5 things you need to know now
- Trump visits Houston, Louisiana to focus on Harvey victims
President Trump is making a second trip to Texas Saturday as "comforter-in-chief," personally observing the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. "He'll have the chance to meet extensively with quite a few storm survivors, as well as talk with some of the volunteers that are helping administer a lot of the support that these individuals have needed over the last week," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "And then from there, he'll go to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where he'll do a stop there as well, meeting with a lot of the volunteers and other storm survivors." The president's first Texas visit Tuesday was criticized for its self-congratulatory tone and focus on the logistics of federal responses to Harvey flooding rather than the suffering of those affected by the catastrophic floods.
Source: The Associated Press, Reuters
- Trump seeks $14 billion in immediate, future Harvey relief funds
The Trump administration on Friday requested $7.85 billion in immediate relief aid for the victims of Hurricane Harvey as well as an additional $6.7 billion in Harvey clean-up funding to be added to the omnibus spending bill Congress must pass by the end of September to avert a government shutdown. Some $7.4 billion of the emergency allocation will fund the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the remaining $450 million will pay for small business loans to facilitate economic recovery. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both said Friday they are prepared to "act quickly" to approve President Trump's funding requests.
Source: The Hill, The Associated Press
- U.S. and South Korea to revise missile treaty, talk arms deal
President Trump spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Friday to discuss the next move the United States and South Korea will make in response to North Korea's string of provocative missile tests. The presidents agreed to revise a missile treaty between Washington and Seoul, raising the cap on South Korean missile accumulation. Additionally, "President Trump provided his conceptual approval of planned purchases by South Korea of billions of dollars in American military equipment," said a White House statement, suggesting Seoul's weapons stockpile will expand via an American arms deal. A statement from Moon's office cast the changes discussed as "necessary to strengthen South Korea's defense capabilities."
Source: The Hill, Reuters
- Wildfires rage in California, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Large wildfires are burning in Western states including California, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, requiring evacuations and road closures. Firefighting efforts are complicated by hot weather with low humidity, as well as "very steep and rugged terrain." Much of the region, even in areas relatively distant from the fires, is dealing with heavy smoke that is raising health concerns and disrupting outdoor events. "There aren't even the correct health categories to describe what they're seeing," said air quality specialist Saran Coefield of the smoke in one Montana town.
Source: The Associated Press, USA Today
- Hurricane Irma expected to escalate, won't strike Houston
Hurricane Irma is currently a Category 2 storm but expected to escalate as high as Category 5 before making landfall early next week. As of Saturday, the "extremely dangerous" hurricane is still over the Atlantic Ocean and moving toward the Caribbean, particularly the Leewards Islands. Contrary to a faked weather prediction map widely shared on social media this week, Irma is not expected to reach Houston or other areas already suffering catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Mexico's Baja California Peninsula is also drenched in heavy rains Saturday thanks to Tropical Storm Lidia, which has produced flooding that has killed at least four people.