Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

Friday, August 28, 2026

David Byrne, Andre 3000, Dolly Parton

Film and TV? Some of the biggest music stars have done amazing work in TV and film. Diana Ross with her Oscar nominated turn in LADY SINGS THE BLUES, Elvis is his series of films, Cher with her Oscar winning turn in MOONSTRUCK, Dolly Parton, David Bowie, Tina Turner, and so many others.

Chris Willman (VARIETY) reports:

Ever since Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads film “Stop Making Sense” picked up its reputation as the best concert movie of all time, David Byrne has kept designing dazzling tours, and prominent directors have kept wanting to capture them. Following Spike Lee’s film rendering of Byrne’s “American Utopia” road show six years ago, now another name filmmaker is bringing the musician’s acclaimed 2025-26 “Who is the Sky?” tour to the big screen — and in large-format cinematography.

Director Brady Corbet, director of “The Brutalist,” is now in postproduction on the new Byrne concert film. And while he did not shoot in VistaVision, as he did on his previous narrative feature, he was still thinking big, shooting the film in a combination of 8-perf and 15-perf 70mm.

So that's a movie to watch for. An animated cartoon series to watch for? Nellie Andreeva (DEADLINE) reports:

André “3000” Benjamin (High Life; Jimi: All Is by My Side) is returning to the Scooby-Doo franchise with a recurring role on Netflix’s upcoming series Scooby-Doo: Origins, which is currently filming in Atlanta. Cathy Moriarty also will recur on the live-action series, which has been garnering strong buzz internally ahead of its 2027 global release.

Scooby-Doo: Origins, from Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, is the second live-action take on the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon after the 2002 movie. Benjamin is bridging the two; He and Big Boi’s OutKast, along with Killer Mike and Sleepy Brown, co-wrote the song “Land of a Million Drums,” for that film, which spawned a 2004 sequel.

Benjamin and Moriarty join previously announced Scooby-Doo: Origins leads Mckenna Grace as "Daphne Blake," Tanner Hagen as "Shaggy Rogers," Abby Ryder Fortson as "Velma Dinkley," Maxwell Jenkins as "Fred Jones," and of course, Scooby-Doo himself, along with Paul Walter Hauser, Rusty Schwimmer, Peter Macon, Jona Xiao, Dani Deetté, Elysée Sanvillé, Alex Isles, Avery Kristen Pohl, Pamela Mitchell, Ross Kimball, Sara Gilbert, Wynn Everett, Sauriyan Sapkota, and Bruce McGill.

Dolly Parton's passing remains a heavy loss. PINK NEWS reports:

As LGBTQ+ fans remember Dolly Parton following her passing, a piece of her history with the trans community is resurfacing. For decades, Parton employed and remained close to a transgender man named Jason Pirro.

Pirro was working as Parton’s chauffeur by 1990, when a story about him appeared in Star, a tabloid paper, and was subsequently reprinted in transgender newsletters of the era. An old eBay listing of the magazine, as reported by Them, shows outdated language about trans people in the headline, but Pirro’s own comments made clear that Parton knew about his transition and treated him with kindness and respect.

“Dolly has been good to me,” Pirro told Star at the time. “Dolly knows all about me and is a very nice lady. Whenever Dolly comes into Hollywood for a meeting, or for business, or for filming, or just staying here, she calls me and I drive her around.”

An August 1990 issue of the transgender newsletter Twenty Minutes reported that Pirro was chauffeuring Parton around Hollywood, while another contemporary newsletter from trans author and activist Lou Sullivan also highlighted his work with Parton and other celebrities.

Parton later mentioned Pirro by name several times in her 1994 memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. In a Q&A section addressing her views on trans people and gender-affirming surgery, Parton was asked what she thought about “sex-change operations”.

“Well, I’ve always said that if I hadn’t been a woman, I would have been a drag queen,” she replied, before adding: “All I know about sex-change operations I’ve learned from my good friend Jason…”

Pirro appears to have remained part of Parton’s professional and personal orbit for decades. She thanked him by name in the liner notes of her 2016 album Pure & Simple for his “time, love, and attention to details”, and he later contributed to her 2023 book Behind the Seams, which chronicled her iconic career and wardrobe.

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"

Friday, August 28, 2026. Chump's got troubles, lots and lots of troubles, ICE is arresting more -- much more -- immigrants with no charges against them than they are arresting and deporting convicted immigrants, Hegseth and Chump go after a sailor who will need therapy as a result of their actions, the House Oversight Committee releases a transcript of a recent interview, Greg Bovino insists some in the administration are trying to kill him and much more.

Chump got his own forever war but it didn't make him appreciate the military. No, the scorn he's shown all along is still on display as Erkki Forster (DAILY BEAST) reports:

A sailor who jumped from the USS Abraham Lincoln in an apparent suicide attempt is now facing disciplinary action from the Navy.

The 19-year-old sailor went overboard on Aug. 3 after sending his wife desperate messages about the toll of the extended deployment on the aircraft carrier, which had spent months at sea amid President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.

Now, the sailor is facing non-judicial punishment for violating articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), according to an MS NOW report, which cites his wife and charging documents.

The documents accuse the sailor of “malingering,” which is defined as a service member “intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service,” according to MS NOW.

Here's the video from yesterday morning of Stephanie Ruhle's new MS NOW program MONEY, POWER AND POLITICS.

So that's how Chump and Secretary of Fancy Nancy Pete Hegseth roll? There's no effort to get he sailor help, just to prosecute.

If we're going to prosecute, when do we prosecute Chump and Hegseth for their dereliction of duty that allowed the USS LINCOLN to be on a mission that long? Or their dereliction of duty when it came to not having basic supplies on board -- including food?

Phillip Nieto (DAILY MAIL) adds:

Navy documents accuse the sailor of ‘intentionally faking an illness or hurting themselves to avoid work, duty or service,’ while a separate charge claims he failed to report to his required place of duty during the mental-health crisis. 'I think they’re insane for doing this to people who need mental help,' the sailor's wife told MS NOW. 'Instead of giving them help, this is just another huge stressor.' His wife said he repeatedly requested paternity leave to meet his newborn daughter for the first time but was denied each time.

Chump's Iran War is driving a number of things home to voters. Mike Catalini and Steven Sloan (AP) note:

Mike Gibbons sat out the presidential election two years ago, frustrated that Democrat Kamala Harris did not take a stronger stand against Israel's war in Gaza and unable to bring himself to cast a vote for Republican Donald Trump.

That is not his plan this year.

The 33-year-old restaurant server in this eastern Pennsylvania town that once housed one of the world's largest steelmakers is eager to vote for any Democrat he can in November. As the war with Iran that Trump initially said would last weeks surpasses six months on Friday, Gibbons is feeling the fallout every time he fills his tank at nearly $1 per gallon more than last year.

“The price of gas affects the price of everything and the price of everything's up and my pay hasn't gone up,” he said. “I'm doing blue no matter who this time.”

But while the Iran War has cost Americans blood and money, it's been a boom for Chump. Kathryn Watson (CBS NEWS) notes:

President Trump's investment accounts have continued to purchase and sell stock holdings in oil and natural gas companies while he oversees the U.S. war with Iran, according to his financial disclosure filings through the second quarter of 2026.

As the Iran war continued, paused for a ceasefire and then restarted, Mr. Trump has purchased and sold oil and gas stocks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the most recently available data from the Office of Government Ethics.

Corrupt Chump has been on quite the ride since he returned to the White House. Nikki McCann Ramirez (ROLLING STONE) explains:

Donald Trump has been milking every dollar and cent he can find out of his second presidency. Personal jets, real estate deals, crypto rug pulls and shady foreign investment deals are just the tip of the international corruption iceberg, and while far less grand, he's also partaking in more mundane forms of graft. Namely lots, LOTS, of stock trades.

New stock trading data published this week by the Office of Government Ethics revealed that Trump made over 1,000 stock trades in the month of June. The president, whose financial portfolio is theoretically supposed to be held by an independent third-party trust, moved millions in stocks and ETFs for major companies including SpaceX, Palantir, Vanguard, Berkshire Hathaway, Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft.

According to an analysis by Yahoo Finance, the total volume of trades made in June clocked in between $78.1 million and $263.1 million. The administration denies that the president had any direct hand in the trades.

"Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold," the White House told The Wall Street Journal. "All holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000."

Yet, given how openly the president and his family are building a multi-billion dollar fortune by exploiting the power of the presidency, the notion that their trade portfolio is their last bastion of ethical behavior has been received with a heavy serving of skepticism. For example in April, Trump posted on Truth Social that it was a "GREAT TIME TO BUY" just hours before announcing his first round of global "liberation day" tariffs, triggering wild swings in investment markets.

In July Trump bragged to CNBC that his sons - who manage the majority of his family's business empire - had access to "insider information" when conducting transactions and crafting deals.

That insider information may have benefitted Chump back in June. Rae Deng (SNOPES) reports:

Trump's June 2026 financial disclosure indicates he bought between $250,001 and $500,000 of Boeing stock on June 18, 2026. That same day, the Department of Defense announced an $880 million contract with Boeing.

Thus, we have rated this claim as true.

We look at Chump and we see corruption. Aniket Verma (BENZINGA) reports:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday called President Donald Trump the “most corrupt” president in American history.

Warren criticized Trump’s second-term business activities, including the disclosures that he earned more than $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures in 2025.

The windfall included over $520 million from the sale of tokens issued by World Liberty Financial and more than $635 million in royalties collected from the Official Trump (CRYPTO: TRUMP) memecoin.

Warren also mentioned the service by Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (NASDAQ: DJT) that charges between $60,000 and $100,000 a month for early access to posts from 10 prominent Truth Social accounts, including Trump’s.

With midterms only 67 days away, the GOP appears to be in very bad shape and that's a result of Chump's actions. Garrett Downs (CNBC) reports:

Voters are worried about the cost of living. Comments from the GOP this week are not likely to console them.

President Donald Trump, in an interview Wednesday, said the word "affordability" was "devised" by Democrats to disparage him. The Republican National Committee sent out a fundraising text attributed to Vice President JD Vance that said groceries "cost what they cost." And Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who won the nomination for a full Senate term on Tuesday, disparaged federally run universal healthcare before recalling with nostalgia her parents heading to work even if they were sick.

Nostalgia of her parents heading to work even if they were sick? Her mother died of cancer. Her father of a heart attack. What happy moments those were for Darline. She says she's faced everything but she can't publicly face the fact that her brother was gay. She's in denial about so much.

The set of comments over the past 24 hours exemplifies the challenges ahead for Republicans as they race to save their majorities in Congress in the midterm election, which looms less than 10 weeks away. Democrats are hammering Republicans on the campaign trail over the cost of living, which remains stubbornly high amid the war with Iran. The White House and Republicans also have few levers to pull to remedy affordability concerns immediately.

Voters are also loud and clear that affordability is their top concern in this election. Respondents to CNBC's most recent All-America Economic Survey said the cost of food and groceries was voters' top concern, and Democrats held a 7 percentage point lead on handling that issue.

In other bad news for Chump and the Republicans, Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) notes:'

President Donald Trump has been given a major midterm warning as a poll shows the GOP is cratering among female voters.

A survey by Christine Matthews, a pollster at Bellwether Research and Consulting, found that Democrats hold a whopping 18-point lead over Republicans (52 percent to 34 percent) in a generic congressional ballot among 1,291 female registered voters.

For comparison, in the 2018 midterm elections—where Democrats rode a Blue Wave by winning 40 congressional seats and regaining control of the House—women favored Democratic candidates by 18 points (58 percent to 40 percent).

Among the key Republican voting bloc of white women, the numbers are particularly dire. The poll shows Democrats winning 47 percent to 39 percent. During the 2024 elections, white women favored Republican House candidates over Democrats by 55 percent to 44 percent, and by 53 percent to 45 percent in 2022.

We've repeatedly noted Chump's support for AI data centers and how they are increasingly unpopular with We The People. Lisa Kashinsky (POLITICO) reports:

Battleground Republicans are breaking from President Donald Trump on data centers. So far, they’re getting away with it.

In recent weeks, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Michigan GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers and Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity have called for temporary pauses on data center projects. Rep. Tom Tiffany, Republicans’ gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin, launched an attack ad painting his Democratic rival as too pro-data centers. Michigan GOP Rep. Tom Barrett also rolled out an ad last week saying “I stood up to my own party” on data centers and introduced legislation to shore up local control over them.

It’s a stark shift in a party that had previously embraced the burgeoning industry, which Trump has positioned as a critical piece of winning the artificial intelligence race with China. In some cases, the candidates are issuing their new, restrictive data center policies without consulting the White House, according to Garrity and advisers to Barrett, Abbott and Tiffany.

[. . .]

Trump recently called Abbott’s move to pump the brakes on projects in his state a “mistake” in a Punchbowl News interview. But the Texas governor still defends his crackdown, telling ABC on Sunday that he’s putting guardrails on an unruly industry that risks straining the state’s resources.

Pete Hegseth can't win a war and he can't make sure that the USS LINCONLN has enough food on board or isn't out to sea for too long but he can try to intimidate the Scouts of America. James Dale (USA TODAY) writes:

On Feb. 27, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted a video announcing that he had forced Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) to bend the knee regarding its inclusive policies. Hegseth said the organization would purge what he called "an insidious, radical, woke ideology" and membership would be based on birth certificates. Hegseth gave the organization's leaders six months to prove themselves, and he closed with a threat: "We're watching, and we're watching closely."

I know that rhetoric. I heard it in 1990 at 19 years old, when the Boy Scouts of America expelled me for being openly gay. I was an Eagle Scout and an assistant scoutmaster in Matawan, New Jersey, and a one-page form letter told me I no longer met the standards for leadership.

I spent the next decade fighting that decision all the way to the Supreme Court, and in 2000 I lost 5-4. The conservative court held that the scouts had a First Amendment right to decide their own membership, free from government interference, overturning a unanimous decision of New Jersey's highest court.

Beneath the bluster in Hegseth’s video, he kept referencing an agreement or memorandum but never shared it.

Scouting America's news release described a "renewed, strengthened partnership with the Department of War" but didn’t mention a memorandum. The Scouting CEO told the media that transgender members would remain in the program.

[. . .]

Now for a healthy dose of irony. The Supreme Court case I lost, Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, established that the government cannot dictate the membership of a private expressive organization. The precedent built on my expulsion is now the strongest legal shield Scouting America has against the Pentagon's coercion. The weapon that scouts leaders used on me is sitting there, waiting for them to pick it up.

Turning to Chump's decades long roll dog -- going all the way back to the eighties -- Jeffrey Epstein. A number of documents were released by the Justice Dept as a result of Congress passing a law to require the release of all documents; however, Attorney General Todd Blanche protected Chump as Deputy Assistant Attorney General and continues trying to avoid releasing documents related to Chump now that he's Attorney General. Congress released a transcript on Wednesday of their interview last month with JPMorgan Chase's Jes Staley. Misty Severi (JUST THE NEWS) reports:

The former executive admitted in the transcript that he had a consensual sexual encounter with someone who he described as "an assistant to Epstein" around 2009 or 2010, but that he did not know if the woman was paid by Epstein.

The interview, which took place July 24, was part of the panel's investigation into the federal government's handling of the Epstein case and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Staley consented to a voluntary transcribed interview with the committee.

Following Epstein's arrest and death, Staley came under scrutiny in a lawsuit filed by the disgraced financier's victims, who argued in court filings that JPMorgan Chase and Staley ignored red flags that helped enable Epstein to traffic women and girls. JPMorgan Chase settled the case in 2023 for $290 million.

Kalyeena Makortoff (GUARDIAN) adds:

The former Barclays boss Jes Staley has denied having sex with a woman dressed as Snow White, after being questioned about an infamous email exchange about Disney princesses with Jeffrey Epstein.

The comments were detailed in newly released transcripts from a closed-door interview last month with US lawmakers as part of their investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on child sex-trafficking charges.

In the email exchange on 9 and 10 July 2010 Staley and Epstein referred to Disney princesses. In those messages, the details of which have been circulating in the media since 2021, Staley tells Epstein: “That was fun. Say hi to Snow White.”

Epstein then asks: “What character would you like next?” to which Staley replied: “Beauty and the Beast.” Epstein responded: “Well one side is availble [sic].”

[. . .]

In the transcript, Staley is then asked: “Would you agree that’s a pretty incredible coincidence, that you email him on July 9th, saying, ‘That was fun, say hi to Snow White,’ and then [the unnamed individual] emails him the next day, reporting back on something that just didn’t have anything to do with you?”

“Sure. Why not?” Staley said.

“That’s pretty hard to believe,” the representative said.

Ortenca Aliaj (FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON) emphasizes:

Melanie Stansbury, a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico, highlighted inconsistencies in what Staley was able to recall.

“You’re claiming that you can remember this interaction you had with Mr Epstein when you went and made a friendly visit while he was doing his sentence, but you have no recollection of these emails and exchanges you had over a woman that was referenced as ‘Snow White’ years later?” she asked him. “That’s ridiculous,” she said.

Staley said many of the exchanges scrutinised by the committee happened a long time ago and he was not able to recall many of the details.

Julianne McShane and Lisa Rubin (MS NOW) note of the woman Staley did admit to having sex with:

In the transcript, Staley also recounts what he characterized as a consensual sexual encounter with someone who he described as “an assistant to Epstein” around 2009 or 2010, which he previously testified about. He says the woman was in her 20s or 30s, that the encounter occurred at her New York City apartment and that he “assumed” Epstein did not instruct the woman to have sex with him. According to the transcript, the woman later sued Epstein for sexual abuse and settled with his estate, but reserved the right to pursue legal action against Staley — a fact he said he was unaware of.

If Staley lied to and misled the Committee, that is in keeping with his pattern. Helen Cahill (TIMES OF LONDON) notes:

Barclays has been seeking to rebuild its standing after Staley’s departure, but it was dragged into the scandal once again in July when Elizabeth Warren, a senior Democratic senator, and two colleagues wrote to Nigel Higgins, the chairman of Barclays, to ask whether the lender performed sufficient due diligence on Staley before appointing him chief executive.

Warren said the FTSE 100 lender should provide details on its internal processes as its “apparent failure” to vet Staley posed “significant governance questions regarding the bank’s ability to hold senior executives accountable for wrongdoing”.

The bank has said that new information has emerged in the years since his appointment that showed Staley “misled Barclays and many others as to the nature of the relationship with Epstein”.

He and Epstein were very close. Gabrielle Saulsbery (BANKING DIVE) notes:

In one email, Staley suggested getting Epstein out of prison “for the weekend” to discuss business.

One questioner, whose name was redacted in the committee transcript, asked at last month’s hearing if it struck Staley as “problematic to be asking a convicted sex offender” to do that.

“Epstein had very interesting insights into the financial markets,” Staley told the questioner.

In other Epstein news, Cameron Adams (DAILY BEAST) notes:

Beleaguered billionaire Bill Gates has been grilled over claims that he was targeted for “blackmail” by child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Gates, 70, was mired in controversy after appearing in the Epstein case files. Among the documents released by the Department of Justice were photos of Gates posing with the late financier, as well as email correspondence between the two men.

The Microsoft co-founder was probed by the House Oversight Committee in June over his links to Epstein, whom he met with around 30 times between 2011 and 2014. In 2008, Epstein pleaded in Florida to state charges of soliciting a prostitute and procuring a minor for prostitution. He died in jail in 2019.

Gates appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 on Wednesday to share his concerns about the AI industry not opeing up about the possible risks of the technology.

However, Cooper ended the interview by asking Gates about his connections to Epstein, noting it was his first television appearance since his behind-closed-doors grilling by the House Oversight Committee.

The CNN host asked Gates about the series of “graphic, unverified” allegations Epstein reportedly made in draft emails from 2013 that were never sent.

The billionaire previously admitted to having extramarital affairs with two Russian women, but Epstein’s draft emails alleged he had contracted an STD from the women, and wanted antibiotics to give to his then-wife Melinda. Gates previously said the sordid allegations in the unsent emails were “false.”

“It sounded like he was trying to blackmail you,” Cooper asked of the contents of the draft emails, adding, “Were you aware he was trying to do that?”

“No,” Gates said firmly, pointing out how “complicated” the “several hundred pages” of testimony was.

“I didn’t know that he was considering blackmailing me. Uh, he never did blackmail me, but, you know, it just shows how foolish I was uh, to spend time with him,” Gates said.

Journalist Katie Phang went on UNION SQUARE to explaing her lawsuit against the Justice Dept to force Attorney General Todd Blanche to follow the law passed by Congress and release all of the Epstein files.

And below, Katie reports on Epstein pal and business buddy Leon Black.

Turning to ICE, though not as flashy as Kristi Noem, Greg Bovino is a nut case as well. David Edwards (RAW STORY) reminds Bovino was let go for the following:

He was removed in January after federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti during the Minneapolis operation, the last of the deployments that also took him to Los Angeles and Chicago, CNN reported.

A federal judge in Chicago found last year that Bovino lied about why he threw a tear gas canister into a crowd, CBS News noted.

Yet, David Edwards reports that Bovino is insisting that the administration doesn't want him to have security because "they want me dead at this point" and he fingers Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and border czar Tom Homan -- and I seriously doubt either person even thinks about Bovino, let alone wants him dead. It's just the crazy that Bovino has always functioned under and why he was such a threat to the American people.

Still on immigration, Julia Ingram (CBS NEWS) reports:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a record high of more than 800 people without criminal records a day in July on average, new federal data shows. The surge in arrests comes as the White House pushes the agency to hit a target of 2,000 per day.

July is the first month in President Trump's second term when people with only civil immigration violations — rather than pending criminal charges or convictions — made up more than half of those arrested. An average of more than 1,580 people were arrested each day in July, also a new high for the current administration.

Enforcement ramped up this summer after a drop following public backlash to the Department of Homeland Security's operation in Minneapolis, a funding standoff and a shake-up in DHS leadership. But, as has been the case with ICE's previous big city crackdowns, rising arrest totals come with spikes in community arrests of people without criminal records.

Administration officials have repeatedly claimed that their enforcement efforts are focused on "the worst of the worst" and often tout arrests of immigrants with violent criminal convictions. Those with convictions for violent crimes as defined by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics make up about 6% of all those booked into ICE detention under the current administration, and about 4% of those taken into custody in July, the data show.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Murray: “I will make sure Spokane’s recovery is a priority at every opportunity. Whatever it takes—for as long as it takes.”

ICYMI: Senator Murray Vows to Get Spokane and WA Federal Resources for Wildfire Response and Recovery

***PHOTOS AND B-ROLL HERE***

Spokane, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited families, first responders, and community leaders in Spokane to hear about the ongoing wildfire debris clean up and recovery efforts, and witness firsthand the current state of local communities that have been hit hard by the devastating Spokane Complex Fires.

Melinda and Brent Howard invited Senator Murray to visit their neighborhood to see the destruction from the Old Trails wildfire. The Howard family lost their home in the wildfire and their neighborhood was one of the hardest hit in the community.

“Washington state is no stranger to wildfires—but this has been one of the most destructive wildfires our state has seen. I want every family in Spokane, and those across the state who are still battling wildfires, to know I am with you, today, tomorrow, and for as long as it takes to rebuild,” said Senator Murray. These fires may have destroyed homes and so many families lost a lifetime of memories, but Spokane’s spirit was never broken. The Spokane community rallied together and took care of each other—and I had the opportunity to see that firsthand. Firefighters, law enforcement, health care workers, and volunteers mobilized, stepping up to help one another. The VA staff were also critical and got Mann-Grandstaff evacuated, continued to ensure veterans had the care they needed, and stepped up to get it reopen as soon as possible—even as many were affected by the fires themselves. So, with my deepest gratitude, thank you, to everyone who has helped battle these fires and keep the community safe, and thank you as we all continue working together to rebuild and recover.”

Senator Murray continued, “The fires may be contained but the fight does not stop. The people of Spokane need action and deserve to know their government has their back. I have been hard at work in DC ensuring Washington state received an expedited Emergency Declaration so communities could get resources faster. Rebuilding homes, rebuilding businesses, it will take a long time, and it will not be easy. But as Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I want the people of Eastern Washington to know they have a voice in the United States Senate who will speak up for Spokane, and I will make sure Spokane’s recovery is a priority at every opportunity. Whatever it takes—for as long as it takes.”

“We lost everything in the fire, as did many in our community. We are so grateful for the amazing response from firefighters, first responders, and the greater Spokane community, including the rapid formation of the Disaster Assistance Center. The outpouring of support has been nothing short of incredible. We have a long road ahead of us with many unknowns. Continued support from local, state, and federal agencies will be critical in the months and years to come,” said the Howard Family.

While in Spokane, Senator Murray held a briefing with first responders and local leaders to hear about the response and recovery efforts for the Spokane Complex Fires. Senator Murray is committed to supporting the wildfire recovery efforts and will ensure resources for Spokane are a top priority in federal funding bills.

“Federal assistance is critical to our ability to respond to the aftermath of these devastating fires. Senator Murray will be a key partner in that effort, and I am grateful for her leadership and commitment to Spokane as we navigate the road to recovery,” said Lisa Brown, Mayor of Spokane.

“I am grateful to Senator Murray for coming to meet with the Spokane Fire Department and see firsthand the areas impacted by these devasting fires. She has helped bring federal partners to the table, which will ensure local families, businesses, and neighborhoods have the resources they need to rebuild and come back stronger,” said Tom Williams, Spokane Fire Chief.

Senator Murray also toured CHAS Health, including their new Learning Institute and their mobile medical unit, and met with health care providers who helped families evacuated due to the wildfires. Senator Murray secured $3 million in Congressional Direct Spending (CDS) for the CHAS Learning Institute in FY22 to help create a health care training facility to expand community access to health care apprenticeship programs and on-the-job training for students in medical, dental, and pharmacy programs.

“When these historic fires hit the Spokane community, CHAS Health was well positioned to provide support. From the Red Cross Shelter to the Disaster Assistance Center, our employees quickly stepped up in assisting with medical care, prescription refills, providing essential needs, and other resources throughout the early recovery effort. We thank Senator Murray for her continued advocacy and support for the individuals, families, and communities impacted by the fires,” said Aaron Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of CHAS Health.

As Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in the Interior and Environment appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026, which Senator Murray negotiated and helped pass into law, Murray worked to include essential investments in wildfire preparedness and suppression. In FY26, she secured $6.13 billion for the U.S. Forest Service, with separate additional funding for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve. The bill rejected the steep $1.4 billion cut to the Forest Service’s non-fire budget proposed by President Trump and provides funding for the Forest Service to improve forest restoration and fire risk reduction efforts on federal lands. The FY26 bill also fully funds essential wildfire preparedness and suppression efforts by providing $4.25 billion for wildfire suppression, of which $2.85 billion is for the Wildfire Suppression Operations Reserve Fund and continues to support the increased pay for federal firefighters enacted into law last year. Senator Murray continues to push back against Trump’s FY27 budget request, to protect our public lands.

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