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Puerto Rico Democratic Party Chair Charles Rodríguez on Friday called on congressional Democrats to oppose a bill proposed by New York Democratic Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to decide the territory's status through a convention. "The proposed legislation allows a group of delegates to decide and impose an option. In a democracy, we should trust the people to make their own decisions rather than rely on a selected few to decide for the people," wrote Rodríguez. The Velázquez/Ocasio-Cortez bill has pulled Congress into the island's core political debate, which defines party affiliation at a local level. In his letter,...

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — During a joint investigation between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, CBP officers seized Saturday undeclared currency totaling $27 million found inside boxes bound to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. “Legal currency can be transported if properly declared under US law. Transnational Criminal Organizations seek to conceal proceeds and move it as part of their criminal activities,” indicated Gregory Alvarez, Director of Field Operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “We remain...

After years of bulldozing, President Obama finally got Senate confirmation for a scandal-plagued diplomat forced out of a U.S. ambassadorship for her close ties to a terrorist-sponsoring foreign government. That means a leftist open borders activist (Mari Carmen Aponte) with a controversial past officially represents the administration abroad. In a 62-37 vote last week, the U.S. Senate approved the confirmation of Aponte, a former board member of the National Council of la Raza (NCLR) and Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), as the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador. Obama originally nominated Aponte in December 2009 and made her...

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed President Trump's latest bid to block a subpoena for his taxes from Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero rejected Trump's arguments that the subpoena, from a state grand jury looking into payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels before Trump 2016 presidential win, was issued in bad faith and is too broad. "We will appeal," the president's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow said. Vance is seeking eight years of Trump's personal and business tax returns as well as other financial documents as part of an investigation into the president's business...

@RADMBrown, @EPA, @DFCgov, and key representatives from Trump Administration are in Puerto Rico to bring pharmaceutical manufacturing BACK to the US. China FIRED, Puerto Rico HIRED!

FBI agents on Monday arrested Puerto Rico Rep. María Milagros Charbonier and three other people, a spokesman for the pro-statehood New Progressive Party said. Raúl Colón, a spokesman for the president of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives, told The Associated Press that an adviser for Charbonier notified the president of the arrest. No further details were immediately available. FBI spokeswoman Limary Cruz told the AP that four people were arrested but said she could not immediately release more details. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced an upcoming press conference about a public corruption case. Charbonier recently said the FBI interviewed her...

Far from the stage limelight and walls of her political campaign headquarters, the Mayor of San Juan [Puerto Rico] and candidate for governor in her Popular Democratic Party's primaries, admitted her defeat in a facebook post.

On Monday (Aug. 10), an auxiliary cable supporting a platform that is suspended above the 1,000-foot-wide (300 meters) radio dish broke and crashed into the telescope's reflector panels, creating a gash in the dish measuring about 100 feet (30 m) long. In a news conference with reporters Friday (Aug. 14), Arecibo director Francisco Cordova said that 250 of the observatory's primary reflector dish panels were damaged, along with several support cables underneath the dish. But observatory officials have not yet fully assessed the extent of the damage or determined the cost of the repairs needed to get the 56-year-old radio...

At Arecibo, scientists conduct all sorts of work, from atmospheric and planetary science through to radio and radar astronomy and even searches for extraterrestrial intelligence, also known as SETI. The purpose of these observations are to determine the ways in which red dwarf stars, like Barnard’s Star, affect the habitability of their planets. Méndez was also planning to embark on a SETI project to detect extraterrestrial technosignatures (i.e. evidence of alien technology), which would have leveraged both past and future observations at Arecibo. All this now appears to be on hold. Méndez’s observations aren’t time critical, but others might be,...

Puerto Rico on Sunday was forced to partially suspend voting for primaries marred by a lack of ballots as officials called on the president of the U.S. territory’s elections commission to resign. The primaries for voting centers that had not received ballots by early afternoon are expected to be rescheduled, while voting would continue elsewhere, the commission said. “I have never seen on American soil something like what has just been done here in Puerto Rico. It’s an embarrassment to our government and our people,” said Pedro Pierluisi, who is running against Gov. Wanda Vázquez, to become the nominee for...

Tropical Storm Isaias developed in the Eastern Caribbean Sea. All interests along the Florida Peninsula should be prepared for deteriorating weather conditions by Saturday. For linguistics aficionados, the National Hurricane Center uses the four-syllable pronunciation ees-ah-EE-ahs. The name Isaias is Spanish for Isaiah. To hear a meteorologist pronounce Isaias: NWS Melbourne. Puerto Rico Satellite Imagery GOES East Satellite Imagery NHC Public Advisories NHC Discussions Puerto Rico Radar LoopSouth Florida Radar LoopFlorida Radar Loop Buoy Locations with Storm Track overlay NWS Local Products

We’re 100 days out from Election Day and in the in the key state of Florida, there appears to be some trouble brewing for Joe Biden. It’s from inside the ship too. Nearly 100 Democratic field organizers in the Sunshine State have accused the Biden campaign of “suppressing the Hispanic vote.” That the top concern. The rest reads what appears to be a total train wreck regarding how staff and field organizers are treated. These folks also allege that there is no actionable plan to mobilize Hispanic voters in the state as we speak. The letter notes that there are...

... While doing so, the CEO also heaped praise on the President. “We’re all truly blessed at the same time to have a leader like President Trump, who is a builder,” Unanue said. “And so we have an incredible builder. And we pray. We pray for our leadership, our president, and we pray for our country, that we will continue to prosper and to grow.” ...on Saturday, Masvidol expressed support for Goya Foods, taking aim at the those calling for the boycott of the Spanish foods company and linking to a story about Goya donating a million pounds of food...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor announced Thursday that she will lift nearly all restrictions aimed at curbing coronavirus cases, which means beaches, churches and businesses including movie theaters and gyms across the U.S. territory will reopen after three months. Gov. Wanda Vázquez said the changes will occur starting June 16, when businesses also will be allowed to operate seven days a week and restaurants at 50% capacity. However, she tweaked an ongoing curfew that will remain in place for two weeks from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. She also said Puerto Rico will be officially...

The [Puerto Rico] Health Department report, under newly established definitions, reported one probable death from Covid-19; meanwhile, one confirmed case and 22 additional probable cases were registered. These cases reported today correspond to tests carried out until June 5. The probable death by Covid-19 corresponds to an 86-year-old woman from the Ponce region. In this case, a medical professional listed Covid-19 on the death certificate as a factor in death, following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC. With this added fatality, the total number of deaths is 144, of which 56 are confirmed and...

The editor in chief of Bon Appétit magazine stepped down Monday after photos of him wearing brown face surfaced. Adam Rapoport announced his resignation from the food magazine on Instagram after a photo of him and his wife Simone Shubuck dressed as Puerto Rican stereotypes made an appearance on Twitter. The editor said he would “reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being and to allow Bon Appétit to get to a better place.” “From an extremely ill-conceived Halloween costume 16 years ago to my blidn spots as an editor, I’ve not championed an inclusive...

White House Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro will sit down next week with Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, a Republican from Puerto Rico, to discuss legislation she crafted to bring companies back from China to distressed areas in the United States. The measure would offer tax incentives for businesses to move pharmaceutical drug or device manufacturing to "distressed zones" in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It would also provide tax breaks for goods and services purchased by a manufacturer from a provider located within one of these zones. Incentives would be greater for supply lines that move from overseas...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the oversight board established by Congress to help Puerto Rico out of a devastating financial crisis that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus outbreak, recent earthquakes and damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017. The justices reversed a lower court ruling that threatened to throw the island’s recovery efforts into chaos. In a unanimous holding, the court will allow the oversight board’s work to pull the island out of the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history to proceed. At one point, Puerto Rico faced more than $100 billion in debt and unfunded...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Known for its world-class beaches, laid-back vibe and status as a natural-disaster magnet, Puerto Rico is hoping to make another name for itself: innovator in pandemic travel. Since mid-March, the U.S. commonwealth has been requiring visitors to endure one of the strictest medical screenings of any state or territory. Doctors in protective suits take their temperatures, grill them about their travel history and, in some cases, hustle them off for COVID-19 tests. As the world wrestles with how to welcome back tourists without rolling out the red carpet for the coronavirus, Puerto Rico — bankrupt...

The Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial in Boston's South End has been vandalized during a weekend dedicated to honoring service members. Authorities said they believe the vandals — who pushed over a stone pillar and threw the Puerto Rican flag to the ground — struck Saturday night. The city is investigating the incident, and Boston Public Works crews and Boston Parks and Recreation staff members are working on repairs. Boston Commissioner of Veterans Services Robert Santiago said the vandalism hits hard, especially on this weekend. "Any time is bad timing when a memorial is damaged or defaced, but being that this...