Props to CNN for actually asking the right questions here:
CNN: As Hurricane Helene was making landfall, Biden was at the beach, Kamala was flying between ritzy California fundraisers, and you were at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles. How do you respond to these allegations?
Mayorkas: Kate uhh, we don’t uhh listen to or uhh pay attention to uhh such unproductive, uhh, and quite frankly, uhh counterproductive words.
Florida isn't messing around regarding the storm shelters: "Anyone who comes in will be checked to make sure that they're not a fugitive and not wanted and not a sex offender. If you are a predator, you are NOT ALLOWED at the shelter. If you are designated under Florida law as a sex predator and you need shelter, you need to go to the Perry Hall inmate detention facility, that's the county jail on Justice Ln, and we will accommodate you in the lobby of that building. You've probably seen it before, I would guess."
One of the things that came up during my visit to NC yesterday is that a lot of families believe their temporary shelter assistance has expired. That's actually not true. If you're in Western NC, this assistance has been extended.
The list of cooperating hotels can be found at femaemergencyhotels.com
To use that hotel locator, you need your registration number. If you live in Western NC and forgot your number, please call 800-621-3362.
For those wondering what this is all about: temporary shelter assistance is a program that exists to help people who have been made homeless by a natural disaster. We want to make sure everyone in NC has a home--even a temporary home--this Christmas season!
FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene, and possibly lack thereof, in North Carolina has prompted a congressional subcommittee hearing this week.
"Oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency: Operational Challenges and Opportunities for Reform," as it is entitled, will be heard by the Committee on Oversight’s subcommittee on Government Operations.
The 25th week of recovery across the mountains is wrapping up with fiscal assistance packages still moving through federal and state channels. Approved assistance from FEMA is more than $10 million, the agency within the Department of Homeland Security said in a release Wednesday.