Alone- Part 1

Based on a prompt line; “Don’t leave me behind.”

Warnings; Fighting, Feelings of Worthlessness Words; 1,249 A/N; Honestly I’m not really sure where I’m going with this. If you want a part 2 though let me know!! Feedback is encouraged! :)

Pairings; Bucky x Reader, Steve x Reader

- It had been almost 3 years since Bucky became an avenger. And it had been almost 3 years since you developed the biggest crush ever. He had sauntered into the compound and looked at you with those piercing blue eyes and that was it. Ever since then you’d been inseparable. The bestest friends ever, but that was it, nothing more. The only other person who knew about your feelings was your best friend Nat. She’d been trying to encourage you to tell Bucky how you felt for years but you couldn’t, you were almost positive that he didn’t see you that way and didn’t want to ruin your friendship. You always told her “Something is better than nothing.” To which she’d dramatically roll her eyes. You were looking down at the book you were currently reading but couldn’t focus on the words. All you could hear was the high pitched giggling coming from the kitchen and every note pierced your heart. It was one of the many girls Bucky would bring over when he was ‘lonely’. He strolled over to you, coffee in hand. “Hey doll, whatcha readin’?” He asked as he sat down next to you and handed you the hot mug.   You smiled and grabbed the coffee from him. “Thanks Buck. It’s uh-” He grabbed the book from your lap before you could protest and read aloud. “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” He paused for a second, his cheeks going lightly pink and looked at you. Your eyes met and it seemed like his eyes glossed over before he let out a loud awkward chuckle. What the hell was that about? You thought. His eyes were still lingering on you as the blonde girl came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He jumped slightly and turned to look at her. “Honey we should let her read, come on let’s go back to bed.” She purred. He looked visibly uncomfortable as he stood up and followed her down the hall. As you stared into your mug urging your eyes not to water and trying to suppress the stabbing feeling in your chest, you missed when Bucky turned back to look at you, a hopeless longing in his eyes. * * * A few hours later you were in your workout gear pummeling a punching bag, imagining a certain blonde. Why couldn’t you be enough, why couldn’t he see you as more. What were you doing wrong. Why. Why. WHY. You felt hands touch your waist and turned just as fast sweeping their legs out from under them. There was a thud and an “Ow! (y/n)!” Steve was laying splayed out on his back looking vengeful. “Oh Steve! I’m sorry! Instinct.” You shrugged as you helped him up. “It’s okay it was my fault, shouldn’t have snuck up on ya like that.” He smirked. “So what’s got ya so angry?” He pointed at the still swaying punching bag. “Honestly I don’t even want to talk about it.” You sighed. “Wanna practice then? We do have a mission tomorrow.” He smirked again inching towards you. “Rogers, don’t even try.” You ran at him flipping over his shoulders and he turned slowly, not expecting it. Just then Bucky walked by the door of the training room, but you were too distracted by Steve to notice. He sauntered over to you and got right up in your face. Grinning he pushed a strand of hair out of your face. You were always very fond of Steve and had a flirty relationship but never took it any further. With one swift movement he took you down and was straddling your hips  inches away from your face. Bucky couldn’t watch any longer, a lump growing in his throat as he walked away feeling defeated. Just as he left you flipped Steve over and put him in a head lock. “I win!” You sang cheerfully. There was clapping from behind you and you both turned to see Nat walking in. “I want in on this!” The three of you spent the rest of the afternoon training together until you were all too tired and sweaty. * * * The next morning you met in the hanger fully dressed in your gear. This mission wasn’t going to be all of you. It was just a simple mission to retrieve information from a Hydra base. As you, Bucky, Steve and Nat got into the quinjet you tried to make eye contact with Bucky but he wouldn’t meet your gaze. “Alright, Nat and I will go in through the front and (y/n) and Bucky will go through the back.” Steve said over the comm. “You two will take out anyone in your way and get to the communications room, there should be computers. Back up the information to a USB and get out of there as fast as you can. Nat and I will check for prisoners and take out anyone else. Everyone understand?” We all nodded in unison. Thirty minutes later everyone was in position. You and Bucky made your way inside, working together to take out the four guards blocking the door. He still wouldn’t meet your gaze as you crept down the dark hallways. A man came from your left, you didn’t see him in time and there was a direct hit to your side, you crumpled to the ground as you heard Buckys metal arm hit the guy and he went down. Bucky helped you to your feet, your face only inches apart. “Watch yourself next time.” He said in a flat tone as he turned to walk down the hall. You reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him back. “What did I do that made you so upset?” You asked quietly. His cold eyes bored into yours. “Why don’t you ask your boyfriend.” You stood there shocked. “My-my what?” He pulled his hand out of your grasp. “This isn’t the time for this.” He said as he turned and walked down the hallway turning into a room a few doors down. Once you were in the room you told Steve and Nat over the comm that you had begun transferring the information. When the screen read 94% there was yelling outside of the room you and Bucky were standing in. He looked over at you and nodded. “Stay here, make sure it’s done.” With that he left the room. 95% Someone was thrown against the door. 96% There was a gun shot and a loud yell. 97% The door crashed in, Bucky and another man rolled into the room. 98% They both stood, the other man had noticed you. You reached for your gun. 99% There was a bang. Then a lot of pain, you looked down to see thick red blood coming from your stomach. You fell to the ground. 100% Bucky walked over to you, glanced down and took out the USB. You could see him saying something over the comm but couldn’t make it out. Your vision was starting to fade in and out. He started to walk out of the room. He was leaving? Why is he leaving? You thought urgently. Don’t. “Don’t leave me behind.” It came out as a whisper but he tensed and you could tell he had heard you. Your eyes locked on his and your vision went black. 

-

If you want to be tagged in any future writing, let me know xx

8-year-old boy dead after Hurricane Dorian batters Bahamas and crawls towards United States

https://embed-prod.vemba.io/vemba-embed.js

Hurricane Dorian — the strongest storm anywhere on the planet this year — is leaving “catastrophic damage” in its wake as it makes its way across the Bahamas, where it’s claimed at least one life.

The monster Category 5 storm made landfall on the eastern end of Grand Bahama Island Sunday night and will continue to pound the island for most of Monday as it creeps toward the southeastern US coast.

The death of an 8-year-old boy is being reported by Bahamas news outlets Eyewitness News and Bahamas Press.

The boy’s grandmother, Ingrid McIntosh, told Eyewitness News that her grandson died on Abaco island. She said her 31-year-old daughter found the body of her son, who she believed drowned in the rising waters. McIntosh said her granddaughter is also missing.

“I just saw my grandson about two days ago,” she said. “He told me he loved me. He was going back to Abaco, he turned around and said, ‘Grandma, I love you.’”

CNN has contacted Bahamian authorities, who have not yet confirmed these reports.

TRACK THE STORM

The storm had winds of 165 mph while it was 115 miles east of West Palm Beach early Monday. It is expected to begin trudging toward the mainland US later in the day, the National Hurricane Center said. The massive storm will get “dangerously close” to Florida’s east coast Monday night through Wednesday evening, the center said.

But the state has already begun to feel Dorian’s effects, CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said, and winds will continue to pick up throughout the day Monday as it inches closer.

It will be a slow arrival, as Dorian is trekking along at an average of 3 mph, about walking pace, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said.

The Bahamas are taking the brunt now

As it pummeled islands in the Bahamas, the hurricane left behind “catastrophic damage,” Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue said on Facebook. Damage was reported in Elbow Cay, Man-o-War and Marsh Harbour in the Abaco Islands, where buildings were destroyed and many were partially submerged, with water flooding all around them.

The Abaco Islands are a group of islands and barrier cays in the northern Bahamas, east of southern Florida. Dorian made landfall there as a Category 5 hurricane just after noon Sunday.

The northwestern Bahamas will be drenched in up to 24 inches of rain, with some areas expecting up to 30 inches of water, the hurricane center said.

As the storm spun over Grand Bahama Island, the hurricane center said “catastrophic storm surge flooding” was likely.

“This is a life-threatening situation,” the center said. “Residents on Grand Bahama Island should not leave their shelter when the eye passes over, as winds will rapidly increase on the other side of the eye. Residents in the Abacos should continue to stay in their shelter until conditions subside later today.”

Early Monday there was a hurricane warning in effect for Grand Bahama and the Abacos Islands in the northwestern Bahamas and also in Florida, from the Jupiter Inlet to the Brevard and Volusia county line.

Hurricane watches were in effect in Florida north of Deerfield Beach all the way to Jupiter Inlet as well as from the Brevard and Volusia county line to the mouth of the St. Mary’s River on the border with Georgia.

Will it make landfall in the US?

The terrifying storm may be making its way toward the East Coast, but it’s still unclear if Dorian will make landfall and where on the mainland US. The hurricane’s forecasted track shifted east Friday, making a Florida landfall less likely, but not impossible.

Models now show the storm skirting along Florida’s coast Tuesday and then next to Georgia late Tuesday and into Wednesday. But just because the center of the storm may not hit land doesn’t mean there won’t be damage. Early Monday, hurricane-force winds from the storm extended outward up to 45 miles.

“Hurricane conditions are expected within the hurricane warning area in Florida by late tonight or Tuesday,” the hurricane center said. “Hurricane conditions are possible in the hurricane watch area on Wednesday.”

It also said that “life-threatening storm surges and dangerous hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the Florida east coast through mid-week.”

Heavy rains and life-threatening floods are expected in parts of the southeast and lower mid-Atlantic US later this week. The storm will dump up to 6 inches of rain in Florida through Georgia.

A coastal flood advisory was issued early Monday for South Carolina and Georgia by the National Weather Service, which warned of a high rip current. And the hurricane center warned of an “increasing likelihood” of strong winds and dangerous storm surge along the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina later this week.

“The strongest damage is likely to be along the coastlines with beach erosion, flooding from both heavy rain and storm surge and there will be areas that are likely to experience disastrous storm surge which could lead to widespread damage to buildings along the coast,” Shackelford said.

Wilmington, North Carolina, resident Christina Dowe said she bought a new home in November after her home was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Florence.

“We’ve just been trying to get perishables, getting water, getting flashlights. Just trying to get the necessities, things that we need, so we can be better prepared than we were last year,” she told CNN’s Ana Cabrera.

She says she’s planning on buckling down and praying that “everything works out better than it did last year.”

Three coastal states prepare

Evacuation orders were in place for 13 Florida counties as of Monday morning, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The agency urged residents who were in areas not under mandatory evacuations to “plan for adequate supplies in case you lose power & water for several days.”

“To see a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane closing in our 3rd most populous state is wildly unnerving,” FEMA Strategic Planner Michael Lowry said on Twitter. “Dorian is already a disaster for so many tonight. Please, please heed the warnings of local officials in the hours ahead.”

More than 900 flights were canceled going in and out of Florida airports, according to data from Flightaware.com

The Orlando Melbourne International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport will suspend commercial flights and close terminals at noon Monday.

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp ordered mandatory evacuations Sunday night across six coastal counties east of Interstate 95. Possible downed trees, power lines, debris and flooding as well as roads and bridges possibly becoming impassable were reasons behind the evacuations, the order said.

The order will be in place through Monday night, the governor said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also ordered the evacuation of coastal South Carolina residents starting at noon on Monday.

Christy Hall, the secretary of South Carolina’s Department of Transportation, said the agency has more than 2,200 employees working on hurricane plans. She said department employees will be on land to assist with lane reversals and are currently working with Florida and Georgia patterns to monitor traffic flows in and through the state.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

‘My house sounds like the ocean,’ Bahamas resident says

This is the first time a Category 5 storm has hit the Bahamas since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Category 5 storms have winds exceeding 156 mph and cause a “high percentage of framed homes” to be destroyed with “total roof failure and wall collapse,” the hurricane center says.

“Fallen trees and power poles will isolate residential areas,” according to the center. “Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months. Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”

Dorian, at one point, had sustained winds of almost 185 mph, but the storm has slowed slightly as it moved over land.

Vickareio Adderely, a resident of Marsh Harbour, said his home was filled with water Sunday after Dorian pummeled the area. One of the rooms in his home was “gone,” he said and a hole in his roof kept “getting bigger.”

Adderely said his four family members were huddled on a single mattress in the only room in their home “that didn’t cave in.”

“There are three houses adjacent to mine that also lost their roof,” he said. As he sent messages during intermittent periods of internet connection, he said he was standing in water up to his knees and felt strong wings that were continuing to “wreck the remainder of our roof.”

“There is no way we could have prepared for this,” he said. “My house sounds like the ocean.”

Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Minnis, said the islands were “facing a hurricane that we have never seen before.”

“Please pray for us,” he said.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/09/02/8-year-old-boy-dead-after-hurricane-dorian-batters-bahamas-and-crawls-towards-united-states/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/09/02/8-year-old-boy-dead-after-hurricane-dorian-batters-bahamas-and-crawls-towards-united-states/

U.S. lawmakers ask Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

https://ryanguillory.com/u-s-lawmakers-ask-trump-to-get-to-work-on-puerto-rico/

U.S. lawmakers ask Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump on Sunday to stop sniping at Puerto Ricans and get to work helping them recover from a devastating hurricane, two days before he was to visit the island, where people remained without food, water or power.

The Republican president said his government was doing a “great job” to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and took a new swipe at critics who said he had been slow to aid the island, where the power grid was destroyed 12 days ago.

“We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,” he said in a Twitter post.

Trump faces difficult weeks, if not months, in the U.S. territory. His senior general leading military relief operations in Puerto Rico, Lieutenant General Jeff Buchanan, said they were clearing roads and getting more supplies to people, but recognized “it’s still a long haul.”

Trump has intensified his praise of the federal response after the mayor of San Juan made clear those efforts fell short and American media continued to broadcast images of the havoc and suffering on the island that belied his words.

At the same time, he criticized San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Saturday and said Puerto Ricans wanted “everything to be done for them.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS’ “Face the Nation” the relief effort so far has been “slow footed, disorganized and not adequate.”

“The president, instead of tweeting against the mayor of San Juan who’s watching her people die and just made a plea for help, ought to roll up his sleeves and get to work here,” he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential contender in 2016, said on CNN Trump’s attacks from his “fancy golf club” on the struggling mayor of a destroyed city were “unspeakable.”

“I don’t know what world Trump is living in,” he said.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, urged an end to the political fingerpointing.

“Every minute we spend in the political realm bickering with one another over who’s doing what, or who’s wrong, or who didn’t do right is a minute of energy and time that we’re not spending trying to get the response right,” Rubio told CBS.

Cruz said on Sunday she would be willing to meet Trump when he visits the island on Tuesday. “If he asks to meet with me, of course I will meet him.”

Trump launched his attack on San Juan’s mayor during a weekend stay at his golf resort in New Jersey, where he was attending the President’s Cup tournament on Sunday.

He dedicated the Cup trophy to victims of Maria and this summer’s previous major hurricanes Irma and Harvey, “all of those people that went through so much, that we love.”

Referring to Puerto Rico, Trump said “we have it under really great control.”

‘PRESIDENT TRUMP, ANYONE, HELP US’

Maria pummeled Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a very powerful Category 4 hurricane on the heels of Irma, with roof-ripping winds and torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and heavily damaged homes, roads and other infrastructure. About half of the island’s 3.4 million people do not have access to drinking water, and 95 percent remain without power, according to the Pentagon.

Impassable roads have made it hard for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to distribute food, water and fuel.

Carmen Miranda, 60, of Luquillo, is among those who has faced long lines for gasoline, medicine and supplies. She spent 13 hours one day trying to buy fuel at a station that ran dry and was in line on Saturday at a store that ran out of diesel.

“I‘m going to have to come back another day,” she said. “It’s just horrible, those lines. That needs to be resolved immediately. President Trump, anyone, help us!” she said.

At a briefing in San Juan, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reported that fuel and food supplies had begun to arrive in Puerto Rico. “We still need to do much more,” he said.

The Trump administration has been on the defensive since Friday when Cruz pounded the acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke over her comment that the federal response in Puerto Rico was “a good news story.”

Trump accused the mayor of acting on behalf of Democrats. On Sunday, his representatives fanned out over the morning television news shows to chastise the tenacious Cruz.

FEMA director Brock Long admonished her for not being in closer contact with relief coordinators. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin both said on Sunday that Cruz’s criticism was unfair.

Cruz, who has been living in a shelter since her house was destroyed by Maria, pressed on with her appeal for basic necessities as insurers and politicians began to tally the costs of the storm and the size of the aid package Puerto Rico will need.

“Let us not talk about the debt, let us not talk about the cost of reconstruction. Let us just talk about saving lives right now,” Cruz said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” program.

Trump has alluded to the island’s financial problems several times since Maria hit.

Puerto Rico filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. municipal history this year and had been struggling to regain economic stability in the face of a $72 billion debt load and near-insolvent public health and pension systems, even before the hurricanes hit.

The insurance industry has begun to tally the damage from Maria, with one modeling company estimating that claims could reach $85 billion.

Trump was accused last weekend of giving short shrift to Puerto Rico’s recovery while focusing on the National Football League players who knelt during the playing of the national anthem at games.

This weekend, his critics derided his golfing once again.

The creator of Broadway hit “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico, took Trump to task on Twitter over his attack on Cruz: “She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You’re going straight to hell.”

Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Julia Harte, Jim Oliphant, David Shepardson, Nick Brown and Hugh Bronstein; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Mary Milliken; Editing by Sandra Maler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

U.S. lawmakers ask Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

https://ryanguillory.com/u-s-lawmakers-ask-trump-to-get-to-work-on-puerto-rico/

U.S. lawmakers ask Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump on Sunday to stop sniping at Puerto Ricans and get to work helping them recover from a devastating hurricane, two days before he was to visit the island, where people remained without food, water or power.

The Republican president said his government was doing a “great job” to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and took a new swipe at critics who said he had been slow to aid the island, where the power grid was destroyed 12 days ago.

“We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,” he said in a Twitter post.

Trump faces difficult weeks, if not months, in the U.S. territory. His senior general leading military relief operations in Puerto Rico, Lieutenant General Jeff Buchanan, said they were clearing roads and getting more supplies to people, but recognized “it’s still a long haul.”

Trump has intensified his praise of the federal response after the mayor of San Juan made clear those efforts fell short and American media continued to broadcast images of the havoc and suffering on the island that belied his words.

At the same time, he criticized San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Saturday and said Puerto Ricans wanted “everything to be done for them.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS’ “Face the Nation” the relief effort so far has been “slow footed, disorganized and not adequate.”

“The president, instead of tweeting against the mayor of San Juan who’s watching her people die and just made a plea for help, ought to roll up his sleeves and get to work here,” he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential contender in 2016, said on CNN Trump’s attacks from his “fancy golf club” on the struggling mayor of a destroyed city were “unspeakable.”

“I don’t know what world Trump is living in,” he said.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, urged an end to the political fingerpointing.

“Every minute we spend in the political realm bickering with one another over who’s doing what, or who’s wrong, or who didn’t do right is a minute of energy and time that we’re not spending trying to get the response right,” Rubio told CBS.

Cruz said on Sunday she would be willing to meet Trump when he visits the island on Tuesday. “If he asks to meet with me, of course I will meet him.”

Trump launched his attack on San Juan’s mayor during a weekend stay at his golf resort in New Jersey, where he was attending the President’s Cup tournament on Sunday.

He dedicated the Cup trophy to victims of Maria and this summer’s previous major hurricanes Irma and Harvey, “all of those people that went through so much, that we love.”

Referring to Puerto Rico, Trump said “we have it under really great control.”

‘PRESIDENT TRUMP, ANYONE, HELP US’

Maria pummeled Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a very powerful Category 4 hurricane on the heels of Irma, with roof-ripping winds and torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and heavily damaged homes, roads and other infrastructure. About half of the island’s 3.4 million people do not have access to drinking water, and 95 percent remain without power, according to the Pentagon.

Impassable roads have made it hard for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to distribute food, water and fuel.

Carmen Miranda, 60, of Luquillo, is among those who has faced long lines for gasoline, medicine and supplies. She spent 13 hours one day trying to buy fuel at a station that ran dry and was in line on Saturday at a store that ran out of diesel.

“I‘m going to have to come back another day,” she said. “It’s just horrible, those lines. That needs to be resolved immediately. President Trump, anyone, help us!” she said.

At a briefing in San Juan, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reported that fuel and food supplies had begun to arrive in Puerto Rico. “We still need to do much more,” he said.

The Trump administration has been on the defensive since Friday when Cruz pounded the acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke over her comment that the federal response in Puerto Rico was “a good news story.”

Trump accused the mayor of acting on behalf of Democrats. On Sunday, his representatives fanned out over the morning television news shows to chastise the tenacious Cruz.

FEMA director Brock Long admonished her for not being in closer contact with relief coordinators. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin both said on Sunday that Cruz’s criticism was unfair.

Cruz, who has been living in a shelter since her house was destroyed by Maria, pressed on with her appeal for basic necessities as insurers and politicians began to tally the costs of the storm and the size of the aid package Puerto Rico will need.

“Let us not talk about the debt, let us not talk about the cost of reconstruction. Let us just talk about saving lives right now,” Cruz said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” program.

Trump has alluded to the island’s financial problems several times since Maria hit.

Puerto Rico filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. municipal history this year and had been struggling to regain economic stability in the face of a $72 billion debt load and near-insolvent public health and pension systems, even before the hurricanes hit.

The insurance industry has begun to tally the damage from Maria, with one modeling company estimating that claims could reach $85 billion.

Trump was accused last weekend of giving short shrift to Puerto Rico’s recovery while focusing on the National Football League players who knelt during the playing of the national anthem at games.

This weekend, his critics derided his golfing once again.

The creator of Broadway hit “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico, took Trump to task on Twitter over his attack on Cruz: “She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You’re going straight to hell.”

Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Julia Harte, Jim Oliphant, David Shepardson, Nick Brown and Hugh Bronstein; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Mary Milliken; Editing by Sandra Maler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

http://ryanguillory.com/u-s-lawmakers-urge-trump-to-get-to-work-on-puerto-rico/

U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump on Sunday to stop sniping at Puerto Ricans and get to work helping them recover from a devastating hurricane, two days before he was to visit the island, where people remained without food, water or power.

The Republican president said his government was doing a “great job” to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and took a new swipe at critics who said he had been slow to aid the island, where the power grid was destroyed 12 days ago.

“We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,” he said in a Twitter post.

Trump has intensified his praise of the federal response in the U.S. territory after the mayor of the capital made clear those efforts fell short and American media continued to broadcast images of the havoc and suffering on the island that belied his words.

At the same time, he criticized San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Saturday and said Puerto Ricans wanted “everything to be done for them.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS’ “Face the Nation” the relief effort so far has been “slow footed, disorganized and not adequate.”

“The president, instead of tweeting against the mayor of San Juan who’s watching her people die and just made a plea for help, ought to roll up his sleeves and get to work here,” he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential contender in 2016, said on CNN Trump’s attacks from his “fancy golf club” on the struggling mayor of a destroyed city were “unspeakable.”

“I don’t know what world Trump is living in,” he said.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, urged an end to the political fingerpointing.

“Every minute we spend in the political realm bickering with one another over who’s doing what, or who’s wrong, or who didn’t do right is a minute of energy and time that we’re not spending trying to get the response right,” Rubio told CBS.

Cruz said on Sunday she would be willing to meet Trump when he visits the island on Tuesday. “If he asks to meet with me, of course I will meet him.”

‘PRESIDENT TRUMP, ANYONE, HELP US’

Maria pummeled Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a very powerful Category 4 hurricane on the heels of Hurricane Irma, with roof-ripping winds and torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and heavily damaged homes, roads and other infrastructure. About half of the island’s 3.4 million people do not have access to drinking water, and 95 percent remain without power, according to the Pentagon.

Impassable roads have made it hard for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to distribute food, water and fuel.

Carmen Miranda, 60, of Luquillo, is among those who has faced long lines for gasoline, medicine and supplies. She spent 13 hours one day trying to buy fuel at a station that ran dry and was in line on Saturday at a store that ran out of diesel.

“I‘m going to have to come back another day,” she said. “It’s just horrible, those lines. That needs to be resolved immediately. President Trump, anyone, help us!” she said.

At a briefing in San Juan, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reported that fuel and food supplies had begun to arrive in Puerto Rico. “We still need to do much more,” he said.

The Trump administration has been on the defensive since Friday when Cruz pounded the acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke over her comment that the federal response in Puerto Rico was “a good news story.”

Trump accused the mayor of acting on behalf of Democrats. On Sunday, his representatives fanned out over the morning television news shows to chastise the tenacious Cruz.

FEMA director Brock Long admonished her for not being in closer contact with relief coordinators. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin both said on Sunday that Cruz’s criticism was unfair.

Cruz, who has been living in a shelter since her house was destroyed by Maria, pressed on with her appeal for basic necessities as insurers and politicians began to tally the costs of the storm and the size of the aid package Puerto Rico will need.

“Let us not talk about the debt, let us not talk about the cost of reconstruction. Let us just talk about saving lives right now,” Cruz said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” program.

Trump has alluded to the island’s financial problems several times since Maria hit.

Puerto Rico filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. municipal history this year and had been struggling to regain economic stability in the face of a $72 billion debt load and near-insolvent public health and pension systems, even before the hurricanes hit.

The insurance industry has begun to tally the damage from Maria, with one modeling company estimating that claims could reach $85 billion.

Trump was accused last weekend of giving short shrift to Puerto Rico’s recovery while focusing on the National Football League players who knelt during the playing of the national anthem at games.

He issued his latest attack on San Juan’s mayor from his golf resort in New Jersey, where Trump was attending the President’s Cup tournament on Sunday.

The creator of Broadway hit “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico, took Trump to task on Twitter over his attack on Cruz: “She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You’re going straight to hell.”

Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Julia Harte; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

http://ryanguillory.com/u-s-lawmakers-urge-trump-to-get-to-work-on-puerto-rico/

U.S. lawmakers urge Trump to 'get to work' on Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump on Sunday to stop sniping at Puerto Ricans and get to work helping them recover from a devastating hurricane, two days before he was to visit the island, where people remained without food, water or power.

The Republican president said his government was doing a “great job” to help Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and took a new swipe at critics who said he had been slow to aid the island, where the power grid was destroyed 12 days ago.

“We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,” he said in a Twitter post.

Trump has intensified his praise of the federal response in the U.S. territory after the mayor of the capital made clear those efforts fell short and American media continued to broadcast images of the havoc and suffering on the island that belied his words.

At the same time, he criticized San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Saturday and said Puerto Ricans wanted “everything to be done for them.”

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS’ “Face the Nation” the relief effort so far has been “slow footed, disorganized and not adequate.”

“The president, instead of tweeting against the mayor of San Juan who’s watching her people die and just made a plea for help, ought to roll up his sleeves and get to work here,” he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential contender in 2016, said on CNN Trump’s attacks from his “fancy golf club” on the struggling mayor of a destroyed city were “unspeakable.”

“I don’t know what world Trump is living in,” he said.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, urged an end to the political fingerpointing.

“Every minute we spend in the political realm bickering with one another over who’s doing what, or who’s wrong, or who didn’t do right is a minute of energy and time that we’re not spending trying to get the response right,” Rubio told CBS.

Cruz said on Sunday she would be willing to meet Trump when he visits the island on Tuesday. “If he asks to meet with me, of course I will meet him.”

‘PRESIDENT TRUMP, ANYONE, HELP US’

Maria pummeled Puerto Rico on Sept. 20 as a very powerful Category 4 hurricane on the heels of Hurricane Irma, with roof-ripping winds and torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and heavily damaged homes, roads and other infrastructure. About half of the island’s 3.4 million people do not have access to drinking water, and 95 percent remain without power, according to the Pentagon.

Impassable roads have made it hard for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others to distribute food, water and fuel.

Carmen Miranda, 60, of Luquillo, is among those who has faced long lines for gasoline, medicine and supplies. She spent 13 hours one day trying to buy fuel at a station that ran dry and was in line on Saturday at a store that ran out of diesel.

“I‘m going to have to come back another day,” she said. “It’s just horrible, those lines. That needs to be resolved immediately. President Trump, anyone, help us!” she said.

At a briefing in San Juan, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reported that fuel and food supplies had begun to arrive in Puerto Rico. “We still need to do much more,” he said.

The Trump administration has been on the defensive since Friday when Cruz pounded the acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke over her comment that the federal response in Puerto Rico was “a good news story.”

Trump accused the mayor of acting on behalf of Democrats. On Sunday, his representatives fanned out over the morning television news shows to chastise the tenacious Cruz.

FEMA director Brock Long admonished her for not being in closer contact with relief coordinators. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin both said on Sunday that Cruz’s criticism was unfair.

Cruz, who has been living in a shelter since her house was destroyed by Maria, pressed on with her appeal for basic necessities as insurers and politicians began to tally the costs of the storm and the size of the aid package Puerto Rico will need.

“Let us not talk about the debt, let us not talk about the cost of reconstruction. Let us just talk about saving lives right now,” Cruz said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” program.

Trump has alluded to the island’s financial problems several times since Maria hit.

Puerto Rico filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. municipal history this year and had been struggling to regain economic stability in the face of a $72 billion debt load and near-insolvent public health and pension systems, even before the hurricanes hit.

The insurance industry has begun to tally the damage from Maria, with one modeling company estimating that claims could reach $85 billion.

Trump was accused last weekend of giving short shrift to Puerto Rico’s recovery while focusing on the National Football League players who knelt during the playing of the national anthem at games.

He issued his latest attack on San Juan’s mayor from his golf resort in New Jersey, where Trump was attending the President’s Cup tournament on Sunday.

The creator of Broadway hit “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico, took Trump to task on Twitter over his attack on Cruz: “She has been working 24/7. You have been GOLFING. You’re going straight to hell.”

Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Julia Harte; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Hurricane Irma pummels Cuba’s northern coast

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Hurricane Irma‘s fierce winds ripped into the northern coast of Cuba Friday night as massive storm edged closer to landfall as a Category 5 storm in the Florida Keys.

Irma, which has sustained winds of 155 mph, has left a trail of devastation and death in much of the Caribbean as it advanced toward South Florida.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center say the storm’s wind speeds will increase after Irma passes Cuba then slips into the extremely warm waters near the Keys.

Irma is expected to have sustained winds of 160 mph and once again be a Category 5 hurricane by the time it makes US landfall on Sunday.

“Nowhere in the Florida Keys will be safe,” the National Weather Service tweeted.

There were worries the storm’s most powerful winds, on the northeastern side of the core, could pummel Miami, but it appears the city will avoid a direct hit, while still getting pounded by strong winds, storm surge and heavy rains.

At least 24 people were killed this week when Irma pummeled northern Caribbean islands such as Barbuda and the Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, hundreds of thousands of people — nearly 70% of the US territory’s utility customers — were left without power, the governor’s office said.

Irma slammed the Turks and Caicos and southeastern Bahamas early Friday before it was off to pound northern Cuba and the central Bahamas.

Hurricane Irma: Live updates

Irma is expected be near the Florida Keys and South Florida by early Sunday, and many residents there have moved inland or to shelters. Many counties are under evacuation orders.

“If you have been ordered to evacuate, leave now. Not tonight, not in an hour, now,” Gov. Rick Scott said Friday in a 7 p.m. news conference. Staying in homes could subject residents to storm surge as high as 12 feet, the governor added.

Forecasters have advised that the storm’s potential path could change and residents should realize that most of Florida will feel the storm’s impact.

At its peak, a then-Category 5 Irma sustained maximum wind speeds of at least 185 mph for longer (37 hours) than any storm on record. The Red Cross estimates 1.2 million people have already been battered by the storm.

Tracking Hurricane Irma’s path

Here are the latest developments

— Around 8 p.m. ET, Irma’s center was about 150 miles east of Caibarien, Cuba, moving west with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. Hurricane-force winds could be felt as far as 70 miles from the center.

A day-by-day look at Hurricane Irma’s path ahead

— Conditions on the northern coast of Cuba deteriorated rapidly Friday evening, CNN’s Patrick Oppmann reported from Caibarien. As rain flew sideways, visibility plummeted and it was impossible to travel. Oppmann reported many Cubans evacuated but some were staying in their homes, protecting their belongings. Then an hour later, there was a break between the bands of rain and the trees stopped swaying.

The anatomy of a hurricane

— Irma led to at least 24 deaths in the Caribbean, including nine in unspecified French territories, one on Barbuda, one at the British overseas territory of Anguilla, two in Dutch-administered St. Maarten, four in the British Virgin Islands, four on the US Virgin Islands, and three in Puerto Rico. Officials didn’t specify which French Caribbean territories had nine deaths but earlier indicated some had been on the island of St. Martin.

— The three deaths in Puerto Rico were at least loosely linked to Irma. One person died from a fall while being taken to a shelter; another was killed in a car crash; a third died of electrocution, the governor said.

— In the British Virgin Islands, “roads are impassable, and there is currently no access to some areas,” Gov. Gus Jaspert said.

— Hurricane warnings are in effect for parts of central Cuba, and the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas. Hurricane warnings also are in effect from Sebastian Inlet on the east coast, southward around the Florida Peninsula to Anna Maria Island on the panhandle. The warning includes the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay.

— The Red Cross said as many as 26 million people could be exposed to destructive winds and torrential rain just in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba.

Hurricane Irma victims need your help

— Irma could overwhelm parts of the Bahamas, a nation of about 390,000, with storm surges of up to 20 feet — well above the islands’ elevation, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said.

Florida and the Southeast prepare for Irma

The National Hurricane Center has warned Irma could “landfall in Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and will bring life-threatening wind impacts to much of the state regardless of the exact track of the center.”

There could be storm surges up to 12 feet in coastal areas, which could “inundate so many low-level houses, especially on the Keys,” Myers said.

US and European forecast models predict the eye could strike the Keys and then the Everglades, west of Miami, on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

“It’s not a question of whether Florida is going to be impacted — it’s a question of how bad Florida is going to be impacted,” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said Friday, urging people to heed evacuation orders.

‘Ahead of the game’: Florida seniors, nursing homes prep for Hurricane Irma

Though the core has the most power, Irma is huge; winds of at least tropical-storm force cover 70,000 square miles — larger than the area of Florida (65,000 square miles). At some point this weekend, the entire state could see at least hurricane-force gusts of 74 mph and above, CNN’s Myers said.

In Miami-Dade County alone, about 660,000 of its 2.6 million population have been asked to evacuate, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

Farther north, on Daytona Beach, Michael Hanna was itching to leave Friday morning but first had to board up his beach apparel store.

“I stayed a little longer than anybody else so I can cover up my business,” he said. “My kids are panicking; my wife, she’s panicking. … (Saturday) by 6 a.m., 7 a.m., we’re going to be on the road, heading to Georgia.”

Disney, other Florida theme parks closing as Irma nears

Irma could cause power outages for weeks in parts of South Florida, and more than 4.1 million customers — or 9 million people — could be affected by outages at some point, Florida Power and Light Co. said. “Our crews will likely have to rebuild parts of the system,” the utility said.

Evacuees stocked up on supplies, waited for hours at gas stations and sat through massive traffic jams.

People also flocked to South Florida airports, but schedules were in flux. More than half of Friday’s flights were canceled at Miami International Airport, and “most of the airlines will suspend flights after (Friday) through Monday, depending on the condition of the airport,” spokesman Greg Chin said.

Florida is not the only state preparing for possible impact. Long, the FEMA administrator, said people from Alabama to North Carolina should watch the storm.

Georgia’s Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 30 counties and has ordered evacuations for coastal areas east of Interstate 95, including Savannah, starting Saturday. The governors of North and South Carolina also declared states of emergency.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate closes ahead of Hurricane Irma

Devastation to islands

Irma brought heavy rain and powerful winds Thursday night and Friday morning to the low-lying Turks and Caicos Islands.

Residents of the islands, a British overseas territory with about 35,000 people, were told to stay put.

Desmond Piccolo Henry took shelter in his concrete home with his wife and a friend on one of the islands, Providenciales, as the storm rocked the area early Friday.

“It’s a concrete house, but trust me, it was shaking. My friend was saying, ‘Oh my God, I think God is coming, why are we going through this?’ ”

Henry’s home survived with just a few shingles lost, but people have told him that roofs were torn off nearby and debris crushed some cars. Video he posted to Facebook showed downed tree limbs and other destruction.

The capital island of Grand Turk suffered “quite a bit of damage” Thursday night, including to part of a hospital’s roof, Gov. John Freeman told CNN.

After Irma, Hurricane Jose looms

The Caribbean islands already pummeled by Irma have begun assessing the damage, finding shredded buildings, battered cars and streets submerged in water.

Barbuda, one of two major islands in the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is barely habitable, with about 95% of its buildings damaged, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said.

Browne estimated the damage will cost $100 million to fix on the island of 1,800 residents.

“It looks like (a) garbage disposal,” Marlon Carr, a photographer who toured the island with Browne, told CNN on Thursday. “There was rubble and roof galvanized all over the island. It looked like some of the houses … were imploded on.”

Irma’s eye passed directly over Barbuda on Wednesday, and now the northeastern Caribbean nation is anxiously watching Hurricane Jose to the east, which has strengthened to a Category 4 storm.

Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin and St. Barts are under a hurricane warning for Jose, which could pass close to those islands Saturday. The government called for voluntary evacuations from Barbuda, Browne said.

Irma also badly hit St. Martin with about 50 people reported injured.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the looting situation in St. Maarten, the Dutch portion of the island, as serious, a spokesman for his office said Friday.

The government said emergency flights delivering water and other supplies to the island will be used to take residents and visitors off it.

“Our worst fears have played out in Barbuda and elsewhere,” said Walter Cotte, regional director for the Americas for the Red Cross. “We can’t yet assess the full extent of damage, but we expect that the Red Cross will be delivering extensive support to many thousands over the coming weeks and months.”

Hurricane season hasn’t peaked yet. Here’s what to expect

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports http://fox4kc.com/2017/09/08/hurricane-irma-pummels-cubas-northern-coast/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2017/09/09/hurricane-irma-pummels-cubas-northern-coast/