Puerto Rico

Our Favorite Banana May Be Doomed. Can New Varieties Replace It?

4:08pm January 11, 2016

by Dan Charles

The Cavendish banana and other beloved varieties are threatened by a fungus that's spreading around the world. Scientists are trying to find new varieties that will be resistant to the disease.

Puerto Rico Says It Will Miss $37 Million In Bond Payments This Week

10:18pm December 30, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

The island's government warns that time is running out for Congress to address its fiscal problems. Puerto Rico has been reeling from the effects of declining population and a long recession.

The Puerto Rican capitol building in San Juan is seen on July 1, 2015. The island's residents are struggling to cope with the government's $72 billion debt.

Congress' Funding Package Offers No Debt Assistance To Puerto Rico

5:11pm December 16, 2015

by Camila Domonoske

Struggling under a $72 billion debt, the territory asked for a legal change allowing it to file for some form of bankruptcy. But lawmakers have left that language out of their tax-and-spending deal.

Puerto Rico Makes A Bond Payment, Avoiding Default, For Now

3:17pm December 01, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

But the commonwealth says it's running out of cash and that its fiscal situation is tenuous.

White House Proposes Plan To Help Puerto Rico Emerge From Debt Crisis

2:12pm October 22, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

The commonwealth faces a budget shortfall of $28 billion over the next five years.

A woman walks in front of a business with the municipal flag painted on the entrance doors in Lares, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 2, 2015. Puerto Rico's economy has been struggling, and Puerto Ricans living on the U.S. mainland, who can vote, vow to be heard thi

Politics & Government

Puerto Ricans Vow To Have A Bigger Voice In 2016 Election

5:18pm October 18, 2015

by Greg Allen

Puerto Rican leaders gathered in Orlando, Fla., in an effort to begin building the political clout of the nation's second-largest Hispanic group.

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Maine Maritime Academy students attend a Tuesday evening vigil of hope for the missing crew members of the U.S. container ship El Faro.

National

Coast Guard Calls Off Search For El Faro Crew

7:53pm October 07, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Communication was lost with the ship Thursday and the U.S. Coast Guard concluded that it had sunk. Wednesday evening, the Coast Guard ended the search for survivors.

National

Coast Guard Searches For Ship, Crew Of 33 Caught In Hurricane Joaquin

3:02pm October 02, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The 735-foot "roll on, roll off" vehicle carrier El Faro hails from Puerto Rico. The vessel was en route from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Juan when it issued an emergency satellite communication.

In this Sept. 11 photo provided by Emily Morgan, Chase Morgan holds his son Haiden's hand at the Miami Children's Hospital. Emily Morgan, who unexpectedly gave birth on a cruise ship months before her due date, says she wrapped towels around her boy and,

1-Pound Baby Born Early Aboard Cruise Ship Survives

8:26am September 25, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Emily Morgan and her husband, Chase, wrapped their three-months premature baby in towels to keep him warm and alive until the ship reached Puerto Rico. They got him to a hospital just in time.

Family means a lot on Cayo Santiago, an island and monkey research colony off the coast of Puerto Rico. The colony of rhesus macaques living on the island since the 1930s has allowed scientists to trace kinship ties and effects across an extended communit

Puerto Rico's Monkey Island Lures Scientists For Generations

8:37am July 16, 2015

by Anders Kelto

The isle of Cayo Santiago has been home to at least nine generations of rhesus monkeys since the colony's founding in 1938. Primatologists here seek clues to primate kinship, cognition and ecology.

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