LAPLACE, La. (AP) — Less than a week after Hurricane Ida battered the Gulf Coast, President Joe Biden walked the streets of a hard-hit Louisiana neighborhood and told local residents, “I know you’re hurting, I know you’re hurting.”

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During his Friday visit, Biden pledged robust federal assistance to get people back on their feet and said the government already had distributed $100 million directly to individuals in the state in $500 checks.

But many people, he said, don’t know what kind of help is available because they can’t get cell phone service.

LOOK: Dramatic Photos Show Fires Near Wyoming Border

The Richard Spring and Lame Deer fires near the Wyoming border threatened several communities in southern Montana. Currently, firefighters are nearing complete containment on the blazes.

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