For every U.S. president, there comes a time to assume the role of the nation’s comforter-in-chief, a leader who seeks to bring the country together and lift spirits in the midst of a national tragedy. President Donald Trump found himself in that situation this week, consoling survivors of the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history…
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Virgin Islands Relief Fund Identifying Local Needs abd Responding
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The Daily Caller reports that Christian non-profits do more than any government agency to support victims of disasters like hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The story says that faith-based organizations provide the bulk of relief, even when compared to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, quoting a national media story. The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) works with FEMA to distribute resources in disaster areas and help victims find the help they need. Seventy-five percent of NVOAD’s membership is comprised of faith-based organizations, The Daily Caller reports. The disaster coordination agency’s membership, includes notables like the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team and Convoy of Hope, plus many denominational response organizations including those for the Adventists, Disciples of Christ and Episcopalians. There are non-Christian and secular groups as well. Such organizations have the experience and logistical infrastructure to effectively respond to disasters and work with devastated communities in the long-term. Jake Raabe, in the Baptist Standard, speaks out against the “second disaster” created when well-intentioned people send useless items like teddy bears that overwhelm meaningful relief operations. Supply planes could not land in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch ravaged that nation in 1998 because Americans had donated so much used clothing that boxes of…
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Sagging sales of autos held down overall US retail sales in August, with American consumers buying goods and services at their slowest pace in six months, government data showed Friday. However, the Commerce Department said it was unclear to what extent Hurricane Harvey had affected the monthly numbers, with the storm both hurting and helping sales…
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Tennesseans’ responses to the recent hurricanes has included the traditional measures of sending money and supplies as well as more creative efforts like providing housing for evacuees and sea turtles. The Volunteer State lived up to its name as individuals, churches, utilities, emergency responders and others offered their support to residents of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Metro Nashville Water Services sent 27 employees to Key West and Key Largo, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reported on Sept. 15. The utility has experience in restoring services after disasters, such as the 2010 Nashville flood. The utility workers will spend 11 days repairing water lines along the Florida Keys Aqueduct which serves almost 50,000 customers in the Florida Keys. The team will operate from Marathon, Florida. “Power restoration and petroleum supplies are of significant concern, and many survivors cannot reach their homes due to debris and flooding,” Patrick Sheehan, TEMA director, said in the statement. Tennessee’s emergency services response to Irma victims has included five ambulance strike teams, two public health incident management teams, an urban search and rescue team, and a nurse strike team, TEMA reported. The Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department and Rutherford County Special…
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Faith-based groups – Christian nonprofits, specifically – have been busy bees of late, providing more aid to hurricane victims than even FEMA, the federal agency that’s supposed to swoop to the scenes of natural disasters, assess the situation and speed the recovery and rebuilding process. Just goes to show: Where charity exists, government is not needed.…
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ATLANTA — More than 1.2 million people in Georgia remained without power early Tuesday, and downed trees and power lines cut off dozens of metro Atlanta roads — the parting gifts of Irma. Flooding left coastal Glynn County closed “until further notice,” with St. Simons Island cut off from the mainland. Tybee Island off Savannah was…
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The annual SEC East rivalry game between Tennessee and Florida won’t need to change its location after all. SEC officials have reportedly decided to keep Saturday’s game from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, despite the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the local area, according to Volquest.com. BREAKING: Tennessee to play at Florida as scheduled at…
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The NFL announced Monday that a decision on where Sunday’s game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans will be played is pending after Hurricane Irma hit Jacksonville over the weekend. The game is scheduled to be played at EverBank Field but according to reports the city is dealing with “record storm surge and immense flooding.”…
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The Air Force has shipped 300 doctors and support staff to Florida to help out with medical care as Hurricane Irma rages up the coast. Four C-17 Globemaster III’s began moving Air Force medical personnel into the heart of Florida near midnight Saturday, just as many residents of the state were evacuating as fast as possible,…
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Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida, Sunday morning, hitting the Keys around 9 a.m. The storm was a Category 4 when it hit, with winds of around 130 miles per hour. The new anticipated course of the storm will take it up Florida’s west coast, a departure from earlier predictions. The eye of the storm passed…
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Rush Limbaugh, radio host and Palm Beach resident, evacuates Florida ahead of Irma landfall Syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh is evacuating his south Florida residence ahead of Hurricane Irma’s landfall. “May as well announce this. 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,” Mr. Limbaugh told his national…
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Nashville will be featured in a nationally broadcast telethon Tuesday to raise money for victims of Hurricane Harvey. ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and CMT will air the live telethon, which will be based in Los Angeles, with stages in New York and Nashville, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Nashville stage will be at the Grand Ole Opry. The Universal Studios lot and Times Square will be the settings for the Los Angeles and New York portions. The hour-long telethon will start at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The event will also be streamed internationally on Facebook and Twitter. Called “Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief,” the telethon will feature appearances from Blake Shelton, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Dennis Quaid and many others. There will be a live performance finale from Texas with George Strait and special guests. Harvey struck Texas on Aug. 25 as a Category 4 hurricane, the first major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in more than a decade. Though weakening to a tropical storm, Harvey caused massive flooding in Houston and other areas and is blamed for at least 60 deaths. According to the event website, the telethon is prepared to expand its beneficiaries to…
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