Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Texas launched a public online tool to track incoming and outgoing funds for Hurricane Harvey recovery on Monday, six months after the storm hit and two months after The Associated Press reported that it did not have one. Gov. Greg Abbott called the tracker - which provides a county-level view of the more than $13 billion in flood insurance payouts, hotel vouchers and other forms of federal aid that has been disbursed so far - "a good start in achieving transparency" in a statement from the Texas A&M University System-based Commission to Rebuild Texas.
The company that failed to deliver nearly all of the hot meals it promised to Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria plagiarized the bid that won it the $156 million contract from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a letter penned by three senators this week. Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Gary Peters of Michigan say that Tribute Contracting LLC - which lost its contract in October after just 20 days because it had delivered only 50,000 of the 30 million meals promised - lifted paragraphs from two other companies related to logistics and delivery.
Incumbent George P. Bush, the 41-year-old grandson and nephew of U.S. presidents, is facing off against his outspoken predecessor Jerry Patterson , 71, who wants his old job back after leaving it to unsuccessfully run for lieutenant governor. Despite its low profile, the land commissioner has one of the state's most critical jobs, especially now as hundreds of communities, including Houston, continue to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Yenita Rodriguez, 26, and her two children, Yelianis, 1, and Yelismary, 3, arrived from Puerto Rico on Jan. 24 with $400. She is staying at a hotel in Dedham.
Embattled Brooklyn state Assemblywoman Pamela Harris keeps getting paid as a lawmaker, but has been a no-show at the state Capitol ever since her indictment on federal corruption charges this year. Harris, a Democrat, has not attended a single Assembly session since her Jan. 9 arrest on charges that she misused $60,000 in federal and state funds on personal expenses like a cruise ship vacation and purchases at Victoria's Secret.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson and Republican 9th District Congressman Robert Pittenger visited homes hit hard by the hurricane and reassured Mayor Mitch Colvin and other city leaders that those impacted by the storm have not been forgotten. More than half of the buildings at the 100-unit Mt Sinai Homes complex off Murchison Road, near Fayetteville State University, were damaged by the storm, and repairs are still being made to apartments in the federally subsidized complex.
The woman at the heart of a controversy surrounding a cancelled $156 million contract to provide 30 million meals for victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico says she is being turned into a scapegoat for problems with how FEMA handles contracts with small businesses. House Democrats have asked for the Oversight Committee to subpoena FEMA officials to explain why the contract was issued to a small company called Tribute Contracting, LLC run by Atlanta-based business owner Tiffany Brown - the sole employee listed for that business.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn released this statement after Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act , including nearly $90 billion in funding available for relief efforts following natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey: "While long-overdue, this bill is a big step forward for Texans impacted by Hurricane Harvey up and down our coast. We know the recovery process is far from over, but these resources will go a long way for Texas families, small businesses and communities who are still rebuilding.
It has been six months since Hurricane Harvey hit and devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of Houston-area residents. But new information shows that survivors-including African American families-have received more than $12 billion to help them recover from the catastrophic storm in August.
Senate leaders brokered a long-sought budget agreement Wednesday that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion over the next two years. But both Democratic liberals and GOP tea party forces swung against the plan, raising questions about its chances just a day before the latest government shutdown deadline.
Senate leaders brokered a long-sought budget agreement Wednesday that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion over the next two years. But both Democratic liberals and GOP tea party forces swung against the plan, raising questions about its chances just a day before the latest government shutdown deadline.
Miguel Rosario Lopez watches a television that works using electricity from a generator, while his wife Milagros Jimenez walks through their house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, December 11, 2017. Villa Hugo is a settlement initially formed by people whose houses were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
So much is said about our divided nation that we are in danger of believing it. Fortunately, most Americans do not define their lives by their political affiliations -- no, not even here in Trump country.
Democrats need to choose the candidate who, quite simply, will appeal to the most voters in a contest against Abbott. We believe that candidate is Andrew White.
More than four months after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, 15-year-old Salvador Gomez Colon is shocked by the poor living conditions that persist in many of the towns throughout the island. "There is so much need," said Gomez Colon.
Puerto Ricans were alarmed this week to hear that the Federal Emergency Management Agency planned to halt new shipments of food and water to the island -- and some assumed that meant FEMA was going to stop providing aid. But FEMA was not planning to leave, nor stop handing out crucial supplies, the agency stressed.
US President Donald Trump today delivered his first State of the Union address to the Congress where he listed out the achievements of his one-year-old administration and outlined his future agenda. His speech focused on immigration reforms, terrorism, tax reforms, infrastructure, job creation.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will end free food and water aid to Puerto Rico as supermarkets are now set to reopen, four months after Hurricane Maria. FEMA will "officially shut off" its emergency humanitarian aid for the island on Wednesday after providing more than 30 million gallons of potable water and nearly 60 million meals following the storm.
President Donald Trump will deliver his first official State of the Union address Tuesday night, and is expected to tout success on tax reform and push a bipartisan effort on immigration changes. A controversial aspect of Trump's immigration plans involves the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA .