judge respects that. But if a family wants to pray in court, Judge Winkler allows it. And in these particular cases, he sometimes reminds families that Moses was adopted by Pharoah’s family in Egypt and did great things. But by far, “The best adoption in the Bible is when we figure out, we can’t make it through this world on our own and we cry out for God’s help, and he adopts us right away and saves us.” He adds, “If adoption is good enough for God, it’s good enough for me.”&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/40046.jpg" alt="Judge Winkler honors a new family"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Hamilton County (Ohio) Probate Court Judge Ralph Winkler ] Judge Winkler honors a new family</figcaption></figure>In our complete interview podcast below, Judge Winkler shares about a couple of “extra special” adoption cases. In one situation, a woman who was 17, unmarried, and in high school, allowed her infant son to be adopted. Then, 21 years later, that birth mother actually adopted her biological son’s daughter. An unusual and loving full-circle case.&nbsp;He also shares a case where a couple in their 20’s adopted a young man who had been living with them in guardianship after the death of his parents. At the time of adoption, he was 17, just five years younger than his new legal adoptive parents!<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://soundcloud.com/emf-public-affairs-audio/a-heart-for-children-judge-ralph-winkler-has-presided-over-2000-adoptions?si=5d969087b84140dfa76ef0c2a1f7e909&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing"></oembed></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/40045.jpg" alt="A new family!"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Hamilton County (Ohio) Probate Court Judge Ralph Winkler ] A new family!</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;

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Judge Ralph Winkler & new adoptive family

“The best adoption in the Bible is when we figure out, we can’t make it through this world on our own and we cry out for God’s help, and he adopts us right away and saves us.”

A Heart For Children: Judge Ralph Winkler Has Presided Over 2,000+ Adoptions (+ podcast)

CARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) — Tens of thousands of people braced Monday for days without electricity in a North Carolina county where authorities say two power substations were shot up by one or more people with apparent criminal intent.Across Moore County, many businesses and restaurants displayed “Closed” signs in windows and had empty parking lots at a time of year when they are normally full of tourists and holiday shoppers. Others handed out free food or coffee, or were able to open by conducting transactions in cash.The county, located about 60 miles (95 kilometers) southwest of the state capital of Raleigh, announced schools would be closed Tuesday for a second day.Duke Energy has restored power to roughly 9,000 customers after a peak of about 45,000 customers were without electricity in the county of about 100,000 inhabitants. Jeff Brooks, a Duke spokesman, said recovery will be gradual, noting “a pretty sophisticated repair with some fairly large equipment” will continue into Thursday.Gov. Roy Cooper said state and federal investigators “are leaving no stone unturned in this investigation to find those who are responsible.“Protecting critical infrastructure like our power system must be a top priority," Cooper said at a news conference. "This kind of attack raises a new level of threat. We will be evaluating ways to work with our utility providers and our state and federal officials to make sure that we harden our infrastructure where necessary.”Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields declined to elaborate Monday about the shootings other than to say the damage was done by gunfire. But whoever was responsible, he said, “knew exactly what they were doing to ... cause the outage that they did.”Meanwhile, traffic lights were out countywide. Drivers treated intersections as four-way stops, snarling traffic in places such as downtown Carthage amid a consistent hum of honks at each nonfunctional light.Noah Hartford, an 18-year-old civil engineering student at Sandhills Community College, said his family has been struggling to stay warm since losing power at their home in Aberdeen. Temperatures dropped below freezing early Monday, and lows in the 40s were expected during the week.“It’s real cold,” Hartford said as he warmed beside a fire pit in nearby Southern Pines. “It’s just me, my mom and my brother. We have a fire and stuff outside and a fireplace, but we’re really hoping we get the heat back soon.”Kalai and Christine Balutski of Pinebluff sat under a heater Monday morning drinking warm beverages at the Red’s Corner food truck lot in Southern Pines. The couple has been without power since 7 p.m. Saturday. They said they have been driving to restaurants the next county over to eat warm meals and watch football while awaiting updates.“We got two dogs at home, so we can’t just up and leave,” Kalai Balutski said. “We’re working off of a power brick to keep our phones charged and candles in one room to keep it warm enough to sleep.”Bundled in a beanie, boots and a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket, Christine Balutski said she has been struggling to get work done for her remote IT job for the hospital system without home WiFi access.About 20 people spent the night at an emergency shelter at the county sports complex in Carthage, said Phil Harris, executive director of the local American Red Cross chapter. Harris said plenty more have stopped by for food, warmth or to charge their devices.“If you’ve got no power, you probably don’t have any heat, so with winter weather coming in, it’s a nice place to stay,” Harris said.The Pinehurst Resort &amp; Country Club also was affected. With limited power generation capability at The Carolina Hotel, the resort consolidated all guests into rooms with available power. Golf courses remained open but the main clubhouse was closed.Golf is played year-round in the Sandhills region and the Pinehurst resort is the No. 3 employer in Moore County -- behind the local hospital and school systems, according to government employment data. Moore County generated a record in visitor spending in 2021, leading to an economic impact of $673 million from the tourism industry, the county’s economic development office said.Moore County has dozens of golf courses, anchored by nine at the Pinehurst Resort. Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 course has hosted three men’s U.S. Opens. The World Golf Hall of Fame is also moving soon from Florida to Pinehurst.Andrew Wilkins, a conservation advocate who grew up in Moore County, was driving Saturday night from Washington to his parents’ small farm in Whispering Pines when he noticed the street lights were out in Carthage. He arrived to a “pitch black street.”Wilkins spent the weekend helping his parents prepare for cold nights without heat, and linked a generator to their well to pump fresh drinking water.Said Wilkins, “People are going to really feel the pinch from this as it goes on.”___Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.___Associated Press writer Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

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Residents of Southern Pines, N.C., have lunch while the power is out in the area at Reds Food Truck Corner in Southern Pines, N.C., Monday, Dec. 5, 2022.

 “It’s just me, my mom and my brother. We have a fire and stuff outside and a fireplace, but we’re really hoping we get the heat back soon.”

Blackouts In North Carolina Could Last A Few Days

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBAJT5sV8ng">Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon</a> is the inspiring, true story of a man who was hard to classify--he was a singer-songwriter, a rebel, a narrator, and a humble man of deep faith.Johnny Cash: The Redemption of An American Icon is due out in theaters nationwide on December 5, 6 and 7.&nbsp;<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZip7Zle-mM"></oembed></figure>Based on a book written by <a href="https://harvest.org/about-greg-laurie/">Pastor Greg Laurie</a>, the movie details Cash's life--his early desire to sing gospel music, his rise to fame, his battles with drug addiction and his return to Jesus.Want to hear the reason Johnny Cash wore black? Click <a href="https://soundcloud.com/emf-public-affairs-audio/johnny-cash-the-redemption-of-an-american-icon-with-pastor-greg-laurie?si=b69edd7d2aef4a13a859dea64fe22524&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing">here </a>to find out.Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon tells the story of a man born to poor Arkansas cotton farmers who although he wanted to sing gospel, joined the rockabilly scene in Memphis. Signed by the same guy that signed people like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash soon became one of the world's biggest music stars with iconic songs like &nbsp;"I Walk the Line", "Ring of Fire", and "Folsom Prison Blues".&nbsp;Cash arguably had one of the most recognizable voices in American music.&nbsp;After being introduced to amphetamines by fellow country music star Waylon Jennings, Cash found himself addicted and unable to quit. Depression threatened to take over and Cash became desperate for help.&nbsp;That first detox became a part of the path to bringing Johnny Cash back to his first love--Jesus Christ.&nbsp;Through His power and grace, Cash began a new life as a sober, faith-filled individual. He turned his passion towards sharing the gospel--through music, as a guest during several stops of the Rev. Billy Graham Crusade and wherever he got the chance.In Johnny Cash, the Redemption of an American Icon, you'll hear never-before-heard conversations from Johnny Cash as well as insights from fellow country artists who knew Cash personally--Wynonna Judd, Tim McGraw and Marty Stuart.Pastor Greg Laurie's advice? Buy an extra ticket to Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon (out in theaters December 5, 6 and 7, 2022), invite an unsaved friend to attend with you. After the movie, grab a bite and open the door for questions about Jesus..&nbsp;<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://soundcloud.com/emf-public-affairs-audio/johnny-cash-the-redemption-of-an-american-icon-with-pastor-greg-laurie?si=b69edd7d2aef4a13a859dea64fe22524&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing"></oembed></figure>CASH&nbsp;is a KINGDOM STORY COMPANY production, in association with WTA MEDIA and HARVEST MINISTRIES. Music by Brent McCorkle, edited by Andrew Chandler, Adam Jones, directed by BEN SMALLBONE, executive produced by Jon Erwin, Andrew Erwin, Kevin Downes, Tony Young, Bill Reeves, Brian Mitchell, Greg Laurie, Robert Deaton, John Carter&nbsp;Cash, Cathy Sullivan, Josh Matas, Jason Owen, and produced by Josh Walsh, Brendon Gregory, Andrea Royer.&nbsp;Lionsgate will distribute home entertainment worldwide.&nbsp;

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Big letters with Johnny Cash carrying a guitar case through a cotton field

Pastor Greg Laurie talks about the movie, the music and the real reason Cash wore all black

Johnny Cash Documentary Now In Theaters: Learn The Backstory  (+podcast)

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Amy Grant admitted she was "nervous" to sing again and credited husband Vince Gill with helping her heal as she received Kennedy Center honor in Washington, D.C.

Amy Grant's 'Healing Journey' After Head Injury: 'I Forgot Lyrics To Songs I Wrote'

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia on Monday unleashed what Ukrainian authorities called the latest “massive missile attack” across their country, striking homes and buildings, killing civilians, and disrupting electrical power and water supplies in areas — notably in the Black Sea port city of Odesa. Ukraine’s air force claimed it shot down more than 60 of the 70 missiles fired.Hours earlier, explosions rocked two air bases deep inside Russia, and the Defense Ministry in Moscow said it had shot down two Ukrainian drones attacking the sites, and that three Russian servicemen were killed by falling debris and four others were wounded.The attacks at the bases in the Saratov region on the Volga River and the Dyagilevo base in the Ryazan region in western Russia raised the threat of a dangerous escalation in the war.Kyiv had not commented on the explosions at the Russian bases.Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, drove a car across a bridge linking his country to the Crimean Peninsula following its repair from a truck bombing in October that had embarrassed Moscow.Russia responded to the bridge attack by firing waves of missiles at Ukrainian infrastructure targets in the weeks that followed, and Monday’s onslaught was just the latest round of retaliatory strikes. Russia is seeking to disable Ukraine’s energy supplies and infrastructure as winter approaches — part of a new strategy in its nine-month war.Defiant as ever, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his military forces and the technicians who snapped into action to repair the damage.“Air defense shot down most of the missiles,” he said in brief comments on social media. “Power engineers have already started to restore electricity. Our people never give up.”Ukraine’s air force said early indications showed Russian forces fired 38 cruise missiles from carriers in the Caspian Sea and from the southern Russian region of Rostov. Another 22 Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from its Black Sea fleet, and kong-range bombers, fighter jets and guided missiles were also involved, it said.“In total, more than 60 invaders’ missiles were shot down!” the air force said on its Telegram channel.Ukraine’s electricity provider, Ukrenergo, lashed out at Russia over “the eighth massive missile attack by a terrorist country,” saying its facilities had been hit, triggering blackouts. It urged residents to stay in shelters as its crews tried to repair the damage.In the capital of Kyiv, scores of people quickly filled the central Zoloti Vorota metro station after the warnings, and many checked their phones for updates. There were no immediate signs of whether the city or the surrounding region was hit.Air raid sirens sounded across the country. Ukrainian media reported explosions in several parts of the country south of Kyiv, including Cherkasy, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. Officials said water, electricity and central heating was cut to many parts of Odesa.“The enemy is again attacking the territory of Ukraine with missiles!” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, wrote on Telegram.Tymoshenko said two people were killed and three others injured — including a 22-month-old child — in the village of Novosofiyivka in the southern Zaporizhzhya region.In neighboring Moldova, the Interior Ministry said on its Facebook page that border patrol officers had found a rocket in an orchard near the northern city of Briceni near Ukraine.Emergency services, including a bomb squad. were sent to the scene. Controls in the vicinity have also been tightened, the ministry said. It was not immediately clear when the rocket may have landed or who fired it.Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita stopped short of saying when the missile might have fallen but cautioned that “a new wave of missile attacks is taking place in Ukraine, which has direct consequences for our country.” She warned that Moldova could suffer further power outages in the new Russian strikes.Russia's Defense Ministry said the attack on its bases were part of Ukraine’s efforts to curtail operations of Russia’s long-range bomber force.The Engels air base in the Saratov region houses nuclear-capable bombers and was the first time since the start of the conflict that such a facility was attacked. It’s located over 600 kilometers (more than 370 miles) east of the border with Ukraine.The Dyagilevo air base, which houses flight tankers used to refuel other planes in the air, is located about 500 kilometers (over 300 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian border.The Russian Defense Ministry said four other servicemen were injured and two aircraft were lightly damaged by the drones’ debris.The ministry didn’t say where the drones had flown from, but Russian military bloggers charged that they were likely launched by a group of Ukrainian scouts.Local media in the Saratov region reported the sound of a powerful explosion near Engels and some residents said they woke up to the sound of explosion and some saw a flash of light.A video from a surveillance camera posted on social networks showed a huge explosion lighting up the sky.Saratov regional Gov. Roman Busargin said there was no damage to civilian facilities.Regional media reported sounds of a powerful explosion near the Engels base, and some residents were quoted as saying they saw a flash of light coming from the area.Asked whether Putin had been briefed on the Engels base explosion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said simply the president was regularly informed of ongoing developments.Putin's drive across the bridge over the Kerch Strait was an important sign that Russia was able to recover from setbacks and repair the span quickly after the Oct. 8 truck bomb that severed a key link from Crimea to the mainland. He also spoke to workers and discussed the repairs with a senior government official responsible for the project.Putin had inaugurated the bridge in a highly symbolic move after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.Zelenskyy's office said three rocket strikes hit his hometown of Rih Krivyi Rih in south-central Ukraine, killing a factory worker and injuring three others. In the northeastern region of Kharkiv, a person was killed in strikes by S-300 missiles on civilian infrastructure in the town of Kupyansk, it said.The war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has displaced millions from their homes, killed and injured tens of thousands of people and shaken the world economy — notably through the fallout on the prices and availability of food, fertilizer and fuel that are key exports from Ukraine and Russia.Western countries Monday imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap and a ban on some types of Russian oil, part of new measures aimed at stepping up pressure on Moscow over the war.The move has prompted a rejection from the Kremlin and also criticism from Zelenskyy — whose government wants the cap to be half as high.Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who is in charge of energy issues, warned in televised comments Sunday that Russia won’t sell its oil to countries that try to apply the price cap.“We will only sell oil and oil products to the countries that will work with us on market terms, even if we have to reduce output to some extent,” Novak said hours before the price cap took effect.The 27-country European bloc also imposed an embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea.Russia, the world's No. 2 oil producer, relies on oil and gas to underpin its economy, which has already come under sweeping international sanctions over the war.In recent weeks, Russia has been pounding Ukrainian infrastructure — including power plants — with military strikes and keeping an offensive going in the east, notably in and around the town of Bakhmut.Russian forces have also been digging in near the southern city of Kherson, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month after an 8-month occupation.___Eduardo Castillo in Kyiv contributed.

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Explosions rocked two air bases inside Russia 

Ukraine’s electricity provider, Ukrenergo, lashed out at Russia over “the eighth massive missile attack by a terrorist country,” saying its facilities had been hit, triggering blackouts. It urged residents to stay in shelters as its crews tried to repair the damage.

Russia Sends More Missiles, Many Shot Down - 2 Air Bases Inside Russia Hit By Drone Attack?

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Noah Kimmel was in a crash in October outside of Newton where he nearly lost his life. A Hy-Vee driver and two farmers quickly came to his aid. 

Watch: Iowa Man Meets Good Samaritans Who Saved His Life 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators believe a shooting that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/vandalism-north-carolina-power-outages-47614e4786ca0fb000be779d27f3995a">damaged power substations</a> in North Carolina was a crime. What they don't have yet is a suspect or a motive.Whatever the reason, the shooting serves as a reminder of why experts have stressed the need to secure the U.S. power grid. Authorities have warned that the nation's electricity infrastructure could be vulnerable targets for domestic terrorists.Tens of thousands of people lost their electricity over the weekend after one or more people opened fire on two Duke Energy substations in Moore County, which is roughly 60 miles southwest of Raleigh. Nobody has been charged in the shooting as of Monday.Here's a look at what is known about the shooting and why it could have implications across the U.S.WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE SHOOTING?The outages in North Carolina began shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday when one or more people opened fire on two power substations in Moore County, the county's sheriff said. The outages left tens of thousands of people without electricity, and the equipment could take days to repair, according to Duke Energy.Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said at a Sunday news conference that authorities have not determined a motive. He said someone pulled up and “opened fire on the substation, the same thing with the other one.” The sheriff said that it appeared gates were breached at both sites. The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines, North Carolina reported that a wooden post holding up a gate had been snapped at one of the substations and that it was lying in an access road Sunday morning.The sheriff noted that the FBI was working with state investigators to determine who was responsible. He also said “it was targeted.”“It wasn’t random,” Fields said.Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said that the company has multiple layers of security at each of its facilities but declined to provide specifics. He said that the company has planning in place to recover from events like the shooting and that they are following those plans.Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Ruth Clemens said the department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has offered support to Duke Energy as it efforts the restoration of power. CISA, which falls under DHS, is tasked with helping reduce risk to physical as well as digital infrastructure across the country.TARGETS FOR EXTREMIST GROUPSFederal authorities have warned that the power grid could be a prime target for extremist groups that embrace “accelerationism,” a fringe philosophy that promotes mass violence to fuel society’s collapse.In January, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-united-states-law-enforcement-agencies-9e3d1d4d4cd429b69a787235caa7e4b8">a U.S. Department of Homeland Security report</a> warned that domestic extremists have been developing “credible, specific plans” to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020. The DHS report warns that extremists “adhering to a range of ideologies will likely continue to plot and encourage physical attacks against electrical infrastructure."The department wrote that attackers would be unlikely to produce widespread, multistate outages without inside help. But its report cautioned that an attack could still do damage and cause injuries.Members of white supremacist and antigovernment groups have been linked to plots to attack the power grid. In February, three men pleaded guilty to conspiring to attack U.S. energy facilities. Authorities said they were <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ohsd.264992/gov.uscourts.ohsd.264992.81.0.pdf">driven by white supremacist ideologies</a> to “sow mayhem and division among Americans.”OTHER ATTACKSFears of an attack on the nation's electricity infrastructure are nothing new. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered grid operators to increase security following a still-unsolved April 2013 sniper attack on a California electric substation.The attack on the Pacific Gas &amp; Electric Company’s Metcalf Transmission Substation in an isolated area near San Jose, California, caused power outages and led to calls for millions of people to conserve energy.The attack involved snipping fiber-optic phone lines and firing shots into the PG&amp;E substation. The FBI has said at the time that it found no evidence that it was an act of terrorism.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/4634b35bca40444a9f9924a2c87be8dc">Former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu</a>, who chaired the Senate Energy Committee in 2014, said at the time that it was fortunate the attack didn't cause a blackout in Silicon Valley, “the horrors of which could only be imagined."In the wake of that attack, FERC and other agencies recommended utilities to take specific measures to protect vulnerable substations, like adding walls, sensors or cameras. Still, many remain exposed in rural areas of the U.S. And experts have warned for years that taking out a few substations could cause rolling blackouts in the U.S., leaving millions without power.A Utah man was arrested in 2016 and later sentenced to federal prison time after he used a rifle to shoot the cooling fins of a substation, rupturing the radiator piping and causing the substation to overheat and fail. Court documents said the man had planned to attack other substations as part of an effort to take down power in a large chunk of the western United States.WHAT'S THE CHALLENGE IN PROTECTING THE GRID?The vastness of American electricity infrastructure makes it difficult to defend. Power plants and substations like those targeted in North Carolina are dispersed in every corner of the country and connected by transmission lines that transport electricity through farmland, forests and swamps."The grid is massive," said Erroll Southers, a former FBI official and professor of homeland security at the University of Southern California.The targets also present an increasing challenge to secure because attackers don't always have to get as close as they did in North Carolina in order to do damage, Southers said. With the right rifle, skill and line of sight a sniper could take a shot from as far as 1,500 meters away.Protecting substations against a long range rifle shot is “extremely challenging, if not impossible," he said.Southers said all of these challenges mean that protecting the electricity infrastructure can come down to response and backup systems more than defense. “Those are the kinds of things that you put in place to protect, knowing that you may not be able to stop the rifle shot.”

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"The grid is massive."

Power Grid Has Long Faced Terror Threat

HONOLULU (AP) — USS Arizona sailor Lou Conter lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor even though his battleship exploded and sank after being pierced by aerial bombs.That makes the now 101-year-old somewhat of a celebrity, especially on the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 assault. Many call him and others in the nation's dwindling pool of Pearl Harbor survivors heroes.Conter rejects the characterization.“The 2,403 men that died are the heroes. And we’ve got to honor them ahead of everybody else. And I’ve said that every time, and I think it should be stressed,” Conter said in a recent interview at his Grass Valley, California, home north of Sacramento.On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service will host a remembrance ceremony at Pearl Harbor in honor of those killed.Last year about 30 survivors and some 100 other veterans of the war made the pilgrimage to the annual event. But the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service anticipate only one or two survivors will likely attend in person this year. Another 20 to 30 veterans of World War II are also expected to be there.Conter won't be among them. He attended for many years, most recently in 2019. But his doctor has told him the five-hour flight, plus hours of waiting at airports, is too strenuous for him now.“I’m going on 102 now. It’s kind of hard to mess around,” Conter said.Instead he plans to watch a video feed of this year’s 81st anniversary observance from home. He's also recorded a message that will be played for those attending.Conter's autobiography “The Lou Conter Story” recounts how one of the Japanese bombs penetrated five steel decks on the Arizona and ignited over 1 million pounds of gunpowder and thousands of pounds of ammunition.“The ship was consumed in a giant fireball that looked as if it engulfed everything from the mainmast forward,” he wrote.He joined other survivors in tending to the injured, many of whom were blinded and badly burned. The sailors only abandoned ship when their senior surviving officer was sure they had rescued all those still alive.The Arizona’s 1,177 dead account for nearly half the servicemen killed in the bombing. The battleship today sits where it sank 81 years ago, with more than 900 of its dead still entombed inside.Conter wasn't injured at Pearl Harbor, during World War II or the Korean War.This year's remembrance ceremony is the first to be open to the public since the 2019. The pandemic forced the adoption of strict public health measures for the last two years.David Kilton, the National Park Service's chief of interpretation for Pearl Harbor, said he's not sure how many people will attend but they're anticipating between 2,000 to 3,000 people.It will be held at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial visitors center which overlooks the water and the white structure built to honor those killed on the Arizona.Organizers have set a theme of “Everlasting Legacy” for this year's ceremony, highlighting how fewer and fewer survivors remain.“We honestly have to know and be prepared that eventually we won’t have the ability to connect with their stories and have them with us anymore,” Kilton said. “And it’s hard to to come to grips with that reality.”Conter went to flight school after Pearl Harbor, earning his wings to fly PBY patrol bombers, which the Navy used to look for submarines and bomb enemy targets. He flew 200 combat missions in the Pacific with a “Black Cats” squadron, which conducted dive bombing at night in planes painted black.One night in 1943 he and his crew had to avoid a dozen or so nearby sharks after they were shot down near New Guinea.When one sailor expressed doubt they would survive, Conter responded “baloney.”“Don’t ever panic in any situation. Survive is the first thing you tell them. Don’t panic or you’re dead,” he said. They were quiet and treaded water until another plane came and dropped them a lifeboat hours later.In the late 1950s, he was made the Navy’s first SERE officer — which is an acronym for survival, evasion, resistance and escape. He spent the next decade training Navy pilots and crew on how to survive if they’re shot down in the jungle and captured as a prisoner of war. Some of his pupils used his instruction to live through years as POWs in Vietnam.These days, he spends his time going to his favorite breakfast spot twice a week and going out for Mexican food every Friday night. He enjoys visiting with friends and watching TV.Conter hasn't forgotten his shipmates. He said he'd like the military to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-science-b3aa308c6ef2413b112b86a9185dbb78">try to identify 85 Arizona sailors</a> who were buried as unknowns in a Honolulu cemetery after the war.“They should never give up on that issue. If they’re ever identified, I’m sure their families would want to bury them at home or wherever, but they should never give up on trying to identify them,” he said.

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