Cuba’s blackout, Shakira in Mexico and other top photos from Latin America and the Caribbean

By The Associated Press
March 6, 2026 | 12:25 AM

Feb. 27 – March 5, 2026

Swaths of Cuba remained without power this week after a huge blackout hit the western part of the island in the latest outage blamed on a fragile electric grid and a lack of fuel. In Mexico, nearly 20 years after her first Zócalo concert, Shakira broke the plaza’s attendance record with about 400,000 fans, closing her “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran” tour. A military plane carrying 18 tons of new banknotes crashed in Bolivia, killing more than 20 people.

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This gallery was curated by photo editor Leslie Mazoch based in Mexico City.

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AP photography: https://apnews.com/photography

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews

Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants

By The Associated Press
July 30, 2026 | 1:13 AM

It’s been a choppy year for restaurants that lean into lettuce. Lettuce prices rose sharply in the first half of 2026 due to hot weather in Arizona, where about one-third of America’s lettuce is grown. Now, restaurants are dealing with the fallout from a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce that has sickened thousands of Americans. Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said customers in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were also affected. Taco Bell said on July 17 that it had voluntarily removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its U.S. restaurants. But its customer volume has suffered. As of July 23, Taco Bell visits were 21% lower than average across the U.S., according to Placer.ai, a market research company.

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