At 1934 Zulu, there will be a moment of silence to reflect the carnage of the shootings at Ft. Hood. All military personnel will comply even those overseas.

The Army is sending support personnel to Ft. Hood. This includes 13 Ministry Teams, 35 Life Consultants, 13 Behavioral Therapists, 17 Critical Health Specialists and 5 Combat Control Teams. A muslim cleric is part of the Ministry Team.

A general biography on the shooter will be released later today.

The Army CID is currently heading the investigation but the FBI may take over the investigation.

Commanders of all military installations are looking at there Force Protection Procedures.

The shooter was not confirmed dead or alive for 4 hours yesterday. This was due to the fog and friction of the situation.

The Army will be releasing details of the investigation as they see fit to do so.The Army, Pentagon and other investigative bodies will not be releasing any information until they feel ready. Day to day details of the official investigation will not be given.

The shooter had never been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. He was in a deployment window.

An Army ballistics team is currently at Ft. Hood putting together a timeline of the type of weapons used as well as when and where.

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Unemployment increased to 10.2 percent in October, the highest rate since 1983, leaving Americans with 190,000 less jobs, Bureau of Labor and Statistics Commission Keith Hall told Congress in a Joint Economic Committee hearing Friday.

“The declines are much smaller and less widespread than they were last Fall and Winter,” Hall said. “Nevertheless, some industries are still experiencing notable employment decline.”

Hall told the committee that in October the heavy construction, manufacturing and retail industries have had a particularly significant decline in employment losing a combined total of 163,000 jobs.

However, he added that some industries have seen an increase in employment. Health care and help services are among the few that have added jobs, with a much smaller figure of 63,000 combined jobs.

Hall said since the recession began the number of unemployed has more than doubled to 15.7 million.

“The number of long-term unemployed remained high in October,” Hall said. “5.6 million workers have been jobless for 27 weeks or more.”

He said the increasing number of people who have become discouraged in looking for work and therefore remained unemployed have added to the problem. In October there was a reported 808,000 discouraged workers, a figure up from 484,000 last year.

“These are individuals are not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them,” Hall said.

Committee members on both side of the aisle agreed that in terms of job creation, the economy is not where it needs to be. Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said she believes the nation is on track to recovery, while Republicans argued that the Obama administration has not done enough to facilitate employment growth.

By Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats Friday of mishandling the U.S. economy following the Labor Department’s announcement that unemployment has hit 10.2%,

“Today’s report is yet another reminder that American families and small businesses are still struggling, and the White House response is falling short,” said Boehner.

Boehner pointed to failed promises and exorbitant spending, citing the Democrats’ health care reform bill and stimulus plan as steps that will plunge the U.S. further into debt.

“Since the stimulus plan was signed into law, more than three million private sector jobs have been lost,” said Boehner “Now, Speaker Pelosi is pressing ahead with a $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care, endorsed by President Obama, that will destroy 5.5 million jobs according to methodology developed by his own senior economist.”

White House Correspondent Victoria Jones will cover the White House briefing with press secretary Robert Gibbs.

The Washington bureau will also be covering:

- Secretary of State Clinton and Rep. Barney Frank’s conference with NoLimits.org to discuss health care, the economy and foreign policy.
- A press conference with House Minority Leader Boehner and Rep. Pence on health care and jobs.
- The House Rules Committee meeting on formulating rules for the “Affordable Health Care for America Act.”
- Rep. McMorris Rodgers with Republican women on health care.
- A teleconference call with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack on health care reform.
- A Senate Joint Economic Committee hearing on October’s employment numbers.
- A Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the health risks involved with open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.
-A news conference with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and the Federation for American Immigration Reform on “weaknesses” in the Pelosi plan.

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the decision has not been made over whether lawmakers will be allowed to offer amendments to the Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act once it reaches chamber floor, including any amendment pertaining to abortion.

“We may not have any amendments,” Pelosi said during her weekly press conference.

Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) along with many other pro-life democrats have threatened to oppose the bill until language barring federal funding for abortions is introduced.

Current versions of the House health care legislation do not directly address the issue of abortion, however House leaders have maintained throughout the health care debate that the bill would not allow abortions to be federally funded.

The Speaker needs 218 votes to pass the bill, including as many pro-life Democrats as possible. Pelosi said that although she knows some Democrats have strong convictions regarding abortion, she still believes in their support for health care reform.

“Congressman Ellsworth’s record in Congress and his statements outside of Congress have been strongly pro-life,” Pelosi said. “He and others who have strong pro-life convictions want very much to see a health care bill passed.”

The House Rules Committee Friday will finalize all the rules for this weekend’s House health care debate.

White House Correspondent Lovisa Frost will be covering the White House press briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

The Washington Bureau will be covering:

-House Speaker Pelosi’s weekly press conference.

-Representatives Blackburn and Hunter with Afghanistan vets on troop update.

-House Minority Leader John Boehner, Rep. Tom Price, GOP members healthcare “House Call.”

- House Armed Services Committee Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on “Iraq and Afghanistan: Perspectives on U.S. Strategy, Part II.”

-Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee full committee hearing on “Employment Non-Discrimination Act: Ensuring Opportunity for All Americans.”

-AARP will be making a major announcement regarding health care reform.

Travis Martinez, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Republicans continued their boycott of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s markup of the Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act Wednesday, sans one Republican, Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-OK), who made a brief appearance.

Infofe, who gave a short opening statement, was quick to make his departure 15 minutes into the hearing.

Inhofe asked Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to cooperate with the minority party by having a full EPA economic analysis of the bill before continuing the markup.

Inhofe delivered a letter from Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), which according to Inhofe “outlines the agreement Sen. Voinnovich has with EPA.”

Inhofe insisted that what the Republican members of the committee are doing is nothing out of the ordinary. The Senator from Oklahoma recalled the Clear Skies Act, which spanned two Congresses, when Democratic Senators sent two letters requesting new and balanced analysis before the committee moved to a markup.

Until a quorum can be met to proceeded with the markup process, Boxer will invite back EPA for further questioning and will fill time with a briefing explaining the entire bill later Wednesday afternoon.

“We will follow committee rules to the T, we will follow committee rules by the T,” said Boxer.

Wednesday marks the second day of the boycott.

Following Inhofe’s remarks, in a sign of bipartisanship he gave his hand to Boxer.

Talk Radio News will be conducting interviews at the House Republican Conference Radio Row.

The Washington Bureau Will Be Covering:

-RNC Chairman Michael Steele holds a press conference following Tuesday’s gubernatorial and Congressional elections.

-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds a press conference with tribal leaders on health care reform.

-Reps. Joe Wilson, Fleming, Herger, Gingery discuss the public option and members automatic enrollment.

-Senate Environment and Public Works Committee full committee markup of S.1733, the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.”

-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on technological devices and driver safety.

-Remarks by Rep. Shadegg on health care reform.

-The House Labor Appropriations Subcommittee holds a briefing on the H1N1 Pandemic.

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By Ravi Bhatia – Talk Radio News Service

Joseph Figueroa at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics says that today’s Gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and the Congressional election in upstate New York reflect little on national political trends. Figueroa’s sentiment conflicts with Republicans who believe that GOP victories in the three races would serve as a referendum of sorts on the job performance of President Barack Obama.

“You really have to take the results for what they are, as a reflection of the campaign that the two candidates ran,” said Figueroa, referring to the race for governor in Virginia. “I don’t think you can really extrapolate a whole lot in terms of national or even state trends because Virginia is a purple state, and it’s gonna remain so for a while.”

In Virginia, polls suggest that former state Attorney General and Republican candidate Bob McDonnell holds a double-digit lead over Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds. In New Jersey, the race between incumbent Democratic Governor John Corzine and his challenger, Republican Chris Christie, remains deadlocked.

“New Jersey is a blue state – it’s dark blue,” Figueroa said. “It’ll be interesting to see because Christie did have a bit of an upswing in the polls at the very end there. But it is a deadlocked race. That’ll be the one to watch tonight.”

In New York’s 23rd Congressional District, Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race after being outpolled by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. She has since endorsed Democrat Bill Owens.

“A lot of the people who were inclined to support Scozzafava because she’s running under the Republican banner may not be so quick to vote for Owens because of their own ideals,” Figueroa continued. “It’s gonna be really interesting to see – they have a very difficult to decision to make.”

The polls close in Virginia at 7 p.m. tonight. In New Jersey, the polls close at 8 p.m. and in New York, they close at 9 p.m.

By Marianna Levyash-Talk Radio News Service

Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.) welcomed over 100 small business owners from 26 states Tuesday to tell their stories about the problems they’ve experienced with the current health care system.

“This morning we have a simple message for the small business owners across America…help is on the way,” said Harkin.

Currently, small businesses pay up to 18% more per employee to receive the same healthcare coverage as a large business. Health premiums have increased more than 74% for small businesses over the last eight years.

The Senate’s health care bill will create an exchange system that specifically targets small business owners and the self-employed with a shop exchange, where states assist small businesses that choose to use the exchange. States that elect to do so will also get technical assistance.

Senator Landrieu stated that “these exchanges can work for the small businesses that we are depending on to lift and lead this nation out of this recession.”

The business owners will continue urging for health care reform throughout the day on Capitol Hill and at the White House.