Category: Weather

Mondel?z International Employees Journey to Cocoa Life Communities for Skills-Exchange Mission

Meet MDLZ's 2018 Class of Joy Ambassadors!
Joy Ambassadors spend two weeks learning about the challenges and opportunities farmers face in growing sustainable cocoa and will share their business expertise to help accelerate the impact of the company’s cocoa sustainability efforts.

DEERFIELD, Ill., (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This month, Mondel?z International is sending 15 colleagues to Ghana, the birthplace of Cocoa Life, the company’s sustainable cocoa program. As part of the “Joy Ambassadors” skills-exchange program, employees will spend two weeks learning about the challenges and opportunities farmers face in growing sustainable cocoa. They will share their business expertise to help accelerate the impact of the company’s cocoa sustainability efforts.

“The Joy Ambassador program supports our ongoing commitment to empower people to snack right by building a cocoa world that delivers positive impact for people and planet,” said Sarah Delea, President of the Mondel?z International Foundation and Senior Director for Well-being and Community Involvement.  “Our Ambassadors gain a deeper understanding of our cocoa supply chain first-hand, grow as leaders and come back to their teams with fresh insights and inspiration from this life-changing experience.”

During their journey, the Ambassadors immerse themselves in the communities and culture by working on the cocoa farms, helping with harvesting, meeting important stakeholders in the Ghanaian cocoa industry and volunteering in local schools.  They also develop and deliver workshops to help farming communities increase their business knowledge and capacity in community-identified development areas such as strategy development, influence and communication, finance, stakeholder management and marketing.e to snack right by building a cocoa world that delivers positive impact for people and planet,” said Sarah Delea, President of the Mondel?z International Foundation and Senior Director for Well-being and Community Involvement.  “Our Ambassadors gain a deeper understanding of our cocoa supply chain first-hand, grow as leaders and come back to their teams with fresh insights and inspiration from this life-changing experience.”

Now in its fifth year, the program is funded by the Mondel?z International Foundation through a partnership with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), the world’s leading independent international development organization working through volunteers to tackle poverty in developing countries.

The 2018 Class of Joy Ambassadors is:

  • Colin Antoni, Plant Manager — Australia
  • Chelsea Briner, Associate Director, Shelf Availability — United States
  • Betina Corbellini, Human Resources Business Lead, Supply Chain, Latin America — Brazil
  • Caroline Decker, Senior Manager, Global Strategy — United States
  • Stefka Ivanova, Category Planning Manager, South Central Europe — Bulgaria
  • Kalshelia Lloyd, Associate Director, Marketing Gum Equity — United States
  • Joaquin Petroni, Senior Counsel, Southern Cone — Argentina
  • Ricardo Quintero, Senior Group Leader, Research, Development & Quality — Colombia
  • Dara Kasouaher, Director Tax Transfer Pricing — United States
  • Michelle Santillan, Category Marketing Manager, Chocolate — Philippines
  • Andre Silva, Associate Director, Supply Chain Management  — Brazil
  • Ilona Simcoe, Quality Manager — Canada
  • Herb Smith, Manager Cocoa Chocolate & Nuts Sourcing — United States
  • Marcelo Trez, Sales Associate Director, Modern Trade — Brazil
  • David Whitworth, Manager FP&A Overheads — United Kingdom

As one of the world’s largest chocolate companies, Mondel?z International is committed to ensuring a sustainable cocoa supply chain through Cocoa Life. Launched in 2012, the program is investing $400 million by 2022 to empower at least 200,000 cocoa farmers and reach over one million community members in six key cocoa-growing origins: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia, India, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.

The company will highlight the experiences of the Joy Ambassadors on www.facebook.com/mondelezinternational and www.twitter.com/mdlz during and after the journey.  Visit the 2017 Impact for Growth Progress Report to learn more about Mondel?z International’s impact strategies and programs.

About Mondel?z International
Mondel?z International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in approximately 160 countries around the world. With 2017 net revenues of approximately $26 billion, MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Tobleronechocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum. Mondel?z International is a proud member of the Standard and Poor’s 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MDLZ.

The Republican chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee sends new offer to Kavanaugh’s accuser

U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh arrives with Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for the second day of his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2018. Photo by Chris Wattie/Reuters
Associated Press//Left: U.S. Supreme Court nominee judge Brett Kavanaugh arrives with Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) for the second day of his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2018. Photo by Chris Wattie/Reuters

AIWA! NO!//The Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is offering in a letter to lawyers for Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser to have his panel’s investigators interview her wherever she wants.

That includes having aides interview Christine Blasey Ford in California, where she lives, according to a person speaking anonymously because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly.

Chairman Chuck Grassley is also setting deadlines. His letter to Ford’s lawyers says his committee’s hearing on her allegations of sexual abuse will begin Monday morning. He says if she intends to testify, she must submit written testimony by Friday morning.

Ford has said she wants the FBI to investigate her accusation before she would testify.

Grassley writes that his panel “cannot commandeer an Executive Branch agency” and ask them to do more work.

READ MORE: Christine Blasey Ford asks for FBI investigation on Kavanaugh before hearing, lawyers say

Associated Press

Poll sensation: Britain will be an anti-Brexit country by January 2019

In January 2019 Britain will officially switch from a pro-Brexit to an anti-Brexit country.

A new survey from YouGov shows that by March 29, it will be difficult to sustain the argument that the British electorate want Brexit to take place. And that’s why voters should have a Final Say. Young voters are especially keen on a new popular vote.

Early next year, Britain will switch from a pro-Brexit to an anti-Brexit country. To be more precise: if not a single voter in the referendum two years ago changes their mind, enough mainly Leave voters will have died, and enough mainly Remain voters will have reached voting age, to wipe out the Leave majority achieved in June 2016.

Crossover Day – when the Leave majority will disappear, even if not a single voter changes their mind about Brexit – will now be in January, according to a sensational YouGov poll.

It’s the Jake bit which will annoy him most

Peter Kellner, the former president of the polling firm, said the Leave majority was now declining by 1,350 a day, due solely to demographic changes – older, mainly Leave, voters dying, while teenagers, who are mainly Remain, reach voting age.

He said he now expected Crossover Day to be January 19, plus or minus a few weeks.

He said: “It is now highly likely that if Brexit goes ahead on March 29, it will be on the basis that – again, assuming that not a single voter has changed their mind – a majority of voters would back Remain.”

Writing on the Independent, he said: “Early next year, Britain will switch from a pro-Brexit to an anti-Brexit country.

“To be more precise: if not a single voter in the referendum two years ago changes their mind, enough mainly Leave voters will have died, and enough mainly Remain voters will have reached voting age, to wipe out the Leave majority achieved in June 2016.”

He said that was the clear conclusion from a new YouGov survey for the People’s Vote Campaign, which shows that demographic factors alone are causing the Leave majority to shrink by around 1,350 per day, or almost half a million a year.

Crossover Day, when Remain moves into the lead, will be January 19. By March 29, the day the UK is due to leave the European Union, the Remain majority will by almost 100,000 – again, assuming that nobody who voted two years ago has changed their mind.

Mr Kellner said: “This means that by March 29, it will be difficult to sustain the view that the settled view of the British electorate is that Brexit should take place. We are told that we should ‘respect the verdict of the people’, and not reopen the decision they – we – reached in 2016.

“The latest research shows that this depends not only on the proposition that voters cannot change their minds, but on a specific definition of ‘the people’. It includes those who have died since the referendum – and excludes almost two million new voters who were too young in 2016 but will be old enough to vote by next March.”

YouGov also found that young voters are especially keen on a “new popular vote”, Mr Kellner said.

“Those too young to take part in the last referendum divide three-to-one in favour,” he said.

“Among those who say they would definitely vote, the margin is more than four-to-one. These figures are not surprising but they are significant. We can debate the wisdom of allowing those who were old enough to vote last time to have second thoughts.

“New voters, however, are not requesting the right to have second thoughts; they want their first chance to take part in a decision that could affect the rest of their lives.”

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Theresa May: ‘No preferential deal for EU citizens’

EU citizens will NOT get preferential treatment after Brexit, says Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott. Non-EU citizens, including those from Commonwealth nations, are treated as “second-class migrants” under the current system.  She said: “Once trade deals have been struck and established there will be no unequal treatment based on which countries people are coming from.‘No preferential deal for EU citizens’

British PM May says EU and non-EU nationals will have the same immigration rights after Brexit

AIWA! NO! //EU and non-EU citizens, including those from India and Australia, could have the same immigration rights after Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated on Monday.
Asked whether the EU would get a preferential deal on immigration rights that would mean they would continue to be able to travel to the U.K. more easily, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4 in an interview that one of the messages from the referendum was that people “didn’t want a situation where they could see people coming having those automatic rights to travel to the U.K. and a set of rules for people outside the EU…”

“What we will be doing is putting forward a set of rules for people from the European Union and people from outside the EU.”

The issue of preferential rights for EU citizens has been a controversial issue throughout the referendum campaign and afterwards. During the referendum campaign, some politicians courted voters from the South Asian diaspora with promises that Brexit — by enabling Britain to restrict the rights of EU citizens to travel to the U.K. — could provide the government with the capacity to ease rules for those from non-EU countries.

Level playing field

Until recently, the Prime Minister had appeared to keep the possibility for preferential rights for EU citizens open. “We will decide who will come into this country,” she said on Monday.

In a recent interview with Sky News, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said it was not a question of increasing immigration for non-EU citizens but to ensure that a “level playing field” was created to ensure that non-EU citizens would have a “better chance of getting access” to the U.K. within the government’s immigration targets.

The Prime Minister has faced growing pressure over her Brexit plan — which has come to be dubbed as the “Chequers Plan” (after the location at which it was forged) that would result in Britain maintaining a common rulebook for goods, including agricultural products, with the EU after Brexit. However, the plan faced criticism from within her own party, and triggered the resignation of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who recently referred to her plans as a “suicide vest”.

The Prime Minister’s language had to be seen as nothing but rhetoric, says Lord Karan Bilimoria, a cross-bench member of the House of Lords, and a vocal critic of the government’s Brexit strategy, who is part of the growing push for putting the terms of the government’s Brexit deal to the British people in a second referendum.

He argues that the government will have little choice but to maintain preferential access for EU citizens, given the practical needs of the U.K. economy, while at the same time making concessions that would open up immigration policy to non-EU countries. “This has to be seen in the same light as the Ms. May’s wider approach to Brexit, and the so-called three lines she set, which are now looking decidedly faded pink.”

HOW THE WEATHER CHANNEL MADE THAT INSANE NORTH CAROLINA STORM SURGE ANIMATION

It’s about the deadly Hurricane Florence; but the graphics in the Weather Channel demonstration are amazing. On one level, yes, the visualization literally just shows what three, six, and nine feet of water looks like. But it’s showing that in a context most people have never experienced. It fills in the gaps of your imagination, and hopefully underscores for anyone in a flood zone all the reasons they should not be.

A year ago, this wouldn’t have been possible. In fact, this specific demonstration wouldn’t have been possible a month ago.

blob:https://www.youtube.com/7e1fa9f0-760e-41c4-9ad7-5a2785a39192

https://youtu.be/bRkXPuGAHkE
AT A CERTAIN point, you think you have a good grasp of what to expect from weather graphics. A color-coded map, a five-day forecast with a sassy cloud. Which might be why the Weather Channel’s 3-D, room-encompassing depiction of the Hurricane Florence storm surge took so many by surprise. It doesn’t tell, it shows, more bracingly than you’d think would be possible on a meteorological update. Here’s how they did it.If you haven’t seen the graphic yet, take a moment to watch the segment below. It starts normally enough, with a top-side view of the Eastern seaboard, showing the “reasonable worst-case scenario” of water levels. (The data comes from the National Hurricane Center.) But about 45 seconds in, a shift occurs. Meteorologist Erika Navarro stands not in a studio, but on a neighborhood street corner. And then the waters around her start to rise.

A year ago, this wouldn’t have been possible. In fact, this specific demonstration wouldn’t have been possible a month ago. The Weather Channel only finished the new “green screen immersive studio” at its Atlanta headquarters this week. With peak hurricane season coming, it wanted to be prepared. “It was all hands on deck,” says Michael Potts, TWC’s vice president of design.

Fortunately, they’ve already had some practice with this sort of thing. About 18 months ago, Potts says, the broadcast industry at large started getting serious about the quality of graphics it could offer, thanks in part to the rising popularity of egaming. Seeing potential for weather coverage, TWC invested in the use of Unreal Engine, the same suite of tools that powers countless video games (yes, including Fortnite.

Working with The Future Group, a company that specializes in “interactive mixed reality,” TWC began building out the various elements it would need to make extreme—or mundane, if there were ever cause for it—weather events feel like they were happening in-studio. In June, they buzzed anchor Jim Cantore with a tornado. In late July, they blasted lightning.

But as impressive as those previous demonstrations were, they lacked the immersiveness and fidelity that Thursday’s Hurricane Florence display provided. That’s both because of the wrap-around green screen, which helps completely surround Navarro, and the immediacy of the data the graphic is based on.

“The National Hurricane Center puts out a live feed of their inundation data, telling at specific points where they identify how high the water level will be. We ingest that data, and that allows us to paint pictures, if you will,” says Potts. “Prior to that, we imagined what the different environments could be. You see the typical American street corner; we have others that we’re working on. We rapidly operationalized this one so that we could get this out and make sure we had the right safety messages out for this storm.”

TWC had also previously worked with The Future Group to prep a water animation that they could place at different heights as needed. Having those elements ready to go ahead of time made the actual execution surprisingly seamless.

“All the graphic elements are loaded up into the system. Then each one of the scenarios is called upon by the data from the National Hurricane Center, so the map that’s displayed is live and in real time. And that’s informing what the environment’s going to be,” says Potts. “The operator has a tool that lets him choose the right scenario.”

For this specific clip, it took only 90 minutes from the time NHC data came in to broadcast the final product.

‘The entire goal is to try to paint and recreate a reality that’s in the future.’

MICHAEL POTTS, THE WEATHER CHANNEL

That short window of time belies how much tech underpins the rest of the operation, though. The studio is outfitted with a Mo-Sys camera tracking system, a physical box that attaches to a camera, and uses sensors and an IR signal to triangulate the camera’s position in a virtual space. TWC also needed specialized software to translate the Unreal Engine graphics into a broadcast-ready format.

Now that much of the groundwork is laid, expect to see more of these immersive demonstrations—and keep an eye out for the surprising amount of detail they can have. “We can control any number of scenarios, from how high the water needs to be, the wave height, the speed of the waves on top, and then the rain density and the clouds, how dark and overcast it’s going to be,” says Potts. “The entire goal is to try to paint and recreate a reality that’s in the future. This is what to expect. This is really honestly what it could look like if you looked out your window and weren’t prepared.”

Bringing extreme weather to life obviously isn’t an entirely altruistic goal; it’s compelling television, too. Potts contends, though, that videos like this one also contain a valuable safety message. You know what nine feet is, and you know what water looks like. But the two rarely go together, outside of swimming pools and disaster movies. Seeing what it looks like on a street corner that resembles your own might be enough to get someone to evacuate if they’d had any hesitation. At the very least, it lets the rest of the world know just how bad it could get.

While only one studio at TWC supports the full suite of technology needed to create an animated storm surge, the company hopes to build out more. You can expect to see more demonstrations like this one, says Potts, as well new animations for wildfires and extreme weather events.

“We’ve talked about transforming the way that we present weather, evolving it into something that’s a visceral kind of experience, where you just want to watch the presentation because it’s amazing, because it’s beautiful,” says Potts. “Because you’re learning something, and you may not even know you’re learning something.”

 

Trump disputes death toll from Puerto Rico hurricane disaster; Florence’s onslaught pummels North and South Carolina

“It truly is really about the whole size of this storm,” NHC Director Ken Graham says. “The larger and the slower the storm is, the greater the threat and the impact — and we have that.” About 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million more live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, National Weather Service (NWS) says

This file photo taken on October 3, 2017, shows US President Donald Trump during his visit to Puerto Rico after the deadly hurricanes. (Photo by AFP)
AIWA! NO!//US President Donald Trump has disputed the official death toll of 3,000 from hurricanes in Puerto Rico last year, falsely claiming Democrats in Congress had fabricated the fake figure.

“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000,” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico.Fatalities from the storms had been officially recorded at 11 and 64, respectively. However, earlier this month, the island’s governor formally raised the death toll from hurricane-related deaths to an estimated 2,975.

Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, once again strongly criticized both the president and his administration for their poor response to hurricanes.”This is what denial following neglect looks like: Mr Pres in the real world people died on your watch,” she wrote on Twitter.”YOUR LACK OF RESPECT IS APPALLING!” she added before calling Trump delusional and unhinged from reality.

“This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico… I love Puerto Rico!” he added.

Trump has praise the handling of Hurricane Maria, saying earlier this week that it was “an incredible, unsung success.”

His tweets come as his administration prepares for Hurricane Florence – a category two storm – whose high winds have already begun to batter the US East Coast.

Hurricanes typically provide a platform for elected officials to display leadership and strength. And a poor response, such as the government’s during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, can do significant damage to approval ratings.

The emergency response to Maria became highly politicized as the Trump administration was criticized as being slow in providing disaster relief to Puerto Rico.

Pointless dispute

Republicans parted ways with Trump in the dispute over the death toll.

House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters he has “no reason to dispute those numbers.” “Casualties don’t make a person look bad, so I have no reason to dispute these numbers,” he said on Thursday.

“I disagree with @POTUS,” Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott wrote on Twitter.

Representative Carlos Curbelo, another Republican from South Florida said he could not understand why Trump would dispute the official death toll, inaccurately claiming the number of people who died was lower that announced.

“We should all be focused on what is about to happen in the Carolinas and not politicize hurricanes and hurricane relief,” Mr. Curbelo said.

Also Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, once again strongly criticized both the president and his administration for their poor response to hurricanes.

“This is what denial following neglect looks like: Mr Pres in the real world people died on your watch,” she wrote on Twitter.

“YOUR LACK OF RESPECT IS APPALLING!” she added before calling Trump delusional and unhinged from reality.

‘Mr. President. SHUT UP’: Florida Republicans pan Trump’s Puerto Rico conspiracy

Scott’s appointee, Levine, did not want to discuss the politics of it. But, when asked about the potential political damage, Levine said via text message that “I can’t imagine it helps. Rick Scott genuinely earned their trust and faith through his work I helping Puerto Rico … The President’s crass statements about himself are so disgraceful and hurtful to people who did die.”

President Donald Trump.
Focus groups show that Trump’s association with a Republican drags down a candidate’s support among Puerto Ricans. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

By MIAMI — Florida Republicans are angered by President Donald Trump advancing a conspiracy theory casting doubt on Hurricane Maria’s estimated death toll in Puerto Rico. Even Trump’s two top Florida allies, Gov. Rick Scott and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, disagreed with his insensitive comments.

Exploding on Twitter two months before Election Day, Trump’s comments have the potential to intensify Boricua voter registration efforts and perhaps election turnout. And that, Republicans and Democrats say, could prove crucial in Florida’s hotly contested races for U.S. Senate and governor, which are essentially tied races.

“3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much,” Trump wrote on Twitter, ignoring the fact that the island’s government paid for independent research to determine the death toll, which was impossible to measure after last year’s storm because it crippled every aspect of Puerto Rico’s government.

Trump also blamed Democrats for releasing the casualty numbers to make him look bad.

“I disagree with @POTUS– an independent study said thousands were lost and Gov. Rosselló agreed. I’ve been to Puerto Rico 7 times & saw devastation firsthand,” Scott, the Republican nominee for Senate, wrote hours later on Twitter. “The loss of any life is tragic; the extent of lives lost as a result of Maria is heart wrenching. I’ll continue to help PR.”

Facing Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Scott has increasingly put some distance between himself and Trump. But DeSantis, who owes his Aug. 28 gubernatorial primary win to Trump, hadn’t criticized the president publicly. That changed Thursday.

“Ron DeSantis is committed to standing with the Puerto Rican community, especially after such a tragic loss of life. He doesn’t believe any loss of life has been inflated,” DeSantis’ campaign said.

Scott, whose Senate bid was encouraged by Trump and who raised money for Trump’s 2016 super PAC, had no comment through his office or Senate campaign. Both Scott and DeSantis have campaigned for Boricua votes in Florida and traveled to the island.

But Alan Levine, a Republican appointed Scott to Florida’s university governing board, couldn’t keep quiet.

“Mr. President. SHUT UP,” Levine replied to Trump on Twitter. “Any death, whether one or 3,000 is a tragedy. That doesn’t mean you caused it, and its not about you. Show compassion for the families,” Levine wrote. “Learn what we can so future response can improve. Honestly….”

Levine told POLITICO he was shocked the president was focusing on this rather than Hurricane Florence as it takes aim at the Carolinas. Levine is one of the top government experts in hurricane response. He was hospital agency director under Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a Republican, when eight hurricanes damaged the state in 2004 and 2005. And he led Louisiana’s hospital agency under Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal when hurricanes Gustav and Ike damaged that state.

Florida state Rep. Bob Cortes, a Republican of Puerto Rican descent who heads DeSantis’ Boricua outreach, fretted at the comments from Trump.

“Every morning there is something new that the president tweets,” Cortes told WFTV. “I have no reason to doubt the number of 2,975 deaths in Puerto Rico.”

Earlier in the week, Trump reignited a feud with Puerto Rican officials over what he felt was a lack of credit for his administration’s storm response, which was widely panned.

Florida has more than 1.1 million Puerto Rican residents, and as many as 500,000 could be registered to vote among the 13 million active registered voters. Thousands flocked to Florida after the hurricane. While as many as eight in 10 Puerto Ricans often vote Democratic, a higher number register as independents, and polls suggest Republicans can make big inroads this year.

But Trump might be an impediment.

A recent poll of 1,000 Florida Puerto Ricans found only 18 percent approve of the president, and 72 percent disapprove. His net rating is a negative 53 percent. By contrast, Scott’s net approval rating is a positive 57 percent — so he’s running 104 percentage points better than the president. Scott has held his own with Puerto Rican voters in a head-to-head poll against Nelson, whose campaign got off to a late start in reaching out to Puerto Ricans while Scott figuratively opened Florida’s doors to them.

Nelson today called Trump‘s comments “shameful.”

Focus groups show, however, that Trump’s association with a Republican drags down a candidate’s support among Puerto Ricans.

To that end, Nelson’s campaign the day before began running a new Spanish-language ad called “amigos” that links Scott with Nelson.

“Dime con quien andas y te diré quiten eres,” the ad says, meaning “tell me who you are with and I’ll tell you what you are.”

Democratic state Rep. Amy Mercado, who’s also of Puerto Rican descent and who has deep roots in the Central Florida Boricua community, said she took little pleasure out of the “disgusting” comments made by Trump. She called the Republicans who support Trump “enablers.”

“As for outreach,” she said via text message, “the Prez and his supporters have shown their true colors, so what they are doing is actually empowering the people on the ground especially evacuees to pay attention and organize.”

Scott’s appointee, Levine, did not want to discuss the politics of it. But, when asked about the potential political damage, Levine said via text message that “I can’t imagine it helps. Rick Scott genuinely earned their trust and faith through his work I helping Puerto Rico … The President’s crass statements about himself are so disgraceful and hurtful to people who did die.”

©POLITICO

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