thomas perez. >> thank you. without objection, of the members of opening statements will be made part of the record. assistant attorney general thomas perez is here today to testify. thank you for being with us. >> it is an honor to be. >> mr. thomas perez became the assistant attorney general on october 8, 2009, prior to becoming -- 2009. he served as secretary of the department of labor legislation. he served as a career prosecutor in the civil rights division. he went on to serve as director of the office for civil rights department of health and human services. in addition to his extensive service, he asserts the special counsel to the late senator edward kennedy. he is a graduate of the harvard law school and holds a bachelor's degree from brown university and a master's in public policy from the kennedy school of government. he resides in maryland with his wife and three children. assistant attorney general, we look forward to hearing your testimony. again, i welcome you to the hearing. mr. t

thomas perez. he has been rebuilding a decimated and demoralized office, and has done so while dealing with fundamental test such as redistricting. the division as an important story to tell. whatever the policy, the justice department has worked hard to meet the civil-rights challenges today. some of the same people undermining the division while they are there have now made a career of making false allegations, all of the same subtext, that they are favoring minorities to the detriment of whites. the division is making an effort to enforce laws they really do not like it is a willie horton campaign, re and simple. -- pure and simple. we see the enactment of various devices having the purpose and effect of preventing people to exercise their right to vote under the pretext of protecting the integrity of elections. this is not without precedent. in the past, literacy tests have been used to keep people out of the polls citizens whose voices those in power did not want to hear. in our day, -- the re

thomas perez. he has been rebuilding a decimated and demoralized office, and has done so while dealing with fundamental test such as redistricting. the division as an important story to tell. whatever the policy, the justice department has worked hard to meet the civil-rights challenges today. some of the same people undermining the division while they are there have now made a career of making false allegations, all of the same subtext, that they are favoring minorities to the detriment of whites. the division is making an effort to enforce laws they really do not like it is a willie horton campaign, care and simple. -- pure and simple. we see the enactment of various devices having the purpose and effect of preventing people to exercise their right to vote under the pretext of protecting the integrity of elections. this is not without precedent. in the past, literacy tests have been used to keep people out of the polls citizens whose voices those in power did not want to hear. in our day, -- the

attorney general thomas perez. and new orleans police superintendent ronal serpas. welcome to you both, gentlemen. assistant continual, what does this consent decree tell us about the history of the new orleans police department and about its future? >> well, the history was the department, as we discovered in our review, was broken in many respects. and these problems predated hurricane katrina. anyone in new orleans knows the name len davis, a police officer in the mid-90s who was horrific and is on death row for the crimes he committed. we peeled the onion to its core. we found system problems across the board. that was then and now we fast forward to today where we have a comprehensive blueprint for sustainable reform, a blueprint that was developed in partnership with chief perpas, with the mayor, with the fronted line police officers and the community and it's the most sweeping blueprint that we've ever developed. and that's why, while the problems are deeply rooted, the solutions are there, and i come to this task with immense optimism because the ingredients

near griffith street and the thomas avenue. eduardo perez thrown for this car and died moments later. he eventually returned to the crime scene and was arrested. two people suspected in the san francisco are some have pleaded not guilty. the fire started on tuesday near bayshore boulevards. caused $1 million in damage. authorities say two men were squatting and a home that had abandoned after a previous fired 2009. they are due to be back in court later this month. a man escape a fire in oakland off by jumping through a window. it's hard to near 79th and a hillside around 3:20 a.m.. call the fire blocked the front and back doors. the man had to bus out a window. said investigators believe he from a wall mounted televisions start the fire. >>pam: to the wild fire season in california, hot weather and a steep terrain have made it difficult for firefighters in on california to battle wildfires burning. local fire officials say three of the five fires in the area have been contained. the of the two have combined to form one larger fire devoured