Wednesday Aug 2, 2023

Photo: Héctor René Santos

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

PREPA, FEMA & Cobra disagree on payments for post-hurricane work

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), Cobra Acquisitions and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continue to disagree over millions of dollars in charges for work to restore the island electrical grid destroyed by hurricanes.

The information appears in a recent joint status report submitted to the federal Title III court overseeing PREPA’s bankruptcy.

Specifically, the payments are for work performed by Cobra in the wake of damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Beryl in 2018. Those payments were delayed following criminal charges against former Cobra President Donald Ellison, who ultimately pleaded guilty to offering gratuities to a FEMA administrator in exchange for a contract.

eligible for reimbursement.

FEMA found Cobra is owed $233.7 million under a different part of the contract -- $68.1 million less than Cobra invoiced -- and paid PREPA $210.3 million of that amount.

PREPA paid $130.2 million to Cobra, and the rest depends on PREPA’s internal review. PREPA disputes about $20 million.

Given the intention of the parties to begin mediation sessions in the coming weeks to resolve PREPA’s bankruptcy, the government, meanwhile, wants to maintain a litigation stay through at least Oct. 31 to allow mediation to proceed and, it is hoped, yield a settlement.

Cobra contends that avoiding setting a litigation schedule is precisely the wrong tack to take, the report says.

INDEX

Cobra believes it is owed at least some $69 million under the first of two contracts, excluding interest. It is seeking $135 million under the second contract.

FEMA has approved $84 million in payments. Still, according to the status report, PREPA has delayed disbursing the payments because it needs an engineer to conduct an internal review of the payments. Most of the PREPA staff has moved to LUMA Energy.

PREPA is also appealing FEMA’s denial of $73.7 million that Cobra invoiced, the status report said.

According to the joint status report, Cobra also argues that it is owed $77 million in tax reimbursements, of which PREPA has paid only $16 million under the first contract. PREPA’s position is that Cobra’s claimed tax reimbursements are substantially overstated and do not represent actual taxes paid to the government of Puerto Rico in excess of 8.5%, and that no further tax reimbursements are owed to Cobra.

The balance of the amounts owed under the first contract relate to work performed concerning Hurricane Beryl, mobilization, and other miscellaneous invoices. The payment of the unpaid amounts is some $7.5 million. PREPA disputes Cobra’s entitlement to those amounts.

Cobra argues that it is owed $135 million under a second contract, of which PREPA has already paid $52 million, more than the amount FEMA determined

The payments under dispute are for work performed by Cobra Acquisitions in the wake of damage caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 and Hurricane Beryl in 2018.

Governor: Legislature must deal with La Parguera building dispute

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia commented on Tuesday on the disputed building of a structure on property owned by in-laws of Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón in the La Parguera natural reserve in Lajas, to the effect that public policy in that area is a matter that must be handled by the island Legislature.

“I think it is a matter that the Legislative Assembly will have to address, because we have had more than 140 structures there for decades,” the governor said in response to questions from the press following a press conference in San Juan on the new digital vehicle registration process. “We don’t want any type of construction there; we don’t want the mangroves to be impacted. That at the very least, we don’t want discharge in the area either, again, that’s at the very least.”

“But right now, this has already

been expressed by the [Natural and Environmental Resources] secretary, that those who thought there was

some type of concession granted by the Department, that is not correct, no, that mechanism does not exist,” Pierluisi added.

As previously reported by the STAR, González Colón on Monday blasted Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) Secretary Anaís Rodríguez Vega for acting in what she said was an irresponsible manner following recent environmental protests targeting the resident commissioner’s in-laws’ property at La Parguera.

The resident commissioner also accused groups led by influencer Eliezer Molina of vandalism during the protests over alleged destruction of mangroves on the property. González Colón’s husband made certain claims to commonwealth and federal authorities on the matter.

González Colón asked the DNER secretary to stop acting irresponsibly when making public statements about investigations into the matter that have not been completed. She said Rodrí-

guez Vega made public certain internal agency documents about mangrove destruction that have not been provided to the parties involved.

Rodríguez Vega responded to the accusations later on Monday.

“Our intervention was not a selective or irresponsible act, but rather a fulfillment of our duty as guardians of nature and the environment,” she said. “If any activity has been carried out without proper permission, it is our obligation to intervene, regardless of who owns the property in question. At the DNER, we treat all complaints and active cases with deep seriousness.”

Some political observers see the resident commissioner’s criticism of the DNER secretary as part of a pattern of challenging the actions of government agencies under Pierluisi that signals her intention to run for governor next year. According to local reports, González Colón has hired former legislator and Toa Baja mayor Aníbal Vega Borges as campaign manager.

PDP president calls on governor, resident commissioner to concentrate on fighting crime

By THE STAR STAFF

Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González on Tuesday denounced what he said are the New Progressive Party’s (NPP) lack of priorities in the face of the most urgent security challenges facing the island.

The statements came after several homicides were reported over the past week, including the killing of an off-duty Trujillo Alto Municipal Police sergeant.

“It is painful and unacceptable that while the NPP of Pedro Pierluisi and Jenniffer González deals with partisan issues and its primary for the governorship, our island is plunged into a worrying crime wave that must be addressed urgently,” the PDP leader said. “It is painful to see how young people, women and even police are murdered in our streets. The governor and the resident commissioner have to focus their efforts on doing their job, not on keeping the country at the mercy of their political fight.”

Ortiz González went on to say that “it is

unacceptable to see how the governor and the [resident] commissioner concentrate their efforts on seeking votes, while the security of the country is deteriorating.”

He also asked them to put aside their political differences and work as a team so that adequate resources are allocated to strengthen law enforcement and ensure that they are properly equipped and trained to face current challenges.

“Today we woke up to the sad news that a sergeant of the Municipal Police of Trujillo Alto was shot dead while he was at a second job in a bakery,” Ortiz González said. “It is unfortunate that while this is happening, and while our police officers have to have a second job in order to have a good quality of life, the governor and the [resident] commissioner are on a political campaign. This should not be the priority at this time. The priority of this government should be focused on the reduction of violence and lack of security, and so many other problems that Puerto Rico is experiencing.”

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

Popular Democratic Party President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González

Beyond the ‘marbete’

New digital vehicle registration tech eliminates the traditional separate inspection sticker

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com

As civilization moves away from paper, the more technology advances. The more people connect to the internet and use their smart devices, the less need for paperwork. Digitalization can be quite efficient in some cases; instead of having an entire file cabinet for important documents, people can store all types of data in their smartphones.

Now in Puerto Rico, that document file will include drivers’ vehicle registration, because on Tuesday Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia announced that starting now, citizens will be able to complete their vehicle registration through the “CESCO Digital” app.

“We all know the great emphasis we are putting on the usage of technology to benefit our people,” the governor said at a press conference in San Juan. “With it we are achieving governmental efficiency and access to all services in an agile and convenient way.”

“Starting today, digital vehicle registration (better known as “marbete digital” in Spanish) is a reality on our island. This puts an end to placing the sticker on the car’s windshield,” Pierluisi added. “The process is already available through the transportation department application CESCO digital, and starting September 1st it will be a virtual transaction; however, this process will also be available traditionally for those who desire it that way.”

The governor said the new digital option “is yet another example of the government working for you, for the people.”

“Everyone can count on my administration to continue moving forward with different processes of digitizing services so that every one of our citizens has a government that responds and works,” he stated.

“The digital transformation of the government is real and has an exponential impact on the quality of life of our citizens, reducing the time invested in governmental errands by 80%,” Pierluisi noted. “This will be a transaction that is accessible to 100% of all citizens, which eliminates the lack-of-storage issue, reduces the cost of printing and distribution, reduces long lines at the Treasury Department, reduces the transactions at the [Driver Services] headquarters (CESCO) and combats fraudulent activities.”

After touting the successes of the CESCO digital app, the governor proceeded to explain how the new system works.

“Every year, people had to change their car [inspection] sticker on the windshield,” he said. “Not anymore. We are now offering both services in a single seal, the toll seal will be used for the same purpose as car registrations. Even though it’s only one sticker, services will be offered separately -- one doesn’t depend on the other.”

The governor also described how driving fines will be handled with the new system.

“The police will continue to manage driving fines as normal, with the exception that this time they will use a device specifically to add fines digitally,” he said. “Our police force is currently being instructed on how to use these devices; not just state police, but also municipal police offices will be instructed on how to use this new system.”

The process for new vehicle registration has three phases: 1) Validation or registration on smart devices or computers with CESCO Digital, starting Aug. 1, 2023; 2) renewal for all vehicles except cargo vehicles and all-terrain vehicles starting Sept. 1, 2023; while 3) registration renewal for heavy vehicles will begin on Dec. 1.

The governor said the integration of information systems from different agencies, such as the Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Office of Innovation and Technology Services (PRITS), The Treasury Department, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the Automobile Accidents Compensation Administration and the Compulsory Insurance Association, allows the government to provide quicker and better access services for all.

When the STAR asked the governor about how inclusive

“Starting today, digital vehicle registration is a reality on our island,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said. “This puts an end to placing the sticker on the car’s windshield.” (Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)

the new system would be in terms of people who don’t have the ability to handle smart devices or computers properly, he said, “It is precisely because we know that there are people who don’t have the ability to manage technology that we are providing the option to access one of the transportation department centers to do the process traditionally.”

Regarding people who don’t have internet access, Pierluisi took the opportunity to talk about a brand new initiative -- the “Smart Island Initiative” -- that will be advanced through funds specifically dedicated to closing the digital gap in Puerto Rico, by providing high-speed internet access islandwide. The government is spending $900 million on Smart Island, with part of those funds specifically directed to teaching the elderly how to use smart devices and computers.

Part of the funds will also be used to provide smartphones and tablets to people who don’t have access to them.

“The goal is that everyone in Puerto Rico learns how to use technology efficiently,” the governor said. “Of course this will take time, effort and schooling for people, [but] it is already happening in school; we shouldn’t have a problem with this.”

Carolina district senator lauds work of municipal legislators

By THE STAR STAFF

Sen. Marissa “Marissita” Jiménez Santoni gave recognition earlier this week to the work of municipal legislators in the District of Carolina.

“You are key and very important pieces in each of the 10 municipalities that make up our beloved District of Carolina,” the New Progressive Party senator said late Monday. “You are, in short, the elected officials closest to our beloved constituents.”

The delivery of Congratulatory Motion 0857 in the Protocol Hall of the Capitol was part of Municipal Legislator Week observances.

“The municipal legislator is one of the most important figures in the structure of municipal government,” Jiménez Santoni said. “This is the delegate elected by the people and to whom their confidence is granted, to represent them with dynamism in the struggle for the rights of all constituents.”

Sen. Marissa Jiménez Santoni

PRCC agenda to focus on economic development, boosting membership

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce (PRCC) leadership revealed on Tuesday the details of its work plan for the rest of 2023 and the first half of 2024, which will focus on economic development.

The plan constitutes a strategic pillar to strengthen the institution’s position as a private sector spokesperson and attract new members.

“One of our priorities is to identify topics, spaces, and initiatives for the collaboration of the Chamber of Commerce with other entities, both affiliated private sector associations and non-profit institutions,” PRCC President Ramón Pérez Blanco said. “Together, we can be much more effective in achieving the goals we have set for ourselves in developing our economy.”

Pérez Blanco said the initiatives include activating the Third Sector Council of the PRCC to strengthen ties with community, non-profit and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs. Likewise, the PRCC intends to resume the work of the PRCC Foundation and collaborate with affiliated entities on leadership under various specific themes.

“We are going to reinforce the role of the Chamber in this pre-election year,” Pérez Blanco said. “Our committees are tasked with issuing position papers on different topics. We will assume well-founded positions on different issues, not based on

opinions but on studies and analysis of experts to contribute to the public discussion.”

The business leader said the group has committed to strengthening the capacity of the PRCC to produce analysis and studies relevant to the economic development of Puerto Rico, but that are exclusive to the chamber. The studies already scheduled for next year include new editions of the business and consumer confidence indexes. Likewise, the PRCC has commissioned a recent demographic analysis of the diaspora to constitute a platform for creating

concrete public policy proposals to attract that population back to the Island.

Another priority will be to strengthen the lobbying efforts of the PRCC and affiliated entities in the U.S. capital.

“Puerto Rico needs a strong presence in Washington, D.C.,” PRCC Executive Director Liza García said. “We are going to insert ourselves into these processes from the point of view of free enterprise.”

The PRCC intends to push for a transition from the Nutrition Assistance Program to the Supplemental Nutrition

Assistance Program (NAP to SNAP), as well as focus on health and energy issues affecting the U.S. territory.

The objectives of the plan for next year include increasing networking opportunities for entrepreneurs and professionals, holding events exclusively for members, strengthening the role of university chapters and young entrepreneurs, continuing to improve benefits for members, supporting the Network of Women Entrepreneurs, and increasing membership by 20%.

Among the various initiatives included in the plan is the revision of the concept of the annual convention, building on the results obtained with the event held this year. Pérez Blanco anticipated that the agenda of the event in 2024 will focus on the discussion of the economic development of Puerto Rico, framed in the dynamic of a public policy proposal that is typical of a pre-election period.

One of the PRCC’s goals is to ask political candidates for key elective positions on their commitment to proposals that meet the needs of the private sector and that promote the economic development of Puerto Rico.

“We are building on the work done by the presidencies that have preceded us over the past five years,” Pérez Blanco said. “We want to continue growing and strengthening the Chamber, giving continuity to previous efforts, but adapting to the current reality.”

‘Los Kioskos Food Festival’ slated for this weekend in Luquillo

By THE STAR STAFF

The New Progressive Party minority leader in the island House of Representatives, Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez, called attention Tuesday to this Saturday and Sunday’s “Los Kioskos Food Festival,” an activity where the visitor will have the opportunity to taste the diverse gastronomic offer of the traditional kiosks of Luquillo.

“The Kiosks of Luquillo are part of our uniqueness as a people. Since its creation in 1964, this strip of small and medium-sized merchants has been a center of tourist attraction for its family atmosphere, excellent food and proximity to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, La Monserrate,” Méndez Nuñez said in a written statement. “This weekend the ‘Los Kioskos Food Festival’ will be celebrated, a unique event where visitors can taste the best dishes, while enjoying live music and dozens of exhibitors.”

Méndez Nuñez, who also represents District 36 (Río Grande, Luquillo, Fajardo, Ceiba, Vieques and Culebra, is the author of Law 123-2019, which designated the area

that includes the kiosks as a “Special Gastronomic Center of the Eastern Region of Puerto Rico,” thus seeking to continue promoting tourism and economic development. The law paved the way for the marketing of the “Luquillo Kiosks” worldwide.

“This is the first edition of this festival that I am convinced will have a great impact for everyone,” Méndez Nuñez said. “For example, the spaces for exhibitors were finished almost immediately when the process began, which shows a great level of interest. This activity represents an opportunity for everyone, from no matter what town, to visit the kiosks and fall in love with their gastronomy and atmosphere. Come to the Kiosks of Luquillo this weekend and enjoy the best food in the best atmosphere.”

The kiosks generate around 800 direct jobs, in addition to continuously injecting capital into the economy, not only in the municipality of Luquillo, but also in other towns in the eastern part of the island. It is estimated that the operation of businesses in the kiosks produces over $43 million a year for the economy.

Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce President Ramón Pérez Blanco

The food kiosks in Luquillo generate some 800 direct jobs, and it is estimated that they produce over $43 million a year for the island economy.

Can the race really be that close? Yes, Biden and Trump are tied.

news, seems increasingly favorable to Biden. But it hasn’t happened yet.

And the upside for Biden among the dissenting 14% of voters isn’t necessarily as great as it might look. He leads by a mere 2 points — 47% to 45% — if we reassign these voters to Trump or Biden based on how they say they voted in the 2020 election. And Biden still leads by 2 points, 49-47, if we further restrict the poll to those who actually voted in 2020 or 2022.

A 2-point edge is certainly better for Biden than a tie, but it’s not exactly a commanding advantage. It’s closer than his 4.5-point popular vote win in 2020, and it’s well within a range in which Trump can win in the key battleground states, where he has usually done better than he has nationwide.

The survey suggests that the electorate remains deeply divided along the demographic fault lines of the 2020 presidential election, with Trump commanding a wide lead among white voters without a college degree, while Biden counters with an advantage among nonwhite voters and white college graduates.

By NATE COHN

After Democrats fared well against MAGA candidates in the midterms last year, it might have been reasonable to think that President Joe Biden would have a clear advantage in a rematch against Donald Trump.

Yet despite the stop-the-steal movement, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the numerous investigations facing Trump, Biden and Trump are still tied, each at 43%, among registered voters in the first New York Times/Siena poll of the 2024 election cycle.

The possibility that criminal indictments haven’t crippled Trump’s general election chances might come as a surprise or even a shock, but the result is worth taking seriously. It does not seem to be a fluke: The Times/Siena polls last fall — which were notably accurate — also showed a very close race in a possible presidential rematch, including a 1-point lead for Trump among registered voters in the final October survey.

Trump’s resilience is not necessarily an indication of his strength. In most respects, he appears to be a badly wounded general election candidate. Just

41% of registered voters say they have a favorable view of him, while a majority believe he committed serious federal crimes and say his conduct after the last election went so far that it threatened American democracy.

But Biden shows little strength of his own. His favorability rating is only 2 points higher than Trump’s. And despite an improving economy, his approval rating is only 39% — a mere 2 points higher than it was in the poll in October, before the midterm election. At least for now, he seems unable to capitalize on his opponent’s profound vulnerability.

Democrats can’t necessarily assume the race will snap back into a clear Biden lead once people tune into the race, either. The 14% of voters who didn’t back Biden or Trump consisted mostly of people who volunteered — even though it wasn’t provided as an option in the poll — that they would vote for someone else or simply wouldn’t vote if those were the candidates. They know the candidates; they just don’t want either of them.

It’s reasonable to believe that Biden has the better path to winning over more of these voters. They dislike Trump more than they dislike Biden, and the political environment, including promising economic

To the extent the survey suggests a slightly closer race than four years ago, it appears mostly attributable to modest Trump gains among Black, Hispanic, male and low-income voters. The sample sizes of these subgroups are relatively small, but we’ve seen signs of Trump strength among these groups before. In some cases, like Hispanic and lower-income voters, they’re groups that have already trended toward Republicans during the Trump era. It would hardly be a surprise if those trends continued. Here again, it’s a story worth taking seriously.

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s “predictive” of the final result, certainly not with 15 months to go. What it means, however, is that Trump doesn’t appear to have sustained disqualifying damage — at least when matched against a president with a 39% approval rating. For now, it suggests that the Biden campaign can’t necessarily count on anti-Trump sentiment alone; it may need to do some work to reassemble and mobilize a winning coalition.

Loyalty Finance LLC

Will they stick with the same candidates in 2024?

Biden cancels space command move to Alabama amid Tuberville feud

chair of the Armed Services Committee, promised retribution for the decision, pledging to investigate whether administration officials had intentionally manipulated the selection process.

“It’s clear that far-left politics, not national security, was the driving force behind this decision,” Rogers said in a statement. “This fight is far from over.”

In the final days of his White House tenure, in January 2021, Trump ordered that Space Command, which was established in 2019 and temporarily placed in Colorado, move to a permanent home in Alabama. After Biden took office, his administration reviewed the decision, but a final determination as to the permanent location of the command’s headquarters was delayed, while lawmakers squabbled over the extent to which Trump had selected Alabama merely to reward a deeply Republican state.

“Over the past 2 1/2 years, we have repeatedly made the case that the Trump administration’s decision to relocate U.S. Space Command was misguided,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a statement. “Today’s decision restores integrity to the Pentagon’s basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our armed forces drive our military decisions.”

By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN

The Pentagon announced earlier this week that President Joe Biden had canceled an order by former President Donald Trump to move the U.S. Space Command headquarters to Alabama, prompting an outcry from Republicans who accused him of acting out of political spite amid a fierce partisan standoff over the Pentagon’s abortion access policies.

The decision came as a blockade of military promotions by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., dragged into its sixth month. Tuberville has refused to consent to the promotions of senior generals and admirals in protest of a Pentagon policy that reimburses military personnel who

Andeno Co

Tasa mínima, promedio ponderado, y máxima para préstamos personales pequeños otorgados para la semana que terminó el sábado, 29 de julio de 2023 Tasa

have to travel to obtain an abortion or fertility treatments.

House Republicans have also taken aim at the rule, instituted after the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, adding language to the annual defense policy bill to cancel it.

Biden made his decision after the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, argued that moving the headquarters to Alabama from its current location in Colorado Springs, Colorado, would hurt military readiness, particularly as the United States is racing to compete with China in space, according to a Defense Department official who spoke about it on the condition of anonymity.

“Locating Headquarters U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs ultimately ensures peak readiness in the space domain for our nation during a critical period,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, said, arguing it would “enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military space power into multi-domain global operations.”

But in a statement, Tuberville said the reversal, which benefits a Democratic-led state, “looks like blatant patronage politics, and it sets a dangerous precedent that military bases are now to be used as rewards for political supporters rather than for our security.”

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the Republican

Alabama lawmakers and their supporters in the Republican Party take an opposing view. They have long argued that Trump’s decision to place the command in Alabama settled the matter, and believed that senior military commanders were on their side. In a bid to prevent Space Command from becoming entrenched in Colorado while Biden made his decision, Republicans in the House included language in their version of the annual defense bill forbidding the military from spending any money on construction of Space Command facilities until the Biden administration made a decision about the headquarters.

“The Biden administration has chosen to play petty politics and keep the headquarters in Colorado Springs, which came in fifth in the selection phase,” Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Ala., said in a statement, promising to do “all we can to hold the administration accountable for this ridiculous decision.”

On Monday, Tuberville noted that Biden bypassed not only Alabama but also two other qualified Republicanled states, Nebraska and Texas, in making his decision.

Not all Republicans were angered by the decision, however. Colorado Republicans cheered the Biden administration, arguing that it was being practical for taking advantage of the infrastructure already in place — and that the decision was anything but partisan.

“I applaud the decision today by the Biden administration to keep U.S. Space Command where it belongs — in Colorado,” said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. “Our entire congressional delegation, both Republicans and Democrats, have worked together for years to achieve this important result.”

President Joe Biden speaks at an event touting his administration’s economic policies and progress, at Auburn Manufacturing Inc., Auburn, Maine on Friday, July 28, 2023.

Man fatally stabbed in confrontation as he danced at a gas station

By MARIA CRAMER and WESLEY PARNELL

O’Shae Sibley was at a Brooklyn gas station with friends late Saturday, filling up a car and blasting music by Beyoncé when a group of men approached and told them to stop dancing, according to friends.

The men began using slurs, and Sibley, 28, a gay man who was a professional dancer and choreographer, confronted them, according to his friends and a video of the altercation. The argument escalated, and one man stabbed Sibley, according to police. Otis Pena, one of Sibley’s best friends, pressed on his wound to stop the bleeding before he was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

“They murdered him because he’s gay, because he stood up for his friends,” Pena said in a Facebook video that he posted hours after the killing on Coney Island Avenue in Midwood. “His name was O’Shae and you all killed him. You all murdered him right in front of me.”

No arrests had been made by Monday, but police said the hate-crimes unit was involved in the investigation.

The killing has devastated Sibley’s family — he is one of 11 siblings — and unnerved the city’s gay community. While the motive remains under investigation, the attack was a reminder of the biases that LGBTQ people face.

The Anti-Defamation League and advocacy group GLAAD issued a report in June indicating an increase in harassment and violence against gay and transgender people, including online bullying, gatherings of armed protesters outside drag shows and bomb threats against hospitals that provide gender-transition care. In the first three weeks of June, there were 101 such incidents, more than twice the number during the same time period the year before.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a gay state senator in New York, said he was “heartbroken and enraged” over Sibley’s killing.

“Gay joy is not crime,” he said on Twitter. “Hatefueled attacks are.”

Sibley had moved from Philadelphia before the pandemic, hoping New York would provide more auditions and opportunities, said an aunt, Tondra Sibley, 49.

“It was a senseless crime,” she said. “O’Shae has always been a peacemaker. All he wanted to do was dance.”

She recalled him as a small boy, “gyrating and jerking” to Missy Elliott. When he got older, he honed his skills at the Philadelphia Dance Company and, on the advice of instructors, began ballet, taking advantage of

his long, athletic frame.

Kemar Jewel, a 31-year-old choreographer and director, met Sibley in Philadelphia 13 years ago at the Attic Youth Center, where gay teenagers could go for after-school programs and activities. They were only a few years apart, but Sibley saw him as a mentor. “He was like, ‘You’re my uncle. I’m going to call you uncle,’” Jewel said.

Goofy and fun-loving, Sibley was serious about his craft. He would hunker down at Jewel’s apartment until 3 a.m. to study dance videos, from vogueing to the modern techniques introduced by Martha Graham and Lester Horton, American dancers and choreographers born around the turn of the 20th century.

“O’Shae was so well versed. He was great at tap, ballet, hip-hop,” Jewel said. “He was an incredible visual learner. I’ve seen him watch someone do something twice and then just do it.”

Jewel, who is in London working on a show, said he was sleeping Sunday morning when Pena called to tell him what had happened.

At the gas station, Sibley and his friends had been playing “Renaissance” by Beyoncé and vogueing, a style of dance that began as an imitation of fashion models in the 1980s and has evolved as an expression of pride

and protest.

That is when the group of men approached, calling them names, Jewel said, recalling the account of Pena, who could not be reached for comment.

Both Sibley and Pena told them, “Stop saying that. There is nothing wrong with being gay.”

Sibley fought with them, and he was stabbed as Pena ran to intervene, Jewel said.

At the Brownsville building where Sibley lived alone in a studio, his neighbor, Beckenbaur Hamilton, 51, said he had warned the younger man against being so open about his sexuality. Hamilton, who is also gay, recalled attacks he had suffered in his 20s when going out to clubs, and he said he has recently been overhearing comments on the street about “all these rights” gay people have.

“O’Shae wasn’t afraid of being who he was,” Hamilton said. “He would defend his friends.”

They loved dancing outside and delighted in drawing a crowd. “But I’d see how people looked at them,” Hamilton said. “There was a worry in the back of my mind.”

In his video, Pena described Sibley as his brother and said the two were “always out and loud.”

“We as a community don’t deserve this,” Pena said. “We may be gay, but we exist. We’re not going to live in fear. We’re not going to live hiding.”

An undated image provided by Kemar Jewel shows O’Shae Sibley. Sibley was dancing on the street in New York when a group of men called him gay slurs and stabbed him. He was 28.

After investigation and complaints, Twitter removes ‘X’ on headquarters

By LAUREN McCARTHY

Workers earlier this week dismantled a giant “X” sign that was only briefly displayed on the roof of Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco after residents complained and the city issued a violation notice for lacking proper permits, according to local officials.

The sign was installed Friday to reflect the company’s new branding and spurred immediate concern. Over the weekend, the city received 24 complaints, which included concerns about its structural safety and flashing lights.

One complaint described “extremely intense white stroboscopic light” that was “causing distress and nausea.”

Another wrote that the sign looked “really unstable,” adding that “a decent earthquake is going to send that thing down on the street!”

Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, said in a statement that “building inspectors observed the structure being dismantled” Monday morning.

Background: San Francisco was investigating.

According to a complaint filed with San Francisco, an inspector went to Twitter’s headquarters Friday to notify the company that it was in violation of safety codes for having a structure on the roof without a permit. The inspector requested access to inspect the sign.

Twitter representatives told the inspector that it was a “temporary lighted sign for an event,” the complaint said. The inspector explained to company representatives that the

city would require the structure to either be removed or be brought up to code.

City inspectors tried to gain access to the roof a second time Saturday, but “upon arrival access was denied again by tenant,” the complaint said.

“A building permit is required to make sure the sign is structurally sound and installed safely,” Hannan said in a statement Sunday regarding the city’s investigation. “Planning review and approval is also necessary for the installation of this sign,” he said.

The sign was being dismantled when an inspector returned for a third time Monday. “By the time I left the entire structure had been removed,” the inspector noted.

Why it matters: The social media platform is rebranding.

The social media company has been embroiled in issues over signage amid the platform’s sudden flurry of rebran-

ding.

In late July, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who bought Twitter last year, renamed the platform X.com and replaced its blue and white bird logo.

The changes were reflected inside Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters — X logos were projected in the cafeteria and conference rooms were renamed — as well as outside. Early July 24, Musk shared a photo of a giant X projected on Twitter’s office building shortly after announcing the change.

“Soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” he wrote.

The next week, San Francisco police stopped workers from removing its bird logo from the side of the building, saying the workers had not blocked off the sidewalk to keep pedestrians safe if anything fell, The Associated Press reported.

A complaint about that sign’s removal was also filed with the city, citing permit violations. Days later, the “X” sign was installed.

What’s next: The “X” came with a price.

Hannan said in the statement Monday that the company would be “assessed fees for the unpermitted installation of the illuminated structure.”

The fees will be for building permits for the installation and removal of the structure, and to cover the cost of the city’s investigation, he said, declining to provide an estimate.

This year, the company was sued for $1.9 million in unpaid bills by Innisfree M&A Incorporated, an advisory firm it hired during its sale to Musk.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Judge rejects Johnson & Johnson’s effort to limit talc-related liabilities

By NICOLE SPERLING

For the second time this year, a court has ruled against Johnson & Johnson’s effort to use a bankruptcy case to limit its exposure to tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim its talcum powder products caused cancer.

The plaintiffs claim that the company knew for decades about the risks linked to its talc products, including its signature baby powder.

The company created a subsidiary, LTL Management, in 2021 as a maneuver to shield itself from the talc litigation. It proposed that the subsidiary, which had filed for bankruptcy, pay $8.9 billion to resolve all the claims against it.

But late last week, Judge Michael Kaplan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, said LTL’s

bankruptcy case must be dismissed because the lawsuits did not put the company in “imminent or immediate financial distress.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia dismissed the first bankruptcy effort for the same reason.

“In sum, this Court smells smoke, but does not see the fire,” Kaplan wrote in his opinion, referring to LTL’s financial status. “Therefore, the emphasis on certainty and immediacy of financial distress closes the door of chapter 11 to LTL at this juncture.”

The company’s shares dropped close to 2% in afterhours trading.

J&J said its subsidiary planned to appeal Kaplan’s ruling. In a statement Friday, Erik Haas, J&J’s worldwide vice president of litigation, said, “We respectfully disagree with

the bankruptcy court’s conclusion that the ‘substantial liability’ that LTL faces from the massive volume of talc claims asserted against it does not establish ‘immediate’ financial distress under the standard imposed by the Third Circuit, which itself is found nowhere in the bankruptcy code and is contrary to the persuasive authority from other Circuit Courts and directives of the Supreme Court of the United States.”

He added, “As the bankruptcy court urged in its decision, we will continue to work with counsel representing about 60,000 claimants to pursue a resolution of the talc claims.”

Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based baby powder globally this year, after switching to cornstarch as the primary ingredient of the product.

Workers sdismantling a large “X” logo the roof of Twitter’s headquarters on Monday.

Oppenheimer Strategist Projects S&P 500 Will Eclipse Record High by Year End

Oppenheimer Asset Management on Tuesday projected the S&P 500 would rise above its record high by year end, the latest Wall Street firm to grow more bullish on the outlook for stocks following the market’s rally this year.

Oppenheimer lifted its year-end price target for the S&P 500 to 4,900 from the 4,400 projection it set in December, Chief Investment Strategist John Stoltzfus said in a note. The new target represents a roughly 7% increase from Monday’s closing price for the benchmark index, which has gained 19% this year.

The S&P 500 record closing high is 4,796.56, reached on Jan. 3, 2022, while the index’s intraday record is 4,818.62, which it hit on Jan. 4, 2022.

Stoltzfus said his new target stemmed from expectations that U.S. inflation will continue to trend lower, the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle appears closer to ending, and “capitulation” by stock market bears “suggests that money held on the sidelines may flow into stocks in the months ahead.”

“Our appraisal of the market landscape ... suggests that opportunity outweighs risk as current monetary policy generates a transition from a ‘free money’ environment to an environment with a traditional cost of borrowing,” Stoltzfus said in the note.

Oppenheimer’s more bullish view comes after Citigroup recently boosted its S&P 500 price target by 15%, saying the more upbeat view reflected increased probability of an economic soft landing.

Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson late last month acknowledged that “our more bearish views on the broader US equity market have been wrong this year,” although the firm’s base-case June 2024 price target of 4,200 is about 8.5% below current S&P 500 levels.

“As you move through time, the realization that this is the reasonable baseline becomes more potent, and that’s what’s narrowing the gap,” Orszag said.

Among areas that could see increased activity are sectors such as healthcare, energy transition and technology. Private equity sales of the best portfolio companies and structured investments are becoming more active, too, the investors said.

One tech-focused investor, whose pipeline of deal opportunities is just about 20% of what it was two years ago, said the valuation convergence is leading to more talks. They added they expected to see a more pronounced pickup after Labor Day when people return from the summer holidays.

For banks, investors and companies, the change in sentiment, should it stick, is good news. Lower investment banking revenues dragged down profits at banks including Goldman Sachs GS.N and Morgan Stanley MS.N. Earlier this month investors latched onto any signs of hope, with

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

comments from bank executives suggesting a recovery was afoot.

Any recovery, however, is tentative and the narrowing of the gap in expectations is not uniform across the market. Much uncertainty remains, including whether there is now too much optimism in the market.

“We’re at the very nascent stages of this,” said Jason Thomas, head of global research and investment strategy at Carlyle. “Perhaps this will fizzle out.”

For now, the market dynamic is putting some valuations back within historical norms after the wild pandemic-era gyrations, creating conditions for buyers and sellers to meet.

In the software sector, for example, firms historically traded around 6 times forward revenue. During the pandemic rally, the multiples expanded to as high as 17 times, before dropping to 5 times last year, the tech-focused investor said.

Those multiples have now traded back up above 6 times, allowing deals to happen that would not have at the end of last year, two of the investors said.

In late June, for example, IBM IBM.N bought software maker Apptio for $4.6 billion from Vista Equity Partners, paying more than 10 times forward revenue.

Danube ports, a lifeline for Ukraine, come under Russian threat

By MARC SANTORA

When Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea after its full-scale invasion last year, grain that could feed millions worldwide was piled up in silos. Crude iron that supplied some 30% of American steelmakers stopped arriving. Roughly half the world’s supply of the neon used in lasers to make chips was taken off the market.

But while Russian ships menaced off the Ukrainian coast, the small ports in the Danube river on the Romanian border kept working, offering a small but vital lifeline. Their importance continued to grow even after an internationally brokered deal with Russia stabilized the shipping routes on the Black Sea for the limited movement of foodstuffs.

Now, two weeks after the collapse of that deal, the small Danube ports are the only shipping outlet for millions of tons of grain once again trapped in Ukraine — and Russia has made clear that they, too, are under threat.

“The Danube is our gateway at sea to Europe and the world,” Stanislav Zinchenko, CEO of GMK, a Kyiv-based economic think tank, said in an interview.

“The river ports are now so essential to Ukraine’s throttled export economy,” he said, that the impact of losing them is “hard to calculate.”

The river ports lie on the lower Danube, where it forms part Ukraine’s border with Romania before emptying into the Black Sea. The Danube originates in Germany’s Black Forest and flows southeast through Central and Eastern Europe. It is the largest river in the European Union, by length and volume, and its waterways connect Ukraine to the sea and eight other European nations.

Before the war, the Danube ports were barely utilized. In recent months, they have accounted for roughly one-third of agricultural exports, including grain, according to industry analysts. Most of the shipping goes downriver to the sea; a much smaller amount moves upriver to other parts of Europe.

Russia has made clear that any vessel entering the Black Sea is at risk, seemingly creating a de facto blockade and threatening the fate of the Danube ports. On a near-daily basis Russian missiles and drones have battered Ukrainian ports, including one on the Danube only a few hundred feet from Romania. The Kremlin has warned that “all vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports” will be “regarded as potential carriers of military cargo.”

To avoid running afoul of the Russian warning, international ships headed toward Ukraine largely came to a halt. More than a dozen vessels dropped anchor, huddling close to the coast.

Slowly and cautiously, shipping has started to return in recent days. This weekend, one vessel, Ams1, crossed into the Black Sea and set course for the small Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube. At least two more vessels have followed.

Ukrainian officials celebrated what they saw as a decision by a few shipping companies to call Russia’s bluff. But

they were just as quick to caution that the movement of a few ships to river ports did not eliminate threats to those transport routes.

“I understand the positive emotions, but we need to be more restrained,” Serhiy Bratchuk, the head of the Odesa regional military administration, said on national television. “We need to see how these ships will act further, because today we cannot say that this is a deliberate effort to unblock our ports.”

Andriy Klymenko, the head of the Institute for Strategic Black Sea Studies, said the term “blockade” did not exactly apply to the Danube ports, which were never covered in the grain deal and have been working almost nonstop through the war.

The Russian threats presented more of a “dare,” he said, with Moscow clearly hoping that the implicit threat of harassment and violence would intimidate international shipping companies and sailors.

At least 16 ships are still anchored south-southwest of Snake Island, just off the Ukrainian coast, waiting to go to the ports, Klymenko said.

The ships have navigated their way to Ukraine by largely staying within 12 miles of the coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, within the territorial waters of those countries, both part of NATO, in hopes of avoiding Russian warships and Russian naval mines, shipping experts said.

Tensions remain high off the southern coast of Ukraine. On Tuesday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that two of its patrol ships — the Serhiy Kotov and Vasily Bykov — came under attack by Ukrainian naval drones overnight. They claimed all of the attacks were thwarted.

The Ukrainian military did not comment on the Russian claim. Ukraine has a growing fleet of unmanned attack boats, and has repeatedly targeted Russian warships at sea and in port.

Ukrainian officials have been stepping up their pleas for international intervention to end what they call Russia’s tyranny of the sea.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine told Brazil-

ian journalists in an interview published Tuesday that Russia is guided by only one law, “the law of force.” The international community, he said, must respond with its own projection of force to keep the sea lanes open.

NATO officials have said that the alliance and its member states had already begun to increase surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region before Russia pulled out of the grain deal last month. On Tuesday, NATO said in a statement that it had used sophisticated surveillance aircraft known as AWACS, or airborne warning and control system, flying over Romania as part of that effort.

“Russia must stop weaponizing hunger and threatening the world’s most vulnerable people with food instability,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement after a July 26 meeting with Ukraine on Black Sea security.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Danube ports were an afterthought — underfinanced and responsible for just 4% of Ukrainian exports, or around 6 million tons of cargo, Zinchenko said. Now, Ukraine’s ports on the river — Izmail, Reni and Ust-Danube — are a vital economic link to Europe.

Dmytro Barinov, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Seaports Authority, said that after Russian forces seized some major ports in southern Ukraine in the first weeks of the war, it was clear the river ports were going to take on a greater role. Ukraine was able to evacuate many of the ship pilots from Black Sea ports occupied by the Russians, allowing them to expand the number of pilots working on the Danube from 15 to 71, he said.

“It increases the possibility for us to make more maneuvers, more passages, through these different channels,” he said. Workers are busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In May 2022, agricultural exports rose to 800,000 tons from these ports, up from essentially nothing before the war. The next month, they exported 1.3 million tons.

“This May, 2023, it was absolutely a record, even when compared with the Soviet past,” Barinov said. “We moved more than 3 million tons.”

Still, there are significant limitations, making it unlikely Ukraine could ramp up exports still higher from its Danube ports.

They are not deep-water ports, so most of the work is carried out by barges, moving 3,000 to 8,000 tons of goods at a time. Those barges travel a short distance along the coast to the Romanian port of Constanta to load larger cargo vessels capable of carrying tens of thousands of tons of goods, or trucks carrying goods overland.

The Danube ports will never be able to handle more than a fraction of what Ukraine was able to export from its sprawling Black Sea ports. But Ukrainian officials said that the growth of the river ports represented a triumph.

“From my point of view it is a real miracle,” Zinchenko said.

But in Ukraine, he said, miracles do not come easy, and it remains to be seen if Ukraine can keep Russia from severing its last remaining link to the sea.

The bulk carrier TQ Samsun transiting the Bosporus last month in Istanbul. The TQ Samsun was the last grain ship, carrying corn and rapeseed, to leave Ukraine under the Black Sea grain initiative before Russia halted the program.

Small strikes and big ambitions in Ukraine’s attacks on Russia

By MARC SANTORA and IVAN NECHEPURENKO

Drones have exploded over the gilded domes of the Kremlin. They have hit strategic Russian air bases hundreds of miles from Ukraine. They have struck a Moscow tower that houses several government ministry offices, including the one responsible for the military-industrial complex.

And they have landed a stone’s throw from one of the main Russian military headquarters, where officers sitting in large situation rooms with vast screens on its walls directly oversee and manage the war in Ukraine.

As Ukraine steps up its strikes inside Russian borders this summer, it is also making plain the nature of its targets: military-aligned sites that aid Moscow’s full-scale invasion, now in its 18th month.

“Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia — to its symbolic centers and military bases,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday night. “And this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.”

His tacit, public acknowledgment of Ukraine’s growing campaign to strike in Russia marked a shift after months in which Ukraine had maintained a stance of either public silence or ambiguity about such attacks.

Hours after his statement, two Russian missiles blasted a residential building and a university complex Monday in Zelenskyy’s hometown, Kryvyi Rih, killing at least six people and wounding 75 others, officials said — a deadly reminder that Ukraine’s mostly small-scale strikes into Russia pale in comparison to the devastation Moscow has rained on Ukraine.

Moscow has used its much larger arsenal of missiles, bombs, drones and artillery — with much longer ranges and often much bigger explosives than anything Ukraine can launch — to bombard Ukrainian cities and towns, day in and day out since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s invasion. The United Nations said that through Sunday, it had confirmed 9,369 civilians killed in Ukraine and 16,646 others injured — and that it believed “the actual figures are considerably higher.”

Ukraine’s attacks on Russia are more than mere token retaliation, military analysts say, and could be critical to Ukraine’s broader effort to degrade the Kremlin’s ability to wage war. They could force Russian military planners to make difficult decisions about how to deploy resources and stoke already deep divisions in the Russian command.

Frederick B. Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and former top U.S. Army commander in Europe, said that the strikes in Russia should

be seen in the context of Ukraine’s counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied land in the south and east of the country.

“The only advantage the Russians have is mass,” he said. “Massed infantry and massed artillery.”

The best way to neutralize that advantage is to destroy, degrade or disrupt headquarters and logistics, he said. The strikes in Russia, specifically, “create prioritization problems for the Russian high command.”

Each time a drone explodes in the heart of Moscow, the Russian capital, uncertainty about where Ukraine will hit next grows, he said.

The targets Ukraine has chosen are both military-aligned and cherished by the Kremlin as symbols of modern Russia. Over the weekend, for instance, two drones struck the gleaming towers of the Moscow City complex, home to some of the tallest buildings in Europe. Built on the banks of the Moskva River starting in the 1990s, the towers would look at home in London or New York City.

Over the years, the skyscrapers have turned into a postcard of new Russia, meant to showcase the country’s integration into the global economy. But over the years, they have also reflected Moscow’s growing conflict with the West. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, for instance, some of the new towers remained empty, only to be filled with government agencies.

One of the drones hit the offices of the Ministry of Digital Development, which shares the high-rise with the Economy Ministry and

the Ministry of Industrial Development, responsible for the military-industrial complex. The ministries moved into the tower in 2019, vacating their old, cramped Soviet-style offices.

Last week, another drone damaged a residential building in central Moscow, located close to the Russian National Defense Management Center, which serves as the country’s main military headquarters.

Then, on Friday, there was a strike on Taganrog — although Ukraine did not take credit for it — a quaint provincial city in southern Russia that houses a military air base and a port, and that in the 19th century was home to playwright Anton Chekhov. A missile, apparently shot down by Russian air defenses, caused significant damage to a branch of the local fine arts museum, destroying a wall and the roof.

While Ukraine may be showing more transparency about its efforts to bring the war home to Russia, it is still treading a delicate line: Ukraine’s Western allies have long expressed nervousness about being seen as supporting strikes in Russia. That skittishness remains a major reason the United States has refused to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles despite assurances that it would use such weapons only to target Russians on Ukrainian land.

The Kremlin has been quick to blame Ukraine’s Western allies for the strikes in Russia, though it has cited no evidence. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said without evidence that the strikes had been carried out

“with the coordination of Western curators.”

In fact, Ukrainian officials have said that it is their Western partners who have cautioned restraint.

But as the toll grows from Russia’s daily bombardment of cities from Odesa to Kyiv and Lviv to Kharkiv, the Zelenskyy government is trying to use every tool at its disposal to fight back. Alarms blare night after night as air-defense teams race to meet incoming Russian ballistic and cruise missiles, and attack drones.

The anger, exhaustion and grief felt by millions of Ukrainians was captured in an animated video released by the Ukrainian air Fforce. It showed a child sifting through the wreckage of a home destroyed by Russian bombs, finding a drawing of his family and folding it into the shape of an airplane. The paper plane turns into a fleet of drones, and a series of arrows shows the path the fleet is flying. The last line points squarely to Moscow.

While Ukrainian officials do not talk publicly about how the strikes are carried out or about the weapons used — for operational security and to keep the Russians off balance — Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said Monday that Russians should expect more violence in their country.

“Until the occupiers leave the Ukrainian territory, until the criminals are punished, there are no safe places in the aggressor state,” said Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian military intelligence.

The Ukrainian government, with its United24 program to collect private donations, is engaged in an ambitious campaign to expand its fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, including long-range drones capable of flying more than 600 miles. Ukraine is also building ever more sophisticated maritime drones capable of hitting Russian ships in ports in Russia.

Seven Ukrainian companies were building drones at the start of the war. Now, there are more than 40 with contracts, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine is still vastly outgunned and outnumbered — Russia has expanded conscription and the call-up of reservists. But Ukrainian officials and Western military analysts say the drone strikes in Russia, along with other factors, carry an outsize psychological effect.

“The increased chance of being compelled to fight, drone attacks on Moscow, exceptional level of domestic repression and the recent Wagner mutiny combine to highlight the Russian state’s failure to insulate the population from the war,” the British military defense intelligence agency reported Monday.

An official inspects debris at the site of a damaged building in Moscow’s business centre following a reported drone attack.

Europeans evacuate Niger amid risks of wider conflict

By DECLAN WALSH, ELIAN PELTIER and DIONNE SEARCEY

More than 250 Europeans were evacuated from the West African nation of Niger on Tuesday on a plane sent by France, nearly a week after a coup threatened to set off a regional conflict

The evacuations came less than a day after two neighboring states, Burkina Faso and Mali, said that they would join forces to defend Niger’s new military junta if a bloc of other regional countries carried through on a threat to intervene unless the ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, was returned to office.

France’s foreign ministry said that most of the 262 people on the plane were French. A second plane was also scheduled to depart Tuesday, and Italy has said that it, too, would set up a flight.

Tensions rose after the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, vowed Sunday to take “all measures necessary,” including possible military action, to force the reinstatement of Niger’s president.

Mali and Burkina Faso, themselves ruled by military governments that took power in coups, responded Monday, saying that they would consider any move against Niger to be a “declaration of war” against their own countries.

Many analysts said in interviews that an imminent military confrontation was unlikely. But the statement further raised the stakes in a spiraling crisis that has exposed deep regional fissures and set off international alarm over the direction of a region where a succession of governments have fallen to military takeovers in the past four years.

It also raised the prospect that the crisis

in Niger, where about 2,600 American and French troops are stationed, could spread into a wider regional conflict.

A French military official said in a briefing Tuesday that military cooperation with Niger has been suspended, but that French troops were not leaving the country. The Pentagon also said that it had suspended military cooperation with Niger for the time being.

Uncertainty persists over who is truly in charge in Niger, an impoverished nation of 25 million people that is twice the land mass of France.

Bazoum, 63, who was detained by his own presidential guards Wednesday, is being held in his private residence near the presidential palace in Niamey. But he can receive visitors — a photo posted to social media Sunday showed a smiling Bazoum sitting with the visiting president of Chad, Mahamat Déby, a mediator in the crisis — and he takes phone calls

from world leaders and his own officials.

Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the head of the presidential guard, has claimed to be in charge of the military council running the country. Tchiani, 59, has received military training in France and in the United States, at the College of International Security Affairs Fort McNair, in Washington, D.C. But he fell into disfavor with Bazoum and has criticized Bazoum’s approach to fighting insurgents in the country, which relied heavily on French and American support.

Niger’s ambassador to Britain and France, Aïchatou Boulama Kané, told the BBC on Tuesday that she had spoken to Bazoum and that he was doing well. “His morale is high,” she said. The ambassador said that she was speaking on behalf of the deposed president and not for Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the junta leader who now claims to be running the country.

The crisis is a stiff test for ECOWAS and its head, the recently elected president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu. The group had already suspended Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea over military coups in those countries since 2020. The tough statement Sunday signaled that the bloc was ready to move militarily if necessary, despite a checkered record of interventions in regional conflicts.

ECOWAS set a deadline of next Sunday for Bazoum’s reinstatement. For now, though, it hopes to combat the coup through an economic blockade of landlocked Niger, which depends heavily on its neighbors for trade and financial stability. The measures announced Sunday included a slate of punishing sanctions against the coup leaders, as well as the suspension of all trade and financial transfers between its member states and Niger. The bloc has also frozen Niger’s assets in regional banks.

Guinea, which has been ruled by a mi-

litary junta since 2021, said it would not join in sanctions against Niger, though it made no mention of taking military action.

But Niger’s junta leaders have found powerful support in their fellow military leaders in Mali and Burkina Faso, who have developed ties of varying degrees to Russia as they have distanced themselves from France.

France’s evacuation from Niger is the latest in a succession of blows to French power and prestige in western and central Africa, a region it dominated for decades after the end of colonialism in the 1960s.

The junta in Mali expelled 5,000 French troops last year and brought in 1,500 mercenaries with Wagner, the Kremlin-backed private military company, which has since been accused of leading massacres in which hundreds of civilians were killed.

In Burkina Faso, France withdrew its troops this year at the request of the country’s military government. Burkina Faso’s leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, lavished abundant praise on Russia during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, last week.

Military clashes in Niger could divert soldiers from domestic fights against Islamist insurgents, analysts said.

“Regional partners need Niger and its structured military to stabilize the region,” said Fahiraman Koné, a Mali-based researcher with the Institute of Security Studies.

Even in countries without an insurgency, like Senegal, demonstrators have targeted symbols of French economic might, like Frenchowned gas stations and supermarkets.

In Niger on Sunday, hundreds of protesters flung stones and Molotov cocktails over the French Embassy’s wall.

Security forces launched tear gas to disperse a pro-junta protest outside the French Embassy in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on Sunday.

The radicalization of the young right

By MICHELLE GOLDBERG

In December 2021, the podcast “Know Your Enemy” — billed as a leftist’s guide to the conservative movement — welcomed Nate Hochman, a young man whom host Sam Adler-Bell described as “the boy wonder of the new right.” At the time, Hochman was a 23-year-old National Review writer who’d already cycled through several of the prestigious fellowships available to aspiring young conservative intellectuals. (He’d later contribute to The New York Times.) Matthew Sitman, Adler-Bell’s co-host and a former conservative himself, considered Hochman a friend, and on the podcast, Hochman mostly came across as thoughtful and reasonable, eager to find the places where left- and right-leaning critics of liberalism agree.

When Sitman condemned the right’s cruelty toward trans people, Hochman conceded some of his points. “Do I love the way that some people on the right talk about sensitive culture issues surrounding stuff like transgenderism always? No,” said Hochman. “Could we use more empathy and humility in the way that we approach these questions? Absolutely.”

In March, Hochman went to work for Ron DeSantis, who at the time still looked like the most viable standardbearer for a post-Trump Republican Party. But last week, Hochman was fired from DeSantis’ ailing presidential campaign after tweeting out a video ending with the

candidate’s face superimposed over a sonnenrad, a Nazi symbol. It soon emerged that Hochman hadn’t simply shared the spot, which mixed message-board memes and media headlines like “Florida City Cancels LGBTQ+ Pride Parade as Ron DeSantis Prepares to Sign Anti-Drag Bill.” As Axios reported, he’d secretly created it.

Although the video’s imagery is clearly fascist — the sonnenrad, or sunwheel, is flanked by two rows of marching soldiers — Hochman has said that he didn’t know what the symbol meant. Given that he is Jewish, I’m inclined to believe that rather than being a covert Nazi, Hochman is simply a callow young man immersed in a milieu in which fascist idioms are so commonplace they can be picked up inadvertently. But whatever his motives, his trajectory from conservative intellectual wunderkind to disgraced troll tells us quite a bit about the culture of the young right.

As Hochman clearly recognized, these days, young reactionaries find their inspiration not in the adolescent superman fantasies of Ayn Rand but in the nihilistic Joker energy of 4chan. His own politics, as he described them on “Know Your Enemy,” were forged almost entirely in reaction to “wokeness,” and, as he told The New Republic, he sees contemporary America as so far gone that there’s little worth conserving. The sort of right-wing sentiment he’s tapped into, with its histrionic loathing of bourgeois liberalism and deep cultural pessimism, has in the past been a precursor to fascism. There’s a reason scholar Fritz Stern titled his 1961 study of the intellectual currents that gave rise to Nazism “The Politics of Cultural Despair.”

The “conservative revolutionaries” that Stern wrote about “thought that this world had been destroyed by evil hands; consequently, they firmly believed in a conspiratorial view of history and society.” Their villain, wrote Stern, “usually was the Jew, who more and more frequently came to be depicted as the very incarnation of modernity.”

Several examples from just the past two months show a similar sort of thinking percolating among some of today’s young conservative revolutionaries. Last week, Media Matters for America reported that Matteo Cina, a Fox News staff member and former writer for Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, wrote on TikTok that it’s “hard to talk about the Holocaust and rising antisemitism without discussing Jewish presence in banking.”

Both Breitbart and, on Monday, the right-wing Washington Free Beacon have reported on the unabashed antisemitism of high-profile pro-DeSantis influencer Pedro Gonzalez. In private chats, Gonzalez described his growing radicalization against “subversive” Jews and his admiration for white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who is perhaps best known for shepherding Kanye West into his pro-Hitler era. (Gonzalez has since renounced his former “performative bigotry,” and blamed the internecine feud between Trump loyalists and DeSantis

supporters for the Breitbart story.)

Two weeks ago, a 26-year-old anti-feminist TikTok star named Hannah Pearl Davis released an acoustic song titled, “Why Can’t We Talk About the Jews?” (She deleted it after a backlash.) College Republicans United, a hard-right college Republican faction, was scheduled to have Fuentes headline its national convention last weekend, though Fuentes pulled out because of security concerns.

On Monday, Aaron Sibarium, a Free Beacon reporter, tweeted that when giving career advice to young conservatives, “I tell them to avoid group chats that use the N-word or otherwise blur the line between edgelording and earnest bigotry,” lest they become public. That young conservatives need this advice tells you a lot about the world Hochman was operating in.

Revisiting the episode of “Know Your Enemy” with Hochman, I couldn’t help wondering if, as the son of Portland, Oregon, liberals, he’s simply mastered a kind of ideological code-switching. The same month he went on the left-wing podcast, Hochman appeared on a Twitter Spaces chat with Fuentes and some other young right-wing figures. Once again, Hochman seemed to be trying to find common ground.

At one point he chastised Fuentes for saying “super edgy things,” such as, presumably, denying the Holocaust. But Hochman’s objections were pragmatic, not substantive: Fuentes’ rhetoric, he said, would prevent him from ever running for office. Although he argued that white identity politics aren’t a winning message, Hochman described Fuentes as a better influence on young conservatives than Ben Shapiro, a Jewish rightwing multimedia star and one of Fuentes’ nemeses. “You’ve gotten a lot of kids based and we respect that for sure,” said Hochman, using a term that’s basically the inverse of “woke.”

At a certain point, Hochman’s personal beliefs are irrelevant. Spend enough time in any subculture, and eventually you’ll pick up the lingo.

Dr.

Many young conservatives admire the influential white nationalist Nick Fuentes.

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – La secretaria de la Familia, Ciení Rodríguez Troche, anunció este martes el inicio de una campaña de concienciación para prevenir el maltrato infantil en Puerto Rico, di-

rigida a la ciudadanía y fomentando el uso de la línea de emergencias (787) 749-1333.

“El mensaje que queremos llevar es claro: nuestros niños y niñas son las principales víctimas de la violencia intrafamiliar pero generalmente son los

más invisibilizados. Sus voces son silenciadas por el miedo y sus heridas físicas son justificadas con caídas”, explicó la secretaria en declaraciones escritas.

Se trata de una campaña que comenzará a pautar en medios mañana, 2 de agosto, creada por VMLYR mediante una inversión de 249 mil dólares, y protagonizada por un niño en edad escolar que juega a la magia en su habitación.

El anuncio de esta campaña se suma a los esfuerzos recientes para combatir el maltrato infantil en la isla, incluyendo la aproba-

ción de la Ley 57; Ley para la prevención del maltrato, preservación de la unidad familiar y para la seguridad, bienestar y protección de los menores, promulgada por el gobernador Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia en mayo de 2023.

La secretaria Rodríguez Troche enfatizó que la violencia emocional o física no debe ser una estrategia de crianza y que la prevención comienza en el hogar. Glenda Gerena Ríos, administradora de la Administración de Familia y Niños, sostuvo que la responsabilidad de prevenir el maltrato recae en todos los adultos dispuestos a proteger a los niños. La legislación de Family First y la nueva Ley 57 se centran en la prevención y preservación familiar, enfocándose en mantener a los niños en entornos familiares seguros.

POR EL STAR STAFF

CAYEY – Como parte de las actividades que se celebrarán en conmemoración de los 250 años de la fundación de la ciudad de Cayey, la entidad comunitaria sin fines de lucro Cayey Cultural invita a toda la comunidad a ser parte de la exhibición de obras de arte denominada ‘A todo Color’, con artistas cayeyanos que presentarán sus piezas pictóricas.

La apertura del evento será el martes, 15 de agosto de 2023 a las 4:00 de la tarde en la antigua Casa Alcaldía, en la Calle Nuñez Romeu 64, frente a la histórica plaza de recreo Ramón Frade León. En dicha apertura, se conocerán detalles adicionales de los artistas cayeyanos y las obras a exhibirse, como Delia Cabrera, Carmen Meléndez (qepd), Heriberto Dávila, Ramón Sánchez, Román Berríos y Wilberto Santiago, así como Anna Nicholson, como invitada especial.

Para el alcalde Rolando Ortiz Velázquez, “el primer piso del histórico edificio que albergó el Hotel Imperial y luego nuestra Casa Alcaldía, se convertirá en una extensa galería de ex-

celentes artistas que forman parte del gran talento que los cayeyanos expresan en tantas manifestaciones. Damos la bienvenida a todos los que deseen ser parte de este grab evento”.

El horario establecido de la exhibición es el siguiente: miércoles 16, jueves 17 y viernes 18 de agosto de 7:00 a 9:00 pm. El sábado 19 de 12:00 del mediodía hasta las 9:00 pm, y el domingo 20 de 12:00 del mediodía a 5:00 pm.

Cayey Cultural invita además a la presentación de libro ‘Sonó el Timbre: de la Azada a la Máquina’ de la historiadora cayeyana Dra. Aida Mendoza Rivera. Se realizará el sábado, 19 de agosto de 2023 a las 7:00 pm en la antigua Casa Alcaldía. Para información adicional, los interesados pueden comunicarse a cayeyculturalpr@gmail. com.

“Esta publicación de Mendoza Rivera, la historiadora oficial de nuestra ciudad, trata de la industrialización en Puerto Rico, que implicó una transformación tanto económica como social que se logró gracias a las administraciones municipales. Como parte de la investigación, se detalla el papel que

tuvieron los gobiernos municipales en la industrialización entre los años de 1952 y 1973, tomando como partida nuestro Municipio de Cayey”, expuso Ortiz Velázquez.

En el caso concreto de Cayey y sus 22 barrio, se explica el proceso

de transformación de un pueblo puramente agrícola en el pasado, a uno industrial y comercial como lo experimentamos ahora. Esta investigación es una aportación para la historiografía puertorriqueña moderna, sobre todo, para la del Municipio de Cayey.

Cayey Cultural invita exhibición de arte en celebración de los 250 años de la fundación de la ciudad

Departamento de la Familia lanza campaña para prevenir el maltrato infantil en Puerto Rico

Obsessed with the ocean, Susan Casey takes the plunge

By ALEXANDRA ALTER

Some writers go to the ends of the earth in pursuit of a great story. Susan Casey went to the bottom of the ocean. While researching her new book, “The Underworld,” about the otherworldly inhabitants of the deep ocean and the explorers and scientists who are surveying these uncharted depths, Casey ventured down in deep sea submersibles, visiting eerie, alien landscapes that no humans had ever seen.

The deep sea makes up more than 90% of earth’s biosphere, yet stunningly little is known about it. That’s starting to change, with new technology, such as smart drones that are mapping the ocean floor, and with expeditions in cutting-edge submersibles by private explorers such as director James Cameron and private equity investor Victor Vescovo, who set a new world record when he reached the deepest point of the Mariana Trench, some 36,000 feet below the surface.

Casey became fascinated by the deep ocean while visiting the Farallon Islands, an archipelago some 30 miles from San Francisco Bay, where she was researching great white sharks for her 2005 book “The Devil’s Teeth.” “It started to occur to me that there was this parallel universe right beneath the surface,” she said. “What’s down there? What’s going on? What don’t we see?”

Her deep sea adventures were exhilarating, and occasionally harrowing.

On a dive, Casey and Vescovo plunged more than 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) to explore the ecosystem at the base of an underwater volcano in Hawaii, where they saw carpets of neon orange microbes and navigated a maze of lava formations. During a trip to the bottom in the Bahamas, Casey panicked briefly when the submersible’s pilot noticed water around their feet, and tasted it to determine if the water was fresh, from condensation, or salty, from a leak. It was fresh, and they continued exploring, flying over dunes of snow white silt.

In a phone interview from her landlocked home in New York’s Hudson Valley, Casey spoke about the most awe-inspiring life form on the planet, how the recent tragic accident involving the OceanGate submersible could impact deep sea expeditions, and why deep sea mining poses an unfathomable threat to the planet. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Q: Given how massive and important it is, why do you think we’ve paid so little attention to the deep ocean?

A: For the longest time, there was this sense of, it’s this barren, lifeless place. It’s dark. The pressures are pretty insane as you get deeper. How could anything live there?

It took a really long time for people to understand that there is life throughout the entire water column. When you hit the seafloor, there’s a whole other ecosystem that extends even below the seafloor. So, this vast, vast, vast, vast majority of our world is down there in the dark.

But as far as funding for research, that’s a very good question. I don’t understand it at all. I’m really hopeful that that will change for the better. It’s starting to dawn on people that this is the major part of our world. It’s the engine that drives the climate cycle. It basically is where 90% of the earth’s microbial life is. There is a lot that we will need to know about how the planet

works as a whole in order to be able to survive this next period of intense change.

Q: You write with alarm about companies’ plans to extract minerals from the seafloor. What are the risks?

A: It would be destroying an ecosystem before we even know what we have lost. Scientists are racing to research the area that will be affected first, which is called the ClarionClipperton Zone, the area of the Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii, a vast area that’s like 2 million square miles.

Every time they go out there and sample a tiny area, they come back with specimens, and 92% of them are new species. In the microbial realm, they are finding hundreds of thousands of creatures like microorganisms that are not only new species, they’re like new branches on the tree of life.

These are microbes that have figured out how to survive over hundreds of millions of years in an incredibly harsh environment. Those compounds will lend themselves to us learning a lot about resilience. That is probably where the answers lie to really intractable problems like antibiotic resistant drugs. We have just scratched the surface on this.

Q: While you were researching this book, there were

big leaps in exploration. Do you think that progress will continue, especially in the wake of the Titan disaster?

A: I think it absolutely will continue.

We’ve just gone through this collective trauma of watching the Titan submersible implode, but it’s really important that people understand that that submersible has nothing in common whatsoever with the machines that I’m writing about and the machines that I dived in.

Manned submersibles have the most impeccable safety record of any mode of transportation, in the world’s riskiest environment. So, that shows how seriously that is taken. OceanGate did not take that seriously.

Q: Did you hear about OceanGate while researching the book?

A: I was aware of OceanGate. I had a friend who was the chief pilot of the University of Hawaii’s deep sea submersibles and ran the Hawaii Undersea Research Lab. He told me about a lot of the things that have come out. So, I was aware of it and had steered very clear of it. You’ll notice there’s no mention of OceanGate in my book, although all other organizations that deal with the deep ocean are in my book.

Q: It seems like many people in the field raised alarms about the risks the company was taking.

A: Everybody tried their hardest. There’s a limit to what you can do. Technically, there’s no law against what he was doing. I hope that changes.

Q: Part of the arc of this book has you going from understanding the vastness of the deep ocean intellectually, to being physically immersed in it. What was it like to be in that environment?

A: Unlike space, you’re surrounded by life. The deepest dive I did, we fell for maybe 2 1/2 hours. You just get a sense of we’re just in one little, tiny spot, and you get a more visceral sense of the immensity of it.

Q: You use an evocative phrase to describe life at the very bottom of the ocean — intraterrestrial life. What’s happening under the seafloor?

A: The seafloor and the ocean crust and even deeper, it’s not solid. It’s got fissures and little, tiny, fractured aquifers. So, there’s microbial life that extends far beneath the seabed.

Archaea are the oldest. They found these archaea existing in places that they really didn’t think any life should be able to exist, at temperatures far higher than it should be able to survive, in poisonous chemical environments where it didn’t seem like anything should be able to survive. There’s nothing that I could read about microbes that would shock me. They’re just extraordinary. They run this planet.

Susan Casey in Gardiner, N.Y., July 19, 2023. Casey has long been enchanted by the deep ocean — for her book “The Underworld,” she finally got to visit that unforgiving landscape herself.

Paul Reubens, creator of Pee-wee Herman, is dead at 70

By NEIL GENZLINGER

Paul Reubens, the comic actor whose bow-tied childlike alter-ego Pee-wee Herman became an unlikely if almost uncategorizable movie and television sensation in the 1980s, died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 70.

His death, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was confirmed Monday by his longtime representative, Kelly Bush Novak, who said he had “privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit.”

“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

Reubens had scores of acting credits in a career that began in the 1960s, with roles on “Murphy Brown,” “The Blacklist” and many other television series and in movies including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1992), “Batman Returns” (1992) and “Blow” (2001).

But Pee-wee, a character he created in the late 1970s as a 10-minute bit when he was a member of the Los Angeles comedy troupe the Groundlings, overshadowed all else, morphing into a bizarre and savvy cultural phenomenon, a character aimed (at least in its TV incarnation) at children but tapping into adult sensibilities and ambiguities.

After being disappointed after auditioning unsuccessfully for the “Saturday Night Live” cast in 1980, Reubens set about creating “The Pee-wee Herman Show,” which was billed as a “live onstage TV pilot.” It had its premiere in early 1981 at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles. A national tour followed, and HBO broadcast a version of it as a comedy special in 1981.

Pee-wee started turning up on latenight talk shows, especially “Late Night With David Letterman,” where the juxtaposition of the idiosyncratic Pee-wee and the laid-back, somewhat befuddled Letterman was comedy gold. “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” a feature film directed by Tim Burton, was a hit in 1985.

Then, in 1986, came “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” a children-friendly version of the world according to Pee-wee that would air

on CBS for five years and carve out an enduring place in the memories of 1980s children and, often, their parents.

“Pee-wee’s Playhouse” stands as one of the oddest, most audacious, most unclassifiable shows in television history. The man-boy Pee-wee and a vast collection of human and nonhuman characters — there was, for instance, Chairry, a talking armchair that gave hugs — held forth in each episode about, well, it’s hard to summarize. There was a word of the day. There were bizarre toys. In one episode, Pee-wee married a fruit salad.

The show arrived in the midst of Ronald Reagan’s presidential administration and harked back to another button-down era, the one Reubens lived as a child: the 1950s.

“I saw it as very Norman Rockwell,” he told The New York Times in 2016, “but it was my Norman Rockwell version of the ’50s, which was more all-inclusive.”

Laurence Fishburne, S. Epatha Merkerson and other actors of color were in the cast. Gilbert Lewis, who was Black, was the King of Cartoons.

“Not just anybody — the king!” Reubens said. “That came out of growing up in Florida under segregation. I felt really good

about that.”

The wheels of his career came off in July 1991, when he was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in an adult movie theater in Sarasota, Florida, where he had grown up. The arrest led to a small fine, but the headlines damaged his reputation.

“Pee-wee’s Playhouse” was in reruns at the time, and CBS pulled them off the air. There were no more new episodes. Reubens said later that he had been planning a hiatus from show business anyway.

In any case, he took a long break from his alter ego, but neither Reubens nor Peewee was done.

Reubens continued to act, receiving an Emmy Award nomination for a guest appearance on “Murphy Brown” in 1995. (His character arc on that show continued for five more episodes.)

He also weathered a second scandal: In 2002 he was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography as a result of images found by authorities in his collection of vintage erotica. He was sentenced to probation on a reduced charge of possessing obscene material.

“The moment that I realized my name was going to be said in the same sentence as children and sex, that’s really intense,” Reu-

bens told NBC in 2004. “That’s something I knew from that very moment, whatever happens past that point, something’s out there in the air that is really bad.”

Then, about 2008, some producers began suggesting he revive the Pee-wee character and some version of the 1980s stage show.

The new version of “The Pee-wee Herman Show” opened at Club Nokia in Los Angeles in January 2010, featuring elements of the original stage show and characters from the TV series. It opened on Broadway that November for a limited run.

“Mr. Reubens’ Silly Putty face is a little puttier, but it remains as stretchable as ever,” Charles Isherwood wrote in his review in the Times. “His Popsicle-stick posture retains its comical rigidity; the flapping arms express exasperation and excitement with no loss of tone; the bopping Pee-wee dance is still beach-ball-buoyant. And of course Pee-wee’s restless imagination and childish mood swings are as extravagant as ever.”

A new movie, “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday,” followed in 2016 on Netflix, produced by Reubens and Judd Apatow. Reubens told the Times in 2010, when the film was in the early talking stages, that it was no surprise that Pee-wee had endured.

“There’s never been anything from the fans other than, please do more,” he said.

Paul Rubenfeld was born Aug. 27, 1952, in Peekskill, New York, to Milton and Judy (Rosen) Rubenfeld. His mother was a teacher, and his father had been a pilot who, according to The Forward, helped smuggle fighter planes into Israel in 1948 during its war of independence.

The family moved to Sarasota when Paul was 9. His parents ran a lamp store there.

He is survived by a sister, Abby Rubenfeld, and a brother, Luke Rubenfeld.

Just months ago Reubens said he was working on a memoir and a documentary. And in an interview with the Times around that time, one of his last, he reflected on the longevity of Pee-wee, on the adjustments that were made to keep the character fresh, and on how the creative landscape had changed since Pee-wee first appeared some 40 years ago.

“Today, it seems to me, it’s a lot more difficult to stand out,” he said. “You know, if you want to be weird, good luck.”

Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee Herman in “The Pee-wee Herman Show” at the Stephen Sondheim Theater in New York, Oct. 18, 2010. Reubens, the comic actor whose childlike alter-ego Pee-wee Herman became a movie and television sensation in the 1980s, and whose career was briefly derailed by a sex scandal in the early 1990s, died on Sunday, July 30, 2023. He was 70.

Stay safe exercising in the heat

ed, sweat production slows and it becomes harder to cool off. Those who exercise less regularly, who aren’t used to the heat, are sleep-deprived, are sick or are older have more trouble cooling off.

Try to exercise during the coolest time of the day, which is often the early morning in dry heat regions, said Dr. Jill Tirabassi, a physician with expertise in sports medicine at the University at Buffalo in New York. Seek out shade and wear porous, light-colored clothing made of a moisture-wicking material. The more bare skin the better.

Avoid cotton, which holds onto water rather than allowing it to evaporate, and backpacks, because you produce a lot of sweat around your spine that can get trapped, Kavouras said.

If you exercise and start to feel unwell, stop, rest in the shade and remove excess clothing, Tirabassi said. Symptoms of heat-related illness can include cognitive or mood changes, rapid pulse, headache, tunnel vision, dizziness, fainting or nausea.

Feeling cold or developing goose bumps are clear signs of a medical emergency, Kavouras said. Cool down by drinking cold fluids, spraying yourself with water, covering yourself with a cold towel or taking a cold shower. Work out with a partner in case one of you starts to feel sick.

By MELINDA WENNER MOYER

As unprecedented heat waves become more common, exercisers increasingly have to weigh the joys versus the risks of an outdoor workout.

There’s no simple answer to the question of how hot is too hot. A person’s ability to stay safe while exercising in the heat depends on many factors such as age, usual exercise routine, workout environment and intensity and whether that person is used to being active in the heat, said Stavros Kavouras, director of the Hydration Science Lab at Arizona State University.

Exercising in humid heat poses unique challenges, he said, but being active in dry heat can be just as risky.

Even when you’re at rest, your body produces

heat — and the amount increases as your muscles burn fat and carbohydrates when you exercise. The harder you work, the hotter your body gets.

If the temperature outside is greater than 90 degrees or if the sun is shining, your body will also be heated by the environment, Kavouras said.

“As you’re adding this huge external heat source, the body’s got to deal with that,” said Glen Kenny, a physiologist who studies the body’s stress response at the University of Ottawa.

The main way the body sheds heat is through the evaporation of sweat, which cools the surface of the skin, Kavouras explained. In dry heat, sweat can evaporate so quickly that you may not notice it.

During high-intensity exercise, most people lose 1.5 to 2 liters of water per hour, although some people can lose even more. As a person becomes dehydrat-

Even if you don’t feel yourself sweating as you exercise, drink lots of water, Kenny said. The most you want to drink is about 1.5 liters of water an hour, which is the body’s absorption limit, Kavouras said. If you plan to do high-intensity exercise in the heat for over an hour, consider a hydration drink with added electrolytes — minerals such as sodium, potassium and magnesium — to replace what you lose, Kavouras said. Otherwise, you can experience cramping, dizziness and become prone to fainting, he said.

Sodium is especially important. “If you’re an athlete, especially if you exercise in a hot environment and you sweat profusely, you do need a lot,” he said.

If you exercise in the high heat and your body isn’t used to it, be sure to give yourself ample time to rest between workouts, too. Consider not exercising every day.

“If you push your body day after day, there is a progressive deterioration in your body’s ability to dissipate heat,” Kenny said. “Your body needs to recover.”

A young man stretches while working out in Seattle, June 12, 2023. As unprecedented heat waves become more common, exercisers increasingly have to weigh the joys versus the risks of an outdoor workout.

Some July heat ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, analysis finds

By DELGER ERDENESANAA

Some of the extreme temperatures recorded in the southwestern United States, southern Europe and northern Mexico at the beginning of July would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-caused climate change, according to research released last week.

During the first half of July, hundreds of millions of people in North America, Europe and Asia sweltered under intense heat waves. A heat wave in China was made 50 times as likely by climate change, the researchers said.

World Weather Attribution, an international group of scientists who measure how much climate change influences extreme weather events, focused on the worst heat so far during the Northern Hemisphere summer. In the United States, temperatures in Phoenix have reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 43 Celsius), or higher for more than 20 days in a row. Many places in southern Europe are experiencing record-breaking triple-digit temperatures. A remote township in the Xinjiang region of China hit 126 degrees, breaking the national record.

“Without climate change, we wouldn’t see this at all,” said Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial College London and cofounder of World Weather Attribution. “Or it would be so rare that it basically would not be happening.”

But in a climate changed by fossilfuel emissions, heat waves of this magnitude “are not rare events,” she said.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the North American and European heat waves were virtually impossible, according to the researchers’ statistical analysis. China’s heat wave would have happened only about once every 250 years.

If the composition of the atmosphere remained at today’s levels, the United States and Mexico could expect heat waves like the one this month about once every 15 years. In southern Europe, there would be a 1 in 10 chance each year of a similar event. In China, there

would be a 1 in 5 chance each year of a reoccurrence.

But because humans are continuing to burn fossil fuels and put extra greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the odds will continue to tip in extreme heat’s favor. Even if we stop, temperatures will not cool again; they will just stop rising.

“The heat waves we are seeing now, we definitely need to live with,” Otto said.

As temperatures have climbed in Europe, Greece has faced a rash of wildfires that have forced the largest evacuations in the country’s history. The blistering heat has made firefighting efforts more challenging, officials said. More frequent and more intense wildfires in the Mediterranean can also be linked to climate change, according to a recent study.

“We have rising risks from heat,” said Julie Arrighi, director of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Centre and one of the researchers with World Weather Attribution. “It is deadly.” She emphasized the need to adapt cities and critical infrastructure to extreme heat, and to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions at the same time.

Many local and national governments, especially in Europe, have created heat action plans that include things like public cooling centers and advance warning and coordination between social services and hospitals.

But even where these programs exist they are imperfect, and for now, the human cost of extreme temperatures remains high. The death toll from this month’s heat won’t be clear for some time, but more than 100 people have

already died this summer in Mexico of heat-related causes, according to the national health secretary. Last summer, approximately 61,000 people died across Europe because of heat waves, according to another recent study.

World Weather Attribution’s heat wave study was not peer-reviewed, but the findings were based on standardized methods published in 2020. The group uses more than a dozen climate models to compare observed temperatures from the real world with modeled projections of the planet without human-caused climate change.

“This methodology is very standard in the field,” said Andrew Pershing, vice president for science at the nonprofit group Climate Central. He was not involved in the Tuesday study but has collaborated with World Weather Attribution in the past.

The sheer heat much of the planet is experiencing is “shocking” in a historical context, Pershing said, but he added that the findings of climate change’s role are “not surprising.”

The first two weeks of July were probably Earth’s hottest on record, according to an analysis by the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts more unusually hot temperatures across most of the United States in August.

The San Juan Daily Star

Paramedics offered aid during a heat wave last month in Mexicali, Mexico.

A blaze in New Peramos, Greece, on July 19.

By MELISSA CLARK

One thing much of the country seems to agree on is eating more plants. More than half of Americans (63%, regardless of political affiliation, according to a 2021 study by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication) are actively trying to eat less red meat. In the United States, plant-based products grew into an $8 billion industry in 2022, with a growth rate of 7% since the year before.

This phrase comes up more and more as we see the effects of climate change — extreme heat, more powerful storms and the like. You may have questions, so here’s a look at what this means.

What is a plant-based diet?

The exact definition of a plant-based diet can vary, and the term is often used interchangeably with vegan. Yet they are not the same thing.

Any food labeled vegan will be plantbased — but the reverse is not always true.

Generally speaking, a plant-based diet consists largely of vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, grains and nuts, with little or no meat, dairy or fish. People who follow plant-based diets do so for reasons of health, animal welfare concerns or environmental consciousness.

Veganism is a moral philosophy based on animal rights that abstains from all animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, honey and products containing leather, silk or wool, or that have been tested on animals.

This distinction matters, because while many people are not interested in giving up animal products entirely, any reduction in our consumption of those foods will help the planet.

Are plant-based and vegan diets better for you?

Not necessarily. Vegan, plant-based and omnivorous diets (and pescatarian and vegetarian diets for that matter) can all be made up of whole, fresh ingredients (called whole-food diets, which are good for you) or highly processed ones (which are not). The more processed foods you include in your diet, the worse it is for your health, whether your chicken nuggets are made up of real or vegan chicken.

Because the term “plant-based” is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, it’s become a widely used marketing tool. You’ll find it on products of dubious healthfulness, like ultraprocessed instant noodles, chips and energy bars.

However, eating a plant-based diet based on whole foods has been shown to have myriad health benefits, including reducing diabetes risk, improving your gut mi-

crobiome and generally helping you live longer. Do I have to give up animal products entirely to follow a plant-based diet?

Most experts (Harvard Medical School, for example) define plant-based as a diet primarily made up of plants, with small amounts of meat, fish and dairy consumed occasionally — anywhere from a few times a week to a few times per month.

Limiting your consumption of meat and dairy has been shown to have significant positive effects for planetary health and can also be beneficial for your health — as long as you replace meat and dairy with whole and minimally processed foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and grains — and not diet sodas and vegan doughnuts.

So no, you don’t necessarily need to go cold turkey

on the turkey.

Are plant-based and vegan diets better for the environment?

Yes, and the body of evidence supporting this is growing. Another major study has recently been published, showing that eating a plant-based diet is significantly better for the environment than eating a meat-based diet.

The research, conducted by Oxford University, found that people who follow a meatfree diet are responsible for 75% less in greenhouse gas emissions than those who eat meat every day, and that following a low-meat, vegetarian or pescatarian diet is proportionally less detrimental to land, water and biodiversity than a meat-heavy diet.

Other studies have shown that the production of meat and dairy products — particularly from cows — emits as much carbon each year as all cars, trucks, airplanes and ships combined. (This is true whether that meat was factory farmed or raised organically.)

The more plant-based you can make your diet, the more planet-healing it will be.

Of course the kinds of drastic, swift changes necessary for real progress will require ambitious action in government and corporate policy. But the cultural shift underway is a necessary step in this direction.

What about cheese?

In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, many cheeses, such as Cheddar and mozzarella, may be even worse offenders than pork, chicken and fish. So a pescatarian or a flexitarian who eats small amounts of chicken or bacon every once in a while, but skips those cheeses, can have more of a positive impact on the planet than a vegetarian who consumes loads of cheese and dairy every day.

Are plant-based meats healthier than conventional meat?

It depends on what’s in them, and brands vary wildly. While, in general, plant-based meats tend to be lower in saturated fats and can be higher in fiber, they can also be higher in sodium and calories. Read labels carefully before you buy.

How do I start cooking more plant-based meals?

Limiting meat and dairy makes room on your plate for all kinds of other delicious things, such as vegetarian skillet chili over a mound of hot rice; homemade sourdough bread smeared with tahini and marmalade; a bowl of chile-crisp tomato salad with vegetable dumplings. Many people ease into a plant-based diet by forgoing meat and dairy once a week, and increasing from there. Or you can try limiting meat and dairy to three to four meals per week, and reduce this number over time.

Plates of coconut curry chickpeas with pumpkin and lime

What’s a plant-based diet? Here’s what you need to know to eat less meat.

Crispy sheet pan noodles with glazed tofu, in New York, Sept. 16, 2021. A plant-based diet is not the same as going vegan, but it can also have a strong impact on reducing your carbon footprint.

LEGAL NOTICE

AVISO A ACREEDORES DE LAS SUCESIONES SANTOS ALONSO MALDONADO SOBRE FORMACIÓN DE INVENTARIO EN SEDE NOTARIAL

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: ACREEDORES DEL CAUSANTE SANTOS ALONSO MALDONADO

POR LA PRESENTE se les notifica que se ha iniciado la preparación del inventario en sede notarial del caudal relicto de los causantes Santos Alonso Maldonado. Se les requiere para que toda reclamación con los correspondientes comprobantes bajo juramento sea presentada y dirigida al peticionario por conducto de sus abogados a las siguientes direcciones y dentro del plazo de treinta (30) días contados desde la publicación del presente edicto:

Sucesión Santos Alonso Maldonado

Lcdo. Omar Sánchez Pagán PO Box 195055

San Juan Puerto, Rico, 00919

Se le advierte que de no responder a este Aviso, los procedimientos para la formación y liquidación del caudal d ela causante continuarán sin más citarle ni oirle.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE FAJARDO

RAUL EDUARDO

HERNANDEZ

RIVERA; ZULEYKA

CARRASQUILLO CACERES

Peticionarios EX PARTE

Caso Número: FA2023CV00157. (305). Civil: EXPEDIENTE DOMINIO PARA RECTIFICAR CABIDA. EDICTO.

A: LAS PERSONAS

DESCONOCIDAS O IGNORADAS A QUIENES

PUEDA PERJUDICAR

LA INSCRIPCIÓN

SOLICITADA Y LOS QUE

ESTAN AUSENTES.

Siendo usted poseedor de un predio de terreno colindante del inmueble objeto de la acción de epígrafe, o un titular anterior o descendiente de uno de ellos, de acuerdo a la Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, o persona que

de cualquier forma o manera tuviera interés en la finca que se describe en este documento se le notifica por este medio de que, si tuviere algo que alegar al respecto, puede y debe comparecer por escrito a exponer lo que a bien tenga que expresar sobre el asunto en consideración del Tribunal. RÚSTICA: Parcela número cuarenta (40), de la comunidad rural Sardinera, del barrio Quebrada del término municipal de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, con cabida de cero punto mil ciento dieciséis (0.116) cuerdas, equivalentes a cuatrocientos treinta y ocho punto setenta y siete (438.77) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con la parcela número treinta y cinco (35) y parcela número treinta y tres (33); por el OESTE, con la calle número dos (2). Inscrita al Folio 145 Tomo 176 Finca No. 6,209 Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, Puerto Rico. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 20 días de la última publicación de este edicto Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Si compareciere a hacer alguna alegación, notificará copia de la misma a:

EMPHATIC NOTARY & LEGAL ADVISORS, P.S.C.

Lcdo. Pedro A. Crespo Claudio

Urb. Villa Criollos Calle Corazón A-6, Caguas, PR 00726

Tel. (939) 337-5550 / pcrespo@ emphatialaw.com

En Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 10 de julio de 2023. WANDA I.

SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA

REGIONAL. KATHIA FERRER

FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE FAJARDO

RAUL EDUARDO

HERNANDEZ

RIVERA; ZULEYKA

CARRASQUILLO

CACERES

Peticionarios

EX PARTE

Caso Número: FA2023CV00157. (305). Civil: EXPEDIENTE DOMINIO PARA RECTIFICAR CABIDA. EDICTO.

A: LAS PERSONAS DESCONOCIDAS O IGNORADAS A QUIENES PUEDA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCIÓN SOLICITADA Y LOS QUE ESTAN AUSENTES.

Siendo usted poseedor de un predio de terreno colindante del inmueble objeto de la acción de epígrafe, o un titular anterior o descendiente de uno de ellos, de acuerdo a la Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, o persona que de cualquier forma o manera tuviera interés en la finca que se describe en este documento se le notifica por este medio de que, si tuviere algo que alegar al respecto, puede y debe comparecer por escrito a exponer lo que a bien tenga que expresar sobre el asunto en consideración del Tribunal. RÚSTICA:

Parcela número cuarenta (40), de la comunidad rural Sardinera, del barrio Quebrada del término municipal de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, con cabida de cero punto mil ciento dieciséis (0.116) cuerdas, equivalentes a cuatrocientos treinta y ocho punto setenta y siete (438.77) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con la parcela número treinta y cinco (35) y parcela número treinta y tres (33); por el OESTE, con la calle número dos (2). Inscrita al Folio 145 Tomo 176 Finca No.

6,209 Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, Puerto Rico. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 20 días de la última publicación de este edicto Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Si compareciere a

Wednesday, August 2, 2023 22

hacer alguna alegación, notificará copia de la misma a: EMPHATIC NOTARY & LEGAL ADVISORS, P.S.C.

Lcdo. Pedro A. Crespo Claudio Urb. Villa Criollos Calle Corazón A-6, Caguas, PR 00726 Tel. (939) 337-5550 / pcrespo@ emphatialaw.com En Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 10 de julio de 2023. WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. KATHIA FERRER FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ ZAMARIE

PONCE FANTAUZZI

Peticionaria

EX-PARTE

Civil Núm.: MZ2023CV00665.

Sala: 307. Sobre: EXPEDICIÓN DE CARTAS TESTAMENTARIAS. AVISO DE ACREEDORES.

A: TODO POSIBLE ACREEDOR DEL FINADO, RAMÓN ANTONIO PONCE FANTAUZZI, t.c.c. RAMÓN PONCE FANTAUZZI o RAMÓN PONCE, QUIEN MURIÓ TESTADO EL 3 DE MARZO DE 2023 EN MAYAGÜEZ, PUERTO RICO.

POR LA PRESENTE se le informa a cualquier acreedor del finado Ramón Antonio Ponce Fantauzzi, t.c.c. Ramón Ponce Fantauzzi o Ramón Ponce, quien murió testado el 3 de marzo de 2023, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, que si tiene una acreencia en su contra deberá presentársela a su Albacea, Zamarie Ponce Fantauzzi, con los correspondientes comprobantes bajo juramento en su dirección postal en De Diego 55 Este, Oficina 206, Mayagüez, 00680, dentro del plazo de seis meses de publicado el aviso.

Quedan advertidos los potenciales acreedores del causante de que si la Albacea dudase de la validez de su reclamación la rechazará, notificándoselo por escrito, quienes quedarán expeditos su derecho para incoar la acción contra la administración del caudal ante el tribunal competente. Asimismo, que la Albacea no le será personalmente responsable a un acreedor que no hubiese presentado la reclamación dentro del plazo aquí dispuesto por los caudales o dinero que hubiera entregado a cuentas de legítimas reclamaciones, legados o hijuelas antes de intentarse la acción,

sin que ello afecte su derecho de ir directamente contra los herederos por el monto de su reclamación hasta el importe de lo recibido en pago de la herencia, si la misma no está prescrita. Arts. 594 y 595 del Código de Enjuiciamiento Civil, 32 L.P.R.A. §§2542 y 2543. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y Sello del Tribunal hoy día 14 de junio de 2023. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II. REBECA MEDINA FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. NARCISO EMILIO VARONA RODRÍGUEZ, POR SÍ Y COMO HEREDERO DE BÁRBARA ANN DORSEY MENDOZA; GRACE MARIE HERGER DORSEY, SONY HERGER DORSEY Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO, COMO PARTE DE LAS SUCESIONES DE BÁRBARA ANN DORSEY MENDOZA Y DE ALFRED HERGER DORSEY T/C/C ALFRED BERNHART HERGER DORSEY; ALFRED DOMINGO HERGER TRAVESO T/C/C ALFRED HERGER Y SUTANO DE TAL, POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO, COMO PARTE DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ALFRED HERGER DORSEY T/C/C ALFRED BERNHART HERGER DORSEY

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: KCD2016-1142. (806). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, ss. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 7 de octubre de 2021 y notificada el 14 de octubre de 2021 , la Orden

de Ejecución de Sentencia Enmendada del 14 de junio de 2023 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución Enmendado del 5 de julio de 2023 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 21 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de San Juan, Sala Superior, en la Avenida Muñoz Rivera, Esquina Coll y Toste, Parada 37, San Juan, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal; todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad:

URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento Número quince guion A (15-A) del edificio gobernado por el régimen de Propiedad Horizontal conocido por el nombre de Condominio El Escorial, sito en el Número ciento once (111) de la Calle Marginal Avenida Roosevelt, en la Urbanización Piñero, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Este apartamento está localizado en la esquina sureste de la décima quinta (15ta). planta del edificio y colinda por el NORTE, en parte con el vestíbulo de la décima quinta (15ta) planta del edificio y en parte con el patio interior del Este del edificio, por el SUR, con el patio del solar que ocupa el edificio principal en colindancia con la Avenida Roosevelt de la Urbanización Piñero; por el ESTE, en parte por el patio interior Este del edificio y en parte con el patio del solar que ocupa el edificio principal en colindancia con los Solares nueve (9) y veintiocho (28) de la manzana D de la Urbanización Piñero; y por el OESTE, en parte con el vestíbulo de la décima quinta (15ta) planta del edificio y en parte con la pared maestra que le separa del Apartamento “B” de dicha planta del edificio. El apartamento “A” tiene una cabida superficial de 1191.61 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 110.77 metros cuadrados. Se compone este apartamento de una sala-comedor de donde se tiene acceso por la parte suroeste de la misma, a un balcón rectangular con cabida superficial de 94.55 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 8.79 metros cuadrados y de donde se tiene acceso también, por su parte sureste, a un pasillo interior que contiene un clóset de cuyo pasillo se tiene acceso a su vez a tres (3) dormitorios y un (1) baño. El dormitorio número uno (1), localizado en la sección noreste del apartamento, tiene un clo-

The San Juan Daily Star

set, da acceso a un baño para uso de este dormitorio, los dos dormitorios, localizados en la parte Sur del apartamento y denominados dormitorio número dos (2) y tres (3) contienen un clóset cada uno. De la sala-comedor antes mencionada se tiene acceso por su parte norte a una cocina que contiene closet y de cuya cocina se tiene acceso asimismo, por su parte este, a un balcón de servicio que tiene una cabida superficial de 52.50 pies cuadrados., equivalentes a 4.88 metros cuadrados. De este balcón de servicio se tiene acceso hacia el Norte, a través de una puerta de entrada secundaria del apartamento al vestíbulo de la tercera (3ra) planta del edificio. La puerta de entrada principal de apartamento está localizada en el extremo noroeste de la sala que resulta ser a su vez el extremo Sureste del vestíbulo de uso comunal limitado de esta planta de cuyo vestíbulo se tiene acceso por sus lados Este y Oeste a dos (2) elevadores y a dos (2) escaleras que conectan las varias plantas del edificio con el vestíbulo principal localizado en la planta terrera y de cuyo vestíbulo se tiene acceso, a su vez, a través de los patios Sur y Norte de la propiedad a la Avenida Roosevelt y la calle Número dos (2), respectivamente, de la urbanización Piñero. La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 181 del tomo 733 de Río Piedras Norte, Finca 21173. Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección II. La hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 111 del tomo 1467 de Río Piedras Norte, Finca 21173. Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección II. Inscripción 8va. Dirección Física: Cond. El Escorial, 111 Marginal Fd Roosevelt Apt 15A, San Juan, PR 00917-2713. Número de Catastro: 79-063-032371-37-057. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $96,350.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA

SUBASTA, el día 28 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $64,233.33 De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA, el día 5 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $48,175.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la

cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $70,528.63 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 7.5% anual desde el 1 de diciembre de 2015, hasta su completo pago, más $239.04 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $9,635.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior que afecta la propiedad que se pretende ejecutar: a. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Vs. Narciso Emilio Varona Rodríguez, Barbara Ann Dorsey Mendoza y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, Sala de San Juan, en el Caso Civil Número K CD20161142, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $70,528.63 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 10 de junio de 2016. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Río Piedras Norte. Anotación A. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y

RICO.

siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 31 de julio de 2023. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, el 31 de julio de 2023. SARAHÍ REYES PÉREZ, SECRETARIA. TANIA L. MÉNDEZ CUSTODIO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO.

ENRIQUE AMARO

RIVERA; LUIS AMARO RIVERA; SUCESIÓN DE VIRGINIA AMARO

RIVERA compuesta por CARMEN IRIS BELTRAN

AMARO, EDWIN

BELTRÁN AMARO, y DAMARIS BELTRÁN AMARO; SUCESIÓN DE MOISÉS AMARO RIVERA compuesta por NATHANIEL AMARO

VALENTINE, ELIZABETH

ANN AMARO VALENTINE y EDWIN AMARO

VALENTINE

Demandantes

SAMUEL AMARO

RIVERA; GONZALO

AMARO RIVERA; BIENVENIDA AMARO RIVERA; MARIA ESTHER

AMARO RIVERA; JORGE BELTRÁN

MARTÍNEZ; GLORIA

HERNANEZ SUAREZ, RUPERTO HERNANDEZ

SUÁREZ, MARGARITA

HERNANDEZ SUÁREZ, SEGUNDA HERNANDEZ

SUAREZ, NOELIA

HERNANTWZ SUAREZ, ELIZABETH HERNANDEZ

NUÑEZ, SONIA

HERNÁNDEZ NUÑEZ, JOHNNY HERNANDEZ

NUÑEZ Y GEORGINA

NUÑEZ FELICIANO

Demandados

Civil Núm. FA2022CV00861.

Sala: 302. Sobre: Liquidación de Comunidad de Bienes Hereditarios. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADO UNIDOS DE AMIERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS SS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO

Jorge

Beltran Martínez

54 Beaver St., Apt. I New Britain, CT 06501-1874

POR LA PRESENTE, se le notifica a usted que ha sido radicada en esta Secretaría del Tribunal de Primer Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, la demanda de epígrafe. Se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a la parte demandante, por conducto de su abogado, CLAUDETTE ESPARRA RAMOS RUA: 19965, 605 Avenida Condado, Cond. San Alberto, Suite 621, San Juan, PR 00907 Tel. (787) 478-4299, Email: claudetteesparralaw@gmail.com. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza, se le notifica que una demanda ha sido presentada en su contra y se le requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, radicando su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica https:// ramaiudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegadón responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal y notificando con copia de la misma a la parte demandante a la dirección antes indicada. Se le apercibe que, si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notificando con copia de esta a la parte demandante a la dirección antes indicada. Sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO BAJO Ml FIRMA y sello de este Tribunal, hoy día 20 de julio de 2023. Wanda

I Segui Reyes, Secretaria Regional. ANA CELIS MARQUEZ

APONTE, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE BAYAMÓN

ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC,

COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. RAISSA L.

CAMACHO ADORNO

Demandado

Civil Núm.: DO2022CV00229.

Salón: 403. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉ-

RICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: RAISSA L. CAMACHO ADORNO - BO. ESPINOSA SECT. FORTUNA CARR

679 KM 10.1, VEGA ALTA, PR 00692 / HC 80 BUZÓN

8022, DORADO, PR 00646. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com. EX-

TENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 06 de junio de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 06 de junio de 2023.

LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. KATHERINE SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. SHAQUILLE CENTENO PÉREZ

Demandado

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV06443. Salón: 501. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: SHAQUILLE CENTENO

PÉREZ - CALLE 6 E M-19 PARC. VAN SCOY, BAYAMÓN, PR 00957.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com, y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 6 de junio de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 6 de junio de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. IVETTE M. MARRERO BRACERO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. SAN MARTIN CARABALLO CEPEDA

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV11264.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: SAN MARTIN CARABALLO CEPEDA - RES EL PRADO 580 CALLE JULIO ANDINO APT 35, SAN JUAN PR 00924.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su ale-

gación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie.bonaparte@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de junio de 2023. En SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, el 27 de junio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. BRENDA BÁEZ ACABA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. LUIS ALBERTO BURGUERAS REGOJO, MAYRA SOMOZA LINARES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV03316. (603). Sobre: INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO; COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: LUIS ALBERTO BURGUERAS REGOJO, POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON MAYRA SOMOZA LINARES. CONDOMINIO MONTBLANC MIRAMAR APT. 2, CALLE MCKINLEY 656, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00907; 241 CALLE

ELEONOR ROOSEVELT, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00918.

Por la presente se le notifica que la parte demandante ha presentado ante este Tribunal una demanda contra usted, solicitando la concesión del remedio expuesto en la demanda de epígrafe. Se le apercibe que debe presentar al Tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo. Pedro Hernández Freire, Delgado & Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750, tel. (787) 2741414. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 24 de julio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. DIANA C. PÉREZ SIERRA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. LUIS ALBERTO BURGUERAS REGOJO, MAYRA SOMOZA LINARES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV03316. Sobre: INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO; COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: MAYRA SOMOZA LINARES, POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON LUIS ALBERTO BURGUERAS REGOJO. CONDOMINIO

MONTBLANC MIRAMAR

APT. 2, CALLE MCKINLEY

656, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00907; 241 CALLE

ELEONOR ROOSEVELT, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00918.

Por la presente se le notifica que la parte demandante ha presentado ante este Tribunal una demanda contra usted, solicitando la concesión del remedio expuesto en la demanda de epígrafe. Se le apercibe que debe presentar al Tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema

Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo.

Pedro Hernández Freire, Delgado & Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750, tel. (787) 2741414. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 24 de julio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. DIANA C. PÉREZ SIERRA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR 807 ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC., COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC.

Demandante Vs. RACHEL M. RIVERA ORTIZ

Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV09128. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: RACHEL M. RIVERA ORTIZ. URB. CAPARRA TERRACE, 1135 CALLE 30 SE, SAN JUAN, PR 00921.

SE NOTIFICA a usted que la parte demandante presentó en la Secretaría de este Tribunal una Demanda de COBRO DE DINERO. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http:// unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcda. Natalie Bonaparte a: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518; Teléfono: (787) 993-3731; correo electrónico: natalie.bonaparte@orf-law.com; edwin. serrano@orf-law.com; notificaciones@orf-law.com. SE LE APERCIBE que, de no hacer su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se le anotará la rebeldía y se soIicitará Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, hoy día 8 de junio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. BRENDA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE) FAJARDO LUNA RESIDENTIAL II LLC. Demandante V. TAIRIGNA SAEZ MARTINEZ Demandado(a) Civil: FA2023CV00006. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: TAIRIGNA SAEZ MARTINEZ, 2-C APT COND LA COSTA, FAJARDO PR 00738 Y/O CALLE LAS PALMAS, APT 236, FAJARDO PR 00738-5145. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 27 de julio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de

los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 31 de julio de 2023. En FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, el 31 de julio de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. LINDA I. MEDINA MEDINA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO PALMAS DEL MAR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. Demandante V.

JULIO E. GARCÍA RIVERA Y ELAINE RODRÍGUEZ PASTRANA Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES Demandado(a)

Civil: HU2022CV01516. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JULIO E. GARCÍA RIVERA Y ELAINE RODRÍGUEZ PASTRANA Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES P/C DEL LCDO. JOSE R. GONZALEZ RIVERA.

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 21 de JUNIO de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a

partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 31 de julio de 2023. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, el 31 de julio de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. KARILIN MORALES FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE TANIA

NUÑEZ HIDALGO; COMPUESTA POR

SUS HEREDEROS

CONOCIDOS COMO

KEVIN JOEL AYALA

NUÑEZ Y KENNETH JOEL AYALA NUÑEZ; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS Y/O

PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN; AUTORIDAD PARA EL FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV04756.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: KENNETH JOEL AYALA NÚÑEZ COMO HEREDERO CONOCIDO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE TANIA NÚÑEZ HIDALGO; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE DICHA SUCESIÓN.

BARRIO OBRERO 354, CALLE DEL BREY, SAN JUAN, PR 00927; DIRECCIÓN POSTAL:

191 ILLINOIS AVE. PATERSON, NJ 07503. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente direc-

ción electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Se le apercibe que conforme al artículo 1578 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. §11021, usted tiene 30 días para aceptar o repudiar la herencia desde la publicación de este edicto. A esos efectos, de no rechazarla, se tendrá la herencia por aceptada. Representa a la parte demandante, la representación legal cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono se consigna de inmediato:

BUFETE FORTUÑO & FORTUÑO FAS, C.S.P.

LCDO. JUAN C. FORTUÑO FAS RÚA NÚM.: 11416 PO BOX 3908, GUAYNABO, PR 00970

TEL: 787-751-5290,

FAX: 787-751-6155

E-MAIL: eiecuciones@fortuno-law.com

En San Juan, Puerto Rico a 26 de julio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. CARLA J. RIVERA CLIMENT, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYAMA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. MER DISTRIBUTORS, INC.; LARRY JOSEPH

RIVERA NARVAEZ

T/C/C LARRY

RIVERA NARVAEZ; FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

LARRY JOSEPH RIVERA

NARVAEZ T/C/C LARRY

RIVERA NARVAEZ Y FULANA DE TAL

Demandados

Civil Núm.: GM2021CV00394.

PROCEDIMIENTO SOBRE

EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA

POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: MER DISTRIBUTORS, INC.; LARRY JOSEPH

RIVERA NARVÁEZ T/C/C LARRY

RIVERA NARVÁEZ;

FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

LARRY JOSEPH RIVERA

NARVÁEZ T/C/C LARRY RIVERA NARVÁEZ Y FULANA DE TAL.

Quedan emplazados y notificados que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda Enmendada sobre procedimiento de Ejecución de Hipoteca por la vía ordinaria, en la que se alega que la parte demandada Mer Distributors, Inc.; Larry Joseph Rivera Narváez T/C/C Larry Rivera Narváez; Fulana De Tal Y La Sociedad Legal De Gananciales Compuesta Por Larry Joseph Rivera Narváez T/C/C Larry Rivera Narváez Y Fulana De Tal, le adeuda $151,127.29 por concepto de principal, más recargos por atraso, más intereses, los cuales se continúan acumulando hasta su completo pago, más $25,500.00 como cantidad estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato de préstamo. También, se solicita al Honorable Tribunal que en defecto al pago ordene la ejecución de las garantías hipotecarias y por consiguiente la venta en pública subasta de los bienes inmuebles hipotecados para aplicar el importe de la venta al saldo de la deuda para con el Banco Popular. Además, se le solicita al Honorable Tribunal que ordene, una vez celebrada la subasta y vendida la propiedad inmueble hipotecada, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del inmueble dentro del término de veinte (20) días. Se les advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda Enmendada dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarles ni oírles. El abogado de la parte demandante es el Lcdo. Gerardo Ortiz Torres, cuya dirección física y postal es: Cond. El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, y su correo electrónico es: gerardo@bellverlaw. com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en Gua-

yama, Puerto Rico, hoy día 31 de julio de 2023. MARISOL ROSADO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. IRIS V. RODRÍGUEZ RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. LA SUCESIÓN DE MANUEL ANTONIO LUGO FRANCISCO COMPUESTA POR: 1. VANESSA NINETTE LUGO OBJIO, 2. OSMANY ANTONIO LUGO OBJIO, 3. MANUEL ANTONIO LUGO OBJIO, 4. PHEDRA MARÍA LUGO OBJIO, 5. MANUEL ANTONIO LUGO MELÉNDEZ, 6. MIGUEL ANTONIO LUGO ROSA, 7. FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, 8. CELENIA AURORA OBJIO LARA POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO A LA COUTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; 9. DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA

Demandado

Civil Núm.: PO2022CV00985. Sobre: INTERPELACIÓN; COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: PUBLICO EN GENERAL.

El Alguacil del Tribunal que suscribe anuncia y hace constar: A. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Ponce, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor de contado y en moneda de curso legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América y cuyo pago se efectuará en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, todo derecho, título o interés que tenga la Parte Demandada en el bien inmueble que se describe a continuación:

PROPIEDAD HORTIZONTAL:

Apartamento once guión cero guión uno de forma irregular ditado en el piso número once del Condominio “El Señorial” con un área aproximada de ciento cincuenta y seis metros cua-

drados. Colinda por el NORTE, en veinte metros con la pared que lo separa del patio lateral norte que a la vez colinda con terrenos propiedad de don Luciano Georgi; por el SUR, en seis metros con cincuenta y un centímetros con la pared que lo separa del corredor de uso común limitado y en trece metros con cuarenta y nueve centímetros con la pared que lo separa del apartamento once guión cero guión dos; por el ESTE, en ocho metros con ocho centímetros con la pared que lo separa del techo del piso número once y el patio lateral norte que a la vez colinda con la calle Buenos Aires; y por el OESTE, en ocho metros con ocho centímetros en la pared de la caja de ascensor y la escalera y en noventa y un centímetro con la pared que lo separa del comedor de uso común limitado. Este apartamento cuenta de una sala-comedor, dos dormitorios con sus closets, dos baños, una terraza y una cocina. Hay dos pasillos, uno que comunica la salacomedor con los dormitorios y los baños y otro Que queda al exterior por una puerta en la pared sur que abre al comedor de uso limitado. Todas las medidas expresadas en esta descripción son aproximadas. A este apartamento se le asigna el parking número veintiocho. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación de uno punto treinta y tres por ciento en los elementos, gastos y ganancias comunes del edificio e igual la porción se aplicará en la votación de las reuniones de los condominios. Inscrita al folio 30 del tomo 2025 de Ponce Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de Ponce, finca número 39,958. Dirección física: APT. PH-1101, Condominio El Señorial Plaza, Ponce, PR. 00731. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado están de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables bajo el epígrafe de este caso.

B. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. C. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma principal de $67,133.35, la suma de $23,958.69, que incluye intereses según pactados, cargos por demora y otros

cargos, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de 10% del principal, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se celebrará el día 19 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA en la Oficina del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Ponce, por el tipo mínimo de $93,500.00. De declararse desierta dicha subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 26 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para la segunda subasta lo será 2/3 partes del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $62,333.33. De declararse desierta dicha segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 3 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para la tercera subasta lo será 1/2 del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $46,750.00. Y PARA QUE ASÍ CONSTE, y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general y por un término de catorce (14) días en los sitios públicos conforme a la ley, expido la presente bajo mi firma y sello de este tribunal, hoy 21 de julio de 2023 en PONCE, Puerto Rico. MANUEL MALDONADO, ALGUACIL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE MARIA DEL CARMEN ORTIZ CARABALLO, COMPUESTA POR SU HIJO EDWARD RODRIGUEZ ORTIZ; EDWARD NOEL RODRIGUEZ ORTIZ, POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO

A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2022CV02436. (401). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: SUCESION DE

MARIA DEL CARMEN ORTIZ CARABALLO, COMPUESTA POR SU HIJO EDWARD RODRIGUEZ ORTIZ; EDWARD NOEL RODRIGUEZ ORTIZ, POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”). Yo, HÉCTOR L. PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #278, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Carolina durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 21 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023

A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: RUSTICA: BARRIO HATO PUERCO de Canóvanas. Lote: Uno (1). Cabida: OCHOCIENTOS CUARENTA Y TRES PUNTO OCHO CINCO DOS SEIS (843.8526) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, con terrenos de Eusebio Maldonado, en una distancia de treinta y seis punto seis seis tres (36.663) metros; por el SUR, con remanente de la finca principal, en una distancia de treinta y tres punto cinco cuatro cero (33.540) metros y un arco de nueve punto tres tres tres

(9.333) metros; por el ESTE, con remanente, en una distancia de dieciséis punto cuatro nueve dos (16.492) metros y con solar dedicado a uso público y un arco de nueve punto dos seis tres (9.263) metros; y por el OESTE, con carretera municipal, en una distancia de diez punto nueve nueve seis (10.996) metros. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al Sistema Karibe de Canóvanas, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Tercera, finca número 20,289, inscripción tercera. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Lote 1, Lomas del Viento, Barrio Hato Puerco, Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $127,803.82 de principal, intereses al 4.00 % anual, desde el día 1ro. de enero de 2020, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $15,090.00, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será la suma de $150,900.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $100,600.00 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $75,450.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN

TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, a 1ro de agosto de 2023. HÉCTOR L. PEÑA

RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #278, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

LEGAL

de 1992, según enmendada, mejor conocida como la Ley de Nombres Comerciales del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y la Sección 24 del Reglamento promulgado bajo la ley citada anteriormente, el siguiente nombre comercial ha sido presentado en el Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico para su archivo y registro. PERFIL

CRIMINAL TV

Número de Expediente: 252881-99-0. Propietario: JORGE I SUAREZ CACERES. Dirección: LOS ROSALES N5 CALLE 7, HUMACAO, PR 00791. Actividad Empresarial: “NOMBRE A SER UTILIZADO

PARA IDENTIFICAR ¨PODCAST¨”. Renuncia a elementos no registrables: “TV”. NOTIFICACIÓN: Cualquier oposición a este registro deberá presentarse en el Departamento de Estado de Puerto Rico dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este aviso.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. LA SUCESIÓN DE RAMONA SOTO

SALGADO T/C/C

RAMONA SOTO GUZMÁN COMPUESTA

POR FULANO y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

Parte Demandada

NOTICE

GOBIERNO DE PUERTO

RICO. DEPARTAMENTO DE ESTADO. NOMBRE COMERCIAL PARA REGISTRAR. AVISO. A QUIEN PUEDA INTERESAR: De acuerdo con las disposiciones de la Ley Núm. 75 del 23 de septiembre

de gerente o giro postal, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Condominio Patio de Vega

Baja: Apartamento: C guion tres (C-3). Cabida: 373.39 pies cuadrados. Su descripción legal es como sigue: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento residencial Número C guion tres (C-3) de una planta forma irregular localizado en la primera planta del Condominio Patio situado en la calle José Julián Acosta del Municipio de Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, teniendo un área aproximada de 34.69 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 373.39 pies cuadrados. El apartamento colinda por el NORTE: en una distancia de 19’ 4”, equivalentes a 5.89 metros lineales con espacio exterior; por el SUR: en una distancia de 19’

Civil Núm.: VB2023CV00145. (201). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA “IN REM”. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia en Rebeldía dictada el 12 de mayo de 2023 y notificada el 12 de mayo de 2023, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 5 de julio de 2023 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 7 de julio de 2023 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Vega Baja, Sala Superior, Carretera Número Dos (2) Kilómetro 38.3 (al lado del Centro Gubernamental) Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque

4” equivalentes a 5.89 metros lineales con el Apartamento Número C guion cuatro (C-4); por el ESTE: en una distancia de 26’ 6”, equivalentes a 8.08 metros, con espacio exterior; y por el OESTE: en una distancia de 26’ 6”, equivalentes a 8.08 metros lineales con pasillo comunal y Apartamento Número C guion dos (C-2). La puerta de entrada de este apartamento está situada en su lindero ESTE, a través de la cual se llega al exterior del edificio. El área de vivienda consta de sala, comedor, cocina, un cuarto de dormitorio, con closet, un baño y lavandería. Tiene una participación de 9.6326% en los elementos comunes del condominio. La propiedad y la escritura de hipoteca constan inscritas al tomo Karibe de Vega Baja, Finca 33875, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección IV. Inscripción segunda (2da). Dirección Física: Cond. El Patio (Edificio Patio) 95 Calle José Julián Acosta, Apt. C3, Vega Baja, PR 00693. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $26,000.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, el día 21 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $17,333.33 De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $13,000.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el

tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $24,152.95 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 7.375% anual desde el 1 de abril de 2015 hasta su completo pago, más $727.38 de recargos acumulados, los cuales continuarán en aumento hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más la cantidad estipulada de $2,600.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo, incluyendo pero sin limitarse a gastos de mantenimiento, inspecciones y otros adelantos “corporate advances. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesan los siguientes gravámenes posteriores que afectan la propiedad en cuestión: a. Hipoteca: Constituida por Ramona Soto Salgado (soltera), en garantía de un pagaré a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $14,000.00, sin intereses y vencedero en 15 años, según consta de la Escritura Núm. 6, otorgada en San Juan, el 20 de enero de 2009, ante el notario Ignacio Villamarzo García. Inscrita al tomo Karibe de Vega Baja, Finca 33875, inscripción tercera (3ra). Nota: Condiciones Restrictivas bajo el Programa La Llave para tu Hogar por un término de 15 años. b. Hipoteca: Constituida por Ramona Soto Salgado (soltera), en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $40,000.00, sin intereses y vencedero en 15 años, según consta de la Escritura Núm. 1, otorgada en Bayamón, el 20 de enero de 2009, ante la notario Ruth N. Monillo Limardo. Inscrita al tomo Karibe de Vega Baja Finca 33875, inscripción cuarta (4ta). Nota: Condiciones Restrictivas bajo el Programa Home Investment Partnership Act también conocido como Programa Home por un término de 15 años. c. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Vs. Ramona Soto Salgado también conocida como Ramona Soto Guzmán, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Vega Baja en el Caso Civil Número VB2023CV00145, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca con un balance de $24,152.95 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 3 de marzo de 2023. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Vega Baja. Anotación A. Se les advierte a los interesados que

todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 2102015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, hoy 17 de julio de 2023. LUIS F. ORTIZ ROSA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. CARLOS A. MONTAÑEZ RENTA COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE CARLOS ALBERTO MONTAÑEZ ORTIZ; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE CARLOS ALBERTO MONTAÑEZ ORTIZ

Demandados

Civil Núm. SJ2023CV05856. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA E INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE CARLOS ALBERTO

MONTAÑEZ ORTIZ.

311 CALLE TERESA JORNET, APT 1904, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; COND. TROPICAL, APT 1904, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; COND. TROPICAL COURTS, APT 1904, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; COND. SIERRA ALTA, 200 CARR. 842 APT 141, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; COND. SIERRA ALTA, 301-N, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; 200 SR 842 COND. SIERRA

ALTA 141, SAN JUAN, PR 00926-9672; APT 1904, EDIF. 19-20, COND. TROPICAL COURTS, BO. CUPEY, SAN JUAN, PR 00926; 9535 DELANEY CREEK BLVD APT 403, TAMPA, FL 33619; 3830 UNIVERSITY BLVD S APT 83, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32216-4384; 16416

MAGNOLIA GROVE WAY, JACKSONVILLE, FL 32218-0118.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo. Javier Montalvo Cintrón, Delgado Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750. Tel. [787] 274-1414. DADA en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 26 de julio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. CARLA J. RIVERA CLIMENT, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA BLANCA CELIA MENDEZ

Demandante Vs. CITIBANK N.A. JOHN

DOE; RICHARD ROE

Demandados

Civil No.: CA2023CV02239. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE, como posibles tenedores del pagaré. Por medio del presente edicto se les notifica de la radicación de una Demanda de Cancelación de Pagaré Extraviado en la que se solicita la cancelación del siguiente pagaré hipotecario, que se ha extraviado, luego de haber sido saldado por el deudor hipotecario: Pagaré a favor de Citibank N.A., o a su orden, por la suma de $30,600.00, con intereses al 7% anual, y vencedero el 1 de mayo de 2007, según consta de la escritura número 131, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 19 de abril de 1977, ante el Notario M. Del Valle Montalvo, e inscrita al folio 64 del tomo 591 de Carolina Norte, finca número 31,375 inscripción primera. La parte demandante solicita del Honorable Tribunal que declare Con Lugar la demanda y en su consecuencia ordene al Secretario del Tribunal que expida Mandamiento al Registrador de la Propiedad correspondiente, para que dicho funcionario proceda a cancelar en los libros a su cargo la referida hipoteca dejando la propiedad aquí descrita libre de dicho gravamen hipotecario. EL PRESENTE EDICTO se le emplaza para que presente al Tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Copia de dicha contestación debe remitirse al abogado del demandante, Lcdo. Ricardo J. Cacho Rodríguez, 54 Calle Resolución, Suite 303 San Juan, PR 00920 Tel: (787) 722-2242; Fax: (787) 722-2243, cachocacholaw.com

dentro del término de treinta (30) días siguientes a la fecha de publicación de este Edicto. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 21 de julio de 2023. LCDA. KANELLY ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. LOURDES DÍAZ MEDINA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC

COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. AYDELIZ ORTIZ MARQUEZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CA2022CV03985. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: AYDELIZ ORTIZ MARQUEZBO TRUJILLO BAJO CARR 853 KM 4.7, CAROLINA, PR 00986. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin. sanchez@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law. com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, hoy día 02 de junio de 2023. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 02 de junio de 2023. LCDA. KANELLY M. ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA. MARICRUZ APONTE ALICEA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

The US ties Portugal, barely, and advances to the round of 16

By ANDREW DAS

For more than a generation, the United States women’s national team has played out some of its best moments on the world’s biggest stages, in front of the biggest crowds in women’s soccer. World Cup finals. Olympic gold medal games. The team has, over the years, won many of those games, a long line of days to remember.

On Tuesday, though, on a chilly night in the depths of the New Zealand winter, the Americans almost endured a day they would never be able to forget.

The ending did not, in the end, go completely wrong: The United States players held on desperately to preserve a 0-0 tie with Portugal, a result that delivered them, safely but scared out of their wits, to the knockout rounds of the Women’s World Cup.

That will have to do after a game in which the United States failed to create enough scoring chances, wasted the ones it did and then flirted with catastrophe as a Portuguese shot hit the post and caromed out in secondhalf injury time.

The near miss was perhaps symbolic of a night that qualified as the same, of a game in which the United States, a four-time winner of the World Cup, came within inches of a stunning — and, for them, unprecedented — group-stage exit.

Far to the south in Dunedin, the Netherlands had won the teams’ group by thrashing Vietnam, 7-0, in a game played simultaneously to the United States’ dance with disaster at Eden Park in Auckland. That lopsided result was relegating the Americans to second place in the group even as the teams played, but only if they did not lose to Portugal. In the second half, survival had become the main U.S. priority.

The team had created chances, but not nearly enough and none of them particularly dangerous. As the game went on, and the stakes rose, they kept coming, and then going: shots sent high, or wide, or straight at the goalkeeper.

“This team gave everything,” U.S. forward Alex Morgan said. “We just didn’t put the ball in the net.”

An autopsy of all that went wrong for the United States can come later. Disconnected passes. Defensive failures. Substitutes sent on too late, or not at all.

Morgan dismissed the result as “unlucky,” which may be partially true. But the U.S. was also phenomenally lucky when the Portugal substitute Ana Capeta slipped behind its back line early in second-half injury time and pinged a shot off the right post.

By then the Americans had already shifted into safety mode, inserting a fifth defender as they tried to preserve what they could. The clock wound down, and then ran out, and the relief on the U.S. side was palpable.

“The most important thing,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said, “is we got the job done.”

Afterward, he gathered his team in a wide circle on the field and spoke to the players briefly. But only after veteran defender Kel-

ley O’Hara had been allowed to have her say first. She offered a brief but impassioned address, punctuated by hand gestures and steely-eyed stares into her teammates’ eyes.

“I just told them, ‘Listen, guys, we did what we had to do,’” O’Hara said. “‘This game’s done. Group stage is done. We advanced.’” She, like several of her other teammates, seemed to know that low bar will not be good enough moving forward.

Others were less forgiving. On television, former national team player Carli Lloyd excoriated her former team, and her former teammates, for their play, their preparations and their commitment, but also for what she saw as their temerity in taking postgame selfies with fans and dancing after treading so

close to a humiliating exit. “The player of the match,” she said acidly, “was that post.”

Others noted the result had not come in isolation, and was the latest in a long string of just-good-enough scores over the past few months. The Americans had struggled to impose themselves on teams like Ireland and Wales before the World Cup; they failed to dominate Vietnam in their opener; and they were outplayed for a half before rallying for a tie against the Netherlands. Against Portugal, they nearly bottomed out.

Asked if he felt his team had deserved to win at Eden Park, Portugal’s coach, Francisco Neto, replied unequivocally. “What do you think?” he asked rhetorically. “Of course, yes.”

“Unfortunately we didn’t win,” he added, “and we go home.”

Instead it is the Americans who are through to the round of 16 — likely to a difficult game against Sweden, one of the world’s best teams and a title contender in its own right, on Sunday in Melbourne. After Tuesday night, that qualified as reward enough for the U.S. team.

Its players may be happy to leave Auckland behind for a few days after their narrow escape. They will be thrilled if they get a chance to return deeper in the tournament.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Group Stage

Tuesday’s Results

Netherlands 7, Vietnam 0 Portugal 0, United States 0 England 6, China 1 Denmark 2, Haiti 0

Monday’s Results Japan 4, Spain 0

Zambia 3, Costa Rica 1 Republic of Ireland 0, Nigeria 0 Australia 4, Canada 0

Today’s Games (all times Eastern Standard Time)

Argentina vs. Sweden (3 a.m., FOX)

South Africa vs. Italy (3 a.m., FS1)

Panama vs. France (6 a.m., FS1) Jamaica vs. Brazil (6 a.m., FOX)

Thursday’s Games

Morocco vs. Colombia (6 a.m., FS1)

South Korea vs. Germany (6 a.m., FOX)

Alex Morgan called the U.S. draw with Portugal “unlucky.”

Terence Crawford stands alone at the top of boxing

By MORGAN CAMPBELL

Terence Crawford emerged from the locker room at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas late Saturday night, walked the long aisle to the arena floor, then scaled the steps to the boxing ring one more time.

He had the World Boxing Organization welterweight title belt, which he has owned since 2018, draped over his left forearm, along with the green World Boxing Council belt, which he had just won from Errol Spence Jr. The other two belts, from the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Association, rested with members of Crawford’s entourage, who followed him to ringside for the postfight news conference.

Crawford greeted Spence, whom he had just defeated by technical knockout in the ninth round of the most important boxing match of the year. Spence, his face red and swollen, and Crawford, his face unblemished, hugged and spoke with each other. Before Spence could exit, Crawford handed him the WBC belt, then gathered the other straps from his team members and handed them to him, too.

Belt exchanges like these are common but seldom seen in public. Boxing’s sanctioning bodies will make new belts for Crawford, who is now 40-0 with 31 knockouts after Saturday’s emphatic win. Spence, 28-1 with 22 knockouts, will retain his as keepsakes.

The postfight ritual hinged on the premise that sold the fight — that Crawford, 35, and Spence, 33, are both champions. But only Crawford is the undisputed champion. The win Saturday, in which he landed twice as many punches as Spence did, makes him the first welterweight to hold titles from all four major sanctioning bodies.

The belts Crawford handed back will always belong to Spence, but the welterweight division belongs to Crawford.

“The whole world is talking about it, and we put on a great show,” Crawford said.

On paper, the showdown, between

previously undefeated champions, was evenly matched. Neither fighter had ever been knocked down, and both tended to win their fights by wide margins. The oddsmakers gave Crawford a slight edge, and the boxers’ records and skill sets also hinted at a close contest.

But people close to Crawford, who is from Omaha, Nebraska, noticed an uptick in intensity during training camp.

“He added to everything he’s doing — more swimming, more running, a lot more recovery,” said Keyshawn Davis, the lightweight contender who trained alongside Crawford in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “I’ve never seen him put so much into a fight.”

After Spence won the first round by advancing behind a stiff right jab, Crawford dropped him in round two with a short right hand during a quick exchange of punches.

“My timing was off, and he capitalized on a couple of things,” said Spence, a native of Long Island in New York who grew up near Dallas. “His timing was a lot better than mine tonight.”

When Spence speared Crawford with a jab to the belly, Crawford countered with a hard left hand to the head. And when Spence attempted a flurry in

round six, Crawford popped him with a jab. Then another. Then a hard left hand. Then another.

As Crawford won rounds, Spence’s trainer, Derrick James, urged a shift in tactics.

“Do our best to take away what he was doing, instead of kind of standing in front of him,” James said.

It did not work.

Crawford ended a round seven salvo of punches with a body shot that made Spence stiffen. When Spence launched a looping left hand midway through the round, Crawford fired a short right hook that sent Spence to the canvas. Just before the bell, a double right hook knocked Spence off his feet. As referee Harvey Dock counted over Spence’s fallen body, Crawford turned his back to the scene and began grandstanding to some friends at ringside.

Two rounds later, there was another looping left from Spence and then another quick, concussive right hook from Crawford. Spence staggered backward. Crawford followed up with heavy punches. Dock stepped between the fighters and halted the bout with 28 seconds remaining in round nine.

For Crawford, the moment brought

elation and also relief.

“It’s like a breath of fresh air that I get to breathe,” Crawford said. “We finally did it.”

All three judges scored the bout 79-70 for Crawford, a level of unanimity that is rare in a subjectively scored sport. Even more uncommon: Crawford’s blend of power and accuracy.

The CompuBox scoring system credited Crawford with landing 185 of 369 punches, compared with 96 of 480 for Spence. Crawford also landed 98 of 163 power punches; the 60% success rate is unusually high for a top-tier bout.

The statistical landslide appeared to eliminate the need for a rematch, but the contract gave the losing fighter the option to trigger one. Spence said he intended to exercise it.

“We got to do it again,” he said in the ring after the fight. “I’ll be a lot better.”

Spence said he would prefer to move up in weight and meet Crawford in the 154-pound junior middleweight division, but he may have lost his negotiating leverage along with his world titles Saturday. Crawford would enter a rematch as the clear headliner and have the upper hand in dictating contract terms.

Crawford’s win made him the first male boxer to hold all four major titles in two different weight classes, at 140 pounds and now at 147. Among women, only Claressa Shields has achieved that feat.

In 2017, Crawford became the undisputed champion at 140 pounds, then promptly vacated those titles to move up to welterweight. On Saturday night, he considered a similar move, saying that he, like Spence, had grown tired of shaving his weight to 147 pounds.

But he also hinted that, after producing a career-best performance at age 35, and securing his status as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history, he might not have many more titles to chase.

“In two months, I’ll be 36 years old,” he said. “I’ve been boxing since I was 7 years old. I’ve got to sit down with my team and think about the future.”

Terence Crawford celebrated with his championship belts, three are pictured, after dominating Errol Spence Jr. in a welterweight title bout on Saturday in Las Vegas.

Sudoku

How to Play:

Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

Sudoku Rules:

Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Set aside some time today explicitly for you, Aries. Unexpected events are likely to pop up and cause a stir in your emotions. Giving yourself personal space to digest and deal with these events will help keep you from suppressing your reaction to them. Make sure you have your internal maelstrom of thoughts settled before you get tangled up in others’ affairs.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Try not to be so serious and intense today, Taurus. Walk with a lighter step and don’t feel like you always need to be in control of every single thing you contact. Take on an attitude of going with the flow and you will be right in the place you need to be. Extreme actions will lead to extreme consequences. There’s no need for that sort of behavior on a day like this.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

Don’t miss any opportunities today, Gemini. No matter how tired you may be, this isn’t the time to rest. This is one of those days in which it’s simply easier to be you. There’s no need to shy away or hide your true desires. Say what you want and you’ll get it. There’s no reason to beat around the bush. Keep in mind that unexpected energies will get thrown into the mix.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

Your plans may be upended today, Cancer, but this doesn’t mean that you should give up hope in any way. Sometimes it’s necessary to let go of control and simply let things happen as they will. Adopt a spirit of adventure and take risks that you normally may not want to take. There is a distinct advantage in spontaneity and working harmoniously with the unexpected events that are bound to occur.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Today is one of those days in which you have a terrific opportunity to break free of normal, everyday life, Leo. Don’t feel badly if you don’t know exactly which way to go. Follow your gut feeling. Whichever way you decide to go will probably be right. Your forceful, erratic approach may actually be the perfect method to use in order to get exactly where you need to be.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Sometimes your daydreaming leads you way out of your body and into a place well beyond time and space, Virgo. Your romantic nature wants to escape and never touch back down to the real world. Take a giant step toward that which tickles your fancy. Take the loftier approach and encourage others to share your dreams instead of letting them weigh you down.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Generally speaking, today should be a good day for you, Libra. You should have no problem setting a fast-paced tone for the day and sticking to it. There are opportunities in the strange and bizarre. Don’t limit yourself by thinking narrowly. Let the electricity of the day lighten the atmosphere and give your attitude the jolt it needs to get back on track. Be open to new ideas.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Generally speaking, today should be a good day for you, Libra. You should have no problem setting a fast-paced tone for the day and sticking to it. There are opportunities in the strange and bizarre. Don’t limit yourself by thinking narrowly. Let the electricity of the day lighten the atmosphere and give your attitude the jolt it needs to get back on track. Be open to new ideas.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

There are several opportunities open now that weren’t there before. The key is to take advantage of them. Find freedom in the strange and new. Be a pioneer today and venture into the unknown. This is a day to expand and reach new heights by having more confidence in your abilities. Things will get stale and boring if you keep doing the same things over and over.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Be brazen and bold in your actions today, Capricorn. This may be a hard direction for you at first, but it’s the most effective way to get where you need to go. Unexpected ripples of emotion may cause you to go in an unconventional direction. Let yourself flow freely. This is an important time to get up and moving in response to these powerful emotions.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

The name of the game for you today is emotional freedom, Aquarius. Your senses are heightened and the smallest things capture your eye. Don’t delay your response to these events, whether they’re big or small. Even the smallest event may blossom into a new world of people and situations. Let your creativity explode into every part of your being.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

The name of the game for you today is emotional freedom, Aquarius. Your senses are heightened and the smallest things capture your eye. Don’t delay your response to these events, whether they’re big or small. Even the smallest event may blossom into a new world of people and situations. Let your creativity explode into every part of your being.

Speed Bump

¡Bienvenidos a todos los socios y clientes nuevos!