Wednesday Feb 14, 2024

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

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The Drama of Sports Transcends the Super Bowl Spectacle

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Photo: Gov. Pedro Pierluisi/Facebook

Confronting a ‘Public Health & Safety Problem’

First Therapeutic Justice Summit Focuses on New Training for Drug Court Components P3

In-Person Work Suspended in House Amid Rise in COVID-19 Cases

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NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 16

After Mass Killing in Toa Baja, Governor Notes Homicides Are Still Down Compared to Past Years P5

2 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

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February 14, 2024

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.

First Therapeutic Justice Summit focuses on new training for Drug Court components

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ov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia participated on Tuesday in the first “Therapeutic Justice Summit: New Strategies to Address Emerging Drugs,” held in San Juan.

The event, coordinated by the Department of Justice, has the purpose of training officials from all components of the island’s Drug Courts on how to address the challenges that have arisen due to the development of new drugs and on best practices for supervision of those prosecuted for crimes linked to the use of controlled substances and alcohol.

“This initiative is consistent with our public policy of promoting rehabilitation and treating drug addiction in a healthy manner,” the governor said in a written statement.

“Many of you know that since my time as Secretary of the Department of Justice I have been a fervent promoter of Drug Courts and other therapeutically focused programs. I recognize the effort of the Department of Justice to carry out this very important Summit, in which the entire component of our law and order system will receive specialized training that provides necessary tools to deal with cases related to people with addiction in a more efficient, effective way.”

Pierluisi added that “treating these cases as a matter of public health and not only from a criminal perspective, particularly for non-violent cases, is a process that is born from the evaluation and openness to consider novel strategies by judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, probation officers and other officials of our government.”

“Today is another example of how we continue to seek resources, identify new ideas and consider various strategies in search of innovative remedies in favor of therapeutic justice, rehabilitation and social reintegration,” he said.

Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández stated that “with the holding of the summit, Puerto Rico becomes one of the first jurisdictions nationwide to receive this type of updated training to optimize results in Drug Courts and address the challenges generated by emerging controlled substances.”

“It is the first time that a summit on a substance use disorder of this magnitude has been held, which will simultaneously impact all sectors called to prevent and remedy addiction, with the aim of reducing the incidence of crime on the island and promoting rehabilitation,” added the Justice chief, who later signed a new administrative order to adjust the regulations to the new guidelines adopted by all components of the Drug Courts and that enter into force starting this year.

The initiative made official by the order “is part of the measures that we have implemented in compliance with the public policy of the Government of Puerto Rico to serve, with a therapeutic justice approach, those who commit non-violent crimes due to substance and alcohol addictive

disorder, ensuring that, when criminally prosecuted, they have at their disposal effective rehabilitation programs that allow them to reintegrate into society and avoid recidivism,” Emanuelli Hernández said. “We have to humanize the law and judicial processes, attending to the emotional and psychological aspect. By treating those who commit crimes due to addictive conditions differently, we will obtain more effective results for them, their families and society.”

The event was organized by the Coordination Division of the Justice Department’s Specialized Units for Domestic Violence, Sexual Crimes and Child Abuse, with the support of the Office of the Chief Prosecutor. Workshops will include training on the effective administration of Naloxone to reverse the effects of opioid overdose and on the neurophysiological effects of substance use and abuse. Participants who will receive training include prosecutors, investigating agents, judges, health professionals and personnel from various government agencies and the private sector.

“With this mass training, we hope to strengthen the specialized knowledge that all components of the Drug Courts Program must have, especially our prosecutors,” said Jessika Correa González, the chief prosecutor. “At the Department of Justice, we are committed to making programs that address alcohol and controlled substance use disorders effective.”

Prosecutor Laura Hernández Gutiérrez, who directs the Coordination Division of the Justice Department’s Specialized Drug Courts Units, emphasized that “the Summit is an activity that brings together the entire security, health and community component in an effort to promote public policy, new treatment and prevention approaches to serve the population in Puerto Rico that suffers from a disorder in the use of controlled substances and alcohol.

“This public health and safety problem that afflicts us all,” she said.

Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez spoke at the summit. (Gov. Pedro Pierluisi/ Facebook)

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Work stopped in House amid rise in COVID-19 cases Separately, judge orders cease & desist in mandatory mask usage

By THE STAR STAFF

W

ork in the island House of Representatives was suspended until March 4 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases, House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez announced on Tuesday.

“We are declaring a state of emergency in the House of Representatives to protect the health and safety of employees, officials and visitors to this Legislative Body,” the speaker said in a written statement, while indicating that during the past few days he has maintained communication with the Senate, reporting the increase in COVID-19 cases. “To guarantee the continuity of legislative work, all public hearings, executive meetings or final consideration sessions must be held remotely, through videoconferences, in accordance with the ordinary subpoena process established in the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives.”

Hernández Montañez added that visual inspections may be carried out on a regular basis, “always observing all applicable health protocols, and following the ordinary subpoena process established in the Rules of Procedure …”

House Speaker Rafael Hernández Montañez, center, said that to “guarantee the continuity of legislative work, all public hearings, executive meetings or final consideration sessions must be held remotely, through videoconferences ...”

The House speaker also announced through the administrative order that “each representative, director of legislative office and/or administrative agency will establish a plan, as it deems necessary, to guarantee the continuity of services to citizens.”

The House was expected to pass a measure Tuesday that would impose a mandatory jail sentence on drivers who leave the scene of an accident after hitting a pedestrian.

The measure would create the “Natalia Nicole Ayala Rivera Law,” which seeks to

prevent a repetition of cases such as that of 20-year-old Ayala Rivera, who was the victim of a fatal hit and run on Jan. 5, 2022.

The perpetrator, who left the scene of the accident, was found guilty of her death but will not serve a single day in prison since he received a 10-year suspended sentence.

The House shutdown decree came after Superior Court Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos ordered the speaker of the House to cease and desist from the imposition of the use of surgical masks in the Capitol, as part

of a lawsuit filed by Dignity Project Rep. Lisie Burgos Muñiz.

“In analyzing the facts alleged in this case, we understand that, if the defendants are not immediately ordered to cease and desist from their actions, it would be interfering with the constitutional function of the plaintiff to represent her constituents by discharging her ministerial duty to deliberate and vote for the measures of the day,” Cuevas Ramos said in his ruling. “In the case of the only chamber spokesperson of the Proyecto Dignidad political party, this Court understands that serious irreparable damage would be caused not to act at this time by issuing this provisional injunction … to order the cessation and desist from prohibiting her access to the Hemicycle of the chamber and to other areas that she needs to enter to carry out all her constitutional prerogatives … conditioning it to the use of masks, under penalty of contempt, while we elucidate the merits of the lawsuit at the interdiction hearing.”

Last week, a directive was issued, which later became an administrative order, mandating the use of masks in the House of Representatives for the entire month of February.

Burgos Muñiz was removed from the House chamber for refusing to wear a mask, which sparked the lawsuit.

Governor: Treasury to proceed on tax incentive despite suspension of in-person work in House

By THE STAR STAFF

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ov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Tuesday that the Treasury Department is continuing preparations to disburse the refundable incentive sometime in May, even after the decision to suspend face-to-face work in the island House of Representatives until March due to a surge in COVID-19 infections.

“My directive to the Treasury Department is that they continue to prepare, doing all the internal administrative procedures so that this refundable incentive can be paid in a matter of a couple of months,” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “In other words, I have always said that the ideal is that this payment should be made sometime in the month of May. I’m sticking to it. Clearly, it is going to be approved. Due to an apparent health situation, the speaker of the House decided to suspend work until March 4 or 5. But that doesn’t stop the Treasury Department from continuing to do all the work at the level of its system, to prepare to deliver or pay that refundable incentive.”

Pierluisi said the measure will be approved despite the

shutdown order.

“No one can object to the fact that the incentive with the lowest amount will be $200, when the Treasury has said that we have the funds to honor it and the [Financial Oversight and Management] board, all those who have to be consulted were consulted,” the governor said. “Again, my directive is that the work in the Treasury proceeds, that the work schedule is not delayed so that these reimbursable incentives are paid in a matter of a couple of months, ideally sometime in May.” Asked if he would issue a similar order on the use of masks, Pierluisi replied “I have said that I am not inclined to require the use of masks.”

“Yes, I think that people who have delicate health conditions should protect themselves and should wear a mask, particularly when they are going to crowded places and that are indoors not outdoors,” he said. “I have also said that I think it is prudent that masks are also used in medical and hospital facilities. That’s what I’ve said, but I’m not inclined to mandate the use of masks in public government facilities or other spaces. Obviously, I have the advice of the health secretary and his team when I make these statements.”

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

5

Despite latest massacre, homicides still fewer than in past years, governor says

By THE STAR STAFF

G

ov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Tuesday that despite a drive-by shooting in Toa Baja on Monday night that claimed five lives, statistics show fewer homicides so far this year than in past years.

“If it were not for that massacre, we would be exactly at the level of last year, when there was a 20 percent reduction in the number of murders and at the end of last year it was 30 percent less than at the [end of 2020],” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “The number of murders is still lower than, for example, 2022 or 2021, but obviously that massacre is nefarious. Again, it reflects the drug trafficking problem we face. I know that the police are investigating the matter.”

The multiple slaying took place at around 10 p.m. on Monday in front of a business in the Campanilla neighborhood of Toa Baja, where five people lost their lives after sustaining several gunshot wounds.

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

According to preliminary information, occupants traveling in a moving vehicle opened fire in front of the business. As a result,

one person died at the scene and four injured people later died in different hospitals. At least three others were reported to have been

hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The business belongs to former Cataño mayor Félix “el Cano” Delgado Montalvo, who pleaded guilty to bribery charges in late 2021 in a case involving municipal contracts.

Regarding the fact that the business where the shootings took place is owned by the former mayor, the governor said that “this is like any other business.”

“The detail of whether the owner of the business is the former mayor, if he was present, well, that detail may not have any relevance or pertinence whatsoever to the crimes committed here,” Pierliusi said. “Now, I’m not ruling anything out. I mean, it’s all under investigation and we’ll know by-and-by what the outcome of that investigation is. The important thing is to solve the crime, find those who were the gunmen and get them out of the free community.

And as for the issue of the former mayor, well, there are no exceptions here and the police are going to be doing their job. It doesn’t matter who it is, if it’s a former mayor or whoever it is, so that’s what I can say.”

DNER union accuses agency of double-talk on pay hikes

By THE STAR STAFF

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United Public Servants of Puerto Rico Council 95 President Jessica Martínez

he Local 3647 of the United Public Servants of Puerto Rico (SPUPR by its Spanish initials) on Tuesday charged that the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) is engaging in “double-talk” in which they publicly support a salary hike for agency rangers while a human resources official says they don’t deserve more pay due to an alleged pattern of absenteeism.

“This is unprecedented; the pattern of intimidation and half-truths in this agency is serious,” SPUPR Council 95 President Jessica Martínez said in a written communication. “Now, the problem of not giving a raise to the rangers is [based on] alleged absenteeism raised by the former director of Human Resources. But, in yesterday’s hearing, the statements of the DNER Secretary prove us right.”

The real problem, Martínez said, is that there is an insufficient number of rangers, “and as a union we must point out that at least two academies of 250 rangers each must be held.”

“There is no pattern of absenteeism among the rangers,” she insisted. “This is a capricious accusation to continue oppressing the security personnel and not recognizing our collective agreements.”

Martínez said the union is tired of agency excuses to justify not resolving problems with personnel shortages and low salaries.

“The new excuse is the supposed problem of absen-

teeism,” she said. “We would like to remind the DNER that rangers have the right to use their sick leave and compensatory time as provided by the Law and the agreement between the Financial Oversight and Management Board and AFSCME. Before raising a problem of absenteeism, it should be verified whether the absences are justified or not. We must not forget that there is an overload of work on these personnel due to the lack of recruitment, and this generates serious health problems.”

The union leader emphasized that, unfortunately, the administration has not provided space for an effective dialogue between the union and the agency and that it is time for it to happen for the well-being of all parties. She stated that justifying the increase to the rangers should be based on the continuous work they do, on how they bite the bullet in the face of rampant personnel shortages, on working for years without salary increases, on the achievements of their units, and on how they have done great work despite not having the necessary equipment.

“As a Union, we have asked the Agency to [join in defending] the salary increases of the Rangers Corps so that they do not remain mere words and become actions that benefit and motivate the personnel who do the work,” Martínez said. “It is very unfair for us to see how practically all security employees have been given salary increases except the Rangers. Now we are seeing that the problem is how the agency does not understand the value and the work we do day by day for the well-being of our people.”

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Swain declines to delay PREPA’s debt confirmation

By THE STAR STAFF

U

.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is presiding over the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) Title III case, has rejected a bondholder petition to delay next month’s confirmation hearing on the utility’s debt adjustment plan pending an appeals court ruling.

The bondholders have appealed Swain’s ruling that the utility’s $9 billion debt is backed only by a $2.4 billion claim and that it is unsecured. The judge said that even if the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston were to rule quickly on the bondholders’ challenge, the losing party would then appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision, which would mean that a final ruling is not imminent.

“The prospect of quick, final disposition of the disputes over this court’s rulings and fundamental aspects of the oversight board’s [Financial Oversight and Management Board] plan proposal is uncertain at best, and what movants propose will likely leave the debtor, the commonwealth, and the people of Puerto Rico in a further prolonged state of uncertainty and impede progress toward renewal of the critical service infrastructure necessary to Puerto Rico’s return to the capital markets,” Swain ruled this week.

Assured Guaranty, the PREPA bond trustee, the PREPA

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain

ad hoc group, GoldenTree Asset Management, and Syncora Guarantee asked Swain to delay the confirmation hearing, scheduled to begin on March 4, until the First Circuit rules.

Movants argue that, in light of oral argument before the First Circuit -- heard on Jan. 29 -- as well as the “unusual speed” with which oral argument was scheduled, the “highly expedited briefing schedule” established by the First Circuit,

and “voluminous briefing” in connection with confirmation, the court should adjourn or stay the confirmation hearing pending a decision by the First Circuit.

Swain denied a similar request from the bondholders last year.

The bondholders had argued in part that Swain no longer could confirm the PREPA plan of adjustment because the appeal had “divested the court of jurisdiction concerning certain issues central to the determination of movants’ allowable claims,” according to the order. Swain rejected those arguments.

She also noted that negotiations between objecting bondholders and the oversight board faced obstacles and that mediators have said that an adjournment may not lead to meaningful negotiations.

“However, movants are parties to a cooperation agreement that forbids separate settlements with the oversight board,” Swain said in her order. “Indeed, a predominant theme in movants’ theory of the case, as expressed through the over three hundred pages of objections filed to date, is that bondholders subject to the trust agreement interpreted in the adversary proceeding have no individualized right to settle PREPA bond claims or any portions thereof and are, therefore, bound to the course set by the movants, which has, thus far, focused on aggressive litigation.”

Supreme Court chief justice expresses concern, urges caution on House speaker’s part

By THE STAR STAFF

P

uerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez called attention on Tuesday to Speaker of the House of Representatives Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez for publicly questioning the decision issued by Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos in the preliminary indictment lawsuit submitted by Dignity Project Rep. Lisie Burgos Muñíz over the mandatory use of a surgical mask by lower chamber decree.

“During the past few weeks, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has publicly expressed his disagreement with some judicial decisions. This is legitimate in a democratic society,” Oronoz Rodríguez said in a written statement. “However, questioning decisions decontextualized from the procedures and procedural facts or based on accusations of retaliation does not contribute to the strengthening of justice institutions. On the contrary, discrediting judges of any judicial forum due to the disagreement generated by a decision contrary to their claims -- such as the statements formulated today -- is not only unfortunate, but also generates deep concern, especially for the public office that whoever issues them occupies, and at the very least motivates a call for caution to avoid undermining confidence in the judiciary.”

“Our judges seek to resolve cases and controversies in light of the law and the evidence presented to them,

guaranteeing equality before the justice system of all people who come before the Court to vindicate their rights,” she added. “I urge the Speaker, as leader of the House of Representatives, to promote measures to guarantee the stability and security of the Puerto Rican judiciary, and to take into consideration the fundamental role of judicial independence in our democratic system of government.”

Hernández Montañez attacked Judge Anthony Cuevas Ramos on Tuesday for not allowing the House to express itself before granting a lawsuit filed by Burgos Muñíz over the decree on masking in the lower chamber.

The House, meanwhile suspended in-person operations early Tuesday due to a surge in positive COVID-19 cases (see related story on page 4).

“I have to consider, and this is my personal opinion, that the judge’s decision was a retaliation against all this controversy that is taking place right now with the clash of powers of the House of Representatives and the judiciary,” Hernández Montañez said in a virtual press conference. “That is the only reason why the judge, once again, does not see the merits of a chamber controversy; he simply adjudicates without giving the parties the opportunity to make their point.”

“I am going to be honest about this,” the House speaker continued. “I do not consider that what Judge Cuevas did was prudent in awarding the preliminary interdiction

without giving the [lower] chamber the opportunity to express itself.”

Regarding the declaration ordering the suspension of face-to-face operations in the House, Hernández Montañez insisted that “[w]e are simply being preventative.”

“Our aspiration is that these numbers go down and we will continue our work as always,” he said.

Cuevas Ramos scheduled a follow-up hearing for this Friday. Hernández Montañez said he will appear.

Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

7

Senate passes aid to Ukraine, but fate is uncertain in a hostile House

By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN

T

he Senate passed a long-awaited foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel early Tuesday morning, delivering a bipartisan endorsement of the legislation after months of negotiations, dire battlefield warnings and political mudslinging.

But the measure faced a buzz saw of opposition in the House, where Republican resistance threatened to kill it.

The 70-29 vote reflected a critical mass of support in Congress for the $95 billion emergency aid legislation and for continuing to arm Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. The measure would provide an additional $60.1 billion for Ukraine — which would bring the total U.S. investment in the war effort to more than $170 billion — as well as $14.1 billion for Israel’s war against Hamas and almost $10 billion for humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

But it also splintered Republicans and foretold a bumpy road ahead in the GOP-led House, where the speaker suggested late Monday that he would not act on it.

Twenty-two Senate Republicans voted with almost all Democrats for the bill — five more than had helped it over a final procedural hurdle on Monday night — while the rest of the party argued against continuing to fund a foreign nation’s battle to protect its sovereignty without first cracking down on an influx of migration into the United States across its border with Mexico.

The vote took place after an all-night Senate session in which a parade of Republican opponents made speeches denouncing various aspects of the bill.

Republican hostility to the measure has been egged on by former President Donald Trump, who encouraged GOP senators to reject an earlier version that would have included a bipartisan border security deal, and by Speaker Mike Johnson.

“House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border,” Johnson said in a statement Monday night, adding: “In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.”

His comments suggested that the foreign aid bill’s only path through the House may be for a bipartisan coalition like the one in the Senate — including more mainstream, national securityminded Republicans — to come together and use extraordinary measures to force action on it.

“If we want the world to remain a safe place for freedom, for democratic principles, for our future prosperity, then America must lead the way — and with this bill, the Senate declares that American leadership will not waver, will not falter, will not fail,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, said after the vote.

Later, in a news conference at the Capitol, he laid out the stakes should the bill falter across the rotunda.

“Now it’s up to the House: Meet this moment, do the right thing and save democracy,” Schumer said. “If the hard right kills this bill, it would be an enormous gift to Vladimir Putin. It would be a betrayal of our partners and allies, and an abandonment of our service members.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader who has

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gives a thumbs up as the Senate votes to pass a long-awaited foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel early Tuesday morning, Feb. 13, 2024. (Anna Rose Layden/The New York Times)

majority of the House — 218 members — calling for the action.

In the Senate, Republicans who supported the legislation argued that its passage was imperative to maintain the United States’ international standing as a guardian of Western-style democracy against threats posed by authoritarian regimes. They held up Ukraine’s war as a critical test of whether Washington is serious about standing up to aggressors like President Vladimir Putin of Russia.

“If it only stays this bad for the next couple of years, Putin is losing,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said of Ukraine’s war effort.

He argued that helping Ukraine could weaken Putin’s grip on power — “and that’s damn sure worth $60 billion, or $600 billion, to get rid of him.”

In a statement after the vote, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said he was grateful to “every U.S. senator who has supported continued assistance to Ukraine as we fight for freedom, democracy, and the values we all hold dear.”

“For us in Ukraine, continued U.S. assistance helps to save human lives from Russian terror,” Zelenskyy added. “It means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war.”

Many Republican opponents of the bill cited the lack of tough border restrictions for the United States. But they also led the charge last week to kill a version of the legislation that paired the aid with stiffer border enforcement measures, including stricter asylum laws, increased detention capacity and accelerated deportations.

“A literal invasion is coming across our border,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on the floor Monday. “And all they had time to do in the Senate was get the money, get the cash pallets, load the planes, get the Champagne ready and fly to Kyiv.”

Other Republicans argued that it was folly to send Ukraine more tens of billions of dollars, questioning whether Ukraine could ever get the upper hand against Russia.

Putin is “an evil war criminal, but he will not lose,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., adding that “the continuation of this war is destroying Ukraine.”

And in a memo to colleagues, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, suggested that the entire bill was designed to compromise Trump’s ability to cut off aid to Ukraine in the future should he win the election.

“The supplemental represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy,” Vance wrote, adding that Democrats were trying to “provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration.”

vocally championed aiding Ukraine, celebrated the vote as a triumph over the skeptics in his own party — though he refrained from directly challenging Johnson to put the bill on the House floor.

“The Senate understands the responsibilities of America’s national security and will not neglect them,” McConnell said in a statement after the vote. “History settles every account. And today, on the value of American leadership and strength, history will record that the Senate did not blink.”

Still, McConnell’s stance was a break with a majority of Republicans in Congress, who have repudiated the measure, reflecting a turn away from the party’s traditional hawkish posture and belief in projecting U.S. power and democratic principles around the world.

Trump in particular has railed against the legislation from the campaign trail. In recent days, he has argued on social media that it was “stupid” for the United States to offer foreign aid instead of loans and encouraged Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members that did not spend enough money on their own defense.

The pressure did little to erode a coalition of Republicans that cast multiple votes to keep the aid bill moving forward; in fact, the bloc grew as the legislation made its way to passage.

That task will be more difficult in the Republican-led House, where Johnson controls the floor and right-wing lawmakers have shown a willingness to block legislation they oppose from even coming Especialistas: up for a vote. Still, if proponents can muster enough support from Democrats and mainstream and naTipos de servicios: .REPARACIÓN tional security-minded Republicans willing to buck .Instalación Trump and the far right, they could steer around the .Venta opposition through a maneuver known as a discharge petition. That allows lawmakers to force legislation to the floor if they can gather the signatures of a

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene over claim of absolute immunity

The Supreme Court in Washington on Dec. 1, 2023. Former President Donald Trump filed a last-ditch effort on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in the Supreme Court to press his claim of total immunity from criminal prosecution. (Kenny Holston/ The New York Times)

By ADAM LIPTAK and ABBIE VANSICKLE

F

ormer President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Monday to pause an appeals court’s ruling rejecting his claim that he is absolutely immune from criminal charges based on his attempts to subvert the 2020 election.

Unless the justices issue a stay while they consider whether to hear his promised appeal, proceedings in the criminal trial, which have been on hold, will resume.

The filing was Trump’s last-ditch effort to press his claim of total immunity, which has been rejected by two lower courts. The Supreme Court is now poised to determine whether and how fast his federal trial on charges that he tried to subvert the 2020 election will proceed. Unless the justices move quickly, the trial could be pushed into the heart of the 2024 campaign,

or even past the election.

Trump’s filing came after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously rejected Trump’s argument that he may not be prosecuted for actions he took while in office.

Trump’s lawyers urged the justices to put that ruling on hold and then to move forward at a deliberate pace.

“President Trump’s claim that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for their official acts presents a novel, complex and momentous question that warrants careful consideration on appeal,” Trump’s application said.

The appeals court panel, made up of one Republican appointee and two Democratic ones, said Trump became an ordinary citizen in the eyes of the criminal law after leaving office.

“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the panel wrote. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

The new filing said the panel and the trial judge had gone astray in rejecting Trump’s

arguments.

“This is a stunning breach of precedent and historical norms,” Trump’s application said.

“In 234 years of American history, no president was ever prosecuted for his official acts. Nor should they be.”

The panel had limited Trump’s litigation options, saying that the case would be returned to the trial court for further proceedings unless he sought a stay from the Supreme Court by Monday. Asking for review from the full appeals court, the panel said, would not stop the clock.

Trump’s filing asked the justices to restore that interim option, saying they should pause the panel’s decision while he asks the full appeals court to rehear its decision “in the ordinary course before seeking (if necessary) this court’s review.” If the Supreme Court grants that request, it will slow matters down considerably.

The trial had been set to start March 4, but Judge Tanya Chutkan has removed it from her calendar and it is not clear when it will be rescheduled. Much will depend on how fast the justices act.

The Supreme Court has already had one encounter with the case, turning away an unusual request in December from Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Trump. Smith had asked the justices to bypass the appeals court and decide the immunity issue themselves without delay.

Smith urged the justices to move fast.

“The United States recognizes that this is an extraordinary request,” Smith added. “This is an extraordinary case.”

The justices rejected the request without comment or noted dissent, apparently content to let the appeals court have the first crack at the case. The question now is whether the Supreme Court will want the last word.

It has several options. It could deny a stay, which would restart the trial. It could deny a petition seeking review, which would effectively reject Trump’s immunity argument and let the appeals court’s ruling stand.

It could hear his appeal on a fast track, as it is doing in a separate case on Trump’s eligibility to hold office. Or it could hear the case on the usual schedule, which would most likely delay any trial past the election.

In Monday’s filing, Trump’s lawyers asked for an extended delay. “Conducting a monthslong criminal trial of President Trump at the height of election season,” it said, “will radically disrupt President Trump’s ability to campaign against President Biden — which appears to be the whole point of the special counsel’s persistent demands for expedition.”

When the case was argued in the appeals court, a lawyer for Trump argued that former presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution even for murders they ordered while in office. Monday’s filing did not retreat from that position but accused the panel of both overlooking historical analogies and of being unrealistic.

“The panel opinion ignores the long history of real-world examples of presidents engaging in actual behavior that political opponents viewed as egregious and ‘criminal,’” it said, mentioning the Iran-Contra scandal, asserted misuse of the president’s pardon power and what it called “President Biden’s egregious mismanagement of the United States’ border security.”

As for the “a hypothetical president corruptly ordering the assassination of political rivals through ‘SEAL Team 6,’” the application said, referring to a question during the appellate argument, “the panel fretted about lurid hypotheticals that have never occurred in 234 years of history, almost certainly never will occur and would virtually certainly result in impeachment and Senate conviction (thus authorizing criminal prosecution) if they did occur.”

The filing added, “Such hypotheticals provide fodder for histrionic media coverage, but they are a poor substitute for legal and historical analysis.”

In earlier cases on presidential immunity, the court has weighed in, establishing precedents pointing in opposite directions. Two of them involved President Richard Nixon.

In 1974, in United States v. Nixon, the court ruled that Nixon, then still in office, had to comply with a trial subpoena seeking tapes of his conversations in the Oval Office, rejecting his claims of executive privilege.

Eight years later, in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, the court voted 5-4 in favor of Nixon in a civil case brought by an Air Force analyst who said he was fired in 1970 in retaliation for his criticism of cost overruns. By the time the court acted, Nixon had been out of office for several years.

The appeals court panel in Trump’s case gave more weight to the first decision, which involved criminal rather than civil proceedings.

Trump’s application warned of pernicious consequences for later presidents if Trump’s claim to immunity was rejected.

“If the prosecution of a president is upheld, such prosecutions will recur and become increasingly common, ushering in destructive cycles of recrimination,” the filing said, adding, “Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the presidency as we know it will cease to exist.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

9

Houston megachurch shooter had AR-15 and brought her 7-year-old son

By J. DAVID GOODMAN, EDGAR SANDOVAL and RUTH GRAHAM

A

s afternoon services were beginning at Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday, a woman arrived in a trench coat and carrying a backpack, her 7-year-old son at her side. She brought two rifles and had a piece of yellow rope resembling a detonation cord, law enforcement officials said Monday.

The woman pointed an AR-15 at an unarmed security guard, officials said, and then made her way inside the church, which is led by televangelist Joel Osteen. Almost immediately, she opened fire in a hallway with the assault-style rifle.

As they provided new details of the shooting that rattled Lakewood Church, law enforcement officials said that what might have been a mass shooting inside one of the nation’s largest megachurches had been narrowly averted by a pair of off-duty officers working security at the church, a commonplace feature of worship at large congregations across the United States.

The officers — a Houston police officer and an agent from the state alcoholic beverage commission — confronted the woman, exchanged fire with her and killed her. Her son was also struck in the head by gunfire, officials said. He remained in critical condition Monday. A man in the church was also wounded.

“They were a wall that existed between worshippers and terror, between freedom of religion and murder,” Kevin J. Lilly, the chair of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said at an afternoon news conference, referring to the off-duty officers.

Officials identified the woman as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, who lived in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston, and had a history of previous arrests, including one in 2022 on misdemeanor weapons charges. Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department said that she had “a mental health history that is documented.”

It was not clear what had drawn Moreno to the prominent megachurch, located along a major Houston highway in a former NBA arena. But according to legal filings in her acrimonious divorce fight, her mother had once attended Lakewood.

A representative for the church, Don Iloff, said he did not believe the attacker was known to members or leaders of the church.

Police also discovered “antisemitic

writings” made by Moreno, said Christopher Hassig, the commander of the department’s homicide unit. The AR-15 carried a sticker with the word “Palestine” on its stock. He said that the feelings expressed in her writings appeared to stem from disputes with her exhusband’s family, some of whom are Jewish.

Osteen has hosted evangelistic events in Israel and, like many evangelical leaders, has expressed general solidarity with the country over the years. In 2022, he interviewed the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Netanyahu “a modern-day David” and comparing him to the biblical patriarch.

Finner said during the news conference that the shooting was not at the moment being treated as a hate crime. “I just want us to simply wait on the facts,” he said. “You got mental illness here. Got a lot of things going on.”

Moreno had used male names in the past, which appeared in connection with some of her arrest documents. But officials said that she had always been identified in those documents as a woman.

Before she was shot and killed by the off-duty officers, the attacker at the church stated that she had a bomb, according to a search warrant for Moreno’s Conroe home.

The officers said she was carrying a yellow cord that “appeared to be a detonation cord” that was “consistent with the manufacture of explosive devices.” The officers opened fire after she pointed her weapon at them, according to the warrant.

Police searched the shooting suspect’s one-story home Sunday night, according to a person familiar with the search. They were looking for firearms, computers and cellphones, as well as materials used to make explosives or a “hoax bomb,” according to the warrant.

Officials said during an earlier news conference Sunday that despite her statements and the fact that she had sprayed some sort of substance on the ground, the assailant did not have any explosives inside the church.

According to the warrant, the woman shot one man, whom officials have said was a bystander and did not appear to have been targeted. Finner said the police “don’t know” if the boy was shot by the woman, or by the off-duty officers as they confronted her. Officials could not say if she had been using her son to shield herself, or where he had been standing when the gunfire erupted.

Farrah Signorelli, a neighbor of Moreno, said that she and others in the neighborhood had at times been fearful of Moreno.

“She was very mean, very angry,” said Signorelli, who is a life skills teacher at an elementary school in Conroe. She said Moreno had begun antagonizing her after Moreno learned that her son was in Signorelli’s class.

“At first I didn’t have any issues with her, until she realized I was his teacher,” she said.

Since last fall, Signorelli said, Moreno drove by her house on more than one occasion, slowed down and appeared to be taking pictures of it on her cellphone. In another instance, Signorelli said she was walking with her 12-year-old daughter when Moreno stopped her car, rolled her window down and asked the girl repeatedly: “Is that your teacher? Is that your teacher?” She said she had ignored Moreno and had kept walking to avoid a confrontation.

“I was scared — I watched every step I took,” she said.

Officials said Moreno appeared to have purchased the AR-15 in December and that she had taken a .22 caliber rifle in her bag to the church as well but had not used it.

It was not immediately clear how or where she had been able to purchase the weapon

she used.

At a news conference, a beaming Osteen said he intended to continue his mission of providing hope.

“We don’t understand why these things happen, but we know God’s in control,” said Osteen, who tends to avoid wading into politics. “There are forces of evil, but the forces that are for us, the forces of God, are stronger than that.”

The shooting took place around 2 p.m.

Sunday, after an English-language service had ended and as a Spanish-language service was beginning. The church occupies the former home of the Houston Rockets basketball team. Services draw tens of thousands in person, and many more watch online and on television.

The attacker drove to the church in a white car and entered the building. She began firing after getting inside, said Hassig, the homicide commander, and almost immediately the two off-duty officers began firing at her.

“Multiple shots are exchanged by all three,” he said. “There’s a few-minute gunbattle.”

She was struck, he said, and fell to the ground, along with the boy. She was pronounced dead at 2:07 p.m., about 12 minutes after she had opened fire.

Victoria Osteen, the wife of Pastor Joel Osteen, preaches at Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday, March 26, 2006. On Sunday, Feb. 11, two off-duty law enforcement officers working security at the church confronted an armed woman, exchanged fire with her and killed her. The woman’s young son was also struck in the head by gunfire, officials said. (Michael Stravato/The New York Times)

10 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Hate Valentine’s Day? There’s a market for you, too.

By ISABELLA KWAI

L

illy Calman is not in the mood this Valentine’s Day for the flowers, chocolates or a romantic dinner for two, especially after a recent breakup.

“I’m very angry,” said Calman, 26, adding that it had been painful to see all the holiday paraphernalia in store aisles.

She found a more fitting outlet for her mood this year: a fundraiser for San Antonio Zoo that will symbolically name a roach or rodent after an ex and feed it to one of the zoo’s animals.

“The visual image of him getting eaten by a Komodo dragon is pretty satisfying,” said Calman, who donated $25 for the rat option. She is hoping the zoo sends her a video so she can host a screening with a friend. “I love reptiles. I think it’s cool.”

The annual campaign has raised more than $235,000 since the zoo first ran it in 2020, underscoring the appeal of alternative Valentine’s Day rituals for people who are uninterested in the coupledom of it all.

The traditions of Valentine’s Day bring strong feelings, both for and against. Do you appreciate a cute tradition?

Or do you hold it in contempt as a consumerist scam? Critics have blamed it for upholding a narrow-minded model of relationships as heterosexual and monogamous.

But the holiday, and its spending,

A closeup of a pink candy heart that reads “Pick Me” and that is split in half. The celebration of Valentine’s Day has extended to include friends, family, and pets.

Marketers have taken note and are searching for ways that resonate even with naysayers. (Shirley Yu/The New York Times) isn’t going anywhere; a majority of people in the United States plan to celebrate or mark the day this year, according to this year’s version of an annual survey by the National Retail Federation, a lobbying group for the industry.

Those celebrations, however, have broadened to include friends and family, pets and even yourself. Marketers are taking note, and trying to find more avenues that resonate with even the naysayers.

“Valentine’s Day is a holiday that has basically morphed over time,” said Barbara Bickart, associate professor of marketing at Questrom School of Business at Boston University. “Marketers are figuring out ways to be more inclusive and sensitive.”

The candy brand Sweethearts this year, for example, launched a “situationships” edition with blurred writing for those in undefined relationships. (They sold out quickly, said Evan Brock, vice president for marketing for Spangler Candy Co. in a statement.)

What to do on Valentine’s Day itself, when couples clutching roses fill restaurant tables? Marco Di Pinto has organized an “Anti-Valentine’s Day” comedy show in London for the past few years.

Comedians will encourage singles to share their terrible stories about dating and relationships, he said. Couples will — in good fun — be roasted. “I think this celebration is silly,” he said. “If we do a show like this, people maybe feel more included.”

João Pedro Santos, 41, has attended the comedy show the past few years — with his girlfriend. “That was one of the things that bonded us,” he said. “It’s

about messing about with the whole concept of Valentines.”

Spending on romantic relationships still dominates the holiday, but demographics offer insights on a fringe that is growing. About 30% of Americans are single, according to a 2022 survey from Pew Research Center, and more than half of them say they are not looking to date.

“Marketers alienating entire groups of consumers — not only is it bad for society, but it’s bad business in general,” said Angeline Close Scheinbaum, associate professor of marketing at Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business at Clemson University.

“This is a prime time to communicate with people,” said Peter McGraw, a behavioral economist at University of Colorado Boulder and the author of “Solo: Building a Remarkable Life of Your Own,” adding that businesses could be doing more to cater to a large group.

He pointed to the spending spree on Alibaba’s Singles Day on Nov. 11, a lucrative day for online shopping in China. “It is just so easy to do in your messaging.”

Even the self-care market, which has become a multibillion-dollar industry, now plays into the holiday. Searches on Etsy for “self-gift” before Valentine’s Day have increased 12% this year compared with last year, the company said.

“Learning how to love myself is a big undertaking right now,” said Kim McCoy, a speech language pathologist from Oregon. This year, after a breakup, McCoy is taking some time to romance herself. She has bought herself some flowers and is planning to attend an “ecstatic dance” event with a friend.

Naming a rat after her ex made Calman feel better, but it also helped her connect with friends and family as she shared a funny story. “Maybe platonic love is more important,” she said. “I do get to spend it with people I love and care about, and doing things we enjoy.”

The marketing around the day may ultimately hide the truth about why the holiday has persisted through time. “The point of the day is pure,” Scheinbaum said. “It is to celebrate and recognize love — and that will never go away.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

11 Stocks

Wall St sinks as hot inflation data dampens early rate-cut hopes W all Street’s main indexes tumbled on Tuesday after a higher-than-expected consumer inflation reading pushed back market expectations of imminent interest rate cuts, driving U.S. Treasury yields higher.

A Labor Department report showed U.S. consumer prices increased above forecasts in January amid a surge in the cost of shelter.

“Many Federal Reserve governors have come out in the last couple of weeks and given various indications that the cuts expected by the market in the first half of the year may have been premature. Now the CPI data are certainly reaffirming that picture,” said Bob Elliott, chief investment officer at Unlimited Funds.

Markets have rallied this year on bets that the Fed would start trimming rates in May. The S&P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time on Friday. The Dow is also trading at a record-high level, and on Monday the Nasdaq briefly surpassed its record closing high from November 2021.

After the release of the inflation data, bets by traders for a rate reduction in May of at least 25 basis points dropped to 38%, from about 58% before the data, while expectations for June stood at 75%, the CME FedWatch tool showed.

Rate-sensitive megacaps like Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms lost between 0.8% and 2.1%, as yields on U.S. Treasury notes across the board spiked to two-month highs. [US/] Most chip stocks such as Micron Technology, Qualcomm and Broadcom dropped between 1.7% and 4.8%, sending the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index down 2.2%.

Real estate and utilities led losses among the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes, with real estate falling to an over two-month low.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index also shed 3.2%, on track for its worst day in nearly a year.

“Today, market sentiment is getting a reality check and you just cannot escape the fact that the Fed may have to be more cautious,” said Lara Rhame, chief U.S. economist at FS Investments.

The latest data comes on the heels of a modest revision to inflation in the last quarter of 2023 that left investors briefly relieved on the trajectory of inflation.

The Cboe volatility index, a market fear gauge, hit its highest level since November.

At 1:51 p.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 594.28 points, or 1.53%, to 38,203.1, the S&P 500 lost 73.41 points, or 1.46%, to 4,948.43 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 277.76 points, or 1.74%, to 15,664.78.

Among top movers, JetBlue Airways jumped 19.4% after activist investor Carl Icahn reported a 9.91% stake, adding that the carrier’s stock is “undervalued.”

Arista Networks shed 4.2% after the cloud solutions provider forecast current-quarter adjusted gross margin be-

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low expectations, while Marriott International lost 6.4% after the hotel operator forecast annual profit below Street expectations.

Software firm Cadence Design Systems dropped 4.4% following a bleak quarterly sales forecast, while toymaker Hasbro lost 2.7% after a steeper-than-expected drop in holiday-quarter sales and profit.

Tripadvisor jumped 14% as the online travel agency formed a special committee to evaluate deal proposals.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 9.6-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 4.6-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 38 new highs and 96 new lows While most of the megacaps have powered higher this year, shares of Tesla have fallen 22%, the third-worst performer in the S&P 500, demonstrating how quickly the market’s superstars can fall out of favor.

Some investors believe breadth has narrowed partly because markets now anticipate the Federal Reserve will cut rates later in the year than many on Wall Street had expected, forcing an unwind of bets in rates-sensitive sectors that could benefit from lower borrowing costs.

12 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Israel orders evacuation of largest hospital in Khan Younis, Palestinians say

By RAJA ABDULRAHIM

A

s explosions sounded nearby, Israeli forces Tuesday ordered the evacuation of one of the last functioning hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to two doctors and the Gaza Health Ministry, raising fears that troops would attempt to storm a facility crowded with patients and displaced people.

Adding to the terror of those inside the hospital, Israeli forces fired on people who tried to flee the medical compound Tuesday, with some being killed or injured, the doctors said.

The scope of the evacuation order at the hospital, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, was not immediately clear. Two doctors said the Israeli military had given assurances that patients and medical staff could stay at the hospital. But one of the doctors said the military announced on Tuesday, using a loudspeaker attached to a drone, that everyone had to leave immediately and that an attack was imminent.

“The situation is very dangerous,” said Khaled Al-Serr, a general surgeon at the hospital. He said that the Israeli military had indicated just a day earlier that the hospital, which has been surrounded by Israeli ground forces for weeks, was safe.

The surrounding city of Khan Younis has

People displaced by fighting return to their homes in Khuza’a, near Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, during a ceasefire on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times) been a focus of Israel’s invasion of southern Gaza, with airstrikes killing hundreds of civilians and soldiers shooting people in the streets, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian news media reports.

Many residents of Gaza who fled Israel’s military offensive in northern and central Gaza had sought shelter in Khan Younis, only to be forced to flee again as Israeli forces advanced deeper into the strip.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about the evacuation order and about the allegation that its forces

had shot at those trying to flee.

The Israeli military says that Hamas uses hospitals as a cover for its operations, a claim that the group and medical officials have denied. Palestinians have sought shelter at hospitals even though Israeli forces have regularly launched strikes on and around them and in some cases raided hospital compounds.

Nahed Abu Taeema, the head of surgery at Nasser Hospital, said that explosions from airstrikes had grown closer to the hospital and more intense over the past few days.

“But we won’t leave the hospital without our

patients,” he said.

Amid the confusion over the evacuation order, many doctors and nurses, along with their family members who were sheltering at the hospital, had begun to pack their belongings and prepare to flee, Al-Serr said, even as leaving presented its own set of dangers.

There are about 8,000 people inside Nasser, he said, including badly wounded patients who have limb injuries and would be difficult to transport.

The situation inside the hospital has grown increasingly dire. Israeli strikes nearby caused fires that spread to the hospital’s medical equipment storage facility and supply warehouse, burning both nearly completely, said Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry. Sewage has flooded into the emergency department, hindering the treatment of patients and threatening further spread of disease, he said.

The U.N.’s World Health Organization said that one of its teams was denied access to the hospital Sunday. The head of the agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, wrote on social media that he was “deeply concerned about the safety of patients and health personnel due to the intensifying hostilities in the vicinity of the hospital,” and warned that hospitals and health workers “MUST be protected at all times.”

Hezbollah attack injures 2 Israelis amid fresh push to reduce tensions

By EUAN WARD, HWAIDA SAAD and ADAM SELLA

H

ezbollah, the Lebanese militia, fired missiles into northern Israel on Tuesday that injured at least two people, emergency officials said, amid a fresh diplomatic push to end months of clashes along the border.

Hezbollah said that it had launched two separate attacks into Israel — one aimed at Israeli soldiers and the other at a police building in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona.

A 15-year-old boy and a 47-year-old woman were seriously wounded in Kiryat Shmona, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s nonprofit emergency medical service. They had gotten out of the car they were traveling in when an anti-tank missile hit nearby, only to be injured when another landed, said Ofir Yehezkeli, Kiryat Shmona’s deputy mayor.

Israel and Hezbollah — an ally of Hamas in the Gaza Strip — have engaged in near-daily cross-border strikes since the deadly Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. The clashes have displaced more than 150,000 people from their homes on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.

The United States and others have engaged in diplomatic efforts to reduce the tensions. A Western diplomat said Tuesday that France had presented a proposal to Israel, Lebanon’s government and Hezbollah. The French proposal was

first reported by Reuters.

The proposal details a 10-day process of de-escalation and calls for Hezbollah to withdraw its fighters to a distance of 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Lebanon’s border with Israel, according to the diplomat, who is involved in the talks and who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations. The diplomat said that French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné presented the proposal in writing to Lebanon’s government last week while on a visit to the country.

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the government had received the proposal. The French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In recent weeks, Israel has warned that unless a diplomatic solution is reached, it would have to use military force to stop Hezbollah’s attacks in order to allow for tens of thousands of Israelis to return to their homes.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, dismissed the messages conveyed by Western “delegations” coming to Lebanon, saying they were focused only on protecting Israel.

In a televised speech, he said his armed group would keep fighting as long as the war in Gaza continues.

“You escalate, we escalate,” he said in an apparent warning to Israel.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

13

Pope and Argentine president appear to find some common ground

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO

P

resident Javier Milei of Argentina, who before taking office ridiculed Pope Francis as an “imbecile” and accused him of violating the Ten Commandments, met with the pontiff Monday for an hourlong conversation that the Vatican described as “cordial.”

The Vatican said in a statement that the two leaders had spoken at a private meeting about their shared will to further strengthen relations and had addressed the Milei government’s program to counter the economic crisis in Argentina, where the annual inflation rate is at 211%.

On social media, Milei’s office posted a photograph of the pope with the president and the president’s sister, Karina Milei, one of his closest advisers.

The discussions, which came a day after Milei attended a Mass for the canonization of Argentina’s first female saint, also addressed international issues, “especially ongoing conflicts and the commitment to peace among nations,” the Vatican said.

The goodwill was not a given. Both men were born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and though the pope is a national hero to many in the country, where a majority of people identify as Roman Catholic, Milei, who says he is an “anarcho-capitalist” and who ran under the banner of a far-right libertarian party, has repeatedly denigrated Francis.

In the years preceding his election in November, Milei often attacked the pope, who in his writings and speeches has repeatedly spoken out against free market economies for generating income inequalities that affect the most vulnerable.

In 2020, Milei called Francis “the representative of the Evil One on Earth” because of the pope’s defense of “social justice.” Two years later, Milei said that Francis “always stands on the side of evil” because the pope supported taxation.

Francis appeared to be unperturbed, brushing off the criticism as electoral hyperbole. Milei’s comments were made “in jest,” the pope said in an interview in December with a Mexican broadcaster.

“You have to distinguish a lot between what a politician says in the election campaign and what he actually does afterward,” Francis said, adding, “because then comes the moment of concreteness, of decisions.”

A grocery store, where the daily prices are written on a chalkboard, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan. 22, 2024. Argentina’s inflation rate is among the highest in the world. (Sarah Pabst/The New York Times) Francis has often downplayed criticism, even the most vitriolic — part of a strategy of keeping political doors open, even with leaders who hold views that he rejects.

It has not always worked in his favor.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the pope was initially criticized for his stance on Moscow; he eventually called out the aggressor only after months had passed.

Milei’s tone toward the pope softened after he was elected president late last year, when Francis called him after his victory. Milei’s office said in a statement at the time that the pope had contacted Milei to “congratulate him and to express his wishes for the unity and progress for our country.”

On Sunday, Milei attended a Mass for the canonization of María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, an 18th-century woman who gave up her wealth to care for the poor. She also kept alive the work of the Jesuits, the order that Francis belongs to, after it was expelled from Argentina.

Francis praised her Sunday as a “model of apostolic fervor and audacity for us,” and he urged his listeners to over-

come prejudice and fear and be close to the poor. “How many suffering men and women do we meet on the sidewalk of our cities,” he said.

After the ceremony, Francis was taken in a wheelchair to greet the Argentine president. The two men exchanged a few words before Milei bent over and gave Francis a hug.

It had been widely speculated by Vatican experts that the two leaders would speak of a possible papal trip to Argentina

during their meeting, but the Vatican did not confirm any talks on that topic. Francis has made 44 trips outside Italy since becoming pope nearly 11 years ago, but he has never returned home. In January, Milei issued a formal invitation.

In an interview Friday with Vatican News, an official Vatican outlet, Archbishop Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva of Buenos Aires said that the Argentine people were waiting for Francis “and want to meet with their pastor.”

The archbishop also spoke about the current economic situation in Argentina. In the two months since Milei took office, inflation has soared and the value of the national currency has plummeted, prompting protests and strikes. Despite the economic chaos, Milei’s approval rating has remained high.

“On the one hand, we cannot remain indifferent because for us, the poverty indexes and the indigence indexes are telling us about concrete faces, about concrete brothers and sisters who are having a very bad time,” the archbishop said.

“They are not numbers but concrete faces, and, as I always say, the political, business and religious leaders, we all have a little responsibility in having reached this situation,” he added.

Milei arrived in Italy from Israel, where he had promised to move his nation’s embassy to Jerusalem, from Tel Aviv. The decision was praised by the Israeli government and criticized by Hamas, the armed Palestinian group with which Israel is at war in the Gaza Strip.

14

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

A ‘Democracy Party’ like no other: One of the world’s biggest elections

By MUKTITA SUHARTONO, SUI-LEE WEE and HASYA NINDITA

T

he young women and men moved from booth to booth, asking questions about the political hopefuls’ track records and visions for the country. A few steps away, firsttime voters practiced casting their ballots in pretend voting booths. And onstage, talk show guests discussed how to make an informed choice in backing a candidate.

This gathering of more than 1,000 people one recent Sunday in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, was a prelude to a celebration that is widely known here as “Pesta Demokrasi,” or Democracy Party.

Otherwise known as Election Day, it’s when tens of millions of people across this vast archipelago of thousands of islands head to polling stations that are sometimes decorated with balloons, garlands and flowers, and staffed by officials dressed up as Spider-Man, Batman, Thor or other superheroes. After voting for presidential, parliamentary and local legislative candidates, people camp out near their polling places with food as they wait for early counts to trickle in. The next “party” is today.

Free and fair elections in Indonesia were unthinkable as recently as the mid-1990s, when it was still under the brutal rule of Suharto. But after his fall in 1998, the country emerged as the world’s third-largest democracy. Partly because Election Day is a national holiday, voter turnout has consistently been among the highest in the world and reached a record 80% in 2019. With the minimum voting age set at 17, the biggest bloc this time is people under 40, who make up more than half of the 205 million voters in Indonesia.

The presidential election is a three-way race, and billboards with the faces of the three candidates — Anies Baswedan, Prabowo Subianto and Ganjar Pranowo — loom over major roads. Their debates are furiously discussed on Instagram, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter. Indonesians refer to the three men by their candidate numbers, so in homes, wa-

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, center in white, is thronged by supporters outside the Badung Market, in Bali, May 18, 2019. Voters will choose today among three candidates vying to succeed the popular incumbent Joko, who is barred from seeking a third five-year term. (Bryan Denton/The New York Times)

rungs and cafes here, the inevitable question is: “Are you voting for 1, 2 or 3?”

But even this vibrant electoral process has its limits.

“Indonesia is very new to democracy, and a lot of people are not used to choosing their candidates based on track records and ideas,” said Abigail Limuria, an organizer of the “Election Festival” gathering in Jakarta that aimed to educate voters about the candidates and issues. “Many of them just vote based on who their family is choosing.”

This campaign has also raised serious questions about the future of the hard-won democratic norms in Indonesia. President Joko Widodo, the popular incumbent who is barred from seeking a third five-year term, has alarmed critics with dynastic machinations that have allowed his son to run for vice president.

Though not explicitly endorsing anyone, he has appeared Dr. José B. Morales Claudio to engineer an alliance with Prabowo, a former rival who Médico Generalista has long been accused of human rights abuses and was Niños, adultos y envejecientes once married to a daughter of Se acepta la mayoría de los planes médicos Suharto.

Yet there is still a belief 787.672.8209 that ultimately every vote mdjmora579@gmail.com matters.

Urb. Paradis Calle Lope B-24 L-J: 9am-5pm “I am taking this as an Caguas, PR 00725 V-S: 8am-12pm Alternos opportunity to contribute to

change Indonesia for the better,” said Shiela Mutia Larasati, 25, a fashion entrepreneur based in Jakarta. “Previously, I was still young and apathetic. But now, I have hope for Indonesia.”

Recent elections in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, have been marred by ugly identity politics — Joko was called a “Chinese Christian” (he is neither), and Prabowo, who has sought the presidency multiple times but never won, was dogged by questions about how many times he prayed in a day. Campaigning used to mean distributing food supplies to get votes. But this year, the political discussion appears to be more open about issues like democracy and defense, even if the presidential candidates all offer a vision akin to that of Joko: policy based on infrastructure and welfare projects.

“I think that’s a good sign of the improvement of democracy,” said Danis Syahroni, 24, a postgraduate student at Gadjah Mada University in the city of Yogyakarta. “We can debate and discuss candidates’ ideas.”

About 1,200 young people turned up at a convention hall in Jakarta where the “Election Festival,” known locally as “Festival Pemilu,” was held. By midafternoon, the line was so long that organizers had to turn people away. One of the headliners was a group of young comedians known as Trio

Netizen.

“If you get elected and you become someone important, don’t become crazy, yah?” said one of the comedians, Eky Priyagung, a reference to the 2019 election, when the opposite happened: Some candidates who lost were so devastated that they had to seek inpatient care for their mental health.

The crowd burst out laughing. (This year, several hospitals have announced that they have prepared psychiatric wards for candidates.)

The event was an offshoot of a website called “Bijak Memilih,” or Choose Wisely, that caters to young voters. Limuria said she wanted to start the website because many young people have expressed confusion about whom to vote for in this election.

Some are skeptical about the independence of the country’s media outlets, owned by tycoons who often hew to their political patron’s interests.

To drive voters to polls, activists have relied on memes and stunts like putting out TikTok videos equating the candidates with various Taylor Swift songs. A Spotify Wrapped campaign playfully overlaps music with corruption statistics.

At least one candidate has also used social media to his advantage. With the aid of savvy digital tactics, Prabowo has had some success in rebranding himself from a feared general into a cuddly grandfather. Many young people simply do not know about his past. His apparent alliance with Joko has additionally helped his popularity.

In recent weeks, opposition to Prabowo has coalesced around images of people brandishing four fingers on one hand. The message: Voters should pick anyone except Prabowo and choose either No. 1 (Anies) or No. 3 (Ganjar).

Anies, a former governor of Jakarta, has found support from an unlikely bloc: Indonesian K-pop fans. They have rented a food truck, crowdfunded digital billboards and ordered light sticks for his last rally before the election.

Many say they were taken by Anies after he emerged from a debate and did a TikTok livestream with his supporters, where, like a K-pop star, he answered questions about his love life and his favorite books.

Surveys suggest none of the three candidates will win more than 50% of the vote, meaning that the race would head to a runoff.

What remains certain is the high level of civic engagement.

“I’m really excited to take part in the democracy party,” said Kayla Jasmine, 20, a firsttime voter attending the “Election Festival” in Jakarta.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

15

Biden’s age is a campaign problem, not a governing one

By MICHELLE GOLDBERG

L

ast fall I found myself at a dinner party that included a former Biden administration official and a Democratic donor, and the conversation turned, naturally, to President Joe Biden’s age and his prospects for reelection.

The ex-official said that from inside the White House, where people experience the policymaking process firsthand, Biden was overwhelmingly seen as an effective leader who should run again. The donor, on the other hand, saw Biden mostly at the fundraisers where watching the president’s meandering speeches left him terrified about the upcoming campaign. The gulf in their perceptions, I think, speaks to the fact that Biden’s age has impaired his ability to campaign much more than his ability to govern, which has created an impossible dilemma for the Democratic Party.

I have argued since 2022 that Biden shouldn’t run again because he’s too old, but there’s never been much sign that his advanced age affects his performance in office. I’m not aware of any leaks from the White House suggesting that Biden is confused, exhausted or forgetful when setting priorities or making decisions. It’s not just Democratic partisans who find Biden more impressive up close than his frail, halting image in the media would suggest. As Politico reported of ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, “On a particularly sensitive matter, McCarthy mocked Biden’s age and mental acuity in public, while privately telling allies that he found the president sharp and substantive in their conversations.” There are obviously

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things Biden does that I disagree with; I wish he’d take a much harder line with Israel over civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip. But while his reluctance to publicly criticize Israel might stem from an anachronistic view of the country — Biden likes to talk about Labor Zionist Prime Minister Golda Meir, who left office 50 years ago — his position is a mainstream one in the Democratic Party and can’t be attributed to senescence.

Because Biden has delivered on many Democratic priorities, there was never any real push within the party to get him to step aside, forfeiting the advantages of incumbency in favor of a potentially bruising primary contest. But it’s obvious to most people watching the president from afar that he looks fragile and diminished and that his well-known propensity for gaffes has gotten worse. Poll after poll shows that voters are very concerned about his age. That’s why special counsel Robert Hur’s gratuitous swipes at Biden as someone who might seem to a jury like a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” have caused an epic freakout among Democrats. His words brought to the surface deep, terrifying doubts about Biden’s ability to do the one part of his job that matters above all others, which is beating Donald Trump.

That’s true even though the report by Hur, a former Trump appointee tapped by Merrick Garland to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents, looks like a partisan hit job. (Democratic attorneys general have a terrible habit of appointing Republican special counsels in an effort to display their own impartiality — a type of moral preening that Republican administrations rarely fall victim to.) Since Hur decided not to charge Biden with any crimes, his comments about Biden’s age, particularly his claim that Biden couldn’t remember the year his son Beau died, seemed designed to shiv him politically. If so, it worked.

Some Democrats are now comparing the media fixation on Biden’s age to the saturation coverage of Hillary Clinton’s emails eight years ago, and there are similarities. Betty Friedan wrote that “housewifery expands to fill the time available,” and the same is true of bad political news. Trump’s scandals are so multifarious that each one tends to get short shrift, while his opponents’ weaknesses and missteps can be examined at length precisely because there are fewer of them. This asymmetry worked to Trump’s advantage in 2016, and it’s helping him now.

But there’s also a crucial difference between Clinton’s

In a multiple-exposure image made from a video being played at the event site, President Joe Biden during his first 2024 campaign event in Valley Forge, Pa., on Jan. 5, 2024. (Mark Peterson/The New York Times) emails and Biden’s years. Clinton’s vulnerability was never really about her insufficient care with information security protocols. Instead, the emails became a symbol of a powerful but inchoate sense, magnified by disproportionate press attention, that she was devious and deceptive. Biden’s age is a much more straightforward issue; people think he’s too old because of how he looks and sounds. Pretending it’s not a problem isn’t going to make voters worry about it less; it’s just going to make them feel they’re being lied to.

Instead, Biden’s campaign should be candid about the challenges of aging — which, of course, the increasingly incoherent Trump shares — while doing its best to demonstrate that Biden’s judgment and grasp of complicated issues are still strong. That means doing a lot more interviews and events, especially those focused on policy questions, letting the American people see the version of Biden visible to those who work with him. He’ll almost certainly make plenty of verbal slips, but as they pile up, they might start to seem like old news, especially if he’s not defensive about them.

And if he’s not up for a major change in strategy? It might sound extreme, but in that case, he should find some medical pretext to step aside in time for a replacement to be chosen at the Democratic convention. Biden’s greatest contribution to this country was saving us from another Trump term. If his unwillingness to face his own limitations now clears the way for Trump’s restoration, it will be not just a mistake but a tragedy.

16 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Anuncia $8.6 millones para mejoras a los aeropuertos internacionales Luis Muñoz Marín POR CYBERNEWS

S

AN JUAN – La comisionada residente, Jenniffer González Colón, anunció el martes, 8.6 millones de dólares en fondos federales, que allegarían a la Isla para la mejora de infraestructura en los aeropuertos internacionales Luis Muñoz Marín y Rafael Hernández, bajo el Airport Terminals Program, creado bajo la Ley Bipartita de Infraestructura (Ley Pública 117-58).Según detalló la comisionada en un comunicado de prensa, Aerostar Airport Holdings recibe 5 millones de dólares para el desarrollo de

infraestructura que suministrará energía sostenible y resistente al Terminal A en el Aeropuerto Internacional Luis Muñoz Marín, en Carolina.

Por su parte, Autoridad de Puertos de Puerto Rico recibe 3,600,000 dólares para la construcción de un nuevo terminal y puertas de embarque (gates) en el Aeropuerto Internacional Rafael Hernández en Aguadilla.

Añadió que en la Ley se incluyeron 2,265 millones de dólares en fondos directos para la Puerto Rico y se aseguró que la Isla fuera elegible para fondos competitivos, como el Airport Terminals Program.

En el año fiscal 2023, bajo este programa, el aeropuerto Rafael Hernández recibió 6,000,000 de dólares para la rehabilitación de un edificio de la terminal comercial. El proyecto incluía la construcción de un segundo nivel con puertas de embarque y una oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés) para manejar llegadas internacionales.

Las subvenciones anunciadas fueron otorgadas como parte de los fondos asignados por el Congreso para el año fiscal 2024 bajo la Ley Bipartita de Infraestructura.

Presentan la cerveza Cangrejera POR CYBERNEWS

S

AN JUAN – Los Cangrejeros de Santurce del Baloncesto Superior Nacional de Puerto Rico (BSN) junto a la compañía cervecera, Santurce Brewery lanzaron el martes, en colaboración una edición limitada de la nueva cerveza oficial santurcina.

Se trata de la Cangrejeros Blonde Ale, una cerveza de cuerpo ligero y que a mediano tiene un aroma a dulce de malta, pan y caramelo con un sabor ligero pan tostado, galleta, trigo y malta.

La propuesta de colaboración entre ambos nace desde los inicios de la cervecera con el objetivo de trabajar juntos en el desarrollo de la primera cerveza

Cangrejera uniendo esfuerzos para crear algo único que celebre y represente a la comunidad santurcina.

Solo se podrá adquirir en negocios participantes por tiempo limitado. No estará disponible en el Coliseo Roberto Clemente durante la temporada del BSN. Santurce Brewery abrió sus puertas en el 2022 con su primer lote de Pilsner con la misión de elaborar cerveza de gran calidad mientras colabora con artistas, cerveceros caseros, bares, restaurantes, marcas locales y músicos puertorriqueños.

Asimismo, los Cangrejeros encaminan los detalles finales de cara a la temporada 2024 del BSN para su cuarta temporada consecutiva desde su regreso en el 2021.

Estudiantes de Corozal invitan a Feria Agrícola el viernes 23 con variedad de actividades POR EL STAR STAFF

C

OROZAL – La Escuela Superior Especializada Agrícola Pablo D. Burgos Marrero de Corozal, invita a toda la comunidad corozaleña y amantes de la agricultura a ser parte de su Feria Agrícola, a celebrarse el viernes, 23 de febrero de 2024 en las facilidades de la institución educativa, ubicada en la Carretera #159 interior, kilómetro 13.3, Camino Albino en el Barrio Abras.

En el evento, que inicia a las 8:00 de la mañana y finaliza a la 1:00 de la tarde, los visitantes tendrán la oportunidad se conocer cómo es la dinámica educativa de una escuela orientada a la producción agrícola, donde los estudiantes aprenden diversas materias a nivel básico para luego continuar sus especialidades.

Para Aitza Morales Alicea, maestra coordinadora de la Feria Agrícola, “hay mucho entusiasmo de los jóvenes por demostrar que hay futuro en la agricultura, porque tiene una gran variedad de vertientes, desde la

producción de un huerto casero para uso doméstico, hasta la producción en masa para la venta, sea de frutas y vegetales comp de hortalizas. A eso se suma todo lo que es lo avícola y el ganado en sus diversas versiones”.

La industria de agricultura en Puerto Rico representa aproximadamente el 0.62% del producto doméstico bruto, que traducido en dólares son 800 millones, según datos del año 2020. Actualmente se estima que el sector produce aproximadamente el 15% de la comida consumida localmente, aunque expertos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico argumentan que los cultivos podrían cubrir aproximadamente 30% de la demanda local, particularmente la de vegetales más pequeños como tomates, lechuga y varias clases de tubérculos que actualmente están siendo importados.

Para los interesados en participar del evento, el enlace electrónico para llegar es el siguiente: https://maps. app.goo.gl/wFZwEwQ45wK7X8t56.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

17

‘Now where was I?’ Jon Stewart is back in his old ‘Daily Show’ seat

By JEREMY EGNER

J

on Stewart returned Monday night as host of “The Daily Show,” the Comedy Central news satire he turned into a cultural force before leaving in August 2015. It was the beginning of a plan, announced in January, that will bring Stewart back to the show on Mondays through the presidential election. He will also serve as an executive producer.

“Why am I back?” he said. “I have committed a lot of crimes. From what I understand, talk show hosts are granted immunity — it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but take it up with the founders.”

Stewart’s first night back found him grayer — at one point he used his own wizened face as a prop in a joke about the presidential candidates’ ages. But he was otherwise in classic form.

Opening with “Now where was I,” Stewart mixed silliness and absurd, often self-deprecating jokes with righteous indignation as he kicked off the 2024 edition of one of the show’s signature franchises, its “Indecision” election coverage. Proposed titles, he said, included “Indecision 2024: American Demockracy”; “Indecision 2024: Electile Dysfunction”; and “Indecision 2024: Antiques Roadshow.” He riffed, from his familiar left-leaning perspective, on the Super Bowl and the Taylor Swift conspiracy theories that surrounded it.

“It’s almost like the right’s ridiculous obsession with politicizing every aspect of American life ruins everything,” he said.

Later he anchored a bit that found the show’s correspondents Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta and Dulce Sloan reporting from the same diner, a goof on the campaign coverage trope.

They and Jordan Klepper, who did a desk bit, will take turns hosting the show Tuesdays through Thursdays. The guest was Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist.

“The Daily Show” posted his opening segment on its YouTube feed just before it aired on Comedy Central.

In one sense, Stewart is the latest in a line of celebrity fill-ins who have hosted “The Daily Show” since Trevor Noah left in December 2022. Of course, Stewart is the person who, over 16 years as host, transformed “The Daily Show” into latenight’s most vital and influential program.

A pop culture snark-fest under its original host, Craig Kilborn, “The Daily Show” evolved into a topical satire after Stewart took over in 1999, and it became a news source for portions of its audience, even as Stewart maintained that his primary goal was to entertain, not inform. It was also a prolific talent incubator: Alumni including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee and Hasan Minhaj went on to host their own shows. Others, like Steve Carell, Ed Helms and Jessica Williams, found success in Hollywood.

It was another former “Daily Show” correspondent, Noah, who succeeded Stewart as host. But the show’s ratings and profile declined, part of a general downturn in the cultural relevance of late-night shows in the streaming age. At the same time, Stewart’s own post-“Daily Show” professional efforts have been lackluster.

A deal to develop a topical animated show for HBO went nowhere, and his talk show for Apple TV+, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” ended last year after 20 episodes when Stewart and Apple executives disagreed over the show’s creative direction.

Jon Stewart in Washington on Aug. 10, 2022. Stewart has returned to host “The Daily Show,” the television program that he turned into appointment viewing, on Monday nights during the 2024 election campaign. (Leigh Vogel/The New York Times) There was perhaps a subtle reference to Stewart’s previous job on “The Daily Show” on Monday night. “We’re going to have so much we’re going to talk about this year,” he said. “Obviously, the elections, maybe we’ll talk about China, maybe we’ll talk about AI, maybe something a little lighter, Israel-Palestine.” Artificial intelligence and China were two of the subjects that created friction at “The Problem.”

“The Problem” never got much traction, aside from generating a few viral interview clips and receiving an Emmy nomination last year for outstanding variety talk series. In a twist, that award went instead to “The Daily Show,” the only time the Noah version won. Stewart’s “Daily

Show” won the award for outstanding variety series award 10 times in a row, from 2003 to 2012.

In an interview on “CBS Mornings” on Monday, Stewart said he is returning to “The Daily Show” because he wants a platform during the election.

“I very much wanted to have some kind of place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season, and I thought I was going to do it over at, they call it, Apple TV+,” he said. However, he added, “they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”

He went on: “I just thought, who better to comment on this election than someone who truly understands two aging men past their prime?”

18

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

5 children’s movies to stream now

By DINA GACHMAN

ing in the Quantum Realm, and Bill Murray pops in as Lord Krylar. The emotional heart of his month’s picks include a Dreamthe story is the father-daughter bond between Works Animation film about the unpreAnt-Man and Cassie, and it’s fun to watch dictability of life and a fantastical mysPfeiffer and Douglas act their hearts out in a tery about hope. superhero flick. Older elementary-age kids ‘Orion and the Dark’ and middle schoolers who love the action and It’s not every day that novelist David humor of “Guardians of the Galaxy” should Foster Wallace and the topic of nihilism get find enough here to hook them. Peyton Reed mentioned in a children’s movie, but then (“Ant-Man,” “The Mandalorian”) directs, and again DreamWorks Animation’s “Orion and Jeff Loveness (“Rick and Morty,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”) wrote the screenplay. (Stream it on the Dark” was written by Charlie Kaufman Disney+.) (“Being John Malkovich,” “Eternal Sunshine ‘The Water Man’ of the Spotless Mind”) so the dashes of existential dread make sense.

Gunner (Lonnie Chavis from “This Is Based on a picture book by Emma YarUs”) is the new kid in town. He doesn’t have lett and directed by Sean Charmatz in his feaany friends; his dad, Amos (David Oyelowo), Orion (voiced by Jacob Tremblay), left, and the Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) ture film debut, the story follows an anxious is a stoic military man whose job keeps him in the new movie “Orion and the Dark,” available on Netflix. elementary school child named Orion (voiced away from home too much; and his mom,

by Jacob Tremblay) who is scared of things like Mary (Rosario Dawson), is dying of cancer. pear — including a pig, a horse and a goat — it’s the tiger school bullies and talking to the girl he has a He escapes into Sherlock Holmes mysteries crush on. But Orion is also afraid of bees, bodies of water who saves Tom and his grandmother from the devilish sor- and into the graphic novel he’s drawing. When he hears and field trips. Most of all, he’s terrified of the dark. When ceress Loo (Michelle Yeoh). a local legend about a Water Man with magical powers Cut to San Francisco, 15 years later. Tom (Brandon who lives in the spooky woods outside of town, Gunner Dark (Paul Walter Hauser) pays him a visit in the form of a hulking, huggable figure, Orion sets off on a journey into Soo Hoo) is a skateboarding teenager living with his grand- makes it his mission to find him. Oyelowo directed from a the night to face his fears, see his future self and learn to mother in Chinatown. He’s getting bullied at school, but script by Emma Needell, and if the premise sounds weepy, during a fight one day, he accidentally discovers he has there’s plenty of fantasy and adventure to entertain kids accept the unpredictability of life.

Along the way, he meets figures like Dreams (An- magical powers. Tom quickly learns that his granny is the who, like Gunner, love a mystery. gela Bassett), Insomnia (Nat Faxon) and Quiet (Aparna guardian of the Phoenix, a powerful amulet which, in the There are strange things in the woods — creepy noisNancherla). It’s a sweet, funny adventure that speaks to right hands, maintains the good in the universe, but in the es, wild horses appearing out of nowhere, snow in sumthe fears most little kids harbor. When Orion and Dark wrong hands will destroy humanity. Tom reluctantly be- mer — but Gunner and his new friend, Jo (Amiah Miller), say their goodbyes, the boy has gained the courage to go comes the guardian of the Phoenix; and the Tiger, known brave the unknown on their quest to meet the Water Man on his field trip and Dark has grappled with his own self- as Hu in his human form (voiced by Henry Golding), be- and, maybe, help heal Gunner’s mother. Oyelowo handles doubts, since half the world thinks he’s a monster. A high- comes his mentor. Lucy Liu plays the Empress and Sandra tough topics with sensitivity, and in the end, it’s a story of light (for parents at least) is a quick voice-over cameo from Oh voices a dragon named Mistral. hope above all else. (Stream it on Netflix.)

It’s a stylish animated adventure with enough trainfilmmaker Werner Herzog, who provides the narration for ‘Smallfoot’ a documentary within the film about — what else? — the ing montages, humor and battle scenes to entertain young A society of isolated yetis lives high in the snowy ones as well as middle schoolers who are into skateboard- mountains, and their community has a set of strict laws dark. (Stream it on Netflix.) ing underdogs who battle the baddies. Raman Hui (the that are etched in stone, literally. Their leader, Stonekeeper ‘The Tiger’s Apprentice’ We meet Tom Lee when he’s a baby in 2009 Hong “Monster Hunt” and “Shrek” franchises) directs, and Da- (voiced by Common), makes sure everyone follows the Kong, riding in the back of his grandmother’s car. She vid Magee and Christopher Yost wrote the script based on rules, but when the yeti Migo (Channing Tatum) wanders seems like a regular granny until a flock of black and neon a bestselling book by Laurence Yep. (Stream it on Para- off one day and encounters a Smallfoot — aka a human green demon creatures descend on the car, which doesn’t mount+.) named Percy (James Corden) — his discovery threat‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ ens to disrupt the Stonekeeper’s orders. Zendaya voices surprise her at all. When 12 mythical zodiac figures apIf the campy 1968 Jane Fonda romp “Barbarella” Meechee, the Stonekeeper’s rebellious daughter who runs had a Marvel-size budget, it probably would have looked a fringe rebel group called Smallfoot Evidentiary Society, a little bit like the Quantum Realm in “Ant-Man and the or SES; its members include Gwangi (LeBron James) and Wasp: Quantumania.” It’s a trippy alternate universe that Kolka (Gina Rodriguez).

Préstamos Personales Pequeños Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) and AntMostly it’s a fun animated musical about yetis and otorgados para la semana que terminó el Man’s daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton from “Big Little humans, but it may also inspire healthy discussions about Sábado, 10 de febrero de 2024 Lies”), accidentally get pulled into when Cassie sends a questioning authority and standing up for the truth. Karey signal into that mysterious realm. It’s a family affair since Kirkpatrick (“Over the Hedge”) and Jason Reisig direct, Tasa Mínima Promedio Tasa Máxima the Wasp’s parents, Janet and Hank (played by Michelle from a script by Kirkpatrick and Clare Sera (“Blended”). (%) Ponderado (%) (%) Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas), are also in the lab when The “Bad Santa” team of Glenn Ficarra and John Requa get 140.00% 151.00% 163.00% they all get zapped. story credit, but here they kept things strictly PG. (Stream The dangerous villain Kang (Jonathan Majors) is lurk- it on Max.)

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

19

How does alcohol affect the gut microbiome?

Scientists are just beginning to explore the relationship between drinking and the good and bad bacteria in your gut. (Mojo Wang/The New York Times)

By ALICE CALLAHAN

A

frothy beer or a glass of wine can enhance a meal and settle the mind. But what does alcohol do to the trillions of microbes living in your gut?

As with much of microbiome science, “there is a lot that we don’t know,” said Dr. Lorenzo Leggio, a physicianscientist who studies alcohol use and addiction at the National Institutes of Health.

That said, it’s clear that happy microbes are essential for proper digestion, immune function and intestinal health. And as scientists begin to explore how drinking may influence your gut, they’re learning that overdoing it could have some unhappy consequences.

Q: How does heavy drinking affect your microbiome?

A: Most of the available research on alcohol and the microbiome has focused on people who drink regularly and heavily, said Dr. Cynthia Hsu, a gastroenterologist at the University of California, San Diego.

A handful of studies, for instance, have found that people with alcohol use disorder (the inability to control or stop problematic drinking) often have an imbalance of “good” and “bad” bacteria in their guts. This is called dysbiosis, and it is generally associated with greater in-

flammation and disease compared with having a healthier microbiome, Hsu said.

Heavy drinkers with dysbiosis can also have “leakier,” or more permeable, intestinal linings, Leggio said. A healthy gut lining acts as a barrier between the interior of the intestine — full of microbes, food and potentially harmful toxins — and the rest of the body, he said.

When the gut lining breaks down, bacteria and toxins can escape into the bloodstream and flow to the liver, Hsu added, where they can cause liver inflammation and damage.

Preliminary research suggests that an unhealthy gut might even contribute to alcohol cravings, said Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj, a hepatologist at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Richmond VA Medical Center.

In a 2023 study, for example, researchers looked at the microbiomes of 71 people ages 18 to 25 who did not have alcohol use disorder. Those who reported more frequent binge drinking (defined as four or more drinks within about two hours for women, or five or more drinks for men) had microbiome changes that correlated with greater alcohol cravings. That study also added to previous research that found that binge drinking was associated with greater blood markers of inflammation.

Of these studies, none of them have proved that al-

cohol causes dysbiosis in humans, however. The link is clearer in animal studies, but in human studies, it’s harder for researchers to control for factors like diet and other health conditions.

Q: What about those who drink less?

A: Federal guidelines define moderate drinking as no more than two drinks per day for men or one drink per day for women. There’s very little research on how this amount of alcohol consumption affects your gut microbiome, said Jennifer Barb, a clinical bioinformatics scientist at the National Institutes of Health.

Scientists have found that compared with those who don’t drink at all, people who drink at low-to-moderate levels have more diverse gut microbiomes — a characteristic generally associated with a healthy gut. This could be attributed to other diet or lifestyle factors, or it could be that something in alcoholic drinks might benefit the microbiome — though it’s likely not the ethanol, Barb said.

In a 2020 study of 916 women in Britain who consumed two or fewer drinks per day, for example, researchers found that those who drank red wine — or to a lesser extent, white wine — had greater gut microbial diversity than those who did not. No such link was found with beer or liquor. The researchers hypothesized that polyphenols, compounds found in grape skins that are in high concentrations in red wines, might explain their results.

But you don’t need alcohol to find polyphenols, said John Cryan, a neuroscientist who studies the microbiome at University College Cork in Ireland — they’re also in grapes and most other fruits and vegetables, as well as many herbs, coffee and tea.

In general, consuming a variety of plant-based foods and fermented foods like yogurt, kombucha and kimchi can improve microbiome diversity, too.

Q: Can cutting back on alcohol improve your gut health?

A: Researchers have looked at the microbiomes of people who have been treated for alcohol use disorder and found that within two to three weeks after the people stopped drinking, their gut microbes started to show signs of recovering, Barb said, and their gut linings became less “leaky.” But, she added, people who get treated for alcohol use disorder also usually start to eat more healthfully and sleep better, which can improve gut health, too.

It’s not clear how — or even if — quitting or cutting back on alcohol might influence the microbiomes of moderate drinkers, Leggio said. But we do know that alcohol can cause acid reflux, stomach lining inflammation and gastrointestinal bleeding, he added, and can increase your risk of several types cancer, including those of the esophagus, colon and rectum.

So “there is no question whatsoever,” Leggio said, that drinking less is a worthwhile endeavor for your health.

20 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Monarch butterfly numbers are down sharply at wintering areas in Mexico

By CATRIN EINHORN

T

he number of monarch butterflies at their overwintering areas in Mexico dropped precipitously this year to the second-lowest level on record, according to an annual survey.

The census, considered a benchmark of the species’s health, found that the butterflies occupied only about 2.2 acres of forest in central Mexico, down 59% from the prior year. Only the winter of 2013-14 had fewer butterflies.

Scientists said the decline appeared to be driven by hot, dry conditions in the United States and Canada that reduced the quality of available milkweed, the only plants monarch caterpillars can eat, as well as the availability of nectar from many kinds of flowers, which they feed on as butterflies.

“It’s telling us that we need to intensify conservation and restoration measures,” said Jorge Rickards, general director of World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, which conducted the survey with the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas and other partners.

Migratory monarchs are listed as vulnerable, or threatened with extinction, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, the world’s leading scientific authority on the status of species. They were initially classified in the more imperiled category of endangered, but their status was adjusted in September.

The U.S. government has placed monarchs on what is essentially a waiting list for protection under the Endangered Species Act; the species qualifies for protection, officials have said, but others take priority.

It’s normal for insect population totals to swing up and down drastically, but drops become dangerous when they have been chronically eroded, as with monarchs, said Karen Oberhauser, professor emerita of entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has studied monarchs for decades.

“When we start with a low number, a catastrophic event could send the population into a tailspin that would be hard to recover from,” Oberhauser said.

A drop this large has never occurred after a number

as low as last winter, she added. Oberhauser also noted that deforestation in the butterflies’ winter habitat in Mexico was low last year, so it doesn’t appear to be a factor in the decline.

Monarch numbers during the summer breeding season were only slightly lower than last year, with some areas like the Northeast showing higher totals. But drought conditions in the south-central United States and northern Mexico probably led to lower nectar availability and a less successful autumn migration, Oberhauser said.

The survey made public Wednesday measured eastern monarchs, which live east of the Rocky Mountains. Western monarchs, on the other hand, overwinter mainly in California. Their annual count is conducted differently and this year tallied 233,394 butterflies. That was down from the previous year but far higher than a perilous low of less than 2,000 in 2020.

Still, western monarchs were just 5% of their population in the 1980s, when numbers were often in the low millions, according to Xerces Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to insect conservation that participated in both surveys.

NASA spots signs of twin volcanic plumes on Jupiter’s moon Io

By KATRINA MILLER

O

n Feb. 3, NASA’s Juno orbiter got a second closeup with Io, Jupiter’s third-largest moon and the most volcanic world of our solar system.

The Juno spacecraft, which arrived at the gas giant in 2016, is on an extended mission to explore Jupiter’s rings and moons. Its latest flyby, which complemented the mission’s first close approach Dec. 30, yielded even more views of the moon’s hellish landscape.

Io’s violent expulsions of sulfur and additional compounds give the moon its orange, yellow and blue hues. The process is similar to what happens around the volcanoes of Hawaii or the geysers in Yellowstone National Park, according to Scott Bolton, a physicist at the Southwest Research Institute who leads the Juno mission. “That must be what Io is like — on steroids,” he said. He added that it probably smells

Andeno Co

Tasa mínima, promedio ponderado, y máxima para préstamos personales pequeños otorgados para la semana que terminó el sábado, 10 de febrero de 2024

Tasa Mínima (%)

Promedio Ponderado (%)

Tasa Máxima (%)

30%

30%

31%

like those places, too.

Released Feb. 4, the most recent shots of Juno are already ripe for discovery. Bolton saw on the surface of Io what appears to be a double volcanic plume spewing into space — something that Juno has never caught before. Other scientists are noticing new lava flows and changes to familiar features spotted in past space missions like the Galileo probe, which made numerous close flybys of Io in the 1990s and 2000s.

“That’s the beauty of Io,” said Jani Radebaugh, a planetary scientist at Brigham Young University who is not part of the Juno mission but collaborates with the team on Io observations. Unlike our own moon, which remains frozen in time, Radebaugh said, “Io changes every day, every minute, every second.”

Images from the twin flybys, during which the spacecraft came within about 930 miles of Io, will be combined with previous snapshots that NASA had captured of the Jovian moon. The goal, Bolton said, is to understand “what’s really behind the engine that’s driving all the volcanoes, because they’re all over the place.”

That might be a global magma ocean just beneath Io’s crust — or merely pockets of molten rock under the surface, like the ones that fuel Earth’s volcanoes. It could be weeks, even months, before scientists begin to find answers in the data.

This is the last close flyby that Juno will make of Io. But the mission will continue to conduct more distant observations every 60 days, giving mission specialists a picture of the ever-changing moon as a whole.

That data will be just as valuable, according to Bolton.

“All of the images are amazing,” he said. “We never really know what to expect.”

In an undated photo provided by NASA, a view of Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, from the “Juno-cam” on NASA’s Juno spacecraft, during a fly-by in February, 2024. The Juno spacecraft, which arrived at the gas giant in 2016, is on an extended mission to explore Jupiter’s rings and moons.

(NASA via The New York Times)

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

21

A beloved chicken and rice dish, streamlined for weeknights

By GENEVIEVE KO

F

rom last Lunar New Year to this one, my life has gone through challenges and changes, and I wanted to shield my kids from all of it. It turns out that, despite my best efforts, they in some way perceive what’s happening, so I instead try to give them what stability I can. When that’s out of my control, I cook.

I want to believe that a favorite meal will make them feel like they’re home — even if we’re no longer circled around the same kitchen table we once shared. The problem is, we don’t have a tight little list of family dishes. Given my work as a recipe developer, their childhoods were filled with endless experiments: dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies, 17 versions of roast chicken, hundreds of dumplings. The dishes they remember the most clearly are the ones they tasted so many times in such a short span that they can no longer eat them. (Sorry about banana bread, kiddos.)

If pressed to name a meal that belonged to them — to us — it would be this shortcut chicken with ginger-scallion sauce. We used to call it Hainanese chicken rice back when I would prepare a version closer to the ones we ate when visiting family in Southern California. Like the original iterations in Hainan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, the chicken poaches gently, ending up as silky slips of meat. That poaching broth, along with ginger and the bird’s fat, is then used to cook the rice, and it’s all served with ginger-scallion or gingergarlic sauce, an inky sweet dark soy dip and scarlet chile sauce.

When my kids were toddlers, I would study cookbooks and pester the owner of Savoy Kitchen in Alhambra, California, to learn how to prepare a Cantonese take on Hainanese chicken rice similar to the restaurant dishes we enjoyed. I gripped the knobby drumstick ends of a whole chicken and dipped it into boiling water five times to ensure even cooking, then eased the bird into the pot. While it bathed in a bare simmer, I set the extra chicken fat and flappy skin I sliced off earlier in another pot and let the fat melt slowly over low heat.

Once the chicken cooked through, I plunged it into a bowl of ice water to firm its skin, then let it dry off on a cutting board.

I stirred the rice into the melted fat, then cooked it in the chicken broth while minced ginger and scallions sizzled with hot oil. It became a special meal, especially for Lunar New Year, when whole chickens symbolize wholeness, unity and good luck.

Work, school, sports practices, music lessons and more made that meal impossible to prepare most nights, so I began to streamline it, first cooking chicken parts, then forgoing the rice for plain steamed rice. But anyone who has had great Hainanese chicken rice knows that the rice is the greater draw. The restaurants and food stands that specialize in this dish save leftover poaching broth to cook each subsequent batch so the rice plumps with shimmery richness. If gold was a taste, this would be it.

An engineering colleague alerted me to one-pot versions of Hainanese chicken rice swirling around social media, and I actually hooted with excitement at the prospect of trying it. It made so much sense. Why not infuse the rice with the meat’s

One-pot ginger scallion chicken and rice. This shortcut chicken with ginger-scallion sauce is a take on Hainanese chicken rice. (Nico Schinco/The New York Times) richness by cooking the two together?

Given the short cooking time, bone-in dark meat is a must to add depth to the rice-simmering liquid, and tossing in the trimmings from the ginger prepped for the sauce imparts a sharp fragrance. Once the rice is stirred in, the meat is set over the grains so its fat melts into the pot as the chicken steams to tenderness.

While that pot cooks unattended, the ginger and scallions are finely chopped, and whichever greens are going with this meal — bok choy, napa cabbage or sturdy dark leaves such as collards or kale — are sliced. Oil for the sauce is heated in a wok or skillet once the chicken rice is almost done and poured over the ginger and scallions to mellow their raw edge. The vegetables can then be stir-fried quickly in the sheen of hot oil remaining in the wok, and dinner is served. The choreography for this meal has evolved over the years, but I’d rather change a beloved dish than stop making it altogether for lack of time or energy.

When everything else in life is also changing, even an easier version of an old favorite still feels like home.

One-pot ginger scallion chicken and rice Hainanese chicken rice, most likely originating from the island of Hainan off the coast of southern China, is a beloved dish of silky poached whole chicken and gingery rice cooked with the bird’s cooking broth and rendered fat. This streamlined version simmers the two together in a single pot to make it a meal fast enough for weeknights. With endless variations throughout the world, most notably in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, one constant is dipping sauces for the meat. There’s often three: ginger-scallion or ginger-garlic sauce, sweetened dark soy and red chile sauce. Here, hot oil is poured over minced ginger and scallions to create an aromatic blend that brings a warming edge to the comforting rice and meat. The slick of oil that

remains is used to quickly stir-fry vegetables to turn this into a complete meal. Any leftover sauce is great over fish, tofu, eggs and noodles.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings Total time: 1 hour Ingredients: 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger (2 ounces), scrubbed well 2 3/4 pounds chicken drumsticks or bone-in thighs, or a combination Salt 2 cups jasmine rice 1 bunch scallions 1/2 cup canola or other neutral-flavored oil, such as grapeseed or sunflower 12 ounces sturdy leafy greens, such as bok choy, napa cabbage and kale 1/2 teaspoon rice or sherry vinegar (optional) Preparation: 1. Trim the ends and sides with knobby rounds off the ginger. Put the ginger trimmings in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, along with the chicken. Add 3 cups cold water and a big pinch of salt, then bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer, and simmer, turning the pieces once, for 15 minutes.

2. While the chicken cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients: Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear and let drain. Very finely chop the trimmed ginger. Trim and finely chop the scallions. Combine the ginger and scallion in a heatproof bowl, sprinkle generously with salt and reserve.

3. Once the chicken has simmered for 15 minutes, taste the broth and add enough salt to make it really savory. Stir the rice into the pot. Use tongs to arrange the chicken pieces skin side up over the grains. Raise the heat to high to bring the water to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes, then turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes.

4. While the rice rests, heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high until shimmering, 1 to 2 minutes. Carefully pour the hot oil over the ginger and scallions, leaving a sheen of oil in the pan.

5. Return the wok to the high heat, and add the greens and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the greens are brighter in color and just tender. Add a splash of water to the pan if the greens are a bit dry.

6. Stir the vinegar into the ginger-scallion sauce. Taste and add more salt if you’d like. Serve with the chicken rice and stir-fried greens. (Pick out the ginger trimmings from the rice while eating.)

Institution

Minimun Rate (%)

Weighter Average Rate (%)

Maximum Rate (%)

Kashable LLC

11.38%

22.07%

28.67%

22 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

On the world’s largest cruise ship, thrills and space to chill

By CEYLAN YEGINSU

O

ne man got down on his knees and kissed the rug emblazoned with the ship’s logo. Another lifted his wife and swung her around, ecstatic to be among the roughly 5,000 passengers to embark on the inaugural sailing of the world’s largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas.

For months, the 250,800-ton ship, which can carry nearly 8,000 people, has been making headlines — including some that have criticized its size and potential to damage the environment. But the passengers who plunked down $1,800 to $100,000 and boarded the ship at Port Miami in Florida on Jan. 27, said nothing could have prepared them for the vessel’s sheer scale.

“It’s stunning,” said Christina Carvalho, a 43-year-old accountant from Oakland, California, as she stood on the ship’s Royal Promenade, gaping up at “The Pearl,” a gigantic kinetic art installation. “It feels even bigger than I expected.”

While Royal Caribbean has packed the ship with amenities to craft “the ultimate family vacation,” the company’s design team has tried to defy negative stereotypes like crowded decks and long lines. Instead of steel walls, the interior is open and airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows to bring passengers closer to the water and make the central thoroughfare feel less like a shopping mall.

“Over the years our customers told us that despite being on the ocean, they did not feel connected to it, so with Icon we wanted to bring water everywhere,” said Jennifer Goswami, the director of product development at Royal Caribbean International.

I was on board the Icon of the Seas for five days of its seven-night inaugural sailing to the eastern Caribbean. Here are some of my takeaways: Embarkation Embarkation starts through Royal Caribbean’s app. After some glitches, it took me 10 minutes to scan identification documents, fill out a health form and pick a time slot for boarding.

On the day of the sailing, I headed to Port Miami expecting chaos, but as I got out of the taxi, I was greeted by a porter who took my bag and ushered me to the terminal.

I scanned my app, showed my passport and went through security in less than 10 minutes. I lingered, waiting to see if others had as smooth an experience as I did, but there was

just a steady flow of passengers ascending the gangway.

Space The ship has the feel of a city, with eight distinct “neighborhoods.” My favorite, Central Park, was filled with 20,000 plant species; it was the perfect place to stroll or read on a bench. The Royal Promenade, with karaoke and a piano bar, could get crowded and noisy at peak times.

The seven swimming pools are designed for different vibes and demographics: The Hideaway is an adults-only infinity pool, with DJ sets and cocktails; another adult pool has an adjacent children’s splash pool. Empty lounge chairs were plentiful for sunbathers across the ship.

On our first sea day, I was so surprised by the relative absence of crowds that I walked the ship trying to find them. But with so many venues, including 40 restaurants, bars and entertainment spaces, passengers were constantly moving around.

Seeking a quiet space one afternoon, I found the Aquadome, a tranquil lounging area with wraparound windows. Fellow passengers napped there.

Entertainment and activities From a sunrise surf simulator lesson to late-night dancing in the nightclub, the ship seems to offer something for everyone, most of it free. The water park with six slides was a big draw. One ride, the Crown’s Edge, is not complimentary: Starting at $49, it tosses you (in a harness) above the sea, leaving you dangling.

There is a fitness center, jogging track, a basketball and soccer court, a putt-putt course, pickleball, rock climbing and dancing.

A wellness center and spa offers treatments for an additional cost. All can be reserved on the app; for popular attractions like the Crown’s Edge it’s helpful to book ahead because places fill up fast.

Family At the Surfside neighborhood, there are pools and restaurants for both adults and children so that families can spend time together.

For parents wanting alone time, the Adventure Ocean child-care facility has play areas and programs for ages 6 months to 12 years that is included in the fare.

There’s a social center for teenagers, too, with games and music. “It’s a great place to meet new people and make friends,” said Madison Foxx, 14, from Morrisville, North Carolina. Her mother, Ashley, a 38-year-old federal prosecutor, said the ship kept her two children entertained and allowed her both alone time and quality family time.

“I can relax and the kids are happy and busy all day,” she said. “Then we have many special moments together.”

Food One of the biggest surprises was the array of dining choices.

The Windjammer Cafe and the main dining room were the busiest all-inclusive options. My daily go-to was the Aquadome food hall, with crepes made-to-order and a Greek food stand. Another favorite of mine was Pier

7, a restaurant in Surfside that served raw-tuna Buddha bowls, mango-lime shrimp tostadas and other dishes.

Cabins Cabin prices — which recently increased, because of high demand — range from $2,699 per person for an interior cabin to more than $100,000 for a three-story town house with an indoor slide and backyard.

Some family accommodations have connecting rooms and large terraces.

Though only 204 square feet, my ocean balcony room did not feel cramped thanks to minimalist design and the views.

Environment Royal Caribbean says it set a new standard for sustainability with this ship, installing advanced water-treatment and waste systems, among other features. But some environmental groups say that building a vessel this size is not compatible with the cruise industry’s longterm sustainability goals.

On board, I saw staff sorting through the trash to take out misplaced items to recycle, and single-use plastic appeared to be minimal; passengers were given reusable cups at drinking stations.

That the waterslides remained on, even after they were closed to passengers, caught me by surprise. It seemed like an unnecessary waste of energy. (Royal Caribbean did not respond to a request for comment.)

Passengers I spoke to did not seem too concerned about the ship’s potential to harm the environment, with some arguing that land and air travel are not climate-friendly either.

Excursions Our seven-night itinerary started with two days at sea. The first stop was on Day 4 at Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Excursions ranged from a hike up Mount Liamuiga to a food-and-rum tour, with prices from $39 to $249. I chose a sailing and snorkeling excursion ($155) and enjoyed the secluded bay, but the beach was crowded and touristy.

An anticipated excursion for Foxx, the federal prosecutor, and others was Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean’s private island. When I asked about her visit — I called later, having to disembark before the excursion — Foxx said her children loved the slides and snorkeling.

And would she sail on the Icon of the Seas again?

“Yes, but I might wait a bit,” she replied.

“I want everyone to get a chance to try it out.”

The San Juan Daily Star LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES ACQUISITION TRUST 2019-HB1 Demandante Vs.

HECTOR ANTONIO RONDON NIEVES T/C/C HECTOR RONDON T/C/C HECTOR A. RONDON T/C/C HECTOR A. RONDON NIEVES T/C/C HECTOR RONDON NIEVES; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados Civil Núm.: AR2023CV00096.

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 CIALES, 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 CIALES, el 7 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 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: RÚSTICA: BARRIO BARAHONA de Morovis. Solar: SOLAR “A”.

Cabida: 743.472 Metros Cuadrados. LINDEROS: NORTE, con uso público, según el plano de inscripción. SUR, con Sucesión Márquez. ESTE, con Parcela número Ciento Ochenta y Uno (181) remanente según el plano de inscripción. OESTE, con propiedad de Iglain Márquez e Ismael Serpa, según

@

el plano de inscripción. Predio de Terreno en forma triangular marcada con la letra “A” según el plano de inscripción, con una cabida de setecientos cuarenta y tres punto cuatrocientos setenta y dos metros cuadrados (743.472 MC) equivalentes a cero punto ciento ochenta y nuevas cuerdas (0.189 cdas).

Ubicado en el Barrio Barahona de Morovis, Puerto Rico. Finca número 15,615 de Morovis, inscrita al Tomo Digital Karibe, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita en Karibe, finca 15,615 de Morovis, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí, inscripción 3ª. Propiedad localizada en: 181 CALLE MANUEL CACHO, BO. BARAHONA, MOROVIS, PR 00687. 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: $145,500.00.

Fecha de Vencimiento: 7 de agosto de 2095. 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 $145,500.00, 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 CIALES, el 14 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $97,000.00, 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 $72,750.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de CIALES, el 21 DE MARZO DE 2024,

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 A LAS 10:00 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 $59,966.69 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $32,811.95 en intereses acumulados al 30 de mayo de 2023 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.184% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $11,870.51 en seguro hipotecario; $1,952.71 de seguro; $525.00 de tasaciones; $357.00 de inspecciones; $6,171.00 en mantenimiento; $3,533.00 en adelantos de honorarios de abogado; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $14,550.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado. A tenor con la Regla 44.3 de Procedimiento Civil se condena a la parte demandada a pagar intereses aplicables sobre el importe de la presente sentencia incluyendo costas y honorarios de abogado, desde esta fecha y hasta que sea satisfecha. 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 Arecibo, Puerto Rico, hoy 12 de enero de 2024. GERARDO E. REYES MELÉNDEZ, ALGUACIL CONFIDENCIAL PLACA #109.

PROVIDENCIA SOTO SUÁREZ, COMPUESTA POR FULANA DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: NSCI2015-00542.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Fajardo, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que venderá en pública subasta en la Oficina de Alguaciles, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Fajardo al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $54,601.64 de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho principal y computados al 5.75% anual desde el primero de marzo de 2015 hasta su total pago y completo pago; cargos por demora devengados al 5% sobre cada mensualidad adeudada, más la suma de $5,650.00 estipulada para honorarios de abogado pactada en la escritura de hipoteca y cualesquiera otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Apartamento residencial identificado con el numero trenta y seis (36) ubicado en el primer nivel bloque dos (II) del complejo residencial “Portal de Ceiba”, localizado en el Barrio Chupacallos del termino municipal de Ceiba, Puerto Rico, con la descripción y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: Construido en concreto y bloques de hormigón, con un área superficial total de setecientos sesenta y siete punto quinientos pies cuadrados (767.500), equivalentes sesenta y uno punto treinta metros cuadrados (71.30). Colinda por el Norte, con elemento común que consiste de área verde y la calle uno (I); por el Sur, con elemento común que consiste de área verde y área LEGAL NOTICE de futuro proyecto; por el OesESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO te, con elemento común que DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- consiste de área verde y área NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA de juegos, y por el Este, con el apartamento numero treinSALA DE FAJARDO ta y siete (37) del bloque dos ESTRELLA (II); y por el Suroeste con eleHOMES III, LLC mento común que consiste de Parte Demandante Vs. área verde y el área de juegos.

MIEMBOS Consta de sala-comedor, cociDESCONOCIDOS DE na equipada con gabinetes de cocina y facilidades para equiLA SUCESION DE

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23 po de cocina y lavado de ropa, closet un bono diseñado para discapacitados, una habitación con su closet y balcón en su lado Sur. En su lado Este ubica su puerto principal de entrada que lo comunica al pasillo o vestíbulo del edificio que da acceso a la vía pública. Cuenta también con un área de patio en su lado Norte, para uso particular y exclusivo de este apartamento. Le corresponde a esa unidad de vivienda una participación en los elementos comunes del complejo residencial “Portal de Ceiba” de uno punto cinco cero ocho nueve por ciento (1.5089%). Le pertenece el uso y disfrute de un (1) espacio para Estacionamiento, marcado con el mismo numero de la unidad de vivienda. Inscrita al sistema Karibe, finca número once mil doscientos noventa y cinco (11,295). Dirección Física: Condominio Portal de Ceiba, Apt. C-10, Unit 36, Ceiba, PR 00735. Dicha propiedad se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: Hipoteca en garantía de pagaré suscrito a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $31,739.00, según escritura numero 45, otorgada en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, el 26 de julio de 2012, ante la Notario Sonia Trujillo Rebollo.

La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el día 5 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $56,500.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 12 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $37,666.67. Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 19 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $28,250.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada

conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

(Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm.

210-2015). Expedido el presente en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, a 9 de enero de 2024. MILDRED I. TORO COLÓN, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #197, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE FAJARDO. JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA,

ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTE- NOTICE OF ADOPTION HEARINO #622.

RING.

LEGAL NOTICE

NOTICE TO: JAVIER RAMOS TORRES

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Please take notice that a PetiDE PUERTO RICO TRIBUtion for Adoption in the above NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA styled matter has been filed in SALA DE PONCE the Probate Court of Coffee NORMA IRIS County, Enterprise, Alabama by TORRES DE JESÚS the Petitioner named below and Peticionaria the 8th day of MARCH, 2024 at 9:00 o’clock a.m. has been Ex Parte CASO NUMERO: set for a hearing on the same in PO2023CV03637 SOBRE: said Court in the City of EnterEXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. prise, Alabama. Please be adEMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDIC- vised that if you intend to conTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE test this adoption you must file AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE a written response within thirty DE LOS EEUU. EL ESTADO LI- (30) days with the attorney for BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO the Petitioner whose name and RICO. POR LA PRESENTE se address are shown below and le notifica que la peticionaria de with the clerk of the said Probaepígrafe ha presentado una Pe- te Court. A copy of the Petition tición para que se declare a su to Adopt is attached to this Notifavor el dominio de la siguiente ce as required by statue. finca: RUSTICA: Predio de te- Attorney for Petitioner: rreno localizada en la Carretera Thadius W. Morgan, Jr. 501 Barrio Marueño, Km 7.8 Post Office Box 310396 del término municipal de Pon- Enterprise, Alabama 36331 ce, Puerto Rico con una cabida Petitioner: superficial de TREINTA Y CIN- Joxell Ramirez Velez CO MIL QUINIENTOS SIETE 306 W. Brunson Street PUNTO OCHO MIL OCHO- Enterprise, Alabama 36330 CIENTOS NOVENTA Y DIEZ Dated this the 31st day of JaMILESIMAS (35,507.8890), nuary, 2024. equivalentes a NUEVE PUNTO Jodee R. Thompson, CERO TRECIENTOS CUA- Judge of Probate RENTA Y DOS CUERDAS (9.0342 cdas). En lindes por el NORTE con una quebrada, por el SUR con terrenos del Fideicomiso de Conservación de Suelos, por el ESTE, con terrenos de Abigail Colón López y por el OESTE con la Carretera 501. Este Tribunal ordenó que publique la pretensión de tres (3) veces durante el término de veinte (20) días, en un periódico de circulación general diaria para los que tenga algún derecho real sobre el inmueble descrito, las personas ignorada quienes pueda perjudicar la inscripción y en general a toda persona que desee oponerse dentro del término de veinte (20) días de la última publicación del presente edicto debe notificar con copia de sus alegaciones a la representación legal del promovente, Lcdo.

Luis M. Barnecet Vélez, Urb. Paraíso de Coamo, 608 Calle Paz, Coamo, PR 00769, Tel. 787- 603-2396 email: barnecet@hotmail.com EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, hoy 17 de enero de 2023. Carmen G. Tirú Quiñones, Secretaria Regional. Daisy Quiñones Vázquez, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAMUY

CLOTILDE RIVERA MERCADO Peticionaria

EXPARTE

Civil Núm.: CM2024CV00028.

Sobre: INFORMACIÓN DE DOMINIO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PR, S.S.

A: CUALQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA QUE PUDIERA TENER INTERÉS EN ESTE EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO Y/O EN LA PROPIEDAD QUE MAS DELANTE DE DESCRIBE Y ESPECIALMENTE A JUAN M. RAMOS RÍOS Y A SUS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE EXISTIR LA SUCESIÓN DE JUAN M. RAMOS RÍOS, JOSÉ D. RAMOS LEGAL NOTICE ATILÉS Y A SUS IN THE PROBATE COURT OF POSIBLES HEREDEROS COFFEE COUNTY, ALABAMA DESCONOCIDOS DE IN THE MATTER OF THE EXISTIR LA SUCESIÓN ADOPTION PETITION OF DE JOSÉ D. RAMOS JOXELL RAMIREZ VELEZ, ATILÉS, LISANDRA CASE NO.: PRA-2023-019.

24 ALCAIDE MOLINA Y A SUS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE EXISTIR LA SUCESIÓN DE LISANDRA ALCAIDE MOLINA, QUIENES ERAN VECINOS DE CAMUY, PUERTO RICO Y A TODA PERSONA EN GENERAL QUE CON DERECHO PARA ELLO DESEE OPONERSE A ESTE EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO.

Por la presente se notifica para que comparezcan, si lo creyeren pertinente, ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro de los veinte (20) días contados a partir de la última publicación de este edicto a exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en el expediente promovido por la parte peticionaria para adquirir su dominio sobre la siguiente finca: RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno localizado en el Barrio Membrillo del término municipal de Camuy, con un área superficial de 1,301.421 metros cuadrados equivalentes a 0.3311cuerda. En lindes por el Norte, con Juan M. Ramos Ríos DBA SUCN. M. Ramos; por el Sur, con José D. Ramos Atiles; por el ESTE, con Lisandra Alcaide Molina; por el OESTE, con carretera municipal asfaltada seguido por, Antonio Vega Cabrera y Departamento de Vivienda Rural. Enclava una Estructura de uso residencial con un are de 853.P:C. aproximadamente de Hormigón y Bloques. No consta inscrita en el Registro de la Propiedad.

Libre de cargas. Catastro número: 009-050-480-42-000. La dirección física de esta propiedad es: Sur de PR-485 Kilómetro 2.0 Int. Camino municipal a 515 metros, Barrio Membrillo, del término municipal de Camuy, Puerto Rico. También, se le informa que el Tribunal acogió la solicitud y el caso será señalado oportunamente para vista en su fondo en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, a la cual usted puede comparecer personalmente o asistido por abogado a presentar cualquier oposición que tuviera a la petición. Este edicto deberá ser publicado en tres (3) ocasiones dentro del término de veinte (20) días, en un periódico de circulación general diaria, para que comparezcan si quieren algar su derecho.

Toda primera mención de persona natural y/o jurídica que se mencione en el mismo, se identificará en letra tamaño 10 puntos y negrillas, conforme a lo dispuesto en las Reglas de Procedimiento Civil, 2009. Se le notifica a usted que este Tribunal ha ordenado su citación, para que presente oposición a este expediente, si se viesen perjudicados con la inscripción que se solicita; advirtiéndole

que de no hacerlo dentro del término de veinte (20) días a contar desde de la fecha de la última publicación del edicto, la parte peticionaria podrá solicitar y obtener la aprobación de este expediente de dominio y la correspondiente inscripción a su nombre en el Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de Arecibo, el dominio de la finca anteriormente descrita. Usted deberá presentar su posición 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 en la secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación dentro del referido término, el Tribunal podrá dictar sentencia, previo a escuchar la prueba de valor de la parte peticionaria, sin más citarle ni oírle, y conceder el remedio solicitado en la Petición, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. En Arecibo, Puerto Rico hoy 23 de enero de 2024. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. EIMMY FELICIANO TORRES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

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

RAUL EDUARDO HERNANDEZ RIVERA; ZULEYKA CARRASQUILLO CACERES Parte Prticionaria

EX PARTE

Civil Número: FA2024CV00038.

Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO; RECTIFICACIÓN DE CABIDA. EDICTO.

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

Siendo usted poseedor de un predio de terreno colindante del inmueble objeto de la acción de epígrafe, o un titular anterior o descendiente de uno de ellos, de acuerdo a la Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, o persona que de cualquier forma o manera tuviera interés en la finca que se describe en este documento se le notifica por este medio de que, si tuviere algo que alegar al respecto, puede y debe comparecer por escrito a exponer lo que a bien tenga que expresar sobre el asunto en consideración del Tribunal. URBANA: Parcela número cuarenta (40),

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

de la comunidad rural Sardinera, del Barrio Quebrada del término municipal de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, con cabida de cero punto mil ciento dieciséis (0.116) cuerdas, equivalentes a cuatrocientos treinta y ocho punto setenta y siete (438.77) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con la parcela número setenta y seis (76); por el SUR con la parcela número treinta y ocho (38); por el ESTE, con la parcela número treinta y cinco (35) y parcela número treinta y tres (33); por el OESTE, con la calle número dos (2).

Inscrita al Folio 145 Tomo 176 Finca No. 6,209 Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, Puerto Rico. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 20 días de la última publicación de este edicto Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico/, 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, sin más citarle ni oírle. Si compareciere a hacer alguna alegación, notificará copia de la misma a: EMPHATIA NOTARY & LEGAL ADVISORS, P.S.C. Lcdo. Pedro A. Crespo Claudio RUA Núm.: 17415 Urb. Villa Criollos Calle Corazón A-6 Caguas, PR 00726.

Tel. (939) 337-5550 pcrespo@emphatialaw.com En Fajardo, Puerto Rico a 23 de enero de de 2024. WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. KATHIA FERRER FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

-ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE MANATÍ.

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante v.

JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE como miembros desconocidos de la Sucesión de CONNIE RIVERA GARCIA

Demandado CIVIL NÚM. MT2023CV00219.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA E INTERPELACIÓN. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE

ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Manatí, hago saber a la parte demandada JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE como miembros desconocidos de la Sucesión de CONNIE RIVERA GARCIA y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 9 de enero de 2024, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $103,000.00 y al mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, la propiedad que se describe a continuación: VILLA BARCELONA, D6 CALLE 2, BARCELONETA, PR 00617, y que se describe de la siguiente manera: URBANA: Parcela de terreno radicada en el Barrio Pueblo, del Municipio de Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 298.94 metros cuadrados, identificado en el plano de inscripción del proyecto Residencial Villa Barcelona, con el solar #6 del bloque D, y en lindes por el Norte, en 10.00 metros, con lote D-11; por el Sur, en 14.81 metros, con calle dedicada a uso público; por el Este, en 24.58 metros, con carretera municipal cruzando el caño; y por el Oeste, en 24.10 metros, con lote D-5. Enclava una estructura de hormigón y bloques dedicada a vivienda, terrazo pulido, consistente en sala, comedor, cocina, tres dormitorios, un baño, marquesina y lavandería. Finca 10412 inscrita al folio 170 del tomo 172 de Barceloneta, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) Hipoteca constituída por Connie Rivera García, soltera, en garantía de un pagaré, a favor de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria P.R., o a su orden, por $103,000.00, al 6.875%, vencedero el 1 de enero de 2037, según Esc. #594, en Vega Alta, a 4 de diciembre de 2006, ante Joseorlando Mercado Gely, inscrita al folio 51 del tomo 258 de Barceloneta, finca #10412, inscripción 4ta. y última, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 2 de noviembre de 2023, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $77,324.24 de principal, más intereses al 6.875% que continuarán acumulándose hasta el saldo total del préstamo, más $169.15 de cargos por demora y $10,300.00 de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otro desembolso que haya efectuado o efectúe la

parte demandante durante la tramitación de este caso para otros adelantos de conformidad con el Contrato Hipotecario, incluyendo primas de seguro de hipoteca, prima de seguro de siniestro y cargos por demora.

La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 6 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del Alguacil, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Manatí, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la cantidad de $103,00.00, sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 13 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la que servirá como tipo mínimo, dos terceras (2/3) partes del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $68,666.67. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 20 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $51,500.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere 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 cualquier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los dere-

chos del acreedor ejecutante.

Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En Manatí, Puerto Rico, hoy 19 de enero de 2024.

WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ CARRION, ALGUACIL CONFIDENCIAL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE MANATÍ.

utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin. sanchez@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law. com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 29 de noviembre de 2023.

Lisilda Martínez Agosto, Secretaria. Ana H. Lugo Muñoz, SSS.

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM. JU2023CV00158 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

conteste la demanda dentro de

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunalelectronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discre-

Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico

LEGAL NOTICE

ción, lo entiende procedente.

El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com, y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 29 de noviembre de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 29 de noviembre de 2023. Lcda.

Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. Lureimy Alicea González, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE MOROVIS

ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC Parte Demandante Vs.

ABRAHAM BURGOS BURGOS

Parte Demandada ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO CIVIL NÚM. MV2023CV00118 DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICSALA DE BAYAMÓN TO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE

ISLAND PORTFOLIO AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. SERVICES, LLC, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIALEGAL NOTICE COMO AGENTE DE DO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS A: ABRAHAM BURGOS DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUFUND, LLC BURGOS • BO PATRON NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Demandante Vs. UNIBON CARR 6617 KM SALA DE JUNCOS EN CAZENAIDA REYES DÍAZ GUAS 4.2, MOROVIS PR 00687 Demandado ISLAND PORTFOLIO CIVIL NÚM.: CZ2023CV00087 • BO PATRON UNIBON SERVICES, LLC COMO SALÓN: 703 SOBRE: COBRO CARR 6617 KM 3.1, AGENTE DE ACE ONE DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EM- MOROVIS PR 00687 • HC PLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. FUNDING, LLC ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉ- 4 BOX 52302, MOROVIS Parte Demandante Vs. RICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE PR 00687.

ALBERTO LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL POR LA PRESENTE se le HERNANDEZ BORIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO emplaza y requiere para que

A: ALBERTO HERNANDEZ BORIA • URB SENDEROS DE JUNCOS 12 CALLE MANDARINA, JUNCOS PR 00777-7600 • BO LIRIOS CARR 929 RAMAL 9929, JUNCOS PR 00777 • PO BOX 2759, JUNCOS PR 00777.

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

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder

A: ZENAIDA REYES DÍAZ los treinta (30) días siguientes – Res. El Centro H-6 Calle a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su ale5, Corozal, PR 00783. gación responsiva a través del

The San Juan Daily Star 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin. sanchez@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law. com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Morovis Puerto Rico, hoy día 29 de noviembre de 2023.

Vivian Fresse González, Secretaria. Sandra I. Maldonado Vega, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE MAYAGÜEZ

ESTRELLA HOMES III LLC.

Parte Demandante Vs.

MARCIAL SANCHEZ MENDEZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: MZ2019CV00425.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Mayagüez, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que venderá en pública subasta en la Oficina de Alguaciles, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Mayagüez, al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $36,240.85 de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho principal y computados al 7.25% anual desde el primero de agosto de 2018, hasta su total pago y completo; cargos por demora devengados desde el primero de septiembre de 2018, a razón de $15.76 mensuales, más la suma estipulada de para honorarios de abogado pactada en la escritura de hipoteca y cualesquiera otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número dos (2) del bloque SL en la Urbanización Valle Hermoso, radicado en el Barrio Guanajibo del Municipio de Hormiguero, con una cabida superficial de trescientos dieciocho punto cuatro metros cuadrados (318.4 m/c).

Colindante por el NORTE, en trece punto sesenta (13.60) metros, con el solar número diecisiete (17); por el SUR, en trece punto sesenta (13.60) metros, con la calle número treinta y tres (33); por el ESTE, en veintitrés punto treinta (23.30) metros, con el solar número uno (1); por el OESTE, en veintitrés punto treinta (23.30) metros, con el solar número tres (3). Contiene una casa de

concreto tipo Condado. Inscrita al folio doscientos veintinueve (229) del tomo cuarenta y cinco (45) de Hormigueros, finca número mil trescientos cincuenta y ocho (1,358). Registro de la Propiedad de Mayagüez. Dirección Física: SL-2, Calle Alamo, Urbanización Valle Hermoso, Hormigueros, Puerto Rico 00660. Dicha propiedad se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: Hipoteca en garantía de pagaré suscrito a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $15,000.00, según escritura número 694, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 9 de diciembre de 2004, ante elNotario Fernando Luis Meléndez López, según inscripción 13; y a condiciones restrictivas por la Autoridad. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el día 12 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $46,200.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 19 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $30,800.00.

Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 26 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $23,100.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

(Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm.

210-2015). Expedido el presente en Mayagüez Puerto Rico, a 10 de enero de 2024. IVELISSE FIGUEROA VARGAS, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA PLACA #924, SALA DE MAYAGÜEZ.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO

LEGACY MORTGAGE ASSET TRUST 2019-PR1 Demandante Vs.

ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS

Demandados CIVIL NUM. AR2024CV00046 SOBRE: CANCELACION DE PAGARE EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE

LOS EE. UU. EL ESTADO LI- (151) y cientos cincuenta y dos BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO (152) de la comunidad y por el RICO. SS. OESTE, con la calle número ocho de la comunidad. Inscrita A: ASSOCIATES al folio doscientos veinte (220) INTERNATIONAL del tomo ciento noventa y uno HOLDINGS CORPORATION (191) de Camuy, finca número • US Department of diez mil doscientos ochenta y uno (10,281) del Registro de Housing and Urban Development, 541 th Street la Propiedad de Arecibo SecSegunda (2da). SE LES S. W. Washington DC 20410. ción APERCIBE que, de no hacer A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD sus alegaciones responsivas a ROE como posibles la demanda dentro del término tenedores desconocidos. aquí dispuesto, se les anotará POR LA PRESENTE se les la rebeldía y se dictará Sentenemplaza y requiere para que cia, concediéndose el remedio conteste la demanda dentro de solicitado en la Demanda, sin los treinta (30) días siguientes más citarle ni oírle. Expedido a la publicación de este Edicto. bajo mi firma y sello del TribuUsted deberá radicar su ale- nal en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a gación responsiva a través del 25 día de enero 2024. VIVIAN Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Y FRESSE GONZALEZ, SecreAdministración de Casos (SU- taria. Jojanna González Vilella, MAC), al cual puede acceder Secretaria Auxiliar. utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, LCDA. MARJALIISA COLÓN VILLANUEVA a su dirección: PO. Box 7970 Ponce, PR. 00732. Tel: 787-843-4168. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cancelación de pagare extraviado. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que se extravió un pagaré hipotecario a favor Associates lnternational Holding Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma de treinta y siete mil setenta y nueve dólares con noventa y nueve centavos ($37,079.99) y créditos adicionales, con intereses al diez punto setenta por ciento (10.70%) anual, vencedero el veintiuno (21) de enero de dos mil diecinueve (2019), según surge del testimonio número diecisiete mil ochocientos cuarenta y ocho (17,848) de la escritura número cinco (5), otorgada en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, el día quince (15) de enero de dos mil cuatro (2004), ante la notario Adela Surillo Gutiérrez, y cuya obligación está inscrita al folio ciento sesenta y nueve uno (169) del tomo trescientos sesenta y siete (367) de Camuy, finca número diez mil doscientos ochenta y uno (10,281), inscripción cuarta (4ta) y última.

Que, la propiedad sobre la cual se constituyó dicha hipoteca es la siguiente: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número ciento ochenta y nueve (189) en el plano de parcelación de la Comunidad Rural Quebrada del término municipal de Camuy, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de trescientos once punto noventa y cuatro (311.94) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con zanjón de la Comunidad; por el SUR, con la parcela número ciento ochenta y ocho (188) de la comunidad; por el ESTE, con las parcelas números ciento cincuenta y uno

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA MUNICIPAL DE CAROLINA

VAPR FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Demandante Vs. IVAN A. AVALA GARCIA Demandado CIVIL NÚM.: CA2023CV03548 (S-408) EN LA SALA 101-A SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS

A: IVAN A. AVALA GARCIA

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO, se le notifica que se ha radicado en esta Secretaría por la parte demandante, Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero, en la que se alega adeuda la suma de $5,270.63, más los intereses que acumule hasta su total pago, además, $15.00 por concepto de cada pago en demora y los honorarios, más las costas y gastos que el pleito genere, sumas que están líquidas y exigibles. Se le advierte que de no comparecer en autos dentro del término de los treinta (30) días siguientes a partir de la publicación de este Edicto, se le anotará la Rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado, sin más citarle ni oírle, debiendo radicar el original de su contestación en este Tribunal, enviando copia a la abogada de la parte demandante: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez, Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC, P.O. Box 11550, San Juan, PR 00922-1550; Teléfono: (787) 625-9999. Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 29 de enero de 2024. Kanelly Zayas Robles,

25

Secretaria Regional. Keila García Soles, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA MUNICIPAL DE CAROLINA

VAPR FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Demandante Vs.

IVAN A. AVALA GARCIA

Demandado CIVIL NÚM.: CA2023CV03548 (S-408) EN LA SALA 101-A SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS

A: IVAN A. AVALA GARCIA

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO, se le notifica que se ha radicado en esta Secretaría por la parte demandante, Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero, en la que se alega adeuda la suma de $5,270.63, más los intereses que acumule hasta su total pago, además, $15.00 por concepto de cada pago en demora y los honorarios, más las costas y gastos que el pleito genere, sumas que están líquidas y exigibles. Se le advierte que de no comparecer en autos dentro del término de los treinta (30) días siguientes a partir de la publicación de este Edicto, se le anotará la Rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado, sin más citarle ni oírle, debiendo radicar el original de su contestación en este Tribunal, enviando copia a la abogada de la parte demandante: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez, Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC, P.O. Box 11550, San Juan, PR 00922-1550; Teléfono: (787) 625-9999. Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 29 de enero de 2024. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretaria Regional. Keila García Soles, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE COAMO

SUCESION DE MANUEL LOPEZ PONS representada por Pedro López Bonelli antes MANUEL LOPEZ PONS Parte Demandante Vs.

ADALBERTO ALVARADO ALVARADO, SONIA TORRES TORRES y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos; FRANCISCO

TORT SUÁREZ, FULANO DE TAL

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM.: B2CI199800526 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: JOHN DOE y RICHARD ROE

como personas de nombres desconocidos y/o ficticios que pueden poseer sin causa onerosa o legalmente un Pagaré Hipotecario debidamente endosado al PORTADOR, vencedero el 31 de enero del año 2000, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $15,500.00, con intereses al 7% anual, suscrito bajo afidávit 10,787, fue garantizado mediante Hipoteca otorgada el mismo día, escritura Número 10, en Coamo, Puerto Rico, el 30 de enero del 1993, ante el Notario Roberto Passalacqua, sobre la siguiente propiedad: RUSTICA: Predio de terreno radicado en el Sector Río Jueyes del Barrio San lldefonso del término municipal de Coamo, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 24.5386 cuerdas, equivalentes a 96,446.2681 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, en varias alineaciones que suman 262.424 metros lineales, con Gustavo Albizu y Antonio Umpierre Amy; por el Sur, en varias alineaciones que suman 565.354 metros lineales, con la Parcela “G”; por el Este, en varias alineaciones que suman 376.152 metros lineales, con Antonio Umpierre Amy; y por el Oeste, en varias alineaciones que suman 436.34 metros lineales, con Gustavo Albizu. Consta inscrita al folio 133vto. del tomo 200 de Coamo, finca número 4,878, inscripción 18va. La parte demandante alega que dicho pagaré se ha extraviado según más detalladamente consta en la Moción en Solicitud de Restitución y/o Sustitución de Pagaré Hipotecario, radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de la publicación. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal y notificar copia de la misma al (a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a ésta, de no tener representación legal. 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.

Además, se le apercibe que,

en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2023, titulada Ley para la Prevención del Maltrato, Preservación de la Unidad Familiar y para la Seguridad, Bienestar y Protección de los Menores, entre los remedios que el Tribunal podrá conceder se incluyen la ubicación permanente de un (una) menor fuera de su hogar, el inicio de procesos para la privación de patria potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos b y f de la Ley Núm. 57-2023).

Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. La información del (de la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante es la siguiente: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez RUA Núm. 5358 Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC. PO Box 11550 San Juan, PR 00922-1550 33 Calle Resolución, Suite 201 San Juan, P.R. 00920-2727 Tel. (787) 625-9999 Fax: (787) 705-7387 E-mail: asurillo@lawpr.com Se le notifica también por la presente que la parte demandante habrá de presentar para su anotación al Registrador de la Propiedad del Distrito en que está situada la propiedad objeto de este pleito, un aviso de estar pendiente esta acción.

Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Coamo, Puerto Rico, hoy 23 de enero de 2024. Elizabeth González Rivera, Secretaria Regional. Aida Luz Meryl García, Secretaria del Tribunal Confidencial II.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE COAMO

SUCESION DE MANUEL LOPEZ PONS representada por Pedro López Bonelli antes MANUEL LOPEZ PONS Parte Demandante Vs.

ADALBERTO ALVARADO ALVARADO, SONIA TORRES TORRES y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos; FRANCISCO TORT SUÁREZ, FULANO DE TAL

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM.: B2CI199800526 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: JOHN DOE y RICHARD ROE

como personas de nombres

26 desconocidos y/o ficticios que pueden poseer sin causa onerosa o legalmente un Pagaré Hipotecario debidamente endosado al PORTADOR, vencedero el 31 de enero del año 2000, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $15,500.00, con intereses al 7% anual, suscrito bajo afidávit 10,787, fue garantizado mediante Hipoteca otorgada el mismo día, escritura Número 10, en Coamo, Puerto Rico, el 30 de enero del 1993, ante el Notario Roberto Passalacqua, sobre la siguiente propiedad: RUSTICA: Predio de terreno radicado en el Sector Río Jueyes del Barrio San lldefonso del término municipal de Coamo, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 24.5386 cuerdas, equivalentes a 96,446.2681 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, en varias alineaciones que suman 262.424 metros lineales, con Gustavo Albizu y Antonio Umpierre Amy; por el Sur, en varias alineaciones que suman 565.354 metros lineales, con la Parcela “G”; por el Este, en varias alineaciones que suman 376.152 metros lineales, con Antonio Umpierre Amy; y por el Oeste, en varias alineaciones que suman 436.34 metros lineales, con Gustavo Albizu. Consta inscrita al folio 133vto. del tomo 200 de Coamo, finca número 4,878, inscripción 18va. La parte demandante alega que dicho pagaré se ha extraviado según más detalladamente consta en la Moción en Solicitud de Restitución y/o Sustitución de Pagaré Hipotecario, radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de la publicación. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal y notificar copia de la misma al (a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a ésta, de no tener representación legal. 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.

Además, se le apercibe que, en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2023, titulada Ley para la Prevención del Maltrato, Preservación de la Unidad Familiar y para la Seguridad, Bienestar y Protección de los Menores, entre los remedios que el Tribunal podrá conceder se incluyen la ubicación permanente de un (una) menor fuera de su hogar, el inicio de procesos para la privación de patria potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos b y f de la Ley Núm. 57-2023).

Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. La información del (de la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante es la siguiente: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez RUA Núm. 5358 Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC. PO Box 11550 San Juan, PR 00922-1550 33 Calle Resolución, Suite 201 San Juan, P.R. 00920-2727 Tel. (787) 625-9999 Fax: (787) 705-7387 E-mail: asurillo@lawpr.com Se le notifica también por la presente que la parte demandante habrá de presentar para su anotación al Registrador de la Propiedad del Distrito en que está situada la propiedad objeto de este pleito, un aviso de estar pendiente esta acción.

Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Coamo, Puerto Rico, hoy 23 de enero de 2024. Elizabeth González Rivera, Secretaria Regional. Aida Luz Meryl García, Secretaria del Tribunal Confidencial II.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SUPERIOR DE SALINAS.

COMPU-LINK CORPORATION DBA CELINK

DEMANDANTE VS.

Isabel López Torres, t/c/c Isabel López; y los Estados Unidos de América

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: GM2022CV00553.

SOBRE: Ejecución de Hipoteca In Rem (Reverse Mortgage).

EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: ISABEL LÓPEZ TORRES, T/C/C ISABEL LÓPEZ; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA;

Yo, ROLANDO RODRIGUEZ, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Salinas, a los demandados, acreedores y al público en general con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, por la presente CERTIFICO, ANUNCIO y HAGO CONSTAR: Que el día 13 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Salinas, Salinas, Puerto Rico, procederé a vender en Pública Subasta, al mejor postor, la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria mediante Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, la cual se notificó y archivó en autos el día 9 de noviembre de 2023. Los autos y todos los documentos

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría 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 20 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 27 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado.

Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que ha sido liberado por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Salinas, en el caso de epígrafe con fecha de 22 de diciembre de 2023, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Parcela identificada en el plano de inscripción como el solar 1 del Bloque L de la Urbanización Estancias Trinitaria, localizada en el Barrio Aguirre del Municipio de Salinas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de 300.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar L-8; por el SUR, con la calle 12; por el ESTE, con el solar L-2; y por el OESTE, con la calle 1. Enclava una residencia de concreto de una planta”. Finca número 10,059, inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 250 de Salinas, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Guayama. Dirección de la Propiedad: L-1 12 Street, Estancias La Trinitaria, Salinas, Puerto Rico 00751. La subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer, hasta donde alcance, el importe de las cantidades adeudadas a la parte demandante conforme a la sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: de $76,202.89 en concepto de principal con interés al 2.87% anual, los cuales acumulan a un total de $130,585.79 a la fecha de 24 de octubre de 2023 los cuales continúan acumulándose, así como la cantidad líquida estipulada en los documentos del préstamo para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en caso de reclamación judicial y que correspondan a intereses y cargos por demora posterior a dicha fecha, y la suma de $9,200.00 equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original pactada, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; más recargos acumulados hasta la fecha en que se pague la deuda; más cualquiera suma de dinero por concepto de contribuciones, primas de seguro hipotecario y riesgo, así como cualesquiera otras sumas pactadas en la escritura de hipoteca, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue cons-

tituida mediante la escritura número 546 otorgada el día 24 de noviembre de 2008, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, ante el Notario Público Luis R. Rodríguez Vélez y consta inscrita al tomo Karibe de Salinas, finca número 10,059, Registro de la Propiedad de Guayama, Sección de Guayama. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Entiéndase: Hipoteca Revertida en garantia de un pagaré a favor de Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $138,00000, con intereses al 2.87% anual, vencedero el 23 de mayo de 2087, cosntituida mediante la escritura número 547, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de noviembre de 2008, ante el notario Luis R. Rodríguez Vélez, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Salinas, finca número 10,059, inscripcion 4ta., como asiento abreviado extendida las líneas el día 17 de enero de 2018, en virtud de la Ley 216 del 27 de diciembre de 2010. (Fue presentado el día 16 de enero de 2009, al asiento 1,158 del Diario 638). Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta del inmueble antes descrito será la suma de $92,000.00 según se establece en la escritura de hipoteca antes relacionada. En caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en su primera subasta se ordena la celebración de una segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, en la cual, la cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $61,333.33; desierta también la segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, se ordena la celebración de una tercera subasta en la cual, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, es decir la suma de $46,000.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación, entiéndase efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre

del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Una vez efectuada la venta de dicha propiedad, el Alguacil procederá a otorgar la escritura de traspaso al licitador victorioso en subasta, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la sentencia dictada en este caso. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si el producto de la venta fuere insuficiente para satisfacer la cantidad reclamada, se procederá a la ejecución de la sentencia en contra de la parte demandada por el remanente de las sumas no satisfechas, mediante embargo y venta en ejecución de cualesquiera otros bienes propiedad de la parte demandada en cantidad suficiente para dejar cubierta y totalmente satisfecha a la parte demandante cualquier deficiencia o parte insoluta de la sentencia dictada a su favor según dispuesto en la sentencia dictada en este caso. Se dispone, conforme con la sentencia dictada en este caso que, una vez efectuada la subasta y vendido el bien inmueble, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del mismo dentro del término de veinte (20) días por el Alguacil de este Honorable Tribunal y los actuales poseedores lanzados del referido inmueble. Y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general, se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley, mediante edicto, en un periódico de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, una vez por semana, por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía, y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto de Subasta para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Salinas, Puerto Rico, a 10 de enero de 2024.

Rolando Rodriguez Rivera, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #037, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTAN-

CIA, SALA DE SALINAS.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante v.

LITTON LOAN SERVICING LP Y OTROS

Demandado(a) JAVIER MONTALVO CINTRÓN JMONTALVO@ DELGADOFERNANDEZ.COM Caso Núm.: CA2023CV03581 (CIVIL 407) Sobre: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: LITTON LOAN SERVICING LP; JOHN DOE & RICHARD RO

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 5 de febrero de 2024, 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 5 de febrero de 2024. En Carolina, Puerto Rico, el 5 de febrero de 2024. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretaria. F/Denisse Minerva Torres Ruiz, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

RAMOS HERNANDEZ

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haberse publicado el emplazamiento por edicto, excluyéndose el día de la publicación. 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. Esta acción es de Cancelación de pagaré extraviado a favor de Doral Financial Corporation h/n/c H.F. Mortgage Bankers, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $43,837.00, con intereses a razón de 7 3/4% anual, vencedero el 1ro de enero de 2036; garantizado mediante hipoteca constituida en la escritura número cuatrocientos cuarenta (440) otorgada en San Juan el 19 de diciembre de 2005 ante la noLEGAL NOTICE taria Myrtelena Díaz Pedrosa; ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO presentada para su inscripción DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- el 3 de enero de 2006 al asienNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA to número cuatrocientos treinta SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAY- y siete (437) del diario número quinientos treinta (530), e insNABO crita al folio número veintitrés GUSTAVO TORRES (23) del tomo número mil dosDECOS, POR SÍ; cientos setenta y siete (1,277) DESIMAR DE SOTO de Guaynabo, finca número TORRES, POR SÍ; treinta y cinco mil trescientos cincuenta y ocho (35,358), en LA SOCIEDAD DE su novena (9ª) inscripción. EXGANANCIALES TENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y COMPUESTA POR el sello del Tribunal, en GuayAMBOS nabo, Puerto Rico, hoy día19 Demandante V. de enero 2024. Lcda. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria ReDORAL FINANCIAL CORPORATION H/N/C H.F. gional II. F/ Sara Rosa Villegas, Secretaria Tribunal Con. I. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 31 DE ENERO DE 2024, 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 2 de febrero de 2024. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 2 de febrero de 2024. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. F/Ivette M. Marrero Bracero, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

MORTGAGE BANKERS; LEGAL NOTICE FIRSTBANK; FULANO DE TAL, SUTANO DE TAL, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO POSIBLES TENEDORES DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUDESCONOCIDOS DEL NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYALEGAL NOTICE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. GÜEZ Demandados ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO MONICA LINNETTE DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- CIVIL NÚM: BY2023CV004660 RODRIGUEZ RIVERA NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SOBRE: CANCELACIÓN DE Demandante V. CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BA- PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE PLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO DIXON HENRIQUEZ TORO ENMENDADO. ESTADOS Demandado BAYAMÓN UNIDOS DE AMERICA. EL Civil Núm.: MZ2024RF00056 ANDENO CO PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTA- Sobre: FILIACION. EMPLAZADemandante V. DOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LI- MIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTAWALDEMAR BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO DOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. RAMOS HERNANDEZ RICO. SS. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESDemandado(a) TADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIA: FULANO DE TAL ADRIÁN BRITO RODRÍGUEZ BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO / SUTANO DE TAL ADRIAN@BRITO.LEGAL RICO. SS. CASO NÚM.: BY2022CV05730 POSIBLES TENEDORES A: DIXON (SALÓN 503) SOBRE: COBRO DEL PAGARÉ HENRIQUEZ TORO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. EXTRAVIADO O SEA, NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTEN100 Watauga Ln., LA PARTE DEMANDADA CIA POR EDICTO.

A: WALDEMAR

ARRIBA MENCIONADA.

Birchwood Tennessee, Estados Unidos 37308.

The San Juan Daily Star POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza para que presente al Tribunal su alegación responsiva a la Demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento 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, de no tener representación legal. 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.

Lcda. Caren A. Ruiz Pérez RUA Número 19,900 #160 Ave. Universidad Interamericana San Germán, PR 00683 Tel-Fax: 787-264-4444Email: ruizcaren@yahoo.com Expedido bajo mi firma y el Sello del Tribunal, hoy día 6 de febrero de 2024. Lcda. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Secretaria, Sharon V. Ríos, Sub- Secretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

LILLIAM RIVERA CARRASQUILLO; CHEILYMAR PADILLA CHEVALIER y ESTADO UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados CIVIL NÚM.: CG2019CV03052.

SALA: SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA IN REM. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, Caguas, 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 18 de enero de 2024, 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: CONDOMINIO BRISAS DEL PARQUE de Caguas. Solar: AA-10. Cabida: 353.87 Metros Cuadrados. Linderos: Norte, en una distancia de diecinueve punto cincuenta metros (19.50 m.), con la Calle “A” de dicha urbanización. Sur, en una distancia de veintitrés metros (23.00 m.), con el Solar 11 del Bloque “AA”. Este,

en una distancia de quince punto cincuenta metros (15.50 m.), con el Solar número 9 del Bloque “AA”. Oeste, en una distancia de doce metros (12.00 m.), con la Calle “AA” de dicha urbanización. Radicado en el Barrio Turabo de Caguas. En este solar enclava una casa de concreto para residencia de una familia. Inscrita al folio 3 vto. del tomo 1670 de Caguas, finca #49,569, inscripción 5ta, del Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Primera. Además, el Alguacil que suscribe, hago saber a todos los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surjan de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante: Hipoteca constituida por Lilliam Rivera Carrasquillo mediante la escritura #806, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 31 de agosto de 2017, ante el Notario Público Néstor Machado Cortes, en garantía de un pagaré suscrito bajo affidávit #10224, a favor de SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, por la suma principal de $40,294.12 y créditos adicionales, sin intereses anual y vence el día 1 de agosto de 2047, tasándose la finca en una cantidad igual al principal, e inscrita al sistema Karibe de Caguas el día 1 de marzo de 2019; inscripción 7ma. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 19 de agosto de 2019, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, en el caso civil número CG2019CV03052, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Lillian Rivera Carrasquillo y Cheilymar Padilla Chevalier; Estados Unidos de America, por la suma de $125,794.90 más intereses y gastos, anotado el día 13 de septiembre de 2019, al tomo Karibe de Caguas, finca número 49,569, anotación A. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor el día 9 de octubre de 2023, notificada el 23 de octubre de 2023, a saber la suma de $125,794.90 de principal, más intereses al tipo convenido al 4.000% anual, desde el día 1 de noviembre de 2017, hasta su total y completo pago, más la cantidad de

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 $17,979.20 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado que la parte demandada se obligara a satisfacer como suma líquida y sin necesidad de nueva liquidación aprobación por este Tribunal, más la cantidad que se adeuda mensualmente a partir del día 1 de diciembre de 2017, más los cargos por demora; más cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hagan en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. 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 4 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $126,342.83. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $84,228.55, 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 18 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $63,171.41, 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) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a.

Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 6 de febrero de 2024.

ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, Alguacil Angel Gómez Gómez P.593, División de Subastas, Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas.

ESCALERA

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 01 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, 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 9 de febrero de 2024. Notas de la Secretaria: SE ENMIENDA A LOS FINES DE NOTIFICAR CORRECTAMENTE. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 9 de febrero de 2024. KANELLY ZAYAS ROLES, Secretaria. F/ IDA L FERNANDEZ RODRIGUEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

27

so 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 05 de febrero de 2024. En BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, el 5 de febrero de 2024. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretaria. F/ ISABEL SOUCHET BURBOS, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

ceder el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente, sin más citarle ni oírle. El abogado de la parte demandante es: Jaime Ruiz Saldaña, RUA número 11673; Dirección: PO Box 366276, San Juan, PR 00936-6276; Teléfono: (787) 759-6897; Correo electrónico: legal@jrslawpr. com. Se le advierte que dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes a la publicación del presente edicto, se le estará enviando a usted por correo certificado LEGAL NOTICE con acuse de recibo, una copia ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO del emplazamiento y de la deDE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- manda presentada al lugar de NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA su última dirección conocida: SALA DE SAN JUAN Urb. Las Cumbres, 720 Calle Kennedy, San Juan, PR 00926ORIENTAL BANK, 5629. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma Demandante V. y el sello del Tribunal en San LYDIA ORTIZ Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 25 CARABALLO, FULANO de enero de 2024. Griselda DE TAL y la Sociedad Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria.

Legal de Gananciales Carla J. Rivera Climent, Subcompuesta por ambos Secretaria.

Demandado.

CIVIL NUM.: SJ2023CV09316 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTOP OR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: LYDIA ORTIZ CARABALLO, FULANO DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBULEGAL NOTICE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BADE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- YAMON SALA SUPERIOR DE POR MEDIO del presente edicNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA BAYAMON. to se le notifica de la radicación CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGABRIELA de una demanda en cobro de ROLINA SALA SUPERIOR DE GONZALEZ MENDOZA dinero por la vía ordinaria en la CAROLINA. Demandante V. que se alega que usted adeuda REVERSE MORTGAGE a la parte demandante, Oriental AKRAM DROUZ FUNDING, LLC Bank, ciertas sumas de dinero, Demandado (a) Demandante V. SAMARIA CARRASQUILLO DIAZ y las costas, gastos y honoraSUCN NADDIA EMILIA SAMARIA.CARRASQUILLO@GMAIL. rios de abogado de este litigio.

COM El demandante, Oriental Bank, DE LAS MERCEDES Caso Núm.: BY2023RF01542 ha solicitado que se dicte senBETANCOURT T/C/C (FAMILIA Y MENORES SALA tencia en contra suya y que se Y OTROS DE BAYAMON SALON 4001) le ordene pagar las cantidades Demandado (a) Sobre: DIVORCIO - RUPTURA reclamadas en la demanda.

YADIRA LOPEZ GONZALEZ IRREPARABLE. NOTIFICA- POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO YADIRA.LOPEZ17@HOTMAIL.COM CIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR se le emplaza para que presenCaso Núm.: CA2022CV03025 EDICTO. te al tribunal su alegación res(CIVIL 409) Sobre: EJECUA: AKRAM DROUZ ponsiva a la demanda dentro CION DE HIPOTECA: PROPIEDAD RESIDENCIAL. NO- EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus- de los treinta (30) días de haTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA cribe le notifica a usted que el ber sido diligenciado este em02 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, plazamiento, excluyéndose el POR EDICTO ENMENDADA. este Tribunal ha dictado Sen- día del diligenciamiento. Usted A: FULANO DE TAL tencia, Sentencia Parcial o deberá presentar su alegación Y SUTANO DE TAL Resolución en este caso, que responsiva a través del Sistema COMO MIEMBROS ha sido debidamente registra- Unificado de Manejo y Adminisda y archivada en autos donde tración de Casos (SUMAC), al DE NOMBRES podrá usted enterarse deta- cual puede acceder utilizando DESCONOCIDOS lladamente de los términos de la siguiente dirección electróDE LA SUCESION la misma. Esta notificación se nica: https://www.poderjudicial.

DE NADDIA EMILIA publicará una sola vez en un pr/index/php/tribunalelectroniperiódico de circulación general co/, salvo que se represente por DE LAS MERCEDES en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro derecho propio, en cuyo caso BETANCOURT Y de los 10 días siguientes a su deberá presentar su alegación ESCALERAS T/C/C notificación. Y, siendo o repre- responsiva en la Secretaría del NADDIA EMILIA sentando usted una parte en el Tribunal. Si usted deja de preBETANCOURT procedimiento sujeta a los tér- sentar su alegación responsiva minos de la Sentencia, Senten- dentro del referido término, el ESCALERA T/C/C NADDIA BETANCOURT cia Parcial o Resolución, de la tribunal podrá dictar sentencia cual puede establecerse recur- en rebeldía en su contra, y con-

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO

CARMEN ZENAIDA RIVERA NIEVES Demandante Vs.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION COMO SUCESOR EN DERECHO DE R&G MORTGAGE CORPORATION; JORGE CRUZ VAZQUEZ; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES CON INTERÉS.

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. HU2024CV00097 SOBRE: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARE HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE B: JORGE CRUZ VAZQUEZ (personas desconocidas con posible interés)

En este caso la parte demandante ha radicado Demanda para que se decrete judicialmente el saldo del siguiente pagare: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagare a favor de Citibank N.A., o a su orden por la suma principal de R&G MORTGAGE CORPORATION, por CIENTO CUARENTA Y CUATRO MIL DOLARES ($144,000.00), con intereses al siete y medio por ciento (7.5%) anual, vencedero el primero de septiembre de dos mil treinta y uno (2031), según consta de la escritura número 491, otorgada en Caguas, Puerto Rico el día 23 de agosto de 2001, ante el Notario Público Miriam Vela de Montañez testimonio 1759 inscrito al folio 1 del

tomo 528 de Humacao, finca 21,447, Registro de la Propiedad Sección de Humacao, 4ta inscripción y está garantizado por hipoteca sobre la propiedad, que se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Los Sauces, situado en el Barrio Collares de Humacao, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número B guión ocho (B-8) con un área trescientos sesenta y cuatro punto cero cero cero (364.000) metros cuadrados. En lindes, por el NORTE, con la Calle Laurel (#2) en una distancia de catorce punto cero cero cero (14.000) metros; por el SUR, con el Solar doce guión B (12B) en una distancia de catorce punto cero cero cero (14.000) metros; por el ESTE, con el Solar nueve guion B (9- B) en una distancia de veintiséis punto cero cero (26.00) metros; y por el OESTE, con el Solar siete guion B (7-B) en una distancia de veintiséis punto cero cero (26.00) metros. Enclava una casa de concreto para residencia de una familia. Inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 528 de Humacao, finca número 21,447, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. La parte demandante alega que dicho Pagaré se ha extraviado, según más detalladamente consta en la Demanda radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Por tratarse de unas obligaciones hipotecarias, y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se les emplaza por este Edicto que se publicará en un (1) periódico de circulación general una (1) sola vez y que si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda radicando el original de la misma a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual pueden acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se representen por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Utuado, con copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo. Jorge García Rondón, de PMB 538, 267 Sierra Morena, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926 dentro del término de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la publicación del Edicto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarles ni oírles. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto por Orden del Tribunal, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy 29 de ENERO de 2024. EVELYN FELIX VAZQUEZ, SECRETARIA INTERINA. KEYLA PEREZ FIGUEROA, SUB-SECRETARIA.

28 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

The drama of sports transcends the Super Bowl spectacle

By BILLY WITZ

A

t some point, the Super Bowl stopped being entirely about football and evolved — or is it devolved — into a corporate carnival with lavish parties, halftime extravaganzas and commercials whose budgets seemed to rival a blockbuster movie.

The apex of that transformation arrived with the NFL planting this year’s event in Las Vegas, where the prevailing ethos might well be that a bellyful of anything is barely enough.

But Super Bowl LVIII, with its attendant flash — and America’s favorite football fan, Taylor Swift, chugging a beer in a private box — demonstrated on Sunday night how sports stands apart from other types of entertainment.

If the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers was as tightly scripted as Usher’s elaborate choreography, the teams might have been pelted with rotten tomatoes or booed off the stage by halftime. It was mostly an evening of stumbles and bumbles: two fumbles, an interception, a muffed punt, a blocked extra point, a raft of untimely penalties — and for the 49ers enough regrets to last a lifetime.

But all the mistakes and all those field goals — seven in all — would eventually be subsumed by the tension that unfolded in the fourth quarter and continued on into overtime of what became the longest game in Su-

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker (7) kicks the ball for a field goal against the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

per Bowl history.

The unexpected drama, which was watched by a record TV audience of 123.4 million, continued until the final play, when Patrick Mahomes, the fabulous Kansas City quarterback, tossed a touchdown pass to a wide-open Mecole Hardman — who had left the Chiefs as a free agent after last season, floundered with the New York Jets and then was traded back to Kansas City in mid-October. It was his first touchdown catch of the season.

As the Chiefs poured onto the field — and red and yellow confetti poured from cannons — the 49ers trudged off it, absorbing their second punch-to-the-gut Super Bowl loss to Kansas City in five Jonatan Ramos Director Funerario years.

The tidy ending put a neat “Tus sentimientos en las mejores manos” bow on what not long ago Aceptamos la Mayoría de los Planes Funerales would have been unfathomPre-Arreglos sin Interes able — the NFL putting its •Cómodas Facilidades •Amplio Estacionamiento marquee event in the country’s gambling capital. Much DIRECTOR FUNERAL AUTORIZADO of that identity is betting on sports, which is still verboten players and league emBairoa la 25, Caguas (antiguo JF Montalvo) for ployees even as the NFL has

Tels. 787.258.2664 •939.639.2533

licensing agreements worth nearly $1 billion over five years.

While Las Vegas has diversified, shifting toward entertainment, gambling is what distinguishes the city from Broadway, Disneyland — and Branson, Missouri.

Meanwhile, the NFL pushed out another made-for-TV spectacle.

Though Allegiant Stadium is covered, a flyover and fireworks from the roof were still part of the pregame festivities. The halftime show featuring Usher and friends was orchestrated down to the minute. And the exterior of the Sphere, the new futuristic concert venue, projected an American flag.

The commercials also managed to elbow their way into the conversation: Beyoncé used one to announce her next album. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insinuated himself in the political conversation. And Carl Weathers appeared a little more than a week after his death.

(One detail might have been overlooked.

When the Kansas City players charged out of the tunnel before the game, they were greeted by a tomahawk chop chant as they ran through the end zone painted “Chiefs” and rimmed by an NFL message: End racism.)

This NFL season has been distinguished by the presence of Swift, who has been a regular at Chiefs games since shortly after she began dating Travis Kelce, the team’s star

tight end.

Suddenly, anecdotally at least, more girls and young women have been turned on to a sport that has led them to learn the language of so many football-watching men in their lives. As if the nation’s most popular sport needed a boost.

So, there Swift was, joined in the Kelce family’s box, flanked by actor Blake Lively and singer Ice Spice, slamming a beer with the clapping approval of Travis’ bushy bearded older brother, Jason. The elder Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, has followed his brother’s team on what has looked like a bare-chested pub crawl through the playoffs.

He kept his shirt on Sunday, along with his yellow-and-red plaid overalls.

Travis Kelce was excitable, too. Frustrated by the offense’s early struggles, Kelce screamed in the face of coach Andy Reid along the Kansas City sideline. He might have done well to heed Swift’s song, “You Need To Calm Down.”

As the Chiefs began celebrating in a cigarsmoke-filled locker room, Kelce struggled to open a gold Ace of Spades bottle of Champagne. Once the bottle’s cork finally popped off, he spewed the spraying drink onto his corralled teammates, many of whom were already wearing large goggles over their eyes.

Mahomes, at his nearby locker, carried a replica World Wrestling Entertainment championship trophy over his shoulder.

Before he reached the locker room, Kelce received a hug from his mother and embraced Swift, who planted a kiss on her boyfriend.

The scene may have been enough to set off another round of right-wing conspiracy theories about Swift, with her legion of devoted fans, being a Pentagon mole sent to influence this year’s presidential election.

(Sean McManus, the longtime CBS Sports chair, poked fun at this joke last week when he said the NFL had alerted him that the game could go into two overtimes. “You pay $2.1 billion, you get double overtime,” he said.)

To anyone else, the embrace between Kelce and Swift looked like a tender, unrehearsed moment celebrating the culmination of a monthslong journey.

The Chiefs’ victory gives them three Super Bowl titles in the past five seasons and makes them the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 to win back-to-back titles — perhaps the one thing that on Sunday night stuck to the script.

The San Juan Daily Star

GAMES

29

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Sudoku

How to Play:

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Answers on page 30

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HOROSCOPE 30 Aries

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

(Mar 21-April 20)

A member of your household is likely to be in a very strange mood today, Aries. This person has heard some news that is confusing and probably untrue and therefore is wondering what effect this would have on their situation. If he or she discusses it with you, the best advice you could give would be to not panic until there’s a chance to check the facts. The truth is probably a lot different from what you’ve all heard.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

Rumors may be circulating today, Libra, which could cause a certain panic.. However, these rumors are probably based on little more than gossip, so don’t take them seriously. Someone could have an axe to grind and tend to blow things all out of proportion. Try not to engage in this gossip. Stay calm and let your callers know that, for you, the best strategy seems to be to wait for the situation to grow clearer.

That should get you through.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

Attempts to contact others in different states or foreign countries today could go awry, Taurus, as technology that we tend to take for granted, such as telephones and the Internet, could malfunction, perhaps due to solar flares. There isn’t much point in making yourself crazy, as this is beyond human control. The only thing you can do is wait! In the meantime, do something else that you love.

Machines involved in financial transactions, such as ATMs, phone systems, or banking websites could malfunction today, Gemini, so you might have to resort to dealing with money in the old fashioned way: by going into the bank or writing checks. Electrical storms or solar flares could be interfering with satellite signals, so there isn’t much you can do. Needless to say, this isn’t a good day to make any major financial transactions.

This might be a good day to take some time for yourself, Cancer. Contact with others, no matter how much you love them, isn’t likely to go well, as most people are probably restless and in uncertain moods.

This is a good day to catch up on your reading or web surfing and work on projects of your own that you may have been neglecting for a while. You can always contact your friends tomorrow!

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Bizarre news that comes to you from far away, possibly via email or the Internet, could be spreading like wildfire among the people you know and causing a lot of excitement, Scorpio. Take care that you don’t get too excited, since this is very likely to be misinformation that some rather weird minds have garbled. Consider it interesting, think about it, but don’t take it seriously unless reliable sources confirm it.

Some rather disturbing news about trends in the world economy could have you and everyone around you worrying about your financial future.

Have faith, Sagittarius. What you’re hearing may be total misinformation. The future is probably going to shape up to be far different than the picture you draw from the news. In fact, you might find that your own personal finances take a definite turn for the better.

Get-togethers with friends today could prove a bit unsettling, Capricorn, as someone who attends them could throw out an opinion or possibility that seems rather shocking. This opinion, however, is likely to be based on rumor, gossip, and other misinformation, so it would be a good idea to suggest that these concepts be explored in order to ascertain the facts. They’ll probably turn out to be far more positive than you hear today.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Today you might be trying to learn about a new form of modern technology, perhaps computer related, Leo, and you could find it too confusing for words.

Your brain could be going into overload, so it’s probably best to take it one step at a time! It’s also important to remember to take breaks and clear your head.

Too much information all at once could result in your not being able to absorb any of it.

Someone close to you could develop some strange symptoms that cause this person to panic. It never hurts to consult a doctor, but when this person does, he or she is likely to find that these problems are probably nothing more than stress, too much work, or overindulgence in food or drink. Therefore, don’t you panic, too! You might find yourself making phone calls or running errands to enable your friend to get some rest..

Virgo

Pisces

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

Weirdness is the keyword for today, Virgo. You could be flooded with information from newspapers or the Internet that seems very strange to you. There’s a reason for this. It’s very likely to be misinformation! Don’t be afraid to take it with a grain of salt, even though others take it very seriously. Hang on to your skepticism, and don’t pass the information on unless you preface it with your honest opinion.

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Group activities might prove a little unsettling for you today, Pisces. Animated discussions could turn into angry quarrels and this could offend your desire for harmony. A lot of misinformation could be exchanged today and cause confusion and short tempers. Stay home if you can, but if you must go out, don’t be afraid to leave at the first sign of arguments. They aren’t likely to accomplish much after that anyway.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

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Ziggy

32 Wednesday, February 14, 2024

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