Wildfires tear across California communities with little warning

California firefighters had their work cut out for them this week as they battled at least 21 wildfires across the state. The fires blazed in eight counties, forcing thousands upon thousands of residents to evacuate. As of Friday morning, at least 31 people had died in the fires, surpassing the death toll of the 1933 Griffith Park Fire, making these fires the most deadly fire-related emergencies in California’s history. The fires have torn through 191,000 acres of land, an area of land roughly thirteen times the size of Manhattan, destroying thousands of homes and commercial buildings. 

Wildfires in southwestern U.S. blaze a path for flooding in their wake

Several southwestern states have been ravaged by 18 wildfires in past weeks, the products of drought and extreme heat that dried out vegetation and increased the speed at which the fires spread.  However, as the rainy season approaches, some communities find themselves struggling instead with the recent onset of extreme rainfall. The widespread and severe storms, coupled with the conditions left behind in fire-damaged areas, have resulted in flash floods.

White House seeks $29B for disaster aid, flood insurance

The Trump administration on Wednesday asked Congress for $29 billion in disaster aid to cover ongoing hurricane relief and recovery efforts and to pay federal flood insurance claims. The request comes as the government is spending almost $200 million a day for emergency hurricane response and faces a surge in flood claims for federally insured homes and businesses slammed by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told lawmakers in officially submitting the request that the federal flood insurance program "is not designed to handle catastrophic losses like those caused by Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The NFIP is simply not fiscally sustainable in its current form."

Where are the Heroes?

You have to feel sorry for kids today. Who do they look up to – who are their heroes? In my youth, we had plenty of heroes. We had parents who’d either fought in the war, or who’d worked at home to supply the guys winning the war. We had a President – Ike – who’d led the Allies’ to victory against the Nazis. We had the Splendid Splinter – the last to hit .400 in a season – who also flew combat missions in Korea. We had Bobby Clemente who tragically died delivering supplies to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. We had great lawyers like Joseph Welch, who dared to call out the mighty Tailgunner Joe McCarthy for his lack of decency. We had legendary journalists like Edward R. Murrow, and Huntley and Brinkley, who gave us the news without inserting their own political views.