"In an effort to shrink the federal government, President Trump and congressional Republicans have taken steps that are diluting the country’s ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, disaster experts say."
"Two days after catastrophic floods roared through Central Texas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times."
"No, chemtrails are not real, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday, in a notable instance of the Trump administration debunking a conspiracy theory that gained traction amid catastrophic flooding in Central Texas."
"State regulators, consumer advocates, and environmental groups say the Department of Energy is acting illegally in forcing aging, costly power plants to stay open."
"The Trump administration is diverting federal funds away from the Energy Department’s wind, solar and electric vehicles programs, despite the spending levels set under the current congressionally passed budget, according to a document posted on the agency’s website."
"As the Guadalupe River swelled from a wall of water heading downstream, sirens blared over the tiny river community of Comfort -- a last-ditch warning to get out for those who had missed cellphone alerts and firefighters going street-to-street telling people to get out."
"Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has doubled down on her past calls to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — but also says it should be “remade” as the agency responds to floods in Texas."
"The National Severe Storms Laboratory sits on a campus of radar equipment and office buildings at the University of Oklahoma, off a state highway in Norman. It’s responsible for radar breakthroughs in forecasting that the nation relies on for storm warnings and emergency preparedness. But the Trump administration wants to shut it down, prompting a rare rebuke from a prominent Republican member of Congress."
"With 7 of its most ambitious rules for cars, trucks and trains repealed, California officials now must find new ways to clean up the nation’s worst air pollution. But officials face growing pushback about affordability and costs."
"Human-caused climate change is responsible for killing about 1,500 people in last week’s European heat wave, a first-of-its-kind rapid study found."
