Kristi Noem (born November 30, 1971) is the U.S. Representative for South Dakota's At-large congressional district, serving since January 2011. She is a member of the Republican Party and has been elected to the Republican Leadership for the 112th Congress as one of its two freshman representatives. She previously represented the 6th District in the South Dakota House of Representatives for four years, serving as an Assistant Majority Leader during her final year. She is a farmer, rancher and small business owner by profession.
Kristi Lynn Arnold was born to Ron and Corinne Bergan Arnold in Watertown, South Dakota and raised with her three siblings on the family ranch and farm in rural Hamlin County. Growing up, she participated in rodeo queen events, learning horsemanship and interview skills. She graduated from Hamlin High School in 1990, and won the South Dakota Snow Queen title, which required that she enroll in a state university and promote the state during her reign. She credited the experience with helping her polish her public speaking and promotional skills. After high school, she enrolled at Northern State University. She married Bryon Noem at the age of 20, then left college at age 22 to help run her family's ranch after her father was killed in a farm machinery accident.
Wolf Isaac Blitzer (born March 22, 1948) is an American journalist who has been a CNN reporter since 1990. Blitzer is currently the host of the newscast The Situation Room and was the host of the Sunday talk show Late Edition until it was discontinued on January 11, 2009. Blitzer previously hosted Wolf Blitzer Reports, which was replaced by The Situation Room.
The son of Jewish refugees from Poland, Wolf Blitzer was born in Augsburg, Germany and raised in Buffalo, New York. Blitzer graduated from Kenmore West Senior High School and received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University at Buffalo in 1970. While there, he was a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi. In 1972, he received a Master of Arts in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. While at Johns Hopkins, Blitzer studied abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he learned Hebrew.
Blitzer has said that he has frequently been asked about his name, which has been characterized as seemingly "made-for-TV". In a Wayne's World Saturday Night Live sketch which was aired during the Persian Gulf War, Wayne and Garth picked Blitzer as having the "worst name" of any war correspondent, with Garth remarking, "It's so obvious the guy made it up for the war!" Blitzer explains that his surname goes back for generations, and his first name, 'Wolf', is the same first name as his maternal grandfather.
Greta Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator and television personality on the Fox News Channel, where she hosts On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren. A former criminal defense and civil trial lawyer, she appeared as a legal analyst on CNN co-hosting Burden of Proof with Roger Cossack from 1994 to 2002, playing defense attorney to Cossack's prosecutor.
Van Susteren was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, and is of Dutch, French, Irish, Icelandic and German ancestry on her paternal side. Van Susteren's father, Urban Van Susteren, an elected judge, was a longtime friend of U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, and a campaign strategist for him, although Urban later broke with him.
Van Susteren's sister, Lise, is a forensic psychiatrist in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2006, Lise was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Her brother, Dirk Van Susteren, was a journalist and long-time editor of the Vermont Sunday magazine, jointly published, until folding in 2008, by the Rutland Herald and the Barre-Montpelier-Times Argus.
Mark Reed Levin (born September 21, 1957) is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, has authored bestselling books and contributes commentary to various media outlets such as National Review Online.
Mark Reed Levin was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Cheltenham High School after three years. After high school, Levin enrolled at Temple University Ambler including summer classes and graduated in 1977 at age 19, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He also earned a juris doctorate from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1980.
Beginning in 1981, Levin served as advisor to several members of President Ronald Reagan's cabinet, eventually becoming Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and ultimately Chief of Staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese; Levin also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, and Deputy Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior.