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Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC Gov. Josh Stein: FEMA is broken as we brace for a new hurricane season
When Hurricane Helene ripped their homes from them, thousands of North Carolina families used FEMA vouchers to stay in hotels until they could find a place to stay. In early January, many of those families found out that they would be evicted from their hotel rooms on January 11, right when a snowstorm was due to hit North Carolina. As soon as we found out about the situation, our senators, representatives, and I hit the phones, and we were able to secure an extension for people's temporary shelter in hotels. But it shouldn't have taken those calls. The snowstorm was only one example of countless times that, in the wake of a horrible natural disaster, FEMA has shown up too late or not enough. We're seeing this pattern play out again in real time as tornadoes wreak havoc on our neighbors in Kentucky, Missouri and more. We need a federal response to natural disasters, but FEMA isn't working. It's time for real change. More: Trump denies extra FEMA funding to people who voted for him in North Carolina | Opinion First of all, we need to get FEMA started right away on the most important work after a storm: permanently rebuilding homes and businesses. Right now, FEMA focuses on temporary housing solutions after a storm hits, while states wait on HUD, usually for well over a year, to fund permanent housing repairs. This costs the federal government thousands of dollars in temporary housing payments and makes homeowners wait even longer to move back home. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Let's shrink that time and cost by charging FEMA with getting people's homes permanently repaired so they can move back in faster. That'd be better for both homeowners and taxpayers. Second, applying for federal help is way too complicated. People have to fill out complex applications for support from FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Small Business Administration – all after experiencing a life-changing disaster. We could make FEMA a single front door to people who need a federal disaster response, using a single application form. FEMA experts can then work with disaster survivors to get them the support they need. Third, we need to do better by local governments. There's no time to waste in disaster recovery, so currently, local governments pay for debris removal and repairs upfront. Then they have to wait for reimbursement from FEMA. These towns are already facing cash flow issues from the disaster, and having spent their own dollars on cleanup, they still have to figure out how to keep essential services going, whether paying teachers or picking up trash. Instead, states should receive funds up front through a block grant, so long as they've pre-submitted an action plan to the federal government even before disasters strike. Once FEMA approves the plan, it would pre-fund the work after the disaster, rather than delay reimbursements for months. This would enable local governments to respond to storms more quickly and with less financial disruption. And FEMA could focus on monitoring and oversight, as well as working with officials on the ground to provide flexibility when needed. Of course, states must be accountable for federal support. But FEMA needs to be held accountable, too. Once FEMA has agreed to send funds—whether to individuals, states, or local governments—recipients should see those funds within 14 days. That expectation should go for all recovery efforts, not just Hurricane Helene. There's a lot of room for improvement, but FEMA is doing some things right. Because it is a federal agency, it has a much larger capacity to handle all the administration of disaster response, a capacity that most states don't have. States simply do not have the capacity to take in individual applications and get people immediate cash assistance the way that FEMA can. FEMA is also a repeat actor, so it has greater technical knowledge to help people and towns get the right assistance. And they help train local governments for success, so that they're prepared to meet people's needs. We've got to fix what's wrong with FEMA, but we literally cannot afford to throw out what's right. When I've talked to people who have applied for FEMA assistance, I've learned that the path to getting help is far too often full of hurdles during what's already an immensely difficult time. These changes I'm proposing won't just make it easier and faster for folks to access critical information or disaster aid. They will also provide compassion and dignity for survivors in a time of great distress. As I'm writing, North Carolina is staring down yet another hurricane season. Tornadoes have ravaged several states in recent weeks, and thousands more Americans are looking to FEMA for help. We can't just wait for FEMA to resolve itself. We don't want FEMA eliminated. We need to fix FEMA. If we do it now – if we reduce red tape and focus on getting help to people – we'll be that much more prepared to help the victims of the next storm. Josh Stein is the 76th governor of North Carolina. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane season is coming and FEMA is broken. Fix it. | Opinion
The Independent
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Palm tree falls on a person at Cannes Film Festival
A palm tree fell on a man at the Cannes Film Festival who was walking along the Croisette on Saturday in the seaside French town. Authorities sped through festivalgoers to tend to the person who laid injured and bleeding on the sidewalk. No information was immediately available on their condition. Representatives for the festival didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The incident happened midday at the festival. Cannes, which runs until May 24, is about halfway through.
CBS News
14-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Former President Biden to speak at conference in Chicago Tuesday
Former President Joe Biden will make his first appearance since leaving office at a conference this week in Chicago. He will be one of the Keynote Address speakers at the Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled conference on Tuesday afternoon, according to the conference schedule. The purpose of the conference is to "discuss and develop consensus solutions" amid concerns for "millions of older and disabled Americans who depend on Supplemental Security Income and Social Disability Insurance," according to the organization's website. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was selected by Biden as the commission of the Social Security Administration during his term, will also be part of the keynote speech. Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential elections, in which Kamala Harris ran in his place against current President Donald Trump . Other guests include former U.S. Sens. Debroah Ann Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Roy Blunt (R-Missouri). The sold-out conference will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sofitel Hotel.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A third Trump term is never going to happen. Why does he keep bringing it up?
In a recent interview, President Donald Trump said he is open to serving a third term and that there are methods to make it happen. Like most of the things that the president says and does, Trump's statement made one group of people very angry and another group of people very happy. For those who study politics, Trump's comments have also raised a few very fundamental questions (and here, the word "fundamental" means "profoundly stupid"). Among those questions: Is a third presidential term constitutional? Could this really happen? The answer to both of those questions is no. I'd like to end this column here. But Trump said a thing, and now we have to talk about it. That's the law now, I think. Assuming the Constitution matters − and it does − the language of the 25th Amendment stands in the way of the president running for a third term: "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." If there is a loophole here, it's the fact that the 25th Amendment does not technically prevent a person from serving a third term if they are not actually elected. So, how does someone become president without actually being elected? One suggestion is that Trump could seek election to the vice presidency and have the presidential candidate (J.D. Vance, for example), step down upon taking office, making Vice President Trump the new president. But the 12th Amendment to the Constitution stands in the way of this strategy by prohibiting anyone who is constitutionally ineligible to the Office of the President from serving as vice president. Bottom line: Trump can't run for vice president either. So, what exactly would it take for a two-term president to get a third term without (a) being elected to the presidency and (b) without being elected to the vice presidency? As I see it, there is only one conceivable path (and please note that here, "conceivable" means "ridiculous"). The Presidential Succession Act says that in the case of a vacancy in the Office of the President and Vice President, the Speaker of the House assumes the presidency. All that has to happen for a Trump presidency is for Republicans to (1) win the 2028 presidential race, (2) hold the House or Representatives, (3) elect Trump as Speaker and (4) have the newly elected president and vice president resign. Trump doesn't even have to be a member of the House to be elected as Speaker, so other than those four steps, it's pretty cut and dry. Even if a complicated strategy like this could work in theory, it's extremely unlikely and bordering on delusional to think that it would work in practice. Would the courts ignore the clear intent of the 25th Amendment? Why would a newly elected president resign? Could the new president trust his or her vice president to follow through on their end of the bargain? Who would the president and vice president even be? Why would voters go along with such a plan? Bottom line: It's not going to happen. Given that a third term is not a realistic possibility, what explains President Trump's decision to float the prospect of continuing in office? The most obvious explanation is that Trump is trolling the media because he finds it personally hilarious. Another, more politically strategic explanation is that the president wants to change the conversation, and a week talking about a third Trump term serves the administration a lot better than another week talking about the Signal Chat leak. In either case, Trump is getting what he wanted, as the cable stations have gone wall to wall with very serious discussion about a very unserious idea. Letters: US security isn't a joke. With Signal blunder, Trump's team acts like it is. Trump might find the third-term media cycle both funny and politically convenient, but one thing that is being overlooked is that Democrats might be the ones laughing in the long run. President Trump will be 82 in 2028. At best, he's good for two more terms after this one, maybe three if he is one of those "super-agers" that we heard so much about during the Biden era. The silver lining for Democrats in all this is that Barack Obama (remember him?) is only 63 years old. While it is true that primary voters these days prefer candidates who are in their late 70s or early 80s, Democrats may decide to overlook Obama's relative youth given his two terms of presidential experience. Given his age, Obama could potentially be elected to a third, fourth, and fifth term and still be younger than either Trump or Biden at the start of their most recent terms. Never-Trump Republicans can get in the game, too, by floating a third term for George W. Bush. At the very least, they can point out that Bush's close relationship with the Cheney family demonstrates his ability to work with Democrats. Opinion: DOGE job cuts won't put a dent in real 'fraud, corruption and abuse' Trump's comments have given Democrats a rare opportunity to out-troll the troller-in-chief. If Democrats embrace the idea, Republicans could (and should!) reject Trump's third-term idea as the impractical, unconstitutional proposal that it is. If Republicans instead double down on Trump's third-term comments, Democrats could take them up on it and open the door to another Obama term. It's a win-win for Democrats. The real problem for Democrats may be convincing Barack Obama to seek a third term. By all accounts, he's enjoying his post-presidential life. In that case, Democrats would be forced to go back to the drawing board and find a Democratic governor who ran as a moderate and demonstrated the ability to win Republican crossover votes. Second look at Bill Clinton? Mack Mariani is a professor of political science at Xavier University who lives in Wyoming. Contact him on X: @mackmariani. The views and opinions expressed by the author are solely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer, or more importantly, his wife. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trump third term troll creates an opening for Democrats | Opinion
