Matt Gagnon criticizes the federal response to the Texas floods, blaming bureaucratic obstacles and the Trump administration’s policies. He highlights that FEMA now requires Homeland Security Christy Noem’s approval for contracts over $100,000, delaying disaster response. This rule stripped FEMA of autonomy, causing delays in deploying Urban Search and Rescue teams. Gagnon argues that FEMA’s inefficiencies are systemic, spanning multiple administrations, and not solely due to the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle FEMA. He suggests that local responses, like Texas’s immediate action, might be more effective than the federal bureaucracy.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is testifying before U.S. House lawmakers in New York on Thursday as part of a congressional investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.
Cross-country memorial services for the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. are set to begin Thursday in Chicago, the city the late civil rights leader called home.
President Donald Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy. But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about their finances and feel they haven't benefited from Trump's policies.
Waymo will begin dispatching its robotaxis in four more cities in Texas and Florida, expanding the territory covered by its fleet of self-driving cars to 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets.