Tuesday, October 8, 2024

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1/ FEMA warned that false claims and conspiracy theories pushed by Trump and his supporters related to hurricanes are hurting recovery and relief efforts, and putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk as Milton — an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane – barrels toward Florida. “It is absolutely the worst I have ever seen,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said. “It’s creating distrust in the federal government, but also the state government, and we have so many first responders that have been working to go out and help these communities.” Trump and other Republicans have spread misinformation that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas and instead diverting it to immigrants. “It’s profound and it is the height of irresponsibility and, frankly, callousness,” Harris said of Trump’s claims about FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene. “Lives are literally at stake right now.” The National Weather Service, meanwhile, warned that “If Milton stays on its course, this will be the most powerful hurricane to hit Tampa Bay in over 100 years.” (Axios / Washington Post / ABC News / Associated Press / Politico / CNN)

2/ The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold the Biden administration’s restrictions on ghost guns – self-assembly firearm kits that produce untraceable weapons and skirt existing regulations. In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued new rules treating ghost gun kits and partially assembled bodies of guns as traditional firearms, requiring dealers to serialize the weapons, perform background checks on buyers, and enforce minimum age limits. The industry sued to block it. During oral arguments, the justices mused about grocery orders, asked whether eggs, chopped ham, peppers and onions could be considered a western omelet, and whether the gun kits are “analogous” to the challenges of assembling IKEA furniture. By the end, it appeared that the rule would likely get enough votes from the justices to survive a challenge from makers of the products. (Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / New York Times / CNN)

3/ Biden’s EPA finalized a rule requiring water utilities to replace all lead pipes within a decade. The rule is the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in roughly three decades. The EPA estimates the new standard will prevent up to 900,000 infants from having low birthweight, avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease, and will prevent up to 200,000 I.Q. points lost among children. (Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.