Quick hits: Report slams FEMA for failing to help repeatedly flooded homes; abandoned gas wells left to leak methane

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

A top official at the Department of Health and Human Services has taken a leave of absence after posting a Facebook rant promoting conspiracy theories about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the pandemic. Read more here.

The pandemic has more people thinking about diseases that spread from animals to humans. Here's an overview of major outbreaks caused by such diseases over the past 200 years. Read more here.

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general slammed the Federal Emergency Management Agency for failing to help tens of thousands of people whose homes have repeatedly flooded. Read more here.

Gas companies are abandoning wells, leaving them to leak methane indefinitely. Read more here.

West Virginia environmental regulators are proposing fine reductions for water pollution violations for a coal company owned by the state's billionaire governor Jim Justice. Read more here.

President Trump announced $13 billion in new pandemic aid to farmers at a rally in Wisconsin. Read more here.