U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed, without evidence, that Democrats made up a new report estimating that nearly 3,000 Americans living in Puerto Rico died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In the year since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, Trump has repeatedly downplayed the turmoil on the island. His defiant defence of his administration’s response has ramped up in recent days as the East Coast braces for another storm: Hurricane Florence. Some outlets, for example, called Puerto Rico funeral homes and discovered far more deaths than initially reported. I love Puerto Rico!” But the study’s results have been embraced by Puerto Rico officials as likely accurate after months of standing by early reports of just 64 deaths.

Source: thestar September 15, 2018 16:30 UTC