Congress unlikely to act on Puerto Rico ahead of deadline

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress seems increasingly unlikely to take action to help Puerto Rico ahead of a May 1 deadline for the commonwealth to default on a nearly half-billion-dollar debt payment.

The blown deadline could push Puerto Rico and its 3.5 million American citizens further into crisis, exacerbating a growing fiscal and humanitarian disaster that's been largely drowned out by the raucous political campaign season on the mainland.

Some conservatives are suspicious it would open the door to a bailout, Democrats are balking at provisions added to sweeten the deal for conservatives, outside groups are weighing in, a high-spending ad campaign has opposed congressional action, and infighting among different groups of creditors has sown confusion on Capitol Hill .