Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

PUERTO RICO: Massive Protests Against Gov Continue

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 …

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PUERTO RICO: Embattled Governor Apologizes, Won’t Resign, Won’t Run For Reelection, Protests Continue

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 — …

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Trump Lies That “Corrupt” Puerto Rican Officials Have “Squandered” $92B In Aid As Protests Escalate [VIDEO]

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 …

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PUERTO RICO: Governor Under Fire To Resign After Leaked Chat Shows Homophobic Slurs, Death Threat

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 …

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PUERTO RICO: Governor Shelves Anti-LGBT “Religious Freedom” Bill After Public Complaint From Ricky Martin

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 …

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Champion Red Sox Manager Won’t Attend White House Event Over Trump’s Handling Of Puerto Rico [VIDEO]

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 …

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WH Spox Calls Puerto Rico “That Country” [VIDEO]

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 …

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Trump Again Lies About Relief Amount For Puerto Rico

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 …

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Trump Melts Down Over Disaster Relief For Puerto Rico

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 …

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Puerto Rico Gov Signs Order Banning Ex-Gay Torture

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 …

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Trump Complains To Senate Republicans About Amount Of Federal Disaster Aid Being Allocated To Puerto Rico

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 …

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Trump Seeks To Cut Aid To “Ungrateful” Puerto Rico

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 …

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Openly Gay Rapper Kevin Fret Murdered In Puerto Rico

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 …

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Trump Wants To End Disaster Relief For Puerto Rico

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 …

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FEMA Head Defends Trump On Puerto Rico: He’s Being Taken Out Of Context, Numbers Are All Over The Place

NBC News reports: FEMA administrator Brock Long Sunday questioned the relevance of independent studies tying thousands of deaths to the aftermath of last September’s hurricane in Puerto Rico, echoing President Donald Trump’s criticism of those findings as Florence continues to batter the Carolinas. Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Long defended the president for his response to Hurricane Maria last …

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Glorious Leader Doubles Down On Death Toll Denial

It’s like two days of national scorn didn’t happen: President Donald Trump yesterday said he doesn’t believe the Puerto Rico death toll, and today he continued to stand by that position by touting comments from Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera. During a segment on The New York Times and media bias, Rivera had this to say regarding Puerto Rico:  “They’re saying …

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Paul Ryan: I Won’t Dispute The Puerto Rico Death Toll

Reuters reports: U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he had “no reason” to dispute Puerto Rico’s official death toll of 3,000 from last year’s Hurricane Maria, speaking after his fellow Republican President Donald Trump accused Democrats of inflating the death toll to make the president look bad. “Casualties don’t make a person look bad,” Ryan told reporters at …

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Trump: Democrats Invented The Hurricane Death Toll In Puerto Rico Just To “Make Me Look As Bad As Possible”

The Hill reports: President Trump on Thursday appeared to cast doubt on studies that found roughly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico officials late last month increased the death toll as a result of the 2017 storm to 2,975 after a study by the George Washington University that assessed the aftermath of …

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Puerto Rico Formally Hikes Hurricane Death Toll By 20X

The Hill reports: The Puerto Rican government acknowledged in a new report in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria that more than 1,400 people likely died on the island because of the storm, roughly 20 times the previous number that had been provided. The government on Thursday published a report titled “Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation,” which outlines …

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Study Concludes That Death Toll For Hurricane Maria Is 70 Times Higher Than Trump Administration’s Figure

The New York Daily reports: The number of people killed in Puerto Rico amid Hurricane Maria is at least 70 times higher than the official government death toll, according to a study published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers in the United States and Puerto Rico estimated more than 4,645 people were killed as a result of …

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