President opposes additional disaster aid for territory, saying funds were out of proportion to what mainland states got

What’s certain is the administration explicitly warned Senate Democrats in advance that the president would not tolerate anything more for Puerto Rico in a disaster aid bill now pending in Congress.

...following disagreements with other members of the Trump administration over housing policy and the White House’s attempt to block disaster-recovery money for Puerto Rico

But amid the threat to America’s eastern coast, the president's Twitter feed remained preoccupied by the hurricane that claimed thousands of lives in Puerto Rico last fall.

It was based on a careful examination of all of the deaths officially reported to the government of Puerto Rico between September 2017 and February 2018.

“If your science gives you a result you don’t like, pass a law saying the result is illegal. Problem solved”

The president sees the accepted death toll of nearly 3,000 as evidence of a political conspiracy against him.

Ignoring facts provided by his own government, Mr. Trump remarkably blamed Democrats for padding the death toll

To qualify, Puerto Ricans had to provide a death certificate or letter from a government official "that clearly indicates the death was attributed to the emergency or disaster”

The slash in funding comes as the East Cost braces for Hurricane Florence, which threatens to wreak havoc within days, with two other tropical systems on the horizon.

...a figure that is more than 20 times the official death toll.

...turning the closed-door discussion into soliloquies on his prowess in negotiating airplane deals, his popularity, the effectiveness of his political endorsements, the Republican Party’s fortunes, the vagaries of Defense Department purchasing guidelines, his dislike of magnetized launch equipment on aircraft carriers, his unending love of coal and his breezy optimism about his planned Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The official death toll from the storm is listed as 64

The latest estimate: roughly 4,600, many of them from delayed medical care.

“We have the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. We go anywhere, anytime we want in the world ... And [in Puerto Rico] we didn’t use those assets the way they should have been used.”

More significantly ... FEMA did not anticipate having to take on a lead role in the aftermath of the disaster, despite clear signs that the island’s government and critical infrastructure would be overwhelmed in the face of such a storm.

By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMA’s solicitation required “self-heating meals.”

In a sign that FEMA believes the immediate humanitarian emergency has subsided, on Jan. 31 it will, in its own words, "officially shut off" the mission it says has provided more than 30 million gallons of potable water and nearly 60 million meals across the island in the four months since the hurricane.

“They don’t live deprived, because it’s a beautiful environment,” she continued. “The weather is nice, the climate is good most of the time, so it’s different from here”

U.S. officials inadvertently included a Bloomberg reporter on an internal email list.

...suggesting that U.S. citizens on the hurricane-ravaged island shouldn’t get used to assistance from the federal government

The recovery has moved slowly since Maria struck the US territory on September 20, leaving most of the island without basic services such as power and running water

Nate made landfall as a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and, though downgraded, remains a sloppy-wet but still dangerous storm.

At some point this week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency removed information from its website documenting how much of the island of Puerto Rico still lacked power or access to drinking water. Instead, our Jenna Johnson reported, the federal agency was relaying only positive information, documenting how many federal workers were on the ground and the extent to which roads had been cleared.

Trump turned it into an opportunity to congratulate himself and the federal government's response to the disaster and to say the island should be “very proud” of its low official death count.

But when Hurricane Maria struck at full strength several days later—precisely as advertised, and similar in scale to Harvey—the U.S. military simply called off the huge resources it had mustered for Hurricane Irma. An inadequately small military contingent was left on its own for nearly two weeks to help with the damage. If there was a plan for disaster relief it was not publicly apparent.

"On behalf of all the people of Texas, and all of the people of — if you look today you will see what’s happening and how horrible it is, but we have it under really great control, Puerto Rico and the people of Florida that have really suffered over this last short period of time with the hurricanes, I want to just remember them," Trump said during the trophy presentation.

What Trump is doing -- in his attacks on Yulin Cruz and the media -- is trying to divide the country as a way to deflect blame for his administration's performance.

In a series of Saturday morning tweets, Trump blasted the “poor leadership ability” of Puerto Rican officials, who he said “want everything to be done for them.”

Trump, so visible when Harvey and Irma hit, all but ignored the devastation that Maria brought to Puerto Rico, devoting more attention to respect for the flag at NFL games.

Trump has faced mounting criticism from lawmakers, Puerto Rican officials, and prominent political figures including Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, who alleged that the president wasn’t doing enough to help the island — and was instead focused on his feud with kneeling NFL players.

But a critical issue — whether or not administrators from the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills in Broward County made distress calls for help to Gov. Rick Scott’s private cellphone — will likely not be cleared up soon. On Sunday, the Florida governor’s office revealed the four key voice mails from the center have been deleted.

Mexico will no longer send the emergency aid offered to Texas after Hurricane Harvey, to focus on those affected by a deadly earthquake and Hurricane Katia that struck the eastern state of Veracruz last week

Now that storm clouds are clearing, satellites are able to capture the devastation of Hurricane Irma.

For scientists, drawing links between warming global temperatures and the ferocity of hurricanes is about as controversial as talking about geology after an earthquake.

The storm spent Sunday grinding along Florida’s southern tip with devastating fury — flattening homes, flooding the Keys and cutting power to more than 6 million customers across the state.

The hurricane is expected to rake Florida’s west coast throughout Sunday, a change from earlier predictions that left some residents and officials scrambling to find shelter. The new track could expose St. Petersburg — rather than Miami or Tampa — to a direct hit.

The storm might drop as much as 20 inches of rain in some areas. But it is the expected storm surge that most frightens officials across the state. Several counties expanded their evacuation orders to cover more ground, anticipating surges in some places as high as 12 feet if the storm hits at high tide.

“May as well go ahead and announce this,” he said. “I'm not going to get into details because of the security nature of things, but it turns out that we will not be able to do the program here tomorrow. ... We'll be on the air next week, folks, from parts unknown.”

The House vote, 316-90, with only Republicans voting no, came a day after the Senate passed the measure, and came about 48 hours after President Trump sided with Democratic congressional leaders in support of a short-term debt limit extension, surprising Republicans on Capitol Hill.

It is expected to hit the Florida Keys and South Florida by Saturday night.

Irma -- a Category 5 storm that has kept sustained winds of 180 mph longer than any other on record -- knocked out electricity a day earlier to more than 1 million customers in Puerto Rico as it churned off the US territory, and devastated smaller islands

Trump confounded his own party’s leaders when he cut a deal with Democratic congressional leaders — “Chuck and Nancy,” as the president informally referred to them — on a short-term plan to fund the government and raise its borrowing limit this month.

With Texas still reeling from Hurricane Harvey and another storm barreling toward Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to run out of money by Friday

If Irma does make landfall as a Category 4 storm or stronger, it will be the first time on record that two storms of that strength hit the United States during the same weather season.

Trump’s habit of singling out reporters for attacks is being adopted by his federal agencies, with the Environmental Protection Agency excoriating an Associated Press reporter in unusually personal terms on Sunday after the reporter wrote a story that cast the agency in an unfavorable light.

Trump and congressional Republicans return to work this week facing enormous pressure to achieve major policy victories and carry out such basic acts of governance as providing disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, avoiding a default on the nation’s debt and keeping federal agencies open.

"As tough as this was, it's been a wonderful thing, I think, even for the country to watch, even for the world to watch. It's been beautiful. Have a good time everybody, I'm going to be doing a little bit of help over here."

Trump is getting a second chance at the post-natural disaster presidential visit.

People spread rumors about what the water was doing each day, but no one knew for sure. The water rose and fell, appearing to follow no logic as it swallowed some roads and made others passable.

A couple of weeks ago President Trump scrapped Obama-era rules, intended to reduce the risks posed by flooding, that established new construction standards for roads, housing and other infrastructure projects that receive federal dollars.

Quebec’s Minister of International Relations Christine St-Pierre called Pablos to express her sorrow and condolences on behalf of the people of the Canadian province. She also offered equipment and manpower.

The relative dearth of global goodwill, some analysts say, may stem from anger at Trump over his “America First” approach to the world, which has irked even staunch U.S. allies.

...hugging storm victims, directly offering words of encouragement, and dripping sweat as he helped clear debris.

A series of explosions at a flood-damaged chemical plant outside Houston on Thursday drew sharp focus on hazards to public health and safety from the city’s vast petrochemical complex

Trump has consistently faced questions about his personal donations since The Washington Post reported last year that he has a poor track record of following through on his promises to give money.

GOP leaders had tentatively laid plans to pair a popular disaster relief package with a tough vote to raise the debt ceiling and keep the government open at month’s end. But their strategy is already running into headwinds, as the damage from the storm appears far too large for Congress to wait weeks to act.

This is the best photo they could find for "witnessing first hand"

"He met with a number of state and local officials who are eating, sleeping, breathing the Harvey disaster. He talked extensively with the governor, who certainly is right in the midst of every bit of this, as well as the mayors from several of the local towns that were hit hardest. And detailed briefing information throughout the day yesterday talking to a lot of the people on the ground. That certainly is a firsthand account."

Five days after roaring ashore near Houston — leaving behind disastrous flooding and a mounting death toll that had reached at least 22 people — Harvey made landfall before dawn near tiny Cameron, La.

It was a presidential trip to a deluged state where the president didn’t meet a single storm victim, see an inch of rain or get near a flooded street.

Now that Houston and much of southeastern Texas is swamped by Hurricane Harvey, critics (including Northeastern lawmakers) have complained that Texas senators and members of Congress are seeking emergency federal aid but refused to back relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Even after it became a widely accepted scientific fact that wetlands can soak up large amounts of flood water, the city continued to pave over them.

Meanwhile, the storm clouds continue to drench the region with an unprecedented deluge — reaching 43 inches since Friday in south Houston and surpassing 40 inches in several other places in around the city

More specifically, Harvey is what climate change looks like in a world that has decided, over and over, that it doesn’t want to take climate change seriously.

Trump ... claimed he timed it to attract maximum attention as television viewers were glued to storm coverage.

"If we don't begin releasing now, the volume of uncontrolled water around the dams will be higher and have a greater impact on the surrounding communities"

As the effects of climate change play out, the risks posed by storms like Katrina and Harvey only stand to get worse.

Parts of Harris County, which includes Houston, have seen more than 20 inches of rain in the last 24 hours.

And in mid-August, in the midst of hurricane season and less than two weeks prior to Hurricane Harvey making landfall, Trump rescinded another Executive Order put in place to protect communities from the devastation wreaked by natural disasters.

Images of downed trees and lamposts and darkened streets began trickling in early in the day, after the storm roared ashore at 10 p.m. Central time Friday with 130 mph winds — the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005.

Extremely dangerous Hurricane Harvey intensified into a powerful Category 2 hurricane overnight Thursday.