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Biden's $10M for TX county, burning USAID food & Rachel Maddow

Plus: Online reports claimed ocean current near Antarctica 'reversed direction.' Research didn't show that

THURSDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

 On the left: Former President Joe Biden, a white man in a suit, holding his clasped hands in a fist up to his face. On the right: search and rescuers sit in a raft in a river in Texas.

Investigating claims Kerr County rejected Biden admin's $10M offer to improve flood warning systems

As rescuers continued to search for missing people after the devastating flash floods in central Texas, people on social media searched for someone to blame for the destruction. One rumor pointed fingers at officials from the conservative Kerr County, one of the hardest-hit areas along the Guadalupe River, for allegedly rejecting or diverting money sent by former President Joe Biden meant to update the county's flood warning systems.

"Kerr County was literally given $10 million by the Biden administration to help upgrade their flood warning system, and they said no," an Instagram user claimed in a video. "Instead, you know what Kerr County did? They called it a 'communist agenda' and rerouted the money to the sheriff's department." Snopes reporter Rae Deng investigated the claims.

USAID food packets are shown in what appears to be a blue trash bag.

Posts claim Trump admin plans to incinerate around 500 tons of emergency food. Here's what we know

The claim stemmed from a report in The Atlantic.

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Snopes has been busy fact-checking political claims, including those related to the Trump administration. But politics is just one piece of the work we do. For example, one of our favorite fact checks from this week looked into whether mountain lions are leaving Yellowstone for Utah (you’ll find out later in this newsletter). We need your help to keep doing this far-ranging work. By building our membership, we will be able to continue cutting straight to the facts on any subject our readers are interested in. We appreciate any support you can give.

Mug shot of convicted sex offender and former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell taken at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Breaking down claim Ghislaine Maxwell offered to testify about Epstein client list

A Daily Mail report sparked rumors that Maxwell offered to testify before Congress about Jeffrey Epstein's activities and so-called "client list."

A white woman looks straight at the camera on the left of an image. Pictured to her right is a white man looking towards the left.

Disproving claim Rachel Maddow 'shattered' Stephen Miller's reputation during TV interview

According to social media posts, "Washington" scrambled to do damage control over the alleged live television interview.

A mountain lion jumps from one rock to one on its left.

Mountain lions are not leaving Yellowstone for Utah, despite popular video's claim

The same person also posted an out-of-context video claiming bears were leaving the iconic national park.

Staff Pick

Glaciers are shown above what appears to be a frozen body of water.

Online reports claimed ocean current near Antarctica 'reversed direction.' Research didn't show that

Researchers measuring the salinity of the Southern Ocean did find unexpected results, but some online reports got the details wrong.