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Tribune News Service on Jul 7, 2025

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AccuWeather estimates Texas floods will cost at least $18 billion

The floods that devastated Texas’ Hill Country over the weekend will also result in a hefty economic toll, according to new data released Monday.

The natural disaster that killed at least 75 in Kerr County represents a total projected economic cost between $18 billion and $22 billion, a preliminary estimate from AccuWeather shows.

Along with immediate damage to homes and businesses, the cost of search and rescue operations is also likely to mount, the private forecasting company noted, while the disaster will also likely negatively impact everything from the area’s tourism industry to regional supply chains. The estimate also includes predicted insurance claims and long-term physical and mental health costs for survivors, among other factors.

“This is the latest disaster in an area with a long and tragic history of deadly and destructive flash floods,” Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist, said in a statement.

—The Dallas Morning News

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says Cuomo pushing him to drop out of race to maximize chances against Mamdani

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday that ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is privately urging him to drop out of November’s mayoral election, as their moderate wing of the party scrambles to find a way to maximize their chances of beating Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

In an appearance on CNBC Monday, Adams said he has no intention of heeding Cuomo’s call — arguing that Cuomo’s the one who should end his campaign so he can take on Mamdani, a democratic socialist, in the Nov. 4 contest.

“I said, Andrew: ‘Are you that level of arrogance?'” Adams said, describing a recent conversation in which he alleged Cuomo encouraged him to drop out. “I’m the sitting mayor, I’m the sitting mayor of the City of New York and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to Zohran by 12 points?

“They heard your message and you lost,” the mayor continued. “Now let a fresh set of legs that has produced for this city” run the race. Adams, who dropped out of the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary this spring amid continued political fallout from his federal corruption indictment, is running for reelection on an independent line in November.

—New York Daily News

How Trump-era Medicaid cuts could impact the privately insured

Federal cuts to Medicaid passed under President Donald Trump’s signature legislation — dubbed as the “big, beautiful bill” — are raising concerns among Maryland health advocates and policymakers who warn the changes could affect not only low-income residents but also those with private insurance.

More than 1.5 million adults and nearly half of all children in Maryland are covered by Medicaid, according to the state Department of Health. While the bill’s provisions phase in over time, experts say the long-term impact could be significant.

“In Maryland, when someone is uninsured and can’t get health care and go to the emergency room and is taken care of, we all pay higher premiums,” said Vinny DeMarco, the president of Maryland Health Care for All, a coalition of faith, business, labor and professional communities across the state that advocate for affordable health care access, said.

“It would be bad for the uninsured and bad for all of us if Medicaid was drastically cut.”

—The Baltimore Sun

Russian transport minister found dead after being sacked by Putin

MOSCOW — The Russian transport minister recently sacked by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Roman Starovoit, has been found dead with a gunshot wound in a car, the central investigative committee in Moscow reported on Monday.

"The circumstances of the incident are currently being investigated. The main theory is suicide," the spokeswoman for the investigative authority, Svetlana Petrenko, said, adding that the body of the 53-year-old was found in his private car.

However, the Kremlin-affiliated Telegram channel Shot, with more than 1 million subscribers, showed videos early in the evening of investigators not pulling Starovoit's body from the car but carrying it from a bush.

A Tesla, which the minister is said to have driven privately, can also be seen. His assistant is also visible in the videos; she is said to have been his lover and identified the family man.

—dpa