Rebecca Hersher

At his Senate confirmation hearing, new DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen argued that cuts can make FEMA more efficient.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

The contiguous U.S.

was nearly 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter this winter compared to the country's average winter during the 20th century.

That's according to the latest climate information released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Nine states had their warmest winters ever recorded, going back to 1895.

Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma –

Three of those states smashed their previous record by more than two degrees.

Forecasters say 2026 is very likely to clock in as one of the seven warmest years for the planet as a whole.

The Earth is rapidly warming up because humans are burning fossil fuels, which release pollution that traps extra heat in the Earth's atmosphere.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

When history repeats itself 11 times...

It is no longer a coincidence.

It's a call to act.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to help respond to weather disasters, including assisting with search and rescue operations and debris removal.

But the agency is struggling to get disaster assistance money out the door, with millions of dollars in promised disaster funding delayed.

That includes large grants that local governments rely on to pay emergency officials and local first responders.

And FEMA has lost thousands of workers since the Trump administration began.

including nearly 500 in January alone.

FEMA did not respond to questions about its readiness to respond to the latest storms.