By Jim Wyss 14 October 2017 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (Miami Herald) – Washboards, candles, and cash are the new must-have items on this powerless island. Almost four weeks after Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico, 85 percent of the population is still without electricity, forcing people to get creative — and go old school — […]
By Aída Chávez 13 October 2017 (The Intercept) – Nestled in the $36.5 billion disaster relief package the House of Representatives approved Thursday is $5 billion specifically for Puerto Rico to maintain basic government function after being devastated by two hurricanes, as economic activity on the island has come to a near standstill, and tax […]
By Umair Irfan 15 October 2017 (Vox) – Raging infernos in California are burning through shrub land and neighborhoods while inching perilously close to San Francisco and Los Angeles.This year is shaping up to be one of the state’s worst fire seasons ever, as windswept flames have scorched more than 214,000 acres and caused at […]
By Stephen Stirling and Luke Nozicka 4 October 2017 NEWARK (NJ Advance Media) – Four programs in New Jersey have been awarded federal grants to fight the state’s opioid epidemic, a crisis that has claimed the lives of more than 7,000 people since 2012. NJ Advance Media has learned that the State Parole Board will […]
By Anne Branigin 13 October 2017 (The Root) – Here are a couple of things your tax dollars have paid for in the past few weeks: Vice President Michael Pence’s NFL protest/publicity stunt, the Scotch tape keeping Donald Trump’s ties together, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calling for Jemele Hill to get fired, […]
By John D. Sutter 14 October 2017 Dorado, Puerto Rico (CNN) – Jose Luis Rodriguez waited in line Friday to fill plastic jugs in the back of his pickup truck with water for drinking, doing the dishes and bathing. But there is something about this water Rodriguez didn’t know: It was being pumped to him […]
By Sandra Lilley , Suzanne Gamboa, Daniella Silva, and Carmen Sesin 13 October 2017 (NBC News) – President Donald Trump’s Twitter comments on Thursday threatening to pull federal resources from Puerto Rico as the U.S. territory grapples with the lack of basic necessities elicited shock and alarm on the island and the mainland.San Juan Mayor […]
By Mike Carlowicz 11 October 2017 (NASA) – Devastating wildfires have burned through California’s wine country since October 8, 2017, taking dozens of lives and leaving thousands of people homeless. Even communities distant from the fires have been plagued by poor air quality, as the smoke plumes have darkened skies and canceled school and other […]
12 October 2017 (UN News) – Recent devastating natural events – from hurricanes in the Caribbean to floods in South Asia and earthquakes in Mexico – have again shone a spotlight on the importance of efforts to reduce disaster risk, and how impossible it is to achieve global development goals without addressing such hazards.“If you […]
By Emily Flitter 8 August 2017 NEW YORK (Reuters) – As the U.S. growing season entered its peak this summer, farmers began posting startling pictures on social media: fields of beans, peach orchards and vegetable gardens withering away. The photographs served as early warnings of a crisis that has damaged millions of acres of farmland. […]
