November 27, 2017


News and Views


THE DEMS SAY NO WAY!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42141367
CFPB in chaos as chief refuses to step aside for Trump's man
November 27, 2017 12:34 PM 1 hour ago

Photograph -- Richard Cordray's resignation has thrown the leadership of the agency into chaos Getty Images

The US consumer financial watchdog was plunged into turmoil on Monday as rival directors vied to take charge amid a lawsuit against the White House.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director resigned last week and appointed his former chief of staff, Leandra English, to replace him.

She has sued after President Donald Trump instead named his budget chief Mick Mulvaney to lead the CFPB.

The CFPB, unpopular on Wall Street, was set up after the 2007 financial crash.

Who's in charge?

Leandra English sent the agency's staff a brief email on Monday saying: "It is an honor to work with all of you."

Ms English signed it, "Acting Director".

But Mr Mulvaney - who has previously called the CFPB a "sick, sad joke" that should be scrapped - arrived at the bureau on Monday morning carrying a bag of donuts for employees.

He wrote in a memo to staff: "Please disregard any instructions you receive from Ms English in her presumed capacity as Acting Director."

Mr Mulvaney also signed off as "acting director", urging staff to pop by his office on the fourth floor and "grab a donut".

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john czwartacki
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@CZ
@MickMulvaneyOMB sitting in director's office. Already hard at work as acting director at cfpb.
8:04 AM - Nov 27, 2017
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Katie Rogers
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@katierogers
Mulvaney brings donuts to his first day at CFPB. Couldn’t hurt.
7:37 AM - Nov 27, 2017
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WHAT IS THE CFPB?

The 1,600-employee watchdog was set up in 2010 to protect Americans from predatory lenders.

Republicans say it has placed an excessive regulatory burden on Wall Street.

Democrats say the CFPB is reining in the very excesses that helped spur the global financial crash a decade ago.

Mr Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to criticise the agency, calling it a "total disaster".

He argued that because of the CFPB "financial institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public".

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Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!
4:48 PM - Nov 25, 2017
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What about this lawsuit?

On Sunday, Ms English asked a judge at a federal court in Washington DC to issue a temporary restraining order against Mr Trump's appointment of Mr Mulvaney.

In her lawsuit, she called herself the "rightful acting director" of the CFPB.

The legal action said: "The President's purported or intended appointment of defendant Mulvaney as Acting Director of the CFPB is unlawful."

The White House says the president has the authority to appoint Mr Mulvaney under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

But a lawyer for Ms English says the law states that as deputy director she is entitled to take power until the Senate can vote to confirm another director.

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Chuck Schumer
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@SenSchumer
The process for succession laid out in Dodd Frank is clear: Leandra English, not Mick Mulvaney, is the acting dir of @CFPB. By attempting to install Mr. Mulvaney as director, the Trump admin is ignoring the established, legal order of succession that we purposefully put in place.
5:38 PM - Nov 26, 2017
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What's the reaction?

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the chamber's banking committee, called Ms English's lawsuit "just the latest lawless action" by the CFPB, which he called "rogue" and "unconstitutional".

"The President should fire her immediately and anyone who disobeys Director Mulvaney's orders should also be fired summarily," Mr Cotton wrote in a statement.

But Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told CNN the White House decision was aimed at eradicating the CFPB.

"Wall Street hates it like the devil hates holy water," he said.



THE REPUBLICANS SAY, NO FAIR! THE BIG BULLY CPFB FORCED THE “DEFENSELESS BUSINESSES,” WHICH HAD DONE CONSUMERS NO HARM AT ALL, TO PAY UP! MOMMIEEEE!!! A BUSINESS THAT HAS THOSE “DEEP POCKETS” IS ANYTHING BUT DEFENSELESS. A GREAT PART OF THE PROBLEM IN OUR COUNTRY ON THE ISSUE OF PERSONAL FINANCES IS THE VERY “HELPFUL” AVAILABILITY OF CREDIT, ALWAYS UNDER USURIOUS RULES, WHEN THE DESTITUTE COULD DO MUCH BETTER TO STOP BUYING SO MANY THINGS. MOST OF US JUST DON’T NEED ANOTHER GADGET AND KIDS DON’T NEED OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE TENNIS SHOES OR JACKETS.

DOING THAT ONE STEP AT THE FIRST AWARENESS OF A PROBLEM COULD PREVENT OUR HAVING TO LIVE IN A HOMELESS SHELTER A FEW MONTHS LATER. IF PEOPLE WANT A LOAN BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO MEANS TO CONTINUE WITHOUT HELP, THEN THEIR NECESSARY EXPENSES ARE TRULY TOO HIGH, AND THEY WOULD DO SO MUCH BETTER TO GO TO THEIR LOCAL “WELFARE” AGENCY (FDIC, USUALLY) FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE SUCH AS A LAWYER, A JOB, SOME FREE CREDIT COUNSELING, GETTING LINED UP TO RECEIVE FOOD AID AND MEDICAID, AND IN THE CASE OF A DISABILITY – SUCH AS SEVERE DEPRESSION OR WORSE – AN SSI PAYMENT EACH MONTH. IF THERE IS, BY ANY CHANCE, A DANGEROUS AND EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE HABIT SUCH AS GAMBLING, SMOKING, OR DRINKING, SEE A PSYCHOLOGIST AND GET INTO TREATMENT TO STOP IT. LEARNING TO STRETCH MONEY IS A NECESSITY ON AN INCOME UNDER $50,000 A YEAR, AND IT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS WITHOUT PAIN, BUT IT DOES BEAT SLEEPING IN THE PARK.

IF THE INDIVIDUAL DOES HAVE A JOB, THEN THEY NEED TO CUT EXPENSES OR GET OTHER RELIEF. FOR FREE CREDIT COUNSELING, GOTO HTTPS://WWW.CREDIT.ORG/CREDIT/. MANAGING THE MONTHLY DEBT BITE IS CRUCIAL. IF HE OR SHE IS WORRIED ABOUT HOW ALL THAT LOOKS TO THE NEIGHBORS, SURELY THERE’S NO NEED TO TELL THE NEIGHBORS. IF THEY’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT YOU BEHIND YOUR BACK, THEY AREN’T FRIENDS ANYWAY.

AS YOU CAN PROBABLY TELL, IT IS MY FIRM BELIEF THAT LIVING ON CREDIT IS A DISASTROUS PATH. USURY IS STILL LEGAL, UNFORTUNATELY, AND PAYDAY LOAN OFFICES AREN’T FRIENDS. THEY’RE PREDATORS. “GIVING” AWAY LOANS THAT, IN ORDER TO PAY THEM OFF, WILL THROW THE DEBTOR INTO THE SAME FINANCIAL PICKLE NEXT MONTH IS WORSE THAN NO HELP, SO CREDIT BUREAUS ARE NOT “HELPING” PEOPLE. IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT PEOPLE IN THAT SITUATION WILL BE ON THEIR LAST LEG EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY, AND GOING TO A MENTAL THERAPIST IS NOT SHAMEFUL EITHER, SO JUST DO WHAT YOU HONESTLY NEED TO DO. REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WORDS “NEED” AND “WANT.”

THE WRITER OF THIS REPUBLICAN VIEWPOINT IS BY A VERY REPUBLICAN LAWYER WHO WORKED UNDER CORDRAY. HE SOUNDS SO HOSTILE, THOUGH, THAT I THINK HE MAY HAVE A PERSONAL LEVEL COMPLAINT AGAINST THE ORGANIZATION. I DIDN'T LIKE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY, AND I HATE THE FACT THAT HE CHOOSES TO WRITE WITHOUT PARAGRAPHS. AT LEAST HE USES PUNCTUATION. IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT KIND OF SELF-SATISFIED INDIVIDUAL HE IS, GO TO HIS WEBSITE NOTED AT THE THE BOTTOM.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454059/richard-cordray-consumed-partisan-politics-mick-mulvaney-cfpb-sick-sad-joke
Richard Cordray Delivers the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Punchline
by RONALD L. RUBIN
November 27, 2017 4:00 AM

Photograph -- CFPB director Richard Cordray testifies on Capitol Hill in 2014. (Reuters photo: Jonathan Ernst)

The CFPB’s first director cared about consumers, but he was consumed by politics. On November 24, 2017, Richard Cordray resigned as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. His final year in office, and especially his exit, revealed the true nature of the agency Democrats created through the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Ambitious, cerebral, and socially awkward, Cordray had alternated between stints as an accomplished lawyer and a mediocre politician before he lost Ohio’s attorney-general election in 2010 and Elizabeth Warren, then a presidential assistant, hired him to lead the nascent bureau’s enforcement division. The following July, President Obama bypassed Warren and instead nominated Cordray to be the CFPB’s first director. In the marathon standoff that ensued, Republican senators filibustered the nomination, Obama installed Cordray by using an unconstitutional recess appointment, Democrats threatened to change the filibuster rules, and Republicans surrendered. On July 16, 2013, the Senate confirmed the temporary director to a five-year term. Perhaps it was this two-year ordeal that turned Cordray into a cynical partisan mercenary. The University of Chicago Law School graduate understood the harm that anti-market policies cause consumers, but whenever newly elected Senator Warren and progressive groups pressured him to pursue their agenda, he faithfully delivered. By 2017, there was no denying the ugly truth. Cordray cared about consumers, but he was consumed by politics. Since 2010, Republicans have argued that the CFPB’s unique structure — an independent agency whose single director the president can fire only for cause, with guaranteed funding through Federal Reserve Bank profits rather than the congressional appropriation process — is a recipe for government abuse, if not unconstitutional. Cordray proved them right. Powered by Warren built a political battleship, and Cordray deployed it. The bureau’s powerful media division dictated policy to its regulatory professionals and relentlessly exaggerated the agency’s achievements in daily press releases and social-media posts. Political operatives used the CFPB’s super-independence to stonewall congressional subpoenas and hide unethical investigation tactics, internal discrimination problems, and other inconvenient facts. Republican critics were dismissed as Wall Street sycophants. Meanwhile, millions of dollars were diverted from the CFPB to Democratic allies. From 2014 to 2017, the bureau paid $11 million a year to rent office space in an Obama fundraiser’s building. The Dodd-Frank Act allowed the CFPB to send the civil money penalties collected in its enforcement actions to a trustee of its choice, who, after taking a healthy cut, distributed the funds to ostensible victims in unrelated matters. The maneuver both enriched Democratic trustees and transformed fines extracted from defenseless businesses based on their deep pockets rather than actual consumer harm into “over $12 billion in damages returned to 29 million injured consumers.” To spread such propaganda, the bureau paid over $43 million to GMMB, the liberal advocacy group that created ads for the Obama and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns. The 2016 election almost ended Cordray’s tenure. Despite high-profile litigation and debate over what, if any, justification the new Republican president needed to fire him, the legal remedy for unwarranted removal would probably have been back pay, not reinstatement. Cordray survived only because the president’s advisers felt that making the director a martyr would help his expected Ohio gubernatorial campaign. They underestimated him. Cordray spent the first half of 2017 quietly promoting and entrenching faithful Democratic employees to obstruct his Republican successor. On June 30, he awarded GMMB an additional $14.79 million contract. Ten days later, he delivered a gift to big Democratic donors in the plaintiff’s bar: a rule banning financial businesses from using contractual arbitration clauses to prevent consumers from joining class-action lawsuits. Cordray argued that the lawsuits were necessary to prevent deceptive practices because individuals rarely sue over improper bank fees and other small damages. Of course, the CFPB was created to prosecute such violations, but he said that limited resources prevented it from sufficiently protecting consumers. He then unveiled a video titled “CFPB’s New Arbitration Rule: Take Action Together,” an expensive GMMB creation reminiscent of Clinton’s “Stronger Together” ads. Republicans were forced to use the Congressional Review Act to block the rule; Democrats gained a talking point for the midterm elections. Progressives’ final wish was a CFPB rule to put most small-dollar, short-term “payday” lenders out of business. Cordray conceded that payday lenders barely break even, their borrowers are willing to pay high fees, and the rule would deprive many low-income consumers of their only source of credit. Since 2015, he had failed to persuade banks to offset the anticipated harm by offering similar, cheaper loans. Nevertheless, Cordray announced the rule on October 5. On November 15, two days before its publication in the Federal Register, he announced he would resign by the end of the month. Cordray feared that Mulvaney would discover evidence the CFPB has been hiding for years, including … some particularly explosive sexual-harassment claims against CFPB senior managers. But Cordray had a big problem. President Trump was expected to use the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 to appoint Budget Director Mick Mulvaney — a former member of the House Financial Services Committee who had criticized the unaccountable CFPB’s dysfunction as “a joke . . . in a sick, sad way” — to be the bureau’s acting director. Cordray feared that Mulvaney would discover evidence the CFPB has been hiding for years, including the bureau’s failure to investigate the Wells Fargo fraud; data manipulation in its failed attempt to regulate car dealers by guessing buyers’ races and alleging discriminatory lending; inspector-general admonishments to stop obstructing congressional oversight; and some particularly explosive sexual-harassment claims against CFPB senior managers. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, Cordray attempted to forestall these damaging revelations until the 2018 elections by appointing his chief of staff, Leandra English, CFPB deputy director. David Silberman, who led the bureau’s rulemaking division, had been acting deputy director since January 2016. In a professional government agency, he would have been the obvious internal choice. But Silberman was not a reliable co-conspirator, so Cordray kept the deputy director position and his options open for two years. Citing language in the Dodd-Frank Act — “the Deputy Director . . . shall serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director” — Cordray announced that English would become acting director upon his resignation that day. The issue has not been litigated, but the Vacancies Act almost certainly allows the president to appoint his own acting director. Cordray knew the liberal media would portray Mulvaney’s appointment as one more Republican attempt to crush the consumer agency, and he hoped Trump would back down. Instead, the president quickly appointed Mulvaney, leading to a weekend of lawsuits and headlines about an embattled agency with two leaders. Cordray’s sickening stunt left no doubt about the absurdity of claims that he and the CFPB were ever politically independent. For this, we can all give thanks. READ MORE: The Tragic Downfall of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau CFPB: Independence Hides Mismanagement, Failure CFPB: A Great Example of Why People Feel Powerless Questions for Cordray — Ronald L. Rubin was an enforcement attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and chief adviser on regulatory policy at the House Financial Services Committee.


HTTP://RONALDLRUBIN.COM/ABOUT/

ABOUT
Ronald L. Rubin is a lawyer and writer in Washington, DC. Originally from New York, he’s also lived in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, and Florida, and is a member of all six bars.

Ron received his BA in Economics and Art History from Brandeis University, his MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

He’s been a criminal prosecutor, senior special counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, managing director at an investment bank, enforcement attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, partner at a big law firm, and senior counsel and chief advisor on regulatory policy at the House Financial Services Committee.

Ron was a volunteer for Senator Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. 2016 was a very unusual year.

Other unusual years were 1992 (deputy district attorney in South Central Los Angeles during the riots), 2000 (lead attorney in SEC prosecution of Steve Madden, with cooperating witness Jordan Belfort, the “Wolf of Wall Street”), 2001 (World Trade Center office destroyed on September 11), 2011 (early employee at CFPB, led by former Penn Law professor Elizabeth Warren), and 2013 (author).

Ron has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Bloomberg/BNA, and The Weekly Standard. He’s not as boring as this bio makes him sound. Seriously.



PRESIDENT TRUMP COULD TAKE A LESSON FROM THIS MAN IN THE WAY HE HELPS PEOPLE. THIS IS A VERY CHEERING NEWS ARTICLE COMPARED TO SO MANY, MOST ACTUALLY, THAT I RUN ACROSS. THE VIDEO’S IMPORTANT, TOO.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feeding-puerto-rico/
Feeding Puerto Rico
José Andrés has some 30 popular restaurants across the United States, but he's barely stepped foot in them for two months. He and an army of chefs and volunteers have been serving the people in Puerto Rico
Nov 26, 2017
CORRESPONDENT
Anderson Cooper

We first met chef José Andrés seven years ago in the wildly popular restaurant he'd opened in Beverly Hills. Andrés was born in Spain, but America is where he became famous for his avant-garde approach to cooking. He has nearly 30 restaurants here now, but he's barely set foot in any of them in two months, not since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Andrés went to the devastated island a few days after the storm to see how he could help. He is not a disaster relief expert, so he began doing what he does best. He found a kitchen, bought some ingredients, and began to cook. It's a good Thanksgiving story because that first day, Andrés and his small team made about a thousand meals. Since then, he's recruited an army of chefs and volunteers, and together they've served more than three million meals to the hungry people of Puerto Rico.

José Andrés is always on the move. In the kitchen, which has become his base of operations in San Juan, he's a culinary commander rallying his troops.

Preparing meals for so many people is a massive undertaking, requiring trained chefs, thousands of volunteers and assembly lines of sandwiches, 900 on one table alone.

José Andrés: Good ham. Good cheese. And a lot of mayo.

Anderson Cooper: There's a lot of mayonnaise here.

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Sandwiches in Puerto Rico CBS NEWS
It's all the more remarkable because none of this was set up before José Andrés got to Puerto Rico two months ago.

José Andrés: I arrive Monday right after the hurricane. And I ask, "Who is in charge of feeding the people of Puerto Rico?" And they told me, "Everybody. Everybody's in charge." You know, when you have to feed an entire island you need to have one -- one person and one organization responsible.

Anderson Cooper: There has to be a plan.

José Andrés: Has to be a plan, and somebody has to be responsible for achieving that plan.

Andrés came up with his own plan to feed as many of the island's nearly three and a half million people as possible. He started with $10,000 of his own money in cash and pockets full of credit cards.

Anderson Cooper: How do you arrive at a place. You don't know where the food is. You don't know where access to water is. How did it get off the ground here?

José Andrés: So for me, it was not difficult. The first thing I do, you're a chef you go and try to find a kitchen. Everybody was saying, 'there's no food, there's no food.' Well, that was not true. The big food distribution companies had food because they had fuel, they had diesel. They kept their refrigerators and the freezers working.

Anderson Cooper: There was food here.

José Andrés: Plenty of food.

Anderson Cooper: What was the problem?

José Andrés: The problem was the urgency of now. It's a very simple thing when you're a cook. When you're hungry, you gather the food, you gather your helpers, you begin cooking, and then you start feeding people.

He joined up with a local chef named Jose Enrique and other volunteers, cooking enormous pans of paella and stews in a parking lot in San Juan. It wasn't long before they were making more than 100,000 meals a day.

Anderson Cooper: How did you scale it up that quickly?

José Andrés: Well you know one thing when these moments happen we have a tendency to think, "Oh we have to feed three million people" -- almost the idea is impossible.

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José Andrés CBS NEWS
Anderson Cooper: It seems overwhelming?

José Andrés: It's totally overwhelming, but all of a sudden imagine you begin breaking this. We are going to be doing now 25,000 meals. When you do it well for two days, you increase it to 50,000. And when you do it well, you increase it to 100,000, and all of a sudden you scale it up in a way that is simple.

Anderson Cooper: That's a big pan…

José Andrés: It's chicken, chick peas. We try to put good amount of proteins, rice. Every Puerto Rican, I love rice.

Ingredients are often improvised; they cook whatever they can buy. Techniques are improvised as well. Jennifer Herrera says a prayer for Puerto Rico as she pours oil into each pan of rice.

The time it takes her to say 'God bless Puerto Rico' is the exact amount of oil she says she needs.

Anderson Cooper: How many blessings do you give Puerto Rico every day?

Jennifer Herrera: Thousands of blessings.

"Americans should be receiving one plate a day of hot food. That's not too much to ask in America."

With the help of private donations and money from the federal government, José Andrés non-profit organization World Central Kitchen has prepared more hot meals than any of the other bigger, more experienced disaster relief organizations here, like the Salvation Army and the Red Cross.

Anderson Cooper: Most agencies, if they're giving out food, they're giving out MRE's, or snacks -- not hot meals.

José Andrés: Americans should be receiving one plate a day of hot food. That's not too much to ask in America. An MRE is very expensive for the American taxpayer. A hot meal is more affordable, it's cheaper. It's what people really need, it's what people really want. They feel all of a sudden that you are caring for them, that America is caring for them.

Anderson Cooper: You're not just giving calories you're giving attention to people.

José Andrés: The calories are obvious, but this is a message of hope. This is a message, "We care and be patient. Things eventually will get better."

That message of hope is one Andrés has been preaching for weeks on social media.

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José Andrés feeds a child in Puerto Rico CBS NEWS

Documenting his efforts to expand operations around the entire island. At the height of the emergency, he had eighteen kitchens going at once and used trucks, cars and anyone he could find to deliver meals.

José Andrés: All of the sudden I have Homeland Security helping us deliver sandwiches and water in the most difficult areas of the island. I had cooks from the U.S. Coast Guard helping us, volunteering. We were having so many different men and women coming from the federal government helping us.

There are still plenty of places that need the help. In a community an hour south of San Juan, there's no electricity. This is the first hot meal this family has eaten in more than two weeks.

Andrés' dedication has inspired others in Puerto Rico to set up kitchens of their own. In a church perched in the mountains of Naguabo, Pastor Eliomar Santana and his parishioners cook hot meals for neighboring communities with the rice, beans and sausages Andrés has provided them.

Pastor Santana: We have people here with no water, no-- no lights. They lost everything in their house. And they have stopped thinking on that, for helping others.

Anderson Cooper: So even though some of your parishioners need help they're still volunteering here?

Pastor Santana: Yes, they're still volunteering.

Anderson Cooper: They're still trying to help other people?

Pastor Santana: They're still trying to help other people.

Before delivering the food to a nearby housing project, Pastor Santana thanks God and then José Andrés.

Anderson Cooper: In the church, when you were praying, you thanked God first and second you thanked José Andrés.

Pastor Santana: Yes. That's very important. But I have to say, always say God first, then José.

Anderson Cooper: Well, José's in good company.

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CBS NEWS

Andrés' presence has not been without controversy. He's been critical of the federal government's response to the hurricane and after attending meetings with FEMA -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency -- he called their headquarters in San Juan the most inefficient place on earth.

Anderson Cooper: Was that the frustration? That it was just bureaucratic? That there were a lot of meetings and you felt like things weren't getting done?

José Andrés: We were already feeding 100,000 people a day, and I needed their help to make sure we had money to keep buyin' the food to keep feeding these never-ending needs of people in need. And there is where -- call it red tape. Nothing was happening.

FEMA did award Andrés' World Central Kitchen two short-term contracts worth $11.5 million to provide 1.8 Million meals. But the agency refused to grant them a third longer-term contract. Andrés thinks the overall response to disaster relief needs to change.

José Andrés: The people of the federal government are great people. But then is red tape that sometimes doesn't allow that same people to be successful. I didn't put the name emergency in FEMA. I didn't. But somebody's gonna have to tell me the meaning of emergency. To me, when we're talking about food and these -- the little thing I know, is that emergency in food means one thing. People are hungry. And when you're hungry it's today.

Anderson Cooper: FEMA says, "Look, to negotiate a big contract there's a bidding process. You have to have three different companies bidding on it. That there's federal government regulations." You say that gets in the way of…?

José Andrés: Americans in Puerto Rico were hungry, and we were not delivering food quick enough. And what we did is we didn't plan. We didn't meet. We began cooking, and we began delivering food to the people in need in Puerto Rico. And what we need to make sure is that next time we are not negotiating contracts. That next time the federal government is ready to do what they are supposed to do next time something like this happens… Maybe an earthquake. Maybe another hurricane. Or maybe a terrorist attack. We need to make sure we are ready because the people of America don't deserve anything less.

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José Andrés CBS NEWS

José Andrés' passion for disaster relief is a far cry from what excited him when we first met him in his restaurant in Beverly Hills in 2010. Back then he was leading a kind of culinary revolution, pioneering innovations in molecular gastronomy, marrying science with food in surprising and playful ways.

Anderson Cooper: I don't know why I keep doing stories about food, because I don't really eat much and never really think much about food, but it's so interesting to me how for you, food is at the center of everything.

José Andrés: Anderson, food touches everything. Food is in our DNA. Food touches the economy. Food is science. Food is romanticism. Food is health. Food has many of the opportunities to have a better tomorrow.

That philosophy is at the heart of andrés humanitarian efforts around the globe. He founded World Central Kitchen after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

José Andrés: I've been here more than 25 times to Haiti.

This past June, months before Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, we met up with Andrés in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. He supports an orphanage there and has established a job training program for local chefs. He's also spearheading an effort to reduce the widespread use of charcoal in cooking. Long-term exposure to smoke from cooking indoors on fires kills an estimated four million people worldwide every year, most of them women and children.

Andrés has provided cleaner burning propane gas stoves to more than 100 schools in Haiti.

Anderson Cooper: I mean, focusing on stoves, on the idea of clean cookstoves is not something that a lot of people think about.

José Andrés: I am a cook. I feed the few, but I've always been super interested in feeding the many. And when I've seen some of these women doing the change from the charcoal to the gas, everything changes around them. When we see these women cooking in the street with charcoal, and we eat the plate of food, we should all be asking ourselves, how that plate of food can really become an agent of change.

Anderson Cooper: An agent of change?

José Andrés: A true agent of change, one plate at a time.

José Andrés spent Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico, continuing to feed people one plate at a time. This has been his biggest undertaking thus far.

He's scaling back now as the need for emergency food relief here lessens, but he's already thinking about how he can do it better the next time disaster strikes.

Produced by Tanya Simon and Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson. Jack Weingart, associate producer.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," has contributed to 60 Minutes since 2006. His exceptional reporting on big news events has earned Cooper a reputation as one of television's pre-eminent newsmen.


AN AGENT OF CHANGE

https://www.eater.com/2017/10/25/16545754/jose-andres-puerto-rico-world-central-kitchen
RESTAURANT NEWS



IT SEEMS TO ME THAT I HAVE BEEN HEARING THE TERM “HOME INVASION” MAYBE TEN YEARS. THE CONCEPT IS “BURGLARY.” BUT IT USUALLY INCLUDES MORE SEVERE THINGS, FROM PROPERTY DAMAGE AND THEFT TO ASSAULTS. IN THIS CASE, THREE MASKED GUNMEN APPEARED IN THE HOUSE BY UNKNOWN MEANS AND PISTOL-WHIPPED A PARALYZED MAN IN A WHEELCHAIR, SHOT THE MAN’S 35-YEAR-OLD GIRLFRIEND, AND GOT AWAY. THIS ARTICLE DOESN’T MENTION THEFT OR RAPE, BUT A 67-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WAS “HELD AGAINST HER WILL.”

THE INTENTION OF THE CRIME, IF THERE WAS A COHERENT INTENTION, WASN’T MENTIONED. IT INTERESTS ME THAT THERE WERE THREE OF THEM, THAT THEY INTERACTED WITH THE OCCUPANTS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND LEFT. THEY SUCCEEDED IN DOING NOTHING ELSE. MAYBE THEY WERE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED, OR JUST DOING IT FOR THE THRILL. MAYBE THEY WERE KNOWN BY SOMEONE – THE MAN IN THE WHEELCHAIR OR THE GIRLFRIEND WHO GOT SHOT “IN THE KNEECAP.” IT BRINGS TO MIND THAT TERM “KNEECAPPING” WHICH IS THE BREAKING OF A KNEECAP, USUALLY AS A PUNISHMENT FOR FAILING TO PAY A DEBT. WHEN THESE HOME INVASIONS WERE FIRST MENTIONED THEY WERE THOUGHT TO BE THE WORK OF ORGANIZED STREET GANGS, JUST DEMONSTRATING WHO’S THE BOSS. I WONDER IF THAT’S TRUE HERE. LOOK AT THIS CBS ARTICLE AND THEN THE INFORMATIONAL STORY FOLLOWING IT, WHICH CONTAINS SOME VERY INTERESTING COMMENTARY ABOUT “HOME INVASIONS.” LEGALLY SPEAKING, IS IT JUST ANOTHER TERM FOR BURGLARY? IT IS IN MANY STATES A FELONY, WHEREAS A SIMPLE BURGLARY – BREAKING AND ENTERING -- MAY NOT BE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cops-woman-shot-handicapped-man-assaulted-during-home-invasion/
CBS NEWS November 26, 2017, 9:01 AM
Cops: Woman shot, handicapped man assaulted during home invasion

Photograph -- Police say a woman was shot and a handicapped man was assaulted during a home invasion in South Philadelphia. CBS PHILLY

PHILADELPHIA -- Police say a woman was shot and a handicapped man was assaulted during a violent home invasion in South Philadelphia early Sunday, CBS Philly reports.

Authorities say three masked men broke into the home, where they held a 67-year-old woman against her will and pistol-whipped her son, who is paralyzed from the waist down.

The son's girlfriend also was attacked, police say.

"When police arrived they found this 35-year-old woman outside the house suffering from one gunshot wound to the left kneecap," said Philadelphia Police Capt. Drew Techner.

Both the son and his girlfriend were taken to Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition.

Investigators have no suspects and say it's unclear how the men got inside the house.

It was not immediately known if anything had been taken from the home.

Police were checking nearby surveillance video for clues.

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THIS INFORMATION ON HOME INVASIONS WILL MAKE YOU REMEMBER TO CHECK ALL YOUR DOORS SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE DAY AND CERTAINLY BEFORE LEAVING.

https://www.creditdonkey.com/home-invasion-statistics.html
August 5, 2017
23 Home Invasion Statistics You Should Be Afraid Of
By Kim Pinnelli

Home invasions aren't always violent. 11% of burglars even remove a door or window while the occupants are home. The average loss is around $2,000 per home invasion.

The more aware you are, the better you can protect yourself. Read on to see how you could easily become a victim too.

How many home invasions are there in the U.S.?
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 1.03 million home invasions occur each year.
What time of day do most burglaries occur?
Surprisingly, most burglaries occur between 10 AM and 3PM. Many homes are empty during this time while people are at work. Burglars know this and use it to their advantage. However, home invasions can occur any time of day or night.
How many homes are broken into each year?
3.7 million homes are broken into each year. That's 7 homes every minute.

HOME INVASION

What is home invasion?

Home invasion is the unlawful entry of someone's home. It usually involves some type of force. The person has the intent to commit a crime (whether he does or not). The legal occupant of the home may or may not be present.

How long is the sentence for home invasion?

Most states consider home invasion a felony. The general jail sentence can vary from 5 to 20 years. It depends on the degree of the home invasion. 1st degree is the worst. It usually involves the use of a weapon along with breaking and entering.

How long do you go to jail for burglary?

Burglars face similar jail time as those committing home invasion. The degree of the burglary and whether it's a misdemeanor or felony determines the jail time. Offenders can go to jail for 1 year to as much as 20 years. In addition, they pay hefty restitution fines.

BURGLARY

WHAT IS ROBBERY VERSUS BURGLARY?

Burglary and robbery both involve a property. They both also describe some type of theft. Robbery occurs in a home while you are present. The criminal usually uses some type of force or threat. Burglary occurs when you are not home. The criminal unlawfully enters your home with the intent to steal something.
How many homes are robbed each year?

The DOJ reported 1 million burglaries occurred with people in the home. 27% of them became victim of a violent crime.

What are the chances of being robbed?

According to the FBI, you can expect 1 in every 36 homes to be robbed.

What percentage of robberies involve weapons?

The DOJ reported the use of weapons in a majority of robberies. 41% of robberies involved firearms and 7.8% included knives or other cutting devices. In addition, 42.5% used strong-arm tactics, whether verbal or physical.

What percentage of burglaries involved forcible entry?

Forcible entry occurs when someone enters a home with some type of force or weapon. Almost 58% of home invasions used some type of forcible entry. Almost 7% of the burglaries accounted for attempted forcible entry. The remaining were unlawful entries with no force.
What time of day does the most crime occur?

The most common time for crime by an adult to occur is at 10 PM. The most active time for adult criminals is between 8 PM and 12 PM. Juvenile criminals, on the other hand, are the most active between 3 and 4 PM. Juvenile criminals most active time is usually between 3 PM and 7 PM.

What percentage of invaded homes don't have anything taken?

Criminals don't get anything 55% of the time when the home is occupied. Non-occupied homes have a 75% chance of theft.

What rooms do offenders usually hit first?

A majority of offenders head straight to the master bedroom. Many homeowners leave their most valuable items in this room. The typical items include cash, jewelry, and weapons. In the master bedroom, they often head to the nightstand and closet first.

Do burglars return to the scene?

Unbelievably, you are more likely to be a burglary victim after being a victim once. Even if you aren't the victim, but a neighbor is victimized, your chances are higher. A burglar returns to the scene because he's already done the work. He knows the area so it takes less effort to get the job done.
GUNS

How many home invasions were stopped by guns?

The government doesn't put a lot of emphasis on defensive gun use. Estimates show that 500,000 to 3 million defensive gun uses occur each year.

How many times do victims use a gun to scare their offender?

A shocking 2.5 million victims use a gun to scare their offender. That's almost 5 law-abiding citizens a minute. However, victims only shoot their offender 8% of the time. They mostly use the firearm to scare their offender away.

How many gun deaths are accidental?

In a 5-year span ranging from 2005 to 2010, 3,800 people died at the hand of a gun accidentally. Of those victims, almost 1,300 of them were younger than 25 years old. Generally, the states with looser gun laws had the higher number of deaths.

How many people have died from guns?

According to the CDC, 93 people die every day from guns. That's almost 40,000 deaths a year. Of those deaths, suicide was the reason twice as often as homicide.

What percent of homicide victims knew their killer?

58.4% of homicide victims knew their killer. The relationships vary from significant other to friend or acquaintance.

What percentage of murderers were male?

The Department of Justice claims that 89.3% of murderers are male.

How many women are criminals?

Estimates report there are around 2.1 million violent female criminals per year in the United States. 40% of them were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

HOME SECURITY

What's the best way to keep your home safe?

There's no foolproof way to prevent a home invasion. These tips may help keep criminals away, though.

Always make your home look occupied. Leave lights on and the exterior manicured. Don't leave mail stacked up in the mailbox. Have your grass cut even while you are away.
Lock all doors and windows, including when you go to bed.

Test all locks on windows and doors periodically and replace as necessary.

Keep everything stored out of sight.

Knowing the statistics should keep you on your toes. Constantly monitor your home's safety. Becoming too comfortable can make you a victim.