West Siders were hit particularly hard by floods nearly a month ago. More than 8 inches of rain flooded basements and ruined people's belongings.

Florida, with nearly four dozen reported dead, was hit hardest by the Category 4 hurricane, one of the strongest to make landfall in the United States. Flooded roadways and washed-out bridges to barrier islands left many people isolated amid limited cellphone service and a lack of basic amenities such as water, electricity and the internet.

More than 60% of power customers in Puerto Rico remained without energy on Thursday, and a third of customers were without water — and local officials admitted they could not say when service would be fully restored.

As of Dec. 6, about 226,000 people had shared in the nearly $1.5 billion that FEMA has spent on COVID-19 related funeral costs. With the nation’s coronavirus death toll topping 800,000, it’s clear that many families who are eligible for reimbursement have yet to take advantage of the funeral benefit.

The risk of that third shutdown may now be over late today after a funding announcement from FEMA and a tentative stop-gap measure in the U.S. Senate. Carol Marin and her panel have the latest.