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There's no "Happy New Year" for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico will default -- again -- on some of its bonds payments. The island owes about $1 billion to creditors on January 4. Governor Alejandro García Padilla said Wednesday that the island will make all payments except for $37.3 million. He claims the debts that will go unpaid were never guaranteed by Puerto Rico and the creditors should know this. It will be the second default in the island's history. The first default occurred in early August. Puerto Rico is trying to figure out how to deal with about $73 billion...

(English translation) PONCE - Officer Guarionex Candelario Rivera, the author of the tragic massacre that took the lives of a commander, a first lieutenant, and an officer at the Command Center of the Ponce Area Police Headquarters, had displayed problematic behavior that resulted in his having his gun taken for long periods. However, he regained his gun recently, although he suffered from "nerves" and occasionally went out to the streets as a reinforcement. Fifty-year-old Candelario, a resident of the Tallaboa Alta neighborhood in Penuelas and a 19-year veteran of the force, had been summoned to his workplace this morning. Different...

Miss Puerto Rico dared support Trump reg. muslims. She also refused to agree that 'we are all muslims'. This was directed at Michael Moore's latest photo-op. She was banned from the contest. If she had criticized Trump, I imagine she would have gotten a standing-o. [More on that 'old' news in followup post.] Michael Moore got snarky: "Miss Puerto Rico seems like a wonderful representative of maybe not of Puerto Rico but of Alabama, maybe? Mississippi, maybe?"

Miss Puerto Rico beauty queen, Destiny Velez, was suspended from the Miss America pageant yesterday after blasting Michael Moore and Muslims with a series of anti-Islamic tweets.

Miss Puerto Rico Destiny Velez has been indefinitely suspended by the official Miss America Organization after sending a series of offensive anti-Muslim messages on Twitter. Velez, 20, launched an anti-Muslim tirade at filmmaker Michael Moore on Thursday after he shared a photo of himself outside of Trump Tower in New York City with a sign reading: 'We are all Muslim.' Moore's photo was in response to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US, which inspired the hashtag #WeAreAllMuslim on social media. The former beauty queen sent a number of tweets directed to Moore including...

Miss Puerto Rico Blasts Michael Moore for #WeAreAllMuslim, Declares Support For Trump Destiny Vélez, who was crowned Miss Puerto Rico 2015, launched into an hours long Twitter rant Thursday afternoon, blasting Islam and Michael Moore for starting the #WeAreAllMuslim social media campaign. (Twitter/@MissAmerica_pr) more > Bush On Trump: Leadership Not Attacking People (Associated Press) Washington Times By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - December 17, 2015 Miss Puerto Rico launched into an hours long Twitter rant Thursday afternoon, blasting Islam and Michael Moore for starting the #WeAreAllMuslim social media campaign. Destiny Velez, who was crowned Miss Puerto Rico 2015,...

Puerto Rico's governor pressured Congress on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to win debt relief for his territory before the end of the year, warning that the island is headed toward a "humanitarian crisis under the United States flag." Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla lobbied lawmakers to oppose a massive year-end spending bill that fails to include the debt restructuring that Puerto Rico is seeking. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said Congress must act soon and he was hoping negotiators would change the bill, a step Republican leadership has ruled out. ...

MIAMI — With Puerto Rico’s debt-ridden economy still in crisis and his administration mired in scandal, Alejandro García Padilla, the island’s embattled governor, announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election in 2016. In a brief message tinged with anger toward his critics, including members of his own party, Mr. García Padilla, 44, defended his record as governor and lashed out at his predecessors, who he said helped plunge Puerto Rico into runaway debt. The governor said he chose not to run for a second term so he could focus solely on the economy, jobs and trying to find...

WASHINGTON – As part of their ongoing effort to provide a fiscally responsible solution to the growing financial, debt and economic crises in Puerto Rico, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) today introduced the Puerto Rico Assistance Act of 2015. The bill provides both responsible tax relief to workers and transitional relief to the Commonwealth without adding to the federal deficit or debt. Additionally, the legislation includes financial oversight intended to help Puerto Rico attain financial and economic stability, while respecting Puerto Rico’s autonomy. “Puerto...

Walmart (WMT) is suing the island over what the company calls an "onerous and unconstitutional" tax increase. It's such a dramatic hike that Walmart estimates now it will have to pay 91.5% of its net income in Puerto Rico in taxes. That's about three times what Walmart pays, on average, in taxes elsewhere. ... The hike only applies to big companies with revenues over $2.75 billion a year.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Wal-Mart's Puerto Rico operation is asking the federal court in San Juan to void what it calls an "onerous" and "unconstitutional" tax that unfairly targets the U.S. retail giant. It said in court papers filed Friday that the increased levy on purchases from U.S.-based Wal-Mart distribution centers by its island entities constitutes one of the world's highest taxes and pushes its effective tax rate to 91.5 percent of net income. The tax increase will cost Wal-Mart $155 million over six years and make its Puerto Rico business unsustainable. The suit says that Puerto Rico's...

During a press conference aired on Puerto Rican AM radio station WAPA, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla expressed his support for the Obama administration's plan to accept Syrian "refugees" in the United States. Garcia, a Democrat, went as far as stating that the U.S. is being "timid" in planning to take in "only" 10,000.

The police have arrested three (3) men, who tried to enter the country on Saturday; November 14th, using false documents. The men in custody are believed to be nationals of Syria who arrived at the Princess Juliana International Airport around 7:30 pm on an Insel Air flight originating from Haiti. They were soon after held by airport immigration after it was discovered that the travel documents they presented were false. The suspects were turned over to the Back Office at the PJIA who further investigated the documents and determined that the Greek passports the men were travelling with were indeed...

Before my fellow conservatives jump immediately to defend Candidate Carson, I would ask that they read the following short column. Some years ago, I became aware of the extraordinary and remarkable career of Dr. Benjamin Carson via the 2009 movie "Gifted Hands" ,a film in which Cuba Gooding, Jr. portrayed the doctor. I even talked about him to my friend and colleague Laurie Roth who, subsequently, interviewed him on her Radio show. Dr. Carson seemed to be an honorable man, conservative and true to his word. However, since he officially began his campaign for the position of POTUS, something appears...

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson endorsed statehood for Puerto Rico at a Sunday campaign event on the island. "In a Carson administration, I will leave no stone unturned in my efforts to secure this important step in Puerto Rico's history -- establishing Estado 51," said the retired neurosurgeon, highlighting the strategic benefits of the Caribbean island's location relative to the United States mainland.  Amid mounting scrutiny recently over his past, Carson traveled to the island territory to address a statehood advocacy group convention. The campaign estimated that 3,500 people were attended the New Progressive Party rally, at the Waldorf...

Ben Carson will endorse statehood for Puerto Rico tomorrow at an event with Ricky Rosello, a gubernatorial candidate for the pro-statehood party on the island, according to a source close to Rosello's campaign. The source said the condition for Carson speaking at the event was that he come out for statehood. A request for comment from Carson's campaign on the endorsement was not immediately returned. The issue of statehood for Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, does not neatly breakdown along traditional Democrat and Republican lines on the island, which is also dealing with a financial and health...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico's governor signed an executive order Friday banning the use of plastic bags across the U.S. territory, defying legislators who just days ago rejected a similar bill. The ban will take effect in mid-2016 and will be preceded by a six-month educational campaign, Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Wednesday President Obama should go around Congress to find a way to aid debt-ridden Puerto Rico. Obama proposed a plan last week to give the island a form of bankruptcy protection and let it restructure debt — but that requires Congressional approval, and the Republican-controlled Congress quickly gave it a hostile reception. "In the light of the lack of response from Congress--no sense of urgency, no sense of concern being expressed to deal with this in any way--we have to figure out other options," Mark-Viverito, who is from Puerto Rico and has become one...

The "JOY" of The LORD is much more than just a depth or width for truly its Harmony has a frequency all its own . My Joy IN YOU is as a ( ((Gusher)) ) rising up into the eternity that you ARE in Me and Hallelujahs are the piercing arrows of righteousness that not only penetrate darkness with light but overtake it and explodes a Chorus of worship from Your heart that IS The WellSpring of life I have placed in you. So "rise up WellSpring for The Voice of Many Waters is calling to you for His Glory....

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is calling on Congress to provide Puerto Rico with the support it needs to emerge from a serious debt crisis. The administration issued a statement late Wednesday saying its efforts to help would not be enough to solve the crisis and only Congress has the power to adequately address Puerto Rico's problems. The administration proposed a four-step program that calls on Congress to approve restructuring of Puerto Rico's debt burden and then provide oversight for a credible recovery plan. The plan also calls for reforms to Puerto Rico's Medicaid program.