How to prepare your pets for when a hurricane makes it rain cats and dogs
It's important that the work in gathering essential items for your dog or cat and determining if your pets have their ID tags and are microchipped is done before a storm is bearing down, said Julie Kuenstle, a spokeswoman for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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CBS News
16 minutes ago
- CBS News
Rain chance returns to Maryland before the end of the holiday weekend
Happy Sunday everyone! It was a quiet start to the final day of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Humidity levels before dawn Sunday were still relatively comfortable. One change you'll notice today will be higher humidity levels throughout the day. Days ahead will be feeling more like summer with more mugginess expected. Showers return to Maryland on Sunday, as well. The shower chance, however, is spotty. Some neighborhoods will be dry into the evening. The reason for those showers? In part it's due to what was Tropical Storm "Chantal" Sunday morning. As the storm moves north through the Carolinas and Virginia, showers on the northern end could make their way into (especially southern) Maryland. Any rain on Sunday will be spotty and/or scattered. The chance for rain from eventual remnants of Chantal continues tonight and into part of Monday. Next. we'll be watching a cold front approaching from the north and west. That system is expected to move over Maryland and become nearly stationary for a few days this week. Our forecast, as a result, will have daily chances for showers and storms. The WJZ First Alert Weather Team will be monitoring the storms this week and keeping you updated on how and where the storms are moving and if they may become severe.
Fox News
42 minutes ago
- Fox News
Texas floods leave dozens dead, missing as crews search for survivors
incoming update… Officials on Saturday confirmed at least 43 people are dead and more than 27 young girls remain missing after a devastating flood swept through Kerr County, Texas. Five young girls who were staying at Camp Mystic, an all-girls private Christian retreat in Hunt, Texas, have been confirmed dead. Anne Hunt confirmed to Fox News Digital that her daughter, Janie, was one of the campers killed in the flood. A Voice for the Voiceless, a nonprofit that advocates for "the missing, voiceless and crime victims," identified Renee Smajstrla as another deceased camper. Family members identified best friends Lila Bonner and Eloise Peck as the most recent cabinmates found dead, according to a report from FOX 4 Dallas. They had both recently finished second grade at Bradfield Elementary. A fifth camper has been confirmed to be deceased. However, her family asked that her name not be released. This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Rachel Wolf and Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here. After a Texas flood killed at least 32 people Friday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem addressed criticism about notification prior to the flood, saying the administration is working on updating the National Weather Service and NOAA's "neglected" and "ancient" systems. Citing her time in Congress and as governor of South Dakota, Noem said that while the weather is difficult to predict, there have been instances when officials and citizens expressed the need for quicker warning and clearer notification before deadly weather. "That is one of the reasons that, when President [Donald] Trump took office, he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology," Noem said during a news conference with state officials Saturday afternoon. "The National Weather Service has indicated that with that and the [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] (NOAA), we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years." This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here. As officials continue to confirm deaths and search for those missing after the Texas Hill Country floods on Friday, locals have started to share stories of incredible acts of bravery and heroism amid a weekend of anguish. Julian Ryan and his fiancé Christina Wilson were at their home in Ingram, when water began rushing through the doors. As the water was quickly rising, Ryan, 27, punched through a window to get Wilson, their children, and his mother out of the flooded house, according to Houston outlet KHOU-11. Wilson told the outlet the glass cut one of Ryan's arteries and his arm was badly injured. Calls to 911 went unanswered. "By 6 (a.m.), he looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and said, 'I'm sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all,'" Wilson told KHOU-11. Ryan is being remembered as a "true hero," who was dedicated to his family, according to a GoFundMe created for the family. This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch. To continue reading, click here. Live Coverage begins here
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Musk's AI Tool Implicates DOGE Data Cuts In Texas Flood Deaths
KERRVILLE, TEXAS - JULY 04: Kerrville resident Leighton Sterling watches flood waters along the ... More Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. (Photo by) Getty Images Earlier last year I published a warning about Trump administration data-related deletions that would restrict access to or manipulate publicly available information critical to citizen health and safety. While certain historical government data has been preserved by various organizations, some important real-time information is now in short supply. And in a tragically ironic twist, Elon Musk's own generative AI tool, Grok 3, implicates the Trump/DOGE cuts to the US National Weather Service and NOAA in contributing to the dozens of Texas flood deaths on July 4: "The cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration significantly impaired the agency's ability to provide accurate and timely forecasts, which likely contributed to the severity of the Texas flood disaster on July 4, 2025. Here's how these cuts played a role: Staffing Reductions: The NWS lost approximately 560–600 employees in early 2025 due to DOGE-initiated cuts, reducing its workforce by nearly 20%. Key positions, such as the warning coordination meteorologist at the Austin/San Antonio office and the meteorologist-in-charge at the San Angelo office, were vacant due to early retirement incentives. These roles are critical for coordinating with local emergency managers to ensure effective warning dissemination and response planning. The absence of these personnel likely hindered communication and coordination with local officials and camps like Camp Mystic, delaying critical evacuation efforts. Degraded Forecasting Capabilities: The cuts led to "degraded" forecasting services, as noted in an internal NWS document from April 2025. The NWS forecast for the Texas Hill Country predicted 3–6 inches of rain in the Concho Valley and 4–8 inches in the Hill Country, significantly underestimating the actual 10–15 inches that fell. Experts warned that staff shortages and reduced resources, including the cessation of some weather balloon launches critical for collecting atmospheric data, compromised forecast accuracy. This underestimation meant that local officials and camp organizers did not anticipate the catastrophic scale of the flooding, which saw the Guadalupe River rise over 20 feet in less than two hours. Warning Dissemination Issues: Although the NWS issued timely flood watches and warnings, including a flash flood emergency at 1:14 a.m. on July 4, the lack of key staff and a robust local warning system in Kerr County delayed public notifications. For example, the Kerrville Police Department's first public warning on Facebook came at 6:16 a.m., hours after the NWS alert and when the river was already rising rapidly. The absence of a warning coordination meteorologist likely exacerbated this gap, as this role facilitates direct communication with local emergency services. Systemic Vulnerabilities: The cuts were part of a broader reduction in NOAA's budget and operations, including the elimination of weather research labs and climate research programs, which further weakened the NWS's ability to predict extreme weather events. Posts on X and expert analyses highlighted concerns that these cuts, driven by DOGE's cost-saving measures, prioritized budget reductions over public safety, with warnings as early as February 2025 that such actions could lead to deadly consequences. Conclusion: The consensus among critics, including Texas officials and experts, is that the understaffing and reduced resources likely contributed to the forecast's underestimation of rainfall and the delayed local response. This was particularly critical in a region known for flash flooding, where timely and accurate warnings could have prompted earlier evacuations at Camp Mystic and other vulnerable areas, potentially reducing the death toll of at least 43, including 15 children. The staffing shortages and reduced forecasting capabilities likely amplified the challenges of preparing for and responding to the disaster, contributing to the tragic outcome." Data Is Everybody's Business This is a cautionary tale for business leaders as well, not just individuals. Executives should be keenly aware of how the disappearance of public or other data sources could affect their organization's own health and survival. For many types of valuable information, alternative sources exist among the dozens of social media platforms, hundreds of private organizations, and thousands of syndicated data providers. Unfortunately, most organizations have entire departments dedicated to procuring office supplies, sourcing raw materials, and hiring individuals—but not a single person dedicated to identifying and curating external data sources.
