Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The July 4 flood death toll rose to 132 as new flooding stopped recovery efforts on Sunday: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-flooding-map-lampasas-river-trump-fema-death-toll-latest-b2788441.html

Families of victims who are still missing are beginning to come to terms that Governor Abbott's pledge to recover all of them may be impossible to fulfill: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/texas-families-face-grim-reality-that-some-missing-from-floods-may-not-be-found

Governor Abbott's highly flawed football metaphor, meant to deflect accountability in the name of toughness, draws the condemnation of Hall Of Famer Earl Campbell: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/us/politics/texas-floods-greg-abbott-stoicism.html

The failure of Texas to be prepared for the July 4 flood is part of a much longer pattern of neglect under Republican rule, which includes Winter Storm Uri, the Uvalde school massacre, and much more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-us

West Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez calls for accountability for the flood disaster in the upcoming special session, which seems to us a pipe dream at best: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/politics/video/texas-congressman-calls-on-accountability-for-floods-cannot-allow-girls-to-drown

House Minority Leader Gene Wu notes the many bills offered by Democrats in the recent regular session aimed at improving safety infrastructure and planning that were killed by Republicans out of partisan spite: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/us/video/the-lead-texas-governor-abott-donald-trump-floods-fema-jake-tapper

Other Houston Democrats are also up in arms about the Trump-demanded redistricting plan, while experts note the risk of over-reach that could undermine formerly-safe GOP Representatives: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/democrats-gov-abbott-redrawing-districts-special-session-texas/285-3427ffde-df9d-4a12-b8d7-c492cd41d7a4

The hypocrisy of undertaking redistricting under DOJ accusations of racial gerrymandering, just as the state has been defending its current map as race-blind, is stunning: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/texas-redistricting-racial-gerrymandering-coalition-districts-trump/

The new Superman movie is being derided as "woke" by right-wing media, when the character's main mode is kindness - if kindness is wokeness, then we're woke, y'all: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/superman-woke-james-gunn-credit-fox-news-rcna218375

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In this episode of the Progress Texas Happy Hour, we’re honored to welcome Michael Wilmore-Crumrine, President of the Lesbian & Gay Peace Officers Association – Austin (LGPOA-Austin). Under Michael’s leadership, LGPOA-Austin is preparing to host the 2025 World LGBTQI+ Conference for Criminal Justice Professionals — marking the first time this international gathering will take place in the United States. This historic event will bring together officers, activists, and public safety professionals from around the world to push for building more inclusive and equitable justice systems.We talk about what it means to lead with authenticity, the mission behind LGPOA, and why this conference is such a powerful moment — not just for Austin, but for LGBTQ+ visibility everywhere. It’s a conversation about service, community, and creating space where all people can be seen, heard, and respected.To learn more about LGPOA-Austin, visit: https://www.lgpoa-austin.com/

And, check out the 2025 Proud to Be Your Friend Conference at https://www.proudtobeyourfriend.org.

Thanks for listening! You can learn more about Progress Texas and support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org.

This week's blowing off of the collective steam is especially cathartic, having come at the end of a week in which we watched the horrible situation in Central Texas get worse, and worse...and worse. State Senator Angela Paxton dumps her cheating husband at long last, Colin Allred appears to be playing the same old playbook, and yet another massive tragedy strikes Texas, complete with the loss of dozens of kids. We can't even.

Thanks for listening, y'all. Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A full week after the fact, Donald Trump is visiting Texas today to observe the flood damage in Kerr County: https://apnews.com/article/trump-texas-floods-fema-phase-out-b77d9681d2d39f8c201351b54ecf944f

...The Kerr County Sheriff's Department took a full 90 minutes to relay a flood warning called in by a firefighter in Ingram as the floodwaters were rising: https://abcnews.go.com/US/kerr-county-officials-waited-90-minutes-send-emergency/story?id=123631023

...Instead of installing the outdoor flood warning system discussed for years but put off for lack of funding, Kerr County spent an over $10 million ARPA windfall in 2021 on other stuff: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/texas-kerr-county-commissioners-flooding-warning/

...One might think that Chip Roy, Kerr County's U.S. Congressman, might send down federal dollars earmarked for flood safety infrastructure - until one is reminded that Chip Roy is the biggest tightwad in Washington: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/you-need-fewer-bureaucrats-chip-roy-uses-tx-flood-as-excuse-to-cut-government/ar-AA1I3X5x

Governor Abbott's hopes that the flood might shield his cynical redistricting power grab from public outcry and opposition might be overly optimistic: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/greg-abbott-midterms-republicans

...One political academic predicts that as things currently stand, the Republicans could suffer "a complete sweep" in 2026: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/texas-republican-redistricting-maps

Texas State Senator Angela Paxton, after for years suffering the public shame of her husband's infidelity and the impeachment that followed, has filed for divorce from Attorney General Ken Paxton: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/angela-paxton-divorce-texas-attorney-general-ken/

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Difficult conversations should take place in all regions of a diverse state like Texas, especially after 30-plus years of one party rule. Beyond placing blame on rural regions or certain sects of historically Democratic voters, we should first take a deep look inwards and be ready to listen to those different from ourselves. 

Last month, over a hundred Democratic county party chairs, rural organizers, and freshly announced candidates held a conference in Bastrop, Texas. The 134 PAC invited both Progress Texas Podcasting Director Chris Mosser and Advocacy Manager and former small-town City Councilor Reagan Stone to take part - an honor and lots of fun. For the closing panel of the event, Reagan joined San Angelo attorney and Co-Founder of the 134 PAC Jon Mark Hogg, and seasoned rural political consultant and proud Missouri farmer Will Westmoreland to start the hunt for answering questions on turning Texas blue. Moderated by University of Houston at Victoria Political Science Professor Woodrow Wilson Wagner, this episode is an off-prompt attempt at defining why our conservative neighbors don’t always vote for what may serve their best interests, and how progressive Texans might go about starting difficult, but very important, conversational exchanges with their more conservative counterparts.

Learn more about the 134 PAC at https://www.the134pac.org/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can help support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The death toll of the July 4 flood disaster has risen to 120, but is still exceeded by the number of missing, which remains over 150: https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/texas-flooding-camp-mystic-07-10-25

...New policies imposed upon FEMA by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appear to have created a 72-hour delay in the agency's response to the flood: https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/kristi-noem-texas-floods-response-35531843

...Even when it came, the FEMA deployment was an anemic 100 staffers, dwarfed by the almost 2,000 the state sent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-fema-response-texas-floods-b2785617.html

...Not that the state response was very effective - Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring says he didn't even know about advance deployment of response resources: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/texas-hill-country-floods-kerrville/

...A paltry $73,000 for a flood condition dashboard didn't even get done in time - it's set to be discussed in mid-July: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-flood-kickoff-meeting-kerr-county-warning-system/story?id=123622025

Setting a new standard for cynicism, Governor Abbott will use the tragic flood as political cover for a redistricting power grab in the upcoming special session, as ordered by Donald Trump: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/abbott-special-session-texas-redistricting-flooding-thc-abortion-pills/

...The map redraw will target four urban, non-white majority districts in Houston and Fort Worth - and the session will also attempt to ram through a wide variety of unfinished right-wing goals: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/07/09/526083/congressional-redistricting-including-in-houston-on-texas-governors-agenda-for-special-legislative-session/

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The number of missing people in the July 4 floods has jumped dramatically, from about 40 yesterday to 173: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-updates-13-dead-20-campers-unaccounted/?id=123488468

...A team of firefighters and responders from Mexico have traveled north to join the search and recovery effort: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/mexico-firefighters-texas-flooding-search-rescue

...A San Antonio news anchor blasts Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Kristi Noem for spending the first 27 minutes of a press conference on Saturday, when families remained hopeful for survivors, praising each other and Donald Trump: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephania-jimenez-kristi-noem-gregg-abbott-flood-press-conference_n_686bb8e6e4b0762f74e180fb

...The Trumpies have changed their tune somewhat on FEMA, who are now engaged in the recovery effort - just days after planning publicly to dismantle that agency: https://apnews.com/article/fema-disaster-texas-flooding-trump-emergency-2d05ccbd82e0b8e4d33979cbd71efb73

...Still unclarified, what local Kerr County officials did or didn't do in the over three hours between the first flood warning and the arrival of the wave: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/08/texas-weather-service-warning-kerr-county/

...No Kerr County officials weighed in on an online message board conference about the threat of heavy rain given by the National Weather Service on Thursday July 3: https://x.com/BudKennedy/status/1942704509504962749/photo/1

...Just two days prior to the flood, the Texas Department of State Health Services greenlit the emergency plans of Camp Mystic, where 27 died, mostly children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-inspectors-approved-camp-mystic-235051076.html?guccounter=1

...Ted Cruz steps in it again, taking two days to return from Greece amidst the disaster, after his office insisted his return was "as fast as humanly possible": https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/ted-cruz-toured-the-parthenon-before-heading-home-to-texas-disaster-report

A great many Texans regularly visit and own property in and around Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they've seen flooding this week reminiscent of the Guadalupe: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5392092-new-mexico-severe-flooding-claims-lives/

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Day five of the recovery effort in Kerr County begins as the July 4 floods become the deadliest rain-related flood in the U.S. in almost 50 years: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-flooding-camp-mystic-map-death-toll-victims-latest-news-b2784433.html

Local officials in Kerrville have continued to deflect questions about their response to the flood: https://apnews.com/article/texas-floods-kerr-county-warnings-31c4e493e9f1b6d0406df310e74d3f98⁠⁠

...Records show an effort by Kerr County commissioners to keep an antiquated word-of-mouth system in place for river flooding events, while expressing reluctance to accept grants from the Obama administration for infrastructure improvements: https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-texas-county-officials-thought-informal-phone-calls/story?id=123552333

...Some of those officials are likely more fond of Donald Trump, whose cuts to the National Weather Service may have adversely affected the forecast, and has proposed eliminating FEMA, who are now working alongside volunteers in Kerr County: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/texas-floods-trump-administration.html

...Governor Abbott has indicated that flood safety will be addressed in an upcoming special legislative session, but has not specifically said that will happen during the one already called to begin July 21: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/abbott-special-session-may-address-warnings-after-deadly-texas-floods/

...Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has gone a bit further, promising that the state will install a flood siren system in the Guadalupe River Valley by next summer: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/state/texas-news/texas-flood/lt-gov-dan-patrick-state-will-pay-put-sirens-along-guadalupe-river-before-next-summer/287-2d253a6e-2c1d-40b4-9a04-4f1198314b9f

...Other towns with rivers to manage nearby do have flood sirens installed, including nearby Comfort: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-texas-floods-one-town-warning-siren-rcna217202

...Kerrville Pets Alive expect to have dozens of cats and dogs, displaced from their homes in the storm, up for adoption in coming weeks: https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The latest on the July 4th floods in Kerr County and across Central Texas, where the death toll has surpassed 80 and over 40 remain missing: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-updates-13-dead-20-campers-unaccounted/?id=123488468

...County and state leaders immediatly attempted to shift blame to weather forecasters - did they get it wrong? https://www.npr.org/2025/07/06/nx-s1-5458512/texas-flash-flood-weather-forecast

...Those same leaders themselves acknowledge cell coverage and public flood warning infrastructure shortfalls that might have made a difference: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rvp24wvrqo

...Kerr County has passed on building outdoor flood siren warning systems for years, finding them too expensive: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/us/texas-flood-warnings-sirens.html

...State Rep. Wes Virdell, one of only 14 House members to vote against HB 13, which would have established new emergency infrastructure funding had it not died in the house, says events of this weekend have made him reconsider that vote: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/06/texas-disaster-warning-emergency-communication-bill-kerrville-floods/

...The flood itself is considered by many climate experts as a prime example of the type of weather behavior we can expect to see more frequently due to human-influenced climate degradation: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/06/climate-texas-tragedy-future

...Legendary Austin meteorologist Jim Spencer responds to Facebook trolls accusing him of "politicizing the situation": https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aoZ5DZ5ov/?mibextid=wwXIfr

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Last weekend, Progress Texas Digital Associate Haley Smith visited the welcome social for the Texas Young Democrats and Texas College Democrats Joint Convention in downtown Austin to talk with young, passionate leaders from across the state. Tune in for candid conversations, a pulse check on the grassroots movement, and inspiration from the young people leading the charge toward a more just and inclusive Texas.Thanks for listening! You can learn more about Progress Texas and support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org.