'60 Minutes' blasted for pearl-clutching over disaster relief, rescue operations by 'anti-government far-right groups'



CBS News debuted a "60 Minutes" report on Sunday that delved into the supposedly troubling trend of Americans bypassing official channels to help other Americans who are struggling in the aftermath of natural disasters.

"What if we told you that after natural disasters, some of those who descend on hard-hit communities with offers to help are anti-government conspiracists and white nationalists?" Lesley Stahl said at the outset of the episode.

'Shameless and transparent.'

While the geriatric talking head clutched pearls over a pattern of life-saving help from undesirable sources — namely "anti-government, far-right groups" — video played showing men helping to clear brush, distribute supplies, and reinforce disaster-stricken Americans.

Among those men reportedly featured in the montage are members of the multiracial Virginia Kekoas militia group, which provided aid in 2024 to those areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and neglected by the Biden administration.

The "60 Minutes" report — which strategically focuses on the efforts of Patriot Front and Active Club, a pair of groups regarded as white supremacist hate groups by the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center — smears unsanctioned volunteers who are "far-right" and/or affiliated with militia groups as "disaster tourists who are out to sow doubt in government, soften their own image, and gain followers."

In addition to leaning on Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin's critique of the challenges supposedly posed by "misinformation" and "outside folks" in disaster areas, "60 Minutes" turned to Freddy Cruz, a program manager at the Western States Center — a Portland-based leftist organization whose bread and butter appears to be concern-mongering about perceived white nationalism — for help in framing the story.

RELATED: Klansman allegedly on SPLC payroll was 'true believer' white supremacist, not reformed infiltrator

ALLISON JOYCE/AFP/Getty Images

"These people come in, they hand out water, they help clean up the debris," Stahl said. "Whatever their ideology, they're doing something positive, aren't they?"

"What we're seeing is actually these groups will show up and generate a whole bunch of social media content," Cruz said. "We're dubbing it 'disaster tourism.'"

This and the other bizarre attacks in the report did not go over well with some of the self-giving groups and individuals who have repeatedly stepped into the breach in those moments where the government's relief efforts have proven wanting.

The United Cajun Navy — a nonprofit organization that was not mentioned in the "60 Minutes" episode by name but has for decades engaged in life-saving rescue operations, humanitarian assistance, and logistical support in areas hard-hit by floods, hurricanes, and other ruinous natural events — noted on X, "We have many media outlets that are very good to us. Then there's this trash."

"This SCREAMS 'Funded by the [SPLC]," wrote the UCN, which in the wake of Hurricane Helene joined forces on aid efforts with Mercury One — another outfit whose relief efforts "60 Minutes" smeared by implication. "Even though we aren't mentioned, we would still be happy to comment ON THE RECORD about what [horse manure] this is. It's time to put 60 Minutes out to pasture, Holla!"

Shawn Hendrix, the "expert survival dad" featured on MrBeast's YouTube channel who was among those who helped victims of Hurricane Helene, said in response to CBS News' agitprop, "Not one 'left'-leaning news station reached out to me during the disaster. They pretended it wasn't happening because Biden was president and Cooper was governor, failing us badly. I was up there for months and never once saw a CNN camera or MSNBC crew. Now, over a year later, they want to create some wild narrative. They weren't there, so how did they know?"

"I, however, was there," Hendrix continued. "The only people being selective about who they helped were FEMA. I saw no racism; no one cared who you voted for. We were all just surviving and serving."

BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre tweeted, "SPLC funding the KKK story drops[.] A week later 60 Minutes just happens to run a 'hey that white guy helping you while your house was destroyed is probably a fascist' segment."

"Shameless and transparent," MacIntyre added.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

NASCAR Legend Greg Biffle Died An American Hero

Greg Biffle not only succeeded in the highest levels of stock car racing but also helped his suffering fellow citizens after Hurricane Helene.

The real first responders of Appalachia weren’t on the payroll



I was working out of Blaze News’ headquarters in Irving, Texas, on September 27, 2024, when Hurricane Helene smashed into the heart of Appalachia. Within days, the scale of the devastation in Western North Carolina began to come into focus — and I knew I had to be there.

“I have more going on right now than I can keep up with,” I told my editor in chief. “So I need you to talk me out of this — but I think I need to be in North Carolina.”

Western North Carolina’s story is not one of despair but of resilience and defiance.

Matthew Peterson looked up from his desk, paused for a moment, and said, “You need to be in Western North Carolina.”

By that afternoon, I had checked out of my hotel and hit the road. My preferred route — Interstate 40 through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina — had been washed out by the storm, so I took the long way: I-20 to Atlanta, then I-85 up to Durham. Along the way, I stopped at eight Best Buy stores trying to find a Starlink satellite unit. All of them were sold out. It was a good sign: Relief workers were already headed into the mountains.

At home in the Raleigh area, I swapped my usual TV gear for boots and cargo pants. I ended up needing two pairs of boots. I blew out the soles on a pair during a rugged six-mile hike along the Toe River with a cadaver dog search team.

Blaze Media's Jill Savage and Julio Rosas had already set out with Glenn Beck and Mercury One to Asheville in the early days after the storm. They quickly linked up with Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, a nonprofit led by Adam Smith, a 17-year Army veteran and former Green Beret. SFRO was operating out of the Harley-Davidson dealership in Swannanoa, and when I showed up unannounced and flashed my Blaze Media press badge, they took me in. I embedded with them for more than three weeks.

Smith is the kind of man you’d cast in a movie: six foot three, broad-shouldered, and commanding. But his heroism wasn’t theatrical. The first rescue he led was an aerial evacuation of his own daughter and ex-wife from the flooded Broad River Valley. He had no idea whether they were dead or alive until he got there.

Under Smith’s leadership — and in coordination with veterans, nonprofits, and local officials — SFRO helped launch one of the most effective private disaster responses in recent memory. They delivered nearly 6 million pounds of supplies and flew over 2,500 air sorties. Their supply chain used everything from helicopters and trucks to pack animals.

I witnessed more than 100 volunteers — many of them veterans — bringing food, fuel, medicine, clothing, and shelter to remote communities. There were days of search and rescue, followed by the harder, heartbreaking work of search and recovery.

Federal and state authorities were much slower to respond. National Guard troops and the 18th Airborne Corps were eventually deployed, working under the direction of Smith and SFRO leadership — but never in the numbers needed.

WNC saw no more than 3,500 military personnel at any one time. That’s a fraction of the 60,000 National Guard troops deployed to New Orleans after Katrina or the 17,000 sent to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. By November 19 — just before Thanksgiving — virtually all military aid was withdrawn, even as thousands remained homeless and winter set in.

The Biden administration and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) failed to meet the moment. But others stepped in: Samaritan’s Purse, Mercury One, Great Needs Ministry (an Amish charity from Pennsylvania), and countless others.

“We wanted to help the people with the disaster,” Amanda Zook, a volunteer from the Amish group, told Blaze News. “Our hearts just felt drawn to come help the people in this area.” The Amish have spent countless hours repairing and rebuilding homes and businesses in the hurricane-afflicted area.

RELATED: FEMA fires 3 more supervisors tied to home-skipping scandal impacting Trump supporters

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Local high-schoolers stepped up, too. Students from the Mountain Heritage High School carpentry class built a tiny home for 75-year-old artist Sherry Housley, who lost everything in the flood. “I was flooded with water,” she said. “Now I’m flooded with angels.”

There are hundreds of stories like hers. But recovery remains a long road. Estimates put the damage at $50 billion to $60 billion. So far, only a tenth of that has been allocated. One FEMA veteran told me, “This is the worst I’ve ever seen … times 10.”

I caught up with Adam Smith again just before the Independence Day holiday. He still lives in one of the hardest-hit areas. “Western North Carolina’s story is not one of despair but of resilience and defiance,” he told me. “The rugged people of the mountains have proven that they will stand when the system that is designed to protect, rescue, or save them collapses.”

“But they should not have to do it alone,” he added. “The region needs honest leadership, transparent spending, and a dramatic reduction of bureaucratic barriers.”

I asked him whether Western North Carolinians could still celebrate Independence Day after all they’ve endured.

“The real spirit of July Fourth lives in every volunteer wielding a chainsaw,” Smith said. “Every first responder risking life and limb. Every neighbor sharing a meal. Every small-town leader fighting to cut through the red tape.”

He’s right. “The battle for Western North Carolina isn’t over,” Smith told me. “It’s a fight that demands every American’s attention, because when the systems designed to protect us collapse, all that remains is each other.”

The people of WNC haven’t lost their independence — or their soul. They haven’t just survived. They’ve reminded the rest of us what it means to be free.

SANDOVAL: Amish Easily Do What Federal Government Wouldn’t Do For Months

'We wanted to help the people that had the disaster…our heart just felt drawn to come help,' says one interviewee

Critics blast liberal reporter for seizing upon hurricane devastation to belittle North Carolinians' beliefs



The Guardian, a leftist publication based in the U.K., is facing criticism over a Sunday article that seized upon the devastation wrought in North Carolina by Hurricane Helene as an opportunity to belittle locals' beliefs, attack President Donald Trump, and push a climate alarmist agenda.

The article was penned by the Guardian's "senior climate justice reporter" Nina Lakhani — a British national who previously suggested that nTrump was a terrorist and a fascist; pushed the Russian collusion hoax; claimed that America's border wall created "environmental and cultural scars"; advocated for banning white men from positions of power; and called the British monarchy a "white supremacist institution."

After insinuating that Trump and Elon Musk were to blame for delayed disaster relief, the Guardian reporter expressed concern that in her travels through Buncombe County, North Carolina, "the climate crisis was largely absent from people's thoughts" in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Resident Twila Little Brave, for instance, told the Guardian about her struggles in the wake of the hurricane, her gratitude about being alive, and how the efforts of her community, not her government, helped her survived the ordeal.

Sharon Jarvis, a 59-year-old woman who lives on a mountain slope on the outskirts of the community, criticized the Biden administration's disaster relief or lack thereof and noted that Christian relief groups, local churches, and other volunteer or nonprofit groups — not the government — stepped into the breach to help.

David Crowder, the pastor at a Barnardsville Baptist church, discussed tough living conditions along with potential threats to local pride and the storm's transformation of the landscape.

Since Brave, Jarvis, and Crowder failed to furnish Lakhani with the talking points the foreign reporter needed for her preferred narrative, Lakhani clumsily shoehorned them into the piece herself with the help of fellow travelers.

'We've failed to communicate this in a way that reaches some of the most vulnerable people.'

Lakhani insinuated that Brave and others who "have found comfort from attributing Helene to God's will" were ignoramuses, noting that "the science is clear: the intensity of the wind and rain during Helene was supercharged by the climate crisis, and the frequency and severity of such storms will increase as the planet continues to warm — driven by the world's dependence on the burning of fossil fuels."

While dismissive of locals' religious beliefs, Lakhani appeared more than willing to accept as gospel truth an assertion from Thomas Karl, the former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information, that might rely on misleading and inaccurate claims.

Lakhani shared Karl's belief that "these events will become more intense and stronger. But somehow we've failed to communicate this in a way that reaches some of the most vulnerable people, while they're getting false information from places they trust."

The government watchdog group Protect the Public's Trust noted in a complaint last year that the NOAA's Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters tracking project relies on economic data and cannot as a consequence "distinguish the effect of climate change as a factor on disaster losses from the effect of human factors like increases in the vulnerability and exposure of people and wealth to disaster damages due to population and economic growth."

'This is a vile, mean-spirited article.'

The so-called Billions Project not only has been been cited in over 1,200 articles but has been characterized by the U.S. Global Change Research Program as a "climate change indicator" and had its data cited in 2023 as evidence that "extreme events are becoming more frequent and severe" in the same federal program's "Fifth National Climate Assessment."

Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. noted in a study published June in the Springer Nature journal npj Natural Hazards:

NOAA incorrectly claims that for some types of extreme weather, the dataset demonstrates detection and attribution of changes on climate timescales. Similarly flawed are NOAA's claims that increasing annual counts of billion dollar disasters are in part a consequence of human caused climate change. NOAA's claims to have achieved detection and attribution are not supported by any scientific analysis that it has performed.

Despite outstanding questions about the veracity of claims of intensifying weather, Lakhani framed Karl's statement as the "clear science," then echoed his concern about the germination of alternate viewpoints regarding the storm and broader weather patterns.

Lakhani complained that "false rumors and conspiracy theories," as well as "fossil fuel-friendly" narratives, appear "to resonate among even those directly hit by floods and fires."

When criticizing so-called "disinformation," Lakhani turned to a fellow traveler to shore up her narrative — Sean Buchan, the so-called research director at the leftist censorship outfit Climate Action Against Disinformation.

Buchan appeared to insinuate that rural North Carolinians and other disaster-struck Americans were not smart enough to grasp "climate science" because it is "complicated and nuanced and requires patience." As a result of locals' supposed inability to understand what he and Lakhani believe to be true, Buchan suggested that "propagandists and bad actors will show up in person or online to fill the information vacuum."

Matt Van Swol, a former nuclear scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory, called the Guardian article "absolutely disgusting."

"This is a vile, mean-spirited article from The Guardian," continued Van Swol. "Everything mountain-folk HATE about big city reporters is covered in this article."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

‘We Need To Do Better’: Vance Torches FEMA For Hamstringing Local Hurricane Recovery Efforts

'Bureaucratic inadequacy'

CBS Claims Southern States Are Too Poor, Incompetent To Handle Disaster Recovery

While interviewing VP J.D. Vance, CBS's Margaret Brennan claimed southern states are too poor and incompetent to handle disaster recovery.

Trump prioritizes trip to state 'abandoned by the Democrats': North Carolina



President Donald Trump plans to visit various disaster-struck parts of the nation but will start Friday with North Carolina, as its people suffered for months and have been "treated so badly."

The American government has in recent decades eagerly doled out hundreds of billions of dollars for foreign aid and engaged in fruitless nation-building projects abroad. Former President Joe Biden, for instance, blew $230 million on a useless floating pier off Gaza that was dismantled after 20 days. Recent disasters — in Hawaii, North Carolina, and California, for example — have left some Americans wondering whether their government felt similarly compelled to apply such zeal in domestic relief efforts.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene — which killed over 100 Americans and reportedly damaged at least 6,000 miles of road and over 160 water and sewer systems, over 1,000 bridges and culverts, and at least 73,000 homes — Trump seized upon the perceived difference between the Biden administration's responses to foreign and domestic crises.

'We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people.'

"They're offering them $750, to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of," President Donald Trump said at an Oct. 5 rally, referring to the one-time $750-per-household payment to eligible disaster survivors through FEMA's "Serious Needs Assistance." "Think of it: We give foreign countries hundreds of billions of dollars and we're handing North Carolina $750."

Trump hammered this point home in his inaugural address, stating:

We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people. Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina — who have been treated so badly — and other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago or, more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.

A Dec. 13 damage and needs assessment in North Carolina estimated that the cost of damages and needs was over $59.6 billion, "including $44.4 billion of direct damage, $9.4 billion of indirect or induced damage, and $5.8 billion of potential investments for strengthening and mitigation."

'We're going to get that thing straightened out.'

While federal funds trickled into the Tar Heel State since the storm along with piecemeal relief efforts — despite the apparent aversion of some within the Federal Emergency Management Agency to render aid to potential Trump supporters — the sense of abandonment remains strong.

Residents of Swannanoa, North Carolina, for instance, told WXII-TV this week that they have received very little help from the federal government and expressed hope that things will change under the new leadership.

Ian Monley, a worker with Valley Strong Disaster Relief, said, "We've seen people living in condemned trailers where they have raw sewage under their trailers. We've seen people living in tents. We've seen people living in cars. Normally, you see FEMA trailers rolling in and things to get people housing. And we haven't seen any of that."

Trump, who suspended all foreign development assistance programs for 90 days on Monday, said in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Tuesday evening, "On Friday, I'm stopping in North Carolina — first stop because those people were treated very badly by Democrats."

"We're going to get that thing straightened out because they're still suffering from a hurricane months ago," added Trump.

Josh Stein, the state's new Democratic governor, confirmed Trump's visit during a Tuesday briefing, noting, "I think that's very good news for the people of Western North Carolina that this issue is front of mind of the new administration."

While uncertain of his schedule, Stein said he hopes "to be able to see" Trump.

After visiting North Carolina, Trump is headed to Los Angeles then Nevada.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

FEMA found means to extend relief to homeless Helene victims hours before Trump took office



Thousands of families in Western North Carolina still reeling from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene received some good news just as the Trump administration was about to begin: FEMA approved extensions for hotel vouchers, keeping a roof over their heads during the frigid winter months.

Last month, then-Vice President-elect JD Vance toured the area and promised that storm victims there would receive the help they needed once his administration took office.

"Certainly when this administration changes hands in the next 45 days, we’re going to do everything that we can to help people rebuild, to get them back on their feet, to bring some commerce back to this area, but, most importantly, to allow people to live in their homes," Vance said on December 6.

"We haven’t forgotten you — we love you."

Vance's visit came just days after a bombshell report revealed that FEMA had discriminated against Trump supporters during election season.

'It's 20 degrees tonight.'

Despite Vance's assurances, just a week ago, in the waning days of the Biden-Harris administration, North Carolina leaders sounded alarm bells because their constituents were being kicked out of their hotel rooms as FEMA vouchers expired.

"My office has been helping dozens of Helene victims today who have been told their hotel vouchers expired despite not having a safe and livable home to go back to. Their homes have mold and broken windows ... it's 20 degrees tonight," Republican Sen. Thom Tillis posted to X on January 14.

"This is a total breakdown on the part of FEMA," he added.

By Thursday, Gov. Josh Stein (D) had contacted FEMA, imploring the agency to continue providing assistance to North Carolinians still without homes.

Pressure from state officials and the incoming Trump administration apparently did the trick. On Sunday, FEMA responded to Stein's letter and granted the voucher extension until May 26 as part of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.

On Monday, the day that President Donald Trump took office, FEMA issued a press release confirming the voucher extension.

"I want to be clear, this program is not ending for Western North Carolina," said federal coordinating officer Brett Howard. "We understand the great need survivors have at the time, and this program will last as long as necessary. ... FEMA staff are working daily with survivors and on their cases to help them find permanent housing solutions."

Additionally, FEMA announced that residents will also receive more advanced notice when they will lose program eligibility. Before the press release on Monday, FEMA gave a notice of just seven days. Now, however, the agency will give them a notice of at least three weeks.

'If FEMA is to live up to its name, then it needs to act like an emergency is a true emergency and be able and willing to help people ... not blame them for failing to fill out a form correctly.'

In all, nearly 13,000 families in the beleaguered area have participated in the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program since Helene struck in late September. The number of eligible families has since dwindled to about 2,000.

Howard seemed to note that FEMA resources are not unlimited, cautioning that "the length of eligibility for an individual survivor will be based on their individual circumstances."

While losing eligibility in the face of such hardship sounds cruel, it occurs only when the situation on the ground improves or when applicants withdraw their request, fail to respond to a FEMA agent after "multiple" attempts at contact, or never had a permanent residence to begin with, the press release indicated.

Matt Von Swol, an Asheville resident who has chronicled the ongoing devastation in Western North Carolina since Helene hit, was thrilled about the extended relief from FEMA. "THE TRUMP EFFECT IS HERE!!!!" he wrote on Tuesday.

— (@)

Still, Von Swol is frustrated that the relief was not available in the first place.

"FEMA dropped the ball from the very outset of the storm. They failed to act quickly. They failed to communicate effectively. They failed to respond adequately to survivors we have personally helped. We have seen firsthand how bureaucracy involved in delivering true aid to victims is a death by a thousand slow-rolling cuts," Von Swol said in a statement to Blaze News.

"If FEMA is to live up to its name, then it needs to act like an emergency is a true emergency and be able and willing to help people swiftly and fairly, not blame them for failing to fill out a form correctly."

FEMA has already shelled out $316 million in cash assistance and another $6.2 million in rental assistance to Helene victims in North Carolina, the agency claimed in the press release. Some small business owners in the region may also qualify for a loan with no interest for one year to help them rebuild.

Helene victims in neighboring South Carolina have only a few more days to apply for FEMA assistance.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

An Embarrassment For Every Month: The Worst Blunders, Failures, And Flops Of Biden’s Final Year

From incompetence to non compos mentis.