Many of you new to this blog may not know that I am a huge baseball fan and have covered many a story that crosses over to the news side of things. So when I find a baseball story that becomes news I do my best to cover it and this one takes the cake for our national pastime. Last year we covered military opening day with the San Diego Padres and no other professional team goes as far as they do to support our men and women in uniform. While covering the Padres on this occasion and a few others, we became friends with their PR staff’s which include George Stieren and Warren Miller. They just had their colleague Erik Meyer send me the story and video of 11-year-old Brad Warnick, joined on the mound by mother Irene and 8-year-old sister Ashley, who thought they were just representing the USS Midway Museum in San Diego in honor of their fathers service in the Navy. BUT…..dressed in full Padres catching gear behind the plate was Petty Officer 1st Class Rick Warnick, their father & husband. Petty Officer Warnick is part of the crew currently deployed on the USS Nimitz, scheduled to return next month. Warnick was flown home early to surprise his family on the field through cooperative efforts of the USS Midway Museum and the Navy. This video is what it’s all about.

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UPDATE: Rick Warnick has left a great note on this blog, so scroll down to find it. Also, his wife had found out the night before and kept the kids out of the loop. Watch closely, you’ll see the emotion in the Brad and Ashley’s eyes.

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In the last 6 months the U.S. Coast Guard along with the U.S. Navy have found 42 submersibles headed north towards the United States and off the coast of Central America. That is double the number found in the previous 5 years combined. These subs can carry as much as 10 tons of drugs or even weapons and some of the latest models can move 15 knots. This is obviously troubling and makes our war on the cartels that much more difficult. We are currently at Coast Guard Island in Alameda California, where the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sherman is located. The ship has recently returned from operations off of Central America, where finding these subs is proving difficult. They are primitive but effective and built similar to the subs used in the civil war. Usually about 6 inches or so sticks above the water, which is almost impossible to spot. During the day the subs sit, preserving their cover for movement at night. Here is some great raw video provided by the U.S. Coast Guard.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING UPDATE

There is some concern within our national security forces that these subs could eventually, of not already, carry weapons and/or terrorists north without detection. Also, if the drug runners sink the sub, or burn it and the evidence is lost, then the Coast Guard is required to rescue the drug runners and then safely release them on shore. They USCG is working with the DHS and DOJ to get the law changed. More video after the link.

Keep Reading …

We are nestled in the mountains of inland north San Diego County. A light breeze has drifted through the orchard next to our satellite truck most of the day. I can picture myself sitting in a hammock strun between two trees with a book in hand. While the normalities of everyday life may not be available (Internet access, restaurants), a spring day in the clean air and amongst the agricultural is truly delightful. We have already reported live for FOX News, FOX Radio and FOX Business eight times, with more to come.

Our story should concern every American, from sea to shining sea, mountain range to orchard, because as California farmers run out of water and these trees run out of time, the sounds of saws now echo through once serene groves of hass avocados. As owner Jerome Stehly said to me “You want your food grown close to home. You don’t want all of your food grown offshore or being put on ships and being shipped for weeks. Fresh produce needs to come fresh.” more on the the story after the video and link

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Keep Reading …

So I stopped into the DC Bureau and people are obviously busy with Pope coverage. I did have a chance to meet up with the Fox News Edge folks, who we work with all over the globe on breaking news. Here’s a little video I threw together.

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Here is a look at a rally for peace through the streets of Bogota. People actually rallied across the countryside. Those we spoke with expressed concern about Colombia’s leftist neighbors. This rally was to protest the innocent people either murdered or abducted here, I am told more than 750 are still held captive including 3 American contractors and a former Colombian Presidential candidate. Some in this crowd were not so welcoming, there were some socialists and anarchists dressed in black who felt we were imperialists for covering the stories here, doesn’t make much sense to me.