The details on the unanswered calls on July 6, which have not been previously reported, come as #FEMA faces intense scrutiny over its response to the #floods in #Texas that have killed >120 people. The agency, which #Trump has called for eliminating, has been *slow* to activate certain teams that coordinate response & search-&-rescue efforts.

#FEMA laid off the contractors on July 5 after their contracts expired & were not extended…. [Dog killer] #DHS secy #KristiNoem instituted a new requirement that she personally approve expenses over $100k. She did not renew the contracts until Thurs, 5 days after the contracts expired.

@w7voa The #Trump -tainted #UnitedStates is firing #scientists , diplomats, #ExtremeWeather forecasters and emergency managers. It’s also accelerating the closure of #RuralHospitals so #healthcare workers will be fired en masse across the country.

So who *is* getting hired? And what is being *built*?

#DonaldTheDeplorable is massively *hiring* #ICE kidnappers and building #ConcentrationCamps to fill with brown people at first. Next? https://www.newsweek.com/immigration-ice-bill-trump-2093456

#Resist the #BigUglyBill.

This spring, #Trump appointed a council of Cabinet members, governors & #emergency management experts, tasked with recommending changes to #FEMA. #GregAbbott & the top emergency official in #Texas, W. Nim Kidd, are both on that council.

"FEMA is slow & clunky & doesn't solve the needs of those who need it the most," Abbott said at the first meeting of the FEMA Review Council in May. "States have proven that we can move more nimbly, more swiftly, more effectively."

[oh really?]
#ExtremeWeather

But such assistance may not be available in the future.

#Trump has proposed eliminating #FEMA, which provides billions of dollars in assistance to communities hit by #disasters. He argues that #states should take on more responsibility for responding to & preparing for #ExtremeWeather & other disasters.

#Texas leaders are helping Trump realize that goal.

#HowardLutnick is not the only one #Trump nominated for a key post w/close relationships to companies involved in the gathering of vital #weather data.

Trump’s pick to lead the #NOAA, #NeilJacobs, was chief atmospheric scientist for Panasonic Weather Solutions & has been a vocal proponent of #privatization. Trump’s nominee for another top NOAA post, #TaylorJordan, is a lobbyist with a roster of weather-related clients.

#Privatizing #weather agencies has long been an aim of #Republicans. During #Trump’s first presidency, he signed a bill that utilized more private weather data. And #Project2025, a proposed blueprint for Trump’s 2nd presidency that was co-authored by #OMB director #RussVought, calls for #NOAA to be broken up & for the weather service to “fully commercialize its forecasting operations.”

“It’s the most insidious aspect of this: Are we really talking about making #weather products available only to those who can afford it?” said Rick Spinrad, who served as #NOAA administrator under President #Biden. “Basically turning the weather service into a subscription streaming service? As a taxpayer, I don’t want to be in the position of saying, ‘I get a better weather forecast because I’m willing to pay for it.’”

It’s about time world leaders held Big Oil companies to account and made them stop drilling and start paying for their climate damage.

https://act-int.greenpeace.org/polluters-pay-pact

​ © Bárbara Umbra / Tuane Fernandes / Christian Braga / Byron Ross / Valentina Ricardo / Greenpeace

The worst effects of the #storm were felt in the central part of #NorthCarolina, where tens of thousands of people were without #power & at least 2 #tornadoes were confirmed, authorities said. As of early Monday, no fatalities or injuries had been reported.

#OrangeCounty, which includes #ChapelHill, declared a state of #emergency Sunday night, saying in a statement that “numerous water rescues & evacuations are underway in low-lying areas.”

The #storm, which made landfall as a #TropicalStorm early Sunday in #SouthCarolina before moving inland as a #TropicalDepression, was moving NE toward Washington, DC, Monday morning, & a #flood watch was in place for parts of #DC, #Maryland, #NewJersey & #Virginia.