host: brian higgins talking about some of the reasons he is leaving congress. maybe you could share the sentiments when it comes to giving a grade to congress. (202)-748-8000 for democrats, republicans (202)-748-8001, and independents (202)-748-8002. when it comes to that government shutdown if you want to factor those discussions in, it was president biden signing the bill that keeps the government-funded for the short-term early on next year. he did that during his travels in california. let's hear from jim in pennsylvania, independent line. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: ok. i firmly believe -- is there a grade lower then f? host: i guess you could go f-if you would do so. caller: i guess so. i believe our government is nothing more than communists and criminals. at t federal, state, and local lel as well. it is just so bad i believe our elections are fid. in fact, i know for sure. my mom voted in 2020. the only problem is she has been dead for 10 years. host: given the current congress, give me a specific why. caller: first of all i believe t

host: brian higgins talking about some of the reasons he is leaving congress.aybe you could share the sentiments when it comes to giving a grade to congress. (202)-748-8000 for democrats, republicans (202)-748-8001, and independents (202)-748-8002. when it comes to that government shutdown if you want to factor those discussions in, it was president biden signing the bill that keeps the government-funded for the short-term early on next year. he did that during his travels in california. let's hear from jim in pennsylvania, independent line. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: ok. i firmly believe -- is there a grade lower then f? host: i guess you could go f-if you would do so. caller: i guess so. i believe our government is nothing more than communists and crimals. at the federal, state, and local level as well. it is just so bad. i believe our elections are fixed. in fact, know for sure. my mom voted in 2020. the only problem is she has been dead for 10 years. host: given the current congress, give me a specific why. caller: first of all i believe

i've spoken to niagara falls mayor, i've spoken with the county sheriff as well as congressman brian higgins office and other local leaders, i would urge certainly caution, clearly we don't know yet -- i mean, all the hallmarks are there to get people concerned, right, to -- you have a border crossing the day before a very busy american holiday, a holiday weekend, and you have a vehicle exploding. so it's easy for folks to jump to -- or to come to a conclusion. that may well be the ultimate result of the investigation. but from everything i can tell, i've even heard some conflicting -- initially, the vehicle was coming into the u.s. now we know the vehicle was coming from the united states. so i don't think we know enough yet about what the intention was, who these individuals were. i have no doubt between the federal agencies and our state police and parks police and niagara falls police and the county sheriff's office, they will get to the bottom of who these individuals were and from there hopefully we can ascertain what the intent was or what the target was or what the goal of this was,

longtime democratic congressman brian higgins announcing he'll year before his term ends saying, quoteerican people aren't being served. >>> up next, fire shutting down one of the busiest freeways in the nation. traffic is so bad the mayor is warning people, just work from home. the race to safely reopen that highway next. highway next ns. yup. lots of internet now. plenty for everyone. learn more about our plans at viasat.com a mystery! jessie loves playing detective. but the real mystery was her irritated skin. so, we switched to tide pods free & gentle. it cleans better, and doesn't leave behind irritating residues. and it's gentle on her skin. tide free & gentle is epa safer choice certified. it's got to be tide. (bridget) with thyroid eye disease tii hid from the camera.a safer choice certified. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had l

the democrat brian higgins in the buffalo area, democrat he said he's living in february to take a job back closer to home at the performing arts center. that will likely be a democratic seat in the future but who knows how long this seed will be vacant? l johnson is a conservative republican from ohio. he said he will take the job as president of youngstown state in ohio. he needs to take the job before march, sometimes in march. he hasn't set exactly when he is leaving. that would be likely a republican who will replace him but again when to take one out and take one person and you see the margins from which some of these boats happened, it's got to drive a plan or crazy is it an unusual number of people are leaving congress this cycle? we used to call it the casualty list. the back page but people are retiring, running for higher office, all that i referred to as the casualty list. is the casualty list and usually high in the 118th congress? >> guest: if the word to stay relatively static, this would be a little bit higher than average. usually about 30 people or so move on. right n

brad wenstrup and brian higgins. since the last time we met the news came out with both of them. brad has devoted his life to service. whether it was in the army, whether it was as a doctor, or also in congress. and brian has been a tireless advocate for western new york. dating all the way back to his time on the buffalo city council. we all wish you both well in your next endeavors and we will miss you. but we're still going to have some fun time ahead. so. the october -- richie, yeah. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me also say some really fine things about the two people you just referenced. brian higgins would have share maryland of the same traditions i did, coming along the city council on the way up, a stellar member of this committee. and brad wenstrup, what a terrific human being. we're going to miss him. fine guy. the time i've been here, they also have something else in common. they both knew how to make their point. but they were never malicious. mr. smith: the october 7 terrorist attack by hamas was barbaric and horrifying. civilians were targeted, tortured, raped,