Latest Puerto Rico News
Oversight board says it will help speed up projects to fix Puerto Rico's electric grid
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances announced Wednesday that it will step in to help speed up projects to fix the island’s crumbling power grid as widespread outages persist. Only $1.2 billion out of more than $17 billion...
Los Angeles area sees more dengue fever in people bitten by local mosquitoes
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Health officials warned Wednesday that the Los Angeles area is seeing more dengue fever cases in people who have not traveled outside the U.S. mainland, a year after the first such case was reported in California. Public health officials said at least three...
Puerto Rico officials reject request to extend voter registration deadline
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Officials in Puerto Rico have rejected a petition to extend a voter registration deadline following an outcry over long lines formed by those seeking to participate in this year’s general election. The island’s two main parties, the Popular...
Private power companies in Puerto Rico are under scrutiny as officials demand fewer outages
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Two private power companies came under scrutiny Wednesday while they presented plans to stabilize Puerto Rico’s crumbling electric grid as officials demanded immediate action to minimize chronic power outages. The presentations by Genera PR, which...
Mel B joins a campaign calling for a new UK law to bar Afro hair discrimination
LONDON (AP) — Former Spice Girl Mel B is among dozens of Black Britons urging Parliament to update the country's equality laws and prohibit Afro hair discrimination. In an open letter to lawmakers on Tuesday, campaigners including Mel B, singer Beverley Knight and lawmaker...
US halts plan to remove iconic stray cats from a historic area in Puerto Rico's capital
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government has temporarily halted a plan to remove iconic stray cats that live in a historic district in Puerto Rico’s capital until a lawsuit opposing the project is resolved, a nonprofit announced Monday. The ruling was cheered by those...
Nearly 2,000 drug plants are overdue for FDA checks after COVID delays, AP finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators responsible for the safety of the U.S. drug supply are still struggling to get back to where they were in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended factory inspections in the U.S. and across the world, The Associated Press has found. An AP...
Persistent power outages in Puerto Rico spark outrage as officials demand answers
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A growing number of Puerto Rican government officials on Thursday demanded answers from two private electric companies as the U.S. territory struggles with persistent power outages. Tens of thousands of customers including schools, homes and businesses...
Federal agents seize $33 million worth of cocaine on Puerto Rican island popular with tourists
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal agents on Wednesday seized $33 million worth of cocaine aboard a boat that was trying to smuggle the drug into the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques, according to officials. More than 3,600 pounds (1,670 kilograms) were confiscated in the...
Federal agents seize $6 million worth of cocaine near Puerto Rico and arrest two men
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal agents seized $6 million worth of cocaine and arrested two men from the Dominican Republic in waters south of Puerto Rico, officials said Thursday. More than 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of cocaine were found aboard a boat traveling south of the...
