By THE STAR STAFF Extreme drought conditions spread this week across large sections of Puerto Rico’s southern coast and eastern region, with 75.2% of the territory experiencing some level of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor update released on Thursday. Data valid as of Sept. 1 show that 41% of Puerto Rico is experiencing extreme drought (category D3), a condition appearing primarily along a strip covering much of the island’s south and another extensive area in

By THE STAR STAFF The island Treasury Department said the government closed fiscal year 2026 with stronger-than-expected revenues, driven largely by higher income tax collections from corporations and individuals and a sharp increase in June receipts tied to manufacturing activity. Treasury Secretary Ángel Pantoja Rodríguez announced that net revenues to the General Fund reached $13.9 billion, an increase of $279.1 million compared with the previous fiscal year and well abov

Mary Zapata Acosta, former executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Facebook via Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica) By THE STAR STAFF The governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has accepted the resignation of the public corporation’s executive director, Mary Zapata Acosta. In an extraordinary meeting Thursday, board members unanimously accepted Zapata’s departure. As detailed, the engineer by profession presented the letter of

The Aguirre power station in Salinas By THE STAR STAFF Power Expectations LLC has sued the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) after the utility terminated a contract expected to provide 400 megawatts of temporary generation to support Puerto Rico’s fragile electric power grid. The company, which led the winning consortium for the project, filed a verified complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico alleging breach of contract, bad fa

Ketel Marte’s walk-off homer, which gave the Arizona Diamondbacks a split of their home series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in early June, was one of the most dramatic moments of the Diamondbacks’ season, and perfectly encapsulated why team officials refuse to give up on him. (Instagram via dbacks) By KEN ROSENTHAL / THE ATHLETIC Ketel Marte turned toward the Arizona Diamondbacks’ dugout, flipped his bat and shook his head with the tiniest of smiles, as if to say, “Don’t mess

A view of Lake Ontario and the skyline of Toronto, Canada on April 4, 2024. Mapping and navigation companies face a new dilemma after Donald Trump ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed Lake America. (Eugen Sakhnenko/The New York Times) By VICTOR MATHER Three map apps, three responses so far to President Donald Trump’s order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America amid an escalating trade war with Canada. Google changed the lake’s name on its Maps application two days after the Au

By THE STAR STAFF The advertising agency Veintinueve de Febrero Inc. is poised to earn more than $5 million in just 90 days under a revised contract the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico approved earlier this week — but only after imposing strict conditions tied to procurement transparency and fiscal compliance. In a letter sent electronically to Treasury Secretary Ángel Pantoja Rodríguez on Monday, the oversight board confirmed that the Treasury Depart

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 5, 2026. A week before Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American imports, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, that the Trump administration must stop insulting his country if there was to be any hope of renewing trade talks. (Ian Austen/The New York Times) By IAN AUSTEN A week before Canada is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of U.S. i

By ERICA L. GREEN As the on-again, off-again war in Iran flares up again, President Donald Trump seems bogged down in a conflict that he cannot control or move past, despite his declarations of total victory. On Tuesday night, after the latest exchange of fire over control of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump called on the Iranian people to rise up — something he did at the outset of the war six months ago, before he backed off and acknowledged that his command was easier said than