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Thousands of Puerto Ricans were finally getting water and food rations Friday as an aid bottleneck began to ease, but many remained cut off from the basic necessities of life and were desperate for power, communications and other trappings of normality in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. There were many people across the island, especially outside the capital, unable to get water, gas or generator fuel.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke faced harsh backlash after saying the Trump administration's recovery effort in Puerto Rico is a "good news story." "Damn it, this is not a good news story," San Juan Mayor Carmen Yuln Cruz responded.
Ten days after Hurricane Maria began to crash into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, the island is dealing with a humanitarian crisis as millions remain without electricity and water, and limited access to gas and cash. The majority of the US commonwealth is without power, with the exception of people and facilities using generators, the US Energy Department says.
Donald Trump tweeted that "big decisions" were pending on how to rebuild hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico as the mayor of the island's biggest city, San Juan, said the response to the disaster was "not a good news story". Acting Homeland Secretary Elaine Duke had suggested as much a day earlier in the White House driveway, saying the federal response to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is "a good news story" and adding "the relief effort is under control".
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price is out, amid intense scrutiny for his use of private charter planes. Price "offered his resignation earlier today and the President accepted," a statement by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday afternoon.
FEMA's religious discrimination is a disaster FEMA is not helping houses of worship rebuild after natural disasters. Check out this story on northjersey.com: https://njersy.co/2k9vFm0 Over 2,000 people lined up in San Juan, Puerto Rico Thursday to try and board the Royal Caribbean ship "Adventure of the Seas."
The mayor of the capital of Puerto Rico hit back on Friday at the comments of a top U.S. official who said federal efforts to help the territory recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria is "a good news story." "This is not a good news story," Carmen Yulin Cruz told CNN on Friday.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday morning to defend his administration's handling of the crisis in Puerto Rico, but left questions as to how the recovery efforts will be financed. "Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello just stated: 'The Administration and the President, every time we've spoken, they've delivered......'" he wrote, adding "...The fact is that Puerto Rico has been destroyed by two hurricanes.
Puerto Rico is under a flash flood watch as the agonizing wait for food and supplies continues in the US island after Hurricane Maria hit more than a week ago. Heavy rain is expected through the weekend, which "will aggravate the ongoing recovery and relief efforts," the National Weather Service said.
Rihanna criticized President Donald's Trump response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, suggesting that the president is not paying enough attention to the disaster occurring on the island.
They live on Puerto Rico's west coast in Aguadilla, which Hurricane Maria pummeled last week. There's no running water, cell service or electricity in the town of about 60,000 people.
The 2017 hurricane season has wreaked humanitarian disasters on Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Not to diminish the suffering on the Gulf Coast, the 3.4 million Americans in Puerto Rico are the most isolated, the poorest, the least politically powerful, and the most in need of help.
Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert on Thursday defended the Trump administration's response to the devastation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, saying "it is my sincere belief that that food and water will get" to suffering residents. "I have no doubt," Bossert told reporters at the White House press briefing.
The Trump administration declared Thursday that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce and disorganized while food supplies dwindled in some remote towns eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated the US territory of 3.4 million people. President Donald Trump cleared the way for more supplies to head to Puerto Rico by issuing a 10-day waiver of federal restrictions on foreign ships delivering cargo to the island.
The Trump administration declared Thursday that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce and disorganized while food supplies dwindled in some remote towns eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of 3.4 million people.
We've just returned from Vieques, a 134-square-mile island off Puerto Rico's eastern coast which suffered harrowing devastation from Hurricane Maria. This once-picturesque island of approximately 9,300 -- known for its secluded beaches, snorkeling and wild horses that roam the countryside -- is now a dream-turned-nightmare: There's no power, no running water, and the hospital was so severely damaged that it has been forced to set up a temporary triage tent outside to treat patients.
Residents of Puerto Rico accused President Donald Trump of being slow to dispatch aid after Hurricane Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the U.S. territory had been devastated by the storm. After days of urging, Trump on Thursday temporarily lifted restrictions on foreign shipping from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico to move aid more quickly and the Pentagon appointed a senior general to oversee military relief operations.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference after the state Senate adjourned sine die on Tuesday night, August 15, 2017. As recovery efforts in southeast Texas continue after Hurricane Harvey, Lt.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform member Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., left, speaks to a staff member on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 15, 2016. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform member Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., left, speaks to a staff member on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 15, 2016.