By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is finalizing a $29 billion disaster aid package that combines $16 billion to shore up the government-backed flood insurance program with almost $13 billion for hurricane victims, according to a senior administration official and congressional aides. Outlines of the request, expected to be sent to … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Trump administration declared Thursday that its relief efforts in Puerto Rico are succeeding, but people on the island said help was scarce and disorganized while food supplies dwindled in some remote towns eight days after Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of 3.4 million people. President Donald Trump … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Paul Ryan promised Monday that Washington will make sure that the people of hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico will “have what they need.” The Wisconsin Republican’s statement came as authorities struggle to provide adequate relief to the more than 3 million U.S. citizens on the island territory, which is without power and … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years destroyed hundreds of homes, knocked out power across the entire island and turned some streets into raging rivers Wednesday in an onslaught that could plunge the U.S. territory deeper into financial crisis. Leaving at least nine people … Continue reading
MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on tropical weather (all times local): 11:10 a.m. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says that Hurricane Maria has strengthened to a Category 3 storm as it headed toward the Caribbean. Maria on Monday was “rapidly” intensifying into a major hurricane. The eye is expected to move through the Leeward … Continue reading
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (AP) — Hurricane Irma roared into the Caribbean with record force early Wednesday, its 185-mph winds shaking homes and flooding buildings on a chain of small islands along a path toward Puerto Rico, Cuba and Hispaniola and a possible direct hit on densely populated South Florida. The strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico nationalist Oscar Lopez Rivera was freed from house arrest Wednesday after decades in custody in a case that transformed him into a martyr for his supporters but had outraged those who lost loved ones in a string of bombings. Wearing black jeans and a shirt decorated with … Continue reading
by Troy White Team USA dominates team Puerto Rico in an 8-0 end to the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday, March 22. Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays’ pitcher, played a huge part in the win by shutting down Puerto Rico with no hits through the sixth inning. Stroman’s mother was born and raised in Puerto … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday faced Senate Democrats skeptical about a rescue package for debt-stricken Puerto Rico, raising doubts about its fate just 10 days before the U.S. territory must make a $2 billion payment to creditors. “The question at the end of the day will be, does Congress act to … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Puerto Rico can’t use a local law to restructure the debt of its financially ailing public utilities as it tries to overcome a decade-long economic crisis, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 5-2 ruling said that federal bankruptcy law bars Puerto Rico from enacting its own law to restructure about $20 billion … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — It will be a little while longer before final vote totals are known in Puerto Rico’s Democratic presidential primary, because the U.S. territory’s election commission has taken the day off. The island’s Democratic Party chairman tells The Associated Press the commission will resume manually counting votes on Tuesday. Roberto … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are attempting to hold together a rare bipartisan deal to help Puerto Rico manage its crippling finances as a committee considers the legislation on Wednesday. The bill to create a financial control board and restructure some of the U.S. territory’s $70 billion debt has support from House Republican and Democratic … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is breaking with the Obama administration and House lawmakers over a plan to restructure Puerto Rico’s $70 billion in debt, saying the legislation would make “a terrible situation even worse.” The Vermont senator writes in a letter released Monday that the deal reached last week between … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt-ridden Puerto Rico faces a $422 million bond payment deadline Sunday with no sign Congress will act in time to help. Further complicating lawmakers’ efforts to steer the U.S. territory away from economic collapse are ads airing nationwide that claim the legislation amounts to a financial bailout, even though the bill … Continue reading
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico narrowly avoided a multimillion-dollar default on Tuesday by announcing a last-minute bond payment while warning that a deepening financial crisis has forced the government to divert money slated for future debt payments to avoid a shutdown of basic services. The announcement by Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 