David Maurstad

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.'Even AI Rappers are Harassed by Police' | AI UnlockedCongress created the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968 as a way for the federal government to bear a risk that private companies wouldn’t. Since then, Uncle Sam has backed the vast majority of flood insurance policies in the United States.Yet it is impossible to buy or renew such plans directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which administers the…

Homes are seen surrounded by floodwaters on January 11, 2023 in Planada, California. Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.California has nearly seen the last of the relentless sequence of storms that inundated the state since late December, leading to tens of thousands of evacuations, at least 20 deaths, and an estimated $1 billion in damages.From failed levees in the Central Valley counties of Merced and Sacramento to…