. >> more now on federal aid for puerto rico. this is just over 30 minutes. >> we are joined by edwin melendez, who is from the center for puerto rico studies. he is the director of that organization. thank you for joining us this morning on washington journal. >> my pleasure. >> we sit here this morning, some eight or nine days after the impact of hurricane maria in puerto rico. obviously you are in touch with people on the island. what are your biggest concerns as we speak this morning? >> the response been a little slow out of the gates, so to speak. we should have declared the whole island in emergency situation with no electricity, half the households have running water, and you can see the images of people leaving the island in shifts, trying to get to the airport. it is a desperate situation. the army should have been sent a long time ago, and i hope it is not too late to prevent a deepening of this entire crisis. i just hope that we react much faster, we send the troops down there to take control of distribution. supply s

if you have ties to the island of puerto rico, either living here or you have relatives in puerto rico know, we would love to hear from you on a special line, (202)-748-8003. edwin melendez, how difficult is it, how much more difficult is it for puerto rico in this situation, not, or example, to have a stronger representative presence in the u.s. congress? as you know, that has been an issue forever, the fact that we only have someone that can speak, but not vote on most matters. have fourd that, we or five puerto ricans in congress and they had played a tremendous leadership role throughout the financial crisis and the hurricane disaster, so and we have a diaspora concentrated in florida, and new york, it is the national capital of media, and in florida, it is a swing state where a lot of people pay attention, so that distribution, pennsylvania, illinois, all of those are they havecases, where local state, registrations and the like. they are influential and can move the needle where it needs to be done, but obviously, long-term, we have to rethink the relationship between puerto rico

you talk about puerto rico.ble toico that isn't choose the president of the united states, but is a part of the united states. >> yes. there used to be a saying that puerto rico had the best of both worlds in its relationship. that i think increasingly, people have come to realize it has the worst of both worlds. it shares the same kind of environmental vulnerability to these kind of storms of the caribbean nations face, but at the same time, it is not able to rally with its neighbors. in addition to the environmental vulnerability, it has economic one or ability discuss these high rates of an employment. it has infrastructure vulnerability because of its great the crisis. it is unable to attend to its power grid, to its water supply for over a decade. it also has great political vulnerability because it has no representation in congress. the island aren nobody's constituents. nobody is watching out for them. you have people like booze could terrace and velazquez who respond in part and partly because they have

in puerto rico, they are public-p-private partnershipipsf up slander of puerto rico. it will happen under an .ccelerated basis the public and a private component. the public is the jones act. if we don't see any relief -- one is on top of that, it means it is a run-up, a precursor to the privatization of the public infrastructure of puerto rico because that is what will happen next if we don't suspend the jones act. amy: we will continue to follow this. i want to thank you both for being with us, nelson denis, new york status of women. we willing to your piece in "the new york times" is headlined "the law strangling puerto rico." juan gonzalez, i hope you're able to reach your sister. democracy now! cohost. your latest book, "reclaiming gotham: : bill de blasio a and e movement to end america's tale of two cities." juan: will be participating in a fundraisiser for one of the rado stations and i wilill be movovin to the university of m marylandn saturday. amy: in college park. thank you so much, juan and nelson denis. when we come back,k, a call fofn international inqu

>> this is devastation, that is puerto rico, not a puerto rico we saw a week ago. we are surviving three major disasters. the financial dire situation regards back home, hurricane irma and now hurricane maria that makes things worse. i arrived lasted night from the island. so i was there, i will tell you this, seeing the coast guard and the military operations, there are, they have been taken there, moving patients to dialysis is hard. even the puerto rican people are patient from the mainland because we don't have enough resources working at full capacity. they're crippled. they're working with generators, except just one hospital that got electricity. the rest of the island is without power, without communications. so that made things worse and if it's not for fema and the 10,000 people down on the ground in the island, making things happen with the logistics, with the air national guard and all the national guard that are being deployed, there are many states, indiana, virginia, many other places, i don't know what will be for the island, but we still need a lot

>> well, puerto rico is a u.s.tory, and the president -- i'm grateful for the fact he continues to stand to put america first, and he wants us as a nation to show respect to our flag, so i respect the president. i respect his strong stance he is taking right now to bring this country together and to show respect, to bring us together, unity under the flag, the red, white and blue, the stars and stripes. that's something young people are watching right now. frankly the division we see on the fields on the sunday, the nfl, they are not helping to bring this country together. >> again, i would only say the divisions are not only on the nfl field. some people are seeing divisions coming from the white house as well. i do want to move on. you talked about concern for the people in puerto rico. your fellow republican senator wrote the crisis for these americans needs more attention and urgency, the potable water problems are substantial. >> i agree. i agree. senator rubio was there surveying the damage just yet. the imag

i grew up in puerto rico. my brother lives in puerto rico. they are facing devastating challenges. this president to go out and insult one of the local leaders who is doing her damndest to keep her people away, wading in black floodwater, to try to save the 3.5 million citizens in puerto rico, it is shameful. it's disgraceful. until this president gets his butt off of the golfing range and gets down to puerto rico and is able will to also get his waist deep in the black floodwater and roll up his sleeves and help these people that he is the president of, he needs to shut the "f" up, put down twitter, and figure out what it means to be president for once in his miserable term. >> why would he do that particularly on the eve of getting ready to go to puerto rico and see for himself? i mean, does this become potentially tantamount to president bush saying you're doing a heck of a job, brown. this president saying -- brownie. this president saying workers are doing a fantastic job, at the same time people are dying, people are doing without. might this be a bane to the trump presidency

we did a conference call today with our best to help the rico too help the rico -- puerto rico. i talked to the president about it. the biggest issue we are dealing rico isw in puerto we need more truck drivers and more trucks. we've got to get everything out of the port, whether it is fuel or water. we had a problem in florida of getting fuel into our ports. they have the fuel. they've got to get it out of their ports. the island is dealing with no power, so they are relying on diesel generators. i will continue to be helpful to the governor. i know that this country is all going to stand behind the island in the territory of puerto rico and do everything we can to make sure they get back to normal legislative have done in florida. normal,d people -- to like they have done it in florida. what specific aid will you be sending to puerto rico besides some of the national guard quest mark -- guard? gov. scott: we already have some national guard there. has power,the island and only 28% has cell connection. even when i call, we get disconnected. we did a conference call this morning

you're restoring puerto rico.gin islands and making sure people who need health care and food and adequate supplies are being cared for and supported. you don't do that in the context when we don't have sufficient resources or response, and you make this personal or partisan. it's irresponsible to behave in such a manner. it was congress who said you have to do something about the jones act. there was no leadership from the white house or federal government. it was the hispanic caucus and leaders who said you have to have a disaster czar. you need somebody with experience on the ground. you get people making statements without going to puerto rico who then go to puerto rico and they're not having that same white house response. they are saying we are not satisfied with our response. we are not there yet. there are real problems here. because there's no way if you're on the ground to continue that line of communication that we're doing a great job with 11,000 people. it's not true. >> and you are out of your voice

in the case of puerto rico, that model will not work.it will not work because as i said earlier the financial and fiscal constraints they face reo have limited its capacity to build its and respond on its own. they've just finished repairing the damage from irma. there's literally not enough basic things like wooden poles to hold up the electric lines or transformers to attach to them.y or even the lines themselves of the fuel to power the cruise to get to the worksite. it won't work because in many cases the government does nott have a full assessment of the storm because well in san juan, medication is severely limited in most of the other islands communication is nonexistent. i looked at that firsthand yesterday. as much of the response that their conduct and there is limited to a paper map on a wall was sticking out pants and for land lines to hope people can call in and give them updates. hopefully that has improved over the last 24 hours.puerto but, we still have large parts of puerto rico that have not communicated with the rest o

puerto rico ha aguantado eso.e la ayuda no estÁ llegando. marÍa: la manifestaciÓn aÚn continÚa y ellos seguirÁn aquÍ exigiendo que los productos lleguen a los damnificados de puerto rico lo mÁs antes posible. marÍa, para univisiÓn 65. ilia: hablamos de una manifestaciÓn que se estÁ llevando a cabo para quÉ los suministros que van a porto rico sean entregados por el ejÉrcito. reportera: buenas tardes, ilia. hace unos minutos se acabÓ un evento para celebrar el mes de la hispanidad y tambiÉn para contribuir. inicialmente la feria era para entretener a los niÑos. en esta iniciativa sea un comerciante hispano habrÍa comenzado su propia recaudaciÓn. hable con los que estaban detrÁs de esta feria. antes de que comenzara la feria y esto es lo que nos dijeron. >> tenemos tres festivales planificados. tenÍamos planificado esto y cuando pasÓ el huracÁn, hicimos esta campaÑa para recolectar las donaciones. queremos llevarle todo puerto rico. reportera: por el momento se estÁ llevando a cabo esto y se estÁ hablando de reparti

it's going to occur in portions of puerto rico.m line is nobody inside the federal emergency management agency wants everybody to go without food and water. we bust our rear ends. these guys are incredibly dedicated. at the end of the day we can't do it all by ourselves. the governor is stepping up. he's trying to muster his people back in place and eventually we're able to queue more organizations in. the in some cases you have the citizens coming back home and help. be able to be resource fut as well. >> safe travels. thanks so much for your time. appreciate it. thank so much for being with moo this saturday. we'll have much more straight ahead in the news room. ♪ can i kick it? ♪ yes you can ♪ can i kick it? ♪ yes you can ♪ well i'm gone when food is good and clean and real, it's ok to crave. and with panera catering, there's more to go around. panera. food as it should be. that just tastes better. with more vitamins. and 25% less saturated fat. only eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs.

, la situaciÓn de puerto rico, va a ser extendida por mucho mÁs tiempo.e se haga mas para proveer asistencia a la isla de puerto rico. milady: sÍ, hace minutos se acabÓ una rueda de prensa philadelphia donde estuvo el alcalde con congresistas para ponerle presiÓn al congreso federal y que actÚe para ayudar puerto rico. se dice que los puertorriqueÑos son ciudadanos y no se deben tratar como una segunda clase. los recursos se movilizaron rÁpido despuÉs de los huracanes, pero no en puerto rico. y aunque el presidente suspendiÓ una ley comercial que hacÍa mÁs difÍcil la llegada de ayuda humanitaria a puerto rico, para los funcionarios dicen que esto no es suficiente, por eso estÁn pidiendo mÁs tropas militares para que lleguen a puerto rico. al momento hay pocos vehÍculos para distribuir los suministros en puerto rico hacia el interior de la isla. la falta de chÓferes, gasolina y carreteras no se pueden usar estÁn causando retraso. se reporta que se hace difÍcil llegar a los sitios de empleo por las faltas de comunicaciÓn. al momento, 10,000 contenedores con

where does that leave the people of puerto rico? the united states citizens of puerto rico? joining us now on the phone from san juan is puerto rico's secretary of state luis rivera marin. thanks for joining us again. i want to ask, in your view, what is the most urgent need at this hour? >> thank you for having us again, nicolle. it's been a week now since we had a direct hit of probably one of the most devastating hurricanes in the nation's history. as an island, our most urgent need is telecom where we have isolated areas on the island because of all the debris in the roads it's been hard to reach many of our remote towns. also diesel distribution has been a challenge for us, and that's -- yesterday the governor assigned me the responsibility of making sure diesel is distributed for power plants around hospitals. and vegetables and basic food products. and we've been receiving loads of tanks because of the amounts of diesel that need to be distributed. certainly it's a logistical challenge that it's been normalized. we have 1,100 gas stations in the island and 24 of those

you can't drive into puerto rico. the number one issue after you make sure everyone has recovered, you got to get power back on. that is a tough issue. i know the corps of engineers have offered resources to do that. it is totally different in how you get resources there. i know everybody is committed. i know the president is committed. i am going to do everything i can. >> the president is scheduled to visit puerto rico on tuesday. do you feel the island is prepared for a presidential visit? gov. scott: that is a decision by the governor of puerto rico and the president. i think people appreciate when the president comes, they feel comfortable that they are being heard. you want to know you are being heard and you have a direct conduit to say, if you have a problem and i need your help in something, that somebody will be responsive. [indiscernible] -- what do you need that i can be help the with? i will see what i can do to solve them. has the response from the federal government been adequate and swift enough? gov.

he tweeted some (bleep) about puerto rico.e wasn't quick to get rid off the jones act, but he hasn't been the only reason puerto rico is struggling right now. as it turns out, there are at least some emergency supplies that are reaching puerto rico. the problem is once they reach the island, there is another issue. >> supplies arrived but they're not getting delivered to the 3.4 american citizens on the island. >> more than 3,000 shipping containers are sitting at the port of san juan. >> there is water. >> there is a short of truck drivers to help deliver the essentials. if you want to drive a truck in puerto rico, here's the number the government's office just gave me. >> trevor: wait a second, puerto rico just needs truck drivers? maybe trump can help after all, huh? come on! he spent his whole presidency learning to drive trucks. finally it paid off! and you thought he wasn't being presidential! that was practice! ( laughter ) i know this isn't a popular phrase on this show, but in donald trump's defense -- ( booing ) -- b

of puerto rico. there is no communications. we can do that. we can set up places for water. our military has apart from its fire and fury during times of war, as trump likes to talk about them, they have immense capacity to bring about the peaceful reconstruction of puerto rico and bring the supplies that are necessary there. >> this morning the governor of puerto rico said that the federal response had been excellent, he said president trump had been diligent. do you think those are political statements or do you think that this is just frankly, congressman, such aassive hit that puerto rico has ten that there are so many needs that are so great that they're doing truly everything that they can? >> here's what i say about what the governor of puerto rico said. i'm not going to take exception to anything he said. he has a huge, mammoth of -- this is unprecedented. this is a category 5 that went right through the island of puerto rico, devastating all of the island of puerto rico. wow, you know, i'm n

>> well, puerto rico has been an island for as long as it's been puerto rico so the idea is this is surprisingins the delay is sort of just not accurate. for, since puerto rico has been part of the united states, there has been training and exercises to assist in the potential that puerto rico does suffer a hurricane. so going back a little bit, four days before the hurricane hit, we were well aware the hurricane was going to hit. and so, puerto rico was waiting. that kind of -- and ready. that kind of planning is anticipated by texas and florida and all these other states that are going to surge resources to puerto rico. and so the idea that puerto rico might be isolated crossed everyone's mind beforehand, that's why there is a lot of emphasis on boats and ships and helicopters and planes to be able to get resources to puerto rico quickly. this idea that somehow we're all surprised and first responders are surprised as an island is sort of humorous if it weren't so tragic. >> even the governor of the puerto rico has said the government has been provided. how does it work in terms of sending r

>>arriba la isla bella de puerto rico.o siguen en este edificio colapsado de ciudad de mÉxico. julio: en otras 37 edificaciones fueron recuperado todos los cuerpos estaban bajo los escombros. la cifra de muertos asciende a 344. periodista: en el dinero que grabÓ uno de los familiares, se ve un hueco por el que los rescatistas bajaron para buscar los cuerpos sin vida envueltos en sÁbanas. >> cuando yo subo se alcanza a ver un cuerpo envuelto en una sÁbana rosa. periodista: cada una de las horas de espera trae consigo la esperanza de encontrar sobrevivientes en lo que quedÓ de este edificio, pero lamentablemente sÓlo encuentran cadÁveres. >> de falsa informaciÓn, esperanza y fe. periodista: las autoridades aseguran que han hecho todo lo posible para encontrar con vida a sus seres queridos pero el tiempo se agota. >> la certidumbre de que hay un hallazgo. periodista: esta noticia desanima a los rescatistas que ofrecen su esfuerzo para sacar de los escombros a las personas y mantiene la fe hasta el final. >> te parte el corazÓ

you have to go down to puerto rico. you have to work hard and you have to help the people in the island. as mr. trump said, yes, it is an island surrounded by water. so people don't have a choice. we need to get there and we need to help. >> so, jorge, and i'm sure laura, you as well, living in new york city and being so high profile, playing for the yankees, being so skeuccessful, you probably brushed in certainly circles with donald trump who is now our president. are you surprised by the level of animosity that he has expressed toward puerto rican officials, specifically the mayor of san juan for saying that federal aid hasn't been good enough? >> yeah, i'm not going to get into politics. the people of puerto rico need help. and she's desperate. and you can see how, you know, her voice is cracking. it's just the people need, you know, a lot of supplies. >> what i can tell you about the mayor of san juan, this morning, i was able to get donated 30,000 pounds of chicken wings, yogurt and jello that was refrigerated in

hoy visitÓ puerto rico la secretaria de seguridad interna, lo primero que hizo fue aclarar su propiaaraciÓn de la casa blanca, cuando dijo que el desastre en la isla era una buena noticia.en puerto rico aseguran que son muchos mÁs hacia-- los muertos que los que dieron a conocer. miles de soÑadores libran una carrera contra el tiempo para renovar los permisos de dac antes dela 5 de octubre. comienza la ediciÓn nocturna. ♪ ♪ ♪ locutor: este es su noticiero univisiÓn, edición nocturna con ilia calderÓn y enrique acevedo. ilia: buenas noches, comenzamos esta ediciÓn especial de la ediciÓn nocturna desde la isla de puerto rico. me encuentro en una localidad llamada piÑones, en el municipio de eloÍsa. un Área muy golpeada. el gobierno del presidente trump intentÓ acelerar la respuesta de rescate y de recuperaciÓn de puerto rico. el nuevo jefe militar de la isla reconociÓ que el pentÁgono no ha hecho lo suficiente por responder a la emergencia. la secretarÍa interina, hizo un sobrevuelo, visitÓ la isla y claudia estuvo con ella. claudia: esperamos en la capital desde muy temprano en un avi

the president said he will head to puerto rico on tuesday.ll see if maybe his stone changes or how he addresses people there, after they said they're looking for him to do something for them. >> americans look to their president to bring reassurance. this is not that case. i want to bring in tom price here. let's talk about that. just before price resigned, the president told reporters that he didn't like the optics of tom price flying private jets because it cost taxpayers about $1 million. was it really sort of the bad headlines that did this? >> i think the number one rule of white house, as far as i learned covering him several years as a candidate is, you don't want to make the boss look bad. and the white house saying quote/unquote wanting to drain the swamp. the president himself boasted that his administration made moves that has saved millions of dollars. the other reality is tom price is already in hot water with the president. the president has said openly and privately that the republicans haven't been able to repeal and replace t

caller: i want to talk about the response to puerto rico. i'm originally from puerto rico. i have been off the island for 10 years. i go down every couple months, have family there, my wife and all of her family is there. i'm sick and tired of the president trying to paint this picture as if everything is fine , that the response is going great, that they are doing a wonderful job. it is false. it is false. i will give them something which , we need more troops and people in there. the government of puerto rico is completely overwhelmed. i've been volunteering here in d.c. i know what is going on in their office here. they have no idea what they are doing. they need all the help they can get. we need the military to step up. i know they have been doing it, the three-star general down there says a couple days ago that 5000 troops, but it is not enough. we need people to put pressure on congress and the president. people are dying. there is a lot of things going on that they are not getting there. not only that but we here in the mainland, trying to get donations down there,

they talked about his trip to puerto rico. after his meeting governor scott spoke with reporters. >> good afternoon. i finished lunch with the president and vice president. and we talked about two things. we talked about irma and puerto rico. with regard to irma our state has come back strong. people are back in business. the long-term damage is the key. they get nine -- wind and rain. not is assues i have great cleanup and we has still have housing issues. withe working with fema regard to housing and will continue to work with them. our terrorism industry is kind back strong. -- we have a lot of water. we had to evacuate around lake okeechobee. the can -- the waters continue to rise. it's important for the government to become our partner and get this done. we have spent $50 million and that president has committed to be a partner. we need to get repairs to the day done as soon as spent $50 md multiple. -- soon as possible. puerto rico, is an island with a lot of mountains. -- soon as possible. the whole place was devastated

it has not been waived for puerto rico. senator mccain has called for it to be waived and people of puerto rico have asked for it to be waived and it has not, and we are getting different responses as to why, but bureaucracy should not get in the way of this if it can help the people of puerto rico, should it? >> no, it should not. the ability for the united states government to support them is a lot better, and frankly the government -- you look at what abbott and scott are doing, governor abbott and governor scott are doing, the local preparedness. they could respond. puerto rico has none of the infrastructure and none of the resources. plus, you can ship and truck and fly things into texas and into florida, and you have to barge large things, you know, a seven-day barge trip to get things into puerto rico. i talked to senator marco rubio yesterday and he was down there a couple days ago and he is sounding the alarm this could make katrina look like, you know, a minor problem that puerto rico is potentially facing. i thin

puerto rico, a u.s. territory, but these are american citizens, and for many to hear the president reference them as "they," and "they want everything to be done for them," how is that translating to people? >> yeah, yeah, the gentleman i spoke to that needed his neighbor's help to get out of his house told me it's just hurtful. it hurts them to remind people that they are americans, and it is almost humiliating that they would have to beg for help, such as the mayor of san juan giving that desperate emotional plea. it is certainly not being received well, the way that the president, the leader of the free world, is treating a territory of the united states. >> boris sanchez, thank you so much. >>> all right, so with the president lashing out at puerto rico and some of the leaders there on the island, the governor of puerto rico now responding to the president's tweets and criticism. fema and puerto rican leaders wrapping up their daily press conference updating the recovery, as well. brynn gingras has a

[inaudible] >> puerto rico is very important to me, and puerto rico, people are fantastic people. i grew up in new york so i know many people from puerto rico. i know many puerto ricans and these are great people, and we have to help them. the island is devastated. some people say, i read this morning it was literally destroyed, the infrastructure was in bad shape as you know in puerto rico before the storm, and now in many cases it has no infrastructure. you are really starting from almost scratch. these are great people. they are wonderful people. it are hardy people they will be back, but we are helping them, i mean, i think we're getting really good marks for the work we are doing. we are literally landing water, food, supplies on an hourly basis. and this is to airport that has been devastated. we're not talking about runways that are open and, you know, please land your plane to is our airports, these runways are devastated and broken. the airports are broken so those people are very important to all of us. i think i can speak for everybody sitting around the stable. so we a

julie: more help is on the way to puerto rico. pentagon officials saying 1400 more national guard troops are expected to arrive on the island this weekend with. even so, the mayor of san juan says the island could be without power for months. mike tobin is live in san juan with the very latest on the situation there. hey, mike. >> reporter: hi there, julie. well, the mayor and president are engaged in this twitter war, the governor says this is a crisis and there are other priorities. >> our priorities at this juncture keep being food delivery, delivery of gas, making sure that the hospitals are working, making sure we can get more hospitals online, that they get their diesel and their fuel. >> reporter: the administrator at san jorge children's hospital says this province is about to make a transition from humanitarian crisis to health crisis. you have 51 hospitals across the island that are running right now, most of them on emergency generators. those are intended to be temporary solutions. they run out of fuel, eventually the

puerto rico? >> for the rebuilding process it would be great. we could bring all the building materials for cheaper from the course of the u.s. without having to to do in u.s. flagged vessels. and the boats have to be built in the united states. which is three, four times more expensive. >> who has the power here? why wouldn't that be lifted? >> because -- i think that the jones act lobby, the people who are for it are probably one of the most powerful lob beby in t united states. >> who are they? >> the local shipbuilders. >> the workers. >> you have the rail stations. the railroad owners that want goods to be shipped by railroads and not by easier barges. i mean, it's a powerful lobby. not even the oil lobby was able to break it. >> wow. do you know who controls a lot of those u.s. rails? warren buffett. just saying. >> all right. alex, thanks very much for joining us and setting the record straight nap is the important part here between mariana and our crews down there, we're going to set the r

y pa' delante puerto rico.a day ar a los niÑos de bajos recursos de california y que tambiÉn van ayudar a los damnificados por los terremotos en mÉxico el evento que serÁ el 30 de septiembre va a trabajar la banda el limÓn y otras agrupaciones, heraldo sÁnchez y lorenzo mÉndez. asÍ lo confirmaron. >>> estuvimos 3 dÍas antes y nos sentimos tristes, como mexicanos y ahorita, en este gran evento que se va a hacer, hacemos lo que nos gusta: >>> ojalÁ estÉ lleno el lugar en ontario y estamos unids como mexicanos en estados unidos para todos nuestros paisanos. todos nuestros paisanos. >>> exactamente, todos ♪ todos nuestros paisanos. >>> exactamente, todos ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (mÚsica) ♪ nuestro compaÑero josÉ dÍaz-balart publicÓ anoche un video en su cuenta de instagram en. dÍaz-balart en la ciudad de mÉxico cubriendo las incidencias del devastador terremoto que azotÓ a este paÍs. le hizo un llamado directo al presidente de mÉxico enrique peÑa nieto. para que haga mÁs por las vÍctimas. >>> escuchemos parte de lo que solicitÓ

puerto rico needs u.s. military disaster and humanitarian assistance to maintain order and provide security and water, food and fuel. puerto rico needs additional first responders and they need generators, emergency vehicles, and fuel. also pert poart needs to see -- also puerto rico needs to see that its government, the united states government, they need to see us respond the way we have for other disasters. there isn't be a double standard when it comes to americans. we are one country. we are one nation. whether it was hurricane sandy in new jersey and new york or hurricane harvey or hurricane irma, when our nation sees a natural disaster destroy and take out homes and take lives and knock out power, when a challenge like that comes to the united states of america, we must be there for our citizens. yet, i read one heartbreaking story of so many heartbreaking stories. and this just shows the lack of urgency, the lack of being present, the lack of being there what we're needed. "the washington post" repo

puerto rico still in dire need of

puerto rico in a very different category.he president appearing to be testy and petty today in these tweets at a time when american citizens in puerto rico are looking for more help from the federal government. alex? >> thank you so much. we appreciate that. let's turn right now to puerto rico, tammy lightener is in san juan. i want you to bring us up to date on the situation there. watching you report from there the last few days, i'm in complete disagreement with what the president tweeted out. i've watched you trek through areas that were unreachable, you're getting to people who were cut off in different regions with locals trying to find their loved ones, first responders as well. they're doing what seems to be everything they can? >> reporter: you might be right about that, alex. the situation is still very, very bad. we have found a way to get out and tell these stories because, quite frankly, they need to be told. there's still a lot of people desperate. i'm in a line for the grocery store and i mean there's at least

on texas and florida and puerto rico. >> don't stop the

and when he did mentioned puerto rico, he even insulted the island, his first tweet reading, puerto rico who was already suffering from broken infrastructure and massive debt is in trouble. and ivan watson is out front in puerto rico, you've been out today, what have you seen? >> reporter: we've been trolling the military effort here, several military officials tell cnn that they plan in the coming days to practically double the number of active duty troops on the ground from about 2,500 now in puerto rico and the virgin islands, to add 2,000 or 3,000 more. but that just may not be enough with a stricken island with a population of some 3.4 million people. >> citizens of colombia, escaping the island of puerto rico, evacuating aboard a colombian air force plane, and it's hard to blame them. aboard a u.s. navy helicopter, you get a sense of the scale of the damage here. a week after hurricane maria barrelled across puerto rico, transport, electricity, drinking water and telecommunications are seriously, if not completely disrupted. this devastated island still needs so much help. and the

reception with anyone in port rico right now. the radars are down, all the weather instruments are down. right now we just call this the blackout period. we know there's horrific destruction still taking place. >> the big future of our coverage just gave way. stay there, brad, i'll come out here to keep an eye on it. >> rescue efforts happening right now in mexico after a powerful earthquake ripped through that country yesterday. >> one come, in particular, says her 26-year-old son is trapped back there in a small pocket. he's communicating with rescue workers and they have not been able to get back to him. >> this is really a heartwrenching experience. hundreds of people came together to rescue children from an elementary and middle school that unfortunately collapsed. >> at a nearby school, we are told the bodies of 20 children have been recovered. the death toll now officially stands at about 200. that number will rise. >>> let's bring you the latest on hurricane maria. it is leaving a trail of devastati devastation. >> look a

john torres is in puerto rico assessing the needs of the people in puerto rico. he's going to join us with the latest. what is that? it's you! it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. >>> a plea for help from puerto rico and just a moment we'll speak with the secretary of state and what's being done to save his people. for your heart... your joints... or your digestion... so why wouldn't you take something for the most important part of you... your brain. with an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain health supplement in drug stores nationwide. prevagen. the name to remember. >>> welcome back. i'm alex witt. here's what we're monitoring for you. dramatic events in puerto rico as hospitals are struggling

puerto rico being the biggest one. his legislative agenda, health care reform, tax reform, which he's supposed to talk about today. i can't help but think it's driven by two things. often with donald trump things are personal and political. the personal part here is, remember, he tried to buy the buffalo bills in 2014. okay. and i went back and looked at all his tweets when he's tweeted about the nfl and the period where he was -- where he became anti-nfl was in 2014 when he couldn't afford the buffalo bills and it was given to another bidder. he started the rants against the nfl then saying it was boring, low ratings, and they were too obsessed with the issue of concussions. so i think that's a little bit of the context and background for this. of course, politically, i can't help but think as his legislative agenda has sort of collapsed with the death of health care, now it's the third time, and not a lot of progress on other issues he does often look for these culture war fights and arguments to get in the middle of

todo esto se va a enviar para puerto rico.puedan entrar a puerto rico y proveer de toda la asistencia necesaria con personal, equipos, fondos para atender la crisis. fernando: hay una urgente necesidad de envÍo de generadores, ya que la falta de energÍa elÉctrica podrÍa prolongarse por semanas. ilia: pasamos a puebla, mÉxico, con la visita del presidente a esa zona afectada por el fenÓmeno natural. elian: es una de las poblaciones mÁs afectadas tras el terrible terremoto del 19 de septiembre. miles lo han perdido todo, lo que un dÍa fuera su patrimonio. >> desgraciadamente, una amiga falleciÓ, estÁn en el velorio, pero hay que ayudar a los demÁs. elian: el daÑo en viviendas es grande. los afectados jamÁs imaginaron que el martes por la maÑana serÍa la Última vez que diera sus propiedades intactas. >> quiÉn iba a pensar que hoy fue el Último dÍa que despertÉ en la casa. en el mismo terreno pero con una casa completamente diferente, es triste. elian: un grupo de voluntarios saliÓ a las calles a tratar de remover el escombro. alg

[no audio] --- suficientes soldados ni vehÍculos a puerto rico.e empiece a funcionar la isla, para que funcione los hospitales, los restaurante, para que vuelva la vida a la isla. ya comenzaron a llegar algunos camiones pero todavÍa hay filas que se pueden contar por millar de personas que quieren adquirir un poco de combustible. hicimos un recorrido en uno de estos camiones cisterna. reportero: el problema no es que puerto rico falte combustible. gasolina hay, lo complicado con caminos cerrados, es llevarla donde la necesitan. por eso roberto ayala tiene uno de los trabajos mÁs duros de la isla. >> lo difÍcil es el trÁfico, la carretera. la gente no quiere cooperar. reportero: lo acompaÑamos a llevar 10.000 galones a una gasolinera en las afueras de san juan. >> ahora mismo se ve un ambiente bien hostil en las estaciones. reportero: el cargamento es tan codiciado pero ayala lo lleva con escolta policial. >> la gente no respeta a nosotros como personas. hacen lo que sea para ser primero. reportero: cuando nos acercamos a la gasolinera, la cola de