Friday to Sunday Dec 23-25, 2022

INDEX

Advocate: Affordable housing crisis requires gov’t intervention

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico remains without affordable housing, the spokeswoman for Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, Verónica González said this week.

González said the organization receives constant complaints from individuals who are homeless, who are at risk of eviction because their rent was increased by up to 30 percent, or whose homes need repairs

but the landlords refuse to perform them.

“The state has to intervene,” González said, insisting upon the importance of creating a public policy that establishes the parameters under which an eviction scenario occurs and that allows housing to be affordable.

She said the outlook is so critical that this year the cost of homes exceeded $180,000 on average, while new projects reach up to $210,000, when the average family income is between $20,000 and $22,000.

González asserted that the problem has its roots in the ease that allows non-locals to take over residential spaces.

Puerto Rican Independence Party Sen. María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón charged on Wednesday that the Housing Finance Authority eliminated five structures in Puerta de Tierra that had the restriction to be used as social interest spaces, which made them accessible to citizens. The senator said the agency acknowledged that the properties, which were contaminated with asbestos, will be sold to an investor who is a beneficiary of Law 22 and who owns another 14 of the 30 occupied properties in the space.

“In Puerto Rico, 74,000 rental units are needed and among the people who are waiting for social housing, for public housing, there are 25,000 families,” Santiago Negrón said while denouncing the complicity of the central government in not serving the needs of those whose salary is not enough to rent properties worth thousands of dollars a month.

An investigative resolution has been filed in the Legislature to document the displacement of residents in Puerta de Tierra and the influence of short-term rentals and their regulation.

Santiago Negrón pointed to rent control as a regulatory step in beginning to tackle the problem.

“You have to put an end to this policy of handing everything on a silver platter to the outsider when the people here have such a difficult time,” she said.

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 bondholders, creditors object to disclosure hearing schedule

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bondholders and creditors have filed numerous objections this week to the authority’s request for a schedule for the disclosure hearing that would pave the way for the utility’s exit from bankruptcy.

The Title III court expects to hold a hearing on the adequacy of the contents of the disclosure statement in February. The disclosure statement is the document that explains the terms of the restructuring of PREPA’s estimated $10 billion debt. PREPA has been in bankruptcy since 2017.

The Ad Hoc Group of PREPA Bondholders objected to the scheduling because it restricts creditor discovery until after March 2023, which is a problem because under the plan, creditors must choose whether to settle their claims or not.

Under the plan, PREPA bondholders would have between Dec. 28 and Feb. 15, 2023 to either agree to the plan or continue litigating.

The plan seeks to encourage settlement of bonded debt claims by its inclusion of two separate classes for bond claims. Bondholders and monoline insurers that settle their claim would recover about 50% to 100% of the value of their investment. Under the second class for bonded claims, bondholders that opt to litigate their claims would get a lesser recovery. The Financial Oversight and Management Board, as part of the litigation, is seeking to disallow secured claims held by the bondholders beyond the estimated $16 million in funds actually deposited in the Sinking Fund, and to limit any potential recourse, secured or unsecured, to the monies deposited in the Sinking Fund.

“There is no conceivable benefit to interested parties

The Title III bankruptcy court expects to hold a hearing in February on the adequacy of the contents of the disclosure statement, which explains the terms of the restructuring of PREPA’s estimated $10 billion debt.

or the court from forcing all parties to sit on their hands for more than two months before plan-related discovery begins, only then to have to sprint to try to pack everything into only a few short weeks,” the Ad Hoc Group argued. “Not only would that process be unfair and unwarranted, but it also all but begs for even one discovery dispute, production issue, or scheduling kerfuffle to materially delay the confirmation hearing.”

The Ad Hoc Group also says the schedule provides a small amount of time for discovery. The group also listed its objections, calling the plan a “patently unconfirmable placeholder.” They argue the plan is unconfirmable because in the event bondholders win the litigation, it would pay them

less than they are owed. It pays fuel line lenders ahead of bondholders, does not disclose the deal struck with National, and it pays creditors billions of dollars less than PREPA said it could pay in a Nov. 8 mediation meeting, the group says.

Bond insurer Syncora also objected because of the time limitations to the discovery. It also said that splitting bondholders into groups based on their acceptance of the plan -- especially before the court approves the disclosure statement -- was “irreconcilable” with bankruptcy law.

“There is no way the oversight board believes ‘in good faith’ that the filed plan is confirmable,” Syncora stated. “It filed a mere placeholder, by design and with premeditation, after wasting the runway granted by the Court to facilitate an earnest mediation effort.”

The Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC) asked that the hearing’s scheduling be contingent on PREPA filing a full disclosure statement within 35 days, including its settlement agreement with National Public Finance Guarantee Corp., which has yet to be filed. The UCC said the oversight board has not filed several other exhibits, including a liquidation analysis, a load forecast, and an illustrative cash flow for new bonds.

The UCC asked the court to clarify that the approval of the procedures to provide creditors with more information doesn’t excuse the board from responding to discovery requests.

PREPA’s bond trustee, US Bank National Association, asked the court to include language in the scheduling motion to clarify that approval of the motion is not a ruling on the settlement offer solicitation process included in the plan.

Assured Guaranty filed a limited joinder to the motion asking that discovery not be delayed.

bananas stuck at port

By THE STAR STAFF

Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró said Thursday that 62 containers full of bananas from Ecuador and Costa Rica are stranded on the dock,

and attributed the delay to federal authorities.

“The process normally takes a few days and we have the Christmas season that requires that green banana, and we expected to have those bananas already on the street

in containers heading to supermarkets,” the official said in a radio interview while acknowledging the delay in the process by federal authorities. “Today is Thursday and unfortunately it has not been possible to make that deadline. Our personnel are available for the release, but we depend on the clearance by the feds.”

The Agriculture chief said the bananas are not currently in danger of maturing or spoiling.

“We do have the situation that the people want that green banana at this time, but those containers are refrigerated so the bananas are not going to spoil,” González Beiró said.

At the end of October the secretary gave assurances that green bananas would be available for the Christmas holidays.

“Our goal right now is to be able to get to purchasing this week and we could be seeing containers coming in for Thanksgiving week,” the official said at the time. “We have always said that we are going to have the imported product for Christmas, obviously from the [domestic crop] there will be very little, but we are going to have the ripe banana, the same as the plantain.”

Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró

Bill passed by Congress that further restricts Jones Act waivers could imperil Puerto Rico

By THE STAR STAFF

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) approved in Congress earlier this month amended the waiver process under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, known as the Jones Act, putting Puerto Rico in peril in the event a natural disaster prevents supplies from reaching the island.

The amendment tightens the Jones Act waiver process, eliminating the use of blanket waivers and requiring the determination that a waiver is necessary in the interest of national defense to be made by the president, not the Homeland Security secretary as is currently the case.

The amendment was the result of pressure from maritime shipping industry officials angered by an exemption given to Puerto Rico a few months ago. When Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico earlier this year, leaders of domestic maritime industry companies were furious when President Joe Biden’s administration gave a foreign ship filled with diesel oil a waiver to bypass federal regulations and dock in Puerto Rico to help the island’s recovery efforts and prevent massive blackouts.

The 1920 Jones Act requires ships that deliver goods between U.S. ports be built within the United States, owned and operated by U.S. companies, and crewed by U.S. citizens. The law is aimed at shielding

domestic shipping companies from foreign competition.

The law provides for exceptions and waivers from the Jones Act but they are hard to come by. Now the 4,300-page 202 NDAA, which has yet to be signed by the president, will make it more difficult. Language in the bill adds new restrictions and even a time delay to make it more challenging for government officials to offer a waiver even if there is an

emergency.

Under the new NDAA rules, there will be a mandatory 48-hour delay before a waiver can be approved and published. A ship that is already laden with cargo cannot seek out a waiver at all. In the example of Puerto Rico, a foreign ship that is already full of fuel and available cannot respond to an emergency situation if it has already made one stop at a U.S. port.

Critics of the Jones Act point out that it drives up prices for domestic shipping because it severely restricts which ships can engage in trade between domestic ports. Studies done in Puerto Rico have shown that the Jones Act has driven up the prices of goods from the United States.

The STAR could not immediately obtain a response from La Fortaleza about the proposed amendment.

Fireworks banned at official functions in Cataño

By THE STAR STAFF

In an executive order issued this week, Cataño Mayor Julio Alicea Vasallo declared the prohibition of the use of aerial and explosive pyrotechnics in official activities, as well as

in facilities under municipal jurisdiction. The prohibition was established for the sake of all citizens, in particular vulnerable individuals, and pets, the municipal administration said.

“Sensitive to our children with autism, older adults, infants and people with post-traumatic stress, we have established the prohibition of pyrotechnics,” the mayor said, referring to Executive Order 27, series 2022-2023. “In addition, our pets are adversely affected by the noise of explosives and [airborne] particles that can be toxic to the animal.”

Experts say people on the autism spectrum suffer from anxiety caused by loud noises, due to their distinct brain functioning. In addition, older adults, infants and people who suffer post-traumatic stress, suffer emotionally from the din of fireworks.

“In Cataño we want our families to spend these Christmas days in peace and harmony,” the mayor said. “And, in addition to protecting the safety of our citizens, we seek the best health environment for our vulnerable fellow citizens, and to protect the well being of pets. It is contradictory to say we protect pets and allow pyrotechnics in our official activities. We demonstrated last year that you can have great events without the discomfort caused by pyrotechnics.”

The prohibition was established for the sake of the citizenry, in particular vulnerable individuals, and pets, the Cataño municipal administration said.

The municipality’s Animal Welfare Office, meanwhile, works to protect and preserve the quality of life of animals. The auditory effect of pyrotechnics in pets is greater than in humans and generates discomfort and fear in animals.

Law 83 of June 25, 1962, the Puerto Rico Pyrotechnics Law, as amended, prohibits the possession, use, manufacture or sale of aerial pyrotechnics or explosives, including fireworks. This law establishes up to six months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine in cases involving up to 10 units of pyrotechnic material and more than six months in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000 when more than 10 units are seized. Similarly, Law 154 of 2008 defines animal abuse as any act or omission incurred by a person, whether guardian or not, who causes or puts an animal at risk of suffering damage to its physical and/ or emotional health.

A congressionally approved amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act tightens the Jones Act waiver process, eliminating the use of blanket waivers and requiring the determination that a waiver is necessary in the interest of national defense to be made by the president, not the Homeland Security secretary.

Trump’s taxes: Red flags, big losses and a windfall from his father

By RUSS BUETTNER, SUSANNE CRAIG and MIKE McINTIRE

At first glance, the income-tax data released this week by a House committee seems to show a turnaround in 2018 for former President Donald Trump. After a decade in which he declared no taxable income, his 2018 return reported taxable income of more than $24 million. He paid nearly $1 million in federal income taxes.

In fact, his year in the black appears to have resulted largely from the final windfall of the vast inheritance that financed much of his business career — more than $14 million in gains from the sale of his father’s 1970s investment in the housing development of Starrett City in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

But precedent soon reasserted itself. Because of business losses, he paid no income taxes in 2020, his last year in the White House.

That year, after obtaining more than two decades of Trump’s tax returns, The New York Times traced the boom-and-bust arcs that had marked his financial history: dubious tax avoidance, huge losses and a life buttressed by an inherited fortune. The newly released tax information, from 2015 to 2020, shows how that pattern extended through his years in Washington.

The new material, obtained by the House Ways and Means Committee after a yearslong legal battle, raised a multitude of questions about the methods Trump had employed while president to lower his income taxes, and about failures by the Internal Revenue Service to fully investigate those deductions.

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, a bipartisan panel that is known for reviewing the impact of tax legislation and has a staff with deep tax law expertise, reviewed the Trump returns and found dozens of red flags

that it believed required further investigation.

One involved transactions with his children. According to the tax data, Trump annually received tens of thousands of dollars in interest income from three of his grown children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — money that stemmed from what his returns described as personal loans to them. The committee questioned whether the loans actually “were disguised gifts” to evade gift taxes and allow the children to write off interest payments to their father.

The congressional report said the IRS explored whether Trump correctly deducted the $21 million he had paid to settle a series of fraud claims against the nowdefunct Trump University. It was not clear, the report said, whether Trump had received any insurance proceeds that offset some portion of the settlement. The outcome of that review was not known.

The committee also questioned whether Trump had charged expenses from his personal life and hobbies as business expenses, mentioning travel on his aircraft in particular. The Times’ 2020 investigation found that he had frequently written off questionable expenses, including more than $70,000 paid to style his hair during his years on “The Apprentice.”

One point of potential trouble for Trump emerged from the report. The IRS is considering disallowing the $21 million write-off Trump claimed in 2015 for agreeing not to develop much of the land on a sprawling estate in Westchester County, New York, known as Seven Springs. After not examining the transaction for a period of time, the agency is exploring whether the value Trump claimed was based on a qualified appraisal.

The committee requested that the IRS also verify charitable contributions Trump reported making with cash,

checks or credit cards.

Besides Trump’s returns, the Ways and Means committee obtained roughly 1,100 electronic files containing working papers, memos and other internal documents showing how the IRS had handled them. The records, according to the report, depict an agency that seemed reluctant to aggressively examine a wealthy taxpayer who was difficult to deal with and had complex returns.

After the Times published its investigation revealing years of Trump’s tax data, IRS officials met to decide how to respond to the numerous revelations, including questionable deductions, tax credits and cancellation of debt. Yet the agency set a high bar for what to examine.

For instance, the Times reported that Trump had a pattern of writing off payments to unidentified consultants, totaling $26 million over nine years across all of his projects, and that at least some of that money went to his daughter Ivanka, even though she was earning a salary as an executive at his company. It raised the question of whether the payments reflected actual consulting work or were simply a way to claim an unwarranted tax deduction.

The IRS seemed to find the payments worthy of scrutiny, but worried that, because they were spread out over many years and were made by numerous corporate entities, “the resources needed to examine would far outweigh any potential benefits,” the report said. In a bit of circular reasoning, the agency ultimately determined that the fees were too “difficult to examine unless they were found to be fraudulent payments.”

Similarly, agency officials initially flagged a detail in the Times’ reporting about how Trump had used $9.7 million in business investment credits, in part related to the renovation of the Old Post Office hotel in Washington, to wipe out his tax obligations for 2016 and 2017. But to pursue it further, they concluded, “the credits would need to be material,” and the committee found that the IRS was ultimately “not interested.” Trump is seeking a refund of nearly all of the $641,931 in income taxes he paid for 2015 using the same credit for historic rehabilitation, the report noted. He wants a refund for all but $750, the same total income tax he paid in both of the following two years.

The internal records indicated that, in determining which issues to pursue, IRS officials discussed “the history of difficult negotiations between Mr. Trump’s counsel and I.R.S. personnel” and fretted that opening new examinations of past tax returns could damage the “good relationship” they had recently established with Trump’s representatives.

Steven M. Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, said the committee’s findings “just goes to show you how far behind the ball the IRS is.”

“It’s unfortunate that they just don’t have the resources or the expertise to keep up with a sophisticated taxpayer like Trump,” he said, “let alone a sophisticated taxpayer like Trump who specializes in obstruction and delay.”

The House Ways and Means Committee holds a meeting, where it voted to make six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns public, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2022.

Arizona governor agrees to dismantle wall made of shipping containers

By JACK HEALY

Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona agreed this week to tear down a makeshift border wall built out of old shipping containers, ending a divisive border security effort that sparked protests and legal challenges.

The agreement came as part of a lawsuit filed last week by the Biden administration against Ducey, a Republican. The federal suit sought to force the governor to remove hundreds of steel shipping containers he had ordered stacked up for miles along Arizona’s southern border in response to what he called Washington’s failure to resolve a migrant crisis.

The Biden administration argued that Ducey’s wall was constructed illegally on federal land.

The agreement to remove the containers comes as border town officials and thousands of migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico are waiting anxiously to see whether the United States will soon end a pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 that has allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants.

Since August, construction crews have hauled old shipping containers to plug gaps in the border fence along a busy migrant corridor in the farm town of Yuma, but have also hauled them to a remote stretch of the Coronado National Forest in southeast Arizona that sees scant migrant crossings compared with other parts of the border. The project, funded by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, has cost at least $82 million, Ducey’s office said.

In addition to trespassing on federal

land, the government accused Arizona of damaging vegetation and seasonal streams in a national forest. It sued Arizona last week to dismantle the wall.

The agreement signed on Wednesday between the governor’s office and federal officials was reached to prevent Washington from seeking a restraining order against the state, according to court records.

C.J. Karamargin, a spokesperson for Du-

cey, said the governor had agreed to remove the hundreds of double-stacked shipping containers because federal officials were taking steps to build new permanent barriers to fill in gaps in the existing border wall.

“We’ve said from the very beginning that the shipping container program is temporary,” Karamargin said. “We’ll happily remove them if the federal government gets serious and does what they’re supposed to do, which is

secure the border. We now have indications that they’re moving closer, that they’re more serious.”

The Homeland Security Department announced in July that it would close four gaps in the existing wall in Yuma, as record numbers of migrants have arrived at the southern border, many surrendering to Border Patrol officers to pursue asylum claims.

It was unclear when crews would begin dismantling Ducey’s container wall, or how much it would cost to remove the 9,000-pound boxes and repair environmental damage done after bulldozers cut roads, blocked streams, and uprooted oaks and junipers.

In Arizona, some Republican sheriffs and local officials in border towns praised the governor, who leaves office next month, for taking border security into his own hands in defiance of the federal government. But critics, including Ducey’s incoming Democratic successor, Katie Hobbs, called the border wall a waste of taxpayer money.

Russ McSpadden, the southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said he was heartened by the news.

“Governor Ducey has wasted countless millions of taxpayer dollars building his damaging and illegal shipping container wall,” McSpadden said in a statement. “Nevertheless, we’re very pleased to see him agree to remove his political stunt.”

For weeks over the past month, McSpadden joined other activists and neighbors upset about the project in gathering in the national forest. They set up a protest camp and managed to halt construction by standing in front of bulldozers.

A section of Arizona’s border barrier made with stacked shipping containers.

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

The polar vortex is descending on the midsection of the United States, bringing bitterly cold Arctic air and causing temperatures to plunge rapidly in many areas. The deep freeze will be accompanied by a major snowstorm that is expected to cause travel chaos.

The vortex is a large rotating expanse of cold air that generally circles the Arctic, but occasionally shifts south from the pole. Vortex-related cold snaps occur regularly in the United States. One of the most damaging occurred in February 2021, when the frigid air reached deep into Texas, resulting in temperatures that were as much as 40 degrees Fahrenheit below normal.

That freeze led to at least 250 deaths and caused extensive damage to the state’s power infrastructure.

As global emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide continue, the Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than other parts of the planet, according to the latest analysis, and the region’s sea-ice coverage is shrinking. So when the vortex meanders southward, two basic questions arise. What role, if any, does climate change play? And will extreme freezes increase as warming continues?

The short answer: Scientists aren’t sure, yet. There are clues, but still more to learn.

“I wish I had a clear answer,” said Steve Vavrus, a climate scientist at the University of Wisconsin. With Jennifer Francis, now at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Massachusetts, Vavrus wrote a seminal 2012 paper that presented the idea that Arctic warming was affecting the polar vortex. “Unfortunately the state of things is still ambiguous,” he said.

What is the polar vortex, exactly?

The vortex is a mass of high-altitude, rotating air that, as the term suggests, occurs over the North Pole region. (There are actually two vortexes, one in the Arctic, the other in the Antarctic, but only the northern one affects weather in the Northern Hemisphere.)

The vortex strengthens and becomes much colder in winter, because with the Northern Hemisphere tilted away from the sun at that time of year, little or no sunlight reaches the Arctic to warm it up.

If you were looking down at the North Pole, the air would look like it was rotating counterclockwise. Some scientists have compared it to a spinning top. The vortex is encircled by the polar jet stream, a band of winds that blows from west to east around the planet.

What happens during a deep freeze?

In normal conditions, the vortex is stable and confined

to the Arctic. But just as a spinning top can start to wobble and drift if it bumps into something, the vortex can be disrupted. It is accompanied by changes to the jet stream, which develops a wavy, snakelike pattern as it circles the globe.

Sometimes the vortex splits into several fragments that move southward. Sometimes, as appears to be the case this week, it becomes stretched, like a rubber band. Either way, the disruption can have several major effects.

Temperatures in the atmosphere over the Arctic can rise, sometimes dramatically. At the same time, the frigid Arctic air moves southward.

If the movement is rapid enough, temperatures in the areas exposed to the mass of cold air can fall by tens of degrees within hours, and can stay extremely low for days or even weeks until the vortex becomes stable again in the North Pole region.

How does the vortex get disrupted?

For climate scientists, this is the crux of the debate.

A pedestrian walks down a sidewalk amid a winter storm in Des Moines, Iowa, Dec. 22, 2022. Record low temperatures and heavy snow are forecast across much of the country leading up to the holiday weekend.

Some scientists say Arctic warming is causing disruptions in the vortex, through the changes in the polar jet stream. Others say that modeling suggests naturally variable factors are driving disruptions instead and that an increase in vortex disruptions that occurred previously — including a noticeable uptick in the 2000s — has not continued.

Judah Cohen, a climate scientist at Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a weather-risk assessment firm in Lexington, Massachusetts, is an author of a paper this year that linked the 2021 Texas freeze to Arctic warming. He sees the same thing happening now.

The basic idea, he said, is that the warmer conditions create larger and more energetic atmospheric waves that make the jet stream wavier, with greater peaks and troughs. That affects the polar vortex circulation.

To use the spinning top analogy, “it’s like if it started banging into things,” he said. “It loses its nice circular shape and in this case becomes more stretched out.” One lobe stretches down into Canada and the United States, bringing an outbreak of cold weather.

Cohen said he’s been studying the subject since 2005, and is more confident than ever about the link to changes in the Arctic. “The evidence is only growing,” he said.

Other scientists are not as certain. In a brief paper in the journal Nature Climate Change in 2020, two researchers at the University of Exeter in England wrote that, although Arctic warming and sea-ice loss were continuing, the short-term trends

in cold extremes, jet-stream waviness and other climate-related measurements in the 1990s and 2000s “have not continued over the past decade,” weakening the argument that rising temperatures in the Arctic were the culprit.

Some experts suggest that rather than warming, other naturally variable elements of the Earth’s climate may be affecting the vortex. Among these, said Ted Shepherd, a climate scientist at the University of Reading in England, are sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which can drive changes to air masses in the Arctic that disrupt the jet stream and vortex.

Will this debate get resolved?

Scientists say that questions over what role Arctic warming may play in extreme cold snaps is an example of the kind of healthy climate-change debates that occur now. It’s not about whether climate change is real — that question has been answered — but what kinds of effects it has, how severe they are and whether they will worsen as warming continues.

Most scientists view this debate as an important one that is still underway. Vavrus said that some aspects “are on pretty solid physical footing.” Among these, he said, is the idea that Arctic warming, by reducing the temperature difference between the Arctic and the tropics, has weakened the jet stream winds. But other aspects, including whether and where warming is making the jet stream wavier, “are the things that we’ve really been wrestling with and remain uncertain,” he said.

“In the early days there was a lot of black and white thinking, including among people like myself, on this question,” Vavrus added. “As more and more evidence has come in, it’s clear that there are many shades of gray.”

Two executives in Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire plead guilty to fraud

puts Bankman-Fried, 30, in an even more perilous legal position. The federal government has accused him of orchestrating a sweeping, yearslong fraud that culminated in the bankruptcy of FTX last month after the crypto equivalent of a bank run. Now two of his closest advisers are cooperating with the government as it pursues that case.

campaign finance offenses.

In a videotaped statement Wednesday night, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Wang and Ellison were charged “in connection with their roles in the frauds that contributed to FTX’s collapse.”

ty to seven counts: two counts of wire fraud and five conspiracy counts involving wire, securities and commodities fraud and money laundering. Wang pleaded guilty to wire fraud and three conspiracy counts, which involved wire, securities and commodities fraud.

The charges against Sam BankmanFried, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, included wire fraud against customers and lenders, as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws.

By DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY, MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN and BENJAMIN WEISER

Two former top executives of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading empire have pleaded guilty to federal criminal fraud charges and are cooperating in the prosecution of the disgraced crypto entrepreneur, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday night.

The two are Caroline Ellison, 28, who was the CEO of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, 29, a founder of FTX, the crypto exchange. They were key lieutenants in Bankman-Fried’s vast business empire, an international web of investments and enterprises that began with the founding of Alameda and FTX.

Two federal regulatory agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, also filed civil fraud charges against Ellison and Wang on Wednesday, building on fraud complaints they brought against BankmanFried last week.

The guilty pleas and cooperation agreements are a major advance in the federal prosecution of Bankman-Fried, who is in U.S. custody after agreeing to be extradited from the Bahamas to face trial in the Southern District of New York.

The combination of criminal and civil charges against the former top executives

Wang and Ellison were not just close colleagues of Bankman-Fried. The three lived together in a luxurious penthouse in the Bahamas, where FTX was based, and Bankman-Fried and Ellison were at times romantically involved.

In the charges against Bankman-Fried, prosecutors and regulators have accused him of diverting billions in customer money for other uses, including buying real estate in the Bahamas, trading cryptocurrencies at Alameda, making campaign donations and investing in other crypto companies. Prosecutors contend he defrauded customers of, investors in and lenders to his crypto trading firm.

The charges revealed Wednesday show that prosecutors and regulators believe Bankman-Fried was far from alone in running his scheme and worked with a close circle of colleagues, who followed his directions and played a key role in executing the fraud. The SEC said that Ellison had misused FTX customer deposits to fund Alameda’s trading activity and that Wang had created software that allowed that diversion of funds to take place.

“Ellison and Wang were active participants in the scheme to deceive FTX’s investors and engaged in conduct that was critical to its success,” the SEC said in a statement.

The collapse of FTX and the prosecution of Bankman-Fried have been a major blow to the crypto industry, which has reeled for months as the prices of digital assets such as bitcoin and ether have plunged and a procession of major companies have filed for bankruptcy. The sudden implosion of FTX has unsettled customers of other crypto trading platforms, which are scrambling to assure investors that their money is safe.

The guilty pleas by Ellison and Wang could push other former high-ranking executives to cooperate with the authorities in the case against Bankman-Fried, who faces charges including fraud, money laundering and

Williams reiterated a point he made last week when his office filed the criminal charges against Bankman-Fried. “If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it,” he said. “We are moving quickly, and our patience is not eternal.”

Williams added that Bankman-Fried was in FBI custody and being brought back to the United States from the Bahamas, and would be presented before a judge as soon as possible. The crypto entrepreneur is expected to appear in U.S. District Court as early as Thursday.

Lawyers for Ellison declined to comment. Ilan Graff, a lawyer for Wang, said, “Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness.”

During a two-week media blitz before his arrest on Dec. 12, Bankman-Fried claimed he had done nothing wrong and never intended to defraud anyone. He also claimed he wasn’t fully aware of what was happening at Alameda.

A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

While the guilty pleas by Ellison and Wang appear to be sealed under court orders, their plea agreements were released by prosecutors Wednesday night. Ellison pleaded guil-

In the agreements, which were signed Monday, Ellison and Wang pledged to “cooperate fully” with the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, and to “truthfully and completely disclose all information concerning all matters” they are asked about.

In its complaint, the SEC said Ellison, under direction from Bankman-Fried, had manipulated the price of a digital currency that FTX created, called FTT, by buying large quantities to prop up its price. Alameda was one of the major firms that was trading FTT and had used the crypto token as collateral for loans it got from other big crypto firms to fund its trading.

Authorities have said that investors, lenders and customers were not aware of how closely connected FTX and Alameda were and that they operated essentially as one entity.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged that Ellison had helped Bankman-Fried by making deceptive and misleading statements about the supposed separation between Alameda and FTX.

Wang helped further those close ties by creating systems that gave Alameda an unfair advantage over other customers in executing trades on the FTX platform, according to the commission.

Stocks

Global stock rally fades as recession worries linger

Futures markets indicated that Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 share index would be down 0.2% on the opening bell, having gained 1.5% in the previous session. Tech-focused Nasdaq 100 contracts also fell 0.2 percent.

Softer gas prices lowered U.S. consumer expectations for 12-month inflation to 6.7 percent this month, the lowest since September 2021, data showed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a separate survey yesterday showed US consumer confidence rose to its highest level since April, beating the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, while strong results from Nike Raised Wall Street too.

“We are still in a bear market,” said Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management. “You get the odd short rally and then it goes flat. There’s very little certainty. The only certainty is that a recession is going to happen.

The S&P 500 is down about 19% to end the year, while MSCI’s broad gauge of global stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) has fallen by the same amount in eight of the past 12 months.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points in December, its seventh hike of the year. Money managers see the Fed’s tightening campaign as likely to push the U.S. economy into recession, which should lead to a reduction in stubbornly high inflation.

“The view is that we are approaching the end of rate hikes and there will probably be a (Fed) pivot,” said Anish Grewal, portfolio manager at hedge fund Enora Global in London.

“Markets are very calm about that,” he said, but “expectations are that we will get to around September next year and we are in a rate cut mode.”

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six others, fell as much as 0.5 percent earlier in the day, before recovering to trade flat. The index is down about 2 percent so far this month.

Sterling eased 0.3% to $1.205 after data showed the UK economy shrank more than first thought in the third quarter.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar eased 0.3 percent to trade around 132.12 yen, having hit a four-month low earlier this week after the Bank of Japan, the world’s largest lender, said it would cut interest rates through 2022. The big central bank has taken a surprisingly defiant turn. .

Investors continued to associate the BOJ’s shock decision to allow government bond yields to rise with an adjustment to its controversial yield curve control policy.

Ten-year government bond yields rose to 0.483% this week, the highest since July 2015 and within the BOJ’s new range of 0.5%.

“Yield increases and a further strengthening of the yen will reduce the value of assets held by Japanese investors,” Capital Economics analysts said.

Capital Economics also now expects the dollar to fall to 125 yen next year.

In US fixed income, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell 3 basis points to 3.656% as inflation expectations eased. This key debt yield, which determines the pricing of

debt worldwide, recently exceeded 4.2% as of the end of October.

Oil prices rose after data showed a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories after a massive blizzard blanketed much of the United States and fuel trips. It was expected to affect related demand.

Returning from Washington, Zelenskyy meets with Polish president

By ANDREW HIGGINS

Heading home after a hero’s welcome in Washington, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine stopped off in Poland on Thursday for his second meeting with a foreign president in two days, capping a hectic flurry of diplomacy aimed at thanking his country’s most robust allies and cementing their support.

Zelenskyy met for two hours with Polish President Andrzej Duda near the airport in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow, a major transit point for Western weapons flowing into nearby Ukraine and for refugees fleeing Ukraine into Poland.

The exact location of the meeting, held a day after Zelenskyy met President Joe Biden at the White House, was kept secret for security reasons. Video of his arrival at the Rzeszow airport showed Zelenskyy bounding down the steps of his plane dressed in green cargo pants, heavy boots

and a military-style winter jacket.

Duda, in a message posted on Twitter, said that the two leaders had discussed “strategic plans for actions and cooperation in the upcoming 2023,” reaffirming Poland’s strong support for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s military.

Poland, which shares a long border with Ukraine, has taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February — far more than any other country — and has provided strong diplomatic and military support. Duda visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in April, blazing a trail since taken by many other foreign leaders and dignitaries.

A statement from the office of the Polish president said that the Ukrainian leader had briefed Duda on his trip to Washington and discussed Ukraine’s relations with Poland “in face of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.” It gave no details.

Zelensky faces prospect of stalemate upon return to Ukraine

Washington, D.C., where he was greeted with standing ovations and a pledge from President Joe Biden to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” is a frigid winter and the prospect that the war will grind to a costly stalemate.

On Wednesday, he sought to bring the sounds and smells of the war’s front lines to the decision makers in Congress, who he said had the ability to speed up Ukraine’s victory and bring the war to an end.

“Every inch of that land is soaked in blood; roaring guns sound every hour,” he said of Bakhmut in the country’s east, where his army is holding ground in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. “The Russians’ tactic is primitive. They burn down and destroy everything they see.”

If his appeal changed any minds in the capitol, it wasn’t immediately apparent. On Wednesday evening, the passage of the U.S. spending bill, with nearly $50 billion in assistance for Ukraine, ground to a halt when senators left for the night without holding a vote. Some Republican lawmakers have been vocal about their opposition to sending more money abroad.

“If your Patriots stop the Russian terror against our cities, it will let Ukrainian patriots work to the full to defend our freedom,” he said in his speech. “When Russia cannot reach our cities by its artillery, it tries to destroy them with missile attacks.”

The trip, a risky gambit coordinated in stealth, was also a projection of strength and confidence amid the daily blare of air raid sirens from Russian attacks and constant power outages. Ukrainian officials cheered on their president’s speech and expressed hopes it would make a difference.

“Each word was charged with Ukraine’s overwhelming energy and spirit,” the country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote on Twitter. “May it inspire millions of people in the U.S. and around the globe to protect what we all hold dear: freedom.”

By VICTORIA KIM

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine wrapped up his first trip abroad since Russia’s invasion began 10 months ago, returning home after having delivered a stirring plea to U.S. lawmakers for additional military aid to help turn the tide of battle. The reality he returns to after a hero’s welcome in

Zelenskyy takes home with him at least one significantboost from the United States: an additional $1.8 billion in military aid announced Wednesday including a Patriot missile battery, one of the most advanced air defense systems. The Patriot will help shore up Ukraine’s ability to counter the missiles and drones that Russia fires at the nation’s energy infrastructure, deepening the suffering of civilians as temperatures dip during the winter.

President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington.

The Ukrainian military has been reliant on American intelligence reports that pinpoint where the Russian Army is at its weakest.

By NATALIE KITROEFF

Around 11 p.m. last Thursday, one of Mexico’s most famous news anchors was driving home from work through his bucolic neighborhood in the capital when gunmen on a motorcycle pulled up and started shooting at him. They hit his car several times before racing off.

The anchor, Ciro Gómez Leyva, escaped unharmed, apparently saved by bulletresistant glass windows that withstood several direct shots.

“Someone wanted to kill me,” Gómez Leyva said on his newscast the following day. “I don’t know why. I don’t know who.”

No one knows who committed the crime or the motive — but the brazen attack on such a well-known journalist sent a clear message to the nation’s media: No one is safe.

Gómez Leyva is a household name, who hosts among the most watched news and radio shows in the country. Yet his car was shot up on a tree-lined street in a wealthy enclave in Mexico City, where killings of journalists have been relatively rare.

In a slew of newspaper columns and in conversations among colleagues, Mexico’s press corps has begun to reckon with the possibility that prominence, once considered a shield against violence, may no longer offer much protection.

“You attack someone as visible and important as Ciro because the cost of doing so is very low,” Salvador Camarena, a newspaper columnist based in Mexico City, said, using Gómez Leyva’s first name. “That message has reached every journalist in Mexico, and it’s obviously terrifying.”

Much of the furor over the attack has been directed at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has had a combative re-

lationship with the media since taking office in 2018, using hourslong daily news conferences to vilify journalists who criticize him.

Since the beginning of his tenure, López Obrador has weaponized his daily news conferences to lash out at journalists by name, putting lists of them up on a big screen and holding a weekly segment called “Who’s Who in Lies,” intended to expose supposed falsehoods published about his administration in the media.

This week, on national television, the president expressed “solidarity” with Gómez Leyva — but also raised the possibility that the attack was staged, and was actually an attempt to destabilize the government.

López Obrador said he couldn’t “discount” the possibility that the assault was planned by “someone who did it to affect us.”

The president’s response triggered a backlash from prominent media figures, who in a letter published Wednesday suggested that he has created a hostile environment for reporters by constantly demonizing the press

“Practically all the expressions of hate toward journalists are incubated, born and spread in the National Palace,” reads the letter, which was signed by 180 journalists. “If President López Obrador does not control his impulses of anger toward critical journalists, the country will enter an even bloodier stage.”

The president’s confrontational response has prompted growing doubt about whether the government can be counted on to protect a press corps under threat — or deliver justice in one of the most high-profile attacks on a journalist in recent memory.

defends the rights of journalists around the world.

Only Ukraine, a war zone, has seen more journalists killed this year.

The slain media workers are among the more visible victims of the carnage that has consumed Mexico, despite the president’s promise to bring peace to the country when he took office four years ago.

Alfonso Margarito Martínez Esquivel, 49, a freelance crime photographer, was shot dead outside his house in Tijuana in January.

In February, Heber López was killed the day after he published an article accusing a local official of corruption. The next month, gunmen murdered Armando Linares López, the editor of a news website in violent Michoacan state, reportedly shooting him at least eight times.

Following the attack on Gómez Leyva, Mexican City officials have started investigating the crime, and the president has promised to get to the bottom of it.

But López Obrador has also continued to name and shame specific journalists he dislikes, while questioning the credibility of the independent press in general. He has not announced any new measures to protect reporters.

“What would happen if this was one of the anchors at ABC, CBS, Fox News, CNN or MSNBC? It would be a major international news story and it would require immediate action by the government,” said Jorge Ramos, an anchor at Univision and frequent target of López Obrador’s broadsides. “In Mexico, absolutely nothing happens.”

It remains unclear why Gómez Leyva was targeted. A prominent media executive, among others, suggested on social media that it might be related to a segment the anchor ran two days before the shooting.

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“In this climate of attacks by the Mexican leader, can the government carry out an independent investigation?” Gómez Leyva said in a WhatsApp message. “I won’t say more than that.”

Mexico has long been one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, and by various measures, 2022 was one of the deadliest years for the press in decades.

Three journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation for their work this year and another 10 were killed in circumstances still under investigation, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit that

In that spot, Gómez Leyva broadcast footage of the suspected leader of a criminal group from the state of Michoacan attending a church service that included police officers. But this week, a lawyer for the man, José Refugio Rodríguez, went on Gómez Leyva’s radio program and denied his client was involved.

On his Tuesday radio show, Gómez Leyva asked his co-host to read the names of all the journalists killed in Mexico this year.

He then addressed the president directly: “They were killed within a territory,” Gómez Leyva said, “where you govern and where you promised that there would be no more violence, that there would be no more impunity and where you have failed catastrophically.”

Then Gómez Leyva asked his co-host to read all the names, one more time.

Mexico’s leader suggested it was staged.

Ciro Gómez Leyva, a leading Mexican news anchor, was attacked by gunmen last week while driving through his neighborhood.

8 teenage girls charged with killing a Toronto man

By VJOSA ISAI and NORIMITSU ONISHI

The eight teenage girls, some as young as 13, made contact with one another on social media and may have never met before. But on Saturday night, they gathered in downtown Toronto and after getting into an altercation wound up surrounding and fatally stabbing a man in an apparent attack over a bottle of liquor, police said.

The killing, near the main transportation nexus in Canada’s largest city, was the latest and one of the most brazen episodes in the region in which people have been randomly targeted by groups of young attackers.

The 59-year-old victim was yet to be identified by the authorities. He had been staying in homeless shelters since the fall, the police said, and on Saturday night he was outside a shelter in the Financial District when the suspects set their eyes on him.

The suspects — including three 13-year-olds, three 14-year-olds and two 16-year-olds — appeared to have stabbed him after attempting to steal a liquor bottle from him, Sgt. Terry Browne of the Toronto Police Service told the CBC Wednesday. All have been charged with second-degree murder.

The killing, which followed another criminal incident involving the teenagers that evening, was the culmination of a meeting that began online, the police said.

The girls had communicated with one another over social media before meeting in person Saturday evening in downtown Toronto, the police said, adding that they came from various parts of the city and did not appear to form a gang.

“We don’t know how or why they met on that evening and why the destination was downtown Toronto,” Browne said in a news conference Tuesday. “We don’t know how long they’ve been acquainted together.”

News of the killing came a day after five people were gunned down in a highrise condominium building outside Toronto by a 73-year-old resident with longheld grievances against members of the condo board. The separate killings in the space of a couple of days come as fears

The corner of York St. and University Ave. in Toronto, Canada, where a reported swarming attack left a man dead and eight teenage girls charged with second degree murder, on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

of crime and violence have been rising in Toronto — even as actual violent crime rates have remained steady or declined in recent years.

Early Sunday morning, the police responded to reports of a wounded man in downtown Toronto, a few blocks from the iconic CN Tower, the authorities said. The man was taken to the hospital, but he died there shortly afterward from his stab wounds.

The police described the attack on the man as “swarming type behavior” — in which victims have been robbed after being swarmed. Several robberies of that type occurred around Toronto this past summer, leading the police to beef up security in affected commercial areas.

The group of girls had been involved in another altercation involving “criminal behavior’’ before encountering the 59-year-old man, Browne said. Three of the girls had “prior contact” with the police before the killing, according to the authorities.

While robberies committed by groups of youths are not a new type of crime, the term used to describe it — “swarming” — is, said Jooyoung Lee, a sociologist at the University of Toronto and an expert on crime. The term — coupled with the stabbing of the man by teenage girls and the mass shooting at the condominium —

fuels a misperception that violent crime is getting worse, Lee said.

“Crime rates might be falling, and certainly Toronto in a comparative perspective is one of the safest big cities in North America,” Lee said. “And yet when there are these kinds of egregious, gratuitous forms of violence, they can warp people’s sensibilities about the safety of a city.”

The term “swarming,” Lee said, “creates this image that you’re not safe anywhere you go and that, if you’re ever in a crowd with young people around, that they might turn on you randomly at a drop of a pin.”

According to the Toronto Police, al-

though theft and robberies have been increasing, there has been little change in homicides and assaults in recent years. There have been 68 homicides in Toronto this year, compared to 81 last year and 96 five years ago. Assaults are slightly below what they were half a decade ago.

The stabbing of the 59-year-old man took place outside the Strathcona, a hotel in the Financial District that was turned into a homeless shelter during the pandemic. On Wednesday, what appeared to be traces of blood could still be seen outside the hotel.

Chris Parker, a manager at Bardi’s Steak House next to the hotel, said that the neighborhood used to be a quiet area frequented by professionals, but that police cars and ambulances are now called regularly. He was at work at the time of the stabbing, he said.

“We’re always hearing sirens in the area, continuously, so I heard sirens around that time, but I didn’t think to look out the window — I just continued to do my paperwork and didn’t really find out until the next day what had happened and how close it was,” Parker said.

Munish Kumar, 35, said he had been staying at the shelter for the past two years. At the time of the attack, he said he had been smoking a cigarette outside the building, but was not aware of the stabbing.

Still, Kumar said he had not felt concerned for his safety in the area.

“There are some people who create a mess around here,” he said, “but it’s OK.”

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Christmas will be on a Sunday this year. Will American workers miss out on one of the few paid holidays most of them get?

I haven’t managed to find data on how many workers get to take the next day off when a major holiday falls on a Sunday. What we do know is that Christmas is one of only five paid holidays available to a majority of U.S. workers. And it’s not as if Americans have many other opportunities to spend time with their families. Compared with many other wealthy countries, we stand out as the no-vacation nation.

Partly this is a matter of law. We’re unique among highincome nations in having no legal requirements that employers offer paid leave and paid vacations; most European countries require that jobs come with at least a month of paid vacation. Japan offers somewhat less — but on the other hand it has an unusual number of required paid holidays, so the Japanese still get quite a lot of mandatory time off.

You might imagine that U.S. employers, even if they aren’t legally required to provide paid leave, would try to attract workers by voluntarily offering time off. But many don’t, or offer very little. Overall, Americans work far more hours per year than their counterparts in other rich countries.

You may be surprised to see that Germans work fewer hours than anyone else. Who thinks of Germany as being big on taking time off? The answer is, anyone who has traveled around Europe in the summer. Visit, say, Florence, Italy, these days, and it’s clear that in the long run the Ghibbelines (who supported the medieval Holy Roman Empire, centered in Germany, over the Guelphs, who supported the pope) emerged as victors.

But back to our own workaholic nation: What’s odd about our lack of time off is that it marks a break with historic trends that have continued in other countries. Until the 20th century, U.S. workers took back a share of the gain from growing prosperity in the form of increased leisure time. The normal workweek fell from around 60 hours in the late 19th century to today’s 40-hour norm, and the number of vacation days grew, so average hours worked over the

course of a year fell.

Americans eventually stopped working less. In other rich nations, however, the downward trend in work continued.

One implication of this somewhat strange divergence is that you need to be a bit careful when making international comparisons of economic performance. I fairly often see assertions to the effect that the U.S. economy is more successful than the economies of Western Europe, because we have higher gross domestic product per capita.

Indeed we do — but a large part of that difference reflects the fact that we work longer hours, rather than higher productivity when we do work. That is, it’s not so much an indicator of superior U.S. economic prowess as it is a result of different choices.

Which raises the question: Who is making the better choice? Would Europeans be better off if they worked as hard as Americans, or would Americans be better off if they took European-style vacations?

A free-market fundamentalist might argue — and some do — that America’s no-vacation economy must be superior because it’s the result of voluntary decisions by workers and employers, whereas Europeans are effectively forced to take vacations by government policy. But there are good reasons to question this fundamentalist position.

Economists Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser and Bruce Sacerdote argued some years ago that there is a “social multiplier” to vacations — that vacation time is more enjoyable if many of your friends and family members also get paid vacations, so you can spend quality time together. In that case, governments may be doing everyone a favor by preventing them from working too much.

I’d add that in at least some jobs — the kinds of jobs held by many people I know — there’s a major signaling problem with taking time off. Employers are all too likely to question the motivation and commitment of workers who ask for more vacation (or even take full advantage of the vacation they’re entitled to), even if they’re just trying to improve their work-life balance. Again, rules that force workers to take some time off may be good for everyone.

On the whole, I do think that Americans work too many

hours and that we’d be happier as a society if we moved at least part of the way toward European-style requirements for time off. Unfortunately, I don’t see much possibility of significant movement in that direction any time soon.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I will be filing a column the day after Christmas.

Intervienen quirúrgicamente al secretario de Salud

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El secretario del Departamento de Salud, Carlos Mellado López, tuvo que ser sometido el jueves, a una intervención quirúrgica en el Puerto Rico Spine Center en Santurce.

Al secretario se le reemplazarán dos discos herniados en el área cervical. El funcionario será operado por el cirujano ortopeda especialista en columna, Christopher Arcalá.

DRNA anuncia horario de parques nacionales durante el periodo navideño

SAN JUAN – El Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) anunció a principios de esta semana el horario de las instalaciones del Programa de Parques Nacionales (PPN) durante el período navideño, que comprende del viernes, 23 de diciembre de 2022 al 6 de enero de 2023.

Los siguientes centros vacacionales operarán en su horario regular, incluyendo los días festivos del 24 y 31 de diciembre de 2022, así́ como el 1, 2 y 6 de enero de 2022: Parque Nacional Boquerón; Parque Nacional Monte del Estado y Parque Nacional Villas

del Lago Caonillas. El parque urbano Julio E. Monagas, en Bayamón y el Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera, en San Juan también permanecerán abiertos en esas fechas.

De igual modo, los bosques y áreas naturales estarán operando de 7:00 de la mañana a 12:00 del mediodía el día 24 de diciembre, pero estarán cerrados los días 25 y 26 de diciembre. Estos reanudarán sus operaciones el martes, 27 de diciembre.

Por otro lado, los balnearios bajo el PPN estarán cerrados los días 24, 25 y 31 de diciembre de 2022; así como los días 1, 2 y 6 de enero de 2023.

Finalmente, los centros vacacionales Punta San-

El también, vicepresidente de Spine Center, explicó que la intervención consiste en un reemplazo de un pedazo de hueso por metal y se le pondrá un pedazo de placa con tornillos para mantener la estabilidad del disco en el área cervical.

El Puerto Rico Spine Center consiste de un grupo multidisciplinario de nueve especialistas de columna; de cuatro cirujanos adultos, un ortopeda pediátrico, un fisiatra y tres sub especialistas en manejo del dolor.

tiago, en Humacao; Villas de Añasco y el Parque Las Cavernas del Río Camuy permanecen cerrados al público general.

Los viernes 23 y 30 de diciembre fueron concedidos por el gobernador como días libres, sin cargos a licencias, para los servidores públicos; y los días 25 de diciembre y 1 y 6 de enero, son considerados como feriados.

Hugo Savinovich no luchará y por ello cancela evento DEMONMANÍA

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El luchador y locutor de la lucha libra, Hugo Savinovich anunció el jueves la cancelación del evento DEMONMANÍA porque supuestamente un doctor no le dio el permiso para luchar en ese evento. “Hoy recibí una noticia horrible y es que había estado bien, había perdido más de cien libras y todo se conspiró para una tormenta perfecta y hoy me dijo mi doctor que no podía autorizar que yo pudiera luchar en DE-

MONMANÍA”, dijo Savinovich en un Facebook Live de Lucha Libre Online.

Explicó que decidieron no sustituir con otro luchador y Savinovich tomó la decisión de cancelar el evento.

DEMONMANÍA La Batalla Final se debía celebrar el sábado 21 de enero en el Coliseo Mario Quijote Morales de Guaynabo.

Sin embargo, a través de la plataforma Contralona, el rival de Savinovich, Su Majestad, El Profe, reaccionó a la noticia.

“La falta de profesionalismo de que me llama mi hijo Luis que está en la Florida, para decirme que habían cancelado la lucha de DEMONMANÍA, y yo, que soy el protagonista de ese evento me lo dice alguien y ellos no tuvieron los co… de decírmelo a mi, eso no me gustó”, dijo El Profe en Contralona.

“Cancelar todo un evento porque a Hugo le pica el fondillo, esa no me la trago”, añadió.

“Le dio miedo olímpico al enfrentarse al Profe”, concluyó.

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El informe preliminar de COVID-19 del Departamento de Salud (DS) reportó el jueves 9 muertes y 238 personas hospitalizadas.

El total de muertes atribuidas es de 5,499.

Hay 213 adultos hospitalizados y 25 menores. El monitoreo cubre el periodo del 5 al 19 de diciembre 2022.

La tasa de positividad está en 26.22 por ciento.

POR CYBERNEWS

‘Carol of the Bells,’ a Christmas staple from Ukraine, a century later

By ROB LeDONNE

For years, composer John Williams made the twinkling Christmas favorite “Carol of the Bells” a staple of his seasonal program.

“It’s a beloved carol that beautifully evokes the wonder and excitement of the holiday season,” he said in a recent interview. “It was always a highlight of our annual Boston Pops holiday concerts for the many years that I conducted the orchestra.”

The first time Mannheim Steamroller founder Chip Davis played it for an audience, it “caught everybody off guard,” he recalled of his own bombastic arrangement, first released in 1988 for the group’s second holiday album, the blockbuster “A Fresh Aire Christmas.” “It’s a really invigorating tune and they never heard me do anything quite like it.”

A malleable song that conjures joyful exuberance or aching melancholy depending on the context, this year “Carol of the Bells” conveys both. The 100th anniversary of its debut American performance was Oct. 5, and it is being celebrated as one of Ukraine’s shining contributions to world culture at a time when the country is enduring a devastating war with Russia that is about to stretch into its 11th month.

“It’s something I think about all of the time,” said Tetyana Filevska, the creative director of the Ukrainian Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine. The concert at Carnegie Hall that honored the centennial earlier this month was spearheaded by Filevska and her team, in association with Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it showcased the Shchedryk Children’s Choir, the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York and the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America. It was a fitting location considering its American debut occurred on the same stage a century ago.

Then as now, Ukraine was under threat from Russia, a shadow of an anxious past that still extends over the country. “We started planning the 100th-anniversary show two years ago,” Filevska said in a phone interview the day after the concert. “Back then, we had something very positive and cheerful in mind. But when the invasion broke out, we at first doubted we’d even be able to complete this. It was really hard to have to organize something while there’s a full-scale invasion happening in your country.”

That complicated history of “Carol of the Bells” has embodied a grim motif since its inception. Ukrainian composer and music

teacher Mykola Leontovych first arranged the song, which has roots in Ukrainian folk music, christening it “Shchedryk” to celebrate the new year (its title shared a root with “Shchedrist,” Ukrainian for generosity). Ukrainian American Peter J. Wilhousky, a choral director and music director for New York City Public Schools, wrote and published new English lyrics in 1936 with the title “Carol of the Bells,” adding the seasonal signifiers “sweet silver bells” and announcing “Christmas is here.”

“Bountiful evening, bountiful evening, a New Year’s carol,” went the original Ukrainian verses, which centered on the fluttering innocence of a bird and the hope it brings. “A little swallow flew into the household.” Leontovych’s melodic foundation electrified audiences as an a cappella piece during this early iteration.

Leah Batstone, the artistic director of the Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival, who is working on a book on Ukrainian musical modernism, noted that the song stands out from other holiday fare. “It’s festive but not over the top,” she said in a phone interview. “It’s restrained. There’s a sophistication about it that’s not common, I guess, when it comes to Christmas music.”

Davis, of Mannheim Steamroller, suggested that the song has a dramatic and mystical quality that demands a certain sleight of hand from an arranger. “Most Christmas carols are what’s called strophic songs and depend on the words changing to extend the song out,” he said. “Since this is an extremely repetitive piece, you have to come up with different techniques for each verse and chorus to extend the arrangement.”

Many have been tempted to try from across the pop spectrum, including symphonic rock act Trans-Siberian Orchestra, singer Andra Day, the band Barenaked Ladies, country star LeAnn Rimes and the vocal group Pentatonix. A young Beyoncé performed the song a cappella in an original arrangement called “Carol of the Bells aka Opera of the Bells” with Destiny’s Child in 2001. Pop violinist Lindsey Stirling also recorded a popular version in 2017.

“In my arrangement, I really wanted to capture the dramatic nature of the song through electronic sonics while still staying true to the original,” Stirling said in an interview. “It has the perfect combination of whimsy and mystery, and as an instrumentalist I’ve always thought that it is the coolest instrumental jam that has ever been written.”

But it’s Williams who helped further cement “Carol of the Bells” into the holiday mu-

sic vernacular when he included it in his 1992 score for “Home Alone,” which was set during Christmas.

“I don’t particularly recall who suggested its inclusion in the film, but it was used to great effect in the church scene where the young protagonist first decides to protect his home from the villains of the story,” Williams said. “I also interpolated the theme in the music I composed for the subsequent scene where Kevin sets his many ingenious booby traps throughout the house. I suppose for this reason, the music has become somewhat associated with the success of the film.”

As the original “Shchedryk” gained prominence in the late 1910s as a popular a cappella, it wound up providing a soundtrack to tumult. The country was embroiled in the Bolshevik Revolution, which would later pave the way for the Russian Civil War and the subsequent creation of the Soviet Union. Simultaneously, Leontovych’s reputation as a star of Ukrainian culture was on the rise. After fleeing Kyiv upon its capture by the White Army, he founded a music school in the western Ukrainian town of Tul’chyn. But on Jan. 23, 1921, he was targeted during a visit to his parents’ home, and an undercover Russian agent killed Leontovych in his sleep, part of a concerted effort to wipe away Ukrainian culture.

“Unfortunately history is repeating itself today in the worst manner,” Filevska said, referring to the October murder of conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko in his home after he refused to perform in a concert in the Russian-occupied city

of Kherson.

Dora Chomiak, CEO of Razom for Ukraine, a presenter of the 100th-anniversary concert, said, “When ‘Shchedryk’ premiered at Carnegie, it was part of the same effort to defend an independent Ukraine.” In advance of the performance, the organization posted a video of members of the children’s choir rehearsing in the dark as the country grappled with rolling blackouts.

“I know this is said an awful lot, but while history doesn’t repeat itself, it does rhyme,” Batstone said. “It’s tragic that in 2022 we are still having the same conversations and exerting the same efforts on behalf of the same cause that was happening in 1922.” When “Shchedryk” premiered at Carnegie Hall that October, performed by the Ukrainian National Chorus and conducted by Alexander Koshetz, Leontovych’s murder was still top of mind.

A century later, the anniversary presentation served as both a message of resilience, as well as one of awareness. “It is so important that, just as it did 100 years ago, Shchedryk’s melody plays on this stage,” Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska said in a videotaped message shown at the performance. “They are trying to silence our voice, but it rings out.”

Filevska, sounding weary yet hopeful, noted, “Of course the song sounds so different in this situation.”

“It’s much more than just another Christmas song,” she added. “It’s a symbol of what’s been happening to our country and our people for the last century.”

The Shchedryk Children’s Choir onstage at Carnegie Hall earlier this month. The group performed as part of a 100th-anniversary celebration of the American debut of the song now known as “Carol of the Bells.”

The San Juan Daily Star

December 23-25, 2022 16

Inside the Oscars’ best-actress battle royal

By KYLE BUCHANAN

By their very nature, awards shows are designed to exclude, barring all but a few from the glory of earning a nomination.

Still, this year’s race for the best-actress Oscar is so stacked with contenders that I’m ready to comb the academy bylaws for a workaround. Are five slots really enough to honor a field this formidable? Couldn’t we swipe a few more from the wan best-actor category, at least?

The truth is, even 10 slots would barely scratch the surface of what the best-actress race has to offer. Many of the season’s most acclaimed films, like “Tár” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” have given careerbest signature roles to their leading ladies, although only one woman can collect the Oscar. Meanwhile, a vast array of up-andcomers, actresses playing against type and underdogs worth a second look will be vying simply to make the final five. Here are the women contending in this season’s most exciting category.

The front-runners

In the fictional world of “Tár,” the conniving conductor played by Cate Blanchett has been showered with an absurd amount of awards. By the end of this season, Blanchett herself may keep pace with her character.

The two-time Oscar winner’s bravura performance — she learned German, orchestra conducting and piano for the role — has netted the most notable prizes so far: In addition to nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards, Blanchett won the Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice Film Festival and a pair of leading trophies from the New York Film Critics Circle and Los Angeles Film Critics Association. The last time Blanchett triumphed with the critics groups on both coasts, she was well on her way to winning her second Oscar, for “Blue Jasmine.”

Michelle Yeoh came close to snagging a supporting-actress nomination for “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), but this time, she’s undeniable: The 60-year-old’s leading role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” as an ordinary woman who becomes the multiverse’s last hope, should earn Yeoh her first Oscar nod.

The role shows off everything Yeoh is capable of — including her athleticism, precise

Robbie in ‘Babylon’

character work and sense of humor — and she has teared up in interviews while discussing how rarely a movie like that is offered to an Asian actress. In a recent awards roundtable, Yeoh told the other actresses, “I honestly look at all of you with such envy because you get an opportunity to try all the different roles, but we only get that opportunity maybe once in a long, long time.” Indeed, no Asian woman has ever won best actress, and after 94 ceremonies, the only winner of color in the category remains Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball.”

For playing a character based on Steven Spielberg’s mother in “The Fabelmans,” Michelle Williams is likely to score her fifth Oscar nomination, which puts her behind Glenn Close and Amy Adams as the three living actresses who’ve been nominated the most times without having won. That gives Williams a potent “she’s due” narrative that could siphon votes from both Blanchett and Yeoh; it helps, too, that she gives her all to the part, playing a vivacious woman whose spirit couldn’t be contained by her marriage.

“Till” star Danielle Deadwyler won the first lead-performance trophy of the season at last month’s Gotham Awards, and she’ll need that momentum to overcome striking snubs from the Independent Spirits and Golden Globes. Still, her emotionally precise performance as the mother of Emmett Till has Oscar-friendly heft, since voters often gravitate toward an actor playing a historical figure.

It’s rarer that Oscar voters make room for an action heroine in the best-actress category: Although Sigourney Weaver earned a nomination for “Aliens,” Charlize Theron found no traction for “Mad Max: Fury Road.” But there’s more to what Viola Davis does

in “The Woman King” than just wielding a spear. Her fierce warrior is weary, and her battle yells pack a cathartic punch. If the movie can make it into the best-picture lineup, Davis should be swept in.

Damien Chazelle’s debauched Hollywood dramedy “Babylon” has earned wildly mixed reviews, but the director helmed two Oscar-winning performances — Emma Stone in “La La Land” and J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash” — and that pedigree has pushed Margot Robbie into contention for her role as a fledgling actress convinced of her own star quality. Nominations for “I, Tonya” and “Bombshell” prove that voters like Robbie in ambitious-striver mode, although the movie is stuffed so full of characters that she can’t quite dominate the proceedings like some of her best-actress competition.

The women waiting in the wings

Can two Oscar favorites overcome muted streaming launches in a year when theatrical contenders reign supreme? “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” hands Emma Thompson a sexually frank showcase role that had Oscar pundits buzzing at January’s Sundance Film Festival, but the film’s quiet June debut on Hulu drew fewer headlines. And despite a best-picture win this year for “CODA,” Apple TV+ still struggles to get all those “Ted Lasso” and “Severance” viewers to watch exclusive movies like “Causeway,” although the film features a strong, back-to-basics lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence.

At least “Blonde” managed a streaming debut that got people talking, though the punishing Netflix drama about Marilyn Monroe had some awfully loud detractors. Can its star, Ana de Armas, rise above those pans? She managed a Golden Globe nomination, at least, and Oscar voters love to single out a rising ingénue, but the film will prove a tough sit in a year with plenty of better-received options.

In the first hour of “Empire of Light,” Olivia Colman plays a movie-theater worker who opens herself up to an appealing romance, but in the second, the character goes off her meds and the movie goes off the rails. Even if those two halves don’t quite cohere, Colman definitely gets some big moments to play, and the actress has so quickly become an Oscar mainstay (over the past four years, she has been nominated three times and won once) that she should be considered a perennial option for the final five.

Rooney Mara is spirited and sensitive in

“Women Talking,” but the studio’s decision to campaign her as a lead actress is tenuous: In this ensemble drama about conflicted Mennonite women, Mara has scarcely more screen time than Claire Foy or Jessie Buckley, who are being positioned as supportingactress contenders. Then again, Mara is no stranger to category high jinks: Six years ago, she was nominated as a supporting actress for “Carol,” even though she was clearly playing that film’s protagonist.

The dark-horse contenders

If social media memes could be counted as accolades, Mia Goth would surely give Blanchett’s haul a run for her money: The young actress’s work in “Pearl,” in which she plays a farm girl who’d kill for stardom, has Twitter awash in Goth GIFs. Ti West’s Technicolor horror drama isn’t the sort of thing that Oscar voters usually go for, but Goth is fearsomely committed, knocking out a tour de force, eight-minute monologue that’s topped only by a sustained closing shot of the actress smiling until she cries. At the very least, it’d make for one memorable Oscar clip.

I hope that as the membership of the academy grows ever more international, more powerhouse performances will be recognized in languages other than English. In Park Chan-wook’s South Korean noir “Decision to Leave,” Tang Wei is a terrific femme fatale, while Léa Seydoux delivers her finest work as a single mother in the French drama “One Fine Morning.” And Oscar voters who regret snubbing Vicky Krieps for “Phantom Thread” could make it up to her by checking out the royal drama “Corsage,” in which she plays Empress Elisabeth of Austria with beguiling irreverence.

Comedic actresses are too often undervalued by Oscar voters, but Aubrey Plaza spent 2022 proving she was capable of much more: Fans of her breakout performance in HBO’s “The White Lotus” should check out her dark, edgy work in the drama “Emily the Criminal,” which earned nominations from the Gothams and Indie Spirits. And “Nope,” which topped the Times critic A.O. Scott’s list of the best films of the year, boasts a charismatic star turn by Keke Palmer that recently earned a win from the New York Film Critics Circle, even if the group had to pretend she gave a supporting performance to get her out of the way of Blanchett’s leading win. Normally, I’d discourage that kind of category fraud, but in this crowded year, I sympathize with the desire to bend some rules.

Margot

or depressed? Psychiatrists reach out to teens of color

By MATT RICHTEL

Dr. Brittany Stallworth was in fifth grade when she received her first suspension. She and four girlfriends had worn lime-green shirts to school to celebrate the birthday of one of the girls, whose favorite color was green.

“We were accused of promoting gang activity,” Stallworth recalled recently. They were among just a handful of Black children in their private school outside Detroit. Later that day, at home, her parents warned her: “You have to understand how people are going to interpret things, how you are going to be perceived.”

Two decades later, Stallworth is a resident in psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, where she is part of a team of mental health specialists, led by Dr. Sarah Vinson, that focuses on the needs of low-income children and teenagers of color, groups often overlooked in the ongoing adolescent mental health crisis.

Every Tuesday, the team runs a clinic from the 15th floor of an elegant high-rise in downtown Atlanta. There, they conduct telehealth visits with young patients and then, among themselves, discuss symptoms, diagnoses and the medications, if any, to prescribe.

Such dedicated care is unusual for all but the most fortunate. According to a study published in 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry, one-fourth of communities in the top 25% income bracket in the United States have a practicing mental health specialist. In contrast, among the poorest income quartile, only 8% of the lowest-income communities have such a practice. Across the country, the burden is often shouldered by school counselors and time-strapped primary-care doctors.

The lack of specialized and long-term care has contributed to poor teens of color being underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Black children and adolescents are more likely to be diagnosed with a disorder involving hostility or aggression than their white counterparts are, even when their symptoms are similar, according to an analysis published in 2019 in the journal Families and Society. And they are less likely to be diagnosed with “internalizing” disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

“What you’re seeing is that behavior that looks disruptive may be post-traumatic stress or depression,” said Dr. Warren Ng, president of the American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and a psychiatrist at the Columbia University School of Medicine. This misperception may be the result of prejudice but also of the simple fact that, on average, teenagers of color spend less time being seen by the right mental-health professional. Diagnoses are being made by “people with different levels of training and also different levels of cultural training,” Ng said.

For adolescents, such a misdiagnosis can be a fork in the road, leading to the wrong care, improper medication, school detention or misperception by a justice system that is inclined to view adolescents labeled hostile as inherently threatening.

Vinson, interim chair of psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, assumed leadership of the Tuesday clinic in 2019; their work addresses the inequity. All of the doctors

currently on the team are Black, but she emphasized that a psychiatrist does not need to be a person of color to effectively treat adolescents of color. Still, she said, “lived experience” helps. “Brittany was a Black girl and a Black woman before she was a Black doctor,” Vinson said of Stallworth. “She brought that experience into the role as a physician.”

The Boy Who Nearly Burned

On a recent Tuesday morning, Vinson listened as the other doctors described their cases. Stallworth began: She had just finished a video session with a middle school boy who has been a clinic patient for almost four years. Several years prior, his mother set fire to the family’s house, with him in it.

At the time, a clinician at a different organization diagnosed the boy, then 9, with oppositional defiance disorder, or ODD, a condition characterized by chronic hostility and lack of cooperation, Vinson said. The boy’s family subsequently met with her, and she was dubious. Over several exams, she had observed symptoms beyond irritability: The boy slept poorly and, during the day, he sometimes banged his head against the wall.

Vinson suspected the boy was diagnosed with ODD partly because he had reacted testily to the other clinician during examination. She was also concerned that the clinician improperly prescribed him an antipsychotic medication and a mood stabilizer — medications, she said, “that have really substantial side effects and are used only when absolutely necessary.”

Eventually, the Morehouse team changed the boy’s diagnosis to anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and prescribed him Zoloft, an antidepressant with anti-anxiety properties, and Clonidine, a sleep aid. He has been in biweekly talk therapy since 2019, interrupted briefly by COVID-19, with his counselors advised by the Morehouse team.

During the recent Tuesday exam, the boy’s grandmother reported to Stallworth that his teacher said he had been acting out in class, having outbursts and speaking sharply to the teacher. Stallworth talked with the boy at length, and the grandmother told her that the boy’s “mood is good” at home. The boy sometimes banged his head in his sleep, the grandmother noted, but she felt it was involuntary rather than self-

harm and did not wake him.

Stallworth recommended a slight increase in the Zoloft dosage, and Vinson agreed, urging close supervision of the boy. “He can change up real fast,” she said. “He can go from being this good kid to getting arrested.”

Dr. Darron Lewis, who is completing a fellowship specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry and serves as Vinson’s aide-de-camp, said, “It’s not that he’s a bad kid.”

“His reaction might be a little bigger than someone else’s reaction,” he said. “And some might see that reaction as dangerous and call the cops. He’s not a criminal, nothing like that.”

‘A Harsher Diagnosis’

Going back a decade, research has highlighted an imbalance in the diagnoses that Black and white patients receive. The 2019 analysis in Families and Society, which found that diagnoses for ODD and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, were unequally distributed between Black and white adolescents, concluded: “There are biases in the way people see Black children that have them receive a harsher diagnosis.”

Its conclusion built on prior research. A 2007 study examined the diagnoses of 1,189 children and adolescents, 74% of whom lived below the poverty line, and found that “Black and Native Hawaiian youth were more likely than white youth to be diagnosed with disruptive behavioral disorders.”

Another study, published in 2006, found that Black children and adolescents in two states, Indiana and New Jersey, were more frequently diagnosed with disruptive disorders than white patients were, and less frequently diagnosed with internalized disorders such anxiety and depression.

That study considered several possible reasons for the differences: Black children and teenagers faced more trauma that led to aggressive behavior; Black families or communities considered some behaviors acceptable that teachers or clinicians found threatening; a young Black person might not be acculturated to express sadness, so an unrecognized depression is overshadowed “when they are boisterous and acting out”; and clinicians were biased.

Of course, the diagnoses can be appropriate. But when misapplied, the consequences can be lasting, said Kess Ballentine, a researcher at Wayne State University and the author of the 2019 analysis. Teachers and law enforcement officials may be prone to see such diagnoses as an indication that youngsters are inherently hostile or aggressive — “born bad” — and funnel them into the justice system rather than into counseling. These diagnoses are “a tributary to the school-toprison pipeline,” Ballentine said. “We need to do something about this.”

She also said such consequences may be lost on many well-meaning but time-strapped counselors whose diagnoses are aimed at getting help for children and teens who are acting out.

Quite often, what is lacking are mental health professionals with the bandwidth and expertise to get to the bottom of the problem, Ng said: “Poor kids and kids of color don’t have the luxury of time with us.”

The Hurt Building at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta houses the psychiatry department on Oct. 4, 2022.

‘Disruptive,’

RIP InSight: Dust shuts off NASA marsquake detector after 4 years

By KENNETH CHANG

NASA’s Mars InSight spacecraft is dead. For months, mission managers have been expecting this as dust accumulated on the lander’s solar panels, blocking the sunlight the stationary spacecraft needs to generate power.

InSight, which arrived on the surface of Mars more than four years ago to measure the red planet’s seismological shaking, was last in touch Thursday. But nothing was heard during the last two communication attempts, and NASA announced Wednesday that it was unlikely for it ever to hear from InSight again.

“I feel sad, but I also feel pretty good,” Bruce Banerdt, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in an interview. “We’ve been expecting this to come to an end for some time.”

He added, “I think that it’s been a great run.”

InSight — the name is a compression of the mission’s full name, Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — was a diversion from NASA’s better known rover missions, focusing on the mysteries of Mars’ deep interior instead of searching for signs of water and possible extinct life on the red planet. The $830 million mission aimed to answer questions about the planet’s structure, composition and geological history.

Mars lacks plate tectonics, the sliding of pieces of crust that shape the surface of our planet. But marsquakes occur nonetheless, driven by other stresses such as the shrinking and cracking of the crust as it cools.

The mission’s final year proved particularly eventful, as its instruments detected vibrations from a sizable space rock, 15 to 40 feet in diameter, hitting Mars 2,000 miles away from the spacecraft on Christmas Eve last year. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was then able to photograph the new crater and chunks of underground ice that were kicked up to the surface by the impact. That ice discovery was closer to the equator than any spotted previously, a potential resource for future astronauts.

In May, InSight measured a marsquake registering 4.7 magnitude, the largest of the mission.

The spacecraft’s seismometer lived up to scientists’ expectations. It was the first time that quakes have been detected on another planet. (It was, however, not the first off-Earth quakes. During the Apollo missions, NASA as-

In

tronauts left seismometers on the moon, and those registered numerous moonquakes.)

The seismic waves bouncing around the interior of Mars essentially provided a sonogram of the planet, offering new details about the crust, mantle and core.

This was the biggest result of the mission, Banerdt said, “to actually map out the deep interior of the planet.”

The crust below InSight turned out thinner than expected, about 15 to 25 miles. The red planet’s core is still molten, somewhat a surprise to scientists because Mars is much smaller than Earth. The core is also larger than

expected — 1,120 miles in diameter — and less dense than predicted, which points to lighter elements mixed in with the iron. Those elements would lower the melting point, which could help explain why the core is not solid.

The geological structure helps scientists understand how quickly heat is seeping out of Mars, and that in turn helps them reconstruct what the surface may have been like several billion years ago and how habitable the surface may have been back then.

“We broke new ground, and our science team can be proud of all that we’ve learned

along the way,” Philippe Lognonné of Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, principal investigator of InSight’s seismometer, said in a statement from NASA.

However, a second instrument, which was designed to burrow 16 feet underground, was never able to go far beneath the surface, foiled by unexpectedly clumpy soil. The device, nicknamed “the mole,” was to measure heat flow coming from the deep interior of Mars.

“That was a big disappointment,” Banerdt said.

Other instruments on InSight measured Martian weather and remnants of an ancient magnetic field that are preserved in the rocks.

Banerdt said it was still possible that InSight could pop back to life, especially if one of the small dust devil cyclones that skitter across the Martian landscape passes over the spacecraft and cleans off the dust.

If the solar panels can charge up the batteries, InSight would try to restart and try to get back in touch. Radio transmissions from a revived InSight could show up as interference in communications sent from other NASA spacecraft at Mars.

“If we start seeing that signal consistently, that would tell us that perhaps InSight is back in business,” Banerdt said.

As InSight comes to an end, one of the other active NASA spacecraft on the surface of Mars, the Perseverance rover, is setting the stage for a future mission. It has started dropping onto the ground 10 tubes containing rock samples that are about the size of a stick of chalk.

Perseverance has been drilling a variety of rocks in the Jezero Crater where it landed. A follow-up mission still in the planning stages, Mars Sample Return, is to bring the rocks back to Earth for scientists to study in their laboratories.

The rover is still carrying other tubes — for the rocks drilled so far, two samples have been drilled — and the plan is for the rover to bring the sample tubes to the Mars Sample Return lander.

The samples that are being dropped on the ground now are in essence a backup in case something goes wrong with Perseverance before the Mars Sample Return lander gets there. In that case, the plan would be for the lander to set down near the samples that Perseverance had already dropped, and then helicopters, similar to the Ingenuity Marscopter that is currently accompanying the rover,

would retrieve the samples.

an image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech, sunset on Mars on April 25, 2019. After four years of making important discoveries about the interior of the red planet, NASA’s Mars InSight spacecraft lost power because of Martian dust covering its solar panels.

In an image provided by NASA/JPL-Caltech, one of the Mars InSight lander’s last images, showing its seismometer resting on the Martian surface on Dec. 11, 2022. After four years of making important discoveries about the interior of the red planet, the stationary lander lost power because of Martian dust covering its solar panels.

LEGAL NOTICE

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BOSCO CREDIT X, LLC, BY FRANKLIN CREDIT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION AS SERVICER

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RODRIGUEZ

Demandados Civil Núm.: CG2020CV01227.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA - IN REM. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, el 30 DE ENERO DE 2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: CONDOMINIO BORINQUEN PARK de Caguas. Apartamento: A-205. Cabida: 81.276 Metros Cuadrados. Linderos: Noroeste, con el apartamento A-204 en 27 pies 6 pulgadas. Sureste, con áreas comunes en 27 pies 3 pulgadas. Noreste, con el patio en 31 pies 111/2 pulgadas. Suroeste, con áreas comunes de 31 pies 111/2 pulgadas. Unidad de vivienda de forma sustancialmente cuadrada de un solo nivel en el Edifico “A” del proyecto CONDOMINIO BORINQUEN PARK APARTMENTS, situado en el Barrio PUEBLO del término municipal de CAGUAS, construida de hormigón y bloques de hormigón conteniendo sala-comedor, cocina, 3 habita-

ciones y un balo. La puerta de entrada está localizada por su colindancia suroeste por donde tiene acceso a los elementos comunes Participación en los elementos comunes de 0.0209 por ciento. Le pertenece el uso y disfrute del espacio de estacionamiento identificado con el mismo número del apartamento para un automóvil. Finca número 53,924, inscrita al folio 255 del tomo 1632 de Caguas, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I. La hipoteca antes descrita consta inscrita al folio 256 del tomo 1632 de Caguas, Finca número 53,924, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I, inscripción 4a. Propiedad localizada en: COND. BORINQUEN PARK, APT. A-205, CAGUAS, PR 00725. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $77,430.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, el 6 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $51,620.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $38,715.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, el 13 DE FEBRERO DE

2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $83,661.74 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $8,810.33 en intereses acumulados al 19 de abril de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 6.75% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $645.33 de interés deferido; $489.87 en cargos por demora; más la suma de $505.01 en fondos adeudados; $3,050.01 en adelantos de gastos legales; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $7,743.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 23 de noviembre de 2022. CARLOS DELGADO CRUZ, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. ÁNGEL GÓMEZ GÓMEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #593.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE ARSENIO CARABALLO TORRES, COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON POSIBLE

INTERÉS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”) Demandados Civil Núm.: PO2022CV00363. (406). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL. A: SUCESION DE ARSENIO CARABALLO TORRES, COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”); LA AUTORIDAD PARA EL FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO, POR TENER HIPOTECA EN GARANTÍA DE PAGARÉ A SU FAVOR POR LA SUMA DE $15,000.00.

Yo, RAFAEL A. SANTIAGO ORTIZ, 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 2 DE FEBRERO DE 2023 A LAS 2:45 DE LA TARDE en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, Ponce, 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 Ponce 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 9 DE FEBRERO DE 2023 A LAS 2:45 DE LA TARDE y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 16 DE FEBRERO DE 2023

A LAS 2:45 DE LA TARDE en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta

se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número Veintidós (22) del Bloque “K” de la URBANIZACIÓN MONTBLANC, radicado en el Barrio Susua Bajo del término municipal de Yauco, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de TRESCIENTOS PUNTO CUARENTA (300.40) METROS CUADRADOS. En linderos: NORTE, con el solar número Veintitrés (23), en una distancia de veintitrés punto cero ocho (23.08) metros; SUR, con el solar número Veintiuno (21), en una distancia de veintitrés punto cero ocho (23.08) metros; ESTE, con el solar número Cuatro (4), en una distancia de trece punto cero cero(13.00) metros, y por el OESTE, con la Calle “G”, en una distancia de trece punto cero cero (13.00) metros. Sobre dicho solar enclava una casa de concreto y bloques para fines residenciales. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 166 vuelto del tomo 471 de Yauco, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca número 10,116, inscripción décimo primera. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización MontBlanc Gardens, Calle G, K22, Yauco, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $40,922.34 de principal, intereses al 6.50% anual, desde el día 1ro de diciembre de 2019, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $5,550.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están liquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $55,500.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $37,000.00 y de necesitarse una tercera subasta la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir la suma de $27,750.00. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta 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 esta es mayor. 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,

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 encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $15,000.00, sin intereses, vencedero a los 8 años, según consta de la Escritura Número 23, otorgada en Yauco, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Público Joaquín Torres Colón; se encuentra inscrita al folio 166 vuelto del tomo 471 de Yauco, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca número 10,116, inscripción décimo segunda. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, a 22 de noviembre de 2022.

RAFAEL A. SANTIAGO ORTIZ, ALGUACIL #919, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

Demandante V. ROSALINA

TAPIA VELÁZQUEZ

Demandado Civil Núm.: CA2022CV01092.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTE-

CA.

ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 29 de noviembre de 2022, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Villa Carolina, situada en el Barrio Hoyo Mulas de Carolina, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número veinticinco de la manzana diecinueve, con un área de trescientos treinta y tres metros cuadrados con veinticuatro centímetros cuadrados, en lindes: por el NORTE, con el solar veintiséis, en distancia de veinticinco metros y quince centímetros; por el SUR, con el solar veinticuatro, distancia de veinticinco metros y quince centímetros; por el ESTE, con la calle diecinueve distancia de trece metros y veinticinco centímetros; y por el OESTE, con paseo sombreado, distancia de trece metros y veinticinco centímetros.

Contiene una casa de concreto reforzado, diseñada para una familia. Inscrita en la finca número 12,222, al folio 246 del tomo 323 de Carolina. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Carolina.

La propiedad ubica en: Calle 19 Bloq. 19#25, Villa Carolina 2da Ext. Carolina, PR. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada y notificada en este caso el 12 de octubre de 2022, y publicada en periódico de circulación general, The San Daily Star”, el 14 de octubre de 2022, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $66,838.27 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 6.375% desde el 1ro de noviembre de 2019; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $6,696.26 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente.

La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de

América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 6 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $66,962.64. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 13 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $44,641.76, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 20 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $33,481.32, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. 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 esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3)

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE

$18,341.00. FINCA #32,563:

(C) RÚSTICA: Parcela de terreno identificada en el plano de segregación bajo la letra “B” situada en el Barrio Mameyes del término municipal de Luquillo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de DOS PUNTO UNO UNO TRES CUATRO CUERDAS (2.1134 CDAS.), equivalentes a Ocho Mil Trescientos Seis punto Cinco Cero Tres metros cuadrados (8,306.503 m.c.), colindando por el NORTE, en Sesenta y Cinco Punto Seis Uno Dos metros (65.612 m.) con terrenos de la Sucesión de Tomás Ramírez Morales; por el SUR, en varias alineaciones que suman Noventa y Cuatro punto Uno Cero metros (94.10 m.) con la parcela de terreno identificada en el plano de segregación bajo la letra F a dedicarse a uso público; por el ESTE, en Ciento Veintinueve punto Ocho Dos Ocho metros (129.828 m.) con la parcela de terreno identificada en el plano de inscripción bajo la letra C el cual constituye el remanente de la finca segregada; y por el OESTE, en Ciento Once punto Cero Cinco Cinco metros (111.055 m.) con la parcela de terreno identificada en el plano de segregación bajo la letra A. Inscrita al tomo Karibe de Río Grande, finca número 32,563, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección III. Dirección Física: Solar B, PR968, Km 0.3, Barrio Mameyes, Río Grande, Puerto Rico. La propiedad descrita anteriormente está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: Afecta por su procedencia: Libre. Por sí: HIPOTECA en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Portador, o a su orden, por la suma de $5,476,000.00, respondiendo ésta por $60,890.00, con interés al 1% sobre el prime rate, y vencedero a la presentación, según consta de la escritura #16, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 5 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Público Manuel Correa Calzada, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Río Grande, inscripción 3ra. Según pactado en la escritura número 16 sobre Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 5 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Público Manuel Correa Calzada, servirá de tipo mínimo para la primera subasta de la Finca Número 32,563 la suma de $60,890.00. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, en las mismas oficinas de este Alguacil, el día 15 de febrero de 2023, a la(s) 3:00 de la tarde. El tipo mínimo para la segunda subasta será dos terceras partes (2/3) del tipo mínimo de la primera subasta, o sea, $40,593.33. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en las

mismas oficinas de este AlguaCil, el día 23 de febrero de 2023, a la(s) 3:00 de la tarde. El tipo mínimo para la tercera subasta será la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo que se pactara para la primera subasta, o sea, $30,445.00. FINCA #32,564: (D) RÚSTICA: Parcela de terreno localizada en el Barrio Mameyes del término municipal de Luquillo, Puerto Rico, identificada en el plano de segregación bajo la letra “D” con una cabida superficial de UNO PUNTO DOS SEIS CERO SEIS CUERDAS (1.2606 CDAS.), equivalentes a Cuatro Mil Novecientos Cincuenta y Cuatro punto Siete Seis Nueve metros cuadrados (4,954.769 m.c.), colindando por el NORTE, en Dieciocho metros (18.00 m.) con terrenos de la Sucesión de Tomás Ramírez Morales; por el SUR, en Cuarenta y Cuatro punto Dos Cinco Tres metros (44.253 m.) con el solar identificado en el plano de segregación bajo la letra G y con terrenos del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico; por el ESTE, en dos (2) alineaciones que suman Ciento Treinta y Cinco punto Nueve Cuatro Dos (135.942 m.) con terrenos propiedad de la Sucesión de Tomás Ramírez Morales; y por el OESTE, en varias alineaciones que suman Ciento Sesenta y Siete punto Siete Uno Seis metros (167.716 m.) con los solares identificados en el plano de segregación bajo las letras C y F. Contiene una edificación de concreto, la cual consta de sala-comedor, cocina, tres dormitorios, un baño, balcón y marquesina. Inscrita al tomo Karibe de Río Grande, finca número 32,564, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección III. Dirección Física: Solar D, PR-968, Km 0.3, Barrio Mameyes, Río Grande, Puerto Rico. La propiedad descrita anteriormente está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: Afecta por su procedencia: Libre. Por sí: HIPOTECA en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Portador, o a su orden, por la suma de $5,476,000.00, respondiendo ésta por $36,330.00, con interés al 1% sobre el prime rate, y vencedero a la presentación, según consta de la escritura #16, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 5 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Público Manuel Correa Calzada, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Río Grande, inscripción 3ra. Según pactado en la escritura número 16 sobre Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 5 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Público Manuel Correa Calzada, servirá de tipo mínimo para la primera subasta de la Finca Número 32,564 la suma de $36,330.00. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, en las mismas oficinas de

este Alguacil, el día 15 de febrero de 2023, a la(s) 3:30 de la tarde. El tipo mínimo para la segunda subasta será dos terceras partes (2/3) del tipo mínimo de la primera subasta, o sea, $24,220.00. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en las mismas oficinas de este Alguacil, el día 23 de febrero de 2023, a la(s) 3:30 de la tarde. El tipo mínimo para la tercera subasta será la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo que se pactara para la primera subasta, o sea, $18,165.00. Estas subastas se harán para satisfacer a la parte demandante, hasta donde alcance, el importe adeudado a Bautista REO PR Corp. las sumas adeudadas que al 27 de julio de 2009, a $5,443,746.23 de principal; $1,219,049.32 de intereses, los cuales se acumulan hasta el saldo total de la deuda; y $54,760.00 por concepto de costas y honorarios de abogado debidamente pactados y asegurados mediante hipoteca. A dichas sumas adeudadas se le descuentan las sumas de $2,071,000.00 y $528,000.00, por concepto de las subastas de las fincas número 1,433 y 118. Las ventas en públicas subastas de las propiedades descritas anteriormente se verificarán libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte dichas propiedades. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si lo hubiera, al crédito que da base a esta ejecución, continuará subsistente, entendiéndose además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría de este Tribunal durante horas laborables. El Alguacil procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física de los inmuebles, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. POR LA PRESENTE, se les notifica a los titulares de créditos y/o cargas registrales posteriores, si alguno, que se celebrarán las SUBASTAS en la fecha, horas y sitio anteriormente señalados, y se les invita a que concurran a dichas subastas, si les conviniere, o se les invita a satisfacer, antes del remate, el importe del crédito, sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del Acreedor ejecutante, siempre y cuando reúnan los requisitos y cualificaciones de. Ley para que se pueda efectuar tal subrogación. Y PARA SU PUBLICACIÓN en el

tablón de edictos de este Tribunal y en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde se celebrará la subasta señalada. Además, en un periódico de circulación general en dos (2) ocasiones y mediante correo certificado a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada. EXPEDIDO el presente EDICTO DE SUBASTA en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, 15 de septiembre de 2022. Denise Bruno Ortiz, Alguacil Auxiliar #266, Tribunal De Primera Instancia, Sala De Fajardo. Jorge A. Ortiz Estrada #622, Alguacil Regional Interino.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Y SUN WEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE TILL BRAUER T/C/C TILL BRAUER STADACH Y SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN

ARACELIS MONGIL SUÁREZ T/C/C CARMEN ARACELY MONGIL COMPUESTAS POR SUS HEREDEROS CONOCIDOS TILL BRAUER MONGIL, YELITZA BRAUER MONGIL Y ANTHONY BRAUER MONGIL; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHAS SUCESIONES; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DEL PAGARE A SUSTITUIR Demandado(a) Civil: SJ2022CV04237. Sala: 802. Sobre: SUSTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: SUCESION DE TILL BRAUER T/C/C TILL BRAUER STADACH Y SUCESION DE CARMEN ARACELIS MONGIL SUAREZ T/C/C CARMEN ARACELY MONGIL COMPUESTAS POR SUS HEREDEROS CONOCIDOS TILL BRAUER MONGIL, YELITZA BRAUER MONGIL Y ANTHONY BRAUER MOF’JGIL; FULANO DE TAL

Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERES EN DICHAS SUCESIONES Y COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DEL PAGARE A SUSTITUIR. (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 25 de octubre de 2022, 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 20 de diciembre de 2022. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 20 de diciembre de 2022. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. ELSIE PRATTS MELÉNDEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR MUNICIPAL DE SAN JUAN

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE RICARDA MALAVE CLAUDIO T/C/C RICARDA MALAVE COMPUESTA POR SU HEREDERO CONOCIDO MARTIN VARGAS DAVILA T/C/C MARTIN VARGAS, POR SI; EDUARDO VARGAS MALAVE, MARTIN VARGAS MALAVE; SUCESION DE JOSE MANUEL VARGAS MALAVE T/C/C JOSE MANUEL VARGA MALAVE COMPUESTA POR PAOLA CAROLINA VARGAS RAMOS, JOSE MANUEL VARGAS VAZQUEZ, JEHOVANI EMANUEL VARGAS VAZQUEZ Y GLENIEL ADONAI

VARGAS VAZQUEZ; SUCESION DE EVELYN VARGAS MALAVE COMPUESTA POR SU HEREDERO CONOCIDO MARTIN VARGAS DAVILA T/C/C MARTIN VARGAS; SUCESION DE JUAN VARGAS MALAVE; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERES EN DICHAS SUCESIONES Demandado (a) Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV02895. Sala: 508. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: SUCESION DE RICARDA MALAVE CLAUDIO T/C/C RICARDA MALAVE COMPUESTA POR SU HEREDERO CONOCIDO MARTIN VARGAS DAVILA T/C/C MARTIN VARGAS, POR SI; MARTIN VARGAS MALAVE; SUCESION DE JOSE MANUEL VARGAS MALAVE T/C/C JOSE MANUEL VARGA MALAVE COMPUESTA POR PAOLA CAROLINA VARGAS RAMOS, JOSE MANUEL VARGAS VAZQUEZ, JEHOVANI EMANUEL VARGAS VAZQUEZ Y GLENIEL ADONAI VARGAS VAZQUEZ; SUCESION DE EVELYN VARGAS MALAVE COMPUESTA POR SU HEREDERO CONOCIDO MARTIN VARGAS DAVILA T/C/C MARTIN VARGAS; SUCESION DE JUAN VARGAS MALAVE; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERES EN DICHAS SUCESIONES.

EL SECRETARIO (A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 20 de diciembre de 2022, 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 diez (10) días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los tér-

minos 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 20 de diciembre de 2022. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 20 de diciembre de 2022. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Martha Almodovar Cabrera, 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 JOSE

O’FERRAL MONTALVO COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS CONOCIDOS WANDA RIVERA MANGUAL, POR SÍ; BRENDA O’FERRAL RIVERA, JOSE EMILIO O’FERRAL RIVERA Y JEANNETTE CORAL Y O’FERRAL RIVERA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV09449. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (IN REM). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. A: SUCESIÓN DE JOSE

O’FERRAL MONTALVO COMPUESTA POR BRENDA O’FERRAL RIVERA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN.

URB. BUENOS AIRES, SOLAR #19-V, SAN JUAN, PR 00924; URB. VILLA PRADES, #636 CALLE ARTEAGA, SAN JUAN, PR 00924; URB. VILLA PRADES, CALLE JULIO C. ARTEAGA 636, SAN JUAN, PR 00924; URB. FAIR VIEW 1923 CALLE PEDRO MEJIAS, SAN JUAN PR 00926; BRENDA

O’FERRAL RIVERA: 17270 EAGLE TRACE FT. MYERS, FL 33908.

POR LA PRESENTE 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. Se le apercibe a los herederos antes mencionados que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días, en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. También se le apercibe a los herederos antes mencionados que luego del transcurso del término de treinta (30) días antes señalado, contados a partir de la fecha de publicación de este edicto, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del(los) causante(s) y, por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 1,578 del Nuevo Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. sec. 11,021. 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 RUA NUM.: 11416 PO BOX 3908, GUAYABO, PR 00970 TEL.: 787-751-5920, FAX: 787-751-6155

E-MAIL: ejecuciones@fortuno-law.com Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 20 de diciembre de 2022. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Fernández Del Valle, Luz E., Sub-Secretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

CECILIO FELIZ RUIZ PARTE DEMANDANTE Vs AUREA

MALDONADO GONZÁLEZ

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2022RF01559. SALA: 705. SOBRE: DIVORCIO (R.I.). EDICTO. ESTADOS

A: AUREA MALDONADO GONZALEZ

SE DESCONOCE

Se le notifica a usted que se ha radicad() en esta Secretarla la demanda del epígrafe. Se le emplaza y requiere que radique en esta Secretarla el original de la contestación a la Demanda y que notifique con copia de dicha contestación a la Lcda. María Pagán Hernández, P.O. Box 21411, San Juan, PR 009281411, Tel. (787) 282-6734; con el correo electrónico marilupahe@yahoo.com, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Si dejare de hacerlo, podrá dictarse contra usted sentencia en rebeldía concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la demanda. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y .sello de este Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de San Juan, a 15 de diciembre de 2022. Sra. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Carmen M Figueroa Andino, Secretaria Servicios A Sala.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING, LLC Demandante Vs. SUCESION LUIS DOMINGUEZ GUERRERO T/C/C LUIS DOMINGUEZGUERRERO T/C/C LUIS DOMINGUEZ COMPUESTA POR LUIS DOMINGUEZ BERRIOS; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; OLGA MERCEDES BERRIOS MOLINARI T/C/C OLGA BERRIOS MOLINARI T/C/C OLGA BERRIOS DE DOMINGUEZ T/C/C OLGA M. BERRIOS MOLINARY T/C/C OLGA M. BERRIOS T/C/C OLGA M. BERRIOS MOLINARI POR SI Y A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2021CV03344. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 7 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: “URBANA: Parcela de terreno identificado como el solar número treinta y tres (33) del bloque “RB” de la Urbanización Marina Bahía, Barrio Palmas Cataño, con una cabida de quinientos noventa y ocho punto cuatrocientos noventa y tres (598.493) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, en treinta y cuatro punto veinte (34.20) metros, con los solares número cuarenta (40) y cuarenta y uno (41); por el Sur, en once punto setecientos veintiocho (11.728) metros y tres punto cincuenta y tres (3.53) metros, con Court número nueve (9) y el solar número treinta y dos (32); por el Este, en treinta y cinco punto cuarenta y cinco (35.45) metros, con los solares número trece (13) y veinte (20) y por el Oeste, en diecinueve punto veinte (19.20) metros con el solar número treinta y cuatro (34). Contiene una casa”. Finca número 6,778, inscrita al folio 185 del tomo 142 de Cataño, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección IV. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe, finca 6778 de Cataño, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección IV, inscripción 4ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. MARINA BAHIA, RB-33 PLAZA 9, CATAÑO, PUERTO RICO 00962. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivien-

da y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $349,500.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 13 de julio de 2079. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $349,500.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 14 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $233,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $174,750.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 21 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $165,821.34 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $51,939.51 en intereses acumulados al 29 de diciembre de 2021 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.974% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $15,017.21 en seguro hipotecario; $550.00 de tasaciones; $180.00 de inspecciones; $1,859.00 en preservación; $735.00 en honorarios de abogados; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $34,950.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA,

SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta.

Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 28 de noviembre de 2022. Frances Torres, Alguacil Regional. Edgardo Elías Vargas Santana, Alguacil Auxiliar Placa #193.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC. Demandante Vs. SUCESION NORBERTO FELIPE RODRIGUEZ PAGAN COMPUESTA POR BRENDA RODRIGUEZ, NORBERTO RODRIGUEZ, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESION EMILIA RAMONA RODRIGUEZ ANADON COMPUESTA POR, BRENDA RODRIGUEZ, NORBERTO RODRIGUEZ, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE IMPUESTOS MUNICIPALES Demandados Civil Núm.: PO2019CV02570. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL: Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Manda-

miento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ponce, el 22 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 1:45 DE LA TARDE, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el numero ciento cincuenta (150) de la manzana ocho (8) de la Urbanización Perla del Sur, radicado en el Barrio Canas del término municipal de Ponce, con un área superficial de TRESCIENTOS CINCUENTA PUNTO CERO CERO (350.00) METROS CUADRADOS. Colindando por el NORTE, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros, con el solar número ciento cincuenta y uno (151) de la Urbanización; por el SUR, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros, con el solar número ciento cuarenta y nueve (149) de la Urbanización; por el ESTE, en catorce punto cero cero (14.00) con la Calle “B” de la Urbanización; y por el OESTE, en catorce punto cero cero (14.00) con terrenos de la Escuela Vocacional de Ponce. Finca 17,451, antes 20066, inscrita al folio 112 del tomo 246 de Ponce, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección II. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución se encuentra inscrita al folio 46 vto. del tomo 1183 de Ponce II, finca 17,451, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección II, inscripción 14ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. PERLA DEL SUR, 2633 CALLE LAS COROZAS, PONCE, PR 00717. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $186,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: A la presentación. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El

rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $186,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ponce, el 1 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 1:45 DE LA TARDE, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $124,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $93,000.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ponce, el 8 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 1:45 DE LA TARDE. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $82,481.80 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $38,892.18 en intereses acumulados al 31 de octubre de 2019 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 7.00% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $4,697.39 en seguro hipotecario; $3,600.00 en cargos por servicio; $370.00 en tasaciones; $140.00 en inspecciones de la propiedad; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $18,600.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan

Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Ponce, Puerto Rico, hoy 30 de noviembre de 2022. Jorge M. Hernández Pagán, Alguacil Regional. Manuel Maldonado, Alguacil Placa #820.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

GITSIT SOLUTIONS, LLC

Demandante V. SUCESION DE JORGE ALBERTO NAVARRO SOLER, COMPUESTA POR: ARELIS NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ, NORBERTO NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ; IVONNE MARIA NAVARRO GARCIA; ANIBAL NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ, DIANA NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ; SUCESION DE GEORGE JUNIOR NAVARRO COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS GEORGIE NAVARRO RAMOS, ASHLEY NATASHA NAVARRO RAMOS, FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ GARAY POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados Civil Núm.: CA2022CV02658.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S. S.

A: SUCESION DE JORGE ALBERTO NAVARRO SOLER, COMPUESTA

POR: ARELIS NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ, NORBERTO NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ; IVONNE MARIA NAVARRO GARCIA; ANIBAL NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ, DIANA NAVARRO RODRIGUEZ;

RAMOS, ASHLEY NATASHA NAVARRO RAMOS, FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ GARAY POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA.

El Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de 2020, dispone: “Transcurridos treinta (30) días desde que se haya producido la delación, cualquier persona interesada puede solicitar al tribunal que le señale al llamado un plazo, para que manifieste si acepta la herencia o si la repudia. Este plazo no excederá de treinta (30) días. El tribunal apercibirá al llamado de que, si transcurrido el plazo señalado no ha manifestado su voluntad de aceptar la herencia o de repudiarla, se dará por aceptada.” Por la presente el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, conforme al Art. 1578, supra, y el caso Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria vs. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 DPR 689 (2005), les ordena que el término de treinta (30) días, hagan declaración aceptado o repudiando la herencia de los causantes, JORGE ALBERTO NAVARRO SOLER y GEORGE JUNIOR NAVARRO. Se les apercibe a los herederos antes mencionados que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a la aceptación o repudiación de herencia, la misma se tendrá por aceptada. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: Lcdo. Andrés Sáez Marrero T.S.P.R. Núm. 18074

TROMBERG, MORRIS & POULIN, LLC 1515 South Federal Highway, Suite 100 Boca Raton, FL 33432 Tel. 877-338-4101 / Fax: 561-338-4077 prservice@tmppllc.com / asaez@tmppllc.com

Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 07 de diciembre de 2022. Lcda. Marilyn Aponte Rodríguez, Secretaria Regional. Keila García Solís, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

RESIDENTIAL II, LLC

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR MUNICIPAL DE UTUADO LUNA

Parte Demandante Vs. ISMAEL PÉREZ MARTINEZ, LA SUCESIÓN DE MARÍA MATILDE CRUZ NEGRÓN COMPUESTA POR JOSEPH PÉREZ CRUZ; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE

SUCESION DE GEORGE JUNIOR NAVARRO COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS GEORGIE NAVARRO

NFL Week 16 predictions: Our picks for each game

By DAVID HILL

Bookmakers often try to set point spreads that represent an equal probability for either side to win. They use power ratings that take into account advanced metrics like DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) or EPA (expected points added). Teams are analyzed based not on the final score of each game but on how they perform on each play, on both sides of the ball, in comparison to how other teams perform in similar situations.

As the season goes on, there is more and more data to analyze, for bettors and bookmakers alike, which means the lines get sharper and tougher to beat. Many games come down to a virtual coin flip, and more qualitative or romantic factors, like freezing winds or positive momentum, can nudge an indecisive handicapper in one direction or another. In a highly efficient market like the NFL, sometimes the math is already done and all that’s left to do is wish for a little luck.

Last week’s record: 8-7-1

Overall record: 115-102-6 All times are Eastern.

SATURDAY’S GAMES

Buffalo Bills (11-3) at Chicago Bears (3-11)

1 p.m., CBS

Line: Bills -8.5 | Total: 40.5

The Bears put the Philadelphia Eagles to the test last week. Quarterback Justin Fields put up 95 rushing yards, and the

defense intercepted Jalen Hurts twice and prevented him from throwing a touchdown for the first time since Week 5. They easily covered the 8.5-point spread against Philadelphia’s weak rushing defense. The offensive line struggled to protect Fields, however, allowing him to be sacked six times. This week, Chicago faces the Bills, who have the thirdbest rushing defense in the league. It’s going to be 3 degrees with 20 mph winds Saturday, but the Bills are no strangers to the cold. The Bears would be wise to let Fields take it easy and plan for the future.

Pick: Bills -8.5

New Orleans Saints (5-9) at Cleveland Browns (6-8)

1 p.m., CBS

Line: Browns -3 | Total: 31.5

This is the lowest total of the week at 31.5 points. Last week, Deshaun Watson threw only four passes of more than 10 yards in the Browns’ 13-3 win over Baltimore. This week, running back Nick Chubb is questionable. Without him in the lineup, and with Cade York kicking field goals in 40 mph winds, it’s hard to see how the Browns score many points. In a game with such a low total, the value of each point in the spread is magnified for the underdog. The Saints are still very much in the playoff hunt and could win outright. Pick: Saints +3

Houston Texans (1-12-1) at Tennessee Titans (7-7)

1 p.m., CBS

Line: Titans -5 | Total: 37

The Titans have not looked good over the past six weeks, and they are in danger of losing their division to the surging Jaguars. Fortunately, they get the last-place Texans this week to try to get a much-needed victory. The market may overreact to the Texans’ taking Kansas City to overtime last week, but that game was deceiving. Despite the close score, the Texans were massively outplayed in nearly every category offensively. The Texans benefited from Kansas City’s drawing 10 penalties for 102 yards, and they easily covered the 14-point spread. This week, they have fewer points to help them out so they’ll need the referees even more. Pick: Titans -5

Seattle Seahawks (7-7) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-3) 1 p.m., Fox

Line: Kansas City -10 | Total: 48

Kansas City believes it is Super Bowl bound, and why not? Patrick Mahomes is playing MVP-caliber football. He has the best expected points added per dropback, and last week he completed a career-best 87.8% of his passes. But this is not a team beyond reproach.

Kansas City’s defense ranks 24th in DVOA (that advanced metric we mentioned earlier), and has given up at least 24 points in four of its past five games. This week, Kansas City faces Seattle, which has a similarly productive defense. And Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, whose EPA per dropback used to rival Mahomes’, has dropped to ninth after some flat performances the past two weeks. Still, Kansas City has to cover the

biggest spread of any team this week, and is 3-10-1 against the spread this season. Pick: Seahawks +10

New York Giants (8-5-1) at Minnesota Vikings (11-3)

1 p.m., Fox

Line: Vikings -3 | Total: 47.5

This game should be entertaining if nothing else. The Vikings will make sure of it. They’ve won 11 games and 10 of them have been by eight points or fewer. Last week, they fell behind to the Colts 33-0 just to set up the greatest comeback in NFL history and win, 39-36. The Giants are coming off their biggest win of the season against Washington, nearly guaranteeing an appearance in the playoffs. Just like the Vikings, the Giants play close games. None of their eight wins have been by more than one score. Odds are this game will be close, too. The Giants bottom-feeding defense (29th in DVOA) may give the Vikings the slight edge. Pick: Vikings -3

Cincinnati Bengals (10-4) at New England Patriots (7-7)

1 p.m., CBS

Line: Bengals -3.5 | Total: 41.5

The Bengals are playing some of the best football in the NFL right now, and the Patriots are playing not to lose each week. The point spread looks puny relative to the apparent gap in each of these teams’ performances recently. But despite 86% of the bettors backing Cincinnati, 68% of the money has been on the Patriots. Such is the value of home-field

advantage, which narrows the gap between these two teams slightly. The Patriots have one of the best defenses in the league, and their coach knows how to manage a game and keep the team in a position to pounce on opponents’ mistakes. They just need to avoid making any boneheaded mistakes of their own. Pick: Patriots +3.5

Detroit Lions (7-7) at Carolina Panthers (5-9)

1 p.m., Fox

Line: Lions -3 | Total: 44.5

The Lions are doing the unthinkable: They are making a legitimate playoff run. They’ve won six of their past seven games. A win against the Panthers would bring their playoff chances up to around 56%. Last week, the Panthers lost to the Steelers after putting up a total of 21 rushing yards, their fewest since 2012. D’Onta Foreman had rushed for more than 70 yards in each of their two wins going into the Pittsburgh game. The Lions defense has been improving, but their average opponent’s yards per play is still the league’s worst. If the Panthers can get back to the run game that helped them beat Seattle and Denver, and Detroit’s defense regresses to the mean, the Panthers can cover the three points as home underdogs. Pick: Panthers +3

Atlanta Falcons (5-9) at Baltimore Ravens (9-5)

1 p.m., Fox

Line: Ravens -7.5 | Total: 37.5

Quarterback Desmond Ridder’s debut last week did not go well. He threw for 97 yards on 26 pass attempts and leaned heavily on Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson to move the ball in the 21-18 loss to the Saints. Allgeier had a careerhigh 139 yards and a touchdown, and he averaged 8.2 yards per carry. The Ravens had hoped to see Lamar Jackson return to the team this week. Since Jackson left the game in the first quarter of their Week 13 game against Denver, the Ravens have scored two touchdowns in three games. Last week against the Browns, they didn’t reach the end zone once. Jackson was absent from practice Tuesday, however. If he doesn’t play, the Ravens will need their defense, which has held teams to

3.8 yards per carry, to shut down Allgeier.

Pick: Ravens -7.5

Washington Commanders (7-6-1) at San Francisco 49ers (10-4)

4:05 p.m., CBS

Line: 49ers -7.5 | Total: 38.5

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 217 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks last week and clinched the NFC West. Purdy has managed the team well, but has thrown only three passes more than 20 yards. Perhaps the 49ers simply haven’t needed him to throw it deep. Their offense is a well-oiled machine, with a league best points per play margin over the past three weeks. They have built up big first half leads in their past five games. If they can do the same thing this week, and nurse the lead in the second half, the Commanders can sneak in a cover. Pick: Commanders +7.5

Philadelphia Eagles (13-1) at Dallas Cowboys (10-4)

4:25 p.m., Fox

Line: Cowboys -5.5 | Total: 45

Jalen Hurts sprained a shoulder against the Bears and won’t play this week. Gardner Minshew fills in, and the Cowboys are 5.5-point favorites. But even before the news of the Hurts injury, the Cowboys opened as 1.5-point favorites, which essentially meant the teams were considered even but Dallas had homefield advantage. These teams match up extremely well, and if Hurts had been healthy this game, it most likely would have been a blockbuster. With Hurts out, it may come down to whose defense is better. The Eagles have the edge there, since Dallas has some cluster injuries on defense, and the Eagles have one of the

best offensive lines in the league. Pick: Eagles +5.5

Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-8)

8:15 p.m., NFL Network

Line: Steelers -3 | Total: 39

Both of these teams need to win out their remaining three games: the Raiders to make the playoffs, and the Steelers to keep coach Mike Tomlin’s streak of winning seasons intact. Last week, the Steelers were 2.5-point underdogs to the Panthers, and this week they are laying three points to the Raiders. That’s a huge swing in market sentiment, especially with Kenny Pickett in concussion protocol. Pittsburgh will be about 8 degrees with a -4 wind chill Saturday night, which will make things uncomfortable for the Raiders. But if they have anything left in the tank, they’ll bring it. Pick: Raiders +3

SUNDAY’S GAMES

Green Bay Packers (6-8) at Miami Dolphins (8-6)

1 p.m., Fox Line: Dolphins -4 | Total: 48.5

The Dolphins let a fourth-quarter lead slip away in a snowball-filled game in Buffalo last week. Despite the loss, they played well enough against one of the best teams in the league that they should have earned some confidence for the Packers this week. Raheem Mostert racked up 136 of the team’s 188 rushing yards against one of the NFL’s top rushing defenses, and the Packers have one of the league’s worst. And the Dolphins continue to have an elite passing attack with receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Still, Aaron Rodgers believes the Packers can still make the playoffs. They have yet to beat a top-10 offense this season. Pick: Dolphins -4

Denver Broncos (4-10) at Los Angeles Rams (4-10)

4:30 p.m., CBS and Nickelodeon

Line: Rams +2.5 | Total: 37

If you’re looking for a game to skip so you can spend some holiday time with your family, this might be it (or if you want to do both you could opt to watch the kid-pandering Nickelodeon broadcast). Both of these teams are trying to run out the clock on their seasons. The Rams are officially out of the playoffs after a loss to Green Bay, and the Broncos are essentially playing to save coach Nathaniel Hackett’s job. Pick: Broncos -2.5

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) at Arizona Cardinals (4-10)

8:20 p.m., NBC

Line: Buccaneers -6 | Total: 41.5

Colt McCoy left the game last week with a concussion and is day-to-day. If he doesn’t play, third string quarterback Trace McSorley will get the start for Arizona. Tampa Bay’s defense has been the bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season, holding teams to an average of 314.7 yards. If McSorley plays, he may not get the ball past midfield. Pick: Buccaneers -6

MONDAY NIGHT’S GAME

Los Angeles Chargers (8-6) at Indianapolis Colts (4-9-1)

8:15 p.m., ESPN

Line: Chargers -4 | Total: 47

Yes, the Chargers have quarterback Justin Herbert, and he has kept them alive in countless games they otherwise should have been out of. Despite his generational talent, the Chargers still are only the 24th best offense according to DVOA. Their offensive line has a hard time blocking, and their average rush picks up only 3.7 yards, worse than every team’s but Tampa Bay. Yes, the Colts have put their best player, running back Jonathan Taylor, on injured reserve. And yes, they are coming off the worst collapse of any team in NFL history. But the Colts nearly have a top-10 defense, and they’re getting points at home. This is a tougher spot for the Chargers than it may appear. Pick: Colts +4

Betting market data is taken from Action Network’s Public Betting data, and lines are taken from Unabated’s realtime-odds tracker.

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Forward thinking ideas rule, Aries. This isn’t the time to accept mediocrity, but to explore the potential that recent events have unleashed. Something is in the air, and the more you look to enhance your current experience and to be more and do more, the happier you’ll be. Plus, an uplifting and sparkling aspect suggests seizing an unexpected offer as it could be lucrative.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Someone may be able to give a helping hand, if you approach them in the right way. Need expert advice to reach a goal or take advantage of an opportunity? This is the time to ask, Taurus. It could be the lucky break you’ve been hoping for. It’s also possible that an encounter can spark an idea that you’ve never considered before. Have a go, as it might be a real game changer.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

A sociable tie between Venus and Uranus, hints at a meeting that could result in you making a new friend. You might be the one that breaks the ice, but if you have a lot in common, this bond may keep getting stronger. You could connect at work or due to shared responsibilities, but there’s potential for other common strands to emerge that will inspire you to get even closer.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

The coming days can encourage you to stand up for yourself, and from there to reclaim your power. With expressive Mercury in Capricorn, speaking your truth to a certain person could be truly liberating. And by setting firmer boundaries, you’ll begin to flourish in more ways than one. Attending a seasonal get-together? You may be surprised at how attracted you are to someone.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Thinking of arranging a party or attending a celebration? While it looks to be fun, something quite profound can emerge from any discussions, and could be a positive by-product of spending time with friends and family. You might also attract the eye of someone who’s been admiring your talents. This could be an opportunity to collaborate, or you can be given a job or contract.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Ready for a change? With the Sun angling towards Jupiter, you may be looking at abilities you’ve taken for granted, and this could pave the way for exciting developments. You might have more going for you than you thought when it comes to starting a sidebusiness. Plus, an encounter can lead to a sparkling conversation and an invite you surely won’t forget, Virgo.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Considering a major purchase for the home? There may be so many options and a lot of sales spiel and hype around certain products that could be very misleading. The answer might be to do your own indepth research and to read plenty of honest reviews. Your instincts can also play a major part in choosing the best deal. Tie it all together, and you may have the perfect package.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

This is not the time to doubt yourself, as key influences suggest you’ll excel. Yet you could find yourself swinging between a “can-do” and “can’t-do” approach. If you back down, you might miss out on an opportunity to further your plans or career path. The Moon/Saturn tie may see you questioning yourself. Open to any feedback? You’ll find others are very supportive, Scorpio.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

As the Sun angles towards the planet of optimism, it encourages a bold approach regarding expansive projects. Look to the bigger picture and trust your gut, and you’ll get it right. Get ready too, as an unexpected opportunity could boost your income over the short-term. Mind, if it all goes well, it might lead to something more permanent, especially if you have an aptitude for it.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Feeling restless? It may be down to a lively and freedom-loving Venus/Uranus tie. This can see you eager for exciting encounters and activities that leave you fascinated. You’ll be looking for a group or new friends who will feed your desire for anything cutting-edge and life changing. If you do encounter someone who opens your eyes to brilliant ideas, be sure to stay in touch.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

If the last few days have been very hectic, then the coming days can bring further surprises, but perhaps of a different order. Sparkling ideas and opportunities could appear as a result of seeds planted a while back. You may even have forgotten about them, but they are swiftly coming to fruition and might give you other options to consider. This can be a time for big decisions too.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

You seem to be a mine of fascinating information and ideas, but today a conversation could surpass expectations. Someone who understands where you’re coming from may want to collaborate with you. As Venus aligns with Uranus, it might be even more rewarding than you think. There’s also a chance that a shared interest will lead to romantic feelings developing.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29