https://democracynow.org – Six weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, millions of residents are still living without safe drinking water and electricity. Health experts say the storm’s massive damage to Puerto Rico’s water system is threatening to cause a public health crisis, as more and more people are exposed to contaminated water. Over the weekend,…
“The $36.5-billion disaster aid package approved by Congress is the second allotment of emergency funds after a succession of deadly hurricanes battered Texas, Florida and other Southern states. It is the first allotment for Puerto Rico.”
President Donald Trump said his administration deserves a “10 out of 10” for its response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico. But over 1 million people on the island still lack clean drinking water, and residents say they are suffering from eye infections and gastrointestinal diseases as a result of exposure to contaminated…
Both federal and local authorities have faced criticism for the speed of Puerto Rico recovery efforts. A month after Hurricane Maria, some 80 percent of the island remains without electricity. Hari Sreenivasan speaks with José Sánchez, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to discuss the problems with the devastated power grid. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
One month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, a major new investigation examines the looming question of what will happen to the island’s $74 billion debt as it faces an estimated $95 billion in storm-related damage. We speak with reporters at the Center for Investigative Journalism and In These Times who spent five months digging…
As President Trump threatens to withdraw federal relief workers from Puerto Rico, home to 3.5 million U.S. citizens, residents of the island and their supporters respond with outrage and disbelief. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz called Trump the “hater-in-chief.” We get response from Congressmember Luis Gutiérrez.
The federal response in Puerto Rico continues to draw criticism from locals, their dissatisfaction amplified by President Trump’s visit to the island on Tuesday. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz talks with special correspondent Monica Villamizar about the president’s visit and the disconnect she sees between the White House and the reality in Puerto Rico.
My father is from Puerto Rico and my mother is from the Dominican Republic. I’ve been watching anxiously as news has been filtering out from Puerto Rico. My ex-wife, Juanita Garcia, returned to the island recently to take care of her mother. She is now knee deep in the crisis. The good news is she…
Following a series of defaults on payments toward billions of dollars worth of debt, Congress last year passed a law giving a federal financial board oversight on Puerto Rico’s budget. The board has made severe cuts — closing 179 schools and taking away pensions — amid an already-dire economic crisis. And now, Puerto Ricans are…