Artist building cheese wall along US-Mexico border to 'Make America Grate Again'

An artist has started building a wall made out of cheese blocks along the U.S.-Mexico border in a bid to "Make America Grate Again."

The Los Angeles-based artist, Cosimo Cavallaro, said he hopes to show how his wall and President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump says wind power doesn't work because 'it only blows sometimes' Fuel standards to prevent overdependence on foreign oil are out of date Trump knocks MSNBC, CNN rankings: 'Fake News never wins!' MORE's long-proposed border wall are similarly pointless.

"The first thing that comes to your mind is that it's absurd," Cavallaro said of the project in a recent interview with The Los Angeles Times. 

"To spend all this money to keep dividing the countries, I think is a waste," he said. "You see the waste in my wall, but you can't see the waste in [Trump's] $10-billion wall, which in time will be removed?"

Cavallaro hopes to construct a 1,000-foot long wall along the southern border using expired blocks of cheese, a website for his project states.

His project is currently funded for 200 blocks, which the site says would produce 25 feet of well. But he is asking for more donations to extend the barrier to his goal of 1,000 feet.

According to the site, the blocks being used to build the wall are made out of hard cheese and cost $100 each.

The artist told the Times that he is working with perishable components like cotija cheese to show the "fleeting and decadent nature" of humankind.

Cavallaro, who has worked with such materials in the past, told the paper that he has long wanted to build a wall of cheese, but said it wasn't until Trump was elected that he received the inspiration to build the wall and construct it at the border.

"This has been on my mind for many years, but when he became president, it became obvious that was the place to do it," he said.

Cavallaro's project stands just several feet from a metal border fence, according to the Times.

The artist said he hopes the project shows people that they are better off without Trump's long-desired security measure.  

"It sounds cheesy, but just love one another," he said. 

How Katie Warner Johnson Went From Ballerina, to Wall Street Analyst, to Fitness Instructor, to Carbon38 Founder

After watching her body — once her only resource — "give out," she new she had to make a bold move.

In our long-running series "How I'm Making It," we talk to people making a living in the fashion and beauty industries about how they broke in and found success.

Last January, the multibrand women's activewear retailer, which also operates an in-house line, made headlines after Footlocker made a $15 million investment for a minority stake in the company (largely in the hopes of gaining insight into the women's activewear space). Its total funding to date is $40 million and sales have doubled each year for the past several years according to the company. With Footlocker's help, Carbon38's founder and CEO hopes that it too, could be come a multi-billion-dollar company.

Former ballerina, Broadway dancer, Wall Street analyst and fitness instructor Katie Warner Johnson started the company in Los Ange les 2013 alongside Caroline Gogolak, who has since left to head up retail at SoulCycle. Even after launching, Carbon38 went through several iterations before it became what it is today. Beyond functioning as an online retailer (with two physical stores — one in Bridgehampton and one in Pacific Palisades), Carbon38 also acts somewhat as an incubator, often helping the small brands it sells with production. 

The company also invests heavily in content creation, having operated an in-house photo studio from day one. "That was what got everyone excited to work with us, is they saw that we could put them on a map in a way that they couldn't themselves," says Warner. Recently, it's been engaging the fashion community through buzzy collaborations with the likes of Jonathan Simkhai, Carly Cushnie and Adam Selman.

When we meet at Carbon38's brand-new headquarters in Culver City — with amenities like kombucha on tap, floor-to-ceiling windows, multiple terraces with 360-degree views of LA and customized conference rooms named after gym components (pool, steam room, etc.), it is clear that Johnson hasn't forgotten her humble, and very different, beginnings, but also possesses a palpable dri ve to take her business to the next level. She's also passionate about lifting up other women in the process — whether that's stocking female-owned brands (which make up 75 percent of Carbon38's offering), helping her customers feel comfortable and confident in and out of the gym with a functional wardrobe, or assembling a roster of brand ambassadors, many of whom are fitness instructors just like she was when she became "obsessed with this customer."

Read on for our interview to learn how Johnson went from watching her body "give out" to becoming an entrepreneur; how she nabbed that $15 million investment from Footlocker; what she thinks is next for the activewear market, and more.

I started off as a ballet dancer, and I essentially grew up in Spandex. The leotard is the ultimate form of performance fashion. It's a very small piece of fabric that has to wick sweat, and it has to have beautiful lines, it has to move with your body, but ballet is an aesthetic art form. You have to look effortless and beautiful and well complemented and so this very small piece of fabric has to do a lot of things. I, at an early age, used to have my leotards made in New York, and I was very particular about how they were made.

Starting at a very early age— and maybe it's because I spent so much time in front of a mirror — I just kind of knew how I wanted things to fit. I remember, I had a key outfit that made me feel like 'Roman Holiday' [I wore] to and from rehearsal.

I went to college after an injury kind of sidetracked my career. I did a bunch of national tours of [Broadway] shows, took a job on Wall Street, found out pretty quickly that wasn't the place for me. I deferred my full-time offer to continue dancing in New York, and then that's where fitness kind of entered the scene. While I was dancing in New York to bridge the gap between a banker salary, pre-financial crisis, and a Broadway equity contract salary, I took up teaching fitness. 

Then 2008 hit, and these women who were in my class... a lot of them lost their jobs in the financial crisis. But they flooded my class. It was such an interesting thing where first I learned that fitness was recession-resistant, and I thought, this is a good industry to be in. 

A lot of these women had to start over in their careers and became entrepreneurs and founded businesses, and moved to new firms, and went from banking into private equity, and had to be creative, and I just fell in love with what felt like this new woman. Essentially that hour of sweating, you're actually training to be a leader.

So when did you really start thinking about starting your own business?

I had moved out to LA and I thought I would be dancing out here, and teaching fitness, and my body started to give out.

I was 27 years old. I had only ever used my body — it was my only kind of resource — and that really took the rug out from under me. It was scary. I was in a Tiffany-blue studio apartment with a Murphy bed and a green carpet, and I'm laying there with an ice pack on my back with my bank account overdrawn, and I was li ke, 'Oh, my God. I'm so ashamed, how could I have picked such a strange course for my life?' Then I was like, 'You know what? You've got to just take life by the horns, like those women in the financial crisis, and go figure out what's next.'

I applied to business school and was rejected from all of them, and I thought that by starting a business, I would have something to write about on my application essay. That's essentially what was the first impetus. 

A couple of my girlfriends, who were also kind of ready to leave their careers, and I got together, bought tickets to the Women 2.0 Startup Weekend in San Francisco. You pitch an idea, assemble a team, build a minimum viable product in 24 hours. I got up there and I pitched to this room of engineers about this amazing 'Yelp of fitness.' No one cared.

So we locked ourselves in a room and decided we would build it and pitch it, and none of us were engineers, and so we created these animated wire frames and pressed play, so that it looked like we were clicking through a demo — and we ended up winning.

[I was] like, 'This is so easy, I'm going to to do this forever.' Then we got into the whole accelerator community and we were turned away because we didn't have a technical cofounder. So we just kept iterating on ideas, and then finally, this one accelerator here in LA accepted our i dea. I think at that time we were bundling unsold inventory, and it was just really hard to make money because margins are low. And he was like, 'I don't see how you're going to make money on this, but I know my wife spends a lot of money with you. So why don't you take a step back and just study the customer again?'

We spent four months studying the customer and we launched a content platform, initially, in January 2013, where we would profile gym bags with influencers. I saw that our customers are really spending a lot of time on the activewear portion, and on top of it, we had assembled this really cool group of female-founded brands.

We were talking to them about their pain points, and there really was no distribution. They could maybe go to a mom-and-pop Pilates studio and sell a couple grand a quarter, and maybe they could get a consignment deal with an Equinox or two, but ultimately they were footing the bill and holding the inventory risk. And so, it was just really hard for these guys to scale.

So we thought, this is interesting. I've got two customers: this amazing woman who I've been training my whole life; and these brands that need help distributing. We're going to create a marketplace of sorts. We raised capital around that, and it was very helpful that Lululemon recalled 70 percent of their product offering, and then Chip Wilson had a bit of a PR mishap, and so the door was open for us.

We raised a little bit of capital, and then launched officially, Nov. 5, 2013. Thirty-five percent of our product offering is now our own brand, and we are really careful about not stepping on the toes of our vendors. We really want to support the brands and the designers that kind of helped us launched.

A look from Adam Selman Sport (ASS) x Carbon38.  Photo: Courtesy of Carbon38

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How do you typically find brands and work with them?

Initially, we kind of had to run a campaign to convince people to work with us, but it actually wasn't that hard because a lot of these guys were smaller, and what we raised capital to do was to help finance their production. And at the time, in 2013, Nordstrom and Neiman's and all those guys weren't buying activewear. So essentially, I just needed cash to be able to help finance their production, which we essentially still do today.

The word on the street was like, these guys want to help, and then furthermore, our first investment in our own company was a camera and a light kit, and photography I knew was one of my most powerful communication tools. Content creation has always been in-house, and a really important part of how we help our brand show up online because I think we've gotten really good at not only e-comm photography, but also telling a story with phot ography.

You need to really help the user understand not only the product and the details around it, but also the brand and the story behind it, and that was what got everyone excited to work with us, is they saw that we could put them on a map in a way that they couldn't themselves. In a way, we're almost like a marketing/branding agency.

With designer collaborations, how do those typically come about and what kinds of synergies do you look for?

Our first designer collab was with Jonathan Simkhai and he has such a bodycon aesthetic and uses athletic materials in a lot of his designs. It felt like there was a symbiosis that we could tap into. I really believed that what we're creating at Carbon is not just for the hour in the gy m. It's really this next generation of getting dressed. I think the brands that we're working with today are going to take the place of Alex Wang and James Perse and Vince: all those easy-to-wear brands out there. By partnering with designers, it helped legitimize us as something that you can wear beyond the gym.

What was your first big business milestone or moment where you felt like you'd succeeded?

The first day in all honesty, we went live, and I was so stressed that we went down the street, split a bottle of wine and tried to calm our nerves, and came back to four orders. Four orders from people I didn't know: They weren't my mother, I can assure you that. It was like, okay, someone cares. 

I think closing our first million [in sales] was big, because at that point, I definitely couldn't go to business school. Because I'm still thinking, like, this would be so great on my essay, and then when we got a million bucks in the bank from a bunch of people that were counting on us to give them a return, I couldn't be like, oh, thanks guys, I'm out. It was like, this is real, and this has to work.

And then came that $15 million investment from Footlocker. How did that come about and how have you benefited from that partnership?

It's been actually a really cool, organic relationship. So I think it was [CEO] Dick Johnson who called me in 2014, and he was like, 'I don't really know what this is, but we've got this women's business called SIX:02 and maybe there's a partnership there, whether you can come in and run it, or whatever,' and I thought, no, I'm into my own business right now, but let's stay in touch because I think there's some interesting syne rgies.

They're huge: $8 billion-plus annual revenue, $2 billion to the bottom line. They know how to run a wonderfully profitable business across 3,600 stores, and so, I just thought, I have a very different brand. I have a very different perspective because we're digital and women's, which they're definitely more of a men's business, but they know a lot of stuff that would be helpful to me, and potentially, we could learn from each other.

When I met Lauren Peters, their CFO, we just kind of started talking. It was wonderful to have a woman sitting across the table. It's someone I wanted to swim next to and learn from.

We went out for our Series A [funding round], they asked to participate in the process, and when they put down a term sheet, it just showed the partnership that they really wanted to build with us, and it made a lot of sense, and it felt a little scary because for a company of our size and age taking on strategic [investment] can be limiting, but they made sure that it wasn't — that we are going to go out in our next round and find another partner outside of Footlocker that can help diversify thought and they're going to help us do that. We have almost a buddy system now with our company, where our executives and our team members are connecting with the matching team members on their side to help with best practices, bouncing ideas.

It allows us as a team to set our sights much higher than we ever would've. And they know how to build multiple multibillion-dollar companies and so, they're like, 'Oh, yeah. Here's the playbook.'

A look from Carbon38's private label.  Photo: Courtesy of Carbon38

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What are the biggest ways in which your role has changed as the company has grown and you've grown the team?

I've been through three phases of leadership. Phase one is you're doing everything, but more importantly as a leader, you're like the razzle-dazzle entertainer. You're telling everyone how great they're doing all the time, just trying to be this magnetic personality that people will sign up to do work [for]. They're getting paid very little, and you need them to keep coming back, and just be drinking that Kool-Aid and living the dream . 

Phase two was a hard phase for me, where you suddenly have reached a bit of critical mass, where you know you've got a business that you have to scale. We have to start putting operational structure in place. We had taken on a significant amount of investment for our size; we took on $11 million in our first round, and suddenly it was like , we had to deliver and it was hard. I really had to dig in, in a way, and sort of find this ferocity in myself that I never had recognized before. Maybe I had it when I was dancing, it was kind of primal.

And now, in phase three, it's all about scaling. I feel like it's all about communication, strategy and vision, and that cannot be underestimated. Its about financial performance, knowing our numbers inside and out, knowing where our levers need to pull and making sure we're delivering, and making sure we have cash in the bank and raising capital from the right partners.

What was the most challenging part of growing your business?

It's all hard. Those three phases were hard. And just now looking back at the five years, and what was accomplished, and what we're signing ourselves up for, I know I can do it because I've been through some dark days and hard times. 

There's a lot of talk of the activewear/athleisure space being too crowded — is there more market share to capture?

We're carrying pieces that support an active lifestyle that may not be worn to sweat in, but is a beautiful dress that is in wrinkle-free fabric that you can pack in a suitcase really easily, or a pair of neoprene culottes that you can wear on a red-eye and hop out the other side; you put on a pair of heels and you're ready for a business meeting. She's getting her yoga wear, she's getting her airplane wear, she's getting the stuff that she's going to wear on this vacation and make it easy.

I think that is allowing us to take on a much larger segment of the fashion market. I feel like athleisure is a dirty word because we're not doing anything leisurely when we're wearing this stuff, and we as women have to give ourselves more credit. We're not just popping on our Juicy Couture jumpsuit and going in the mall. We're killing it at life. I do think removing the leisure part is really important in this rebrand, as we go forward.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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This Artist Is Building a Wall of Cotija Cheese at the Mexican Border to ‘Make America Grate Again’

Artist Cosimo Cavallaro is helping President Donald Trump build his controversial border wall between the US and Mexico—but his barrier is constructed not from steel and concrete, but from blocks of cotija cheese.

"I don't like walls," said the immigrant artist in a video promoting the project. "This is a wall that I'm willing to live with. Because this wall is a perishable—it will not last."

Construction on Cavallaro's six-foot-tall and three-foot-wide border wall began on Monday in Tecate, California, just 45 feet from the actual fence on the border with Tecate, Mexico, reported HuffPost. He's hoping to highlight the absurdity of building a real wall at such a massive expense, but the Cheese Wall's message isn't as much political as it is an admonition against letting fear and hatred divide us from our fellow man.

"It sounds cheesy, but just love one another," Cavallaro told the Los Angeles Times.

To fund the project, Cavallaro is running a GoFundMe campaign and selling "Make America Grate Again" merchandise. Each brick of cotija costs $100. Several producers of the hard, crumbly cow's milk cheese, which originates in the Mexican state of Michoacán, are saving expired blocks for the artist to use.

This isn't the first time Cavallaro has used food in his art. For previous projects he made a life-size chocolate Jesus sculpture and once covered rooms in melted mozzarella and splattered ketchup.

So far, Cavallaro has 200 blocks of cotija, but his ultimate goal is to build a 1,000-foot-wall along a quarter-mile stretch of land that he's leased for the year—a feat that will require 9,000 blocks of cheese. As of publication time, Cavallaro has only raised $1,435 of his $300,000 goal. Readers can follow the project on the artist's Facebook page, Art Above Ground, or on the Cheese Wall website.

"This wall is a documentation of our times," said Cavallaro on GoFundMe, noting that by giving, "you're actually a participant in making a work of art. I'm asking you the people: make this yours."

See more photos of the Cheese Wall below.

Cosimo Cavallaro is building a wall of cotija cheese along the US-Mexico border. Photo by Alan Schaffer, courtesy of the artist and Sarah Cavallaro.

Cosimo Cavallaro building his wall of cheese. Photo by Alan Schaffer, courtesy of the artist and Sarah Cavallaro.

Cosimo Cavallaro building his wall of cheese. Photo by Alan Schaffer, courtesy of the artist and Sarah Cavallaro.

Cosimo Cavallaro building his wall of cheese. Photo by Alan Schaffer, courtesy of the artist and Sarah Cavallaro.

Cosimo Cavallaro building his wall of cheese. Photo by Alan Schaffer, courtesy of the artist and Sarah Cavallaro.

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How the plan to launder wall funding through the Pentagon hurts the military

On March 25, Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan notified Congress that he would redirect $1 billion in funding for military pay to build a 57-mile portion of the border wall. This laundering of border wall funding through the defense budget negatively impacts immediate military readiness. It could also result in Congress eliminating the very discretion the President is now using to the long-term detriment of the Pentagon and the military's ability to manage its budget in a sound and prudent way.

New bollard-style US-Mexico border fencing is seen in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, US, March 5, 2019. Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

The Pentagon is following the direction of the White House, which announced that it would use Section 284 Pentagon counterdrug authority to fund portions of the wall before it begins to pilfer military construction projects under Section 2808 and the emergency declaration. Because the Section 284 counterdrug account is currently almost empty, the White House directed the Pentagon to find money elsewhere in the military budget to fill the account.

Secretary Shanahan found this money and redirected it using "reprogramming authority," a process that affords the Pentagon crucial financial flexibility in a fast-paced threat environment. Under this process, the military sends reprogramming requests to Capitol Hill stating why it needs to move funds from unexpectedly lower-priority programs to unexpectedly higher-priority programs. For instance, last year, the Pentagon redirected $18 million from programs with testing delays to buy spare parts for Marine Corps RQ-21 Blackjack drones because they'd been used more frequently than expected in Iraq and Syria. Reprogramming requests normally redirect less than one percent of defense funding in any one given year, but they are the military's primary tool to adjust to changing threats and circumstances. By longstanding bipartisan custom, all reprogramming requests above a minuscule threshold require approval from the chairmen and ranking members of the Appropriations and Armed S ervices committees in both the House and the Senate — eight total members of Congress. Any one member can nix a request. But for the first time ever, the Pentagon will reprogram this $1 billion without asking Congress for sign-off.

The $1 billion of military pay being used is "unexpectedly lower-priority" because the Army failed to meet its recruiting target by about 9,500 soldiers, so the money originally budgeted isn't needed to pay them. These sorts of hiccups occur every year: recruiting is slow, weapons programs experience testing or development delays, combat operations drop fewer bombs than expected. But this money does not go unused. Normally, the military would send a reprogramming request asking Congress to use the money to address emerging urgent needs. Failing that, the appropriations committees rescind money and use it on what they view as high-priority programs. A favorite of Congress — and what this $1 billion might likely have been spent on — is using unneeded funds to buy new equipment for National Guard and Reserve units they perceive as perennially underfunded by the Pentagon.

There's plenty of high-profile immediate military needs this $1 billion of funding could meet. Just last week, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller sent a memo to Shanahan indicating that the Corps faces "fiscal challenges without precedent" and will have to cancel major training exercises to pay immediate bills for repairing Camp Lejeune's hurricane damage and supporting border operations. In a normal year, the $1 billion in "unused" money would be quickly moved to pay unanticipated bills like those the Marine Corps faces. The Air Force faces similar bills for hurricane damage to Tyndall Air Force Base and flooding damage to Offutt Air Force Base. Beyond hurricane damage, the military just sent Congress a $10 billion list of high-priority unfunded projects that this $1 billion in "unused" military pay funding could be used for. The Pentagon's reprogramming of at least $1 billion—and possibly another $1.5 billion—creates massive immediate financial unce rtainty that detracts from the military's ability to respond to emerging threats.

Those immediate effects pale in comparison to the long-term military consequences of this unprecedented unilateral reprogramming request. By breaking the longstanding agreement with Congress that enables this flexible authority, the White House risks the permanent loss of military reprogramming authority. Congress cannot prevent this current redirection of funds. But already, congressional Democrats have indicated their objection and intent to strip this authority from the Pentagon in the upcoming 2020 budget fight. From their perspective, allowing the Pentagon to continue reprogramming military funding for the border would amount to funding new portions of the wall beyond what they've approved, a policy issue undergirded by core questions about the power of the purse. This is no small matter, and many Republicans may end up agreeing. As Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed noted, "We're setting up for a constitutional issue of significant importance."< /p>

While the White House's plan to use military construction funding to build the wall has garnered the most attention so far, this unprecedented unilateral reprogramming request could prove even more damaging to the military both immediately and in the long run. By simultaneously laundering wall money through the military and ignoring Congress in the process, the White House has placed the entire defense budget in jeopardy at a time when the military stands to lose hundreds of billions of dollars over the next two years.

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Dems to Pentagon: No extra money if Trump uses defense funds to build wall

"And if the administration follows through and steals money from previously approved projects, the chairwoman's mark will not provide funding for backfill. I am not joking," she added.

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Trump declared a national emergency along the southern border in February, and he plans to reprogram more than $8 billion of military and Treasury funds to construct a border wall. Congress, which agreed to provide $1.35 billion in funding for border barriers, voted to oppose the declaration. Trump issued his first veto against that measure.

A veto-override effort in the House failed on Tuesday.

Robert McMahon, the assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, testified at Tuesday's hearing that any projects that lose funding would be delayed, not canceled. He also said the Pentagon had not yet put together a list of projects that might be cut.

"At this point I can tell you there is no list that says this is where we're going to go, because at this point in time there's no requirement," he said.

A list of potential projects, he added, would be limited to those that were not expecting to disburse funds this year, and prioritized based on urgency.

"The short answer is that that list will evolve over time," he said.

In response to questioning, Army Assistant Chief for Installations Management Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham told the committee there were 13 projects funded through a hurricane relief bill that could potentially be on the chopping block.

In a tense exchange, Wasserman Shultz criticized McMahon for saying the projects would be delayed, not canceled.

"They are not going to be deferred. They are going to be canceled. We have already appropriated the funding, as I said. We are not backfilling the funding in this bill. So as a result they will be canceled because of the president's decision to take the money from funds from already appropriated by Congress," she said.

Democrats blasted the administration for requesting $3.6 billion in funds to backfill defunded projects that were meant to help rebuild facilities used by the military and their families.

"The idea that construction of a border wall takes precedence for this administration over our service members' safety and readiness is unconscionable," Wasserman Schultz said.

A California artist is building a 6-foot-high border wall out of cotija cheese and wants to 'make America grate again'

A California artist is building a border wall out of expired cotija cheese to make a point about President Donald Trump's border wall.

Cosimo Cavallaro has already raised enough money to make a six-foot-tall, 25-foot-long wall out of 200 blocks of cheese.

His GoFundMe page says he wants to extend the wall's length to 1,000 feet if he raises enough money.

He told McClatchy that critics of his cheese wall should ask themselves why they "can see the waste in this [cheese] wall, but you can't see the waste in a $10 billion wall?"

A California artist is building a border wall of his own, laying down brick by brick of expired cotija cheese to try and prove that President Donald Trump's wall is a waste of the country's resources.

Cosimo Cavallaro, a Los Angeles-based artist, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the wall, which he hopes will stretch 6 feet high and up to 1,000 feet long. Each block made of spoiled milk costs $100, according to his GoFundMe page, and he's already raised enough to fund a 25-foot-long wall out of 200 blocks.

"There's a humor in this. The idea is: This is a wall of cheese, it's perishable," Cavallaro told McClatchy. "People will say, 'This is a waste.'"

He said people should take that conclusion one step further and ask themselves why they "can see the waste in this [cheese] wall, but you can't see the waste in a $10 billion wall?"

Trump declared a national emergency in February to secure enough funds to build the wall, after Congress refused to provide him the $5.7 billion he'd demanded. A major influx of Central American migrant families in recent months has fueled Trump's argument that the border is in a state of "crisis" that only a wall can solve.

Though Congress attempted to reverse Trump's declaration, the House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to summon enough votes to override a presidential veto.

Read more: Photos show Trump's border wall prototypes being demolished

Cavallaro wrote on his GoFundMe page that the heated national debate over the border wall in recent months inspired him to finally put his long-planned cheese wall plan into action.

"If it takes a Cheese Wall at the border to make people look at the 'wall' in a different way, that's what Cosimo will create," he wrote on the campaign page.

He's even begun selling cheese-related merchandise through his website, www.cheesewall.com, including a hoodie with an image of a cheese grater to form the pun, "Make America Grate Again."

Cavallaro has long specialized in creating artwork out of perishable food, including cheese, ketchup, and even chocolate.

"When you cover a room in cheese, or in ketchup, or in food, you can't rip that off anymore. That experience is so visceral and so real — it lives in your mind," Cavallaro said in a YouTube video announcing the project. "This wall is a documentation of our times. This is a moment that we're talking about an issue, about walls. I think it's very important that artists create something that lasts in our time to see what's happening."

Dems to Pentagon: No Extra Money If Trump Uses Defense Funds to Build Wall

TEHRAN (FNA)- Democratic appropriators on Tuesday stressed that they will not give the Pentagon money to cover any shortfalls that stem from US President Donald Trump using military funds to pay for a border wall.

“Let me be clear: I do not intend to use Mil-Con dollars to fund this wall,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, at a hearing on Trump’s 2020 budget request, The Hill reported. â€œAnd if the administration follows through and steals money from previously approved projects, the chairwoman’s mark will not provide funding for backfill. I am not joking,” she added. Trump declared a national emergency along the Southern border in February, and he plans to reprogram more than $8 billion of military and Treasury funds to construct a border wall. Congress, which agreed to provide $1.35 billion in funding for border barriers, voted to oppose the declaration. Trump issued his first veto against that measure. A veto-override effort in the House failed on Tuesday.

Robert McMahon, the assistant secretary of defense for sustainment, testified at Tuesday's hearing that any projects that lose funding would be delayed, not canceled.

He also said the Pentagon had not yet put together a list of projects that might be cut, adding,  â€œAt this point I can tell you there is no list that says this is where we’re going to go, because at this point in time there’s no requirement." A list of potential projects, he noted, would be limited to those that were not expecting to disburse funds this year, and prioritized based on urgency. â€œThe short answer is that that list will evolve over time,” he stressed. In response to questioning, Army Assistant Chief for Installations Management Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham told the committee there were 13 projects funded through a hurricane relief bill that could potentially be on the chopping block.

In a tense exchange, Wasserman Shultz criticized McMahon for saying the projects would be delayed, not canceled.

“They are not going to be deferred. They are going to be canceled. We have already appropriated the funding, as I said. We are not backfilling the funding in this bill. So as a result they will be canceled because of the president’s decision to take the money from funds from already appropriated by Congress,” she stressed.

Democrats blasted the administration for requesting $3.6 billion in funds to backfill defunded projects that were meant to help rebuild facilities used by the military and their families. â€œThe idea that construction of a border wall takes precedence for this administration over our service members’ safety and readiness is unconscionable,” Wasserman Schultz stated.

The Pentagon has approved the transfer of up to $1 billion to build 57 miles of Trump's Southern border wall, according to a Defense Department statement released Monday night.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan notified Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the transfer in a letter, released alongside the statement, which said the money will go to block “up to 11 drug-smuggling corridors along the border".

Shanahan “authorized the commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing up to $1 billion in support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Patrol”, according to the statement.

“These funds will be used to support DHS's request to build 57 miles of 18-foot-high pedestrian fencing, constructing and improving roads, and installing lighting within the Yuma and El Paso Sectors of the border in support of the February 15 national emergency declaration on the Southern border of the United States,” the statement noted.

The statement added that the Pentagon has such authority to transfer the money “to construct roads and fences and to install lighting to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of Federal law enforcement agencies”. 

 

 

 

 

How to Wash a Wall: New Avmor Podcast Series Tells Cleaning Professionals How and Why This is Important

All part of a new MasterClass Podcast Series being introduced by Avmor

Lavel, Canada - Avmor, Canada's oldest and one of its largest manufacturers of professional cleaning systems, is introducing a new MasterClass Podcast Series. This is an ongoing, training, education, and best practices podcast program.

A new topic will be discussed every other Wednesday on a continuing basis.

"These are not 'product sell' podcasts—far from it," says Mike Watt, head of Training and Product Development at Avmor. "These are very practical training programs that every cleaning worker encounter on a regular basis.

"Our goal is to promote safety, make the job of the cleaning worker a bit easier, reduce time, lower costs, and give our customers a competitive advantage."

So, how does a podcast on wall washing fit in?

Watt explains that during the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Canada, representatives from three different cleaning contractors bid on the cleaning needs of the Olympic Village.

"We were all asked 'how to wash a wall?' Reps from the first two companies had no idea. However, the contract cleaning company I was working with at that time answered, 'from the bottom up,' which was the right answer. That right answer won us a very lucrative and very prestigious client."

As to why a wall should be washed from the bottom up, Watt says that if you start from the top, the cleaning solution will drain down the wall, causing it to streak. "To correct this, what often must happen is the entire wall will need to be re-painted."

Further details on how to wash a wall can be found by clicking here or by visiting Avmor's Media Center.

This is also Avmor's first podcast in the series. According to Watt, other topics to be discussed over the next couple of months include the following:

• Series 2: Removing a Stubborn Stain from a Carpet

• Series 3: Why Does My Drain Smell?

• Series 4: Removing Gum on Carpet

In addition to being available at Avmor's Media Center, the podcasts can be listened to on Google and Spotify and soon on iTunes as well.

More information on the podcast series is available by email at marketingteam@avmor.com

About Avmor Ltd.

Avmor was founded in 1948 by Avrum Morrow and Henry Chinks. Being North America's leading manufacturer and marketer of professional cleaning chemicals and sustainable solutions, Avmor has remained in the industry forefront by providing A More Complete Clean. Avmor's commitment to ISO 9001 as well as cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) procedures signifies the importance of delivering and ensuring best in class performance cleaning products while remaining competitively priced. Avmor's customized training program and solutions promote and educate the market about the importance of clean to prevent sickness and disease. Our UL ECOLOGO, GREENGUARD GOLD certifications attest to our dedication to quality, performance, and commitment as well as our responsibility to always provide optimal cleaning solutions while maintaining and enhancing health and safety standards for people and the environment. Avmor Ltd. is a privately held company.

Contact:

Lai-Na WongMarketing ManagerTel: 450-629-8074 Ext. 2320 lwong@Avmor.com

Media Contact: Robert Kravitz

312-880-8176

robert@alturasolutions.com

Pompeo to make symbolic visit to Western Wall with Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (AP) — President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.

The administration has been considering recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, for some time and Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just a day earlier.

U.S. and Israeli officials said Wednesday they had not expected a decision until next week, when Netanyahu is to visit the U.S.

But in a tweet that appeared to catch many by surprise, Trump said the time had come for the United States to take the step, which Netanyahu warmly welcomed as a "miracle" on the Jewish holiday of Purim.

"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" Trump tweeted.

The U.S. will be the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as disputed territory occupied by Israel whose status should be determined by negotiations between Israel and Syria. Attempts to bring Israel and Syria to the table have failed. It was not immediately clear how a U.N. peacekeeping force in the Golan might be affected by the U.S. move. That force's mandate expires at the end of June.

There had been signals a decision was coming. Last week, in its annual human rights report, the State Department dropped the phrase "Israeli-occupied" from the Golan Heights section, instead calling it "Israeli-controlled."

Pompeo had brushed questions about the change aside, insisting even earlier Thursday that there was no change in policy. However, in comments to reporters ahead of a Purim dinner with Netanyahu and his wife at their Jerusalem home, Pompeo hailed the shift.

"Tonight, President Trump made the decision to recognize that that hard-fought real estate, that important place, is proper to be a sovereign part of the state of Israel," he said.

Netanyahu, who is embroiled in a fierce re-election campaign ahead of April 9 voting, smiled broadly while delivering his own remarks.

"We have the miracle of Purim," he said. "Thank you President Trump."

Netanyahu has for weeks been stepping up longstanding Israeli requests for the U.S. and others to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. He has bolstered Israel's traditional argument that the area has for all practical purposes been fully integrated into Israel by accusing Iran of trying to infiltrate terrorists from Syria into the plateau.

"At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Netanyahu tweeted.

Trump's announcement came as Pompeo was wrapping up a two-day visit to Jerusalem during which he lauded warm ties with Israel, met with Netanyahu on at least three separate occasions and promised to step up pressure on Iran.

Pompeo's events with Netanyahu included a visit to the Western Wall that made him the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the Jewish holy site with any Israeli leader and appeared to further signal the Trump administration's support for Israel's control of the contested city. Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv, prompting the Palestinians to sever ties with the administration.

Pompeo's presence also appeared to signal Trump's support for Netanyahu the political candidate. Netanyahu, facing a tough challenge from a popular former military chief and reeling from a series of corruption allegations, has repeatedly sought to focus attention on his foreign policy record and strong ties with Trump.

"The Trump administration is absolutely endorsing Netanyahu," said Alon Pinkas, former consul general of Israel in New York. "It's very rare for a secretary of state to come visit an Israeli prime minister without any apparent diplomatic reason justifying it, without a peace process, without any regional agenda."

Pompeo said his trip had nothing to do with politics or U.S. policy on Jerusalem, although for decades American officials refrained from visiting the Western Wall with Israeli leaders to avoid the appearance of recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the city's most sensitive holy sites. Israel captured east Jerusalem and the Old City in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

"I'm going to stay far away from the decisions that the Israeli people will make here in a few weeks," Pompeo told reporters. "It wouldn't be appropriate for the U.S. secretary of state to comment on Israeli domestic politics."

The Old City is home to the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition says Jesus was entombed and resurrected. Pompeo, a Christian, also stopped at the church.

Next to the Western Wall is a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. The spot, which once housed the biblical Jewish Temples, is the holiest site in Judaism and today is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.

The competing claims to the site are a frequent source of tension and lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, he said it did not determine the city's final borders. But the gesture was perceived as unfairly siding with Israel and prompted the Palestinians to cut contacts with U.S. officials. The Palestinians have already rejected a planned Mideast peace initiative by the administration.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Pompeo's visit added additional obstacles to peace hopes. "While they are claiming to be trying to solve the conflict, such acts only make it more difficult to resolve," he said.

While previous secretaries of state have traditionally met with the Palestinians when visiting the region, Pompeo has no such talks planned.

___

Riechmann reported from Washington.

Chris Kyle's Iraqi interpreter becomes US citizen: 'I support Trump 100 percent ... We need to build the wall'

The Iraqi interpreter who worked with U.S. Navy SEALS and "American Sniper" Chris Kyle during the Iraq War became an American citizen this week after a 10-year process and spoke of his support for President Trump's immigration policies.

Riyadh Ahmed Khalaf Al Ahmady, 54, who is still better known by his code name "Johnny Walker," took part in a naturalization ceremony in his home city of San Diego, Calif., Wednesday.

Al Ahmady's visa was approved during the Obama administration, but he is a fan of President Trump and his immigration policies, including the travel ban that affected Muslim-majority countries.

"Trump, if he is racist that means he wants to protect his race and his religion," he said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. "How many Muslims live in the United States?" he asked. "He wants to protect those people no matter what they believe, and they call him racist."

"I support Trump 100 percent ... he loves this country," said Al Ahmady. "I tell people, 'Raise the American flag in Iraq,' while people over here, they show no respect to the flag."

Al Ahmady said the issue of illegal immigration, whether at the U.S.-Mexico border or overstaying visas, has been made more complicated and emotional than it needs to be. "We need to build the wall. Some, if they don't like this idea, they need to go back to [their] country."

He was approved for a special immigrant visa for himself and his family in 2009, after he had helped the Navy SEALS with more than 1,000 missions. It took a decade longer to be approved to become citizens.

Al Ahmady said that those who had helped the U.S. should be at the front of the line to receive visas."Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I am better than other people," he said. "I think we should see who has put his life at risk for us, to make his citizenship faster than other people who gave no life risk.

"From 2006 through 2009, I put my life at risk every night. How many people of those [visa applicants] put their life at risk?" asked Al Ahmady, who said he had dreamed for decades about coming to the U.S. "All they need to do is follow the legal procedure and keep your faith about the American dream."

Among the SEALs Al Ahmady worked with in Iraq was Chris Kyle, the legendary sniper who achieved more than 150 confirmed kills and was portrayed in the blockbuster movie "American Sniper" by Bradley Cooper. Kyle, 38, was shot dead in Texas in 2013 by a deranged former U.S. marine whom he was trying to help adjust to civilian life.

Al Ahmady, who was interviewed a day after his naturalization ceremony, now works with U.S. Special Operations forces in Southern California.

Your friend’s guest bed is lumpy, and the room's walls are thin. How to respectfully decline an offer to stay

You love visiting your friends. But there’s one problem: You don’t love their guest room. Perhaps the mattress is lumpy or the walls are too thin. Maybe you’re a sensitive sleeper who needs control over the thermostat. Either way, getting out of an overnight invite can be tricky.

If hosts are insistent â€" and their accommodations aren’t great â€" that can put a reluctant houseguest in an awkward etiquette position, said Lizzie Post, co-host of the “Awesome Etiquette” podcast and co-president of the Emily Post Institute. But you don’t have to insult your hosts’ home to turn down their offer. Blame yourself instead.

“There’s no reason to judge other people’s hospitality when we have something on our own to point to: ‘I’ve realized it’s best if I have my own space and a little bit of breathing room,’” said Post.

And there’s no reason to lie. You can keep it vague while emphasizing how much you’re looking forward to dinner or a night filled with board games, Post suggested.

Use privacy as an excuse if you’re traveling as a couple. Tell the hosts that you and your partner just want some alone time, and you’re using the trip as “a nice little getaway," said etiquette expert Elaine Swann, founder of the Swann School of Protocol. Hopefully, they’ll get the picture. If you’re traveling solo, Swan said, “wave that flag of me time.”

“You almost want to mention the fact that you’re not staying there as an afterthought,” said Swann. “Focus more on the wonderful things that you’ll do together.”

Be prepared for hurt feelings

Turning down an offer of hospitality can come across as judgmental, even if you point to your bad back or your love of hotel soaps. Your hosts might get offended because it can seem as if you’re telling them their space isn’t good enough.

“It’s their home, and it’s their invitation they’ve issued that somehow seems less than to you,” said Post. “It’s really hard to hear that.”

Swann agreed that the simple act of turning down the offer â€" no matter the reason â€" can seem like an affront. But you shouldn’t make yourself uncomfortable just because your host might be slighted. “People try too hard to avoid hurting people’s feelings,” said Swann. “Just recognize that they may be hurt, they may be offended. But hope that, in the end, the friendship can weather that storm.”

Should you try to fix the problem? Maybe.

If room temperature is the issue, Post thinks self-adjustments are better than asking your host to modify the thermostat: If it’s too hot, put an ice pack under your pillow or grab some water to cool off; if you’re shivering, bring plenty of socks or layer up with blankets.

If you’re only shying away from the guest room because of a fixable issue, it could be worth addressing. But Swann thinks guests should offer to help in the process. If scratchy sheets are the problem, give your friends a set of comfy bedding. If the pillow is too flat, leave a firm one for your next visit. However, If you have no intention of staying, it’s best to keep quiet. “If you tell them what’s wrong and they fix it and you still don’t want to stay there, you might as well not even tell them,” said Swann.

Don’t judge

When you break the news that you’re going to stay elsewhere, just be mindful that you’re turning down the place where your friends live.

“People don’t like being judged in a space that’s supposed to be their private space and they’re choosing to welcome you into it,” said Post. “Our homes become a very vulnerable place for us when we let other people in.”

Keri Wiginton is a freelance writer.

Visiting your parents but don't want to stay with them? Here's how to let them down easy »

Beyond Craigslist, roommate match programs make use of extra space: 'She made my house a home' »

Remember during the polar vortex when many Chicago businesses let their employees work from home and we nearly lost our minds after two days of despair and distraction? #NeverForget. To remedy the stir-crazy the next time you're allowed to work remotely, we've rounded up some quiet, quaint and creative locales through the city worth checking out.

(Randi Stevenson)

Brand logos have always had a well-known presence at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We affiliate the Golden Arches with McDonald's and a simplistic navy blue star with the Dallas Cowboys. But did you know that sounds can be trademarked as well â€" legally registered as representing a company or product? For example, the Mockingjay whistle from "The Hunger Games." And why not? After all, Hasbro trademarked the smell of Play-Doh (seriously). Here's a list of some familiar sounds that have been trademarked by their brands. Click the links in each caption to hear the sound.

(Darcel Rockett)

How To Make A Custom Beer Flight Holder

How To Make A Custom Beer Flight HolderJan Hagerman, from the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity ReStore, explains (3:50). WCCO Mid-Morning - March 22, 2019

Spring Home Checklist: Get Your House Prepped For Warm WeatherNow that it's finally feeling like spring, it's a good time to make sure your house is ready for warmer weather. So, Charles Thayer with All Around Construction is here to share his spring home checklist. (2:40) WCCO Mid-Morning – March 21, 2019

Tips On Caring For The Many Types Of OrchidsThe beauty and elegance of orchids make them a popular statement plant. Karen Bachman Thull from Bachman's is here to show us some different species and also tips on caring for them. (2:51) WCCO Mid-Morning – March 21, 2019

The Pentagon Finally Tells Us Which Projects Will Fund Trump’s Wall. How Did Your State Make Out?

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The Pentagon has finally told us which construction projects they plan to postpone in order to dig up money for Donald Trump's wall:

The projects on the list run the gamut, including a hangar for drones at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea and a wastewater treatment plant at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. They represent the full spectrum of construction initiatives that the Pentagon undertakes to maintain a vast network of bases and operations around the globe. Many of the projects are updates to facilities that affect daily military life on bases — dining halls, schools, fire stations, medical facilities, roads and parking lots. Others are construction projects that directly impact military operations and training, such as firing ranges, aircraft maintenance hangars, flight simulation facilities and munitions depots.

And guess what? Out of a total of $6.8 billion, a whopping $1.1 billion comes from projects in California. Isn't that just the biggest surprise? I wonder what loyal spear carriers like Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes think of this? They support Trump to the point of embarrassment, but they nonetheless keep losing money for their districts thanks to Trump's jihad against California Democrats. Or maybe they don't. Has anyone checked? When Trump screws over California, is he careful to make sure that Republican districts don't take a big hit?

UPDATE: I read the spreadsheet wrong. I'm not sure what California's share is anymore, so ignore this. I need to recalculate based on all fiscal years and including only spending within the United States. I'll do this eventually.

I think it would be interesting if someone converted the Pentagon list back into a spreadsheet and then compared red and blue states to see how much punishment they're getting. Does that sound petty? Then it's petty. I'm still interested.

UPDATE: I meant billions, not millions. Sorry about that.

How to use your experiences to build boundaries instead of walls

Once upon a job, I worked for a manager who used to contact me on weekends, on Whatsapp, via text message and when I had booked time off. I'd end up answering messages at 1 am, taking calls when I was ill and working over my weekends.

The situation became so stressful that I started feeling physically sick every time I saw her name pop up on my phone, but I was completely terrified of approaching her and telling her how I felt. Instead, I absorbed all of her irrational behaviours and allowed her to devour my personal space.

Ignoring and accepting her habits wasn't a solution, and all it did was compound my stress further. It took six months for me to crack and quit.

Six years later and hopefully a little wiser, I now know that accepting bad behaviour is equivalent to allowing it, and that's why I now make a conscious effort to reflect on the boundaries I set within my relationships.

When was the last time you checked out your relationship boundaries?

Probably never, right?

For some people, setting appropriate boundaries comes naturally, but for many of us, we may only realise that our space is under attack once we've been kicked out of our happy place.

With our online lives encroaching on our offline time and our personal space smaller than ever before, it's easy to forget how important it is to teach people how to treat us.

"Walls keep everybody out. Boundaries teach people where the door is."

- Mark Groves

Check out these tips and try to apply them to your life; are you honouring your boundaries in the relationships you currently have?

1. Know your limits and enforce them

Relationships are sacred spaces where we can grow all kinds of ideas about ourselves and each other.

Assessing the way that we relate to one another is vital to our emotional wellbeing, but sometimes we forget that in understanding our connections, we must also pay attention to the room between us.

Knowing what you will tolerate and allow and knowing what will cause you anxiety or stress is an important part of setting up your space.

Ask yourself, what will you tolerate from others?

2. Change has to come from you

If someone crosses your boundaries, what will you do?

Remember, you cannot change how other people behave. The only element of any relationship you can control is how we react to others. Therefore, any boundaries you define need to be upheld by you.

If someone shouts at you, you can yell back or ask them to stop, but the best course of action may be to step out and abandon the conversation entirely!

Over time, that person may realise that shouting is an ineffective form of communication and can challenge them to change because they need or want something from you that they know they can't get when they shout.

3. Lead by action

Often, it isn't enough to tell people what you need; you have to show them.

For example, telling a co-worker that you can't be productive if they keep interrupting your work is one thing, but enforcing this by politely asking your colleague to book your time in advance will over time, cultivate understanding and respect for your needs.

Similarly, if your partner wants to talk immediately after arguing, you may respond in anger or want to regroup before you can comfortably chat again. Telling your partner that you need five minutes alone is one thing, but enforcing this by taking yourself out of the room or going for a quick walk is better for your emotional well-being and your relationship!

4. Be bold

Being assertive in your relationships is not a bad thing. When you learn to stick up for yourself and challenge what you don't agree with, you gain confidence and clarity. Knowing what you want is powerful, knowing how to articulate it is a skill!

5. Practice self-care

Listen to your feelings and put yourself first.

As with any element of your mental health, honing in on what you are feeling can provide valuable cues for boundary-setting. Happiness is intrinsically tied to your ability to be a good partner, parent, friend and employee. Learn to take direction from your feelings, because no one knows you better than YOU do.

How to be single in a coupled-up world – The Wall Street Journal

Yes, it can be tough to be single. But new research offers hope for those who are struggling - single people can and do lead full and happy lives.

This article is exclusive to Biznews Premium. Members please login here. Not yet subscribed? Taste before you eat by signing up here for free 30 day trial (card details required).

Trump wants to use a big banking settlement to help build his border wall

Lucy Nicholson | Reuters

New bollard-style U.S.-Mexico border fencing is seen next to vehicle barriers in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, March 5, 2019.

The White House is targeting a windfall from an international banking scandal to help pay for the border wall, according to an administration official.

French bank Societe Generale struck a deal with the U.S government in November to pay $1.3 billion after admitting that it violated U.S. sanctions on Cuba and Iran for years. The administration is hoping to funnel as much as $359 million from that settlement to a special account at the Treasury Department to fund the wall, the official said.

Yet it's unclear whether the White House can use the money for the wall. The Treasury account — known as the asset forfeiture fund — is made up of cash, property and other items seized during civil and criminal investigations. Use of the funds is restricted by federal law, and the account itself is a lightning rod for criticism, with both conservatives and liberals calling it an example of government overreach.

In its 2017 annual report, the fund listed total assets worth $4 billion.

"Fundamentally, this is a slush fund of money taken from private citizens that law enforcement officials are allowed to use for their own purposes," said Robert McNamara, a senior attorney with the libertarian Institute for Justice.

President Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the border in an effort to build the wall largely without congressional approval and funding. Instead, the administration is attempting to cobble together $8 billion from spending that has already been authorized this fiscal year.

About $3.6 billion will be drawn from previous allocations for military construction. Another $2.5 billion would come from counter drug activities at the Defense Department. The spending deal that Congress passed in January also included $1.4 billion for fencing and other structures. Another $601 million from Treasury's asset forfeiture fund would fill the gap.

According to the administration, about $242 million is already available in the fund. The remaining $359 million will come from "future anticipated forfeitures" — notably the settlement with SocGen. Two administration officials said the bank's forfeiture is still awaiting final court approval.

But another person familiar with the settlement said SocGen has finished making its payments, with the funds split among federal and state authorities. It is unclear exactly how much was destined for Treasury or the forfeiture fund.

The fund's assets are typically used to reimburse other agencies and state and local governments for their work in the investigation. The money may also go to informants or victims in the cases.

The fund's annual report says any money left over after accounting for operational costs for the next fiscal year can be earmarked for "strategic support" and made available for "any law enforcement activity." Whether that includes the president's border wall is up for debate.

"If Congress is supposed to be in charge of appropriations, we shouldn't be setting up funds that the executive can self-fund based on how many people it shakes down," McNamara said.

Other attempts by the administration to pinpoint a pot of money for the wall have been met with resistance. Early reports that the White House was considering using disaster money did not sit well with Republican lawmakers such as Rep. Kevin Brady, whose Texas district was hurt by Hurricane Harvey.

Now, Democrats are slamming plans to use money intended for military construction to build the border barrier. In response to a letter from top Democratic senators, the Defense Department said it would not divert funding from military housing, barracks and dorms. Only projects with award dates after this fiscal year would be affected, the department said.

"More than $10 billion of other top priorities that the military and their families have requested over the last several years is on the chopping block to placate the president," Sens. Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy and Brian Schatz said in a joint statement this week. "This madness will not stop until more of our Republican colleagues are willing to put the military ahead of party politics."

Last week, the House and Senate passed a resolution to block the national emergency, but Trump vetoed it Friday. His declaration faces an uncertain future in the Democrat-controlled House, which will vote on whether to override the veto later this month. The Senate does not appear to have enough support to overturn the veto.

Drywall turns to wet wall: Why and how 37 units flooded in West Palm's Whitney apartments

WEST PALM BEACH — A 12-year-old downtown condo once gutted to replace Chinese drywall, again finds itself subject to repairs, after vibrations from sanding in a vacant apartment set off a fire sprinkler Thursday that sent water cascading through 37 units.

Dry-out work continued in 10 units Tuesday afternoon at the Whitney building building at 410 Evernia Street.

West Palm Beach Fire Rescue got the call at 4:28 p.m. and shut off off the water at a stairwell standpipe within 15 minutes. They found 20 people evacuated to the lobby, as the fire alarm had gone off; another five people came down after firefighters arrived.

The shut-off meant fire watch procedures were instituted throughout building, meaning all residents were notified of the situation, Assistant Fire Chief Brent Bloomfield said.

According to Joe Pierman, general manager of the Whitney Condominium Association, staff immediately began sopping up the water and called in a water remediation company after the sprinkler went off in unit 702, on the 7th floor.

After several hours, rooms for renters from three of the apartments were located in a Ramada Inn at 1901 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., owned by developer Jeff Greene, who owns 139 units at the Whitney. The hotel was full but there were cancellations, Greene said Tuesday.

Two were staying for two nights, one for one night, Greene said.

Josh Myers, who rents the unit next to 702, said after getting bitten by bed bugs at the Ramada, he requested other lodgings but was denied. He used his renters insurance to pay for lodgings elsewhere.

Myers said he was allowed to gather belongings but was told he won't be able to move back in for about five days. He rents his two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot apartment in the Whitney for $2,300, he said.

No one was injured in the incident but water streaming from the pressurized system left ceilings and walls on the east side of the building sodden and peeling. Hallways looked like lakes.

If a sprinkler puts out 75 gallons a minute and it takes 10 minutes to get it turned off, that's 750 gallons cascading through the building, Bloomfield explained.

"Nobody's hurt, all responses worked appropriately," general manager Pierman said. "These things happen. They happen in every building. We're drying it out."

If there had been a real fire, people would have been happy the sprinkler system worked so well, he said.

The building has been through worse.

At the time it was under construction in the mid-2000s, American-made drywall was in short supply, sapped by demand from the U.S. building boom and the reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Faced with a shortage, many builders imported Chinese drywall.

The first Whitney owners took possession of their units in 2007, at the height of the real estate bubble, and real estate values immediately plummeted as recession gripped the nation. Things got worse at the Whitney when the drywall proved laden with sulfur, which quickly corroded copper pipes and wire.

Residents couldn't fathom why their air conditioning units kept breaking down, or why their microwave buttons stopped working. Some even saw their television screens malfunction and their silver jewelry tarnish.

The building underwent a major renovation, including new AC units and refrigerators and new patio furniture on a rooftop deck and new lights in the halls.

Staff Writer Jeff Ostrowski contributed to this story.

tdoris@pbpost.com

@TonyDorisPBP