South
FEMA reports it has under 10% of front-line staff available ahead of Hurricane Milton
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has less than 10% of front-line staff available for deployment amid preparations for the second major hurricane to hit the Southeast this month, according to the agency’s daily operations briefing.
FEMA released a daily briefing on Wednesday revealing the agency had only 8%, or 1,115, FEMA staff members currently available as preparations continue for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to hit Florida in the coming days. This number represents a significant drop in availability from a year prior, after an operations briefing from late September 2023 showed the agency had 20% of the same staff available for deployment.
A FEMA spokesperson indicated to Fox News Digital that the availability numbers released by the agency are only in reference to the cadre of staffers who are part of FEMA’s incident management core capacity. They are the first line of FEMA staffers to deploy in any disaster.
Meanwhile, the FEMA spokesperson pointed out the agency has a total workforce of 22,000 staffers it can tap, as well as resources from other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security.
The fear of front-line FEMA staffing comes amid other concerns about FEMA’s response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including claims that the agency spent its money on housing for migrants and is blocking private relief distributors from entering areas in North Carolina impacted by Helene.
FEMA HEAD DENIES AGENCY IS SHORT ON MONEY FOR DISASTER RELIEF BECAUSE FUNDS WENT TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
In May 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report indicating that, as of the start of Fiscal Year 2022, FEMA was understaffed by 35% with an overall staffing gap of approximately 6,200 employees. FEMA officials attributed the shortage to “responsibilities due to COVID-19 and managing the rising disaster activity during the year, which increased burnout and employee attrition,” according to the GAO.
This split shows a North Carolina resident after a storm and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein and Mario Tama/Getty Images)
With Hurricane Helene making a destructive and deadly sweep across the South, FEMA has been under high pressure to deliver aid to those in need. In the latest update on FEMA worker numbers, the agency indicated more than 5,600 personnel from across the federal workforce have been deployed, including more than 1,500 from FEMA. Additionally, the agency noted it has shipped more than 11.5 million meals, more than 12.6 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 400,000 tarps to the region, while also helping thousands of Helene survivors with more than $45 million in “flexible, upfront” funding.
Despite the current staffing shortage, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorks insisted during an interview with MSNBC that Americans “should rest confident that FEMA has the resources” necessary to recover from Helene and prepare for Milton.
“We have search and rescue teams. The Army Corps of Engineers are there. We are ready,” Mayorkas said of Florida, in reference to the federal government’s preparation for Milton. “FEMA likes to say it is, ‘FEMA-flexible.’ We can respond to multiple events at a single time.”
VIDEO RESURFACES SHOWING FEMA PRIORITIZING EQUITY OVER HELPING GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN DISASTER RELIEF
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at the daily press briefing at the White House.
However, despite the optimistic response to concerns about FEMA resources, Mayorkas did say last week during a formal press conference that “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the [hurricane] season.”
Questions about FEMA funding have been exacerbated by suggestions that the agency was giving disaster relief money to migrants. FEMA has sent aid to migrants, but the money was part of the Shelter and Services Program, which remains separate from disaster relief funds. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R–La., acknowledged that the funds were part of a separate program unrelated to disaster relief, but noted that he didn’t think the agency should be involved in the migrant crisis.
SPEAKER JOHNSON ADDRESSES CLAIMS FEMA DIVERTED FUNDS TO IMMIGRATION EFFORTS: ‘AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTED’
“The streams of funding are different, that is not an untrue statement, of course,” Johnson told Fox News’ Shannon Bream. “But the problem is with the American people, see, and what they’re frustrated by, is that FEMA should be involved.”
Concerns that private relief distributors are being blocked from entering parts of North Carolina that were impacted have also circulated. “Some of the reports that I’ve received through some of my contacts who are trying to provide assistance… they’re being told that they need special requirements from FEMA in order to enter these certain areas,” said Joe Rieck, vice president of My Patriot Supply, an emergency preparedness company.
Before Helene made landfall, Congress passed a stopgap spending bill that included money for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, but excluded billions in additionally requested supplemental disaster funding. On Friday, President Biden wrote a letter to Congress urging them to provide additional funding because “while FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund has the resources it requires right now to meet immediate needs, the fund does face a shortfall at the end of the year,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke with Fox News Digital after he toured areas in Florida and Georgia hit by Hurricane Helene. (Getty Images)
“Without additional funding, FEMA would be required to forego longer-term recovery activities in favor of meeting urgent needs,” Biden added. “The Congress should provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off and to give the communities we serve the certainty of knowing that help will be ongoing, both for the short- and long-term.”
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When pressed about reconvening the House for a special session to approve additional funding, Johnson suggested FEMA has the funds it needs right now and, in order to approve additional funding, Congress needs requests from individual states to tabulate how much to provide.
“The way the process works is the states, local authorities, they band together, they assess the damages, they send that to the federal authorities and it’s all worked through in that manner,” Johnson responded when pressed about whether he had plans to reconvene Congress for the matter. “It will take some time to tabulate this storm — it’s one of the biggest in our history — so a lot of that work is being done immediately. I think the timing of that will probably correspond when Congress is expected to return to session right after the election.”
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate lawsuits from gun-rights groups.
The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in office. That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures.
“Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” Spanberger said in a statement Friday. “We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.”
The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic control of their legislatures and governors’ offices. They also highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights.
A dozen states now target semi-automatic firearms
The new Virginia law, which takes effect July 1, will make it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, for people to buy, sell, transfer, import or manufacture an “assault firearm.”
The measure defines that term to include semi-automatic rifles or pistols with a magazine capacity of more than 15 rounds. It also includes firearms with other characteristics, such as rifles capable of accepting a detachable magazine that have a second handgrip or a collapsible stock. The prohibition also applies to magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. For most people, there’s no penalty for merely possessing such weapons.
Eleven other states and Washington, D.C., already have laws prohibiting the sale an manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, though the details vary. Hawaii, for example, prohibits certain semi-automatic pistols and high-capacity magazines, but not semi-automatic rifles.
Gun-rights groups challenge the Virginia law
Legal challenges came swiftly after Spanberger signed the legislation Thursday. The National Rifle Association, joined by other groups, sued in both federal and state court, asserting violations of the right to bear arms.
“The firearms and magazines banned in this law aren’t bizarre and unusual outliers, they’re among the most commonly owned guns and magazines in the country,” said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, which joined the NRA in the federal lawsuit. “They’re owned in the tens of millions by peaceable Americans who use them overwhelmingly lawfully.”
The U.S. Department of Justice also vowed to sue to block the Virginia law from being enforced.
The Virginia measure would “infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to enjoy and use AR-15 rifles for lawful purposes by making it a crime to purchase and sell them,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division, wrote in an April letter to Spanberger.
Courts have upheld other bans on semi-automatic weapons
So far, laws restricting certain semi-automatic firearms generally have been upheld, including by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Virginia, Maryland and several additional states.
That appellate court twice upheld a Maryland law banning dozens of types of semi-automatic weapons, describing them a 2024 ruling as “military-style weapons” that are ill-suited for self-defense. It concluded that “the Maryland law fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.”
The U.S. Supreme Court last year declined to hear a challenge in that Maryland case. But gun-rights advocates remain hopeful of a different outcome in future cases, noting that three conservative justices on the nine-member court disagreed with the decision and a fourth expressed skepticism that such firearm bans are constitutional.
A change in governor leads to a change in laws
Former Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation each of the past two years that would have prohibited the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms.
But Youngkin’s term ended in January, and he was succeeded by Spanberger. The transition presented a huge opportunity for advocates of gun restrictions, who already had support within the Democratic-led Legislature.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer and U.S. House member, had previously been a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, a group founded after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut claimed the lives of 26 people in 2012. The group lists 20% of the Democrats in the Virginia House as its past volunteers.
“The fact that a former Moms Demand Action volunteer just signed an assault weapons ban in the home state of the NRA speaks volumes about how dramatically the political calculus around gun safety has shifted,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, the umbrella organization for Moms Demand Action..
Republican states act to expand gun rights
While Virginia tightens gun regulations, many Republican-led states have been expanding gun rights.
On the same day Spanberger signed the semi-automatic firearm restrictions, Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature gave final approval to legislation creating a school ranger program that could let trained volunteers carry firearms in schools.
A law signed by Spanberger last month raised the age to purchase a handgun in Virginia from 18 to 21. By contrast, Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a law last month lowering the age from 21 to 18 for carrying concealed guns without a state permit.
Yet another law signed by Spanberger last month opens new grounds for lawsuits against the firearms industry. That came shortly after Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law limiting liability lawsuits against the firearms industry.
FC Dallas is back out on the road tonight as they begin their nine-game road trip when they take on the San Jose Earthquakes.
Lineups are in from both sides. Let’s dive into what Eric Quill’s starting group looks like, who is on the bench, and who we believe will see minutes later on in this one.
What Changed From Last Match
As expected, we have several changes to the lineup tonight. Canadian international Jonathan Sirois earns his first FC Dallas start tonight in goal over Michael Collodi.
Outside of that swap, Herman Johansson, Santiago Moreno, Patrickson Delgado and Joaquin Valiente return to the lineup.
FC Dallas Lineup Notes:
Formation: 3-4-3
Projected lineup · subject to change
Starting XI
Bench
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Who should come off the bench?
Given the rotation in the lineup, I’d imagine we will see Cappis, Farrington, Sarver and Ibeahga, and Binyamin off the bench in this one.
Key Question Heading Into Kickoff
After the let down on Wednesday, can FC Dallas start the road trip off on the right foot?
This game is certainly going to set the tone for the long road trip. San Jose has been very good this season at home and Dallas hasn’t won there since 2016. If Dallas can find a way to withstand the early pressure, create some solid chances of their own on the counter attack, and limit the defensive mistakes that let them down on Wednesday, they should be able to come out with at least a point tonight.
Suspended: none
International duty: none
Season-ending injury list: Kaka Scabin (knee)
Out: Anderson Julio (Lower leg), Bernard Kamungo (lower leg)
Questionable: none
On Loan: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Enes Sali (Al-Riyadh), Malachi Molina (Nashville SC), Geovane Jesus (North Texas SC), Enzo Newman (North Texas SC)
Unavailable (off-roster): Daniel Baran, Jaidyn Contreras
San Jose Lineup:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Starting XI
How to watch
📅 Date: Saturday, May 16, 2026
⚽️ Kickoff: 7:30 PM
🏟 Venue: PayPal Park
📺 Streaming: MLS Season Pass
💬 Gameday Social: #FCDvSJE
☀️ Weather: 72, sunny
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