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The thing about emergency situations is that you never know when and where one is going to strike. This is why it's important to have various tools and utilities on standby just in case. Even if you're caught off guard by a sudden development, if you've got the right gear ready for action, you won't be left floundering. While you can get all kinds of good emergency equipment from your local Home Depot, if you're looking to stay in a single ecosystem of products, you may benefit from browsing the Milwaukee brand's line of Packout tools and kits. The Packout line is intended primarily for jobsite and workshop convenience, utilizing lids and bases that clip together in a sturdy stack. However, whether you're on the job or at home, resilient, multifunctional equipment is definitely useful when an emergency strikes. Here we've listed five Milwaukee Packout tools and kits that will be of use in an emergency. More information on how we selected the products can be found in our methodology at the bottom of this page. A very common type of emergency situation is a sudden power outage, whether due to grid problems or bad weather. If you don't have power, then the food in your refrigerator is officially on a time limit, to say nothing of more important things like perishable medicine. Whether you need a cool place to store snacks or medicine for a while, the Packout Cooler Bag has it handled. The Packout Cooler Bag is made up of 1680D tear-resistant ballistic fabric, ensuring it'll stand up to whatever punishment you subject it to while protecting its contents. The internal food-grade leak-proof liner can hold ice for up to 24 hours, which means you can stash temperature sensitive snacks and medicine for just as long. The bag has a sturdy shoulder strap, and is light enough to easily carry around if you need to travel somewhere on foot. However, its molded, impact-resistant base also allows it to clip securely onto a Packout stack. This can be handy if you're in the car and need to make sure the contents of the bag stay level. The Milwaukee Packout Cooler Bag is available at Home Depot for $74.97. This bag comes recommended by Brian of WorkshopAddict , who makes extensive use of it both in a professional and personal capacity. Another common emergency situation is a sudden injury, so it's very important that at least one person in each family has first aid training so they can get a handle on all kinds of injuries and ailments until more complete treatment. A vital component of the first aid process is a stocked toolbox of bandages, ointments, braces, and more. If you want such a medical toolbox, the Packout Type 3 First Aid Kit is a quality choice. This Class B first aid kit is stuffed with supplies for all kinds of medical emergencies, and in large quantities. The total item count adds up to 193, including bandages, antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, cold packs, tourniquets, and much more. All of this is packed up into an IP65 waterproof-rated impact-resistant shell, guaranteed to withstand sudden drops and prevent any liquid ingress from rain or puddles. The kit is sealed by a locking clear lid, allowing you to easily see what's in each compartment, while the base can lock onto any Packout stack. The Milwaukee Packout Type 3 First Aid Kit is available at Home Depot for $144.97. Scott Wadsworth of YouTube channel Essential Craftsman recommends this first aid kit, not just for its resilience, but for the vital addition of the included usage instructions. He notes that even if you eventually exhaust the medical contents of the kit, the box itself would still be exceptionally useful to have around. It's bad enough to have an emergency strike during the day when you can see what's going on, but it's even worse if it happens at night. If there's a nighttime power outage and you can't see anything, you're going to need some resilient, reliable lighting, and in a hurry. While you should have some battery-powered lighting available at all times, like a flashlight, it definitely wouldn't hurt to have the M18 Packout LED Light as a supplemental option. This big block of illuminating power features three independent rotating light heads, providing a cumulative 3,000 lumens of TrueView high definition lighting output. Whether you clip it to a Packout stack or just leave it on a bench, it'll sit properly and proudly. With the help of one of Milwaukee's M18 REDLITHIUM battery packs, you can get up to 31 continuous hours of operation out of this light. As an added bonus, it has a compartment for storing small objects, as well as a 2.1 amp USB plug for charging small electronics. The Milwaukee M18 Packout LED Light is available at Home Depot for $199.00. Stan Durlacher of Tool Box Buzz gave this light a 4 out of 5 star rating in his review, praising how easy the device is to transport and the quality of the TrueView lighting. In emergencies like storms , it's very important that you have a way to receive vital news updates like weather forecasts and travel advisories. Unfortunately, if there's a power or internet outage, you won't be able to get those updates from a TV, computer, or smartphone. Luckily, we still have the classic option: good old fashioned radio. If you're looking to stay tuned in, the M18 Packout Radio/Speaker can deliver. This surprisingly beefy speaker setup is just what you need to receive the news of the world in the absence of other options. Its built-in AM/FM tuner can receive most standard radio signals, either tuning manually or with 18 station presets, while its ten-speaker setup ensures you'll hear the news in full 360-degree clarity. It's also equipped with Bluetooth 4.2 functionality, allowing you to wirelessly connect another device for audio up to 100 feet away. The rubber overmold of the Packout connectors protects the delicate components while allowing you to hook it onto a stack or holding base. For added convenience, there's a weatherproof storage compartment, plus an integrated USB charger, as well as an AC cord for recharging the attached M18 battery pack. The Milwaukee M18 Packout Radio/Speaker is available at Home Depot for $299.00. Clint DeBoer of Pro Tool Reviews scored this device a 9 out of 10, praising its impressive output volume and quality, as well as the built-in charging features. Whether it's for the gadgets we've mentioned here or other helpful Milwaukee tools, it's important that you have a stack of charged batteries ready for action in case an emergency suddenly manifests. After all, if you don't have any batteries, your Packout radio and light won't be able to do much. If you're specifically planning on using your Milwaukee batteries for emergency purposes, it'd be wise to keep them all in one place, such as on the Packout M18 6-Port Rapid Charger. This Packout stack-topping charging cradle has enough space to comfortably fit up to six Milwaukee M18 battery packs. The packs are charged two at a time at a base charging speed 40% quicker than Milwaukee's standalone chargers, with the device keeping each pack firmly latched in place. The integrated handle means you can easily tote the whole thing around if you're on the move, then unfurl the AC cord when you're in a safe place to charge the packs up again. There's also a pair of small caddies on the sides, perfect for holding smartphones while they charge up from the built-in USB-A charging port. The Milwaukee Packout M18 6-Port Rapid Charger is available at Home Depot for $249.00. Returning to Brian of WorkshopAddict , he calls it an excellent choice for those who already have a Packout stack and want to charge large quantities of batteries quickly. Just as it's important to have a variety of tools and implements in an emergency situation, it's also vital to know that your tools are of a high quality. This is why, for our recommendations, we stuck to products with recommendations from either accredited hardware publications or hardware-focused YouTube channels with at least 200,000 subscribers.

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The Holiday Bowl went final at 8:46 p.m. on Friday night, as did Washington State's collapse. Not long ago, the Cougars were on the outskirts of the College Football Playoff race. But in the span of 42 days, they lost three consecutive games, their tailback, offensive coordinator, quarterback, head coach and bowl game. They offered an inspired performance against Syracuse at Snapdragon Stadium but, with a battered roster, had too little of everything to keep pace with the Orange in the 52-35 defeat . Now full attention turns to the search that will frame WSU's future. That's critical, especially in the short term. The Cougars need stability atop the program so they can piece together a roster for next season. Far more important is filling the vacancy atop the university: The search for the next president. Kirk Schulz, in charge of WSU since 2016, is stepping down this summer. Will his replacement know if a football is inflated or stuffed? Will he (or she) recognize that a successful football team is the most cost-effective marketing tool for any university, particularly with the enrollment apocalypse fast approaching for universities across the country? Will he (or she) work with Washington State's board of regents, hold firm against the faculty and work with athletic director Anne McCoy to provide the funding necessary for the Cougars to thrive in the rebuilt Pac-12? The leadership structure in Pullman is a bit unusual and requires context. The campus has a chancellor, Dave Cillay, but he reports to Schulz, who oversees the entire WSU system. That reporting line is expected to remain in place when Schulz's yet-to-be-named successor comes aboard in the second half of 2025. "Cillay will not have full control of Pullman campus spending, including athletics," a source familiar with WSU's process told the Hotline (via text message). "The new system president that replaces Kirk will still have ultimate authority." The situation is similar, at least in designation, to the University of California's leadership structure. Except the UC system president, Michael Drake, does not control campus-specific spending. Cal's chancellor determines the Bears' athletic budget. UCLA's chancellor does the same for the Bruins. But WSU's system president, along with the regents, controls the budget in Pullman and the campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, Everett and Vancouver, which operate more like satellites than equals. There are roughly three times as many undergraduate students in Pullman than at the four branches combined. The source called it a "bad setup" because "the Pullman chancellor is the most important person; the other system schools are glorified junior colleges." Yet the Pullman chancellor doesn't control the Pullman budget and resource allocation. Schulz began transitioning into his oversight role for the system in 2021 and elevated provost Elizabeth Chilton to the role of chancellor for the Pullman campus. But Chilton "wasn't prepared for the scope of Power Five athletics," the source said, forcing Schulz to retain high-level involvement. (Chilton left Washington State last spring to become president of the University of New Hampshire.) "So much of the dysfunction at WSU goes back to all this system junk," the source said, "instead of focusing all time and efforts on the main campus." Making matters worse for the Cougars: Undergraduate enrollment in Pullman has plunged from 18,346 in the fall of 2019 to just 14,346 in the fall of 2024 — a decline of 22 percent, according to WSU data . More ominous: Enrollment for out-of-state and international students, who pay full-cost tuition, has plunged 37 percent over that span. Add the massive loss of athletic department revenue resulting from the demise of the Pac-12 and the new era of revenue sharing with athletes (in the summer of 2025), and the Cougars are facing a mammoth budget crunch rooted in existential issues, not the day-to-day costs required to operate a major college football program. Will the next WSU president grant Cillay, the Pullman chancellor, control of the athletic department's budget? Given the outsized role the campus plays in the economic model underpinning the entire system, that seems unlikely. Hence the significance of the search for Schulz's replacement. It's not an issue for the Cougars next season: The budget for 2025-26 will be finalized well before the next president takes charge. But Schulz's successor will have authority over athletic department spending in the 2026-27 academic year — the first football season of the rebuilt Pac-12. One area (of several) to watch: Will the salary pool for coordinators and assistant coaches remain steady? The Cougars spent $3.7 million on staff salaries in 2024, according to USA Today's compensation database . That's slightly less than Oregon State ($4.3 million) but considerably more than the top tier of the Mountain West, where Boise State and UNLV spent $2.9 million and $2.8 million, respectively. Or will the Cougars decrease staff salaries to a level comparable to the middle tier of the Mountain West? Another vital area: The pool of cash assigned to revenue sharing. Most football programs in the Power Four will share roughly $15 million with athletes. The Group of Five schools won't come close to that amount, but where will the Cougars fall relative to Oregon State, Boise State and San Diego State? The future of WSU football is not about one-time allocations. It's not about a $500,000 expenditure here or a $1 million outlay there. Success in the rebuilt Pac-12 depends on the commitment of millions of new dollars over the remainder of the decade. It's about more — much, much more — than picking the right replacement for Jake Dickert.

New Robotic Inventions Freak You Out! Bizarre Uses for Advanced Robots in 2023It's been one month since the U.S. presidential election. And while Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump have been busy setting up a new White House administration, Democrats have spent the past four weeks trying to diagnose why they lost and how to move forward as a party. One person who thinks he has an answer to that is Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. He's now running to become the new chairman of the national Democratic National Comittee because he says it's time to reassess what matters most to voters. RELATED STORY | DNC chair slams Bernie Sanders' criticism of Democratic Party "There's clearly a lot that we need to learn about what just happened, but one thing that jumps out is that a lot of voters who were taking it on the chin with high prices — frustrated by those prices — weren't hearing from either campaign and were voting for change," Wikler told Scripps News. "Well those voters, I think that we have a chance to reach out to them and say 'look, Democrats actually want to fight for an economy that works for working people and Trump wants to give multi-trillion tax cuts to billionaires at your expense. And that is a message we know can win because it's won downballot, it won in 2018, and it won in 2006 when George W. Bush tried to privatize social security." Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is currently hearing a potentially landmark case on gender affirming care for minors — which has been a big point for Democrats to campaign on. But a Scripps News/YouGov poll released early this year showed that more Americans support than oppose laws aimed at restricting transgender care for minors. RELATED STORY | Scripps News poll: Americans largely support restricting trans rights Wikler told Scripps News that if he were to be named chair of the DNC, it's a no-brainer that he'd support American's right to make their own private medical decisions without worrying about government intervention. "Republicans want to talk about trans issues and go on the attack against trans people because that is their way of trying to divide the public," he said. "People do disagree about this. Republicans want to focus on that disagreement and use attacks on trans people in order to distract folks from the big legislation that they are planning right now — which is a multi-trillion dollar tax cut for billionaires." "Democrats are always going to fight for people to have their basic personal freedom," Wikler continued. "And at the same time, we're going to fight against those who want to dismantle the federal government and the programs like social security and medicare and medicaid that people rely on for their their basic needs and health care." You can watch Scripps News' full interview with Ben Wikler in the video player above.