Texas Gov. Abbott in Washington to pitch $60B recovery bill
In this Sept. 27, 2017, file photo, a boat is submerged in a damaged marina from Hurricane Harvey in Beaumont, Texas.
Category Archives: Natural Disasters
The Latest: Puigdemont, in Belgium, calls for dialogue
Spain's stat... . A por Spain union supporter speaks with a man at the Catalan government's Generalitat building surroundings in Barcelona, Spain, Monday Oct. 30, 2017.
Tech companies find more signs of Russian election activity
Facebook says a Russian internet agency posted more than 80,000 pieces of content during and after the 2016 election, and ... Two Hawaii women who say they were lost at sea never activated their emergency beacon, the U.S. Coast Guard said, adding to a growing list of inconsistences that cast doubt on this harrowing tale of survival. Two Hawaii women who say they were lost at sea never activated their emergency beacon, the U.S. Coast Guard said, adding to a growing list of inconsistences that cast doubt on this harrowing tale of survival.
A Quiet Rise in Wildland-Firefighter Suicides
Nelda St. Clair keeps an unofficial list: 22 last year, 30 the year before. Sixteen suicides among wildland firefighters this year already, although St. Clair points out there tends to be a spike after fire season, which has dragged on long this year.
Melania Trump Speaks on Combatting Drug Demand and the Opioid…
MRS. TRUMP: Thank you all for being here today. It touches my heart to see the many familiar faces of the people I have been lucky to get to know over the last few months.
Trump’s Weak Response to the Overdose Epidemic
You'd think it would be impossible to kill 100 people a day, every day, without inducing widespread shock and deafening demands for action. But that's what opioids have been doing for the past decade, and Americans have given it only passing attention.
Federal workers volunteer for hurricane relief, even as Congress…
WASHINGTON: Why does Congress want to cut the jobs and benefits of federal civilian employees who are volunteering their time to help fellow citizens recover from this year's devastating hurricanes? That's the question being asked in a new video from the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest labor union representing federal and D.C. government workers. "It might be the politicians up on the Hill that have the purse strings, but it really is the civil servants that do their best to keep America A-OK," says Wesley McCarville, a legislative political coordinator at AFGE Local 1924, which represents McCarville and other employees at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services .
Trump declares opioids a public health emergency
President Donald Trump on Thursday declared the opioid crisis a nationwide public health emergency - a step that won't bring new dollars to fight a scourge that kills nearly 100 Americans a day but will expand access to medical services in rural areas, among other changes. "This epidemic is a national health emergency," Trump said in a speech at the White House, where he bemoaned a crisis he said had spared no segment of American society.
Trump declares public health emergency over opioids, adds no new funding
President Donald Trump has finally declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, two months after he first said he would. The belated declaration is short of what is immediately needed to combat this epidemic.
Trump readies opioid plan, but some worry it won’t be enough
President Donald Trump, escorted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., arrives on Capitol Hill to have lunch with Senate Republicans and push for his tax reform agenda, in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017. President Donald Trump waves to reporters after a lunch with Republican senator at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017, in Washington.
Senate passes $36.5B disaster aid bill; Trump signature next
The Senate passed a $36.5 billion emergency aid measure Tuesday to refill disaster accounts, provide a much-needed cash infusion to Puerto Rico, and bail out the federal flood insurance program. The 82-17 vote sends the measure to the White House, where President Donald Trump is sure to sign it.
Suits target government’s decision to release reservoir water during Hurricane Harvey
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Houston homeowners seeking compensation as a result of a federal decision to release water from two reservoirs during Hurricane Harvey. The homeowners contend the release by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers amounts to an improper taking under the Fifth Amendment, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Signing up for more of the same
Hurricane Harvey just drowned Southeast Texas. The storm gained strength as it crossed the abnormally warm Gulf waters and grew to a Category 4 hurricane.
Hurricanes, heroism, and ripples in a pond
With that said, there was one department of the federal government that was exemplary, even heroic in its response to Katrina. Days before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, the U.S. Coast Guard began marshalling resources - including their iconic red and white rescue helicopters - to the area.
Georgia lawmaker: Can people with HIV be ‘legally’ quarantined?
A Georgia state representative - who is also an anesthesiologist and the wife of the former federal Health and Human Services secretary - asked at a public hearing Tuesday about the legality of quarantining HIV patients to stop the spread of the virus that causes AIDS. "What are we legally able to do?" Dr. Betty Price, a Republican, asked Dr. Pascale Wortley, director of the HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Surveillance Section at the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Trump commends ex-presidents as ‘finest public servants’
President Donald Trump released a video message commending the five living ex-presidents appearing together at a hurricane relief concert in Texas Saturday, putting aside past criticism of his predecessors to call them "some of America's finest public servants." Democrats Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Republicans George H.W. and George W. Bush are appearing together for the first time since 2013 to raise money for parts of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands devastated by hurricanes.
5 living ex-presidents attend Texas hurricane relief concert
Democrats Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Republicans George H.W. and George W. Bush are putting aside politics in contrast with President Donald Trump, who has vowed to help Texas and Florida for as long as it takes but has criticized Puerto Rican leaders while suggesting aid there won't be unlimited. Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria, which made landfall after Harvey and Irma had battered other areas.
What Puerto Rico is doing to get the power back after storm
Electrical linemen descend from helicopters, balancing on steel girders 90 feet high on transmission towers in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, far from any road. At the same time, crews fan out across the battered island, erecting light poles and power lines in a block by block slog.
Trump Rates Himself A Perfect ’10’ For Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Response
While meeting with Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello today, Trump issued himself and his administration a "10" when asked how his "administration: reacted to the Hurricane that devastated Puerto Rico. During a presser with Gov. Rossello, a reporter asked, "Mr. President, between 1 and 10, how would you grade the White House response so far?" Trump replied, "I'd say it was a 10. I'd say it was probably the most difficult -- when you talk about relief, when you talk about search, when you talk about all of the different levels and even when you talk about lives saved."
Trump has no plans now to visit California wildfire damage
President Donald Trump, who has made four visits to hurricane zones in recent weeks, isn't rushing to survey the damage from California's wildfires. The president has no immediate plans to visit the state to inspect the aftermath of the wind-whipped wildfires, which have swept through parts of Northern California, including the region's famed wine country.