Puerto Rico

The U.S. 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 three options: statehood, independence or independence with free association. It is crucial to me that any proposal in Congress to decolonize Puerto Rico be informed and led by Puerto Ricans, said Rep. Ral Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in U.S. territories. The proposal would commit Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the United States as the 51st state if voters on the island approved it. Voters also could choose outright independence or independence with free association, whose terms would be defined following negotiations over foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S

US Department of Health and Human Service has declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico due to the severe flooding caused by hurricane Fiona which made a landfall earlier this week

Fiona brought down trees, power lines and advertisements in the towns of Punta Cana, La Romana and El Seibo in the eastern part of the Dominican Republic during the early hours of Monday

Puerto Rico has suffered a massive power outage following the arrival of the powerful hurricane Fiona

Fiona strengthened into a hurricane on Sunday as it bore down on Puerto Rico, where people braced for severe wind and torrential rains. Forecasters said historic levels of rain were expected to produce landslides and heavy flooding, with up to 25 inches (64 centimeters) forecast in isolated areas. It's time to take action and be concerned, said Nino Correa, Puerto Rico's emergency management commissioner. Fiona was centered 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Ponce, Puerto Rico, on Sunday morning. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and was moving west-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph). Anxiety ran high across the island with Fiona due just two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a devastating Category 4 storm that hit on Sept. 20, 2017, destroying the island's power grid and causing nearly 3,000 deaths. More than 3,000 homes still have only a blue tarp as a roof, and infrastructure remains weak. I think all of us Puerto Ricans who lived through Maria have that

Congress would have to accept Puerto Rico as the 51st state if voters so choose it, but the proposal is not expected to survive in the Senate, where Republicans have long opposed statehood

US President Donald Trump considered selling Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the destructive Hurricane Maria in 2017, former acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke has told the New York Times

US Representative Tulsi Gabbard joined the protests in San Juan, saying she wanted to 'stand up to corruption'

Blockchain, a digital ledger that forms the basis of virtual currencies, has the potential to reinvent society - and the Puertopians want to prove it

More than 90% of homes are still without electricity, 60% without water, and 75% of telecommunications networks are still inoperable

Officials estimate that the island could be without power for six months

After a decade of fiscal decline and a May 2017 bankruptcy, Puerto Rico has become exceptionally vulnerable to disasters

The exodus has led to a dwindling tax base, prompting the government in part to approve new taxes and increases in utility bills

Legislation was expected this week to create a control board to help manage the US territory's financial obligations