SAN JUAN — Governor Wanda Vázquez announced on Saturday that she will hold a nonbinding referendum in November to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a U.S. state, a move that comes amid growing disillusion with the island’s U.S. territorial status. For the first time in the island’s history, the

KINGSHILL — A temporary restraining order was issued late Friday by Superior Court Judge Kathleen Mackay at the behest of Gordon Ackley and other local Republicans after John Canegata sought to remain in office as territorial Republican chairman by canceling the Republican primary election. The order bars Canegata and Robert

BALTIMORE — The Social Security Administration issued an update Thursday about COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments (EIP) to certain groups of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. Beneficiaries who have their regular monthly payments managed for them by another person, called a representative payee, will begin receiving their EIPs

SANTO DOMINGO — While a large number of Caribbean countries seem to have halted the COVID-19 curve, in seven nations yesterday, the number of coronavirus cases continued a steady uptick. Here are the seven: 1: The Dominican Republic’s cases showed no slow down as the country surpassed 10,000 cases yesterday, adding

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Gordon Ackley, who is running as a candidate for chairman of the territorial Republican Party, has filed a lawsuit against the Supervisor of Elections and two current VIGOP members. Ackley’s Superior Court lawsuit filed Friday, names Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes as the head of the Virgin

CHRISTIANSTED — In his continuing efforts to lobby the federal government for help in the territory’s fight against COVID-19, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. sent a letter to congressional leaders requesting additional federal assistance for the U.S. Virgin Islands. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin

CHARLOTTE AMALIE — Governor Albert Bryan, Jr. and the Anderson Stewart Family Foundation announced Friday that the foundation has given a grant of $1 million to the Virgin Islands Department of Health for equipment and to provide services to residents in the department’s fight against COVID-19. The grant will be

NEW YORK — UN Chief António Guterres said heightened solidarity is needed if the world is to defeat the crisis, which he called the “gravest test since the founding of this organization,” with governments already struggling to address rising unemployment and economic downturn. “But the pandemic also poses a significant threat

QUITO — We are among 250 population scientists and health specialists from around the globe who have issued a stark warning to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America: governments must increase COVID-19 testing in the region before it is too late. Having observed the experience elsewhere in the world, the region

SAN JUAN — The suspected mismanagement of essential supplies during Hurricane Maria turned out to be a boon for Puerto Rico as it fights a rise in coronavirus cases. Health Secretary Lorenzo González said Saturday that officials discovered a cache of urgently needed personal protective equipment at a hospital in