Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

CBS News reports: The House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. The bill, which passed 233-191 with some Republican support, would offer voters in the U.S. territory …

The Hill reports: President Biden will travel in the coming days to Puerto Rico and Florida to tour damage from Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian, respectively, the White House announced late Saturday. The president and first lady will travel to Puerto Rico on Monday, followed by a trip Wednesday to Florida. The White House did not disclose where the president …

“You saw what happened in Cuba, I mean, the entire island is completely out of power. And it gives you — you know, you feel terrible for people in Puerto Rico who were just hit, in Cuba who were just hit. Thank God we have better infrastructure in our country. We’ve put a lot of investment into making sure that …

CNN reports: Power has gone out across all of the US territory of Puerto Rico on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, as Hurricane Fiona bears down on the islands, which are already grappling with the threat of flooding and mudslides stemming from the Category 1 storm. “Puerto Rico is 100% without power due to a transmission grid failure from Hurricane Fiona,” …

Vanity Fair reports: In their forthcoming book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021, authors Peter Baker and Susan Glasser report that while it might have seemed like Trump just woke up one day and thought to himself, “I’d like to buy Greenland,” the idea was actually put in his head by billionaire Ronald Lauder, after which the president …

Axios reports: Puerto Rico has the highest percentage of people fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States as of Oct. 19, according to data from the CDC. The island has managed to accomplish such feats amid frequent power outages, earthquakes and high dependence on imports of health technologies from outside the region. By the numbers: 72.2% of Puerto …

NBC News reports: Under Trump, HUD had previously approved a total of $20 billion for the island’s reconstruction, a historic amount. But the agency stalled the release of the aid in 2019 and imposed additional restrictions and requirements last year on how Puerto Rico could gain access to the funds, citing corruption and financial mismanagement concerns. “Puerto Rico needs to …

Axios reports: Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi told “Axios on HBO” that “Congress is morally obligated to respond” to the island’s recent vote in support of statehood, and said he expects a bill to be introduced in the House by mid-March. Although statehood has been discussed for years, advocates say it is more likely now because Democrats control the House, …

The Independent reports: Donald Trump on Friday claimed he was the “best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico,” despite personally blocking funding to the U.S. territory for years, even as the island tried to rebuild from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017. “I have to say in a very nice way, very respectful way, I’m the best thing …

The Daily Beast reports: President Trump once asked aides if he could sell Puerto Rico and buy Greenland instead, according to former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who told MSNBC on Wednesday that he heard the remarks directly in Aug. 2018, when officials were regularly going to Puerto Rico to coordinate hurricane recovery efforts. “One time before we …

From a New York Times interview with former Acting Homeland Security Sec. Elaine Duke: She said that as Hurricane Maria approached Puerto Rico and Ms. Duke argued for an emergency declaration before its landfall, Mick Mulvaney, then the president’s budget director, resisted. The next day, Ms. Duke said she was pleased when the president himself expressed concern about the people …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: The Georgia Department of Driver Services has agreed to make it easier for Puerto Ricans and applicants from other U.S. territories to get driver’s licenses under the terms of a federal lawsuit settlement announced Monday. The department agreed to allow residents from the territories — who are U.S. citizens — to transfer their driver’s licenses to …

The Miami Herald reports: Most Democrats running for president have tip-toed around the issue of Puerto Rican statehood, saying they want Puerto Ricans to decide whether or not the U.S. territory becomes the country’s 51st state. But Michael Bloomberg is going further. The former New York mayor and 2020 presidential candidate broke with most of the Democrats vying for the …

CNN International reports: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, just one day after a 5.8 magnitude quake shook the island, according to the US Geological Survey. The 6.4 quake struck at 3:24 a.m. local time about 6 miles south of Indios, Puerto Rico, the USGS said. The mayor of Guayanilla, just north of Indios, reported damage to …

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 …