Progressive Briefing for Wednesday, September 12

Energy Transfer pipeline explodes in Pennsylvania, Trump calls Puerto Rico an 'unsung success', the fight against world hunger, and more.

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Energy Transfer pipeline explodes in Pennsylvania

pipeline exploded in Beaver County, Pennsylvania at approximately 5 a.m. Monday morning, causing a large fire and prompting the evacuation of dozens of homes in the area.

The 24-inch natural gas line, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners and its subsidiary Sunoco, was buried three feet deep and activated only a week ago on Sept. 3.

The valves to the pipeline were shut off and the fire extinguished itself by 7 a.m., the company said in a statement via WPXI’s Mike Holden:

Lawmaker to Trump on Puerto Rico: “3,000 dead Americans isn’t an ‘unsung success,’ it’s a national disgrace”

President Donald Trump provoked immediate outrage on Tuesday with his “disgusting” declaration on national television that the federal government’s widely condemned response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria—which led to thousands of dead Americans—”was an incredible, unsung success.”

“I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful,” the president said. “I actually think it was one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about.”

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reveals stunning records showing the Trump admn. shifted money from FEMA to ICE ahead of hurricane season

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported Tuesday night that President Donald Trump’s administration took nearly $10 million funds from FEMA’s budget and transferred to ICE ahead of the hurricane season this summer, according to documents provided by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The news, breaking just as Hurricane Florence threatens to wreak havoc on the East Coast, is stunning given the extreme devastation brought by last year’s hurricane season. A recent report found that Hurricane Maria in 2017 killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico after a federal response that faced heavy criticism.

More of the world’s population is facing food insecurity than ever before

Hunger around the world is up again for the third year in a row. According to an annual U.N. report, “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World,” 821 million people went hungry last year.

Whether they “failed to get enough nutrients to maintain a normal active life” or went for days without any food, 6 million more people were “undernourished” in 2016, NPR reported. This trend, which started in 2014 when the U.N. report confirmed a total of 783.7 million people went through severe food insecurity, is continuing to grow among adults and children. Now, roughly 11 percent of the world’s population is facing food insecurity.

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