Hurricanes require a lengthy recipe list to materialize, but scientists agree that one ingredient has been pushing these storms to new limits recently: ocean heat.“The loop current is usually the warmest water in the Gulf at the surface and at depth,” said Nan Walker, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University. “It’s basically an unlimited amount of heat to fuel a hurricane that passes over it.”
KMT caucus yesterday lashed out at the government, accusing it of neglecting its duties by not inspecting areas damaged by Typhoon Krosa over the weekend.To step back for a moment, there are two paths you can take from this observation about the power of political lying to undermine the ability of government to do its job. One is an analysis of the ideological underpinnings of this particular set of false claims. Remember, 'Old Donald' and Vance lead a political movement that is, no matter what they say, opposed at its core to the very notion of public goods and of a state that acts for the public interest. It is not a coincidence that Vance’s chief benefactor in politics is Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and vocal critic of democracy.
Instead, as 'Old Donald' sees it, the goal of the state is to be a pathway for the upward redistribution of wealth to him, his friends and his allies. This is why his signature domestic policy for a potential second term — next to mass deportations and large, ruinous tariffs — is a gargantuan upper-income tax cut tailored to the wealthiest people in the country.
- Vance doubles down on FEMA misinformation
Protect Yourself from Scams
Does US lack relief money for Hurricane Milton?
As Hurricane Milton approaches the US state of Florida some Republicans are claiming the White House is prioritising funding for foreign countries over hurricane victims – what are the facts?
- In a way, Milton is exactly the type of storm that scientists have been warning could happen
FEMA has deployed more than 1,500 personnel to respond to Helene. As of Friday, the agency had shipped more than 11.5 million meals, more than 12.6 million liters of water, more than 400,000 tarps and 150 generators to the affected region. The agency sent a similar number of personnel — roughly 2,000 — to Florida and the Southeast a week after Hurricane Ian struck there in 2022, according to a news release.About 6,700 National Guard members from 16 states were involved in relief operations as of Thursday, said Maj. Gen. Win Burkett, director of domestic operations and force development for the National Guard Bureau, along with roughly 1,000 active-duty troops.
No, Biden didn’t take FEMA relief money to use on migrants - but 'Old Donald' did
“The Harris-Biden administration says they don’t have any money [for hurricane relief]. … They spent it all on illegal migrants. … They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them.”
'Old Donald' has been trying to weaponize the Hurricane Helene relief efforts, accusing the Biden administration of failing to provide adequate assistance. As part of his critique, he claims there is no money available for hurricane relief because it was spent already to handle the surge of migrants at the southern border.
“They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank,” 'Old Donald' charged, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, adding in the additional falsehood that Vice President Kamala Harris wants illegal immigrants to vote for her. As we have explained many times before, this would be against the law and there is no evidence to support this claim.
The Facts
FEMA is part of the Department of Homeland Security. On Wednesday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters: “We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.”
“FEMA has what it needs for immediate response and recovery efforts,” FEMA spokeswoman Jaclyn Rothenberg said on X. “As [FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell] said, she has the full authority to spend against the President’s budget, but we’re not out of hurricane season yet so we need to keep a close eye on it. We may need to go back into immediate needs funding and we will be watching it closely.”
The Pinocchio Test
'Old Donald' falsely claims FEMA has run out of disaster money — and then falsely says that’s because money instead was spent on migrants. There is no evidence the Biden administration spent FEMA disaster money on migrants. Rather, that’s what 'Old Donald' did.
'Old Donald' earns Four Pinocchios.
The stone tower that gave this place its name was nearly a half billion years in the making — heated and thrust upward from deep in the Earth, then carved and eroded by wind and water.But in just a few minutes, nature undid most of what it has taken humans a century and a quarter to build in the North Carolina mountain town of Chimney Rock.
“It feels like I was deployed, like, overnight and woke up in … a combat zone,” Iraq War veteran Chris Canada said as a massive twin-propped Chinook helicopter passed over his adopted hometown. “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”
The crisis here in Western North Carolina — as well as in parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — remains far from over, and only the first flickers of recovery have begun. At least 229 people have died, a total that seems destined to climb higher as communities dig out from oceans of debris.
Elon Musk used his considerable social media reach to spread false conspiracy theories about federal agencies, and emergency workers on Friday.“No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights,” wrote Buttigieg. “If you’re encountering a problem give me a call.”