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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A fiery debate over public health and personal rights gripped Puerto Rico this week, intensifying Wednesday when legislators clashed with medical experts. The debate began earlier this month after the administrator of Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives announced the mandatory use of face masks, following various COVID-19 cases reported in the seaside Capitol building. Later that day a judge ordered that, in the meantime, the island’s House of Representatives should not “prohibit, prevent or interfere” with Burgos’ right to attend meetings. Last November, Puerto Rico’s government also declared a flu epidemic. The bill was submitted by Burgos, member of a small conservative party, and four other legislators who represent Puerto Rico’s two biggest political parties.

Persons: Lisie Burgos, ”, Burgos, Carlos Díaz Vélez, Waleska Crespo, “, Carlos Pérez Toro Organizations: JUAN, Burgos ’, Representatives, Puerto Rico’s, Puerto Rico’s Association of Surgeons Locations: Puerto Rico, Rico’s, Puerto, Burgos

If the organization fails to remove the cats within six months, the park service said it would hire a removal agency. “All visitors will benefit from the removal of a potential disease vector from the park,” the park service plan stated. “These cats are unique to San Juan,” Danna Wakefield, a solar contractor who moved to Puerto Rico in 2020, said in an interview. The U.S. Park Service plan unveiled Tuesday calls for current cat feeding stations to be removed unless they’re being used temporarily to help trap the felines. The National Park Service noted that the six-month deadline to trap cats could be extended if it sees substantial progress.

Persons: Ana María Salicrup, ” Salicrup, “, El, San Juan Mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier, ”, ” Danna, ” Wakefield, they’ll, that's, Salicrup, ’ ” Organizations: JUAN, U.S . National Park Service, San Juan, Historic, San Juan Mayor, U.S . Park Service, National Park Service Locations: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico’s, Old San Juan ., El Morro, San Juan, Gato, Old San Juan, ” Danna Wakefield, U.S

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — One of Puerto Rico’s biggest distributors of pharmaceutical drugs was ordered to pay $12 million after being accused of not reporting hundreds of suspicious orders for controlled substances, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday. Drogueria Betances, LLC is accused of not reporting at least 655 orders for fentanyl and at least 113 orders for oxycodone from 2016 through June 2019. The orders were considered suspicious given in part their frequency and size, the department said. In addition, the company was ordered to improve its compliance program and report suspicious orders to the DEA, among other things. He added that Drogueria Betances never was accused of diverting controlled products to unauthorized people or entities.

Persons: Drogueria Betances, ” Juan Carlos Hernández Organizations: JUAN, Rico’s, U.S . Justice Department, U.S . Drug Enforcement, U.S Locations: Puerto Rico, U.S

☆ Shad Tuten: Penalized for failing to properly replace his ball, golfer agonizingly loses chance of first ever PGA Tour card
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The American golfer had finished his closing round at the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh, Indiana looking set to secure his first ever PGA Tour card. Tuten was penalized for failing to properly replace his ball en route to a birdie at the par-five 15th hole. Former PGA Tour player James Nitties described the incident as “heartbreaking.”“It makes me sick as a past player,” Nitties said on the Golf Channel broadcast. The Georgia-born golfer has played 132 tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica since turning professional in 2015, winning once, and ends the season as world No. Eighteen of the graduates are PGA Tour rookies, including brothers Parker and Pierceson Coody, who became only the second twins in history to attain simultaneous PGA Tour membership status after Allan and Curtis Strange in 1981.

Persons: Shad Tuten’s, Tuten, Mike Mulholland, Korn, Jim Duncan, ”, James Nitties, ” Nitties, France’s Paul Barjon, Puerto, Rafael Campos leapfrogging Tuten, Parker, Pierceson Coody, Allan, Curtis Strange Organizations: CNN, PGA Tour, Victoria, Korn Ferry, NBC Sports, ” CNN, PGA, Golf Channel Locations: Newburgh , Indiana, Georgia

Public schools with no air conditioning or whose cooling systems are inoperable due to power outages blamed on a hurricane-battered electric grid are seeking relief, but it’s unlikely they’ll find it soon. Pedro Pierluisi quietly vetoed a bill that called for air conditioning systems for public schools. But air conditioning remains rare at public schools, which depend on fans and trade winds that blow through windows with metal shutters. It's unknown how many public schools lack air conditioning or have air conditioners that don't work because of electrical problems. More than 50% of public schools also have reported a heat-related emergency.

Persons: Ángel Muñiz, ”, Puerto Rico, Odalys Martínez, Pedro Pierluisi, “, Yasim Sarkis, “ There’s, ” Sarkis, Hurricane Maria, Sheila Angleró, Edwin Morales, it's, Raúl González, they've, Ángel Matos García, Sarkis ’, Sarkis, you’ll Organizations: JUAN, —, National Weather Service, Puerto Rico, “, Gov, Hurricane, Associated Press, Department of Education, island’s Federation of Teachers, Puerto Rico’s Association of Teachers, Puerto Rico’s, Representatives Locations: Puerto Rico, U.S, Caribbean, Puerto, San Juan, saunas, Bermuda

CNN —In an urgent appeal to wealthy Republicans who had assembled in Milwaukee ahead of the first GOP presidential primary debate, top brass for the super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told donors they needed an injection of $50 million over the next four months, according to leaked audio obtained by CNN. The tension spilled into the open just days before the Milwaukee event, when the super PAC released a memo with debate pointers for DeSantis. The pitch appeared structured to convince donors the super PAC had a plan for their dollars if they would open up their pocketbooks. Many Republican strategists and campaign veterans have questioned the arrangement between DeSantis’ campaign and the super PAC, pointing to the limitations of running a political operation from the outside.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, “, ”, Chris Jankowski, DeSantis, I’m, Jankowski, Kristin Davison, Jeff Roe, Trump, Casey DeSantis, ” Roe, –, Roy Bailey, Davison, ’, Robert Bigelow, Roe, Donald Trump, “ Donald Trump, ” Davison, we’re, Puerto, “ Trump, ” —, —, Casey, ” Jankowski, We’ve Organizations: CNN, PAC, Florida Gov, DeSantis, Dallas, Trump, Reuters, Labor, GOP, White, US House, Puerto Rico’s, Super, ”, ” Navy, JAG, Republican, Federal, Commission, Campaign Locations: Milwaukee, Iowa, Florida, DeSantis, Nevada, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Georgia

☆ US court revives lawsuit against Royal Caribbean over toddler's death
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruises by the parents of an 18-month-old girl who died after slipping through her grandfather’s hands and falling through an open cruise ship window. Royal Caribbean and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jacqueline Garcell, a lawyer for the parents, faulted Royal Caribbean for refusing to install devices that many large hotel chains also use to prevent falls. “We look forward to continuing our fight for justice for Chloe Wiegand and to make cruise ships safer,” she said. The case is Wiegand et al v Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, 11th U.S.

Persons: Keith Bedford, Chloe Wiegand, Salvatore Anello, Chloe, Alan Wiegand, Kimberly Schultz, Wiegand, Donald Graham, Jacqueline Garcell, Anello Organizations: Reuters, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Royal, REUTERS, Circuit, Royal Caribbean, District, Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Locations: Staten, Royal Caribbean, New York, U.S, Atlanta, San Juan , Puerto Rico, Indiana, Miami, Valparaiso , Indiana, 11th U.S

☆ Monica Puig: How marathon running stopped former tennis player from descending into a 'big black hole of depression and sadness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

With tennis, the stakes felt higher when rankings points, global recognition, and prize money were on the line. Puig has swapped tennis rackets for running shoes over the past year. Johnny PaceBut the sense of personal satisfaction she gets from running has endured, helping to ease the lingering pain of her retirement from tennis. As a tennis player, Puig always saw running as a form of punishment – never enjoyment. Now, Puig has also set her sights on competing in triathlons, as well as running the remaining marathon majors in Chicago, Berlin, and Tokyo.

Persons: CNN — Monica Puig, Puig, She’s, I’ve, ” Puig, “ I’ve, Johnny Pace, it’s, ”, I’m, It’s, Lintao Zhang, “, Clive Brunskill Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Olympic, Rio – Puerto Rico’s, York City Marathon, Madrid, Games Locations: New York City, Boston, London, “, Rio –, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo, Augusta , Georgia, Puerto Rico, York, Beijing

☆ The Legacy of Colonialism Is Seen in Puerto Rico’s Domestic Violence Problem - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Anjanette Delgado | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Colonization puts in place the systems and structures often at the root of heightened violence against women. “There seems to be a need for men to assert control and exact pain from these subjects,” she told me. That link is amply documented well beyond the case of Puerto Rico by scholars like Emilia Quiñones-Otal. The year I left, nearly 12,600 women reported being victims of domestic violence, and the vast majority were attacked in their homes. Between 1995 and 1996, 13 percent of women in Puerto Rico reported that they had been physically assaulted by an intimate partner or family member.

Persons: Frances Negrón Muntaner, ”, Emilia, Monroe, “, I’d Organizations: Columbia University, United Nations Women, CNN Locations: Caribbean, Puerto Rico, United States, Guyana, Carolina, San Juan, Atlanta, Puerto Rican

CNN —Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico has been hospitalized after an incident involving a mule cart and a runaway horse, according to his family. Rico was en route to mass next to the Hermitage of El Rocio when the “serious mishap” occurred. Paris Saint-Germain learned of the accident involving its player Sergio Rico on Sunday and remains in constant contact with his loved ones. — Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 28, 2023“We now await medical results which we hope will be positive so we can inform you of his improvement as soon as possible.”PSG released a statement on Twitter, saying: “Paris Saint-Germain learned of the accident involving its player Sergio Rico on Sunday and remains in constant contact with his loved ones. “The entire Red and Blue community offers them its full support.”Rico was on the bench for the 1-1 draw in Strasbourg.

☆ Mets Closer Edwin Diaz Injured While Celebrating Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Classic Win
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lindsey Adler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Edwin Diaz is helped off the field after being injured. New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz suffered a knee injury while celebrating Puerto Rico’s dramatic victory over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic late Wednesday, a nightmare scenario for a tournament that is dependent on its ability to recruit and feature Major League Baseball stars. Diaz had just closed out the ninth inning of Puerto Rico’s 5-2 victory, sending the team to the tournament quarterfinals. As Diaz and his teammates jumped together in celebration, the Mets superstar collapsed to the ground as he appeared to grasp his right knee.

☆ The Mets’ Edwin Diaz Is Likely Out for the Season After Injury During World Baseball Classic Celebration
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lindsey Adler | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Edwin Diaz is helped off the field after being injured. New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz will likely miss the entire 2023 season after suffering a patellar tendon tear in his right knee while celebrating Puerto Rico’s dramatic victory over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, the Mets announced on Thursday. Diaz’s injury represents a nightmare scenario for the international baseball tournament, which is dependent on its ability to recruit and feature Major League Baseball stars.

☆ Amid high levels of contamination, Puerto Rico town's residents plead for action
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

SALINAS, Puerto Rico — Shuttered windows are a permanent fixture in Salinas, an industrial town on Puerto Rico’s southeast coast that is considered one of the U.S. territory’s most contaminated regions. Salinas also has one of the highest incidence rates of cancer in Puerto Rico, with 140 cases reported in 2019, the newest figures available from the island’s Central Registry of Cancer. Those measures have a limited effect, however, and residents continue frustrated that their complaints about contamination have been ignored for years. That has been hailed by many in Puerto Rico, which has one of the highest asthma rates in a U.S. jurisdiction and whose power generation system is 97% based on fossil fuels. Although she has been the target of protests organized by frustrated residents, she said she is pushing for corrective measures.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A new private company will take over power generation units owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of generating energy on the U.S. territory. The power generation equipment in Puerto Rico, plagued by ongoing blackouts and decaying infrastructure, is on average about 45 years old — twice the age of those on the U.S. mainland. The company and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) are currently undergoing a transition process set to last 100 days. Officials in Puerto Rico have been taking steps toward privatizing power generation for some time. Power customers in Puerto Rico have seen seven electric rate increases last year, even though people in Puerto Rico already pay about twice as much as mainland U.S. customers for unreliable service.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of energy generation on the island, approved a contract that brings the U.S. territory one step closer to privatizing power generation. Less than 4% of Puerto Rico’s power generation currently comes from renewable energy. Power generation units in Puerto Rico are on average about 45 years old, twice those of the U.S. mainland. As part of the ongoing privatization process, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority relinquished the island’s power transmission and distribution system to Luma Energy. It’s unclear whether privatizing power generation would have any impact on such efforts.

☆ Puerto Rico officials say they'll pursue abusers of its tax credit system
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico announced Tuesday that it will start cracking down on those who abuse the U.S. territory’s tax credit system, an opaque and long unregulated sector with claims that average about $270 million a year. For years, Puerto Rico’s government has been unable or unwilling to provide specific numbers related to tax credits awarded, for example, to those who build hotels or invest in the local manufacturing or movie industries. The crackdown was announced a week after Puerto Rico’s governor increased from $38 million to $100 million the annual limit of tax credits for film projects developed on the island. Parés said current incentives will expire in upcoming years and then fall under the new system, which launches Wednesday. Under the old system, the island’s Treasury Department, its Department of Economic Development, Department of Housing and its Tourism Company were responsible for overseeing tax credits.

☆ 2 killed in shootout with federal agents near Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Two suspected drug traffickers were killed early Sunday in a shootout with federal agents off Puerto Rico’s northeast coast, officials said. The chase ended when the suspected drug traffickers shot at the federal agents, who returned fire, Quiñones said. Quiñones said drugs were found aboard the boat and in the water, but no further details were immediately available. The deadly chase comes two months after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected drug smuggler died in a shootout off Puerto Rico’s southwest coast. Puerto Rico is a popular transit point for drugs coming out of South America.

He voted against the Puerto Rico Status Act on the floor last week, calling for "letting a full and robust legislative process take place." One of the bill’s main negotiators, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, is confident about more congressional hearings on Puerto Rico's territorial status in the new year. That’s intentional, said Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón, a Republican nonvoting member of Congress representing Puerto Rico who favors statehood and helped negotiate the Puerto Rico Status Act. What’s next for Puerto Rico’s territorial status? Excluding Puerto Rico’s territorial status also gives Wicker and others pause.

It would assign over $17.6 billion in Medicaid funds to Puerto Rico over the next five years. That temporarily changed after the pandemic, when Congress passed legislation increasing Medicaid funding by 6% to states and U.S. territories. The current bill seeks to increase the federal government’s share of Medicaid costs paid to Puerto Rico to 76 cents. The bill's failure would also trigger a significant decrease in the allotment Puerto Rico gets to fund its Medicaid program. Since the start of the pandemic, Puerto Rico has received roughly $3 billion annually for its Medicaid program based on an interpretation of the Medicaid funding cap provision from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The House voted Thursday in favor of the Puerto Rico Status Act, which seeks to resolve the U.S. territory's status and its relationship to the United States through a binding plebiscite. The Puerto Rico Status Act also lays out terms for a November 2023 binding plebiscite including all three nonterritorial status options. Lawmakers from both sides debated the merits of the Puerto Rico Status Act on the House floor Thursday. While Democrats insisted the legislation is a significant step toward Puerto Rico's decolonization, Republicans worried over the economic implications of changing Puerto Rico's status. Venator- Santiago, who has been tracking Puerto Rico legislation in Congress for years, said this is the first time since 2010 that the House votes in favor of legislation dealing with changes to Puerto Rico’s territorial status.

Puerto Rican singer and musician Lalo Rodríguez, best known for his salsa megahit "Ven devórame otra vez" (Come devour me again) has died. As fellow musicians and fans grapple with the uncertain circumstances surrounding his death, they're remembering Rodríguez as a talented artist who helped lift salsa music to new heights. Light and progress Lalo," salsa music icon Willie Colón, who is also credited for helping popularize the genre, lamented in Spanish on Twitter. Salsa music enthusiast Juana Peña described Rodríguez as a "versatile singer, capable of getting into any rhythm and doing it well" in a tweet. Puerto Rican writer Sandra Guzmán mourned the singer's passing with a touching post saying, "A virtuoso goes to music heaven to join Puerto Rican salsa Gods.

Luma Energy secured an extension on its temporary contract Wednesday following a 4-1 vote by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s board. Government officials promised Luma Energy and the partial privatization of the power grid would improve electric services. On other occasions, Luma Energy blamed outages on bad weather and sargassum, a type of seaweed. Still unresolved is the bankruptcy proceeding for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, which owes nearly $9 billion, the largest debt of any government agency. As soon as a federal judge approves a debt restructuring plan for the power authority, Luma Energy's contract will become permanent for 15 years.

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☆ CBP agent, suspected smuggler dead in shootout off Puerto Rico coast, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected smuggler were dead Friday after a shootout off Puerto Rico’s coast, authorities said. Two other CBP agents were also injured in the gunfire, they said. A CBP agent was fatally shot, while one of at least two suspected smugglers also died, CBP spokesman Jeffrey Quiñones said, addressing reporters Thursday. The CBP Air and Marine Operations agency said in a tweet it was a marine interdiction agent who had died. “These are brave members of our Air and Marine Operations within @CBP," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement shared on Twitter by a DHS spokesperson.

☆ Federal control board supervising Puerto Rico’s finances has a new director
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal control board that supervises Puerto Rico’s finances announced a new executive director on Thursday after its last one stepped down in April following a historic debt restructuring for the U.S. territory. Robert Mujica, budget director for New York state, is expected to assume his new role in January. In 2017, Puerto Rico filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. So far, auditors are still reviewing Puerto Rico’s 2019 budget. Critics also have noted that the ongoing bankruptcy process has cost Puerto Rico around $1 billion in consultants, lawyers and other expenses, and that the board’s director earns $625,000 a year.

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