PEDRO PIERLUISI

Students and teachers are sweltering in public schools across Puerto Rico and demanding that the government install air conditioners as the U.S. Caribbean territory bakes under record heat this year.

Officials say a key dam in Puerto Rico that was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria will be rebuilt and improved.

Puerto Rico privatized its electricity production on Wednesday.

The governing board of Puerto Rico’s power company says it has approved a plan to privatize electric generation in the U.S. territory after meeting for nearly two hours behind closed doors.

President Joe Biden promises to “rebuild it all” after visiting Puerto Rico on Monday to survey damage from Hurricane Fiona, as tens of thousands of people remain without power two weeks after the storm hit.

Puerto Rico’s governor requested that the U.S. government waive a federal law to allow for more fuel shipments to the island amid concerns over a dwindling supply of diesel in the wake of Hurricane Fiona.

Half of Puerto Rico is without power more than five days after Hurricane Fiona struck the U.S. territory — including an entire town where not a single work crew has arrived.

A growing number of businesses including grocery stores and gas stations are temporarily closing across Puerto Rico as power outages caused by Hurricane Fiona drag on in the U.S. territory, sparking concern about the availability of fuel and basic goods.

Hurricane Fiona is blasting the Turks and Caicos Islands as a Category 3 storm after devastating Puerto Rico, where most people remain without electricity or running water.

Hurricane Fiona is dumping more rain on Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Fiona has struck Puerto Rico’s southwest coast as it unleashed landslides, knocked the power grid out and ripped up asphalt from roads and flung the pieces around.

Persistent power outages and threats from Puerto Rico’s government have prompted a company that operates the island’s transmission and distribution system to announce that it would dedicate more resources and crews to improve service.

Former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez has been arrested on bribery charges related to the financing of her 2020 campaign, the latest hit to an island with a long history of corruption that brought fresh political upheaval to the U.S. territory.

In a story published May 19, 2022, The Associated Press reported that a group of Democratic congress members on Thursday proposed a binding plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state or gain some sort of independence.

Puerto Rico's Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into destruction in an ecological reserve that protects one of the island’s most extensive mangrove forests.

Puerto Rico’s government is formally exiting bankruptcy after completing the largest public debt restructuring in U.S. history after announcing nearly seven years ago that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion debt.

Puerto Rico’s governor says he is ending the requirement for mask use indoors for the second time since the pandemic began as cases and hospitalizations ease.

Protests in Puerto Rico are multiplying as government employees demand higher pay and improved pensions.

Unknown people have toppled a statue of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León ahead of a visit of Spain's King Felipe VI to the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico.

In Costa Rica, election officials are encouraging those infected with the coronavirus to skip voting in upcoming national elections.

Puerto Rico is imposing new measures to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases that has overwhelmed medical staff in the U.S. territory and led to temporary shortages of testing kits.

A California judge has partially blocked an order taking effect this week requires state prison employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

A U.S. House committee is demanding that the company in charge of the transmission and distribution of power in Puerto Rico release key data amid widespread outages in the U.S. territory that have outraged and frustrated many.

Puerto Rico’s governor has announced new restrictions to fight a rise in COVID-19 cases, including the closure of certain private businesses and banning alcohol sales after midnight.

Tropical Storm Fred has weakened to a tropical depression while sweeping over the Dominican Republic and dumping heavy rains that forecasters warn could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides there and in neighboring Haiti.

Heavy rains are pelting the northern Caribbean as Tropical Storm Fred has formed just south of Puerto Rico following a quiet month of no named storms in the region.

U.S. health officials are expected to release new data about the spread of COVID-19 on Friday that led to their decision to recommend that vaccinated people wear masks in some situations, a reversal of previous guidance.

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says Puerto Rico will receive nearly $4 billion in federal education pandemic relief funds to help boost the U.S. territory’s fight against COVID-19.

A private company has taken over the transmission and distribution operations of Puerto Rico’s power authority, which has been struggling with blackouts and bankruptcy and a history of corruption and mismanagement.

A spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Puerto Rico has put health experts at odds with government officials.

The U.S. 7th Fleet that operates throughout the Indo-Pacific says more than 14,000 of its service members have received their full doses of the coronavirus vaccine, which it began administering on January 5.

Students arrive at the Ramon Marin Sola primary school for the first time in nearly a year amid the COVID-19 pandemic as some public schools reopen in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Danica Coto)SAN JUAN – Parents across Puerto Rico knelt down on Wednesday to adjust their children's face masks and backpacks as public schools reopened for the first time in nearly a year despite the pandemic, with officials reporting scarce attendance amid COVID-19 concerns. Among them was the Ramón Marín Solá primary school in Guaynabo, where parents checked their children’s face masks before hugging them goodbye. AdFor now, only kindergarteners, special education students and children in first, second, third and 12th grades are allowed to return to school. Union leaders and some parents and teachers have called on Pierluisi’s administration to wait until August to reopen schools, noting the U.S. territory has not seen a significant decrease in COVID-19 cases.

(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY — Mexico reported a near-record 1,707 confirmed coronavirus deaths Wednesday, as the country runs out of vaccines. Ad___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:Spain surpasses 60,000 confirmed virus deaths. British officials say Oxford study backs up their decision to delay second vaccine shot for up to 12 weeks. Ad___OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 11,500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be shipped to pharmacies across Oklahoma next week, state health officials said. ___MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Nicaragua’s government says it has approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.

FILE - In this May 28, 2020 file photo, the home of 85-year-old Carmen Lacen, sits inhabitable after the passing of Hurricane Maria partially covered by a torn, blue tarp, in Loiza, Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory is slated to receive more than $6 billion in federal funds to help prepare for future hurricanes and other disasters, officials said Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico is slated to receive more than $6 billion in federal funds to help prepare the U.S. territory for future hurricanes and other disasters, officials said Tuesday. In addition, Puerto Rico now has access to $3.2 billion to continue rebuilding from hurricanes Irma and Maria, said Pierluisi, who praised the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden for acting quickly. Congress had assigned $67 billion to help with reconstruction efforts after the hurricanes devastated the island in September 2017, but of the $43 billion obligated, Puerto Rico has only received $18 billion amid concerns over how the money would be spent.

Puerto Ricos new governor Pierluisi announced Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, that he will reopen beaches, marinas and pools, eliminate a Sunday lockdown and shorten a curfew that has been in place since the pandemic began to control the number of COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico’s new governor announced Tuesday that he will reopen beaches, marinas and pools, eliminate a Sunday lockdown and shorten a curfew that has been in place since the pandemic began to control the number of COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, the new curfew will run from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and face masks remain mandatory. The announcement was cheered by many across Puerto Rico who have long sought to visit the U.S. territory’s beaches that had remained off limits to all except those doing exercise. Carlos Mellado, Puerto Rico's designated health secretary, said he expects 40,000 vaccine doses to arrive on the island every week.

(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)SAN JUAN – Pedro Pierluisi vowed to achieve statehood for Puerto Rico and fight against poverty, corruption and COVID-19 after he was sworn in Saturday as the U.S. territory’s new governor. “I need everyone to battle our common enemies.”Saturday’s ceremony marked the end of a chaotic four-year period in which Puerto Rico had three governors, including Pierluisi himself briefly after former Gov. Congress created the board in 2016, a year after Puerto Rico declared its more than $70 billion public debt unpayable, an amount accumulated in part by previous administrations borrowing money to cover budget deficits. At the time she was the island’s justice secretary, but since there was no secretary of state at the time, Puerto Rico’s constitution dictated she assume the governorship. A new legislature also was sworn in on Saturday, marking the first time that the majority of Puerto Rico’s Senate is female.

Pedro Pierluisi, gubernatorial candidate with the New Progressive Party (PNP), arrives at Vivo Beach Club to celebrate a slim lead of the pro-statehood party in the Puerto Rican general elections, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. Pierluisi briefly served as governor following last year's massive protests that led to the resignation of former Gov. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)SAN JUAN – Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico’s pro-statehood New Progressive Party won a majority of votes to become the U.S. territory’s next governor, according to official preliminary results released late Saturday. Pierluisi received nearly 33% of the votes with more than 406,800 ballots, compared with nearly 32%, or more than 389,800 votes, obtained by Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the current territorial status, with 100% of precincts reporting. The results come four days after Puerto Rico held general elections, an unusual delay blamed on a record number of early and absentee votes that overwhelmed officials.

Voters across Puerto Rico are choosing new leaders they believe would help heal a U.S. territory wracked by corruption, hurricanes, earthquakes and the pandemic. “There’s still a lot at play.”Another hotly contested race is that for mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital. The elections commission has not certified any winners in those races or others. The president of Puerto Rico’s elections commission, Francisco Rosado, said he wasn’t satisfied with the job that the administrative board responsible for counting those votes is doing. “The elections commission was one of the few institutions that had credibility,” he said.

(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)SAN JUAN – People across Puerto Rico awaited final results Wednesday of elections that saw long lines of voters and produced a tight gubernatorial race in the U.S. Caribbean territory. Meanwhile, Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico’s current representative in U.S. Congress and Pierluisi's running partner, easily won a second term. The race to become mayor of Puerto Rico's capital also was extremely tight, with only hundreds of votes separating two candidates, including one from a new party. Pierluisi briefly served as governor following last year’s protests and previously represented Puerto Rico in Congress for eight years. “Puerto Ricans have a short memory,” he said, adding that he remains hopeful a non-traditional party will eventually lead Puerto Rico.