Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) pushed the Trump administration to reverse its shortsighted staff cuts and harmful reductions to critical weather forecasting services and snowpack surveys at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With an atmospheric river bearing down on California through Christmas, which has already caused severe flooding in Redding, the Senators raised the alarm that these dangerous cuts will restrict California’s preparation for dangerous storms and floods — threatening public safety, property, and agriculture — while damaging the state’s water supply.
Due to the Trump administration’s mass staff firings and other staff reductions, River Forecasting Centers have been forced to consolidate duties and shift roles away from consistent monitoring in specific local areas to more general ones. These unprecedented staffing cuts have also led to reduced overnight operations, less frequent collection of comprehensive data, and delays in severe weather warnings, while straining California’s state-federal partnerships that are necessary for forecasting, snowpack monitoring, and snow surveys. Schiff and Padilla warned that California National Weather Service (NWS) scientists are now simultaneously monitoring multiple flood-prone regions outside their normal coverage areas due to these cuts, which could limit critical written forecasts.
“We are gravely concerned that diminished services within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture pose unnecessary risks to California lives and property and harm the state’s ability to prepare for dangerous storms and floods and to provide essential water,” wrote the California Senators. “We write to ask you to reconsider these reductions for the safety and well-being of Californians, and the many Americans that depend on timely weather and water services and forecasting.”
The relentless rainfall from the atmospheric river currently hitting California shows how dangerous it is to weaken these warning systems. The staff cuts at the California-Nevada River Forecast Center and other weather forecast offices in California hinder their ability to provide flood risk warnings, impairing timely evacuation orders and emergency resource positioning.
The Senators stressed that cuts to NWS’ forecasting services could also impact airplanes and ships that depend on storm prediction, as well as farmers’ planting and harvesting decisions, which depend on seasonal forecasts. Additionally, the Senators voiced serious concerns that these cuts will limit California’s ability to accurately conduct snow surveys to properly manage the state’s water supply. They warned that this forecasting gap will further impact the state’s nationally leading agriculture industry, while undermining drought preparation.
“Staff cuts and regional consolidation of duties away from these important actions will severely impact the ability to perform snow surveys in as many as one third of the State’s watersheds, leaving a fundamental gap in the data needed for supply forecasting,” continued the Senators. “Lacking this data not only severely undercuts the State’s ability to properly plan and manage the water resources for Southern California, the Bay Area, and the Central Valley’s agricultural industry, it also debilitates our ability to prepare for the critical needs of communities in years of drought.”
During an active fire season this summer, Senators Schiff and Padilla demanded that the Trump administration reverse the staffing cuts at California NWS offices, which jeopardize critical weather services that people rely on during disasters.
The full text of the letter can be found here and below:
Dear Secretary Rollins and Secretary Lutnick,
We are gravely concerned that diminished services within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture pose unnecessary risks to California lives and property and harm the state’s ability to prepare for dangerous storms and floods and to provide essential water. We write to ask you to reconsider these reductions for the safety and well-being of Californians, and the many Americans that depend on timely weather and water services and forecasting.
For decades, the State of California and the federal government have worked in partnership to produce forecasts and collect water supply data essential to California’s capacity to protect people and property from dangerous flooding. However, in recent months, unprecedented staffing cuts at your agencies have strained this vital partnership and greatly diminished the joint state-federal responsibility to perform essential forecasting functions and conduct snowpack monitoring and a significant amount of snow surveys as planned.
There have been several reports about the continued impacts and dangers of staffing shortages, including reduced overnight operations, less frequent collection of comprehensive data, and delays in severe weather warnings. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle further highlighted that weather service scientists in California are currently having to simultaneously monitor multiple flood-prone areas beyond their usually assigned regions due to vacancies. This could force staff to cut back on the frequency of written forecasts, which are typically issued every six hours during winter storms.
Cuts to National Weather Service operations within NOAA pose considerable risks. Staffing cuts to the Weather Service’s observations and forecasting capabilities could have ramifications for airplanes that can’t fly without accurate weather observations and forecasts, and ships that rely on storm forecasts to avoid dangerous high seas. Farmers also rely on seasonal forecasts to plant and harvest. Additionally, staffing reductions at the California-Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC) and weather forecast offices in California could pose serious threats to public safety. River forecast center employees save lives by providing advanced warning of flood risks, which is essential information used by emergency managers to issue timely evacuations and position emergency resources in advance of disaster.
Additionally, federal agency staffing reductions will impact the State’s ability to conduct all of the snow surveys needed this winter to accurately forecast the State’s water supply. The State has a long history of collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies to collect key snow data that is essential to forecast California’s water supply each year. Historically, the United States Forest Service, National Park Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service have participated in the data collection. Staff cuts and regional consolidation of duties away from these important actions will severely impact the ability to perform snow surveys in as many as one third of the State’s watersheds, leaving a fundamental gap in the data needed for supply forecasting. Lacking this data not only severely undercuts the State’s ability to properly plan and manage the water resources for Southern California, the Bay Area, and the Central Valley’s agricultural industry, it also debilitates our ability to prepare for the critical needs of communities in years of drought.
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As the clock struck midnight on Christmas morning at one Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, at least one someone was stirring.
Starting in the early hours of December 25 and ending in the evening, President Donald Trump posted over 100 times on Truth Social.
Hours before Trump sat alongside first lady Melania Trump to answer the calls of children dialing into the North American Aerospace Defense Command, during which he told kids from Oklahoma that “we’re not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa,” the president shared posts attacking Rep. Nancy Pelosi, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former President Joe Biden, amongst several others.
At 12:01, Trump began the spree by sharing an over-eight-minute video by someone explaining “The DEMOCRAT FRAUD PYRAMID.”
Throughout the day, concluding around 7 o’clock, the president repeated many times that the 2020 election was stolen. He also shared a post that praised White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s handling of the “fake news,” another of someone who called Democrats a “criminal organization,” and one where Trump said, of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), “Throw her out of the U.S., Now!”
Hate was the message Chump chose to send. He's evil and he has hate on the mind. That's all he has to offer. He's probably creating hell on earth to prepare himself for being damned eternally in the pits of hell. There will be no pardon for Chump, no clemency. Just a lifetime in the pits of hell -- a sentence he deserves and a sentence he's earned. He has destroyed so many lives this year alone. There is no repentance from him, no acknowledgement of the harm he's done, no awareness. Just the desire to spread more hate.
He feeds on it and then he pukes it back up all over this still great country which will survive him. He will not survive his own presidency. All that hate churning in him? The idiots around him encourage it. They ignore the fact that he's morbidly obese. They ignore the fact that he eats garbage. They ignore the fact that golfing isn't exercise -- especially when you lean so heavily on the cart as Chump does. His already poor health is only getting worse and that will continue. Will a stroke result in a President JD Vance? That's highly likely as his health continues to deteriorate.
And, again, he invites cardiac problems with his weight, his eating habits and his inability to get off his fat ass and exercise. He can't even manage walking. All the footage of him in the last weeks, when he's trying to walk, it's a huge effort. And, yes, he's morbidly obese so that's a lot of weight to carry around but it's more than just his weight. His balance is off. His feet drag. A family that cared wouldn't have let it get this far. His family either is in denial or they're paying him back for the asshole he's always been. The monster who used to make Don Jr. cry. Don Jr. tries to play like their best friends, but there's not a woman that Don Jr.'s slept with who can't tell you the way he was damaged by his own father.
There will be no heartfelt tributes for Chump when he passes. There will be relief and there will be celebration. But no one outside of his dwindlilng cult is going to mourn him.
He's losing his hold on his cult and he's losing his hold on Republicans in Congress and on Republicans in this country. Why? Because you can't "Make America Great Again" by destroying democracy. And he hates democracy. It's a built-in for a number of trashy people who get wealthy. Look at Zuckerberg. Look at Bezos. They're garbage trash. Both know better and, during Chump's first term, did better. They weren't huge defenders of freedom (though Bezos pretended he was and cheap whores like Meryl Streep lied to make him come off like one). But they didn't join him in attacking our country. Now they have. Political conversion?
No, trashy greed. They're his partners in crime because one hand greases the other.
Chump will be out of office by January 2029. When that happens, we won't forget that these billionaires -- benefitting from our tax dollars -- helped Chump rip apart the country. We'll see tht as clearly as we see that Bezos traded a class act -- MacKenzie Scott -- for a cheap whore -- Lauren Sanchez Bezos. Poor Lauren, Jeff may have to dump you. You're becoming a social liability for him. Now, yes, I helped there. I have been working my connections to see to it that powerful doors slam on Lauren. Hey, I was able to block a First Lady from popularity in DC. Able to ensure that even simple lunches were a problem. And now I'm ensuring that the cheap whore that is Lauren Sanchez Bezos is a liability for Jeffy. She is the new face of Jeffy and, honestly, she doesn't fit in outside of a trailer park. Doors are closing, Jeffy, might start figuring out a response plan.
Donald Chump made Florida his base because NYC society never welcomed him and never will. But he could find a home in all the other trash that moved from New York to Florida. Most of them, like him, that moved in disgrace. They're 'eccentrics' and 'oddballs.' They're Donald's people -- people who are so disgusting that all the money in the world can't wash the stink off him.
And history won't let Chump shake off his own stink. David Smith (GUARDIAN) explains:
Wendy Schiller, a political scientist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, said: “He promised to secure the border but the deportations have gone too far. City after city, community after community has expressed frustration and dismay at the tactics.”
Trump had also promised to fix the economy but his signature legislation, the “one big, beautiful bill” – rebranded as the Working Families Tax Cut Act – will, critics say, transfer wealth from the poor to the rich and strips healthcare from millions of people. Meanwhile the president’s disruptive policy centred on aggressive tariffs that caused market volatility and fuelled higher prices for consumers.
Schiller added: “The greatest self-inflicted wound that the president has brought on himself and the Republicans are the tariffs. In the first administration, they were primarily directed at China and you can make an argument about that.
“In this administration they are so much broader and more sweeping and it’s showing in supply chains, in consumer purchasing, in pricing, in every corner of people’s lives. Whether it’s a supermarket or it’s holiday gifting or whatever it is, they’re feeling it.”
Trump’s appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr helped fan anti-vaccine sentiment, leading to a resurgence of preventable diseases and a politicisation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He withdrew the US from the Paris agreement and systematically dismantled climate science infrastructure.
At his political zenith, Trump’s embrace of authoritarianism appeared unstoppable. He quickly fired 17 independent inspectors general in apparent violation of federal law. He ordered the justice department to investigate perceived enemies including James Comey, the former director of the FBI, and Letitia James, the New York attorney general.
The administration targeted law firms that represented adversaries, stripping contracts and security clearances to extract multimillion-dollar settlements. Billions in federal funding were frozen for universities including Harvard and Columbia, leveraging antisemitism and DEI policies to force changes in curricula and leadership.
Trump also pursued an aggressive campaign against mainstream media, suing news organisations such as CBS/Paramount, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, pushing the Federal Communications Commission to revoke broadcast licences and restricting access for some outlets while promoting “Maga media”.
It reads like a rap sheet -- and it reads like that because he is a convicted crook and because he truly is enemy of democracy. And that's why his popularity fades just as his health does. Before our eyes, the braggart lose his hold and that's one thing we can all be grateful for as 2025 draws to a close.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Approximately 300,000 women veterans of reproductive age are enrolled in VA health care, 155,000 live in states that have enacted abortion bans or restrictions
Senator Murray, longtime leader on reproductive rights and veterans issues, grilled Secretary Collins on preserving access to abortion care at VA during his nomination hearing in January
ICYMI FROM AUGUST: Senator Murray Statement on Trump Ripping Away Access to Abortion Care for Women Veterans Who Were Raped or Whose Health is in Danger
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement on the news that the Trump administration has quietly implemented a near-total abortion ban at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), banning abortion care for veterans and their dependents—even when a woman’s health is in danger, or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
A Department of Justice (DOJ) memo issued last week, which regional VA leaders were told to comply with in an internal directive Monday, (screenshots here and here) shows the Trump administration is making this shift before VA even finished finalizing a proposed rule regarding this policy change and without allowing any public comment or consultation. Senator Murray forcefully condemned the Trump administration’s initial move to ban abortion at VA facilities in August—the new DOJ memo is a workaround by the Trump administration to implement their VA abortion ban even sooner, and as of this week, the policy is now fully in effect at VA facilities across the country.
The policy is a near-total ban on abortion care at VA, with only an exception for care when “a physician certifies that the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term”—and no exceptions for the health of the veteran or for rape or incest. The policy also bans VA providers from even discussing abortion with their veteran patients—even in life-threatening situations. There are approximately 300,000 women veterans of reproductive age who are enrolled in VA health care, and VA estimates that over 155,000 of them live in states that have enacted abortion bans or restrictions. Senator Murray pressed VA Secretary Doug Collins at his nomination hearing in January on whether he would eliminate access to abortion care at VA for veterans who are victims of rape, and he refused to give a straight answer.
“This backdoor move by the Trump administration to impose a near-total abortion ban at VA is an outrageous assault on veterans’ health care and a profound betrayal of veterans who have put their lives on the line for our country,” Senator Murray said. “VA already prohibits abortion care except in incredibly limited circumstances—this change goes even further, blocking women veterans whose health is in danger, or who are survivors of rape or incest, from getting the basic care they need. It’s shameful and indefensible.”
“Over the past year, Trump and Republicans have shown they will do everything in their power to restrict abortion access so they can ultimately ban abortion nationwide. President Trump can pretend all he wants that he supports exceptions for rape and incest, but the reality is that his administration is right now banning abortion care in exactly those circumstances,” Murray continued.
“The Trump administration may think they can quietly rip away women veterans’ health care and avoid accountability—they are wrong. I will never stop speaking out against Republican attacks on reproductive freedom or fighting back to protect veterans’ health care.”
Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—and advocating for women veterans and their access to reproductive health care has been a longtime focus for Senator Murray. Senator Murray called on VA to provide abortion care to veterans early in the Biden administration, and she applauded the Biden administration’s announcement later in the year that would begin to provide abortion care for veterans and their eligible dependents to protect the health and life of the individual and in cases of rape or incest. Murray has helped lead the charge in calling out Republicans for their attacks on, and attempts to undo, this limited and commonsense policy. Senator Murray also leads the Veteran Families Health Services Act, comprehensive legislation that would expand fertility treatments—including IVF—and family-building services for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance, and she has sought unanimous consent to pass the legislation on multiple occasions. She introduced new legislation this summer with Senator Duckworth to help cover IVF costs for servicemembers and military families—and slammed Speaker Johnson from working behind the scenes to strip an amendment mirroring that legislation from the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. Senator Murray voted against the NDAA earlier this month, citing—among other things—the failure to include her provision to expand IVF care for servicemembers and veterans.
Senator Murray is also a longtime leader in the fight to protect and expand access to reproductive health care and abortion rights, and she has led Congressional efforts to fight back after the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Murray has introduced more than a dozen pieces of legislation to protect reproductive rights from further attacks, protect providers, and help ensure women get the care they need; Murray has led efforts to push for passage of these bills on the floor multiple times. Last January, on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Murray led her colleagues in hosting a “State of Abortion Rights” briefing with women who have suffered firsthand from Republican abortion bans, and last June, she chaired a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America.” Murray helped lead efforts to force Republicans on the record on votes to protect access to contraception and access to IVF (twice), and she led her colleagues in raising the alarm about the threat a second Trump administration would pose to reproductive rights and abortion access in every state, as outlined in Project 2025. At a forum Senator Murray held at the beginning of this year on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Senator Murray spoke about Republicans’ plan to institute a backdoor nationwide abortion ban, including by defunding Planned Parenthood.
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Happy New Year1 hour ago
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