On Hurricane Maria anniversary, Puerto Rico is still in ruins – “I am thankful for the little they gave me, but thanks for nothing”

By Frances Robles and Jugal K. Patel 20 September 2018 PUNTA SANTIAGO, P.R. (The New York Times) – When it rains, Maritza Cruz Sánchez springs into a well-rehearsed, 30-minute ritual: She climbs a ladder to where her roof used to be and sucks on a hose to siphon puddles from the plastic tarp suspended over […]

A year after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico still struggles to regain what hasn’t been lost for good, while fearing the next big one – “Everything is lost. It’s all wild now.”

By Paloma Esquivel 20 September 2018 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Los Angeles Times) – The rain falling into Bianca Cruz Pichardo’s home in Puerto Rico’s capital forms a small stream from her living room to the kitchen, past a cabinet elevated by cinder blocks. The living room is dark, save for some light coming from […]

Sorry, Mr. President: The Hurricane Maria death toll in Puerto Rico didn’t grow by “magic”

By Amy B Wang 15 September 2018 (The Washington Post) – “Like magic” and “NO WAY!” These are the latest phrases President Trump is using to express continuing disbelief that Hurricane Maria could have caused nearly 3,000 excess deaths in Puerto Rico. In his mind — or in his tweets, at least — the death […]

Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria: A year of disruption – “The next one will wipe Puerto Rico off the map”

By Samantha Schmidt and Arelis R. Hernández 12 September 2018 NAGUABO, Puerto Rico (The Washington Post) – As Damarys Cantero awakens her 6-year-old daughter in their damp, sweltering home, ocean waves crash up against the pile of rubble that was once their front porch. The single mother opens a bag of buns in the kitchen […]

Death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria: the facts about excess mortality – “Thousands of our fellow American citizens lost their lives”

15 September 2018 (Desdemona Despair) – On Thursday, Trump took time from his busy schedule to tweet that the official death toll in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria “was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible”.It’s hard to decide where to start with such a cockamamie claim, so […]

“Shadow” of persistent inequality is growing, key UN human development report reveals

14 September 2018 (UN News) – While health, education, and income levels have improved overall across the globe, “wide inequalities” both among and within countries, are casting a shadow on sustained human development, a new United Nations report shows.Looking at the widening gap in real terms, a child born in Norway today – the country […]

Democracy “showing greater strain” than at any time in decades, says UN chief on International Day of Democracy

14 September 2018 (UN News) – Tackling economic and political inequality is at the root of strengthening democratic institutions at a time when they are under huge strain, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday, marking the official International Day of Democracy.“It means making our democracies more inclusive, by bringing the young and marginalized […]

New data: Adult obesity rates top 35 percent in seven U.S. states – As recently as 2012, no state was over 35 percent

WASHINGTON, DC, 12 September 2018 (Trust for America’s Health) – Seven U. S. states had adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent in 2017, up from five states in 2016, and no state had a statistically significant improvement in its obesity rate over the past year, according to new national data reported in the […]

Global debt soars to $169 trillion, along with fears of crisis ahead – “We were supposed to correct a debt bubble. What we did instead was create more debt.”

By David J. Lynch 3 September 2018 (The Washington Post) – Ten years after the worst financial panic since the 1930s, growing debt burdens in key developing economies are fueling fears of a new crisis that could spread far beyond the disruption sweeping Turkey. The loss of investor confidence in the Turkish lira, which has […]

“Climate gentrification” is changing Miami real estate values – for better and worse

Rising Risks: Climate gentrification takes hold in Miami from CNBC. By Diana Olick and Erica Posse    29 August 2018 (CNBC) – A modern glass home sits on the edge of the water in Miami Beach. The ground-level master suite has a soaking tub that looks out to the ocean, and the bedroom’s glass doors allow […]

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