FEMA and NC National Guard abandon North Carolinians living in TENTS as winter looms



Hurricane Helene had devastating effects on Western North Carolina. Many residents are still displaced. Some of them are even living in tents right now.

Why then has FEMA and the North Carolina National Guard ceased operations in areas most impacted by Helene?

Mercury One executive director JP Decker joins Jill Savage on “Blaze News Tonight” to share what the nonprofit is doing to fill the gap in the government’s absence.

“The devastation is still there. Nothing has really changed in regards to some of those buildings in Asheville or Black Mountain,” says Decker, adding that there’s still “20- to 30-feet tall piles of debris.”

By the looks of the North Carolina National Guard’s social media pages, however, it would seem that they’re working tirelessly to help the victims.

But when Decker was on the grounds with Mercury One, “There was no FEMA, there was no National Guard.”

In addition to other nonprofits, he says, “It was the everyday person who was standing in the gap and doing what the government should have been doing.”

Making matters worse is the fact that the city of Asheville, North Carolina, recently installed a single-unit public bathroom that cost a pretty $400,000.

“This shows how important local government elections are when you have people who are willing to do something like this when there's people that are suffering and living in tents,” says Decker.

Blaze News editor in chief Matthew Peterson points to a recent article written by Blaze News investigative journalists Steve Baker and Joseph Hanneman, in which they report the same story.

“The Army, Air Force, and National Guard have pulled most personnel from Western North Carolina. The temporary shelter need is 'extremely urgent' as winter looms,” they wrote.

Baker, who spent time in North Carolina helping with relief efforts, has a difficult time speaking about the tragic abandonment of the North Carolinians.

“We made relationships with these [government employees] and became very friendly with them. We were seeing each other every day; we were going out to the disaster relief site ... going out with their dog teams, going out with their people, helping recover bodies and also help removing debris and clearing people's property,” he says. “And then to see these forces removed ... I get very emotional about this.”

“Last week ... I drove over a 100 miles through the most devastated areas in the western part of the state and mile after mile after mile, tent after tent after tent, where people won't leave their property because they're afraid they're going to lose it if they leave,” he recounts. “And not one military vehicle, not one troop on the ground.”

Shocked at what he was seeing, Baker said he called the public affairs offices to inquire about the egregious abandonment.

He was met with responses, such as, “You’re right, Mr. Baker. We withdrew.”

But when Baker asked the obvious follow up question — Why? — he was met with silence.

“There is no answer because there is no logical answer,” he tells the panel.

To hear more of the story, watch the clip above.

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National Guard husband vanishes, and his wife's alleged affair — and a new mattress — raise chilling questions of murder



A Utah mother allegedly shot her husband to death in their bed in September, according to claims by her alleged lover. The husband has been missing since last month.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, told police she and her estranged husband met to talk Sept. 20 and began “drinking whiskey," according to an arrest report.

The mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband's body "north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave."

Gledhill and her husband — 51-year-old Matthew Johnson — allegedly agreed to have sex that night.

"Jennifer informed [the officer] due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex," the warrant states, according to KSTU-TV.

Johnson — a member of the Utah National Guard — was reported missing Sept. 23.

The next day, Gledhill reportedly contacted the Cottonwood Heights Police Department to file a domestic violence incident report against her husband.

She allegedly informed an officer that "bruises were all over her body," and she wanted them photographed for evidence.

The warrant noted that an officer noticed several bruises on Gledhill's arms, hands, legs, and a bruise under her left eye.

Gledhill claimed Johnson "became upset," but she could not remember why, according to the warrant.

"Jennifer informed me she remembered Matthew was on top of her with a closed fist striking her several times," Gledhill reportedly told police.

However, an informant told investigators a different story.

An unnamed man who claimed to be having an affair with Gledhill reportedly told police that she informed him that she sustained bruises from "moving Matthew’s body and cleaning the mess in the house."

'I washed everything & vacuumed & it's not an issue anymore.'

The alleged lover also made another bombshell accusation.

Fox News reported that the lover informed investigators that Gledhill came over to his house on Sept. 22, and she told him that she was "likely going away for a long time."

According to police, the informant claimed that Gledhill told him that she and Johnson got into a fight on Sept. 20 "because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else."

The informant allegedly told police Gledhill confessed to him that she shot Johnson in the head with his 9mm Glock "as he slept in their shared bed."

Court documents said Gledhill told her lover "that she loaded Matthew’s body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs by herself, and loaded him into the back of her minivan."

Documents added that the mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband's body "north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave."

The probable cause affidavit noted that Gledhill sent the informant text messages and messages on WhatsApp, including one that reportedly read: "I washed everything & vacuumed & it's not an issue anymore."

Gledhill told the informant that if she were told a story like the one she told him that "she would take it to the grave," according to court documents.

A neighbor reportedly told police that she witnessed Gledhill’s parents inside the home "cleaning" the garage and "moving things around" on Sept. 24. The suspect's mother reportedly confirmed to investigators that she was at her daughter's house Sept. 24.

Johnson has yet to be found.

'Take it to the grave.'

Detectives found Johnson's truck and his cellphone inside it less than a mile from his home.

While serving a search warrant at Gledhill’s residence, detectives allegedly noted that the mattress in the master bedroom "appeared to be brand new."

Prosecutors claimed, "The evidence is significant that defendant obstructed the investigation by removing the mattress she admitted to [the] informant that she shot Matthew on while he was sleeping and replaced days later with a new mattress."

Gledhill’s mother allegedly told detectives that she purchased a new mattress from Amazon at Gledhill’s request.

"Additionally, the entire wall behind the master bed appeared to have fresh wipe marks from cleaning," court documents state. "Several reddish-brown spots were located on the walls, bed frame, and blinds of the master bedroom. Detectives noted that the wall behind the master bed was covered in bleach."

Police noted "a strong smell of chlorine in the basement" and bleach stains on "several stairs" with black carpeting.

During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, detectives discovered bags of what appeared to be drugs packaged "for individual sale" and roughly $200 in cash.

Citing cellphone records, prosecutors said "at no point" after Sept. 21 did Gledhill "ever attempt to contact" Johnson.

When investigators asked the suspect’s father if he had recently entered the master bedroom, he reportedly responded, "I did not go in where the incident happened."

According to police records, Gledhill previously made "unsuccessful attempts to secure a protective order against Matthew during the course of their marriage and was found by the court to be an instigator and one to goad Matthew into a response in order to get him in trouble," prosecutors argued.

On Oct. 2, Gledhill was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, five counts of obstruction of justice, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, abuse of a human body, and tampering with a witness.

During her first court appearance Monday, 3rd District Judge Todd Olsen ordered her to not have contact with any of her three young children — ages 11, 7, and 5 — either in person or electronically.

KSL-TV reported Gledhill "wiped tears from her face" as the judge issued the order.

Gledhill's attorney, Jeremy Deus, argued, "I think this is a heavy-handed tactic by the state to try to put undue pressure on her."

Deus added, "I can't imagine what it's like to say that she can't see the children and, in effect, tell the children that they can't see mom, either. They're not named victims in the case. I don't see a basis for having a protective order that prevents them from having contact with their mother in any form or fashion."

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Manhunt intensifies for I-75 shooting spree suspect who wounded 5, hit a dozen vehicles



Law enforcement has intensified its manhunt for a suspect who went on a Saturday shooting spree on interstate 75 near London, Kentucky.

The shooter fired an AR-15 from a cliff ledge on the side of the interstate about nine miles north of London — roughly 90 miles south of Lexington — around 5:30 p.m. The shooter struck 12 cars and wounded five people, including one who was shot in the face.

'We’re not going to quit until we do lay hands on him.'

“A couple of our deputies, because of the severity of the injuries, loaded the people up, the injured persons, and transported them to London Hospital,” said Laurel County Sheriff John Root.

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said Sunday that none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries and all were in stable condition. Two additional people were injured in a car crash that occurred during the shooting, police said.

Authorities immediately shut down I-75 in both directions because the shooter's location wasn't known.

“We couldn’t risk somebody else being shot,” Root stated.

I-75 reopened around 9:30 p.m. the same day.

Police initially named 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest in the shooting but elevated him to a suspect Sunday afternoon. Investigators said they found an AR-15 rifle and Couch's car in the vicinity of the shooting.

The decision to name Couch a suspect was based on evidence collected, the recovery of the weapon, Couch’s vehicle, and “some information” that Root could not share at the time.

Couch served in the National Guard for four years in an engineer battalion, according to Laurel County Sheriff's Captain Richard Dalrymple.

Couch has a “very minimal” criminal record in Kentucky, according to Jackie Steele, the commonwealth’s attorney for the 27th Judicial Circuit. Couch previously was charged with terroristic threatening, but the charge was dismissed earlier this year, Steele said.

On Monday, Couch was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of assault in an arrest warrant. Couch could face other, less serious charges, such as property damage and wanton endangerment.

Couch — of Woodbine, Kentucky — is described as standing 5'10" and weighing 154 pounds.

The sheriff's office said Couch is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.

Dalrymple said at Sunday night’s news briefing that Couch purchased a gun and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition just hours before the shooting.

"He obtained a firearm at a local place here in London," Root said, adding that it was a legal purchase.

'You need to lock your doors. If you have security cameras, make sure you’re constantly watching them; maybe keep your porch lights on. Have your cell phone and make sure your phones are charged upm because you never know when you might have to contact somebody or law enforcement.'

Investigators searched Couch's house Sunday night, Dalrymple said.

Kentucky State Police took over the search for Couch on Sunday night, while the Laurel County Sheriff's Office will handle the criminal investigation. The FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation.

Couch is believed to be in the the vast, densely wooded area near the shooting scene.

Police are using helicopters, drones, K-9 teams, and ground crews to scour the area.

Kentucky State Police spokesperson Scottie Pennington noted, “You can’t do it very fast because you don’t want to leave [any] rock unturned. You don’t know if he’s in that area. So you’ve gotta be very slow-paced at what you do.”

Root declared, “We’re not going to quit until we do lay hands on him. This effort is not going to stop.”

Police said it does not appear that the shooter was targeting specific people, but Acciardo said the attack did appear to be “a planned event.” Police have not released any information regarding a motive in the shooting.

Pennington advised local residents, “You need to lock your doors. If you have security cameras, make sure you’re constantly watching them; maybe keep your porch lights on. Have your cell phone and make sure your phones are charged up, because you never know when you might have to contact somebody or law enforcement.”

As the search for the I-75 shooter has entered its third day, authorities closed schools as a precaution. More than a dozen area school districts and several other private schools in Laurel, Jackson, and Clay Counties canceled classes Monday.

Republican Kentucky Rep. Hal Rogers on Sunday released a statement about the shooting.

“Our first responders have been working around the clock now for over 24 hours to locate the suspect accused of turning I-75 in Laurel County into a dangerous firing range on Saturday, injuring five people," Rogers began. "Thankfully, local police have confirmed that no further shots have been fired today and all the shooting victims are in stable condition."

Rogers pointed out that semitruck drivers protected students pinned down in school buses on the highway.

“I also want to applaud all the unsung heroes who aided victims before first responders arrived on the scene, the semitruck drivers who surrounded school buses to protect our students stuck on the interstate for hours, and those who have donated water and food to the central command post to support our brave first responders," Rogers stated.

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