Puerto Rico

Zika Pregnancies And Big Questions In Puerto Rico

10:32am November 29, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

More than 2,600 pregnant women on the island have tested positive for Zika. While the number of confirmed cases of fetal abnormalities has been small, officials are concerned about long-term effects.

National

Puerto Rico Declares State Of Emergency Over Massive Power Outage

2:14pm September 22, 2016

by Eyder Peralta

More than one million customers were still without power, so classes were canceled and traffic was chaotic. The power company said half of those customers should have power by the end of the day.

Chinashama Sainvilus is one of three babies born with microcephaly at the Mirebalais Hospital in Haiti in July.

Health & Safety

Doctors Fear Zika Is A Sleeping Giant In Haiti

6:55pm August 31, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

Health care workers are anxious that Zika is spreading across the country undetected — and worry that the system is ill-equipped to deal with severe birth defects.

Containers hold genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes before being released in Panama City, Panama, in September 2014.

Florida Keys Opposition Stalls Tests Of Genetically Altered Mosquitoes

6:47pm August 17, 2016

by Greg Allen

The Food and Drug Administration has approved release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in an effort to halt the spread of Zika virus. But residents of the Florida Keys aren't keen on the concept.

Queue Listen Now

A city worker in San Juan, Puerto Rico, cleans up a vacant lot where mosquitoes could be breeding.

Puerto Rico's Efforts To Stop Zika Are Hampered By Mistrust

3:29pm August 10, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

Puerto Rico has more reported cases of Zika than many other places in the region, and the number of cases continues to rise. Unfortunately, Zika is just one of the island's many problems.

Queue Listen Now

Vaginal ring, intra-uterine device, contraceptive implant and pills.

Health & Safety

Puerto Rican OB-GYNs Offer Free Birth Control To Fight Zika

5:09pm August 06, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

With the Zika epidemic raging around them, OB-GYNs in Puerto Rico have launched a plan to offer free contraception across the island. Doctors say the island has a high unplanned pregnancy rate.

A health department pickup truck sprays insecticide against mosquitoes in a San Juan, Puerto Rico, neighborhood in January.

Zika Cases Surge In Puerto Rico As Mosquitoes Flourish

6:25pm August 05, 2016

by Jason Beaubien

The warm, wet summer months in Puerto Rico are the perfect breeding time for the mosquitoes that carry Zika virus. As the mosquitoes multiply there, so do the human cases of infection.

Queue Listen Now

Democratic candidates visited the Central Florida Democratic Hispanic Caucus Voting Festival and Mock Election, which took place in Kissimmee, Fla.

Which Way Florida Goes Hinges On Puerto Rican Voters

8:28am July 16, 2016

by Greg Allen

Winning Florida's electoral votes this November could come down to winning the favor of a newly potent bloc: Puerto Ricans in and around Orlando.

A Puerto Rican flag hangs from the balcony of a house in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 1.

House Approves Bipartisan Bill To Address Puerto Rico's Debt Crisis

9:57am June 10, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The bill, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, would appoint a seven-person board that could restructure the territory's debts. Puerto Rico owes more than $70 billion.

A barman and a customer watch Alejandro García Padilla, governor of Puerto Rico, giving a speech on a television screen in a bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday.

A 'Tough Decision': Puerto Rican Governor Says Island Will Miss Debt Payment

1:51pm May 02, 2016

by Eyder Peralta

"I've decided that your basic needs come before anything else," Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said, adding that he will not close hospitals in order to pay the island's debt.