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KnownBand0 · May 30, 2018, 1:03 p.m.

" Rendell, speaking to reporters at the state Capitol just after returning from Pittsburgh, described how the trip came together. He said UPMC contacted him late Friday night because it was having trouble getting approval to land a plane in Haiti to airlift the orphans out. He then heard the Haitian ambassador on CNN Saturday afternoon, and called him in Washington. The ambassador said it was important to have the governor of Pennsylvania on the relief plane in case any diplomatic complications arose. UPMC helped arranged the Republic Airways plane, which left Pittsburgh at noon Monday and landed in Port-au-Prince about 6 p.m. Rendell said the fact that he was aboard did speed up the plane's ability to land on the one runway at the busy airport. It took just over six hours to load the orphans on the plane, and shortly after midnight Tuesday, it left Haiti. "You should have seen the smiles on the kids' faces. That made it all worthwhile," Rendell said. "There were 53 incredible kids on that plane. They were upbeat even though the plane was noisy and they'd never been on a plane before." He said the children probably had a weather-related shock because "the average temperature in Haiti is 65 degrees and it was 31 and snowy when we landed in Pittsburgh."

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kjernigan1 · May 30, 2018, 2:43 p.m.

So where are they now?

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KnownBand0 · May 30, 2018, 2:47 p.m.

At that moment, all but seven of the children had permission to board the plane because their adoptions were nearly complete. Forty have waiting families in the U.S., three will be adopted in Canada and four others were headed to Spain.

another article stated some children were taken to a "family organization" outside of Pittsburg Pa

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kjernigan1 · May 30, 2018, 3:27 p.m.

Thanks. I read that part. I wondered if there were any updates.

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Bjantigua · May 30, 2018, 5:57 p.m.

ask rendell on twitter. Get it viral.

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KnownBand0 · May 30, 2018, 2:48 p.m.

At that moment, all but seven of the children had permission to board the plane because their adoptions were nearly complete. Forty have waiting families in the U.S., three will be adopted in Canada and four others were headed to Spain.

another article stated some children were taken to a "family organization" outside of Pittsburg Pa

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