The woofs and bow wows, growls and even a few purrs could be heard from afar, but nobody had any trouble interpreting their meaning.The animals who came with their owners to donate food were speaking out in gratitude for the 20,000 pounds of kibble for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies that thousands of generous Puerto Rican residents had dropped off in the parking lot of three island shopping centers.Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sánchez, carrying her shaggy shih-tsu Maraca in her arms, was close to tears as the cars rolled by at Plaza Las Américas at around 5 p.m. Saturday. The Pet SOS Food Drive, held in Ponce, Mayagüez, and San Juan, had been a success.She had flown by helicopter to the... Read More

Whenever companies start hiring freely again, job-seekers with specialized skills and education will have plenty of good opportunities. Others will face a choice: Take a job with low pay — or none at all.Job creation will likely remain weak for months or even years. But once employers do step up hiring, some economists expect job openings to fall mainly into two categories of roughly equal numbers:— Professional fields with higher pay. Think lawyers, research scientists and software engineers.— Lower-skill and lower-paying jobs, like home health care aides and store clerks.And those in between? Their outlook is bleaker. Economists foresee fewer moderately paid factory supervisors, postal... Read More

NEW YORK It is a place of sacrifice. A place of mourning. A place people pass by on their way to grab lunch. It’s a place where tourists crane their necks to snatch a glimpse around barriers walling off an enormous construction site — which is also what it is.Ground zero.Depending on whom you talk to, it’s a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on.In recent weeks, as debate has raged over the placement of a planned Islamic cultural center and mosque a couple of blocks from the construction, Americans have been reminded of just how many people lay claim to... Read More

Three days after Rep. Norman Ramírez and 27 of his colleagues revived the issue of same-sex marriage by submitting House Bill 107, the debate has moved into the mainstream with attorneys and civil rights activists claiming it could also curtail the rights of unmarried couples.If approved and signed by the governor, the proposed bill would elevate to a constitutional rank the statement that marriage is  an institution between “a man and a woman.”  The problem many see with the bill is that it also leaves the door open for interpretation son what a legal civil union should be. Members of the Article II Foundation that successfully lobbied representatives in 2007 to shelve a... Read More