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Hurricane unpreparedness, Boulder hate crime and a slain voice actor

 
Today's DISASTER RELIEF story

Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins

What happened
Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson left staff "baffled" yesterday when he told an all-hands meeting "he had not been aware the country has a hurricane season," Reuters said. Richardson, who took over in May with no disaster management experience, said FEMA would stick with last year's hurricane plan instead of a new plan he had promised would be finished two weeks ago. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecast last week that this year's hurricane season, which began Sunday and runs through November, would be above average, with up to 10 hurricanes.

Who said what
"Yesterday, as everybody knows, first day of hurricane season," Richardson said at yesterday's meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal. "I didn't realize it was a season." A Homeland Security Department spokesperson said Richardson was making a "joke," but his comment "flustered many who genuinely believe Richardson was truly surprised" about hurricane season, CBS News said. Others suggested if it was a joke, it was "delivered in poor taste" given the "low morale" at the agency "amid a flurry of resignations, firings, leadership overhauls and polygraph tests distributed to staffers." 

FEMA has lost about 2,000 full-time staff, or a third of its workforce, "amid Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) mandated cuts" enforced by President Donald Trump, The Associated Press said. FEMA employees say the agency is "months behind schedule in its preparations for the hurricane season," and Richardson has acknowledged struggling to "put together a disaster-response plan amid uncertainty over Trump's intentions," the Journal said. Some staff were "confused" at how using last year's hurricane plan would be possible, "given the agency had already eliminated key programs and sharply cut its workforce."

What next?
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who has said she plans to "eliminate FEMA," approved Richardson's request to "retain more than 2,600 short-term disaster response and recovery employees" this year, Reuters said. And the National Weather Service has permission to hire 126 meteorologists, hydrologists and other experts to "stabilize" the service after nearly 600 employees were laid off or retired, a spokesperson told The New York Times. NOAA said the National Hurricane Center is fully staffed. 

 
 
Today's Health Care story

DOJ, Boulder police lay out attacker's confession

What happened
The Justice Department and police in Boulder, Colorado, said yesterday that the man arrested for Sunday's attack on a local Jewish group had admitted to throwing Molotov cocktails at the "Zionists" in a plot to kill them. The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, faces state attempted murder charges and a federal hate crime count. Two of the 12 people burned by his incendiary devices are still hospitalized, police said.

Who said what
Soliman, 45, said he brought 18 incendiary devices to kill Jewish participants in a weekly "Run for Their Lives" hostage-awareness walk, according to a police affidavit. "He said he had to do it, he should do it and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it," but only threw two of the Molotov cocktails "because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before." Soliman intended to use his gas-filled backpack sprayer on himself "because he had planned on dying," police said. 

Soliman admitted he planned the attack for a year and "wanted them all to die, he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again," acting U.S. Attorney J. Bishop Grewell said at a news conference. He wanted to use guns but "could not purchase them because he was not a legal citizen." U.S. officials said Soliman, an Egyptian national, entered the U.S in 2022 on a since-expired tourist visa. His still-pending asylum claim put his immigration status in a legal "gray area," The New York Times said. 

What next?
Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the state charges carried a maximum sentence of 384 years. Grewell said the federal case could mean life in prison, "and these charges are the first step."

 
 
Today's CRIME Story

'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home

What happened
Jonathan Joss, the actor best known for voicing "King of the Hill" character John Redcorn, was fatally shot Sunday night outside his fire-gutted San Antonio home, police said yesterday. He was 59. A neighbor, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez, was arrested and charged with murder. Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, said the shooter "started yelling violent homophobic slurs at us" before firing.

Who said what
Joss "lost his three dogs and South Side childhood home to a house fire" in January, saying at the time that "when he emerged from his burned home carrying a deceased dog, at least one neighbor laughed at him," the San Antonio Express-News said. Gonzales said on social media that he and Joss had faced "years of threats" and "openly homophobic" harassment before the fire, and Joss "was murdered by someone who could not stand the sight of two men loving each other."

"Our investigation has found no evidence whatsoever to indicate that Mr. Joss' murder was related to his sexual orientation," the San Antonio police said in a statement. "Should any new evidence come to light, we will charge the suspect accordingly."

What next?
Joss, who was of Apache and Comanche descent, "often played Native American roles during his roughly three-decade acting career," including in a recurring role in "Parks and Recreation" (pictured above), The New York Times said. He was set to return to "King of the Hill" in a revival launching in August. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Joss said he had already done voice work for four episodes. 

 
 

It's not all bad

Scientists have developed a wireless "e-tattoo" that adheres to the forehead and monitors mental workload in real time. The lightweight device tracks brainwaves and eye movements, alerting users when cognitive effort is too high. It was designed to help prevent errors in high-stakes jobs like aviation and health care, and each tattoo could cost under $200. Researchers hope it will allow people to adjust tasks, seek help or avoid burnout, boosting both their performance and well-being with discreet, wearable tech.

 
 
Under the radar

Bitcoin mining has exploded in the U.S. over the past decade, accelerated by President Donald Trump's embrace of cryptocurrency. But it's an energy-intensive process. The computers that create the cryptocurrency need constant ventilation to cool them down. And across rural, mostly Republican towns, residents are getting sick of the noise — and getting sick. 

The relentless "mechanical howl" of a bitcoin mining facility has become the "soundtrack to life" in Granbury, Texas, for example, said The Guardian. One resident of the small town said it was as though a "jet engine is forever stationed nearby."

Granbury residents are being "worn thin from strange, debilitating illnesses," said Time. Some are experiencing fainting spells, chest pains, migraines and panic attacks. Others are "wracked" by debilitating vertigo and nausea. The "dull aural hum" exceedes legal noise limits every day.
The Granbury mine is causing "mental and physical" health issues, according to a local doctor. "Imagine if I had a vuvuzela in your ear all the time." Similar medical complaints are being registered near bitcoin facilities in Arkansas and North Dakota. 

There are at least 137 bitcoin mines across 21 states, with "many more being planned" amid "record-high cryptocurrency prices and cheap and abundant energy" to power the computers, said the BBC. But in some places, Trump's crypto-friendly policies are "meeting resistance" from the very rural voters who "drove his return to the White House." 

Officials in Republican-voting areas are "likely to find themselves coming under continued pressure" from residents (and their lawyers) who oppose bitcoin mining expansion, said the BBC. "If this happens, could Trump's crypto dreams be derailed in his own backyard?"

 
 
On this day

June 3, 1985

"Larry King Live" debuted on CNN. With its eponymous host, the interview program quickly became the network's most-viewed show and helped King skyrocket to international prominence. It went off the air in 2010, though the current CNN show "Laura Coates Live" is seen by some as its effective successor.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Economists see trouble ahead in GOP's bill," warning it's a "bad time to increase deficit," The New York Times says on Tuesday's front page. "GOP tries a quieter approach to ACA cuts," The Washington Post says, while "some DOGE reforms the opposite of efficient." A federal program that "sends local farmers' produce to food banks" is "being cut," the Miami Herald says. "Bitcoin goes all in on MAGA, shedding its libertarian slant," The Wall Street Journal says. "Justices turn away challenge to AR-15 bans" in a "close vote," says the Los Angeles Times.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Into thin air

A Chinese paraglider survived being propelled more than 27,800 feet into the air, nearly as high as Mount Everest. Peng Yujiang was testing second-hand paragliding equipment in the Qilian Mountains when an updraft flung him skyward into temperatures of -31°F. "I tried to land as soon as possible, but I failed," he told Chinese state media. Peng, who received a six-month flight suspension for this unauthorized adventure, said he's "definitely" considering quitting paragliding.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harriet Marsden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images; Chet Strange / Getty Images; Ben Cohen / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images; Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images