Losing the War on Coal: One Virginia town's painful decline

APPALACHIA, Va. –  Roger Whited doesn’t have to think back too far to remember when Main Street was alive with bustling shops and offices, teeming sidewalks and even traffic jams, all thanks to the industry that was the lifeblood of this tiny mountain town and countless others like it.
But six years into what many term the Obama administration’s “War on Coal,” Appalachia’s main thoroughfare is a tableau of boarded-up buildings, empty storefronts and dilapidated homes. Those who still mill about on streetcorners are looking for jobs, not places to spend their paychecks.
"I remember when the downtown area was more vibrant -- streets were packed and businesses were open,” said Whited, who teaches high school social studies in Wise County. “There was the hotel and Bessie's Diner, which was a popular place to get a meal. There were several other restaurants, but now the only place that serves food is a gas station.”

"There were several other restaurants, but now the only place that serves food is a gas station.”- Roger Whited

For generations, coal powered not only Appalachia’s homes and the lights on Main Street, but also the local economy. The salaries paid by companies like Cumberland River Coal Co. were enough to afford the trappings of a middle class, if hard-won, lifestyle. Men and women who toiled in the mines spent their money downtown and sent their kids to the local schools.
But the Obama administration’s tough regulations on coal-fired electric plants, combined with other market forces, have left the future of coal – and the people, companies and towns that depend on it – in doubt. The administration is seeking to reduce carbon emissions at coal-fired plants by 30 percent by 2030, a goal that industry officials call unrealistic. New plants are too expensive to build, and older ones are too costly to retrofit, they say.

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The United Mine Worker's union local, like so many shops on Main Street, sits empty. (FoxNews.com)

"If somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can,” President Obama said in January 2009, shortly after taking office. “It's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.”
Even as the nation endured a recession, followed by years of sluggish economic growth, coal towns like Appalachia reeled from policies dictated in Washington. As coal-fired plants closed, demand for coal plummeted. In 2011, Appalachia’s lone high school closed, a casualty of low enrollment.
In July, Arch Coal, parent company of Cumberland River Coal Co., announced plans to idle its mine in Appalachia and lay off 213 workers, a devastating final blow to the town of 1,800. That followed a similar move by A&G Coal Co., once one of the region’s biggest employers.

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The mines around Appalachia once shipped thousands of tons to coal-fired electric plants, but policy changes in Washington have left the facilities empty. (FoxNews.com)

Miners who hung onto their jobs know their paychecks are numbered.
“You wake up every day wondering if you’ll have a job the next day,” Brandon Lawson, of nearby Big Stone Gap and a miner for six years, told the Bristol Herald Courier. “I’ve seen it [the decline of the industry] coming a long time ago.”
Tucked away in the mountains from which it takes its name, Appalachia is just a 30-minute drive from the Kentucky state line. It was one of many settlements that sprang up around mines. Those clusters became known as “coal camps,” where housing and services were all operated by the coal companies in the arrangement made famous in Tennessee Ernie Ford’s classic 1955 hit.
Coal towns that flourished became full-fledged municipalities, like Appalachia, which was founded in 1898. As mining became safer and wages rose, Appalachia and surrounding towns became symbols of success of small town America, a rural answer to Detroit. Hospitals, schools, restaurants and shops sprang up, all fed by the trickle down from “King Coal.”
There is no end in sight for the current decline, according to a report by Downstream Strategies titled, "The Decline of Central Appalachian Coal and the Need for Economic Diversification."
“Coal production in Central Appalachia is on the decline, and this decline will likely continue in the coming decades,” states the 2010 report, which predicts production, which peaked at 290 million tons in 1997, will amount to less than 100 tons in 2035.
Many have moved away from Appalachia in search of work in recent years. Other breadwinners, reluctant to shatter the family bonds built over decades, spend their weekdays in far-off locations, sending money home and visiting on weekends or whenever they can. In Appalachia, they call it the “Suitcase Brotherhood.”

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This 1974 photo from the National Archives shows Appalachia's largest coal mine, complete with three silos to store coal until it was ready to ship.

James Hibbitts was an upper middle-class banker in Appalachia back when there were loans to be made. Now, he works throughout the week for a natural gas company in Pennsylvania, some 375 miles away, returning for a few days when he can in order to be with his family.
“I am torn between the place I call home and the travel I am having to do to provide for my family, he said.
Environmental and liberal groups say there is no “war on coal,” only policies aimed at reducing pollution. They say many factors have contributed to the downturn in places like Appalachia, and the key to their turnaround is adaptation.
"The Appalachian coal market is confronting a perfect storm of mature coal resources, abundant and low-cost natural gas, deflated global coal prices, an influx of coal from Colombia and other countries, and competition with coal from other parts of the United States," said Alison Cassady, director of domestic energy policy for the Center for American Progress. "It does not help to blame the EPA and ignore the more fundamental market forces at work."
Rick Mullins, a local business owner in Appalachia and former state Senate candidate, agrees to some extent. He said the area has many attributes that could aid in a turnaround, but says federal aid is needed.
“What we are going to have to look to in the future is diversification,” Mullins said. “Owing to the unique history and natural beauty of the region, other avenues of employment could involve promotion of tourism in the region.
“If we could attain some kind of federal assistance in order to level the playing field, it would help greatly,” Mullins added.
Whited is not sure the Appalachia he grew up in will ever come back.
“I've got some good memories when things were better,” he said. “A lot of people had money and times were much more prosperous than they are now. Now there's really none of that, and it's empty for the most part.
“It's sad."

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Ferguson officer feared for life, report says

WASHINGTON –  The police officer who fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old in a St. Louis suburb last summer has told investigators that he was pinned in his vehicle and in fear for his life as they struggled over his gun, The New York Times reported.
Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson has told authorities that Michael Brown reached for the gun during a scuffle, the Times reported in a story posted on its website Friday night. The officer's account to authorities did not explain why he fired at Brown multiple times after emerging from his vehicle, according to the newspaper.
The Times reported that the account of Wilson's version of events came from government officials briefed on the federal civil rights investigation into the Aug. 9 shooting that sparked racial unrest and weeks of protests, some of which turned violent. Wilson is white and Brown black.
Wilson confronted Brown and a friend while they were walking back to Brown's home from a convenience store. After the shooting, Brown died at the scene. Some witnesses have told authorities and news media that Brown had his hands raised when Wilson approached with his weapon and fired repeatedly. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family says that Brown was shot at least six times, including twice in the head.
The Times reported that Wilson has told investigators that he was trying to leave his SUV when Brown pushed him back in and that once inside the vehicle the two began to fight. Wilson told authorities that Brown punched and scratched him repeatedly, leaving swelling on his face and cuts on his neck, the Times reported.
Wilson, who had been patrolling Ferguson for nearly three years, was placed on leave after the shooting. A state grand jury is considering charges against him.
The Justice Department is investigating the Ferguson Police Department for possible civil rights violations, including whether officers there use excessive force and engage in discriminatory practices. Two-thirds of Ferguson's 21,000 residents are black but only three of its more than 50 police officers are black.

Dems tie Ebola woes to budget cuts, conservatives say ‘nonsense’

Congressional Democrats and allied groups are ramping up claims that the Ebola response is suffering from a budget crunch, even as Republicans and independent fact-checkers question the argument.
The latest call came Thursday from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who demanded that lawmakers return to session to revisit the budget.
“The Appropriations Committee should return to Washington immediately and convene hearings to discuss and debate the issue of funding levels for NIH, CDC and related agencies in light of the public health challenges posed by the Ebola virus,” she said in a statement.
Others have suggested Republicans specifically are to blame for problems with the Ebola response.
On Oct. 12, the Agenda Project Action Fund released a political ad called “Republican Cuts Kill,” which according to the group, has been scheduled to air in Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, and South Dakota – all states with high-stakes Senate elections in November. The ad juxtaposes pictures of dead bodies and body bags in West Africa with Republican lawmakers like Sens. Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul.
“Like rabid dogs in a butcher shop, Republicans have indiscriminately shredded everything in their path, including critical programs that could have dealt with the Ebola crisis before it reached our country,” said ad producerErica Payne, founder of the Agenda Project Action Fund.
The talking points were spurred by statements made by National Institutes of Health head Dr. Francis Collins to The Huffington Post on Oct. 10.
"Frankly, if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would've gone through clinical trials and would have been ready," Collins said. He added that some therapeutics to fight the virus "were on a slower track than would've been ideal. ... We would have been a year or two ahead of where we are, which would have made all the difference.”
But fact-checkers and number-crunchers say the actual budgets do not bear out claims that Republicans have starved research for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NIH through the Obama administration.
“Claims that CDC and NIH have not had enough funding to do Ebola research are nonsense,” said Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute.
At the CDC, funding has remained relatively steady.
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler notes that the CDC budget has “bounced around” $6.5 billion every year of the Obama administration.
In both 2013 and 2014, it was Congress that boosted the funding after the administration had proposed scaled-back budgets.
According to reports, when the 2014 budget was passed in January, the CDC’s budget rose to $6.9 billion, $567 million more than it received in 2013 and more than the agency anticipated, as the president only requested $6.6 billion.
While it appears stagnant from 2009 numbers, it is still double the budget the CDC was getting in 2000 ($3.4 billion), Edwards points out.
With NIH, the numbers have edged up from $28.5 billion in 2006 to $30.14 billion in 2014, Kessler said. That’s technically an increase – but with inflation, it’s more like a cut.
But Kessler also points out that NIH was given an extra $10 billion in stimulus funds in 2009.
While neither agency was getting all the money it wanted, Kessler points out that what happened in the last few budgets was not a “slash and burn” by Republicans, but a tug-of-war between Congress and the president which culminated in the 2013 sequestration cuts. Those cuts, including a $1.5 billion cut to NIH, affected all government agencies indiscriminately.
“There’s no doubt that spending has been cut, or at least failed to keep pace with inflation, but the fingerprints of both parties are on the knives,” Kessler wrote in The Washington Post Fact Checker.
Kessler gave the Democratic allegations that Republican budgets were at fault for the poor Ebola response four “Pinocchios,” and called them “absurd.”
Edwards said a better way to connect the budgets with the Ebola crisis is to look at how the money is being spent. Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal complained in a recent op-ed that “in recent years, the CDC has received significant amounts of funding. Unfortunately, however, many of those funds have been diverted away from programs that can fight infectious diseases, and toward programs far afield from the CDC’s original purpose.”
On that note, Republicans are trotting out various NIH funding projects they say show questionable – even wasteful – spending.
“It’s funny that the Democrats are quick to point fingers when it’s been this administration pushing the CDC to spend time and resources on bike lanes and farmers markets instead of prioritizing national security and the health of Americans,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said.
The Washington Free Beacon rounded up several projects ranging from $53,202 for studying sighs to more than $2.4 million for developing origami condoms.
“The bigger story here is that the president and the Democrats have once again been leading from behind on an issue that Americans are concerned about.”
But where there is money on Capitol Hill, there’s mandated oversight, and if members of Congress are quick to point fingers, they might want to point some of them back at themselves, said Edwards. Their job includes making sure the agencies have what they need, and are spending it on their stated priorities.
“Not enough blame is put on the congressional committees,” he said, “which are supposed to be conducting oversight of these agencies.”

Senior Republicans criticize Ebola 'czar' choice for lack of medical background

Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill Friday criticized Ron Klain, President Obama’s choice to be “Ebola czar,” as a figurehead with no health background.
“Given the mounting failings in the Obama administration’s response to the Ebola outbreak, it is right that the president has sought to task a single individual to coordinate its response, “said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “But I have to ask why the president didn’t pick an individual with a noteworthy infectious disease or public health background?”
Klain, a longtime political hand, served as chief of staff to Al Gore and Vice President Joe Biden but has no apparent medical or health care background.
A White House official said Friday that Klain comes to the job with "strong management credentials, extensive federal government experience overseeing complex operations and good working relationships with leading members of Congress, as well as senior Obama administration officials, including the president." 
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called him an "excellent choice."
But criticism came swiftly from the Republicans.
“The United States’ handling of the Ebola virus here at home has left Americans across the country petrified about the preparedness and response efforts, said House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich.” The public is desperate to believe that we will be safe from Ebola’s spread. I was glad the president got off the campaign trail to finally focus on Ebola, but with this appointment of a 'czar' with no health background, he just got right back on.”
Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, added, “This appointment is both shocking and frankly tone deaf to what the American people are concerned about. Installing yet another political appointee who has no medical background or infectious disease control experience will do little to reassure Americans who are increasingly losing confidence with the administration’s Ebola strategy.”
Both Upton and Murphy called for immediate travel restrictions to halt the spread of the disease.
Said one senior GOP congressional source, who asked not to be identified, “I think it’s a bizarre pick. He may have a good reputation as manager within the Democratic party. But Republicans see him exclusively as a political operative who’s been at the heart of the some of the most partisan events of the past two decades.”
Rep. Tom Price,R-Ga. and a doctor himself, accused Obama of "making an unserious gesture at an incredibly serious moment.”

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Top GOP lawmakers say docs show another gun linked to Fast and Furious found at crime scene

Two top Republican lawmakers said Thursday that newly-released documents show yet another gun connected to the botched Operation Fast and Furious emerged at a crime scene --- this time at a shooting in Arizona.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in a letter Thursday to Deputy Attorney General James Cole they are demanding the Justice Department “be forthcoming” about the 2013 incident, which happened at an apartment complex in Phoenix. In unrelated news, Cole announced Thursday he plans to step down from his position as the department’s No. 2 official.
“This lack of transparency about the consequences of Fast and Furious undermines public confidence in law enforcement and gives the impression that the department is still seeking to suppress information and limit its exposure to public scrutiny,” the lawmakers said.
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment from FoxNews.com.
According to the lawmakers, two people were wounded in the shooting at the complex in July 2013. There were multiple shots fired at an apartment in the building, and soon after the shooting a car fled the scene. The driver of the car then crashed into a fence and several people were seen running from the vehicle. Four people were later arrested in the shooting and the arrests were reportedly connected to a drug trafficking probe, according to the lawmakers. 
The lawmakers state that after Phoenix police officers arrived they found an assault rifle in the vehicle, and later connected the weapon to Fast and Furious.
Grassley and Issa said they were able to confirm the incident through documents obtained by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch as part of a request it made under Arizona’s open records law.
The lawmakers said the Phoenix Police Department report on the incident states that the weapon was traced the day it was recovered. However, the lawmakers said “the department did not provide any notice to the Congress or the public about this gun.”
“The refusal to respond to our standing requests for this information effectively hides the connection between crimes like this and Operation Fast and Furious,” the lawmakers said. “Unless the information becomes available some other way, the public would never know.”
The president of Judicial Watch, a, said in a statement Thursday that the new information shows the “Obama cover-up of Fast and Furious is ongoing.”
“Eric Holder’s Department of Justice is a mess,” Tom Fitton said. “It has endangered the public and is engaged in an ongoing cover-up of its insanely reckless Fast and Furious gun-running operation.”
During Operation Fast and Furious, federal agents permitted illicitly purchased weapons to be transported unimpeded in a failed effort to track them to high-level arms traffickers.
Federal agents then lost control of some 2,000 weapons and many of them wound up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S. Two of the guns were found at the scene of the December 2010 slaying of border agent Brian Terry near the Arizona border city of Nogales.

The son of Vice President Joe Biden says he is “embarrassed” after being discharged from the Navy Reserve earlier this year --- reportedly after testing positive for cocaine.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Thursday that Hunter Biden’s short-lived military career ended because he failed a drug test after reporting to his unit in 2013. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Navy discharged him in February of this year.  
Biden said in a statement to Fox News that he respects the Navy’s decision but did not specify why he was discharged.
“It was the honor of my life to serve in the U.S. Navy, and I deeply regret and am embarrassed that my actions led to my administrative discharge,” he said. “I respect the Navy's decision. With the love and support of my family, I'm moving forward.”
Biden, 44, made the decision to join the military late in life. According to the Wall Street Journal, Biden was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy Reserve in 2013 after deciding the previous year to join the service as a public affairs officer.
However, Biden was given a drug test after reporting to his unit at Navy Public Affairs Support Element East in Norfolk, Va. and tested positive for cocaine, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the paper, the Navy would not specify what sort of discharge he was given.
Vice President Biden spoke about his son’s decision to join the Navy late in life at the American Legion’s Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball in 2013, joking that his son’s decision was a result of poor judgment.
“We have a lot of bad judgment in my family,” Biden said. “My son over 40 just joined the Navy to be sworn in.”
Hunter Biden is a lawyer who serves as a managing partner for a Rosemont Seneca Partners, an investment firm. He made headlines earlier this year when he was hired to be a director and lawyer for a Ukraine company promoting energy independence from Moscow.
The move raised eyebrows, as Vice President Biden and others in the Obama administration have attempted to influence energy policies and other issues of the Ukrainian government as it battles Russia and pro-Russian separatists to control the county.
The vice president's spokeswoman, Kendra Barkoff, has said that Biden's son is a private citizen and a lawyer, and that Joe Biden "does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company."
Fox News' Ed Henry contributed to this report.

State Department warns US businesses in North Africa of ISIS retaliation

The State Department is warning American businesses operating in North Africa of an increased risk of retaliation by militants over the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State.
The warning, which is specific to Morocco, is contained in an Oct. 7 dispatch -- obtained by Fox News -- from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and its Overseas Security Advisory Council.
While no specific plot or credible intelligence is cited, the message warns that: "As the U.S. Government extends its anti-ISIL efforts, there is a heightened risk that U.S. private sector and civilian interests may be targeted."
The report with the subject line, "ISIL Outside Iraq and Syria: Morocco," also warns that the North African nation now has one of the largest contingents of foreign fighters -- between 1,500 and 2,000 -- in Syria and Iraq.
The report underscores the reach of the Islamic State, and ties among its members to other countries, as U.S. jets pound ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria.  
The OSAC warning details five incidents between July 11 and Sept. 12 where Moroccan authorities broke up recruitment cells, frustrated plots and efforts to travel to Iraq and Syria, or raised the threat level. Without offering specifics, it says: "Moroccan authorities uncovered plans to attack inside Morocco."
While the State Department privately is issuing warnings about possible retaliation against U.S. interests, it has been slower to publicly acknowledge the threat.
The State Department only recently updated its Worldwide Caution to reflect the concern.  
Three days after the OSAC report, on Oct. 10, the Worldwide Caution reads: "In response to the airstrikes, ISIL called on supporters to attack foreigners wherever they are. Authorities believe there is an increased likelihood of reprisal attacks against U.S., Western and coalition partner interests throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Asia."
Asked about the spread of ISIS, also known as ISIL, and the possibility of retaliation against U.S. citizens and businesses, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki spoke in general terms.
"There's more than 60 countries and entities, as you know, who are part of the coalition, some from northern Africa,” she said. “So, I think that speaks to the concern about the threat, not just to countries directly right next to Iraq and Syria, but certainly throughout the region."
A counterterrorism analyst also told Fox News that two Moroccans, both former Guantanamo detainees, took on leadership roles for other extremist groups in Syria.
The Moroccans, Ibrahim Bin Shakaran and Mohammed al'Alami, took on prominent roles with Al Qaeda-linked extremists in Syria -- before their reported deaths. Both men had been released from the military prison under the George W. Bush administration.

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