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AccuWeather estimates Texas floods will cost at least $18 billion
The floods that devastated Texas’ Hill Country over the weekend will also result in a hefty economic toll, according to new data released Monday.
The natural disaster that killed at least 75 in Kerr County represents a total projected economic cost between $18 billion and $22 ...Read more

State abruptly drops sex case against friend of Alexander brothers due to lack evidence
The sex case against a good friend of the Alexander brothers unraveled on the eve of trial Monday, with the Miami-Dade State Attorney saying evidence that Ohad Fisherman wasn’t at the scene of the crime was too much for state prosecutors to overcome.
The dismissal of charges against Fisherman — accused of pinning a woman down in a Miami ...Read more

In pricey Washington, any cuts to food stamps could hit hard
The Republican-led House passed a budget resolution last month calling for a $2 trillion reduction in spending over the next decade. To meet this goal, lawmakers could end up targeting major safety-net programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The program, also known as food stamps, helps low-income Americans afford ...Read more

Medicaid spending is under scrutiny. Here's what that means for Washington
The Republican-led House passed a budget resolution Tuesday calling for a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending over the next 10 years. To meet that target, lawmakers are now eyeing cuts to a broad range of programs including Medicaid, which provides health coverage for millions of low-income Americans.
Any such cuts would be felt across ...Read more

Ted Cruz vacationed in Europe during deadly Texas flood: report
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz reportedly spent the weekend hitting tourists spots in Europe while a devastating Lone Star State flood killed at least 90 campers in the Hill Country.
The Republican lawmaker, who infamously fled his home state for Mexico in 2021 when a freezing winter storm shut down Texas’ power grid, was spotted in Greece checking out ...Read more

Chantal wasn't a hurricane but still caused big damage in NC. Here's why
Tropical depressions may sound minor compared to hurricanes, but both weather events can cause major damage.
Chantal made landfall as a tropical storm in South Carolina and was later downgraded to a tropical depression.
The depression brought heavy rain to North Carolina late Sunday and early Monday, flooding parts of Orange, Durham and ...Read more

In Texas, Florida and across the globe, warmer climate makes flooding 'more unprecedented'
As the Texas flooding death toll reached 95 on Monday — at least 27 of them children — and Tropical Storm Chantal prompted dozens of water rescues in North Carolina, some Floridians were reminded of the disastrous “rain bomb” in 2023 that hit faster and harder than any hurricane in living memory.
Though no one died from the 2 feet of ...Read more

Camp confirms worst fears as Texas flooding deaths exceed 90
Three days after cataclysmic floods tore through a stretch of the Texas Hill Country, officials have confirmed the deaths of 27 children and counselors who had been missing from a girls’ summer camp. Authorities counted more than 90 deaths statewide and said the number was almost certain to climb as rescuers sorted through mounds of debris.
...Read more

Gov. Tim Walz on guns at the Capitol, lawmaker security and Minnesota's response to Trump's big bill
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he wants to “strike a proper balance” of keeping the State Capitol open to the public while also ensuring it’s secure.
Some lawmakers have said they want Capitol security tightened after the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman last month. She was shot and killed in her own home alongside her husband, Mark. ...Read more

Trump administration freezes millions for NC public schools during review
The Trump administration is withholding nearly $7 billion in federal education funding, including $168.8 million that North Carolina public schools had expected to get for the new school year.
On June 30, the U.S. Education Department notified states it was freezing $6.8 billion in funding for programs such as teacher training, after-school ...Read more

More Georgia sheriffs partnering with ICE while metro Atlanta holds out
At the beginning of the year, just five Georgia sheriffs were signed up for a controversial federal program known as 287(g), which allows local law enforcement officers to perform some of the functions of immigration agents.
As of June 26, that number has grown to 24, with two additional Georgia sheriffs set to join the growing list when their ...Read more

Judge fines Mike Lindell's attorneys for filing AI-generated motion during defamation case
A judge fined two attorneys for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell $3,000 apiece Monday for filing a motion riddled with AI-generated errors in a case that resulted in a jury finding Lindell liable for defamation over false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Judge Nina Y. Wang, of the U.S. District Court in Denver, found attorneys ...Read more

The key weather ingredients that fueled Texas' deadly floods
In Kerrville, Texas, it only rained five times in June, and July started off with just a couple of showers. In fact, the surrounding county was 100% in drought at the start of July.
Ironically, that drought helped beget the deadly floods that swept through the region on Friday. It’s one of a number of factors, including the abnormally hot ...Read more

California will not block trans athletes from school sports, defying White House
California will not ban transgender athletes from competing in K-12 school sports or change its anti-discrimination policies to exclude them, becoming the second state after Maine to defy the Trump administration over the issue.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon gave California 10 days from June 27 to rescind any sports prizes awarded to ...Read more

Trump administration plans to send Abrego Garcia to 'third country' as he awaits Tennessee trial
GREENBELT, Md. — The Justice Department’s “current plan” is to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia again — not to El Salvador — if he is freed from federal custody as he awaits trial in Tennessee, a U.S. government attorney told a court Tuesday.
“The plan currently is to remove him to a third country,” Jonathan Guynn, the attorney, told...Read more
Ghost factories are a warning sign for green manufacturing's future
The vast tract of land off Route 85 was meant to be a symbol of Made-in-America manufacturing. A billion-dollar battery factory was going to rise, bringing thousands of new jobs. The business announced, “Get Ready Arizona,” the governor said the state was thrilled and even the U.S. president gave the project a shoutout.
But here, in the ...Read more

The 'Parker piles' of trash take their toll as residents navigate pest control and dumpster feuds in Philly's municipal workers strike
Day 1 of a strike by 9,000 municipal workers in Philadelphia shocked even the most hardened olfactory senses as bags of seeping garbage quickly formed pungent mountains before the city skyline.
By Day 3, some had dubbed the city’s new contours “Parker piles,” laying blame at Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s feet, as the streets felt ...Read more

Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics sues Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine changes
The Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics and five other prominent medical groups are suing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., over changes made to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that a decision in May to remove COVID-19 ...Read more

Trump announces set of tariff rates with new August deadline
President Donald Trump unveiled the first in a wave of promised letters that threaten to impose higher tariffs rates on key trading partners, including levies of 25% on goods from Japan and South Korea beginning Aug. 1.
Trump also announced 25% rates on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, while South Africa would see a 30% tariff and Laos and Myanmar ...Read more
Trump yanks deportation protections for 50,000 Nicaraguans, Hondurans
The Trump administration Monday ended protections from deportation for about 50,000 immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua, most of whom have lived and worked in the U.S. for more than 25 years.
The Department of Homeland Security said it has revoked temporary protective status from people from the two Central American nations who were allowed ...Read more
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