Chelsea Harvey

FEMA canceled $11B in disaster payments to states The unannounced move came after President Donald Trump threatened to reduce FEMA aid, jarring emergency management professionals.

"The move could also complicate the government’s ability to respond to extreme weather by resulting in a large reduction in available disaster aid over the next 12 months. FEMA is effectively starting the fiscal year with an $11 billion IOU"

Today by Tom Frank:
www.eenews.net/articles/fem...

MAGA Melts Down as Country Star Bashes ICE in New Song Conservatives weren’t happy about a teaser for a new Zach Bryan song.

“Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment.” Being a reporter in these times is just f’ing wild. www.thedailybeast.com/maga-melts-d...

Cantori New York A New York choir performing contemporary classical music, whose mission is to commission new composers and revive exceptional yet obscure works.

Full season announcement + ticket links also now up on our website. Next performances coming up Nov. 7 and 8! www.cantorinewyork.com

In case of interest to any music nerds in NYC — my ensemble is hosting a free open rehearsal tomorrow to workshop a new work-in-progress by composer Caroline Mallonee (commissioned by us — world premiere TBA in an upcoming season). 7:30pm on the Upper East Side!
www.eventbrite.com/e/workshop-w...

Body slamming, teargas and pepper balls: viral videos show Ice using extreme force in Chicago A facility in Broadview, a mostly Black suburb, has become the site of escalation and ‘targeted attacks’ on protesters

“Body slamming, teargas and pepper balls: viral videos show 🧊 using extreme force in Chicago

A facility in Broadview, a mostly Black suburb, has become the site of escalation and ‘targeted attacks’ on protesters”

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

A view of the water from the backs of the East River at Domino Park in Williamsburg, with the Manhattan skyline in the background. People gathered by the water to watch the sunset. Pink and purple clouds at the horizon light up a darkening sky.

A vivid golden sunset over the East River, city skyline in the background.

A pink and orange sunset over the East River, viewed from Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline in the background.

Sunset szn

correspondent for The Economist

A gigantic inflatable black cat in the lobby of an apartment building. Based on the balcony levels in the background, you can see that it is almost three stories tall.

It hath been a week. Here is a small joy: Every October, my grandmother’s (small, adorable, usually understated) retirement home sticks this GIGANTIC inflatable cat in the lobby & it just tickles me to death. It is 2 stories tall! Its head swivels!! The skeleton rat is new this year & I am obsessed.

How the shutdown is roiling climate programs at 6 agencies The Trump administration had tried to eviscerate climate offices before the shutdown. Now, the cuts are deeper.

www.eenews.net/articles/how...

Conservationist Jane Goodall, renowned for chimpanzee research, dies at 91 While living among chimpanzees in Africa decades ago, Goodall documented the animals using tools and doing other activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans.

Oh this gives me feelings! I saw JG speak in Charleston a couple years ago, approaching her 90th birthday. During the Q&A, someone asked what her next adventure would be, and she very serenely replied that it would probably be her death (and she was prepared for it). ❤️
www.pbs.org/newshour/sci...

Hi folks: I'm looking at NOAA people and programs affected by the shutdown. If that's you, or a project you work on, I'd love to hear from you. @chelseaeharvey.01 on Signal

Have you seen the giant pumpkin along Hwy 11? There's more to the story of Pumpkintown. What's the giant pumpkin near Table Rock state park? What's the history of Pumpkintown opry? It has a bit to do with pumpkins and a little more to do with mountains.

😍
www.postandcourier.com/greenville/c...

Screenshot of a Google map, zoomed in on part of the South Carolina upstate, highlighting a location called “Pumpkintown.”

Spotted on the map tonight while planning an upcoming road trip. Literally can’t believe that I (a Halloween queen if there ever was one) did not know about this community in my home state. 🎃

Amid a lot of breezing through highly consequential policy changes in this speech, this one really has a lot of implications to unpack. No anonymous complaints, no repeat complaints, no “smearing reputations” or “side-tracking careers.”

A bright red horizon fading into a purple sky above. In the foreground, a quiet street, people walking, and some trees.

Blazing sunset on the walk to Forest Hills stadium to see Tyler Childers tonight (what a heckuva show). Put a lil lump right into my throat, y’all. We live on a beautiful planet and we still have music. ❤️

Chaos at FEMA, NOAA as hurricane season starts Faltering forecasts, fired experts and whipsawing policy changes are raising questions about how the Trump administration will respond to disasters this

...The bigger issue isn't the question of a shutdown, but how NOAA and FEMA are continuing to operate amid ongoing staffing shortages and funding uncertainties. Our story from the start of hurricane season, which broadly still applies now: www.eenews.net/articles/cha...

How FEMA and NWS would weather a government shutdown The threat of a federal funding lapse comes as Tropical Storm Imelda approaches the East Coast.

"Weather" a govt shutdown, see what we did there?
As Tom Frank and I report, forecasting & disaster operations generally continue through shutdowns. (There's even precedent for extreme weather during a lengthy shutdown e.g. TS Karen in 2013.) The bigger issue... 1/2
www.eenews.net/articles/how...

By my colleagues Ben Storrow,
@chelseaeharvey.bsky.social, @scottpwaldman.bsky.social and Paula Friedrich: A detailed, accessible deconstruction of the Energy Department report that the Trump administration is using to justify rolling back environmental regulations. politico.com/interactives/2…

Scott, Ben & I went through the entire report line by line to understand the types of tactics the authors use. The examples in our final project are prime illustrations of how this document misleads, manipulates and obscures. Proud to see this story published and proud to work with this badass team.

Otherwise:
Pickleball - SO FUN. I've heard that the sound annoys people living nearby, but for better or worse I love this game now. 😅
Radio Bakery - very good, but I wouldn't stand in line for it!
Salt & Straw - ditto above! Very fun flavors though, I had strawberry balsamic :)

Dubai chocolate is just a type of chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream and for whatever reason has gone viral on social media over the last year or so. You can buy it basically anywhere now. It was good! (But not sure I really understand why makes it viral-on-instagram quality?)

This week, under influence of out-of-town visitors and trendier friends, I did the following for the 1st time:
-played pickleball
-tried Dubai chocolate
-went to Radio Bakery (at 7:30am on a weekday to avoid the line 😶)
-tried Salt & Straw ice cream
I think I am caught up with the NYC cool kids now?

Immigrants with no criminal record now largest group in Ice detention Government data shows 16,523 people with no record, versus 15,725 with a record and 13,767 with pending charges

According to data from Ice, we passed a significant milestone. Immigrants with no criminal record now make up the largest group arrested and booked into detention by Ice.

‘Con,’ ‘scam,’ ‘hoax’: Trump’s UN speech on climate The president used a large chunk of his speech to world leaders to condemn climate science and clean energy policies.

Trump's UN speech was one of his most unfiltered and extended climate denial riffs ever, full of falsehoods, lies and distortions.

“I’m really good at predicting things...I don’t say that in a braggadocios way, but it’s true. I’ve been right about everything.”

www.eenews.net/articles/con...

Burgum celebrated wind power. Then Trump tapped him to kill it. As governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum bragged about his state’s wind energy. He shed those views when he became Interior secretary.

Interior Sec. Doug Burgum is the administration's attack dog on wind energy, killing projects, claiming it's unreliabe. But wind energy doubled in North Dakota during his tenure as governor, now providing 1/3 of the state's electricity. Only 5 other states produce more www.eenews.net/articles/bur...

Still fragile in the aftermath of an all-day stress-induced migraine. Put on a nature documentary to try and lower the ol' cortisol levels. One hour later, there I am, sobbing over a lost lion cub whose family has left it behind.

Screenshot of post on X from VA Secretary Doug Collins. The text reads: @ProPublica is an extreme liberal news outlet that will do anything to make the Trump Administration look bad. But this week, the far-left editors there reached a new low by sending @VernalColeman to stalk @DeptVetAffairs employees at their homes. This creepy behavior will discourage good people from coming to work at VA. @ProPublica, please do better and stop letting your hatred of the Trump Administration continue to warp your judgment.

It's a journalist's job to ask questions of government officials, no matter which party is in power. That often means respectfully knocking on doors to get answers people deserve to know.

Tips and evidence are essential to our nonpartisan work: www.propublica.org/tips/

Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is imposing strict new rules that would severely limit the ability of journalists to report on the Pentagon.

NEW: The Pentagon told journalists it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey. @washingtonpost.com

National Academies backstops endangerment finding, risking feud with Trump The science panel reaffirmed greenhouse gases as a threat to human health in the face of administration efforts to downplay climate risks.

Today with @scottpwaldman.bsky.social :

www.eenews.net/articles/nat...

Suspended Charleston magistrate admitted to having sex abuse materials while in office, feds say Suspended Charleston County Magistrate James B. Gosnell Jr. appears in court after being arrested for child sex abuse materials.

"The Supreme Court previously replaced him as the county’s chief magistrate in 2015 after he made sympathetic comments to the family of Dylann Roof."

www.postandcourier.com/news/crime/m...