Good afternoon. I’m Ryan Rose, and this is AlterNet America. Please take a moment to click the ❤️ and restack this post. The oligarchs’ platforms are trying to keep stories like the ones below from hitting your feeds, and this helps us break through.
FEMA’s disaster chief told states they need to handle most disasters on their own without federal help. Pentagon insiders are cooperating with Democrats to build an impeachment case against Pete Hegseth. A Trump-appointed federal judge leaked sealed court papers to 140 people while under investigation for misconduct. And the government was caught lying about why it searched an activist’s phone at the airport.
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Blue states that already subsidize red state budgets can now add hurricane cleanup to the list.
FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton told state officials at a conference in Little Rock, Arkansas that every state needs to build its own reserves to handle most disasters without federal help. He said the administration wants a future where states are recovering on their own, and fewer presidential disaster declarations are needed.
Hamilton told attendees that every state needs the reserves “to ensure that recovery efforts can start immediately and not necessarily be held up simply because of the federal declaration process.” He added that “federal dollars should be building greater capability, not creating greater dependency.”
A FEMA survey of more than 1,700 emergency managers released Friday found that state disaster agencies are largely understaffed and underfunded. The majority of them reported that federal grants make up most of their operating budgets.
Hamilton said the administration plans to launch “national mutual aid,” where states help each other recover from storms, floods, and wildfires instead of relying on federal assistance. He told attendees that changes to the disaster system could begin within the next six months.
It turns out that firing 80 people is a great way to create 80 witnesses.
If the Democrats retake the House in November, current and former Pentagon officials are preparing to testify against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to The Telegraph. Democrats have already reached out to whistleblowers inside the department and plan to subpoena Hegseth’s inner circle, including his wife and aide.
A well-connected source told the outlet that officials will “very quietly go to the chair of the armed services committee and spill their guts, provide them with everything they can.” A former senior administration official said Hegseth has turned many former allies against him due to “all the damage he’s done to our military.”
Hegseth has fired dozens of senior military officers, including the former Army chief of staff and the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He’s also fired or blocked the promotions of more than 80 generals and admirals, more than half of them Black or women.
Three members of Congress, including one Republican, have already introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth. Another Democrat confirmed to The Telegraph that the party shares that goal, but wants to complete a thorough investigation first.
Discovery usually requires a subpoena, not a mass email.
U.S. District Judge Ada Brown, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of Texas, emailed confidential court documents to roughly 140 judges, lawyers, and members of the press early Tuesday morning, according to a new order from the Judicial Council for the Fifth Circuit.
The email confirmed that Brown is under investigation for misconduct that had not been made public. It also included sealed records from unrelated lawyer disciplinary cases that Brown had no apparent reason to share.
The committee investigating Brown ordered her to answer questions about why she sent the confidential materials and gave her an October 27 deadline to respond. It also warned it might broaden its probe into whether the disclosure itself amounts to further wrongdoing.
Brown has refused to take part in the proceedings against her and has not appeared before the committee. Bloomberg Law, which was among the recipients of the email, reported that messages sent to Brown’s federal courts email address were returned as undeliverable.
Usually a cop who wants to frame you still has to plant the drugs.
Customs agents lied to Stop Cop City activist Samuel Tunick when they told him they needed to search his phone for child abuse material, according to court records reported by 404 Media. Internal emails show that agents invented the child abuse claim to intimidate him.
Tunick was stopped at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in January 2025 and allegedly provided agents with a code that wiped his GrapheneOS phone instead of unlocking it. Now, he’s facing federal criminal charges for destroying evidence under an obscure law his lawyers said has been invoked only once before, in a drug trafficking case.
The attorneys wrote in their filing that the accusations were “nothing more than pretext for a fishing expedition into the depths of Mr. Tunick’s devices.” They also noted one officer admitted under questioning that agents had “no reason whatsoever” to believe Tunick possessed child abuse material.
Tunick was involved in the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, protesting the building of a large police training center. He is suspected of no crime beyond the alleged wiping of the phone.
We reported on Tunick’s arrest when it first happened, and our coverage has aged like fine wine. We wrote at the time: “If Tunick had child exploitation images on his phone, he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But the government arguing that a US citizen doesn’t have constitutional rights until he’s been formally admitted to his own country should terrify everyone. Most outlets see the words ‘child exploitation’ and back away from the story, which is exactly how the government gets away with it.”
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** Judge Refuses to Block Ads About Hope Florida Scandal.** A Highlands County judge has rejected the Republican Party of Florida’s bid to prevent the airing of campaign ads by Democrats that cite the Hope Florida grand jury report, which found $10 million in taxpayer funds were secretly funneled to Republican political committees. The Republican Party’s lawsuit claimed that repeating the findings of the grand jury was a crime, naming the Florida Democratic Party, three statewide Democratic candidates, and the owners of 11 Central Florida television stations. The 1st District Court of Appeal also directed those identified in the grand jury report to file within five days a written explanation why the court records should not be made fully public.
** George W. Bush’s Brother Votes for James Talarico, Trashes Ken Paxton.** Neil Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, said he voted early for James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Texas, calling Paxton’s efforts to challenge election results in 2020 an affront to democratic institutions. Bush, a lifelong Republican, said on Facebook that character matters more than party and that he has been “deeply troubled” by the conduct of Ken Paxton as attorney general. He praised Talarico as someone who talks respectfully, finds common ground, and sees public office not as an entitlement but as a responsibility. Most polls show Talarico leading Paxton in a race that could determine control of the Senate.
** Utah Sues Prediction Market Kalshi for Violating State Gambling Ban.** Utah Attorney General Derek Brown has sued prediction market platform Kalshi, seeking to block the company from taking bets from Utah residents and demanding it return between $30.6 million and $61.2 million in fees from illegal bets. The lawsuit, filed in 3rd District Court, alleges Kalshi has engaged in a pattern of unlawful acts that have harmed Utah residents, including gambling-related harm to mental health. Since Utah’s admission to the Union in 1896, the state’s constitution has banned gambling of any kind, and a recent federal court order rejected Kalshi’s claim that it doesn’t have to follow state law.
** Two Colorado Cities Pass Temporary Bans on New Data Center Applications.** Colorado cities are banning data centers at a breakneck pace, with two passing ordinances in one day. On Tuesday night, both Brighton and Lafayette passed temporary moratoriums on new data center applications, with Brighton’s moratorium lasting a year and Lafayette’s 18 months. This week, Littleton and Fort Collins held first readings for their own six-month moratoriums at city council meetings, and both will need more votes and public hearings before they’re adopted. Aurora’s mayor has delayed a vote on an indefinite data center moratorium until Oct. 26, and Denver has already created a working group to come up with policy recommendations after the city council approved its own pause on data center construction.
