A Drought, the Colorado River, and the Hoover Dam

0:00Welcome and thank you for joining me here with the Morning Brief. I'm Keegan Billings with the Epic Times, one of America's largest independent newspapers. Today is Monday, September 14th. Now starting off, I'm going to jump into a rundown of some of our top stories for today. First off, water levels that lake Mead are at historic lows, amid a sustained mega drought, threatening water supplies and hydroelectric power for millions in the southwest. Meanwhile, President Trump has called on Ukrainian President Zelensky to stop targeting Russian diesel fuel as the attacks are causing a global shortage. In more news, a federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it ordered FEMA to cut its workforce. Next, President Trump said the United States could ultimately remain in Iran and keep the oil in a similar manner to his administration's move to control some of Venezuela's oil reserves. And last for our health section today, we'll be talking about a study of nearly 2.3 million older adults, where it found that one medicine is often followed by another for a problem

1:03the first drug may have caused. So stick around for that. But first, if you haven't already, please show your support for Epic Times and independent journalism by leaving a five star review of this show on your podcast platform. Or if you have a minute head over to www.ratethispodcast.com forward slash morning brief. Our team would really appreciate it. Ok, now getting back to that top story for today. At Lake Meads, callville Bay, Marina, exposed rock bluffs now rise above the shoreline where the lake once covered the land. A brown and white sign marks a vanished 2000 shoreline in the beginning of a decades-long regional mega-drought. Farther downslope, the Marina and boat slips come into view, but reaching them on foot requires a hike through a hundred degree heat. Now the drought has transformed the man-made lake into a shrunken version of itself with no end in sight. The falling water level threatens supplies and hydroelectric power for millions and has forced some boat ramps to close. A Marina employee requesting to remain anonymous told us, it's getting pretty scary.

2:05You know, the water is dropping to a level where they can't keep up with marking the hazards. They further said it's hard for people to launch their boats because the water level is dropping at such a pace. The maintenance to keep up the launch ramps is difficult. In some cases, shallow water is left boaters with broken propellers and scraped holes after they've struck rocks and debris that were once deep underwater. The employee said you can see the years in the levels where the water was, it just keeps going down and down and down. But Lake Mead is only part of the story. Its fate is tied to Lake Powell, its sister reservoir about 300 miles upstream, and ultimately to the Colorado River that supplies them both. Now Olivia Connor, a land shuttle driver at Callville Marina, said she's witnessed severe droughts before but nothing like the regional drought of the past two decades. So hydroelectric reservoirs have two critical thresholds. Deadpool marks the point at which water can no longer move downstream by gravity, and power pool is the minimum level needed for water to reach the intakes that feed the dam's hydroelectric turbines.

3:07Now Lake Mead is currently at 1039 feet above mean sea level and 26 percent full. Down from its 1229 foot full pool and 18 feet lower than in 2025. The reservoir is currently at 144 feet above deadpool and 89 feet above power pool. When it reaches deadpool, it will be unable to power the Hoover Dam. The massive dam built in 1931 which supplies the power needs of nearly 8 million people. And for Lake Powell, the nation's second largest reservoir behind Lake Mead is just under 22 percent full, about 183 feet below its 3,700 foot full pool and roughly 29 feet lower than a year ago. The reservoir supplies water to Glyn Canyon Dam, which supplies electricity to roughly 5 million customers. At the current drought level, the reservoir sits 147 feet above deadpool and just 27 feet above power pool. Alright, now let's move on to our next story, those $5,000 dividend checks Trump announced

4:08last week. So how Speaker Mike Johnson said that Trump's plan to send those $5,000 dividend checks to American adults if Republicans maintain control of Congress will require a congressional act. Trump announced the payments during a speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. Johnson said it was meant to boost turnout ahead of the midterm elections in several weeks. Johnson said we have to figure all that out, but I think what he was articulating is that he's saying that if you want more money in your pocket, you have to keep Republicans in charge. In a separate interview with NBC's Meet the Press yesterday, when asked whether the payments would be sent, Johnson said that he would commit that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that. Johnson said that it takes some time noting that Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate. Johnson added, I never go out and give big commitments on the front end because I've got to work through it. Meanwhile, several Republicans publicly embrace the idea of sending the checks. That includes Senator Bernie Moreno, the Republican from Ohio, who posted on X last week that

5:10he would prepare legislation for the payments. When Rep. Tim Wallberg, a Republican from Michigan, called it good economic policy. Okay, now let's move on to the topic of AI. Trump and top lawmakers in Washington have responded to anthropic CEO Dario Amote and other industry leaders calls to slow down the development of frontier AI. Now Trump rejected the suggestion, saying we're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world. And frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins. The president noted that guardrails are an option. Trump said we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of very negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up and they're bringing up things that won't happen. Now meanwhile, Senator Ted Cruz said he is working with Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senate Majority Leader John Thune on legislation to quote, address catastrophic risks involving biological or nuclear threats. And a post on X Cruz wrote that AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace.

6:10And some of the risks are dangerous and frightening. He added we need guardrails, but America needs to lead if China leads the world in AI, the whole world is in trouble. And House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN's Jake Tapper on Saturday the Union yesterday that he fears that if Congress stepped into regulate AI, then America would lose the race to the Chinese Communist regime. Johnson said that businesses need to be responsible with their products. He said there's an obvious corporate responsibility that the people who are creating these models have to ensure their products are safe. And Johnson urged AI leaders to meet with Congress and come up with a solution. Now sticking with the topic of AI, CEO Sam Altman said that open AI will not pursue an initial public offering and IPO in 2026 as the company focuses on reducing potentially catastrophic risks associated with AI. Now talking to business magazine fortune Altman said, I actually think that given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public. And we don't feel pressure on that.

7:10Now his comments come amid the renewed warnings about the possible consequences of rapidly advancing AI systems. Like the two researchers from open AI's competitor andthropic recently warned that AI could eventually threaten humanity, prompting lawmakers from both parties to call for more safeguards. Altman was asked if there was a 10% chance that AI could lead to the extinction of humanity. And he responded by saying that he didn't know how an estimate like that could be made, but did say the risk was enough that AI companies and governments should not tolerate it. Altman said, whether it's 10 or 8 or 6, the point is we all have a tremendous amount of responsibility and cannot let egos or incentives for profit or anything else get in the way. Now fortune also asked Altman if an IPO in 2026 had been put on hold until 2027, and Altman said it wouldn't happen in 2026. Altman also suggested open AI and other top AI companies may be near a deal to slow AI development and cooperate in dealing with safety risks. Okay now let's move on to another topic.

8:11Rep Tom Tiffany the Republican from Wisconsin swam to safety after a small plane made an emergency landing on Wisconsin's Lake Wasaw on Saturday. In a social media post early Sunday morning, Tiffany shared that the plane he was traveling in lost power as he approached the wasaw downtown airport. According to the marathon county sheriff's office, Tiffany the Republican nominee for governor of Wisconsin and the pilot Leonard Bolts were the only people on board the beach craft K35. The single engine aircraft was made in 1959 and can hold up to five people including the pilot. The congressman was being flown 191 miles from Wisconsin's Burlington to Antigo according to flight records. What Tiffany said as the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat. The wasaw fire department's airboat rescued them in just after 9pm and transported them to a hospital with minor injuries. The congressman said, God was watching over us tonight and I'm incredibly grateful to

9:14be here in the hospital with my wife Chris by my side. He further said an experience like this reminds you just how precious life is. Tiffany ended up receiving stitches above his right eye and was released from the hospital on Saturday and the pilot was released as well. Ok now moving on to the topic of the Russia Ukraine war. President Trump has called on Ukrainian President Zelensky to stop targeting Russian diesel fuel as the tax are causing a global shortage and diesel in the US has hit a record high. Now Trump talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Irish open said that he had spoken to Zelensky about it. He said he told Zelensky that there are plenty of other targets don't hit diesel fuel because that's hurting the world. Now Ukraine has targeted Russia's oil and gas industry for months with long range attacks and Russia has responded with fuel rationing and July Russia even banned diesel exports. Now diesel in the US rose to 620 a gallon on average on September 13th a new record while regular gas is selling for 431 a gallon on average that's according to the American

10:16automobile association. Now in more news from President Trump he said he would lift tariffs on Irish whiskey. He also made those comments at the Irish open in Ireland. Now during the trophy ceremony for the Irish open Trump said that he had been asked about the issue by everyone including some of the golfers. Trump said everyone's been buggy me about the tariff and I said on behalf of the United States of America I'm going to take the tariffs off Irish whiskey. Now the tariff is imposed on imports from the European Union. Trump had announced in April that he was removing certain tariffs on UK whiskey which includes scotch and spirits made in Northern Ireland. The crowd then cheered when Trump made the announcement. The Irish whiskey association had called for the tariff to be removed in April after Trump announced an exemption for whiskey produced in the United Kingdom. The Irish whiskey association said Irish whiskey exports to the US were valued at about $525 million annually based on the current exchange rate. The association said removing the tariff would benefit US companies carrying premium Irish

11:18products, reducing uncertainty for Americans and support the barrel making industry in Kentucky, Tennessee and other states. Ireland is the European Union's largest importer of American oak casks with most Irish whiskey matured in barrels previously used to produce bourbon. Ok now let's move on to our next story. An appeals court will today hear arguments on the Justice Department's bid to revive two cases. Come is against former FBI director James Comey and the other against New York Attorney General Latisha James. Now the court of appeals for the fourth circuit agreed to combine both DOJ appeals into one case. Now Comey was indicted in September 2025 for allegedly lying to Congress about FBI media leaks while James was charged with bank fraud and lying on a mortgage application. Comey and James have both denied the charges. Both cases were tossed after a federal judge ruled that former Trump aide Lindsey Halligan had been illegally appointed as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia

12:20and had no authority to bring the charges. Halligan stepped into the role of acting US attorney after her predecessor Eric Seabirt resigned in September 2025. She secured the grand jury indictments against both defendants later that month. Comey and James filed motions to dismiss their cases arguing that then Attorney General Pambondi had no right to appoint Halligan. Comey and James have both said the indictments against them are retaliatory vindictive prosecutions stemming from their opposition to President Trump. Okay, now let's move on to the topic of FEMA. A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it ordered FEMA to cut its workforce from 23,000 down to about 11,500 by the end of the 2026 fiscal year. US District Judge Susan Ilston ruled on September 11 in favor of unions that sued over the planned staffing cuts. After the federal government's failures during Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed a law

13:21giving FEMA control over all of its functions, including its personnel and administrative authority, according to the judge's ruling. Although FEMA falls under the Department of Homeland Security, the law also expressively prohibited the Homeland Security Secretary from substantially reducing FEMA's authority, responsibilities, functions, or ability to carry out its emergency management missions. Judge Ilston wrote, the statutory language is clear. The court document says that a draft report that was leaked in December 2025 showed a recommendation to create a new FEMA 2.0 by cutting FEMA's staffing roughly in half and pushing more of FEMA's functions out to states and local governments. The court criticized the December 2025 staffing plan that projected a revamped FEMA with about 11,383 employees. Judge Ilston wrote that the figure was arbitrary and capricious and appears as if pulled from thin air. The judge also questioned the process of coming up with the reduction to 11,383 employees

14:25by Karen Evans, the acting FEMA administrator at the time. The judge wrote that the record indicates that Evans submitted the 11,383 figure first and then worked backwards to figure out how to support it. Now the judge did not immediately determine the remedy. The unions have sought reinstatement and back pay for separated employees and an injunction barring implementation of the staffing plan. Judge Ilston ordered the parties to negotiate a solution, and if they cannot agree, they must submit a joint statement identifying the remaining disputes by October 9th. So quick, if you're enjoying this, I want to tell you about our sister podcast, Epic Reports. Over there we publish multiple episodes per week with deeper reports and interviews from our premium content. If you're interested in something like that, I recommend you check it out. Okay, now let's get back to some world news. An Iranian cargo vessel was struck near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. An Iran-backed, Houthi rebels claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia escalating concerns about the security of regional shipping and oil supply.

15:28Now oil traders are expecting prices to rise again when the markets reopen today, following the weakened violence that threatened oil supplies from the world's biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Republic news agency, Iran's official state news agency, set in Iranian commercial content was hit by an unidentified projectile early Sunday. The attack happened near Hengom Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The news agency said that one crew member was killed and four others were injured. Now shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has vessel crossings dipping into the single digits. That's down from 130 a day before the war between the US and Iran began. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia shut down its east-west pipeline after an aerial attack. According to Saudi oil buyers and traders, Saudi Arabia has enough oil stored to maintain shipments for only five to seven days if the pipeline remains closed. Now the pipeline provides up to 4% of the global oil supply. The Arabia moves about 4 million barrels per day through the pipeline.

16:28The pipeline is also significant because it runs through the desert across the Arabian Peninsula and is not impaired by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. In more of the Iranian-backed Houthis announced on X that they launched an attack Saturday night. They claimed to have launched ballistic missiles and drones against a military base in Saudi Arabia's Shah-Ura region. On September 11th, the Houthis captured the param island in the Babelman-Dabstraight, which is considered an important waterway because it connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. About 12% of the world's goods pass through the Babelman-Dabstraight and Saudi Arabia uses the Strait to export oil. But traffic in the Strait has been hampered significantly, dropping 60% since the Houthis began attacking ships in the Strait in 2023. The Houthis also took the city of Moka and Yemen last week. Moka which sits on the Red Sea is about 50 miles from the Babelman-Dabstraight. Meanwhile on the topic of Iran, Trump said the U.S. could ultimately remain in Iran and keep the oil in a similar manner to his administration's move to control some of Venezuela's oil

17:32reserves. Trump said, we'll ultimately get out of Iran unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela. Now he was speaking at the Trump International Gough Course in Ireland as he was attending the Irish Open. Trump added that the U.S. revenue from Venezuela has paid for the war many times. Now the president did not elaborate further on a possible oil agreement with Iran or whether he would be willing to deploy troops in the country. Now and more, speaking at the Irish Open Golf Championship, Trump also said that the price of gas would drop like a rock once the Iran war ended. And he said that he believes the Iran war will end this year. Trump also said that he would only make the right deal and wouldn't do one that he believes wouldn't be good for U.S. interests while asserting that Iran was calling the U.S. constantly for peace talks. Okay, now let's turn to Helen with today's health story. All right, thanks for joining me here with our health section. I'm Helen Billings and for today, I'm going to talk about how a new symptom might be coming from an old medication. Okay, so let me start by giving you an example.

18:35There was an 87-year-old man who went to the hospital with COVID-19. His memory was a little shaky on a good day, so doctors gave him steroids to treat the illness. Well in the hospital, he grew confused. At night, he would try to climb out of his bed. He even fought the staff, so they posted a sitter at his bedside. Next, Dr. George Hennowy, the director of geriatrics at MedStar Goods in Meriton Hospital in Baltimore, was called in. The man had already been given a dose of anti-psychotic medicine to control the agitation. So Hennowy's team looked at the history of his stay. They ended up lowering the steroid dose and moved it to the morning. Hennowy told us that with that move, gradually he returned to baseline and they were able to discontinue the sitter and get him up and walking again. Now the choice between treating the new symptom and looking at the last prescription is a familiar fork in geriatric care. A study of nearly 2.3 million older adults, published in the BMJ, quantified how often these

19:38patterns appear. Richard started with 65 suspected drug pairings. They found 24 in which one medicine was often followed by another used to treat a known side effect of the first. The strongest link, Merit Hennowy's patient, a steroid, then an anti-psychotic. The record show which drug came first, not why the second one was prescribed. Researchers could not say how many of these pairings were true prescribing cascades. However, they appeared often enough in that order to deserve a closer look. So a prescribing cascade happens when a side effect from one medicine is mistaken for a new health problem and treated with another drug. Now let me give some examples from the study. So iron pills topped the list. Nearly 12% of older adults who started iron received a prescription laxative within a year. That's about 1 in 8. The statins came next. 10.9% of new users, about 1 in 9, were given a prescription pain reliever.

20:43Statins were also among the most widely used drugs in the study, dispensed to 55% of the older adults. The third was a pairing that will matter to families caring for someone with dementia. About 1 in 10 people who started dementia medication were prescribed a sleep aid within a year. That matters because some sleep medicines can themselves and pair cognition in older adults. Now lastly, what can a patient do? So when a new symptom appears, start by asking what changed just before it. A drug started days or weeks earlier may be easy to forget. Hennowy tells patients and families to ask one simple question, is it possible that my or my loved one's symptom is related to a medication? Right thanks for that Helen. And like always before we leave, here are some words of wisdom to start your day. And for today our quote is from Miguel de Servantes's Don Quixote. He wrote, you are a king by your own fireside as much as any monarch on his throne.

21:47Signing off for the day, I want to thank you for joining me here with Epic Times Morning Brief. And a final reminder, if you've enjoyed this, please leave us a positive review on your podcast platform. Alright once again, I'm Keegan with the Epic Times, I hope you had a good weekend and I hope you're having a good day. And like always, I'll see you back here tomorrow with more news.