Misery grows for Venezuelans hit by power cuts

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans reached new levels of desperation Sunday as the country's worst blackouts took their toll, gathering in larger numbers than usual at springs in the mountains of Caracas to collect water and scrounging for scarce cash to pay for food in the few shops that were open.

Engineers restored power in some places after electricity and communications shut down nationwide Thursday evening, but outages persisted in many areas where people are already beset by hyperinflation as well as shortages of food and medicine.

Witnesses reported overnight protests and confrontations with police in a few Caracas neighborhoods and the remains of makeshift barricades and burned debris were seen at some intersections.