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Maria’s Death Toll Climbed Long After Rain Stopped

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Maria Gonzalez Munoz (right) and her family mourn the death of her sister Ramona, who died from sepsis due to lack of medical treatment. Photo: AP.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Disabled and elderly people were discharged from overwhelmed hospitals with bedsores that led to fatal infections. Medical oxygen ran out. People caught lung infections in sweltering private nursing homes and state facilities. Kidney patients got abbreviated treatments from dialysis centers that lacked generator fuel and fresh water, despite pleas for federal and local officials to treat them as a higher priority, according to patient advocates.

There was Ernesto Curiel, a diabetic who died of a heart attack after weeks of walking 10 flights twice a day to fetch insulin from his building’s only working refrigerator. Alejandro González Vázquez, 47 — unable to obtain his anti-psychotic medication, he committed suicide instead of boarding his flight back to the U.S. mainland. Juana Castro Rivera, 52, dead of leptospirosis, a disease transmitted by contaminated water. After several visits to a community clinic, she was diagnosed — too late — by a hospital in a neighboring municipality.

The joint project interviewed 204 families of the dead and reviewed accounts of 283 more to tell the stories of heretofore anonymous victims. Dozens more have contacted the Quartz, CPI and AP since their results were first reported.

Along with post-storm conditions, each death has a complex mix of causes that can include serious pre-existing conditions and individual decisions by patients, caregivers and doctors, making it difficult to definitively apportion blame in every case. But critics say many could have been saved by better preparation and emergency response.

“I was looking for help and no one came,” said Maria Gonzalez Munoz, who spent 30 days after the storm caring for her disabled sister in her blacked-out home.

Ramona Gonzalez, 59, died a month after the storm, from sepsis — caused, says her family, by an untreated bedsore.

The Gonzalez home is 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the convention center that served as headquarters for thousands of federal and local emergency responders for more than a month after the storm. Maria and her brother took Ramona to a hospital twice, and tried to get her aboard a Navy medical ship in San Juan harbor, but couldn’t save their ailing sister.

“No one was asking after us, no one from the government,” said Gonzalez Munoz, 66.

The hurricane’s true death toll has fueled debate since the first days of the storm, in large part because of the near-unique nature of the disaster.

The United States’ deadliest hurricanes have killed most of their victims with powerful winds and flooding in the hours and days immediately before and after landfall. The National Hurricane Center says that Katrina struck Louisiana and other states in 2005 it caused 1,500 direct deaths and 300 indirect ones from causes like heart attacks and failed medical equipment.

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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $60 Million for Emergency Work in Wake of the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore

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WASHINGTON – Within hours of receiving the request, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced the immediate availability of $60 million in “quick release” Emergency Relief (ER) funds for the Maryland Department of Transportation to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after a cargo container ship struck the bridge on March 26. These funds serve as a down payment toward initial costs, and additional Emergency Relief program funding will be made available as work continues.

“No one will ever forget the shocking images of a container vessel striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing its collapse and the tragic loss of six people,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The federal emergency funds we’re releasing today will help Maryland begin urgent work, to be followed by further resources as recovery and rebuilding efforts progress. President Biden has been clear: the federal government will do everything it takes to help rebuild the bridge and get the Port of Baltimore back open.”

“We are supporting President Biden’s whole-of-government response to this tragic incident and the federal government is committed to providing all necessary resources to rebuild the bridge,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “The Emergency Relief funding announced today provides an initial down payment of funds to help Maryland manage ongoing disruptions to traffic, supply chains, and daily life, and is the first step in our joint efforts to reconstruct the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”

FHWA’s Emergency Relief program provides funding to States, Territories, Tribes, and Federal Land Management Agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These “quick release” Emergency Relief funds are an initial installment to help restore essential transportation. Additional funds needed for the rebuilding of the bridge will be supported by the Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations. FHWA is also providing technical assistance, conducting site assessments, and administering emergency contracts for the new bridge.

The structure is located in the Baltimore Harbor and Port of Baltimore. Following the incident, the channel has been closed, and all shipping traffic to Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore has been stopped and diverted elsewhere. The Port of Baltimore is essential to the regional economy and national supply chains, and the I-695 corridor, of which the bridge was a part, provides a vital connection for people and goods traveling along the East Coast. FHWA is actively coordinating with federal, state, and local officials in the region, including the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Transportation Authority, the City of Baltimore, U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and others to mitigate supply chain impacts, manage traffic, reopen the port, and ultimately rebuild the bridge. The NTSB, an independent agency, is the leading the investigation into the vessel allision and subsequent bridge collapse.

The Governor of Maryland has declared a State of Emergency and FHWA has approved MDOT’s application, making the event eligible for Emergency Relief funding. The funds will be used for eligible costs associated with debris removal, demolition, detours, emergency repairs, and design and reconstruction on I-695 and the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Maryland Department of Transportation is continuing to conduct necessary emergency operations, such as implementing detours, to maintain traffic as the disaster area is not passable, and to repair applicable sections sufficiently to protect facilities from further damage and clearing the navigable waters to safely reopen operations at the Port of Baltimore.

The FHWA Emergency Relief program complements the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by encouraging agencies to identify and implement measures to incorporate resilience in the design, restoration and repair of damaged infrastructure, in order to better withstand future damage from climate change and future weather events.

More information about FHWA’s Emergency Relief program can be found online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm

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President Joe Biden on the Stabbing Attack in Rockford, Illinois

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Jill and I were horrified to learn of the brutal attack carried out in Rockford last night, which took the lives of four people, including one fifteen-year-old. Seven others were tragically wounded as a result of this senseless violence. We are praying for the families of those who lost loved ones, and hoping that all those injured make a full recovery. We are also grateful for the heroic actions of local law enforcement, who confronted the suspect and prevented the loss of more innocent life.

Federal law enforcement have offered all available assistance to local law enforcement as they investigate this heinous act. In the meantime, my Administration will do everything in its power to help the people of Rockford and the broader community recover from this traumatic event.

Families across America want the same thing: the freedom to feel safe in their community. That is my priority and the reason we’ve made major investments to provide communities with resources and law enforcement officers to prevent and fight crime. This tragic event is a reminder that we must continue to ensure that our police and first responders have the support they need to do their jobs and keep us safe.

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Team Biden-Harris Launches Latinos con Biden-Harris

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Today, Team Biden-Harris is launching Latinos con Biden-Harris, a national organizing program to engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities, and leaders across the country. Latinos are among the fastest-growing demographic groups in the country, and Latinos con Biden-Harris will ensure the campaign meets Latino voters where they are with trusted messengers and by organizing directly in their communities to earn their vote — in small businesses, dining room tables, and through social media.

Later today, President Biden will officially kick off Latinos con Biden-Harris in Arizona alongside Latino organizers. The President’s Arizona event will kickstart a series of efforts and events both online and in-person to engage, train, and mobilize Latino supporters on messaging and relational organizing to reach their friends and families about the President, his story, and the choice Latinos will face in this election. Throughout the week, the campaign will also hold events — including organizing events, volunteer trainings, and house parties — in battleground states, including Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

“The Latino vote was critical to the President’s victory in 2020, and 2024 will be no different,” said Biden-Harris 2o24 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez. “Latinos con Biden-Harris will be essential to activating and mobilizing Latinos across the country, and importantly, is another way we are making clear with action that we are investing aggressively into earning the Latino vote. Our community has deep roots in organizing, and we are excited to harness that skillset to fight for our families, our communities, and against Donald Trump’s anti-Latino agenda. There’s too much at stake in this election.”

To launch Latinos con Biden-Harris, Campaign Co-Chair Congresswoman Veronica Escobar shared a video about the important role Latinos will play in reelecting President Biden and Vice President Harris, and the stakes of this election for the Latino community.

The launch of Latinos con Biden-Harris builds on the campaign’s aggressive and tailored strategy to reaching Latinos:

  • Vice President Harris just completed a swing across Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado focused on reaching Latino voters.
  • First Lady Jill Biden recently traveled to Nevada where she met with Latina mothers to discuss the stakes in this election and the importance of Latino voters to the Biden-Harris coalition.
  • Alongside the launch of Latinos con Biden-Harris, the campaign will engage and coordinate closely with leaders and stakeholders from across the country, focusing on different and critical segments of the Latino community like young Latinos and Latino men.
  • Building off of the 2020 campaign’s efforts to tailor and target its efforts to the many different backgrounds of Latinos in this country, Latinos con Biden-Harris will include grassroots-led efforts to reach individual diasporas like Mexicanos con Biden-Harris, Venezolanos con Biden-Harris, Boricuas con Biden-Harris, and more.
  • In the past few days alone, both President Biden and Vice President Harris have participated in six Hispanic media interviews, including two nationally syndicated interviews with President Biden airing this morning to correspond with the program’s launch.

Today, Team Biden-Harris will also announce its first Latino creative as a part of its $30 million spring paid media buy. “Only One Choice”or “Una Opción” is a direct-to-camera video from President Biden in Spanish, English, and Spanglish that outlines his commitment to delivering on lower costs and more opportunities for Latino families — in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who has demonized Latinos throughout his political career and is pursuing an agenda that hurts Latinos. This ad and this buy build on Team Biden-Harris’ historic 2023 paid media buy that was both the largest and earliest investment in Hispanic media for a reelection campaign in history.

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