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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: From Brett Kavanaugh to Better Disaster Relief Efforts: Let’s Break Down Everything You Need to Know This Week [Watch (HLS stream): From Brett Kavanaugh to Better Disaster Relief Efforts: Let’s Break Down Everything You Need to Know This Week](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VhHmsbMW.m3u8) (14:56)  _Published 2018-09-19. What Judge Kavanaugh confirmation means for the future of bipartisanship, why Texas cities are booming, the tech giants pioneering new and better disaster relief efforts, and what Urban Meyer’s return means for college football._ --- Jul 28, 2023 12:34 AM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Tech Giants Leading Disaster Relief Efforts](/video/RGORd0o2/) ### Tech Giants Leading Disaster Relief Efforts [From National Anthems to Natural Disasters: Let’s Break Down Everything You Need to Know This Week](/video/65bwnlj2/) ### From National Anthems to Natural Disasters: Let’s Break Down Everything You Need to Know This Week [President Trump Says "Congress Will Be Generous" With Disaster Relief From Hurricane Florence](/video/9guh2sFK/) ### President Trump Says "Congress Will Be Generous" With Disaster Relief From Hurricane Florence --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Welcome to The Breakdown thank you so much for joining us. I'm your host Neha Joy and we're here with the top stories of the week from time, money, fortune and sports illustrated. And this week, we're looking at what Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation means for the future of bipartisanship. With this booming housing market, Money examines why Texas cities are at the top of the list for many Americans. Tech leaders are pioneering new and better disaster relief efforts And what Urban Meyer's return to Ohio State means for college football. So, let's dive in. The dramatic confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the supreme court reveal a new status quo for how modern justices are confirmed. The hearing has been a highly partisan spectacle with both parties' political goals taking center stage. If Kavanaugh is confirmed by the Republican Republican led senate the conservative leaning judge from the US court of appeals for the DC circiut would cement a conservative majority on the high court for the next generation but dispite thier senate minority status the democrats have made it clear that they're not going to just roll over during the process. Time and again they've tried to shut down the hearings by complaining that republicans are withholding documents Around Kavanaugh's extensive legal career, and continue to press the candidate for his viewpoints on abortion rights, affirmative action, and other major social issues. Can you think of any laws that give government the power to make decisions about the male body? Drunk claims he has an absolute right to pardon himself does he? Meanwhile, republicans have accused democrats of political grand standing as they race to confirm Kavanaugh before the Supreme Court session begins in October And well before midterms in November to ensure they hold the high court's swing seat. Unfortunately we have all these intrascripts screaming from the sidelines and putting pressure on my democratic colleagues to make this hearing about politics, to make it about pretty much anything except Judge Kavanaugh. And his qualification. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg provided as a scathing critique of the [ UNKNOWN ] show as of late saying this at George Washington University. The way it was, was right. The way it is wrong. One think of Justice Scalea who is certainly a known character. If the vote was unanimous. Every Democrat and every Republican voted for him. But that's the way it should be, instead of what it's become, which is a highly partisan show. But Ginsberg's remarks came prior to Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party In the 1980s when they were both teenagers in high school. Kavanaugh denied these allegations saying, this is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes to her or to anyone. The Senate Judiciary Committee moved to push back Kavanaugh's Timeline to hold a public hearing on September 24th. So both [ UNKNOWN ] and Ford could share their testimony on the assault allegations. But the date is not set because Ford wants a full investigation by law enforcement officials before any senate hearing. Previously Justice Clarence Thomas' confirmation in 1991 stood alone as one of the most contentious in U. S. history. But the allegations against Kavanaugh draw additional eerie parallels to Thomas' confirmation. Then nominee, Thomas, was accused by his former aide and Anita Hill for sexual harassment. Hill testified before the senate judiciary committee and became the face of what was at the time arguably the biggest sexual harassment case the country ever saw. But conservative Thomas still won the confirmation with a 52- 48 vote. At. At a time when the Senate was controlled by Democrats. Since then there has been a consistent decline the number of Senators moving across party lines to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. In nineteen ninety- three, President Clinton's nominee, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg won with a ninety- six to three vote. In Two thousand and five, President Bush's nominee Chief Justice John G Roberts junior won a 78 to 22 vote in 2009 President Obama's nominee Justice Sonia Sotomayor won on a 68 to 31 vote and last year Gorsuch President Trump's nominee won by a 54 to 45 vote Senators from both major parties often share their desire for a neutral judge who will follow the law and will [ MUSIC ] Rule fairly without bias but their actions tell a different story. In July of 2016, Republicans joined together to block even a hearing for chief judge Merrick Garland of the D. C. circuit court of appeals who is regarded as highly qualified and was Obama's nominee. The shift from bipartisan governing and increasing polarized supreme court nominations are what some say the result of an unhealthy Healthy trend in Congress. Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse summarized the dilemma. Is that this transfer of power means the people yearn for a place where politics can actually be done, and when we don't do a lot of big Political debating here. We transfer it to the Supreme Court. And that's why the Supreme Court is increasingly a substitute political battleground in America. It is not healthy but it is what happens and it is something our founders wouldn't be To be able to make any sense of. As it stands, to block Kavanaugh's confirmation, Democrats would need two Republicans to reject his nomination in addition to unanimous opposition support within their own party. [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] They say everything's bigger in Texas. And recent Census data agrees. Of the top 15 fastest growing cities in the country, six are in Texas. Texas has been growing at intense rates for decades. The only state with more residents is California > But the number of Texans is projected to double by 2050 to 54. 4 million, which is almost as many people as in California and New York combined. Three Texas cities Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, are already among the top ten most populous in the country. The 11th largest is Austin, the capital. For the past five years, it's been one of the fastest growing large cities in America. And now Texas cities like Conroe, Frisco, McKinney and Cedar Park are emerging as the latest cities rapidly on the rise. So why is Texas booming? Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Lawrence Wright and author of God Save Texas appeared on PBS's [ UNKNOWN ] to share how job growth has played a major role in the state's increasing appeal. Texas is a great job creator. In the last quarter of the last year Texas grew 5. 2 %. There wasn't a single other state except for Idaho that got into 4 %. So people come to Texas for the jobs. Texas is one of the nation's top job producers, adding more than 352, 000 jobs in the past year. And its dominating economic influence is in large part due to oil. Within ten years after 2008 to 2018, America's petroleum output doubled and resulted in a 13 % increase in job growth for its mining sector. According to HSBC, if Texas were a country, it would be the world's top three oil producer, behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia. Texas also offers the powerful draw of affordability. The Lone Star State is a competitive outlier in the nation providing affordable housing options as well as massive job opportunities. That's simply not the case for the rest of the country. Meanwhile, Texas also has no income tax. Which makes your take- home pay significantly higher. It's no surprise then that Texas is a state of big spaces and big companies with 50 Fortune 500 headquarters. Even as housing prices go up in Texas, here's looking at you Dallas Fort Worth, it's still relatively affordable compared to the rest of the country at a state level. Between the booming economy and general affordability and top ranking diversity, it's clear at the future is Texas. [ MUSIC ] Natural disasters, it seems, are the new norm. From fires to hurricanes, the frequency and severity of these events is increasing, and so are the effects. It's estimated that in 2017, national disasters cost the United States more than $ 300 billion. It's no surprise, then, that the way people and organizations respond to natural disasters is also evolving. Rapid technological advancements in a number of fields means both emergency response crews and citizens are better equipped to tackle the immediate challenges disasters present. Technology is really changing logistics. I mean, the same that we order up an Uber, or a Lyft today, or anything else. We can find assets, we can find people, we can pair them and quickly get them together. That same effect is happening in disaster relief. In 2017, when people could not reach 911 dispatchers during Hurricane Harvey, They turned to social media to reach authorities. Social media giants continue to build out disaster response features such as Facebook's Safety Check, which allows users to mark themselves safe during a crisis. Even apps like One Concern offer emergency responders resources like real time damage assessment and population data to track and adjust rescue strategies Historically, it's been difficult to get governments to develop the technology needed for disaster response, but in recent years, tech giants have stepped in to fill that void. One month after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico in October 2017, more than half the island was left without power and Internet connectivity. Google's parent company Alphabet and telecom giants AT & T and TMobile teamed up to launch Project Loon. The project brought internet to more than 100, 000 unconnected Puerto Ricans through helium air ballons. IBM chief digital officer Bob Lord elaborated on the importance of developing disaster tech saying this We can not attempt to prevent earthquakes from happening or prevent hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is unleash our tools and help geographic regions get prepared for those natural disasters that happen. It's a wonderful thing when the public and private sectors team up because they bring different things to the table. The government has knowledge of the area. The private sector has resources the government doesn't. At the same time We can't over index to one or the other. If we over extend to the private sector too much well then we get privatization and you know we can't exactly help everyone. That's what government exists for. So what's the next frontier in disaster Jack? I think the most opportunities are in funding. If you look at how people give to disaster relief whether that's the Red Cross or any number or organizations. You can see today on Facebook for example you can click a button and give, that's revolutionary and you should also be able to track where that money goes and there's still a long way to go there but clearly technology can help. [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] Urban Meyer is back Ohio state's head football coach will resume his duties following a three game suspension for the way he handled the domestic abuse against his former wide receivers coach Zach Smith. Meyer addressed his return and the scandal that resulted in his suspension in a prepared statement on September 17. If I was ever aware or made aware or told there was domestic violence taking place, I would have fired him immediately. My apologies to Ohio State. My apology is not for turning a back to domestic violence and I saw a guy with work related issues that. Had two children, and I was suspended for the fact that I went too far in trying to help a guy with these work related issues. Meyer fired Smith before the start of the 2018 season in July after his then wife Courtney Smith filed a domestic violence protection order. But the controversy actually arose during the BIG 10 media days when Myer appeared to deny any knowledge of an assault between Smith and his now ex- wife. Myer has since apologized, claiming he did not intend to mislead reporters but he failed to inform OSU's athletic dirctor Gene Smith of Zach Smith's problematic history when Ohio State hired him. And according to his coach's contract and the university's strict sexual misconduct policy, Meyer is required to report all allegations of sexual misconduct occurring within the university community. Meyer returns to the sidelines with the Buckeyes in week four whose three and start sets the stage for a college football playoff run. But beyond the gameday stats, the scandal reminds us that while college football coaches aspire to be builders of men both on and off the field, the power they wield behind the scenes often goes unchecked. And as one of the highest paid public school coaches in 2018, Meyer wields a lot of power. Now, here to discuss what's next for the Buckeyes, and what college football has yet to learn, is SI staff writer, Laken Litman. All right, Laken. Thanks so much for joining us. Now, what are your thoughts on Urban Meyer's apology tour? Do you think he's learned his lesson? Unfortunately, I think he kind of missed the mark at his press conference on Monday. He still doesn't quite believe that this was a case of domestic violence. And after his three game suspension, I don't quite think that he's learned his lesson. Now how do you think the scandal is gonna impact the Buckeyes for their 2018 season? Well, Ohio State gets its coach back. Urban Meyer is 73 and 8 at Ohio State. He's won six conference championships, and three national championships in his career. And he is going to go down as one of the best college football coaches of all time. And Ohio State is three and to start the season without him. And if they keep winning, they will continue to be a college football playoff contender. And unfortunately that means that this story will probably fade into the background of the season. So they're going to focus more so on the winning. Exactly. Now this isn't the first time that college football has been hit with a scandal. So what do they have yet to learn here? Universities really need to be careful that the coaches they're paying millions of dollars do not become more powerful than the institutions themselves. And unfortunately, we've seen this happen too many times before, Penn State, Michigan State, Baylor. There needs to be a culture of empowering people to speak up without the fear of repercussions. Yes, definitely a topic that should not be swept under the rug. All right, Lincoln, thank you so much for joining us. And that's The Breakdown for this week. Until next Wednesday, I'm Neha Joy, and thanks for joining our weekly roundup of the news. 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