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The hour-long Hand in Hand telethon, which
aired across broadcast, cable and digital platforms on Tuesday
night, raised more than $14 million during the live broadcast.
Organizers on Wednesday said that the total rose to $44 million
in pledges made after West Coast and other re-broadcasts.
Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic Ocean storms on record,
ravaged several islands in the northern Caribbean, killing at
least 60 people. It barreled into the Florida Keys on Sunday,
where 90 percent of homes are believed to be destroyed or
heavily damaged.
Beyonce, appearing in a taped message, spoke of the urgent need
for supplies in her hometown of Houston after Harvey became the
most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years,
killing more than 60 people, displacing more than 1 million and
damaging some 203,000 homes.
During the show, Stephen Colbert said Apple Inc had donated $5
million, which the comedian quipped, "is also the price of the
new iPhone."
The telethon aired from New York, Nashville and Los Angeles,
where Stevie Wonder kicked off the event singing "Lean On Me,"
with a gospel choir as stars such as Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand
and Cher clapped along while sitting at their phone stations.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by G Crosse)
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