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Here’s the news:
Devastating Texas Floods and Weather Staffing Shortages:
More than 50 people have died in the ongoing Texas floods, with around two dozen girls missing from a summer camp along the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country. Forecasts predict several more inches of rain, threatening to worsen conditions in already devastated areas and hindering ongoing rescue efforts.
As floodwaters rose, critical staffing shortages at National Weather Service (NWS) offices, according to the New York Times, may have compromised the agency’s ability to effectively coordinate with local emergency managers. Experts have warned that missing personnel in key forecasting roles could have delayed or weakened emergency response communication.
The NWS San Angelo office, which covers some of the hardest-hit regions, was operating without a senior hydrologist, a staff forecaster, and its meteorologist in charge, according to the NWS Employees Organization. The San Antonio office also had major vacancies, including its warning coordination meteorologist and science officer, both vital for flood planning and evacuation coordination.
The San Antonio warning coordination meteorologist position had been vacated on April 30 after the staffer accepted an early retirement offer introduced during the Trump administration's effort to shrink the federal workforce. That role remained unfilled at the time of the flooding, leaving a critical gap in local emergency coordination when it was most needed.
All Other News:
The family of Cynthia Olivera, a 45-year-old Canadian national and mother of three U.S.-born children, says they feel betrayed after she was detained by federal agents in California during a routine interview for permanent residency—despite her husband, a U.S. citizen and Trump voter, supporting the administration's immigration policies.
Her case highlights a growing number of deportation efforts targeting undocumented immigrants with no criminal record, contradicting the administration's stated focus on violent offenders, and illustrating how Trump’s mass deportation agenda is ensnaring long-term residents like Olivera, who was brought to the U.S. from Toronto at age 10.
Measles cases in the U.S. have hit a 25-year high, with at least 1,277 confirmed cases in 2025—more than any year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Outbreak Response Innovation.
Elon Musk announced the launch of the “America Party” on Saturday via X, calling it a response to a corrupt two-party system that no longer serves the American people; the move followed a viral July 4 X poll where over 1.2 million users voted, with 65.4% saying they wanted independence from the current political establishment.
Musk wrote, “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it,” declaring that America is ruled by a one-party system that enables government waste and lacks real democratic accountability.
Musk said the America Party would target key congressional races with the goal of forming a swing bloc in Congress capable of blocking what he views as the worst excesses of both Republicans and Democrats.
Some conservatives warned that Musk’s third party could split the right-leaning vote, inadvertently helping Democrats; others encouraged him to reform the GOP from within rather than launch an outsider movement.
New research shows diquat, a glyphosate replacement in Roundup, can kill gut bacteria and harm organs; though banned in the UK, EU, China, it’s still used widely in the U.S., and the EPA has resisted banning it despite health concerns.
As the FDA pushes for faster approvals and focus on rare diseases, patients with ultra-rare conditions fear being left behind due to clinical trial challenges; the agency recently rejected the drug elamipretide despite a narrow recommendation, raising concerns about access, funding, and approval delays for critical treatments.
Multiple shootings and incidents marked Friday’s US Independence Day, including a shooting in Indianapolis that left two dead and five wounded; police chief Chris Bailey called the violence “unacceptable” and urged parents to take responsibility for unsupervised youth downtown.
As of Saturday, the US has seen over 205 mass shootings in 2025, according to the Gun Violence Archive, renewing calls for gun control that have largely been ignored by Congress.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
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