Today’s Big Story

Rising Floods

Climate forces are fueling more frequent and dangerous flooding all over

This is a scary thought. According to a new Washington Post investigation, there are “invisible rivers streaming across the sky—massive plumes of moisture borne over the oceans and wafted across the continents.” And when this moisture is released back down to Earth, it can result in a drizzle or a deluge. But more and more, human-caused warming is creating the conditions for more frequent and dangerous deluges.

And it's happening around the world, from Hurricane Helene to a super typhoon in Southeast Asia to devestating flash floods in Spain and Texas. The Post’s analysis, based on state-of-the-art weather data and computer models of the climate system, reveals how rising global temperatures have made the atmosphere more waterlogged—providing fuel for wetter and more dangerous storms. In the past 85 years, researchers found, the amount of water vapor moving through Earth’s atmosphere has increased 12%. That increase is equivalent to 35 Mississippi Rivers flowing through the air every second.

With more water vapor in the air, rainstorms bring more rain in shorter periods of time. This makes flooding, like the tragic floods in Texas, more likely to occur and more dangerous. Flooding can occur across the entire U.S., inland and on the coasts. In fact, a 2023 rainstorm in New York City flooded over 150 school buildings in a single day.

Climate change "is supercharging the water cycle," sparking heavier precipitation extremes and related flood risks, according to Climate Central, a climate research group. Today, the heaviest rainstorms drop about 20% more water than they did in the late 1950s, when the planet was significantly cooler, according to the National Climate Assessment. And NPR reports that extreme rain is expected to get much more frequent in the coming decade, as the climate warms even more.

To understand patterns of heavy rain at a more local level, communities and officials rely on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to the New York Times, engineers use NOAA’s estimates to design storm drains and culverts. City planners use them to guide development and regulations in flood-prone areas. NOAA’s next updates to the estimates are scheduled to be released starting next year. For the first time, they are expected to include projections of how extreme precipitation will evolve as the climate changes, in order to help officials plan further ahead. But in recent months, the Trump administration has cut staff at the agency and at the National Weather Service, which sits within NOAA. So time will tell how that might affect the information and estimates in the future.

Shutdown … on an Election Day

It could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

President Donald Trump is facing some serious tests of his power and influence this week, with elections that will offer a sense of voters’ moods, a battle over his tariffs at the Supreme Court and a government shutdown that keeps grinding on. He lashed out on social media on Monday at Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, threatening to withhold federal funds from the city if he wins today’s mayoral election. The president was also set to appear at virtual rallies for Republicans in New Jersey and Virginia.

The administration said Monday that it will provide only half of the normal food stamp benefits for November by tapping into the program’s contingency fund amid the government shutdown. But recipients are not likely to see the payments immediately. Some $4.65 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s contingency fund will “be obligated to cover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments” for November, according to a sworn statement from a US Department of Agriculture official submitted in federal court. The remaining $600 million in the fund will be used for state administrative expenses and nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.

If Trump continues his standoff with congressional Democrats, by week’s end he will oversee the longest—and likely the most painful—government shutdown in history. One that recent polling shows Americans are increasingly blaming him for. But he’s not budging, telling reporters that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. The president also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they’re in the minority.

Education Dept. Sued Over Loan Forgiveness

Those who work with undocumented immigrants, provide gender transition care for minors or publicly protest could be blocked

Nearly two dozen attorneys general sued the Education Department Monday over a new rule requiring employers to “qualify” for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) by avoiding activities deemed to have “substantial illegal purpose.”

The 185-page rule, published Friday, limits eligibility for PSLF—which forgives the remaining balance on federal student loans for eligible public service workers after ten years—as part of the broader crackdown on what the Trump administration calls “anti-American activists.” But critics of the rule say the department chose those specific issues so it could exclude organizations that work with LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, transgender children and others who don’t align with the administrations views from the program.

The nonprofit Student Debt Crisis Center opposed the order in a news release deeming it “a clear attack on free speech” that “harms organizations that do not align with the president's politics.” Public service workers are “the backbone of this country,” Sabrina Calazans, SDCC executive director, said in the release. The Washington Post reports that by law, the Education Department was required to convene a committee of experts for a negotiated rule-making to revise the criteria for qualifying employers. That advisory committee failed to reach a consensus over the summer, clearing the way for the department to publish a rule of its own making.

Can Strength Training Replace Viagra?

If you were looking for an excuse to hit the gym, here you go

This brings a whole new meaning to the terms “pump” and “gains.” Because, according to the latest research, one of the biggest beneficiaries of strength training might just be below the belt.

Plenty of scientific research has suggested that building muscle may stave off erectile dysfunction, but a July 2025 meta-analysis of 32 studies in Sexual Medicine Reviews found a positive correlation between muscle health and erectile function—not to mention higher sexual desire and satisfaction. As GQ points out, “these findings should make gym bros everywhere breathe a little easier, and could rightfully inspire those who train less frequently.”

According to a 2022 survey by the Cleveland Clinic, 32% of men get worried about sexual health as they age, with chief concerns being erectile dysfunction (ED), loss of sex drive, and low testosterone. These worries are valid, especially since roughly 40% of men in their 40s, 50% of men in their 50s, and 60% of men in their 60s experience some degree of erectile dysfunction, says Gabrielle Lyon, DO, a board-certified physician, the author of The Forever Strong Playbook, and senior author of the aforementioned meta-analysis.

Embrace Gratitude

Being thankful just isn't our default setting, is it?

Stay present.