Texas flood warnings or lack of warnings under scrutiny
Local officials are facing questions about their actions in the years and hours before the catastrophic flooding hit central Texas last week, and whether more could have been done to avert the tragedy. Although officials have long acknowledged the risk of flooding near the Guadalupe River, multiple efforts to build a more substantial flood warning system have faltered or been abandoned due to budget concerns. While at least one neighboring county issued evacuation orders in the early hours of July 4, Kerr County officials don’t appear to have done so. The effectiveness of emergency notifications is also under scrutiny. A series of alerts were transmitted to mobile devices during the night of the flooding, but some people — including the mayor of hard-hit Kerrville — didn’t receive the warnings. To date, the floods have claimed the lives of more than 100 people. A massive search is underway to locate two dozen others who are still missing.
Trump immigration force descends on nearly empty park in LA
Dozens of armed federal immigration agents were wearing tactical gear and masks when they and members of the California National Guard swarmed a mostly empty MacArthur Park in Los Angeles on Monday. Some children were in the park at a summer day camp. Residents were outraged and shouted at the ICE agents who were on foot, on horseback and in Humvees. LA Mayor Karen Bass called the federal government’s display of force “an attempt to spread fear” and said they need to leave. “Frankly, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in the parks,” Bass said. An ICE spokesperson told CNN it does not comment on ongoing operations.
Federal judge blocks Trump effort to kill Planned Parenthood funding
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump Administration from enforcing a provision of the president’s sweeping domestic policy law that would bar federal funding for providers “primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health and related medical care.” The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah sued the administration, claiming the funding ban could lead to the closure of 200 clinics nationwide, most of which are in states where abortion is legal. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued the order to stop enforcement of the provision for 14 days.
Trump admits no progress toward Ukraine ceasefire
The U.S. will send additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to repel attacks from Russian forces, President Trump said on Monday. Last week, a senior White House official told CNN that the Trump Administration was pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine, including air defense missiles. The decision was announced following a review of military spending that was signed off by Secretary of Defense Hegseth. At the time, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made “to put America’s interests first.” Trump’s turnaround occurred after he spoke separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump said afterward that his conversation with Putin was disappointing and that there was “no progress” towards a ceasefire.
Veterans Affairs now plans to cut 30,000 employees
The Department of Veterans Affairs says it plans to cut 30,000 jobs by the end of the year. That’s a reduction from the 80,000 employees it had planned to cut. The agency has a total staff of about 470,000. The reductions will be made through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition. The VA insisted that the reductions would not impact veteran care or benefits. “All mission-critical positions are exempt” from the deferred resignations and voluntary early retirements, the agency said.
El Salvador disputes what Trump has been saying
The government of El Salvador has filed a document with the United Nations that says it has no legal authority over the immigrants the Trump Administration sent to EL Salvador’s CECLOT prison. El Salvador told the U.N. that the Trump Administration has legal authority over the men. Donald Trump and others have said that they could not bring back innocent men who the U.S. put into the El Salvador prison because El Salvador, not the U.S., had control over them. Trump Administration lawyers have told the same thing to U.S. courts. There is a report that the Trump Administration has known about El Salvador’s notification to the U.N. for about three months and said nothing about it to the pubic or in court.
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