Latest news with #Brennan
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cutting federal heating assistance would hurt thousands of Mainers
Jun. 2—Despite summer's approach, many residents of Maine's northernmost county still have their heat on — those who can afford the energy, at least. "It was in the high 30s on June 1. So people are warming their homes now," said Jason Parent, executive director of the Aroostook County Action Program, which provides vulnerable people with utility bill credits and, rarely, direct checks, through the national Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. For decades, the program — also known as LIHEAP — has provided critical financial assistance for households struggling to afford heat in the winter or air conditioning in the summer. About 45,000 households in Maine, including about 7,500 in Aroostook County, rely on LIHEAP to make it through the winter. But as Congress attempts to draft a fiscal year 2026 budget that aligns with President Donald Trump's agenda, the program's fate is uncertain. Trump has proposed wholly eliminating LIHEAP and a number of other support programs, weeks after his administration slashed federal staff responsible for administering the program. Last month, the House of Representatives passed its budget bill, which appears not to allocate funding for LIHEAP. The bill landed in the Senate this week. "The progression has clearly been in the direction of a seismic shift if not the elimination of the program altogether," Parent said in a phone interview Monday. "The thought of the program not existing at all, quite frankly, literally has me fearing that people will freeze to death in their homes." Dan Brennan, director of MaineHousing, said eliminating LIHEAP would be devastating to already vulnerable residents. The average income of a LIHEAP recipient is about $13,000 per year, he said. "We're talking people, households that make very little money to begin with and are having trouble making ends meet," Brennan said. MaineHousing administers the program within Maine. But Brennan was more optimistic about the program's fate at the federal level, noting its historic bipartisan backing and vocal support from the entire Maine delegation. He added that Trump unsuccessfully suggested eliminating LIHEAP in the 2018 and 2019 budget proposals during his first term. "I would be very surprised if both houses of congress decided not to fund this program. I just don't see that happening," he said. But "I'm anticipating they're not going to increase it very much, if at all." PREVIOUS FUNDING Maine has received about $41.6 million from the federal government for LIHEAP during the 2025 fiscal year — about 1% of the federal program's total cost — according to Sen. Susan Collins' office. About $26 million of that has been allocated for Maine households, more than $22 million of which had been distributed to residents as of Monday, according to data provided by MaineHousing. The latter figure includes about $2.6 million in Emergency Crisis Intervention Program payments, which are reserved for households facing heating emergencies and in need of immediate help. The majority of LIHEAP funds are distributed for use over the entire heating season. The rest of the LIHEAP funding goes to administrative costs and the four tribes that make up the Wabanaki Nations in Maine. Though the program touches all 16 counties, rural portions of northern Maine tend to receive more than their southern counterparts. Penobscot County residents have received just over $3.6 million this year, the most of any county, while those in Aroostook have seen more than $3.1 million, according to MaineHousing. Sagadahoc has so far received the least of any county, charting about $180,000 as of Tuesday. Cumberland and York have so far seen just under $1.4 million and nearly $1.8 million, respectively. Statewide, the average LIHEAP benefit was $509 in 2024, though that figure varies widely depending on income, home size and heating system, MaineHousing spokesperson Scott Thistle said. BUDGET HEADS TO SENATE Reps. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, and Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, voted against the budget bill last month, criticizing its impact on LIHEAP among other complaints. The bill passed the House by just one vote and was supported only by Republicans. It now heads to the Senate, where Republicans hold a razor-thin majority and tweaks are all but certain. Several Republicans have signaled that certain cuts, including to Medicaid and LIHEAP, go too far, or that the bill fails to bring down the national debt. Both of Maine's senators have spoken about the importance of preserving LIHEAP. In testimony before Congress last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. argued that the Trump administration's overall energy policy would bring the cost of heating down enough to eliminate any need for assistance, rendering the program little more than "another subsidy of the fossil fuel industry," he said. But when pressed by Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, Kennedy said he would commit to spending any LIHEAP funding appropriated by congress for fiscal year 2026. A spokesperson for Collins said that she will continue supporting LIHEAP and will "work to ensure that households in Maine and throughout the country can afford to heat their homes." A spokesperson for Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, referred questions about the program to an April letter King and Collins signed alongside nearly a dozen other senators, urging Kennedy to reverse the staff cuts. "It is an indispensable lifeline, helping to ensure that recipients do not have to choose between paying their energy bills and affording other necessities like food and medicine," the senators wrote. Gov. Janet Mills encouraged Congress to "protect and preserve" the program in a written statement Monday. Brennan, director of MaineHousing, said Collins' role on the Appropriations Committee was a particularly good sign for LIHEAP's fate. "It is just a matter now of watching the House and the Senate and what they decide to fund the program at," Brennan said. "In the meantime, we are moving ahead and preparing as if there will be a program." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hurricane season is here, and the nation's top forecaster has an urgent message
No one could have foreseen how traumatic Hurricane Helene would be for so many people in so many states, but it underscores precisely why National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan stresses individual preparation for hurricane season, which begins June 1. The biggest thing people need to know is their own risk – from storm surge, wind, heavy rainfall, flooding, tornadoes and rip currents – regardless of how far they live from where a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall, Brennan says. Helene and its aftermath, which killed 248 and caused almost $80 billion in damage, clearly demonstrated how destruction can occur miles inland or far from landfall. 'Getting ready for hurricane season is all about knowing that risk and starting the hurricane season ready for what that risk might be and how it might present itself to you,' Brennan said in a chat with USA TODAY about what people need to know and do as the season begins. If he could speak with each one of the more than 200 million people who face hurricane risks in the United States, he would remind them to stay focused on: Your risks, especially for storm surge and flooding. Early planning and preparation. The hazards of each storm. Conditions immediately after the storm. Here are eight things Brennan wants you to remember: If you live in a storm surge zone, evacuation must be the basis of your hurricane preparedness plan, Brennan said. Consult your local government's website to find out if you live in an evacuation zone. It's important to understand you don't have to drive hundreds of miles to escape the danger of rapidly rising seawater. Most of the time, you can drive only tens of miles to get out of the storm surge evacuation zone, he said. 'It makes evacuation a lot more manageable for people if you don't feel like you're going to have to get in the car and drive hours and hours to go someplace you've never been before to be safe.' In advance, ask friends and relatives who live nearby but away from the surge threat, if you could stay with them. The other option is to plan to "get to a safe hotel that gets you away from the storm surge threat, where you can ride out the storm and then deal with the aftermath." Start planning now what you would do for your pets, elderly relatives and other folks that might have medical devices, medical conditions or other special needs. Flooding has almost nothing to do with how strong a storm is from a wind perspective, Brennan said. "It doesn't take a major hurricane, or even a hurricane, to cause life-threatening rainfall or flooding where you live. It can flood anywhere it can rain. 'It doesn't even have to rain where you are,' he said. It can just rain hard somewhere else upstream, and if you're on a waterway, that water could rise and flood you out of your home. 'Freshwater flooding from rainfall has killed more people in tropical storms or hurricanes over the last nine or 10 years in the United States than any other hazard,' he said. 'Helene is an unfortunate example of that.' Of 175 people who died as a direct result of Helene's winds and rain, 95 lost their lives because of freshwater flooding, he said. If you live in a flood-prone area, even inland along a creek or a stream, have an evacuation plan for you and your family if you are threatened. Have flood insurance. Remember that homeowners insurance doesn't usually cover flood damage. If you think you've seen the worst where you live from flooding or wind, it is 'almost positively not the worst,' Brennan said. 'It's likely that the events you've seen are only a small piece of what could actually happen. Don't base your response or decision to evacuate based what happened during the last storm. "Take each storm on its own and try not to compare," he said. You could have a very similar storm, on a similar track, but during a different time of year, or different conditions, and it could make a huge difference in what happens where you live. 'There were a lot of people that died in Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi coast because they survived Camille and they thought nothing could ever be worse,' but Katrina was worse and people didn't leave, he said. 'You don't want to become a victim to a past storm by not preparing and taking action when another storm threatens you.' 'The most powerful hurricanes that have hit the United States have all formed and made landfall within three or four days," Brennan said. 'Even Helene last year went from not even a tropical depression to making landfall within three or four days after it rapidly intensified." Have that plan in place for yourself and your family now, he said. "You could have a storm really develop and threaten you within just a couple of days, and that's not the time to develop your hurricane plan. That's when you want to put (the plan) into practice.' How do hurricanes form? An inside look at the birth and power of ferocious storms 'If you're in a hurricane-prone area, you have to be ready every year, regardless of whether we're expecting an average season, below average, above average. That risk is there for everyone every year," he said. "We had three hurricane landfalls in Florida last year, five along the Gulf Coast. We've had 25 hurricane landfalls in the United States since 2017." "We have lots of products to tell people what their risk is from wind, storm surge and from heavy rainfall flooding," Brennan said. "The mix of those hazards is going to vary from storm to storm and from location to location within the same storm. You really have to drill down and find that information." A slow-moving tropical storm can cause deadly flooding even without ever becoming a hurricane, and a fast-moving storm like Helene can carry higher winds much farther inland. "A storm making landfall along the Gulf Coast can cause dangerous flooding in the Mid-Atlantic states, like we saw with Ida back in 2021," he said. Ida made landfall in Louisiana, but most of the fatalities were up in New York and New Jersey from freshwater flooding days later and hundreds of miles away from landfall. 'Make sure you know where to find authoritative information in terms of evacuations and other safety information," Brennan said. "Make those decisions now, ahead of the storm." Find your trusted media, your local National Weather Service office, your state and local government officials, and follow them on social media. When deciding whether to evacuate, consider what life could be like after the storm. Does anyone in your home rely on electricity for medical devices or to keep medicine refrigerated? Do you have a generator and know how to use it safely? Over the past nine or 10 years, "we've lost almost as many people in these indirect deaths that largely occur after a storm as we have to the direct storm itself," he said. Many of those are due to an unsafe environment, including the loss of electricity. Medical devices fail. Heat causes fatalities. First responders often can't reach those having medical emergencies. One of the biggest causes of death after storms are vehicle accidents, he said. "When you've been asked to leave, it's to keep you safe from the storm surge or other effects of the storm. It's also to keep you safe after the storm." Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about hurricanes, violent weather and other environmental issues. Reach her at dpulver@ or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHC director has urgent message as hurricane seasons starts
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Opinion: Jack Brennan was closeted as Bengals PR head. He's out now and has a lot to say
Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps. This story is also part of our Pride Month coverage. Jack Brennan was like a handful of powerful people in the NFL: He was a team PR person. In this case, for the Cincinnati Bengals. And as a PR person he was, in many ways, the front person for the team. If you wanted to talk to then coach Marvin Lewis one-on-one, you went through Brennan. Brennan was always professional, kind and did whatever he could to make your job easy. He was, in other words, a pro. He was also gay. The latter fact almost no one knew. Brennan kept it a secret throughout his 23-year Bengals career which ended in 2017. Brennan's story remains one of the most fascinating in recent league history because while the NFL and media has (understandably) focused on players coming out, there have been few team and league officials who have done the same. That's because, even in an NFL environment that is allegedly more acceptable now, it's been historically hindering to be LGBTQ+ in the NFL, either as a player or team official. When asked if he felt the NFL was an unwelcoming place to come out when he was with the Bengals, Brennan said during an interview with USA TODAY Sports: "I didn't come out until I left the NFL, so I guess I felt that way." There are many different types of heroes in what is the continuing battle for the LGBTQ+ community to keep its rights and protect itself. Brennan is one of those heroes. He wasn't vocal as the PR chief for the Bengals, but he's speaking out now, and Brennan has a lot to say. He does some of the talking in a new book Football Sissy: A Cross-Dressing Memoir from Belt Publishing which is scheduled to be released in September. The book is a striking piece of work. In many ways it's an historical document because Brennan gives you an inside look at a man who had a secret passion for wearing dresses while working for an extremely conservative league. Brennan didn't share his secret until he spoke with The Athletic in 2021. 'I feel like I want to become more genuine to people around me and not hide anymore. And maybe, I don't know, someone else will see this and it will help them,' Brennan told journalist Joe Posnanski then. "I wanted to write something good and informative," Brennan says now. "I also wanted to write something that would help people. I think one thing I wanted to say was if you're in the LGBTQ community, and you want to help other people in it, you can do so by coming out." One thing Brennan makes clear during our interview was how he felt the league office itself was tolerant of the LGBTQ+ community and for the most part, he said, so were the Bengals. However, Brennan explained that on occasion around the Bengals' complex: "Sometimes people would make slurs or insensitive comments in the office, or in the locker room." What concerned Brennan the most about possibly coming out while with the Bengals? That he would be reassigned. "Would the Bengals think it was inappropriate for me to be walking around the locker room," Brennan said during his interview with me, "around players not always wearing clothes?" Brennan believes the NFL is a better place now for the LGBTQ+ community than when he was with the Bengals. Not greatly better, he said, but better. There's just one thing that concerns him. Brennan explained he's watched as some institutions have buckled to pressure from the Trump administration which has been anti-LGBTQ. "I just hope the NFL doesn't," said Brennan. If the league has the bravery of Brennan, it won't.
Fox Sports
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Levu's 3-run HR helps UCLA beat UC Irvine 8-5 to sweep Los Angeles Regional
Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mulivai Levu hit a three-run home run, Dean West and Payton Brennan added two RBIs apiece and UCLA jumped to a big lead and then held on to beat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night and win the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA (45-16) clinched its first trip to the super regionals since 2019. UC Irvine (43-17) beat Arizona State 11-6 in a loser-out game earlier Sunday. The Anteaters made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since they went to six straight tourneys from 2006-11. Roman Martin's RBI single off Finnegan Wall (0-1) in the first inning made it 1-0 and the Bruins led the rest of the way. Cashel Dugger hit a single in the second that drove in Brennan, who doubled to lead off the inning, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Roch Cholowsky to make it 3-0. Dugger and Phoenix Call drew back-to-back walks to lead off the fourth and West followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Dugger scored on another sacrifice fly by Cholowsky and, after Levu's homer, Brennan added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0. James Castagnola and Alonso Reyes each had an RBI for the Anteaters in the fourth, Anthony Martinez hit a two-run double in the fifth and Reyes hit a lead-off home in the sixth to cap the scoring. Chris Grothues (3-1) came on in relief of starter Wylan Moss with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth. Grothues got Reyes to groundout, driving in Martinez, and struck out Blake Penso to limit the damage. Easton Hawk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save of the season. ___ AP college sports: in this topic
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Levu's 3-run HR helps UCLA beat UC Irvine 8-5 to sweep Los Angeles Regional
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mulivai Levu hit a three-run home run, Dean West and Payton Brennan added two RBIs apiece and UCLA jumped to a big lead and then held on to beat UC Irvine 8-5 on Sunday night and win the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA (45-16) clinched its first trip to the super regionals since 2019. Advertisement UC Irvine (43-17) beat Arizona State 11-6 in a loser-out game earlier Sunday. The Anteaters made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since they went to six straight tourneys from 2006-11. Roman Martin's RBI single off Finnegan Wall (0-1) in the first inning made it 1-0 and the Bruins led the rest of the way. Cashel Dugger hit a single in the second that drove in Brennan, who doubled to lead off the inning, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Roch Cholowsky to make it 3-0. Dugger and Phoenix Call drew back-to-back walks to lead off the fourth and West followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Dugger scored on another sacrifice fly by Cholowsky and, after Levu's homer, Brennan added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0. James Castagnola and Alonso Reyes each had an RBI for the Anteaters in the fourth, Anthony Martinez hit a two-run double in the fifth and Reyes hit a lead-off home in the sixth to cap the scoring. Advertisement Chris Grothues (3-1) came on in relief of starter Wylan Moss with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth. Grothues got Reyes to groundout, driving in Martinez, and struck out Blake Penso to limit the damage. Easton Hawk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his sixth save of the season. ___ AP college sports: The Associated Press
