Hurricane Headlines: Victims Evacuate via Cruise Ship While Distribution of Aid Lags

In San Juan, thousands of Puerto Ricans boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise ship Thursday, joining evacuees from the U.S. Virgin Islands bound for the mainland U.S. Meanwhile, a vast stockpile of food, water and medicine is piling up at the main port in San Juan, Puerto Rico. A shortage of truck drivers and fuel is preventing the aid from being delivered to the island’s 3.5 million residents, many of whom remain without electricity, communications and clean water more than a week after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. At least 10,000 shipping containers containing the aid are stockpiled at the port, overwhelming the 4,400 U.S. military members who are scrambling to distribute to rural areas where much of the infrastructure is in shambles. On Thursday, the Trump administration said it would waive the Jones Act for 10 days, after Puerto Rico’s governor and others demanded the U.S. waive shipping restrictions under the law.