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A contract in which a company of engineers will help bring power back to Puerto Rico.

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A small Montana utility firm with ties to the Trump administration has won a major multimillion-dollar contract to help restore large portions of Puerto Rico's crippled electrical grid.

Whitefish Energy, a two-year old electrical utility firm, announced last week it secured a $300 million contract from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to repair and reconstruct parts of the island's electrical infrastructure.

This is the largest contract awarded to any company for relief efforts on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The deal surpassed a six-month contract worth $240 million to Fluor Corp. from the Army Corps of Engineers to help bring power back to the island and a $35.1 million contract to Weston Solutions to provide two generators for temporary power to the city of San Juan.

The arrangementhas raised a few eyebrows among Democrats given that Whitefish only had two employees the day Hurricane Maria hit.Already, Whitefish has scaled up to 300 employees in Puerto Rico -- and it says 700 more are on the way. Such quick growth is typical among utility firms when they are awarded large contracts.

On Tuesday, both a House anda Senate committee called for a review into the Whitefish contract.

Related: San Juan's mayor takes on small Montana firm over power contract

"Today I am calling on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the circumstances surrounding the multi-million dollar contract awarded to Whitefish Energy -- a brand new company with two employees," said Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, on Tuesday.

"The size and unknown details of this contract raises numerous questions," said Parish Braden, a spokesman for the House Committee on Natural Resources, which is also reviewing Whitefish's role in Puerto Rico.

Othershave questioned why PREPA did not choose a larger, more established utility.

"Congress needs to understand why the Whitefish contract was awarded and whether other, more cost-effective options were available," said Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva from Arizona, in a statement Tuesday.

PREPA's executive director, Ricardo Ramos, told reporters last week during a press conference the cash-strapped island chose Whitefish because it didn't require a big deposit upfront. The other unnamed contenderwanted a $25 million down payment for the work, Ramos said.

"In that moment, we were not in a position to offer that collateral," said Ramos. "The other company did not ask for a guarantee of payment."

But some on Capitol Hill are concerned that Whitefish may have stood out for another reason.

The tiny utility company is based in Whitefish, Montana, which also happens to be the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Both Zinke and Whitefish CEO Andy Techmanski acknowledge knowing one another. Zinke's office described Whitefish as a "small town" with a population of roughly 6,000 people. One of the secretary's sons "joined a friend who worked a summer job at one their [Whitefish's] construction sites."

Related: Relief group hits major hurdles getting aid to Puerto Rico

Whitefish spokesman Ken Luce confirmed an Oct. 1 report by NBC Montana, which quoted Techmanski as saying he reached out to Zinke after winning the contractto help get resources to the island more quickly,

But Luce told CNN that the company did not make any requests to the administration except for one after the contract was signed on Sept. 26.

"The secretary had absolutely nothing to do with Whitefish getting the contract," he said.

Zinke's office acknowledged they received an email from Techmanski, but said no one at the agency took any further action.On Tuesday, the spokeswoman for the Department of Interior told CNN Zinke played no role in securing the work for Whitefish in Puerto Rico.

Techmanski, who has described the firm as specializing in "difficult and mountainous terrain projects," has downplayed any ties to the administration.

"All I can say is, we took the call and we're here," Techmanskitold CNN Friday, referring to a call from director Ramos. "We called each other."

Still, PREPA, a state-owned utility, chose to hire Whitefish rather than initiate agreements with other utilities to help recover from the natural disaster more quickly.

The bankrupt utility, which is $9 billion in debt, could have requested aid after Maria through the American Public Power Association, a network that provides help to other utilities during widespread power outages. That's what Texas and Florida did after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Related: Workers are dangling from helicopters to fix Puerto Rico's power lines

A PREPA representative did not respond to an email from CNN asking why the utility didn't activate the mutual-aid network.

On Monday, Rep. Nydia Velázquez -- a New York Democrat -- sent a letter to the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency raising questions on the handling of such contracts to restore power and water to the crippled island.

"Due to the island's current state of affairs, there is a legitimate and unquestionable need to expedite the process of restoring power and water for the residents in Puerto Rico," Velázquez wrote in the letter. "However, such an accelerated procurement process should not be without sufficient safeguards and proper oversight mechanisms."

CNNMoney (Washington) First published October 24, 2017: 8:01 PM ET

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Donna Borak, Rene Marsh and Gregory Wallace

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Questions swirl after small Montana firm lands Puerto Rico power contract

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Whitefish Energy, a two-year old electrical utility firm, announced last week it secured a $300 million contract from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to repair and reconstruct parts of the island's electrical infrastructure. This is the largest contract awarded to any company for relief efforts on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

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31 year old man dies after helping many of those in need with house repairs. Unfortunately, after doing justice for those in need, he dies from a flesh-eating disease.

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A 31-year-old man died last week after being diagnosed with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, the Galveston County Health District announced Monday.

The man has been identified as Josue Zurita, according to CNN affiliate KHOU, and he was helping repair several homes damaged by flooding from Harvey.

Zurita went to the hospital on October 10 with a seriously infected wound on his upper left arm and was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, according to the Galveston County Health District.

In an obituary on the Galveston-based Carnes Brothers Funeral Home's website, Zurita was called a "loving father and hard-working carpenter" who moved to the United States from Mexico to help his family and "remained to help with the rebuilding after hurricane Harvey."

Zurita's death follows that of Nancy Reed, a 77-year-old Houston-area woman who died in September from necrotizing fasciitis related to Harvey floodwaters.

J.R. Atkins, a former first responder, also contracted a flesh-eating bacterial infection but survived, according to KHOU. He had been kayaking through floodwaters to check on neighbors affected by the hurricane, according to a Facebook post in September.

"We're surprised we saw three of them in the region, but given the exposure to all the construction and potential injuries that people would have ... it shouldn't be surprising. It's well within what we would expect given those numbers," said Dr. Philip Keiser, the Galveston County local health authority.

Yet such infections as necrotizing fasciitis are very rare, Keiser said. Since 2010, about 700 to 1,100 cases occur each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Several types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, according to the National Institutes of Health. Such an infection can spread quickly and kills the body's soft tissue, especially if it infects a wound that is not properly cared for, Keiser said. The infection also can become lethal within a short amount of time.

"What happens is, you get some kind of break in the skin, and in that area -- between the skin and the muscle -- it's a fairly open space where the bacteria can grow," Keiser said.

"I have seen these things spread over hours. Even in one case, as I was examining a patient, I could see the red spread in the minutes I was examining him, and that's the real danger to it," Keiser said. "As it spreads, it's going up the space between the muscle and skin, and as it does that, it kills all the nerves and the blood vessels can clot."

To prevent such deadly infections, proper wound care is key, according to Keiser and the CDC.

Keep open wounds covered with clean, dry bandages until they heal, especially if you are working in floodwaters, and avoid contact with natural bodies of water if you have an open wound. Don't delay treating minor, non-infected wounds, and wash hands often with soap and water.

Also, if you notice any redness or swelling of a wound, or if you have a fever, seek medical attention.

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man dies of flesh-eating bacteria after harvey cleanup - cnn

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Man dies from flesh-eating bacteria after Harvey cleanup

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A 31-year-old man died last week after being diagnosed with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection known as necrotizing fasciitis, the Galveston County Health District announced Monday. The man has been identified as Josue Zurita, according to CNN affiliate KHOU, and he was helping repair several homes damaged by flooding from Harvey.

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Houston officer is the first to respond to those in need; going above and beyond in terms of finding shelter, food, and comfort for those in need.

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The soft-spoken 55-year-old is battling stage 4 colon cancer, and the disease has spread to his liver and lungs.

But as parts of Louisiana and Texas began to flood from Hurricane Harvey, Ramón couldn't stand the idea of not doing his job.

"Our oath is to go out and protect and serve other people," Ramón said. "You're always concerned about other people. You don't dwell on yourself."

He's an officer first

Ramón, after all, is not a man who gives up. When all the rain was making it impossible to find a way to his station downtown, he "(got) up on the curb just to make the turnaround and get back on the freeway," he recalled. He then drove to the one station he knew he could still reach: Lake Patrol, right on Lake Houston.

Ramón, who is in his 24th year on the force, contacted his sergeant and told him that's where he would be helping out.

For the month of August, Ramón had been on desk duty. While enduring chemotherapy every two weeks, he needed a break from the blistering Texas heat. But now it was the start of September and he was itching to get back outside. "(I'd) rather be out in the street," Ramón explained. "I enjoy being out there."

"Out there," in this case, meant out in the water. The officers took the boats normally used to patrol the lake and put them in the floodwaters above the now sunken streets. On the boats, they had to navigate around trees and cars that sat below the water's surface as they made their way to residents in need of rescue.

"Once we got there, then it was just normal work," Ramón said. "We were just working. We're loading people, getting them out." The people were taken to buses that took them to shelters.

Back and forth the officers navigated the murky water to rescue people. Amid the chaos, there were some images that Ramón won't forget.

"What sticks in my head is those children. I mean, you'd see different emotions. Some were, you know, scared. Some were excited. Some were happy," Ramón recalled, noting that there was often sadness in the adults' eyes. "There was a lot of people walking in the water. There were kids out there swimming."

Reason for concern

But there were risks. The water was full of bacteria, Ramón's platelet count was low and he was putting in long days. Working in 12-hour shifts, the officers were responding to an onslaught of calls from people who needed to be rescued from their flooded homes and apartments. Bayous snake throughout much of the Houston area. As these waterways overflowed their banks, the water had nowhere else to go but up, swiftly surging into neighborhoods and putting residents at risk.

Over three days, from sunrise to sunset, the entire unit pulled some 1,500 people to safety. Ramón estimates he helped rescue 200 or 300 people, maybe more. While all this was going on, Ramón's wife of 13 years, Cindy Ramón, was at home watching the water that had infiltrated their neighbors' yard creep closer to their property.

She kept track of the water and would text updates to her husband, who stayed at the police station in the midst of the flooding. Luckily, their home was spared. While Cindy was worried about their house, she was more concerned about her husband's health.

"I didn't know how it would affect him, but at the same token, I knew there was nothing I could say or do that was going to hold him back," Cindy said.

Houston Police Sgt. Epi Garza, who has known Ramón for about 15 years, was one of the first to learn of his cancer diagnosis. With Ramón now working from Lake Patrol, Garza felt somewhat responsible for him. "I knew that I had to monitor him, see for myself," Garza said. "At no time he showed me or the guys any types of signs that this disease was affecting his performance."

In fact, Ramón was not in any pain and he was comfortable even though he was soaking wet. The only thing bothering him was a blistery rash across his face, a side-effect from the chemotherapy.

'He's not looking for sympathy'

For boat rescues, Ramón was paired with Senior Police Officer Alvin Steelman, who had no idea Ramón is battling cancer. When the two met, they had to get straight to work; there was no time to get to know each other. But Steelman saw a man who was holding his own with all the other first responders.

"He's not looking for sympathy. He just wants to be part of the team and he was," Steelman said. "He's stepping up and just doing what's necessary to help someone else without even looking back. No hesitation at all, and I was pretty amazed by it."

Garza believes in some ways Hurricane Harvey brought Ramón some relief. "For three days of his life after being diagnosed, he was in a world where he didn't have to think about it," Garza said. "He was really happy being occupied knowing that he was doing something that was amazing, which was helping people."

Officer one day, cancer patient the next

Lake Patrol was in full-on rescue mode for three days, and a little bit of the fourth. On the fifth day, Ramón quietly slipped away. With the airports closed from Hurricane Harvey, he and his wife drove to Oklahoma so he could get chemotherapy.

"The only time it hits me, reality hits me, is when I have to leave ... and go get my chemo," Ramón said, getting emotional. "I'm out there on the street and then I got to leave half the day to go out there and do that." He pauses and takes a breath before continuing, "But as long as I'm with these guys, you know, they keep me up."

At 50 years old, Ramón had a colonoscopy. "They did find some polyps and they told me to come back in three years," Ramón said. "Came back in three years, no symptoms, just had a regular colonoscopy -- and they told me I had cancer."

That diagnosis in March 2016 was devastating; the cancer was already stage 4. Ramón immediately underwent surgery to remove part of his intestine and started chemotherapy two months later.

"There was no in between," he said, remembering how he was in the best shape of his life when he found out he was sick. "I [had] started seeing a nutritionist. I lost all this weight. I was running. I was down to like 7% body fat."

'It can be beat'

While he has been told he has about five years to live, he's using his platform to encourage other cancer patients to stay optimistic. "People have told me that they were diagnosed with just six months to live and now they're on their 19th year," Ramón said. "So I mean, it can be beat. You just got to figure out where to go and what to do."

For Ramón, that means spending time fishing with Cindy, talking about anything but cancer and, of course, continuing to work as a Houston police officer.

"As long as they put me on full duty and doctors say 'you can go out there,' I just want to be treated like I don't even have it," Ramón said, his voice just above a whisper. "Just a regular officer without cancer."

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houston officer saves hundreds in hurricane harvey - cnn

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Officer fighting cancer saves hundreds in hurricane

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The soft-spoken 55-year-old is battling stage 4 colon cancer, and the disease has spread to his liver and lungs. But as parts of Louisiana and Texas began to flood from Hurricane Harvey, Ramón couldn't stand the idea of not doing his job. "Our oath is to go out and protect and serve other people," Ramón said.

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Puerto Rico stands in the midst of one of the largest and longest black outs in history.

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In all, Hurricane Maria has caused a loss of 1.25 billion hours of electricity supply for Americans, according to the analysis from the economic research firm Rhodium Group. That makes it the largest blackout in US history, well ahead of Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the group said.

That 1.25 billion number will continue to grow. More than a month after Hurricane Maria knocked out the electric grid on the islands, the vast majority of residents remain without electricity, and the restoration of that power is months away.

The Rhodium Group analysis largely relies on data on electricity loss provided to the Department of Energy, as well as news reports for storms prior to 2000, according to Trevor Houser, a partner at Rhodium who co-wrote the analysis with Peter Marsters.

Houser said the group analyzes the economic impacts of weather and climate events, and they decided to dig in more deeply on the impacts of Maria on the Puerto Rican economy.

"As we started looking at the scale of the blackout and try to put that in historical context, it became clear this was a record-breaking event and worthy of some attention and focus just from an electric standpoint," Houser said.

9 of top 10 are hurricane-related

Other major storms or incidents have knocked out power for more people, but those were for shorter periods of time.

For example, the 2003 blackouts in the Northeast US affected about 30 million people, but the power was restored within a few days. That incident caused the loss of 592 million customer-hours of electricity, according to Rhodium Group, making it the eighth-largest blackout in US history.

Puerto Rico has a smaller population -- about 3.4 million -- but the blackout has lasted for a much longer stretch of time. As of Thursday, just 26% of households had power restored, according to data from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).

PREPA, a state-owned utility, filed for bankruptcy in July, is $9 billion in debt and is struggling to recover from the hurricane outages. Not coincidentally, several of the top 10 blackouts in US history involve Puerto Rico, including Maria and Irma this year and Hurricane Georges in 1998.

Whitefish Energy, a two-year-old utility firm with ties to the Trump administration, was awarded a $300 million contract from PREPA last week to help restore the country's power grid. The huge contract to a small company has led to questions and criticism from Puerto Rican politicians.

The Virgin Islands, with a much smaller population, has similarly struggled to restore power since Hurricane Maria. As of October 22, just 14.9% of customers had power, according to the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority. That includes about 71% without power on St. Thomas, 98.4% without power on St. Croix and 100% without power on St. John.

Aside from the 2003 blackout, all of the biggest blackouts in US history were due to hurricanes or major storms, including Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Ike in 2008, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

This year's hurricane season has been particularly destructive. Hurricane Irma, the Category 5 storm that tore through the Caribbean before hitting Florida in early September, caused the loss of 753 million hours of electricity, making it the fourth-largest blackout in US history.

In general, most power outages are due to disruption in the power lines that deliver energy, rather than in energy generation, Houser said. Hurricanes, with their high sustained winds and wide geographic area, are particularly likely to knock out power for large numbers of people.

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puerto rico's power outages are the largest in us history

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Puerto Rico's power outages are the largest in US history, report says

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In all, Hurricane Maria has caused a loss of 1.25 billion hours of electricity supply for Americans, according to the analysis from the economic research firm Rhodium Group. That makes it the largest blackout in US history, well ahead of Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the group said.

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Residents are seen fleeing Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria in attempts to avoid the aftermath of the hurricane.

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About 70% of the US territory, which is home to approximately 3.4 million US citizens, is still without power. Many do not have access to reliable drinking water.

"Since October 3, 2017, more than 73,000 individuals arrived in Florida from Puerto Rico through Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport and the Everglades Port," Florida Gov. Rick Scott's office said in a statement.

The United States approved Florida to host residents with the help of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on October 5, he said.

"This agreement approves 100% federal reimbursement for costs incurred by the state of Florida related to the accommodation of those displaced by Hurricane Maria," he said.

The state has opened three disaster relief centers at the main airports in Orlando, Miami, and the Port of Miami for displaced families from Puerto Rico.

Staff from several agencies, including FEMA and the American Red Cross, are in Florida helping incoming residents, he said.

Those heading to the US mainland are leaving behind an island that's almost in total darkness. Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are in the midst of the largest blackout in US history, according to a report from an economic research company.

In all, Hurricane Maria has caused a loss of 1.25 billion hours of electricity supply for Americans, according to the analysis from the Rhodium Group. That makes it the largest blackout in US history, well ahead of Hurricane Georges in 1998 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the group said.

That 1.25 billion number will continue to grow. More than a month after Hurricane Maria knocked out the electric grid on the islands, the vast majority of residents remain without electricity, and the restoration of that power is months away.

As of Thursday, just 26% of households had power restored, according to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

The state-owned utility filed for bankruptcy in July, is $9 billion in debt and is struggling to recover from the hurricane outages. Not coincidentally, several of the top 10 blackouts in US history involve Puerto Rico, including Maria and Irma this year and Hurricane Georges in 1998.

Whitefish Energy, a two-year-old utility firm with ties to the Trump administration, was awarded a $300 million contract to help restore the country's power grid. The huge contract to a small company has drawn questions and criticism.

CNN's Joe Sutton, Sam Petulla and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.

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puerto rico residents fleeing to florida following hurricane maria  - cnn

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Puerto Rico residents fleeing to Florida after Hurricane Maria

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About 70% of the US territory, which is home to approximately 3.4 million US citizens, is still without power. Many do not have access to reliable drinking water. "Since October 3, 2017, more than 73,000 individuals arrived in Florida from Puerto Rico through Miami International Airport, Orlando International Airport and the Everglades Port," Florida Gov.

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Oil companies have been earning a ton of profit ever since the hurricanes that had hit.

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1. Economy check-up: The U.S. economy grew at a 3% annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Economists were expecting 2.5% at best, partly because of the damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

2. Energy giants: Investors will get earnings from U.S. oil heavyweights ExxonMobil and Chevron before the opening bell.

Big Oil, which has been under pressure from low crude prices, has largely missed out on this year's market rally. ExxonMobil shares have fallen by about 8% in 2017, while Chevron has inched up by less than 1%.

A Harvard study published in August found that Exxon "misled the public" on climate change for nearly 40 years. The same month, a number of Exxon's refineries went offline because of Hurricane Harvey.

In September, San Francisco and Oakland filed lawsuits demanding that Exxon, Chevron and other companies pay billions to protect the coastal cities from rising sea levels. The following week, Chevron announced that its CEO would step down next year.

Before the Bell newsletter: Key market news. In your inbox. Subscribe now!

3. Stock market movers: Shares in Amazon and Microsoft are shooting higher premarket after the firms reported better-than-expected profits.

Mattel announced it's suspending its quarterly dividend in order to free up cash. Its global sales have dropped 13%.

Aetna shares spiked 12% late on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that it's in talks to be purchased by CVS Health . Investors will be keeping an eye on any further developments. Both companies declined to comment.

4. Things fall apart: Swiss chemicals giant Clariant and its U.S. rival Hunstman have decided to abandon their $20 billion merger following a shareholder revolt.

The companies said in a joint statement that they would not join forces because of doubts that Clariant would get the backing of enough investors to push the deal through.

The deal's termination marks a major win for top Clariant shareholder White Tale Holdings -- a partnership between hedge funds Corvex and 40 North -- that had opposed the merger.

5. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were mixed.

European markets posted gains in early trading. Japan's Nikkei posted a 1.2% increase to lead most Asian markets higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.3% on Thursday, while S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1%.

Download CNN MoneyStream for up-to-the-minute market data and news

6. Coming this week:

Friday -- ExxonMobil, Chevron and Merck earnings; GDP Q3 estimate released

CNNMoney (London) First published October 27, 2017: 4:36 AM ET

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Premarket: 6 things to know before the bell

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Economists were expecting 2.5% at best, partly because of the damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. 2. Energy giants: Investors will get earnings from U.S. oil heavyweights ExxonMobil and Chevron before the opening bell. Big Oil, which has been under pressure from low crude prices, has largely missed out on this year's market rally.

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Because of the hurricanes that had hit Puerto Rico, oil companies have been soaring by 50%.

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Hurricane Harvey dealt ExxonMobil a $160 million blow, but the oil giant's profits skyrocketed anyway.

Exxon said Friday that its profits for the July to September period soared by 50% thanks to higher oil prices. That growth was much faster than Wall Street had been banking on.

The largest U.S. oil company would have earned even more had it not been for Hurricane Harvey, which forced the closure of several Exxon refineries in the Gulf Coast region. Severe flooding caused damage to Exxon's Beaumont and Baytown refineries, which are two of the largest in the U.S.

All told, Exxon said Hurricane Harvey expenses and disruptions slashed its profits by about $160 million.

Exxon and the industry as a whole are still trying to get back on their feet following the oil price crash of the past few years. Cheap oil forced Exxon and its rivals to lay off workers and scrap expensive drilling projects.

Related: Oil giant Shell bets on electric cars

Yet oil companies have benefited in recent months from steadier prices and lower expenses. It also helps that Exxon pumped 2% more oil and gas than last year.

Another sign of improvement: For the fourth quarter in a row, Exxon generated enough money through its business and asset sales to cover the cost of its dividends and investments.

Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, is also on the upswing. Chevron logged a 54% jump in third-quarter profits on Friday as oil and gas production increased.

"Cash flow is at a positive inflection point, with oil and gas production increasing and capital spending falling," John Watson's, who is stepping down as Chevron's CEO in February, said in a statement.

On top of efforts to rebound from the oil crash, the industry has grappled with trouble on the climate change front. A Harvard study published in August concluded that Exxon "misled the public" on climate change for nearly four decades. Last month, San Francisco and Oakland filed lawsuits demanding that Exxon, Chevron and other oil companies pay billions to cover climate change costs.

CNNMoney (New York) First published October 27, 2017: 10:40 AM ET

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Exxon got hammered by hurricanes, but profits still soared 50%

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Exxon said Friday that its profits for the July to September period soared by 50% thanks to higher oil prices. That growth was much faster than Wall Street had been banking on. The largest U.S. oil company would have earned even more had it not been for Hurricane Harvey, which forced the closure of several Exxon refineries in the Gulf Coast region.

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Mourning a Dead Father After Hurricane in Puerto Rico

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Mourning a Dead Father After Hurricane in Puerto Rico

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Families are becoming ill due to the soiled water.

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His father survived the Category 4 storm that smashed into Puerto Rico last month, but not its aftermath.

And the family believes his death was brought on by contaminated water.

Like most of the island, the Sanyet family lost access to running water when the power went out and pumping stations shut down.

Sanyet's father, also called Jorge Antonio, became ill quickly -- nausea, stomach pains, headaches and diarrhea.

The 61-year-old was finally admitted to a hospital, where medical staff told the family what they suspected was killing him: leptospirosis. He died soon afterward.

The family -- like many in Puerto Rico -- had never heard of leptospirosis and still has no idea exactly where the elder Sanyet could have gotten it.

It's a bacteria found in animal urine that can make its way into rivers and lakes, especially after flooding.

Infected people may recover on their own or with the aid of antibiotics. But there can also be complications that can be fatal.

And while Puerto Rico sees on average a little under 100 cases a year, there are fears that this year could be particularly bad, and deadly.

Already since the storm, 76 confirmed or suspected cases have been counted, along with three deaths -- an official toll that does not yet include Sanyet.

Some 23% of households are still without water as of Friday, with the situation worst in the north outside San Juan, where 42% have no supply, and in the west, where the outage hits a third of customers.

Some families can get to community wells or receive bottled water.

Dr. Carmen Deseda, the state epidemiologist for Puerto Rico, says people should not drink from potentially contaminated waters, or walk barefoot or swim in them.

But five weeks after the storm, that is just not practical for some.

Jose Cruz and his family have no water at home in Canovanas and have been doing their laundry in the river.

Despite the warnings -- and as his children splash and play -- he is confident.

Asked if he has any fears about the water for his family, his answer is simple. "No."

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family mourn a father they believe killed by tainted water  - cnn

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New Hurricane Maria death blamed on water

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His father survived the Category 4 storm that smashed into Puerto Rico last month, but not its aftermath. And the family believes his death was brought on by contaminated water. Like most of the island, the Sanyet family lost access to running water when the power went out and pumping stations shut down.

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The unemployment rate is higher than ever within the last seventeen years.

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America's job market got back on its feet in October.

The U.S. economy rebounded from the hurricanes and added 261,000 jobs, the best performance of the Trump administration.

Unemployment inched down to 4.1%, the lowest since December 2000.

But wages took a step back. They grew only 2.4% in October compared with a year earlier, behind September's number. The absence of better wage growth and inflation is one of the biggest mysteries in the economy.

The United States has added jobs for 85 straight months, the longest streak on record. The government first estimated that the economy lost 33,000 jobs in September because of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Revised figures show a gain of 18,000 jobs.

CNNMoney (New York) First published November 3, 2017: 12:01 AM ET

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U.S. economy rebounds from hurricanes, adds 261,000 jobs

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The U.S. economy rebounded from the hurricanes and added 261,000 jobs, the best performance of the Trump administration. Unemployment inched down to 4.1%, the lowest since December 2000. But wages took a step back. They grew only 2.4% in October compared with a year earlier, behind September's number.

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The U.S is now focusing moreso on how to reduce the amount of climate change.

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Meanwhile, back at home, the Trump administration must now also confront the newly released US National Climate Assessment, a massive report assembled by hundreds of our nation's best scientists, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Unlike most science reports, which research the unknowns, the National Climate Assessment is dedicated to assessing the current body of existing science to establish what is known, and how well we know it. The report is the gold standard when it comes to what we know about climate change and its impact in the United States. Its findings underscore climate change's growing and catastrophic threat, including new science that indicates sea levels could rise potentially more than 6 feet by the end of the century -- if we continue down our fossil-fueled business-as-usual path.

Scientists like me spend most of our time researching and debating the "unknowns." The known just isn't that interesting. When it comes to climate change, experts agree (a) that it is occurring and (b) what's causing it -- greenhouse gas emissions, aka carbon pollution, mostly from smokestacks and tailpipes. Not surprisingly, then, the leading edge of science has long since moved on to more subtle questions like just how much sea level rise we could see by the end of the century, as well as exactly how quickly hurricanes are intensifying in our warming climate and precisely what role extreme drought and heat are playing in the unprecedented recent wildfires. As the latest science makes clear, uncertainty is not our friend. In the case of sea level rise, we are learning that ice sheets may be more vulnerable to near-term warming, yielding considerably more near-term melt and sea level rise than we had previously estimated.

The problem is that the Republicans who are currently in power in Washington, DC are stuck debating the knowns. They have grown more intransigent, raising questions that were literally answered decades ago. That predicament was most recently on display in testimony in front of the US Senate by Congressman Jim Bridenstine, a Republican politician from Oklahoma nominated by President Trump to lead NASA, one of our nation's premiere science agencies. When asked about the cause of climate change, Bridenstine could not even cite NASA's own science fingerprinting the role of greenhouse gases in driving warming. Instead he pointed to factors such as solar cycles (in reality, their impact is very small and if anything had a very modest cooling effect in recent decades that slightly offset global warming). When it comes to leading NASA, we must regretfully conclude that Bridenstine has The Wrong Stuff.

In this light, and with the United States now standing alone as a dissenter from the Paris accord, the timing of the US National Climate Assessment report could not be better.

The report concludes that "based on extensive evidence ... it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th Century." The report also concludes that "this period is now the warmest in the history of modern civilization" -- specifically, the warmest period over at least the past 1,700 years.

The report goes on to specify that not only are human activities the dominant cause of global warming, but that those activities are also most probably responsible for ALL of the warming observed over recent decades. The climate would most likely be cooling slightly, due to a downward trend in natural factors, were it not for the overwhelming influence of human activities warming the planet.

Sea level rise is a good example of the choices facing us. The National Climate Assessment reports that an extraordinarily rapid shift to a clean energy economy would limit sea level rise by 2100 to about 2 feet. Alternatively, if we continue down the business-as-usual path, sea level rise could exceed six feet by 2100.

In these projections you can see that, due to the delay in curbing carbon pollution, we are now facing sea level rise over the coming decades what will cost us tens of billions, if not more. Further delay that commits us to sea level rise of just six feet would, according to calculations released by the real estate firm Zillow based on a 2016 study, swallow about 1.9 million US homes -- about 2% of all US homes, worth a combined $882 billion -- by the end of the century.

Fortunately, the report also points out that we still have a choice. With significant reductions in carbon pollution, we can hold warming in check. But how we go about doing that is an open question. That's what policymakers in Washington should be arguing about.

Continuing to argue about what's causing the planet to warm is the moral equivalent of arguing over whether wood burns while a fire is climbing up out of the basement of your house. It's time Republicans stop arguing and got out the hoses instead.

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let's stop debating climate change and start combating it (opinion)  - cnn

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Let's stop debating climate change and start combating it

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Meanwhile, back at home, the Trump administration must now also confront the newly released US National Climate Assessment, a massive report assembled by hundreds of our nation's best scientists, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

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It takes around $300 million to repair damages in Puerto Rico after hurricanes.

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A $300 million contract awarded to Whitefish Energy, a small Montana utility company hired to restore power in parts of Puerto Rico, is now under several government reviews after being mired in controversy in recent days.

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has launched an inquiry into the deal with Whitefishfollowing calls by the press and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The agency considers it one of their highest priority cases, a spokeswoman told CNN on Thursday.

The inspector general plans to look into whether the appropriate process was followed by state-owned Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, when it awardedthe contract. Thus far, the Whitefish deal is the largest contract awarded to any company for relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

There will be 'hell to pay'

The contract has raised a few eyebrows given that thefirm is based in the same hometown as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and it employed just two people at the time Hurricane Maria made landfall.

Such concerns prompted a separate House committee on Thursday to also open a review of the multimillion dollar contract.

Rep. Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, wrote a letter to Richard Ramos, the head of the PREPA, requesting further information on the contract.

In addition, Sen. Maria Cantwell, a ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has asked the Government Accountability Office to review the matter.A GAO spokesman said the agency has received the letter and is reviewing the request."

Related: Questions swirl after small Montana firm lands Puerto Rico power contract

A White House spokesman told CNN the decision to give the contractto Whitefish was made exclusively by PREPA. "The White House is not aware of any federal involvement in the selection," White House spokesman Raj Shah said.

In a letter to the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello requested that the government oversight agency complete its review of the Whitefish contract by October 30.

Rossello also noted that he recently asked Puerto Rico's Office of Management and Budget to audit the Whitefish contract in order to ensure it's in compliance with all of the appropriate laws. The results of that audit are due Friday, Rossello told CNN.

"If there is no wrongdoing, if it has been done correctly then we will push forward," Rossello told CNN. "If there is wrongdoing in this process or any process there will be hell to pay."

A Twitter battle ensues

Since the company announced the deal last week it has been swept up in controversy.

On Wednesday, a public feud erupted between Whitefish and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz on Twitter. Whitefish later issued an apology to Yulin Cruz after criticizing her and threatening to pull workers from the city she represents.

In an earlier interview with Yahoo News, the mayor had called the multimillion dollar contract awarded to Whitefish "alarming" and pressed for the contract to be canceled immediately.

"The contract should be voided right away and a proper process which is clear, transparent, legal, moral and ethical should take place," Yulin Cruz said of the two-year old electrical utilityin the interview Tuesday.

Related: San Juan's mayor takes on small Montana firm over Puerto Rico power contract

In response, Whitefish spokesman Chris Chiames posted a statement on Twitter calling Yulin Cruz's comments "misplaced."

"We find her comments to be very disappointing and demoralizing to the hundreds of people on our team that have left their homes and families and have come here to help the people of Puerto Rico," Whitefish tweeted Wednesday.

By the afternoon, the situation grew heated.

Yulin Cruz tweeted back: "If @WhitefishEnergy feels that asking for transparency is "misplaced", what are they afraid we will find."

"We've got 44 linemen rebuilding power lines in your city & 40 more men just arrived. Do you want us to send them back or keep working?," the utility company replied.

Related: Questions swirl after small Montana firm lands Puerto Rico contract

"Threats received by @WhitefishEnergy. The implication is if I do not "play nice" they will not do their job. Nasty!," the mayor tweeted back. She said Whitefish's response implied it would not treat San Juan with the "diligence it deserves."

Whitefish later said it is committed to restoring power in Puerto Rico and then apologized to the mayor.

"Mayor Cruz and everyone in Puerto Rico... we would like to apologize for our comments earlier today, which did not represent who we are and how important this work is to help Puerto Rico's recovery," the company posted on Twitter late Wednesday night.

Yulin Cruz does not have authority over PREPA and the contracts it issues. She has long been a critic of Rossello, who backed the Whitefish contract,and has criticized President Trump's handling of relief efforts on the island.

Hometown connections in question

PREPA's Ramos told reporters during a press conference last week the cash-strapped island chose Whitefish because it didn't require a big deposit upfront. The other contender, Power Security,wanted a $25 million down payment for the work, Ramos said.

"In that moment, we were not in a position to offer that collateral," said Ramos. "The other company did not ask for a guarantee of payment."

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Ramos said he had no regrets about picking Whitefish out of the seven companies he spoke with about working on the recovery efforts.

"If we went back in time, I would do it all over again," Ramos said, adding the company is "doing a great job."

But some on Capitol Hill are concerned that Whitefish may have stood out for another reason.

The tiny utility company is based in Whitefish, Montana, which also happens to be Zinke's hometown.

Both Zinke and Whitefish CEO Andy Techmanski acknowledge knowing one another. Zinke's office described Whitefish as a "small town" with a population of roughly 6,000 people. One of the secretary's sons "joined a friend who worked a summer job at one their [Whitefish's] construction sites."

Related: FEMA just got another $6.7 billion to help with hurricane relief

Whitefish spokesman Ken Luce confirmed an Oct. 1 report by NBC Montana, which quoted Techmanski as saying he reached out to Zinke after winning the contract to help get resources to the island more quickly,

But Luce told CNN that the company did not make any requests to the administration before the contract was signed on Sept. 26.

"The secretary had absolutely nothing to do with Whitefish getting the contract," he said.

Techmanski, who has described the firm as specializing in "difficult and mountainous terrain projects," has downplayed any ties to the administration.

"All I can say is, we took the call and we're here," Techmanski told CNN Friday, referring to a call from director Ramos. "We called each other."

PREPA, which is $9 billion in debt, could have requested aid after Maria through the American Public Power Association, a network that provides help to other utilities during widespread power outages. That's what Texas and Florida did after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Ramos told CNN on Thursday that the closest states to Puerto Rico were already dealing with their own aftermath of earlier hurricanes and he believed they would not be able to respond quickly to the island's needs.The bankrupt utilityalso couldn't afford to cover the costs of utilizing the network either, he added.

Related: Misery in Puerto Rico: No power, no job, 'enormous lines'

Whitefish does have another tie to the administration.

HBC Investments, which was founded by a big Republican donor named Joe Colonnetta, backs the firm.Colonnetta and his wife donated more than $20,000 to Donald Trump's presidential campaign and more than $30,000 to the Republican National Committee last year alone, according to a filing from the Federal Election Commission.

A representative for Colonnetta was not immediately available to comment on the donations.

Luce said the investment firm learned of Whitefish last summer through an unnamed mutual acquaintance in the energy industry.

"Techmanski is the type of entrepreneur HBC likes -- a family guy with a good business plan," Luce said, noting that the Whitefish CEO had previously managed contracts of up to $250 million.

Additional reporting by Julia Jones, Martin Savidge and Paul Murphy.

CNNMoney (Washington) First published October 26, 2017: 4:32 PM ET

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Donna Borak, Rene Marsh and Greg Wallace

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$300 million Puerto Rico power deal now under government review

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The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has launched an inquiry into the deal with Whitefishfollowing calls by the press and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The agency considers it one of their highest priority cases, a spokeswoman told CNN on Thursday.

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Recent study shows that climate change has been taking a huge effect in America's hurricanes.

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Story highlights

In the coming years, New York City might look less like a concrete jungle and more like a concrete swamp.

The Big Apple could see a surge in significant floods every five years between 2030 and 2045 as an impact of climate change, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study suggests that as global sea levels rise and as a warming atmosphere drives tropical storms, the combination could leave the city facing more frequent and more dangerous flood events.

"We know that storm surge flooding tends to be the deadliest aspect of many tropical cyclones," said Andra Garner, a climate researcher at Rutgers University and lead author of the study.

"It is very important that we take action to mitigate future warming in order to avoid the worst-case scenarios of future sea-level rise, which would help to limit the increases we see in future flood risk," she said. "This work emphasizes the need for adaptation planning for the New York region in order to protect the city's coastal infrastructure in both the near future and in centuries to come."

Garner and her colleagues pointed in their study to Hurricane Sandy, which spawned devastating floods in New York City in 2012, as an example of extreme weather events the city could face.

Forecast models show that a big storm could hit the Northeast on Sunday - the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy's US landfall - and into Monday morning. The storm could bring flooding rains from the mid-Atlantic through New England.

However, the storm system is not forecast to be as strong as Sandy, which was directly responsible for about 147 deaths in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

For the new study, scientists used computer models to project probable sea level rise and storm surges in New York City from the preindustrial era before 1800 to 2300.

The scientists took a close look at the frequency of troublesome flood heights of 2.25 meters, or 7.38 feet, above the average tidal level for the region; in contrast, Hurricane Sandy had a storm surge of 2.8 meters, 9.19 feet, above the mean tidal level, according to the study.

The models projected that flood heights of 2.25 meters above the mean tidal level will become more frequent over time.

During the preindustrial era, such flooding occurred only about every 500 years, the researchers found. By the modern period, such flooding occurred about every 25 years, and it could occur every five years in the future.

Some of the same researchers previously found that global sea levels rose faster in the 20th century than during any of the 27 previous centuries, according to a separate study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That study also suggests that less than about half of the observed rise in sea levels in the 20th century would have occurred in the absence of global warming.

New York, for instance, has experienced at least a foot of sea level rise since 1900, mostly due to the expansion of warming ocean waters, according to the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.

Additionally, scientists argue that the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and warmer oceans, recently made Hurricanes Irma and Harvey more powerful than they otherwise would have been.

In the new study, even though the climate models showed more frequent flooding, they also projected that tropical cyclones could shift farther east and farther out to sea, the researchers found.

"The track shift was really not something we expected to find in this work and not something we had originally set out to investigate," Garner said. "The finding reveals the need for additional research into the way that future storm tracks may behave in the Atlantic basin, and it's something that we hope to look into more."

Even with a possible track shift, Kim Knowlton, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City who was not involved in the study, highlighted that rising sea levels would still have a significant impact on flooding in the future and public health, which "is an area of big concern," she said.

"It's quite likely that we're going to see that sea level contribution to coastal floods for some time, that we're going to have to contend with this," said Knowlton, who is also an assistant clinical professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Frequent flooding, such as what was projected in the new study, could influence public health by posing the direct risk of potential drowning and injury, as well as other health consequences associated with evacuation efforts and power outages, and mental health impacts, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.

There are numerous public health concerns related to flooding beyond the most obvious risks of drowning and trauma, said Jonathan Patz, a professor and director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved in the new study.

"These range from contaminated drinking water and risk of infectious diseases simply from wading in floodwaters, to asthma and other respiratory illness from exposure to mold and fungus during post-event cleanup when people return to their homes," Patz said.

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Patz added that prolonged power outages can further delay access to clean water and cause heat-related deaths due to a lack of air conditioning.

"The most important thing that we can do to avoid such devastating floods is to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases by pursuing a clean energy economy," he said. "That pursuit in itself offers enormous and immediate health benefits, from improved air quality from clean energy, and improved fitness levels from urban design to enhance walking or biking opportunities."

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500-year floods could strike NYC every five years, climate study says | CNN

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In the coming years, New York City might look less like a concrete jungle and more like a concrete swamp. The Big Apple could see a surge in significant floods every five years between 2030 and 2045 as an impact of climate change, according to a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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With the hurricanes, Puerto Rico is now extremely limited on resources such as oil.

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1. Economy check-up: The U.S. economy grew at a 3% annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Economists were expecting 2.5% at best, partly because of the damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

2. Energy giants: Investors will get earnings from U.S. oil heavyweights ExxonMobil and Chevron before the opening bell.

Big Oil, which has been under pressure from low crude prices, has largely missed out on this year's market rally. ExxonMobil shares have fallen by about 8% in 2017, while Chevron has inched up by less than 1%.

A Harvard study published in August found that Exxon "misled the public" on climate change for nearly 40 years. The same month, a number of Exxon's refineries went offline because of Hurricane Harvey.

In September, San Francisco and Oakland filed lawsuits demanding that Exxon, Chevron and other companies pay billions to protect the coastal cities from rising sea levels. The following week, Chevron announced that its CEO would step down next year.

Before the Bell newsletter: Key market news. In your inbox. Subscribe now!

3. Stock market movers: Shares in Amazon and Microsoft are shooting higher premarket after the firms reported better-than-expected profits.

Mattel announced it's suspending its quarterly dividend in order to free up cash. Its global sales have dropped 13%.

Aetna shares spiked 12% late on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that it's in talks to be purchased by CVS Health . Investors will be keeping an eye on any further developments. Both companies declined to comment.

4. Things fall apart: Swiss chemicals giant Clariant and its U.S. rival Hunstman have decided to abandon their $20 billion merger following a shareholder revolt.

The companies said in a joint statement that they would not join forces because of doubts that Clariant would get the backing of enough investors to push the deal through.

The deal's termination marks a major win for top Clariant shareholder White Tale Holdings -- a partnership between hedge funds Corvex and 40 North -- that had opposed the merger.

5. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were mixed.

European markets posted gains in early trading. Japan's Nikkei posted a 1.2% increase to lead most Asian markets higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.3% on Thursday, while S&P 500 gained 0.1% and the Nasdaq dipped 0.1%.

Download CNN MoneyStream for up-to-the-minute market data and news

6. Coming this week:

Friday -- ExxonMobil, Chevron and Merck earnings; GDP Q3 estimate released

CNNMoney (London) First published October 27, 2017: 4:36 AM ET

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Premarket: 6 things to know before the bell

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Economists were expecting 2.5% at best, partly because of the damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. 2. Energy giants: Investors will get earnings from U.S. oil heavyweights ExxonMobil and Chevron before the opening bell. Big Oil, which has been under pressure from low crude prices, has largely missed out on this year's market rally.

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Recent hurricanes around the world, and how they're economically taking a toll on America.

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Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria dealt a big blow to corporate America.

More than 40% of companies in the S&P 500 that have reported third-quarter earnings so far mentioned the hurricanes on investor calls, according to a Sentieo analysis. Flights were grounded, stores were closed, manufacturing production was halted and customers didn't go out to eat.

Corporate profits still surged, led by strong consumer spending. But Harvey and Irma cost companies around $20 billion in lost business, estimated Gus Faucher, chief U.S. economist at PNC. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, put losses as high as $22.5 billion in the U.S. and $30 billion from Maria's staggering toll on Puerto Rico.

By comparison, Hurricane Katrina cost the country $30.9 billion in lost output, Zandi told CNNMoney.

"This was an unprecedented quarter when it comes to natural disasters," AT&T CFO John Stephens said on an investor call Tuesday. The world's biggest telecom companyblamed the hurricanes for a dip in video subscriptions this quarter. (AT&T is buying CNN parent Time Warner.)

Big losses for travel

Nearly every industry in the country has a major footprint in Texas and Florida, areas battered by Harvey and Irma. Many have locations in Puerto Rico as well. But cruise lines and airlines were hit particularly hard, Bank of America economists said in an October research note.

Hurricanes upended insurance companies too. The industry has posted $6.9 billion of losses so far, said John Butters, an analyst at FactSet. Travelers alone reported it could suffer $700 million in losses from payout claims.

Related: The U.S. has been hit by two giant hurricanes. Here's the financial toll

Airline earnings were also weaker. United Airlines estimated $210 million in lost sales, while JetBlue said this week that the storms would cost it $90 million in revenue.

On Thursday, Expedia reported$20 million in pre-tax losses due to fewer hotel bookings, while Goodyear Tires said Friday that it lost $23 million in sales.

Widespread impact

The hits landed in unexpected places too: Budweiser and Bud Light sales were down at retail stores because of the storms, Anheuser-Busch InBev reported, and Harley-Davidson said the hurricanes cut motorcycle sales between 1.5% and 2%.

Storms somewhat slowed economic growth in the third quarter, since companies produced and sold fewer goods and services. The economy still grew at an impressive 3% from July through September, but it could have been even higher without the hurricanes.

"If not for the hurricanes, the GDP would have been 3.5%," said Zandi.

Related: Economy posts impressive growth despite hurricanes

The economic rebound is already underway from the disasters and the impact should be short-lived, economists agree.

"Most of the negative impact appears to be behind us," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "There's no reason to believe that it would be anything more than a short-term hit."

Zandi said lost activity from the hurricanes will be made up in the final months of 2017 and into next year.

"If people didn't buy cars or go on vacation because of the storms, they'll spend that money later," he said. "Factories will eventually produce most of the output that they didn't make because of the storms."

Auto sales rose 6.1% in September from the previous year, helped by GM's 12% spike and Ford's 9% increase.

Related: Chipotle's profit ravaged by hurricanes, hack and high avocado prices

The home improvement and construction industries even got a lift from the hurricanes, as people started rebuilding damaged homes and replacing flooded cars.

Home Depot and Lowe's reported upticks in September. United Rentals , the largest construction rental equipment company in the country, cited hurricane recovery efforts this week to raise its outlook for the rest of the year.

CNNMoney (New York) First published October 29, 2017: 10:44 AM ET

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Devastating hurricanes dealt corporate America a major blow

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More than 40% of companies in the S&P 500 that have reported third-quarter earnings so far mentioned the hurricanes on investor calls, according to a Sentieo analysis. Flights were grounded, stores were closed, manufacturing production was halted and customers didn't go out to eat. Corporate profits still surged, led by strong consumer spending.

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The latest updates on hurricane Irma, and its aftermath on Florida.

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Hurricane Irma slammed Florida after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean. Follow live coverage of Irma's path, destruction and forecast here.