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Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello last month asked federal taxpayers to shell out $94 billion to pay for the territory’s recovery from Hurricane Maria — then turned around and paid out about $100 million in Christmas bonuses to government employees on the island. The governor’s aides say the bonuses were part of a long-standing tradition and were included in the budget approved over the summer. But that budget came well before Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, leaving much of the territory in ruin and the government begging for federal assistance. The island’s financial oversight board, created by...

Gov. Cuomo urged the feds to approve a new $94.4 billion aid package for Puerto Rico as he headed to the storm-ravaged island Saturday to survey the damage from the September hurricane and assess recovery efforts. “The federal government should not only be ashamed of itself for the way it has handled this crisis, but for treating Puerto Ricans as second-class citizens,” Cuomo said from a press conference at JFK Airport before boarding a plane to the island.

“This is a conservative estimate based on similar efforts that have been done in New York, New Jersey and of course in Texas most recently,” Rossello said at a press conference streamed online from the National Governors Association in Washington. “Now, I am however confident that we have turned a corner. That we are now flowing out of the life sustainment phase and we are starting the recovery phase, and the rebuilding phase,” Rossello said.

A volunteer who witnessed the visit by President Donald Trump to a hurricane relief center in Puerto Rico has written an article about the visit that accuses the media of lying about Trump and the moment he tossed paper towels to the assembled crowd. Video (posted below) by C-SPAN proves the volunteer right. Screen image shows hurricane victim enjoying rare moment of fun with the paper towel toss. Joel Enrique Salgado, Esq., in an article published Saturday at the Media Research Center’s Newsbusters site, said he was a volunteer at Calvary Chapel in Guaynabo when Trump visited the hurricane relief...

FEMA Administrator Brock Long today briefed reporters on the impact of Hurricane Michael as well as the response and recovery efforts. The administrator also took the opportunity to implore more Americans, especially those that live in areas susceptible to natural disasters...

In the exact spot where Hurricane Katrina demolished the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, a new $105 million jail now hovers 19 feet above the marsh, perched atop towering concrete pillars. Described by a state official as the “Taj Mahal” of Louisiana corrections, it has so much space that one of every 27 parish residents could bunk there. But on an average day in the first half of this year, more than 40 percent of its 872 beds went unoccupied, making it one of the emptiest jails in the state, records show. And because of its isolated, flood-prone location, the jail...

Prosecutors are asking a judge to slap disgraced former Brooklyn Assemblywoman Pamela Harris with more than three years in prison at her upcoming sentencing. Harris admitted earlier this year that she stole nearly $25,000 from FEMA in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, claiming the natural disaster had left her home in shambles. The ex-pol also admitted she’d told family members to lie to FBI agents during their investigation into whether or not she’d defrauded the government.

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President Donald Trump shakes hands with FEMA Administrator Brock Long as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen watches after visiting areas in North Carolina and South Carolina impacted by Hurricane Florence (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the federal disaster response agency used government vehicles without proper authorization, but will not lose his job over it, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Friday. Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator William “Brock” Long had been under investigation by the Homeland Security Department’s watchdog over possibly misusing government vehicles to travel to his home in Hickory, North Carolina. Word leaked of...

"And we stand with Puerto Rico, and we are helping them to rebuild stronger and better than ever before.” - President Donald J. Trump HISTORIC RECOVERY EFFORT: The Federal Government has helped lead a historic recovery effort in Puerto Rico in the year since Hurricane Maria hit. •FEMA has joined with Federal partners and the Government of Puerto Rico to undertake one of the largest post-disaster reconstruction efforts in United States history. •Never before has FEMA coordinated federal resources to rebuild an entire island of this size. •The Federal response to Hurricane Maria marked the largest and longest Federal response...

Sharing Ronda Rutherford posts & video "My experience this morning. I can't explain how I feel. But I tried. Video and pics below. She said,"Y'all can share if you want, don't have to ask."

IPAWS National Test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) The national WEA test has been postponed to the backup date of October 3, 2018 at 2:18 p.m. EDT.

On the Waffle House Index, if a "...store is open and offering a full menu, the index is green. If it is open but serving from a limited menu, it’s yellow. When the location has been forced to close, the index is red," per comments from Panos Kouvelis, Ph.D., the Emerson Distinguished Professor of Operations and Manufacturing Management and director of the Olin's Boeing Center for Technology, Information and Manufacturing, in a 2011 EHS Today article about the Waffle House Index. According to the tweet from Mike Seidel, a "Meteorologist/Field Reporter for The Weather Channel", per his Twitter bio, on...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will send a message to all U.S. cellphones on Thursday to test a previously unused alert system that aims to warn the public about national emergencies. The messages will bear the headline "Presidential Alert", the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said in a statement this week. Phones will make a loud tone and have a special vibration, said FEMA, which will send the alert. The test message, scheduled for 2:18 p.m. EDT on Thursday, will read: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." The test has...

Washington (CNN)You'll soon be getting a message on your phone from the President of the United States -- whether you are a supporter or not. It's not a political message, but an emergency test message sent from President Donald Trump as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's system to warn the public in cases of national emergencies. A majority of cell phone users will receive an alert on Thursday, September 20, with the header "Presidential Alert" and the message, "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." WEA was technically launched in...

President Donald Trump may soon be communicating with you directly on your phone — even if you don't follow him on Twitter. Next Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones. More than 100 mobile carriers, including all the major wireless firms, are participating in the roll out, FEMA stated in a message on its website posted Thursday. "The EAS [Emergency Alert System] is a national public warning system that provides the President with the communications capability to address the nation during...

FEMA said ambulances, medical helicopters, and other emergency response vehicles from across the country are being staged at the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport ahead of Hurricane Florence. More than 200 ambulances and 11 medical helicopters and the crews that man them are setting up on the airport’s runway, waiting to respond when Florence begins to take its toll on South Carolina. The emergency responders will be dispatched from the Spartanburg airport when needed.

Dem Senator Jeff Merkley from OR goes on Maddow show, says Trump diverted 10M dollars in emergency funds from FEMA to go TO ICE in order to build detention camps. Maddow claims Homeland Security "confirmed" this story. Problem: It's not true. Homeland Security was contacted and said its BS. FEMA contacted Merkley's office who told them, "It's a TV hit. You take it when you can". Short video.

The agency coined the term “Waffle House Index” during the 2004 hurricane season to measure the effect of a natural disaster on an area. If the eatery shutters or limits menu items during or after a hazard — they know the community took a major hit. The index has three color-coded levels: Green means everything is fine, at least in the Waffle House; yellow is when the restaurant serves a limited menu, meaning the area lost power or they’re running low on supplies; and red is if it’s closed, showing the area has been hit hard. “The Waffle House test...

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) on Tuesday night released documents appearing to show the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) diverted nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The documents, first reported by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, detail the agency’s funding redirections for fiscal 2018 and show that millions of dollars were diverted to ICE from several agencies. Those diverted funds, totaling $33.1 million, “will provide funding in support of higher priority detention and removal requirements than those for which originally appropriated,” according to the documents. According to MSNBC, Merkley believes the transfer from...