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The increased frequency and severity of flooding in the United States are likely to increase the number of properties that experience multiple flood losses. However, only limited information is readily available on the characteristics of such properties despite being a significant driver of the claim costs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Data are available on the location of properties that have repeatedly flooded, for example, but information is not readily available on the cause of loss (coastal flooding or riverine flooding), structure type, the distribution of losses (multiple small losses or fewer large losses), losses relative to structure and property value, and attractive mitigation strategies for different types of properties. This report examines properties with multiple losses insured by the NFIP and the communities in which they are located to help inform decisions related to floodplain management, flood insurance, and mitigation efforts. This information should help (1) the NFIP better understand the specific challenges faced by these properties and the communities in which they are located, including consideration of equity issues, and (2) develop more-targeted mitigation programs and risk transfer strategies.

To support the U.S. emergency management system, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other entities have created constructs — programs, grants, assessments, doctrine, and coordination bodies — at different times and in response to various events and needs. The overall number of constructs has grown, and the poor integration among them can worsen emergency management services and disaster outcomes.

Current force readiness and availability metrics have important deficits that limit their ability to inform U.S. Air Force decisionmakers about the number of units available and to identify capability and capacity shortfalls in meeting scenario demands. The authors of this report developed an approach that allows authoritative data sources that feed the current readiness reporting system to be leveraged and aggregated and therefore better measure the readiness of Air Combat Command forces to meet scenario demands. The methodology proposes the definition of combat power as the specific collection of personnel and equipment to fulfill a given capability (e.g., the air superiority capability of a six-ship of F-22 aircraft). Combat power readiness would be measured by linking the status of personnel and equipment to specific capability sets (e.g., fly the aircraft, maintain the aircraft) that contribute to the required set of Unit Type Codes demanded by scenarios when said power would be utilized.

Researchers reviewed U.S. Department of Homeland Security data needs for countering terrorism and targeted violence and assessed the alignment between those needs and available resources. This report documents their findings and recommendations.

Three locals are arrested for the murder of the teen daughter of a powerful Washington D.C. judge, but reporter Sully Carter believes there is more to discover.

‘The Ways of the Dead is a great read. If this is Tucker’s first novel, I can't wait for what's coming next.’ Michael Connelly TRUE DETECTIVE meets HOUSE OF CARDS in the electrifying first novel of a new crime series from a veteran Washington, D.C., reporter The body of the teenage daughter of a powerful Federal judge is discovered in a dumpster in a bad neighbourhood of Washington, DC. It is murder, and the local police immediately arrest the three nearest black kids, bad boys from a notorious gang. Sully Carter, a veteran war correspondent with emotional scars far worse than the ones on his body, suspects that there's more to the case than the police would have the public know. With the nation clamouring for a conviction, and the bereaved judge due for a court nomination, Sully pursues his own line of enquiry, in spite of some very dangerous people telling him to shut it down.

Sometimes you can’t change—and sometimes you just don’t want to. Read Ben’s side of the Ten Tiny Breaths story in this romantic coming of age novel by the beloved, top-selling indie author praised for her “likeable characters, steamy liaisons, and surprising plot twists” (Kirkus Reviews). Purple-haired, sharp-tongued Reese MacKay knows all about making the wrong choice; she’s made plenty of them in her twenty-odd-years. So when her impulsive, short-lived marriage ends in heartbreak, she decides it’s time for a change. She moves to Miami with the intention of hitting reset on her irresponsible life, and she does quite well…aside from an epically humiliating one-night stand in Cancun with a hot blond bouncer named Ben. Thank God she can get on a plane and leave that mistake behind her. Football scholarship and frat parties with hot chicks? Part of charmer Ben Morris’s plan. Blown knee that kills any hope of a professional football career? So not part of the plan. Luckily Ben has brains to go with his knockout looks and magnetism. After three long years of balancing law school with his job as a bouncer at Penny’s Palace, he’s ready to lead a more mature life—until his first day of work, when he finds himself in the office of that crazy, hot chick he met in Cancun. The one he hasn’t stopped thinking about. If Ben truly were a smart guy, he’d stay clear of Reese. She’s the boss’s stepdaughter and it’s been made very clear that office romances are grounds for dismissal. Plus, rumor has it she’s trouble. The only problem is, he likes trouble, especially when it’s so good-looking…

Among the other hair-raising tales in this collection, Windham spotlights the apparitions of academia. From the three Yankee soldiers who haunt the University of Alabamas Civil Warera Little Round House to the Confederate soldier who resides in the University Chapel at Auburn University, Alabamas institutions of higher learning seem to have more than a few paranormal pupils.

On one side is snide, arrogant, dismissive, sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, and otherwise abusive laughter. On the other side is laughter that is warm and supportive, compassionate and forgiving, encouraging, lifting, and healing. And there is so much in between. Such great differences in laughter lead to the question—can laughter make the world a better place? This book uses television shows like M*A*S*H and Malcolm in the Middle, movies like Zombieland and Life Is Beautiful, novels like A Confederacy of Dunces and The Sellout, insights by neuroscientists, philosophers, painters, social and political scientists, and an undocumented man and his daughter, as well as ideas from people like C. S. Lewis, Sigmund Freud, Brené Brown, Tiffany Haddish, and Hannah Gadsby to answer that question.

The team at Hot Bed HQ bring you extracts of our favourite authors. We know there is a lot of love for these amazing authors, but you might find someone new here, and it will undoubtedly be Love at First Sight. Featuring: Sweet Thing by Renée Carlino Rush Too Farby Abbi Glines Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover Beautiful Oblivionby Jamie McGuire Collide by Gail McHugh Unteachableby Leah Raeder Desert Heat by Elizabeth Reyes Working It by Kendall Ryan Five Ways to Fallby K.A. Tucker Jane's Melodyby Ryan Winfield You will definitely be coming back for more! Find out more about your favourite authors at: www.thehotbed.tumblr.com Twitter: @TheHotBed www.facebook.com/TheHotBed