Daily Dispatch 7/15/25: Texas Food Banks' Flood Response Hobbled By Trump Cuts, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Flood recovery efforts have resumed amidst great uncertainty about how long it will take, or whether it's possible, to recover the rest of the estimated 100 who remain missing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/14/texas-flood-missing-update/

Food banks in Austin, San Antonio and elsewhere, at a moment when their services will be in high demand due to the floods, have already been hobbled by Trump funding cuts - and that's before the cuts in the Big Bullshit Bill kick in: https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/texas-food-banks-flood-survivors-trump-funding-cuts/

U.S. Senate Democrats are calling for a probe into whether or not Homeland Security Kristi Noem's cost-cutting measures caused a delay in FEMA response that may have needlessly cost lives: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/14/congress/kristi-noem-fema-cost-control-investigation-00452212

Rumors that cloud seeding may have contributed to the intensity of the July 4 storm in the Texas Hill Country are false - just as they have been when arising after recent hurricanes: https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2025-07-15/cloud-seeding-weather-manipulation-technology-kerr-county-texas-floods-misinformation-conspiracy-theory

A moving tribute to the counselors at Camp Mystic who bravely protected their campers, written by one of their colleagues: https://www.chron.com/news/article/camp-mystic-tribute-texas-flood-20768074.php

As lawmakers begin filing bills for the special session starting Monday, there's nothing so far relating to flood recovery or preparedness: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/no-flood-related-bills-on-first-day-of-texas-special-session-filing/

Can California Governor Gavin Newsom counteract GOP-leaning redistricting in Texas by similarly stacking his state for the Democrats? Probably not: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-texas-redistricting-20769678.php

When Will Democrats Get Mad? Perhaps the better question is: when will Democrats get out of their own way and do something? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2btHwfv4Go4

Governor Abbott's refusal to release emails between himself and Elon Musk because they are "too intimate and embarrassing" sure has us curious: https://fortune.com/2025/07/15/texas-governor-greg-abbott-elon-musk-emails/

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