disaster relief

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North Carolina's Hurricane Numbers Are 'Jaw-Dropping'

Gov. Roy Cooper estimates $53B

(Newser) - The catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina likely caused at least a record $53 billion in damages and recovery needs, Gov. Roy Cooper's administration said Wednesday. The state budget office generated the preliminary figure for direct or indirect damages and potential investments to...

SBA Out of Cash for Hurricane Victims, for Now

Congress would need to greenlight additional funding, though lawmakers are now out of town

(Newser) - The Small Business Administration has run out of money for the disaster assistance loans it offers small businesses, homeowners, and renters, delaying much-needed relief for people applying for aid in the wake of the destruction caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton. The SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to businesses...

Dolly Parton to Helene Victims: 'I Am Part of You'

Country star, 78, donates $1M toward relief efforts in wake of deadly hurricane

(Newser) - As regions hit hard by Hurricane Helene continue to deal with the aftermath, a big name from Appalachia has stepped up to help. On Friday, country star Dolly Parton announced she'll be donating $1 million out of her own pocket toward relief efforts, via the nonprofit Mountain Ways, reports...

FEMA's Budget Can't Weather Another Hurricane

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said 'we do not have the funds'

(Newser) - Hurricane season doesn't wrap up until Nov. 30, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget may not make it until then. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday that the agency is "meeting the immediate needs" after Hurricane Helene with the funds it currently has. But "...

Biden: Israel Will Allow Humanitarian Relief to Gaza

But only through the border with Egypt, and with inspections

(Newser) - President Biden said Wednesday that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt with the understanding it would be subject to inspections, and that such aid should go to civilians and not Hamas militants. In remarks from Tel Aviv, where the president had gone...

Divided Libyans Seek Unity in Flood's Wake

Disaster's pain has been felt around the country, one man says

(Newser) - Zahra el-Gerbi wasn't expecting much of a response to her online fundraiser, but she felt she had to do something after four of her relatives died in the flooding that decimated the eastern Libyan city of Derna. She put out a call for donations for those displaced by the...

Biden Seeks $40B in Emergency Spending

Proposal will run up against government shutdown threat

(Newser) - President Biden sent a funding request to Congress on Thursday for emergency spending totaling about $40 billion. The proposal includes $24 billion for aid to Ukraine and other international causes, $12 billion to restock federal disaster relief funds, and $4 billion for needs at the border with Mexico, Politico reports....

Man Blew $60K in COVID Funds on a Pokemon Card

Vinath Oudomsine was stripped of 'Charizard' on his way to prison

(Newser) - A 31-year-old Georgia man will spend three years in prison after using $57,789 of his $85,000 COVID-19 disaster relief loan to buy a Pokemon card. Vinath Oudomsine, 31, of Dublin applied to the Small Business Administration for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan around July 2020, claiming he operated...

Haiti Crews 'Can Hear People Screaming' in the Rubble

Death toll reaches 304 from magnitude 7.2 earthquake

(Newser) - Crews in Haiti were trying Saturday to reach people trapped in the rubble after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in the morning, killing at least 304 people. At least 1,800 are injured, the government said. As rescuers worked, at least six aftershocks shook the region, one of which...

Abbott Calls Biden's Move 'Partial Approval'

Disaster declaration could be added for other counties later, White House says

(Newser) - President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Texas on Saturday, an action that will send federal money to 77 of the state's 254 counties. Gov. Greg Abbott welcomed the announcement but pointed out that he'd requested the declaration for all Texas counties. "While this partial approval...

No Disaster Aid, Administration Tells California
Trump Reverses on Aid
After Call With Governor
UPDATED
Oct 16, 2020 4:45 PM CDT

Trump Reverses on Aid After Call With Governor

State requests for disaster relief are seldom turned down

(Newser) - President Trump has reversed course and approved a previously rejected California application for disaster relief funds to clean up damage from six recent wildfires. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Friday that he had talked to Trump on the phone and that the president approved the major disaster declaration,...

As Puerto Rico Again Suffers, an Outrageous Find

A warehouse full of disaster relief supplies from 2017 discovered in island's south

(Newser) - People in a southern Puerto Rico city discovered a warehouse filled with water, cots, and other unused emergency supplies, then set off a social media uproar Saturday when they broke in to retrieve goods as the area struggles to recover from a strong earthquake. With anger spreading in the US...

Trump Officials Divert FEMA Funds to Border

Disaster relief cash pulled to pay for courtrooms

(Newser) - The Trump administration is shifting money from disaster relief to immigration enforcement—even with Tropical Storm Dorian threatening a direct hit on Puerto Rico. Officials confirmed Tuesday that $271 million in Homeland Security funding is being diverted to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pay for detention beds and temporary courtrooms,...

Congress Finally Approves $19B Disaster Aid Bill

Trump deletes tweet after calling for Senate to approve bill it passed 2 weeks ago

(Newser) - A long-delayed $19.1 billion disaster aid bill sailed through the House on Monday and headed to President Trump for his expected signature, overcoming months of infighting, misjudgment, and a feud between Trump and congressional Democrats. Lawmakers gave the measure final congressional approval by 354-58 in the House's first...

A Republican Again Prevents House From Passing Disaster Aid

John Rose calls spending 'irresponsible'

(Newser) - A House Republican lawmaker on Thursday prevented the House from sending a multibillion-dollar disaster relief bill to President Trump. This time, it was John Rose of Tennessee who objected when the package came up for unanimous consent—the only way legislation can pass when the House is on recess, CNN...

Again, One Lawmaker Blocks Disaster Aid Passage

Kentucky Republican stalls $19B package

(Newser) - For the second time in less than a week, a House Republican has prevented a $19.1 billion federal disaster aid package from passing Congress. That makes it more likely that the measure won't be approved until the House returns from recess next Monday, the Hill reports. When the...

Lawmaker Single-Handedly Blocks Disaster Relief Bill
Lawmaker Single-Handedly
Blocks Disaster Relief Bill
the rundown
May 24, 2019 1:05 PM CDT

Lawmaker Single-Handedly Blocks Disaster Relief Bill

Conservative Rep. Chip Roy of Texas objects and scuttles $19B in aid, temporarily

(Newser) - Chip Roy is a freshman congressman from Texas who just blipped onto the national political radar with a controversial move. The conservative Republican single-handedly blocked approval of a $19.1 billion relief bill Friday for regions around the US recovering from hurricanes and other disasters. The details of what happened,...

Puerto Rico Donations Found Rotting in Trailers

National Guard, elections office swap quotes in the media

(Newser) - Several trailers' worth of donated water, food, and other supplies designated for victims of Hurricane Maria have been found rotting in a Puerto Rico parking lot, the New York Times reports. A local radio station posted a video of at least 10 rat-infested trailers outside a state elections office Friday...

They're FEMA's Elite Rescuers, Yet Some Do Little Rescuing

Bureaucracy, too much gear, and other inefficiencies are marring response efforts

(Newser) - They're called the "national Swiss Army knife of emergency response," teams of highly trained first responders sent by FEMA across the US when disaster strikes. But when hurricanes pummeled Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico last summer, many of the thousands deployed via the agency's National Urban...

Trump Talks Pulling FEMA Amid Struggle to Help Puerto Rico

Chuck Schumer says FEMA's work is 'not even close to done'

(Newser) - President Trump is warning that hurricane relief for Puerto Rico has an end date even as federal officials acknowledge a massive food shortage on the island three weeks after Hurricane Maria. "We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult...

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