Puerto Rico's Stealth Bankruptcy: Today's News for May 4th

New York Times:

Puerto Rico Declares a Form of Bankruptcy

With its creditors at its heels and its coffers depleted, Puerto Rico sought what is essentially bankruptcy relief in federal court on Wednesday, the first time in history that an American state or territory had taken the extraordinary measure.

The action sent Puerto Rico, whose approximately $123 billion in debt and pension obligations far exceeds the $18 billion bankruptcy filed by Detroit in 2013, to uncharted ground.

While the court proceedings could eventually make the island solvent for the first time in decades, the more immediate repercussions will likely be grim: Government workers will forgo pension money, public health and infrastructure projects will go wanting, and the “brain drain” the island has been suffering as professionals move to the mainland could intensify.

...Puerto Rico’s case will be the first ever heard under a federal law for insolvent territories, called Promesa, which was enacted last summer; the Obama administration had warned that a “humanitarian crisis” would ensue if Puerto Rico were not given extraordinary powers to abrogate debt. There is no existing body of court precedent for Promesa, but the island’s creditors — who range from hedge fund managers to mom-and-pop investors — are bracing for a titanic battle.

There are plenty of ways for both the Right and Left to spin this story. The Left can call this an Obama victory, because without Promesa this would have ended up an ugly default. On the other hand, the Right can say this is an example of where uncontrolled spending leads.

Instead, we get a collective cricket chirping from both sides: Fox and CNN ignored this story. Not just buried, but ignored. Or maybe they just missed it completely?

Instead, this is what they were busy covering. First, to Fox:

Fox News:

North Korea threat: Pyongyang directly criticizes China in rare move

North Korean state media criticized China directly Wednesday, saying its “reckless remarks” on the North’s nuclear program was testing its patience and could trigger unspecified “grave” consequences.

A commentary released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency said that "a string of absurd and reckless remarks are now heard from China everyday only to render the present bad situation tenser."

The article cited commentaries by Chinese state media that it said shifted the blame for deteriorating bilateral relations onto the North and raised "lame excuses for the base acts of dancing to the tune of the U.S."

"China should no longer try to test the limits of the DPRK's patience," the North Korean commentary said. "China had better ponder over the grave consequences to be entailed by its reckless act of chopping down the pillar of the DPRK-China relations."

The commentary was responding to an article in China’s state-backed Global Times that warned the North’s actions threatened a 1961 treaty of non-aggression between the two countries. It called on the regime to end its nuclear tests.

"China will not allow its northeastern region to be contaminated by North Korea's nuclear activities," the Global Times declared.

In recent days, the paper also warned that China was able to strike back "at any side that crosses the red line" and would impose an oil embargo against the North in response to any more tests. The North Korean commentary said it's China that crossed "the red line."

Certainly, this qualifies as news. However, CNN seems to have missed this story completely too.

Instead, CNN's lede story is one which Fox News covered yesterday:

CNN:

Health care win could be shot in arm that Trump, GOP need

It's not the beginning of the end for the GOP's bid to repeal Obamacare -- but it might just be the end of the beginning.

If House Speaker Paul Ryan manages to finally muscle through the GOP health bill on Thursday, he will temper a damaging period of false starts, soul-searching and splits in his party that tarnished the start of Donald Trump's presidency.

House Republicans will finally be able to go home to their districts for next week's recess and tell their frustrated base they have at least made a down payment on their repeated campaign vows to kill the Affordable Care Act.

While this is certainly a story, the bill still needs to pass a House vote, which is probable. But then it needs to pass a Senate vote, which is a bigger long shot:

There's no certainty that the hard won compromises on preserving coverage for pre-existing conditions will actually work, or even survive the overhaul the Senate is expected to perform when it picks up the legislation. 

CNN seems to be reaching for this as their lede story, especially on a day where a U.S. territory files a $123 billion bankruptcy and North Korea figuratively flips the bird to China.

In CNN's defense, they did manage to beat Fox to this story:

CNN:

Prince Philip, husband of UK's Queen Elizabeth II, to retire from public life

Prince Philip, 95-year-old husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, is to step down from public life, Buckingham Palace has said.

The prince will stop accepting public engagements from September, the palace said. The Queen, who is 91 and has gradually scaled back her public appearances in recent years, will continue to carry out her duties supported by other members of the royal [family].

One has to be a hard core anglophile to care about this.