I’ve been reporting on Hurricane Ian since it hit Florida in late Sept. The storm caused $112.9 billion in damage, the second-largest insured loss on record after Katrina. In Nov, I started hearing that something strange was happening with storm victims’ insurance claims… Veteran independent insurance adjusters said their estimates were being significantly altered: photos deleted, descriptions of damage erased, and the final amounts reduced by over 80% .

They'd had issues with carriers before but never seen this behavior

washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro…

This is huge. The Forest Service is stopping ALL prescribed burns across the National Forest System—nearly 200M acres—bc of escapes

Prescribed burns are essential for wildfire management. So much so that FS wanted to burn 50M acres over the next 10 years fs.usda.gov/inside-fs/lead… This decision comes after the USFS unveiled a robust new 10-year strategy to combat our wildfire crisis. However, prescribed fire takes skill, and due to staffing/hiring issues, they've had problems filling these experienced roles, firefighters told me.
fs.usda.gov/managing-land/…

This is big. The US has released part of its first-ever investigation into its Indian boarding schools. They found:

From 1819-1969, 408 federal schools in 37 states

Marked or unmarked graveyards at 53 schools

Schools mostly focused on manual labor
bia.gov/sites/default/… Here are some more notable findings from the Department of Interior's nearly year-long probe into this very horrific part of US history

Now over 4,900 people say they were hurt at Astroworld. Contemporary Services Corp., which helped lead security for that festival, also oversaw Dave Chappelle's show

CSC's been sued dozens of other times for negligence, injuries, and labor law violations
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… CSC is one of the largest event security companies in North America. It runs thousands of festivals, concerts, and sports games, and has contracted w/ massive venues and events: Coachella, the Super Bowl, presidential inaugurations, FIFA World Cups, huge universities like USC

Just came out of the Hollywood Bowl where a man charged and tackled Dave Chapelle on stage and got his ass kicked by at least 10 people.

LAPD and LAFD are now loading him into an ambulance The show was just ending when the man hoppped onto stage and ran at Chapelle, form tackling him to the ground. The comedian had literally just said he now has more security because of all the uproar from his jokes about the Trans community

A reminder that reproductive rights orgs/abortion funds US were preparing for this and built a network to help people in abortion deserts get services

June 2019: “We say every year, ‘That was the worst year yet,’ and then the next year it’s even worse.”
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… Going to share stories of people who have struggled to get abortions around the US and what that looks like:

Important work from @o_ema

These Powerful Letters Show Why Women Have Abortions

buzzfeednews.com/article/emaoco…

Today, as Olympic athletes walked in the opening ceremony, one US fencer, who is in Tokyo, did not participate. That's because he is under investigation for sexual assault.

So why has Alen Hadzic been allowed to compete in these games? We investigated: buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… Hadzic, a US fencing alternate, was the subject of multiple complaints to SafeSport, an org set up to investigate misconduct claims against Olympic athletes. He was suspended in June due to investigation, but later appealed, allowing him to go to Tokyo. buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…

There was a shooting at a King Scoopers supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. Police are still on the scene
buzzfeednews.com/article/salvad… My good friend lives right across the street and said she started hearing shots rapid fire around 2:30/2:40 pm and “saw people running away, wailing crying”

Such a bizarre spectacle in Richmond today. It’s Lobby Day, and a small smattering of different orgs showed up for a 2A rally: Proud boys, Roanoke County Militia, Boogaloo’s, BLM 757, the New Black Panther Party (who said they were there for MLK Day), and other armed groups. There were more media there than demonstrators and police were out in full force. Roads were blocked and snipers were posted atop the Capitol building. The Virginia Citizens Defense League, which organized, said that 20,000 ppl came last year. They couldn’t get a permit this time

On 1/6, hours before Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, US Park Police monitoring rallygoers at the Washington Monument were already feeling overwhelmed

Officers arrested a man for breaching the barriers. In response, a woman yells "Antifa, let him go"
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… In another TikTok video before he was taken away, a Trump supporter murmurs about the police “...rush them. There's more of us than them."

"You piece of shit," they yell. "You wouldn't do this to Antifa or BLM!"

US Park Police are experts at preparing for protests—they patrol over 600 a year—but they've been understaffed for years

They were also an integral part of the prep for the Trump rally-turned-riot, and officers say chronic issues hampered their response
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… Some US Park Police were overwhelmed by Trump supporters even before the president started speaking.

Officers monitoring the Washington Monument said they retreated inside due to the crowd and then snuck out the back door with the help of colleagues on horseback

A fast-moving wildfire is burning outside Castaic (northern edge of LA County). The #LakeFire has consumed over 10,000 acres, is 0% contained, and exhibiting "explosive fire behavior" due to a classic CA combo of parched canyons, low humidity, and dry fuel: @Angeles_NF Nearly 500 homes are under evacuation orders—but many might not have a place to go. Red Cross, which normally sets up shelters, can't "because of COVID protocols," officials said

People are being told to sleep in their cars at nearby high schools and animal shelters. Unreal

People have raised millions for the Black Lives Matter Foundation

Only thing is this nonprofit has *nothing* to do with the global movement. It's run by an LA music producer who says his org's mission is to unite the community and police
buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanma… Thanks to employee matching, major corporations like Apple, Google, and Microsoft raised over $4 million for the Black Lives Matter Foundation. GoFundMe didn't notice the discrepancy until we asked about it, at which point they froze $350K in donations slated to go to the org

Keeping tabs on #GeorgeFloyd protests in the LA area today. Small, peaceful demonstration in Santa Monica. The protest leader, Rasheed, leading the crowd in chants. He has choked up several times screaming Floyd’s last words, asking to call his mom.

Supervisor from Oregon:

Concerned about employees who are coming in “obviously sick because they have exhausted their sick and vacation time and have families to support” Manhattan, NY:

Employee worried about seniors shopping when a fellow worker has tested positive and eels not enough procedures are in place

I started reporting on Outdoor Voices in December after allegations of mistreatment bubbled up on Instagram. It quickly evolved into a deeper, more complicated story about culture and what employees say they endured working at their dream company
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… 20 former and current employees, mostly women, from juniors to executives, said they were often belittled, gaslighted, and not fairly compensated for demanding work that bled into their personal lives

They described a chaotic, toxic workplace steeped in fear and intimidation

Opened a text from the Trump campaign to take their Super Tuesday exit poll and woo boy In addition to wanting to know if you’re an American or a Socialist (there are no other options) Trump’s campaign also included all his super fun nicknames

It's been a while since I teared up interviewing someone because the story was so heartfelt and genuine

I'm sure you've seen the viral photo of the 5-year-old who got adopted and his whole class came to support him. Well, the backstory is even more feels
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann… Michael goes to Wealthy Elementary School in East Grand Rapids. The school's theme is "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

"You know that song by Annie Lennox?" his teacher, Kerry McKee said.

She teaches her kindergarteners to always embrace others, no matter the circumstance

En route to Grand Bahama with volunteers and about 600 pounds worth of food and supplies for #Dorian survivors. They’ve been making two trips a day.
Biggest needs:
Generators
Medical supplies
Water
Baby supplies
Female hygiene products
Water City of Melbourne has been donating all these goods. John Casey has been here every day for about a week helping out

In a fundraising letter dated the day before the #ElPaso shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott asked his supporters to help "defend" Texas from "illegal immigrants" by taking "matters into our own hands" via @TheTexasSignal
thetexassignal.com/exclusive-abbo… @TheTexasSignal Greg Abbott's fundraising mailer implores residents to "DEFEND" the state from "illegal immigrants"

While the rhetoric echoes Trump, Democrats say this flagrant, fear-inducing language was "piloted in Texas" and we're now seeing the ramifications
buzzfeednews.com/article/briann…

Monica Acosta lives in El Paso. Her niece went to school with Javi Rodriguez, a victim. Her daughter’s friends were at the mall. She left this message after dropping her 7-year-old off at school Monday

“We need our peace back,” she said. “Who is going to give us that back” Rafael Caraveo brought his mother’s prayer book to the Walmart memorial. He and his wife, Maria, have lived in El Paso for nearly 50 years and they shop here often. The 70-year-old lost his brother in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and said he felt the need to be here