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CURRENT EVENTS July 6 - *

nycfan

nycfan

Master of the ZZLverse
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Seemed as good a time as any to start a new Current Events thread.

Desperate Search for Missing in Texas Floods as Death Toll Passes 50​

Some two dozen girls from a summer camp along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country are among those unaccounted for. More rain could fall in hard-hit areas on Sunday.


IMG_7823.jpeg
 


🎁 —> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/...e_code=1.UU8.yO4c.Hq88_L07szDi&smid=url-share

“… Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected, given the enormous levels of rainfall and the storm’s unusually abrupt escalation.

The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said — the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.

The shortages are among the factors likely to be scrutinized as the death toll climbs from the floods. Separate questions have emerged about the preparedness of local communities, including Kerr County’s apparent lack of a local flood warning system. The county, roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, is where many of the deaths occurred.…”
 
nycfan said:


🎁 —> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/...e_code=1.UU8.yO4c.Hq88_L07szDi&smid=url-share

“… Texas officials appeared to blame the Weather Service for issuing forecasts on Wednesday that underestimated how much rain was coming. But former Weather Service officials said the forecasts were as good as could be expected, given the enormous levels of rainfall and the storm’s unusually abrupt escalation.

The staffing shortages suggested a separate problem, those former officials said — the loss of experienced people who would typically have helped communicate with local authorities in the hours after flash flood warnings were issued overnight.

The shortages are among the factors likely to be scrutinized as the death toll climbs from the floods. Separate questions have emerged about the preparedness of local communities, including Kerr County’s apparent lack of a local flood warning system. The county, roughly 50 miles northwest of San Antonio, is where many of the deaths occurred.…”
Click to expand...

“…In an interview, Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, said the county did not have a warning system because such systems are expensive, and local residents are resistant to new spending.

“Taxpayers won’t pay for it,” Mr. Kelly said. Asked if people might reconsider in light of the catastrophe, he said, “I don’t know.”

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents Weather Service workers.

The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, Mr. Fahy said.

Staff members in those positions are meant to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.…

… Some of the openings may predate the current Trump administration. But at both offices, the vacancy rate is roughly double what it was when Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January, according to Mr. Fahy.…”
 
nycfan said:
“…In an interview, Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, said the county did not have a warning system because such systems are expensive, and local residents are resistant to new spending.

“Taxpayers won’t pay for it,” Mr. Kelly said. Asked if people might reconsider in light of the catastrophe, he said, “I don’t know.”

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents Weather Service workers.

The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, Mr. Fahy said.

Staff members in those positions are meant to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.…

… Some of the openings may predate the current Trump administration. But at both offices, the vacancy rate is roughly double what it was when Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January, according to Mr. Fahy.…”
Click to expand...
“… Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, appeared to fault the Weather Service, noting that forecasters on Wednesday had predicted as much as six to eight inches of rain in the region. “The amount of rain that fell in this specific location was never in any of those forecasts,” he said at a news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott.

… Around midnight on Thursday, the San Angelo and San Antonio weather offices put out their first flash flood warnings, urging people to “move immediately to higher ground.” The office sent out additional flash flood warnings through the night, expanding the area of danger.

It is not clear what steps local officials took to act on those warnings.

… “It’s pretty hard to forecast for these kinds of rainfall rates,” Dr. Uccellini said. He said that climate change was making extreme rainfall events more frequent and severe, and that more research was needed so that the Weather Service could better forecast those events.

… Under the Trump administration, the Weather Service, like other federal agencies, has been pushed to reduce its number of employees. By this spring, through layoffs and retirements, the Weather Service had lost nearly 600 people from a work force that until recently was as large as 4,000.

Some forecasting offices began to close down at night, and others launched fewer weather balloons, which send back crucial data to feed forecasts. The Weather Service said it was preparing for “degraded operations,” with fewer meteorologists available to fine-tune forecasts.

Last month, despite a government hiring freeze, the Weather Service announced a plan to hire 126 people in positions around the country, in what Ms. Cei, the agency’s spokeswoman, described as an effort to “stabilize” the department. As of this week, those jobs had not been posted in the federal government’s hiring portal.

Mr. Sokich said that the local Weather Service offices appeared to have sent out the correct warnings. He said the challengewas getting people to receive those warnings, and then take action.…”
 
nycfan said:
“… Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, appeared to fault the Weather Service, noting that forecasters on Wednesday had predicted as much as six to eight inches of rain in the region. “The amount of rain that fell in this specific location was never in any of those forecasts,” he said at a news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott.

… Around midnight on Thursday, the San Angelo and San Antonio weather offices put out their first flash flood warnings, urging people to “move immediately to higher ground.” The office sent out additional flash flood warnings through the night, expanding the area of danger.

It is not clear what steps local officials took to act on those warnings.

… “It’s pretty hard to forecast for these kinds of rainfall rates,” Dr. Uccellini said. He said that climate change was making extreme rainfall events more frequent and severe, and that more research was needed so that the Weather Service could better forecast those events.

… Under the Trump administration, the Weather Service, like other federal agencies, has been pushed to reduce its number of employees. By this spring, through layoffs and retirements, the Weather Service had lost nearly 600 people from a work force that until recently was as large as 4,000.

Some forecasting offices began to close down at night, and others launched fewer weather balloons, which send back crucial data to feed forecasts. The Weather Service said it was preparing for “degraded operations,” with fewer meteorologists available to fine-tune forecasts.

Last month, despite a government hiring freeze, the Weather Service announced a plan to hire 126 people in positions around the country, in what Ms. Cei, the agency’s spokeswoman, described as an effort to “stabilize” the department. As of this week, those jobs had not been posted in the federal government’s hiring portal.

Mr. Sokich said that the local Weather Service offices appeared to have sent out the correct warnings. He said the challengewas getting people to receive those warnings, and then take action.…”
Click to expand...
“.,.
the Trump administration’s pursuit of fewer staff members means remaining employees have less time to spend coordinating with local officials, he said.

The Trump administration has also put strict limits on new hires at the Weather Service, Mr. Sokich said. So unlike during previous administrations, when these vacancies could have quickly been filled, the agency now has fewer options.

The Trump administration also froze spending on travel, he added, making it even harder for Weather Service staff members to meet with their state and local counterparts.…”
 
nycfan said:
I can’t even imagine the depths of despair and flickering hope the parents of those missing campers are going through.
Click to expand...
Same here. I’m having a hard time even reading about it. My heart is broken for all of those parents and families. Got a 3 year old and a 5-week old and I know I’d never survive losing either one of them.
 
Wonder if there is a good way to mark the previous thread by title so that it can be searched for? Some way of dating it?
 
nycfan said:
Seemed as good a time as any to start a new Current Events thread.

Desperate Search for Missing in Texas Floods as Death Toll Passes 50​

Some two dozen girls from a summer camp along the Guadalupe River in the Texas Hill Country are among those unaccounted for. More rain could fall in hard-hit areas on Sunday.


IMG_7823.jpeg
Click to expand...
IMG_7825.jpeg

www.nytimes.com

A Close Look at Camp Mystic

Many of the missing girls appeared to have been in cabins near the river.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
nycfan said:

‘Tears My Heart to Pieces’: North Carolina Braces for Medicaid Cit’s​

President Trump’s domestic policy law jeopardizes plans to reopen one rural county’s hospital — and health coverage for hundreds of thousands of state residents.

IMG_7826.jpeg

🎁—> https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/...e_code=1.UU8.xCPu.VDofMEAxpLHm&smid=url-share
Click to expand...
“… That is because the people of Martin County, in rural eastern North Carolina, have been determined to keep the beige brick building from deteriorating — and to somehow reopen their hospital, which had been struggling financially for years.

When North Carolina expanded Medicaid later in 2023, … Plans materialized to partly reopen the hospital, largely because federal dollars were pouring into the state to cover patients’ care under Medicaid.

But those plans are now in jeopardy, as is Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolina residents, after Congress passed President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill. To help pay for tax cuts, the bill slashes federal spending on Medicaid, leaving states that expanded the program under Obamacare in a particularly difficult spot.

… Health experts say that rural America stands to suffer the most if the Medicaid population shrinks; Mr. Trump’s bill will lead to 11.8 million more uninsured Americans by 2034, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In North Carolina, which has one of the largest populations [of rural people], the effects could be particularly dire.

…
More concerning to state officials is that the Trump law could trigger the end of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina by lowering a tax the state depends on to cover its share of the cost. The new law may also force the state to end a related program that boosts federal payments for hospitals that treat Medicaid patients. Lawmakers could pass a legislative fix, but they have remained deadlocked over the state budget, and some health experts said they doubted a solution could be reached.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said on Thursday that the Republican-controlled state legislature “must step up to protect our bipartisan Medicaid expansion law,” adding, “This will require taking a hard look at our laws, our state budget and our long-term revenue requirements.”

… As Martin County pauses efforts to reopen its hospital, rural hospitals elsewhere in the state are worried about their survival. In the two decades preceding Medicaid expansion, about a dozen hospitals closed in North Carolina.

… That sense of desperation is acutely felt in Martin County, where roughly 22,000 people, more than a quarter of whom are older than 65, live in a health care desert. Two physicians remain there. The nearest hospital with robust services is 40 minutes away, in Greenville. Some people who cannot afford to drive there take buses on slow routes, residents said.

… “I can only say that if I lose Medicaid expansion, and we don’t have the subsidy payment systems, and we’re operating in the red by a 5 percent margin, that’s money I don’t have to serve Martin County,” Mr. [Brian] Floyd [COO of ECU Health] said….”
 
nycfan said:
“… That is because the people of Martin County, in rural eastern North Carolina, have been determined to keep the beige brick building from deteriorating — and to somehow reopen their hospital, which had been struggling financially for years.

When North Carolina expanded Medicaid later in 2023, … Plans materialized to partly reopen the hospital, largely because federal dollars were pouring into the state to cover patients’ care under Medicaid.

But those plans are now in jeopardy, as is Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolina residents, after Congress passed President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill. To help pay for tax cuts, the bill slashes federal spending on Medicaid, leaving states that expanded the program under Obamacare in a particularly difficult spot.

… Health experts say that rural America stands to suffer the most if the Medicaid population shrinks; Mr. Trump’s bill will lead to 11.8 million more uninsured Americans by 2034, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In North Carolina, which has one of the largest populations [of rural people], the effects could be particularly dire.

…
More concerning to state officials is that the Trump law could trigger the end of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina by lowering a tax the state depends on to cover its share of the cost. The new law may also force the state to end a related program that boosts federal payments for hospitals that treat Medicaid patients. Lawmakers could pass a legislative fix, but they have remained deadlocked over the state budget, and some health experts said they doubted a solution could be reached.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said on Thursday that the Republican-controlled state legislature “must step up to protect our bipartisan Medicaid expansion law,” adding, “This will require taking a hard look at our laws, our state budget and our long-term revenue requirements.”

… As Martin County pauses efforts to reopen its hospital, rural hospitals elsewhere in the state are worried about their survival. In the two decades preceding Medicaid expansion, about a dozen hospitals closed in North Carolina.

… That sense of desperation is acutely felt in Martin County, where roughly 22,000 people, more than a quarter of whom are older than 65, live in a health care desert. Two physicians remain there. The nearest hospital with robust services is 40 minutes away, in Greenville. Some people who cannot afford to drive there take buses on slow routes, residents said.

… “I can only say that if I lose Medicaid expansion, and we don’t have the subsidy payment systems, and we’re operating in the red by a 5 percent margin, that’s money I don’t have to serve Martin County,” Mr. [Brian] Floyd [COO of ECU Health] said….”
Click to expand...
How many percentage points did Trump win by in Martin County in 2016? 2020? 2024?
(In 2024 Trump got 55% of the vote in Martin County, NC)

FAFO muthafuckas
 
nycfan said:
Mr. Sokich said that the local Weather Service offices appeared to have sent out the correct warnings. He said the challenge was getting people to receive those warnings, and then take action.…”

This^
Click to expand...
It's probably difficult to receive those warnings when your TV is constantly on Fox News - which is probably toeing the party line by ignoring Weather service warnings and altering weather system predictions with a sharpie on a map
 
nycfan said:
“…In an interview, Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge and its most senior elected official, said the county did not have a warning system because such systems are expensive, and local residents are resistant to new spending.

“Taxpayers won’t pay for it,” Mr. Kelly said. Asked if people might reconsider in light of the catastrophe, he said, “I don’t know.”

The National Weather Service’s San Angelo office, which is responsible for some of the areas hit hardest by Friday’s flooding, was missing a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster and meteorologist in charge, according to Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, the union that represents Weather Service workers.

The Weather Service’s nearby San Antonio office, which covers other areas hit by the floods, also had significant vacancies, including a warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, Mr. Fahy said.

Staff members in those positions are meant to work with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate.…

… Some of the openings may predate the current Trump administration. But at both offices, the vacancy rate is roughly double what it was when Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January, according to Mr. Fahy.…”
Click to expand...
If this weren’t so tragic, I’d say this belongs in the FAFO thread.
 
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