Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

CBS News reports: A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Puerto Rico late Monday, scaring and rousing many from their sleep in the U.S. territory. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit 49 miles off the island’s northwest coast at a shallow depth of 6 miles. Three aftershocks, with magnitudes of 4.7, 4.6 and another of 4.6, hit within less than …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Wednesday criticized the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the island braced for a tropical storm nearly two years after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, a vocal critic of the president and the administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, said Tuesday night that Trump should “get out …

The Weather Channel reports: Tropical Storm Dorian is pelting the Lesser Antilles with heavy rain and gusty winds this morning, and the storm could go on to impact Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, The Bahamas and possibly Florida over the next several days. Dorian’s center passed near the south coast of Barbados late Monday night, producing a wind gust to …

It’s another “pity the fact checkers” kind of day. With Puerto Rico under a hurricane watch on Tuesday, President Donald Trump complained about “yet another big storm” heading toward the U.S. territory and lamented how much aid Congress had previously allocated for recovery, using an inflated figure. As he has in the past, Trump dramatically overstated how much money Congress …

The New York Times reports: It started as a headline seemingly straight out of The Onion. Then it unleashed a torrent of jokes on late-night television and social media. And finally it exploded into a serious diplomatic rupture between the United States and one of its longtime allies. In the latest only-in-Trumpland episode skating precariously along the line between farce …

The Washington Post reports: The governor of Puerto Rico announced late Wednesday that he will resign effective Aug. 2, amid intense pressure from inside and outside his government, after a series of leaked chat messages denigrating his opponents and Hurricane Maria victims triggered outrage from frustrated citizens who had taken to the streets for 13 consecutive days of protests. Ricardo …

The Associated Press reports: Waving flags, chanting and banging pots and pans, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans jammed a highway Monday to demand the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in a crisis triggered by a leak of offensive, obscenity-laden chat messages between him and his advisers. The demonstration appeared to be the biggest protest on the island in nearly …

Bloomberg reports: Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello’s promise not to seek re-election was meant to mollify citizens of the bankrupt commonwealth after reams of embarrassing texts leaked from his administration. On Sunday night, many said Rossello was merely postponing his well-deserved exit. After days of protests, residents of San Juan poured into the colonial quarter to celebrate his retreat — …

NPR reports: Some of Puerto Rico’s biggest stars rallied a crowd of many thousands in San Juan on Wednesday, calling on the island’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló, to resign. It was the fifth day in a row of protests in the U.S. territory, following a leak of hundreds of pages of misogynistic and homophobic texts between the governor and his main …

CBS News reports: There are new calls this morning for the governor of Puerto Rico to resign, after leaked conversations reveal his part in a profane and derogatory group chat. The island has struggled to recover from Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s administration has been plagued by scandals involving funding. Two of Rosselló’s top officials stepped down …

NBC News reports: Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló backed down from a “religious liberty bill” after international star Ricky Martin published an open letter Thursday slamming the legislation that would exempt government employees from serving constituents if they believe it clashes with their religious beliefs. “As a defender of human rights and a member of the LGBT community, I am …

The Associated Press reports: Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will not attend the ceremony at the White House on Thursday honoring the 2018 World Series champions. Cora cited the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria in his native Puerto Rico as the reason for his decision. “The government has done some things back home that are great, but we …

The Washington Post reports: White House spokesman Hogan Gidley twice referred to Puerto Rico as “that country” during a television appearance Tuesday in which he defended a series of tweets by President Trump lashing out at leaders of the U.S. territory. “With all they’ve done in that country, they’ve had a systematic mismanagement of the goods and services we’ve sent …

The Hill reports: President Trump on Tuesday blasted politicians in Puerto Rico, calling them incompetent while saying the “best thing” that ever happened for the island is “President Donald J. Trump.” Trump has reportedly told senior administration officials that he believes Puerto Rico should not see any more federal aid other than food stamp funding and has reportedly directed aides …

The Washington Post reports: Hours after the Senate voted down a disaster relief package that Democrats argued didn’t include enough money to help storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, President Trump took to Twitter on Monday night to hit out at the opposition party and the island’s leaders. Trump, who has reportedly said in private that he doesn’t want “another single dollar” going …

The New York Times reports: The governor of Puerto Rico signed an executive order on Wednesday banning so-called conversion therapy for gay or transgender minors on the island. The decision came after Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives refused to vote on a bill that would have prohibited conversion therapy, a discredited practice that proponents claim can change a person’s sexual …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump complained in a private lunch Tuesday with Senate Republicans about the amount of disaster aid designated for Puerto Rico, as lawmakers prepare for a standoff over funds for the island still struggling to recover in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to officials familiar with the meeting. Aid for Puerto Rico has long been …

The Washington Post reports: At an Oval Office meeting on Feb. 22, Trump asked top advisers for ways to limit federal support from going to Puerto Rico, believing it is taking money that should be going to the mainland, according to senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of the presidents’ private remarks. The …

CBS News reports: One of the few well-known openly gay rappers in Puerto Rico has become a victim of intensifying violence on the island. Kevin Fret, a 24-year-old musician and outspoken advocate for the LGBT community, was murdered early Thursday morning in Santurce, one of San Juan’s busiest and most densely populated neighborhoods, according to El Vocero, one the largest …

Axios reports: President Trump doesn’t want to give Puerto Rico any more federal money for its recovery from Hurricane Maria, White House officials have told congressional appropriators and leadership. This is because he claims, without evidence, that the island’s government is using federal disaster relief money to pay off debt. Trump also told senior officials last month that he would …