Tag Archives: Hurricane Harvey

Talking Points Memo reports: The White House on Wednesday listed 12 organizations to which President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump had pledged to donate a total of $1 million as part of their Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. Two organizations, Red Cross and Salvation Army, together received a majority of the sum, at $300,000 each. Reach Out America and …

The Associated Press reports: The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed $7.9 billion in Hurricane Harvey disaster relief as warring Republicans and Democrats united behind help for victims of that storm as an ever more powerful new hurricane bore down on Florida. The 419-3 vote sent the aid package — likely the first of several — to the Senate in hopes …

The Associated Press reports: Beyonce, Blake Shelton, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey will headline a one-hour benefit telethon to benefit Hurricane Harvey victims that will be simulcast next week on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CMT. The event will be telecast live at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 12, and on tape delay at 8 p.m. on the West Coast. …

Via Mediaite: Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will hold a briefing today to discuss the White House’s latest plans and administrative agenda. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EST. Much of the discussion is likely to revolve around how Hurricane Harvey relief efforts will transition from rescue to recovery. Sanders says the president will personally donate $1 …

Canada’s CBC News reports: Quebec is offering to help Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and is at the ready for when officials there say they need it, says Minister of International Relations Christine St-Pierre. St-Pierre says she spoke with Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos Tuesday early afternoon, offering to send equipment and crews to help restore power …

The Hill reports: President Trump plans to donate $1 million to victims of the historic floods and rains that have devastated the Gulf region, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday. Trump has not finalized what group the money will go to, and the White House said it would solicit ideas from the press corps, taking a dig …

Mediaite reports: After Donald Trump claimed he witnessed the “horror and devastation” of Harvey “first hand” in Texas, a photo was posted to his Instagram account that shows the president staring at a screen with a map — an exact opposite of what one would describe as “first hand.” As the internet is known to do, Twitter roasted the president …

The Washington Examiner reports: Kellyanne Conway didn’t take kindly to Chris Cuomo insistence on talking about climate change during an interview about Hurricane Harvey disaster relief on Wednesday night, prompting her to say the CNN host was playing “amateur climatologist.” Conway, who is counselor to President Trump, pushed back on Cuomo’s question, saying the focus should remain on helping “the …

NBC News reports: A flooded chemical plant near Houston exploded twice early Thursday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and triggering a fire that the firm plans to let “burn itself out.” Arkema Group, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, had warned Wednesday that the plant would catch fire and explode at some point — adding that …

ABC News reports: Pastor Joel Osteen said today that his Lakewood Church has been taking people in “from the very beginning” of Harvey as he pushed back against criticism that the church did not initially welcome evacuees. “We were here for people. We were a shelter,” Osteen said today on “Good Morning America.” “We were taking people as soon as …

NBC News reports: Harvey made landfall again early Wednesday, roaring ashore in western Louisiana near the border with Texas as residents in the region brace for as much as 6 to 10 inches of additional rain. “Ongoing catastrophic and life-threatening flooding will continue in southeastern Texas,” the National Hurricane Center warned. Officials also said that while the threat of heavy …

NJ.com reports: Gov. Chris Christie slammed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz Tuesday night for saying two-thirds of the Hurricane Sandy relief aid had “nothing to do with Sandy.” Christie, speaking on MSNBC a day after Cruz made the assertion on the same network the prior day, called the lawmaker out by name and accused him of exploiting national disasters for his …

The Hill reports: First lady Melania Trump’s office on Tuesday morning fired back at reporters who criticized her attire while heading to Texas to visit the areas damaged by Hurricane Harvey, saying it is “sad” that some people are concerned about fashion during a national disaster. Trump’s communications director in a statement released to CNN ripped reporters for being “worried …

CNBC reports: Officials in Brazoria County, outside Houston, warned on Twitter on Tuesday that a levee at Columbia Lakes had been breached by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey and urged any residents who had not already evacuated the area to leave immediately. Houston reservoirs that have contained heavy rains from Tropical Storm Harvey are starting to overflow, forcing authorities to …

The Weather Channel reports: Harvey’s circulation center will crawl northward just offshore from the upper Texas coast before making a final landfall on either side of the Texas and Louisiana border on Wednesday. Later this week, Harvey’s center will then track through central Louisiana as it turns northeast. That places Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and New Orleans, in …

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump will travel to Texas Tuesday in response to record-level flooding from Hurricane Harvey, according to the White House. “We are coordinating logistics with state and local officials, and once details are finalized, we will let you know,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. First lady Melania Trump will accompany the president on …

The Dallas Morning News reports: The Mexican government expressed its solidarity Sunday with the United States following the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey and offered assistance to Texas. Mexico offered to help Texas deal with the disaster, “as good neighbors should always do in trying times.” On Sunday evening, Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray [photo] and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott spoke …

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Harvey is drifting back into the Gulf of Mexico and will meander near the upper Texas coast the next few days, bringing more torrential rainfall to the flooded Houston metro area, piling onto record-breaking, catastrophic flooding. Localized storm total rain amounts of up to 50 inches are not out of the question once Harvey’s …

Yesterday a slew of scamvangelicals issued last minute prayers for God to turn Hurricane Harvey away from Texas. Here’s just three of them. Anne Graham Lotz: We remember when You watched Your disciples struggling in the storm on Galilee, then walked across the water, climbed into their boat when they called out to You and commanded the wind and waves …

USA Today reports: Hurricane Harvey, slowing to a Category 1 storm, moved farther inland Saturday, but forecasters warned that it continues to deliver life-threatening storm surges up to 12 feet in some areas and the danger of “catastrophic” flooding from torrential rains across the middle and upper Texas coast for several days. “Historically, water is much more a threat to …