Obama declares emergency over foul water in MI

Meanwhile, more and more water came into Flint and the Red Cross gave the media a tour of its warehouse. Exposure to lead can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in children and kidney ailments in adults.

News that President Barack Obama approved Gov. Rick Snyder’s request for federal aid to Flint was welcomed with a sense of relief by the city’s mayor, Karen Weaver, on Saturday.

Obama has “ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions in the area affected by contaminated water”, a White House release states.

After reading about Flint’s plight-more than 100,000 people have been consuming tained water since 2014-Cher contacted her friend Brad Horwitz, an investor in the spring water company Icelandic Glacial.

“The city is still billing residents for the contaminated water being pumped to their homes and expecting immediate payment”, said Sylvia Orduno of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization. They have called for his resignation or face criminal charges for his role in the administration that switched the water source for the city to the Flint River.

The federal emergency status means that Washington will pay for 75 per cent of the cost of shipping in bottled water and supplying residents with filters.

“This a tragedy of staggering proportion and shocking that it’s happening in the middle of our country”, Cher stated.

But reports in MI said President Obama denied that request, that would have freed up more than the $5m, as such declarations are only made for natural disasters.

The rally, which will be held at 1:30 p.m. local time (1830 GMT) at the Heavenly Host Church of the Harvest, comes two days before Michigan Governor Rick Snyder gives his annual speech about the state. The 181,440 bottles are expected to reach the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan starting Wednesday. One reason health officials say they can not be directly link the cases to the water change in Flint is the they don’t have isolates from case patients.

Cher, on her Twitter account Saturday, called for other celebrities to follow her lead.