Autonomous Municipality of Caguas
2 GOOD MORNING
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.
ManpowerGroup survey shows net downward trend in hiring, progress in gender equity, wage gap
By THE STAR STAFF
The most recent edition of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey indicates that the seasonally adjusted net hiring trend for the first quarter of the year in Puerto Rico is 12%, reflecting a decrease of one percentage point compared to the previous quarter.
According to the survey, 44% of companies reported achieving gender equity, while 58% stated they are making progress in reducing the wage gap, said Melissa Rivera Roena, the general manager of ManpowerGroup Puerto Rico.
“Since last year, we have observed a net downward trend in hiring, which can be attributed to the extraordinary peaks of 2023. What we see now is a stabilization,” Rivera Roena noted. “It’s important to highlight that most surveyed employers do not plan to make changes to their workforce or intend to increase it this quarter. Additionally, there is a growing awareness around gender equity issues.”
Rivera Roena said 38% of the employers surveyed indicated they do not plan to make any changes to their workforce, while 35% plan to increase the number of employees, and 23% intend to reduce positions. Four percent are still uncertain about their expectations for January to March of this year.
The highest hiring intentions were reported in the San Juan metro region (28%), followed by the south (18%) and east (17%) regions. Conversely, the central region (-22%), the north (-5%), and the west
(-3%) have the lowest hiring expectations.
The economic sectors with the most optimistic hiring expectations include information technology (43%), transportation & logistics and automotive (25%), manufacturing (24%), and health sciences (16%). The sectors with the lowest hiring intentions are finance and real estate (12%), consumer goods and services (6%), telecommunications services (-8%), energy (-30%), and other industries (15%).
In terms of company size, both the largest companies (more than 5,000 employees) and the smallest (fewer than 10 employees) report the most favorable hiring expectations. Companies with 50-249 employees have a hiring intention of 20%, those with 10-49 employees at 18%, and those with 250-999 employees at 10%. The companies with the lowest hiring intentions are those with 1,000-4,999 employees, reporting -24%.
The survey, conducted for the first quarter in Puerto Rico, included a sample of 500 employers. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, Puerto Rico experienced a hiring expectation of -21%.
Alberto Alesi, the general director of ManpowerGroup for Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America, pointed out that changes or adjustments in economic and labor public policy in the United States and Puerto Rico could impact employers’ hiring decisions both in this quarter and throughout the year.
In terms of hiring expectations on a global scale, India (40%), the United States (34%), and Mexico (32%) ranked the highest. Those reporting the weakest hiring intentions include Argentina (-1%), Hong Kong (6%), and Israel (8%). Regarding gender equity, Rivera Roena noted that when asked about their progress, 44% of companies reported achieving gender equity fully, an increase from 36% a year ago. Additionally, 33% said they are very close to achieving it, 13% view it as reasonable but still far off, and 7% believe they are very far from this goal.
According to the survey, nearly six out of 10 organizations (58%) believe they are on the right track to reducing the wage gap between men and women.
Broad participation is theme as Miranda Torres begins new term
Mayor vows to keep building strategic alliances to benefit Caguas
By THE STAR STAFF
ln an emotional ceremony held this past weekend, William Miranda Torres officially assumed a new term as mayor of Caguas, reiterating his commitment to the progress of the city by continuing the strategic alliances that have consolidated Caguas as the center and heart of Puerto Rico.
During his speech, Miranda Torres highlighted the importance of those alliances as a key tool to face the challenges and enhance the opportunities that position Caguas as one of the main cities on the island.
“Our collaborative model has shown that, when we work together, there is no insurmountable challenge or unattainable
goal,” the mayor said. “This commitment drives us to continue strengthening the business, social and cultural ecosystem of our city, turning Caguas into the true vibrant heart of Puerto Rico.”
The municipal leader thanked the
people of Caguas for their trust and reaffirmed his commitment to responsibility and transparency. He also extended his gratitude to municipal employees, external allies and community members who have worked hand in hand with his
administration to position Caguas as an example of resilience, innovation and criollo pride as a model for others.
Miranda Torres, who has served as mayor since taking office following a special election in 2010, called on citizens to continue to actively participate in the development of the city, stressing that the success of Caguas lies in the joint effort of all its sectors. “Governing is not a solitary act,” he added. “True change arises when communities, institutions, citizens and government organize and work together.”
With the event, Miranda Torres began the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Caguas, which throughout the year will include special projects, school competitions, gastronomic festivals and a mini-documentary that will capture the most important moments in the town’s history.
PDP files resolution to revoke DNER order shelving claims of illegal construction at La Parguera
By THE STAR STAFF
The Popular Democratic Party (PDP) delegation in the island House of Representatives has filed House Joint Resolution 22, which seeks to revoke an administrative order signed by designated Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez that shelved allegations of illegal construction activities in the coastal La Parguera sector of Lajas. The administrative order appeared to exonerate several individuals accused of violating environmental regulations, including Gov. Jenniffer González Colón’s in-laws.
The allegations involve the illegal cutting of mangroves and unauthorized expansion and renovation of a platform or dock at their residence in La Parguera, which was designated as a natural reserve in 1979 and is known for its bioluminescent bay.
The order was signed by Quiles after González Colón, following her swearing-in on Jan. 2, claimed that an ongoing investigation into waterfront construction on property owned by her in-laws constituted “political persecution” against her.
The order, issued on Jan. 9, establishes the collection of rights for the use of land in public domain waters in La Parguera, legalizes
structures in the maritime-terrestrial zone and allows repairs, some with more than 60 years of existence. It also expedites permits through the island Permits Office.
The PDP resolution calls on the DNER to reactivate all investigations that were in progress when the order was issued. The resolution expresses concerns, stating: “Administrative Order 2025-01 raises serious issues regarding compliance with essential principles of environmental protection and the need to avoid actions that could compromise impartiality in government management. This concern is heightened as one of the properties under investigation belongs to direct relatives of
Governor Jenniffer González Colón.”
The resolution has little chance of passage because the New Progressive Party, to which the governor belongs, has majority control of both houses.
Also on Tuesday, the PDP minority leader in the Senate, Luis Javier Hernández Ortiz, asked designated Justice Secretary Janet Parra Mercado for an investigation and legal opinion on the administrative order signed by Quiles.
“The people need to trust our Department of Justice,” Hernández Ortiz said in a written statement. “I request an investigation based on truth and transparency on this order that has generated serious doubts.”
Energy czar approval to be a priority for Legislature
By THE STAR STAFF
RGovernment Committee
House of Representatives, said Tuesday that the approval of legislation to create the position of the Office of the Energy Czar will be a priority during the first days of the Legislative Assembly that began on Monday.
The District 4 (San Juan) lawmaker said the panel he chairs will begin evaluating the measure creating the post of energy czar and proceed to its approval because “we believe that it is one of the most important pieces of legislation.”
Both Gov. Jenniffer González Colón and House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez have assured that the czar is a legislative priority.
In addition to the reconstruction of the island’s energy platform, the czar will be in charge of the system while at the same time “establishing a backup structure such as batteries that are being evaluated for installation,” said Parés, who is a member of the Energy Transformation Committee created by the governor.
The legislator noted that the position of the energy czar has previously been
implemented with success in the United States, giving the example of then-President Richard Nixon’s creation of the Office of Energy Policy (which later became the Federal Energy Office and then the Federal Energy Administration) during the Arab oil embargo in 1973. A few years later the FEA was merged with another agency to form the U.S. Department of Energy.
Caguas Mayor William Miranda Torres
ep. Víctor Parés Otero, who chairs the
in the island
NPP mayors demand approved funds for housekeepers & paramedics
By THE STAR STAFF
The Puerto Rico Mayors Federation (FAPR by its initials in Spanish) is demanding immediate action from the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to distribute the funds earmarked in the budget for hiring housekeepers and paramedics.
Approved as of July 1, 2024, the funds are critical for delivering essential services to vulnerable communities, the mayors said.
Camuy Mayor Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez, president of the FAPR, emphasized that the certified budget for fiscal year 2025 allocates $9 million for hiring paramedics and $15 million for housekeepers who provide vital assistance to older adults. Six months into the fiscal year, however, eligible municipalities have yet to receive the necessary funding to implement these crucial services, he said.
“The ongoing delay in distributing these funds is directly harming communities that rely on these services for daily care, home support, and health emergenciwes,” Hernández said.
“Housekeepers are indispensable in the care of our elderly, and enhancing the additional shift of paramedics in the 9-1-1 system is essential for a swift and effective emergency response.”
The FAPR pointed out that while the oversight board approved a total allocation of $24 million, specific allocations by municipality remain pending due to vague administrative criteria and poor coordination between agencies. The lack of clarity must be addressed immediately in order for the OMB to disburse the vital funds, the mayors said.
“We are talking about funds that have already been approved and are critical for safeguarding the well-being of our communities,” Hernández said. “We will not stand by and allow bureaucratic delays to continue to harm our people. We demand that the Board and the Office of Management and Budget act without delay to release these resources so that municipal leaders can fulfill their responsibilities.”
The FAPR president added that if the funds “are not disbursed without further delay, we will pursue all available options, including organizing urgent meetings with the responsible agencies and mobilizing collective efforts to demand enforcement of approved commitments.”
Health services administrators endorse Roig as Family secretary
Urge strengthening of protections for elderly
By THE STAR STAFF
Health Services Administrators Association (CASS by its acronym in Spanish) President Dr. Rosa Castro on Tuesday endorsed Gov. Jenniffer González Colón’s appointment of social worker Suzanne Roig Fuertes as Family secretary and urged the strengthening of protections for elderly people abandoned in hospitals.
“The Health Services Administrators Association, a non-profit professional entity that brings together more than 800 hospital administrators, Diagnostic and Treatment Centers (CDT), Primary Health Centers 330, among other institutions, endorses the appointment by Governor Jenniffer González of the outstanding
social worker Suzanne Roig as Secretary of the Department of the Family,” Castro said in a written statement.
“In our hospitals we recognize the fundamental role of social workers; in our case, we have clinical social workers,” she said. “We know the leadership and social commitment of the designated person, which represents a key opportunity to strengthen services aimed at the most vulnerable populations, especially our elderly.”
“The appointment of social worker Roig comes at a critical time to address the social challenges affecting our elderly, who deserve to receive the care and respect that corresponds to their dignity and fundamental rights,” Castro added. “At CASS we celebrate her appointment and offer our collaboration to develop initiatives that promote their well-being.”
“In addition, CASS expresses its concern about the persistent practice of abandoning older adults in hospitals without any justification,” she said. “This situation, which affects a fragile segment of our society, must be addressed urgently, as it also limits access and services to other patients.”
“We have all witnessed how the number of people who leave elderly people abandoned in hospitals increases every year, even when they have already received treatment and have been discharged. We also know the difficulties that the Family Department faces, in most cases, in placing them in homes,” Castro said. “In light of this, we call on the designated person to double efforts in the creation of a Specialized Social Unit that deals with these cases, provides preventive support to families in crisis and guarantees dignified care for our elderly.”
Autoexpreso system oversight will be a priority of new House Transportation Committee chairman
By THE STAR STAFF
Overseeing the Autoexpreso highway toll system will be one of the priorities of the new chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the island House of Representatives, José “Cheito” Hernández Concepción.
“As you know, the transparency and efficiency of the Autoexpreso system has been one of our priorities since we arrived in the Legislature in December of 2022,” the District 3 (San Juan) lawmaker said. “Now, as chairman of the Transportation committee overseeing […] this system, the priority is to guarantee that it operates as it should, complying with all the metrics of execution and functioning.”
“We don’t want kilometer-long [traffic] backups, phantom fines or [excessive] fines; we want a system that functions and we are going to work toward that,” Hernández said.
He said he will be holding a meeting with the secretary-designate of Transportation and Public Works, Edwin González-Montalvo, to begin a work agenda for evaluation of the operator of the Autoexpreso system, Professional Account Management.
Designated Family Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes
Camuy Mayor Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez, president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Federation
Blaze in Ventura County underscores threat of new fires
By SAM STANTON, CLAIRE MOSES and PATRICIA MAZZEI
Firefighters in Ventura County battled a fresh brush fire in the Santa Clara river bottom Tuesday as stronger winds threatened to ignite more blazes across parts of Southern California. The new fire ignited as some of the most destructive fires in the state’s history continued to burn through brush and the remains of scorched neighborhoods.
With the strongest gusts from the latest round of Santa Ana winds expected Tuesday night, officials in Los Angeles County urged residents to prepare for power outages and to be ready to flee. “Get set to leave early if you receive an evacuation order or warning,” Anthony C. Marrone, the county’s fire chief, said at a news conference.
The ominous forecast comes after a week in which high winds and dry conditions fueled fires that have killed at least 24 people and left about two dozen others missing. More than 100,000 people have been displaced and whole neighborhoods destroyed.
— Containment updates: The largest blaze in Los Angeles County, the Palisades
fire, was larger than 23,000 acres but only 17% contained Tuesday, up from 14%. The Eaton fire covered more than 14,000 acres
and was only 35% contained, up from 33%. There were no reports of new homes or major structures burning in either fire.
The charred wrecks of cars burnt by the Eaton fire on a residential street in Altadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. A rare warning of “particularly dangerous” fire weather went into effect on Tuesday morning in parts of Southern California, where heavy winds were creating conditions for new fires even as firefighters battle the most destructive blazes in state history. (Philip Cheung/The New York Times)
Searches continue for nearly two dozen missing in the fires
By CLAIRE MOSES
At least 23 people were still missing in the Palisades and Eaton fires Monday, nearly a week after deadly fires broke out across Los Angeles.
Officials have said as many as 24 people have been reported dead, and more than 100,000 people have been displaced.
As of Monday morning, the official number of missing persons included 17 in the area of the Eaton fire near Pasadena and six in the Malibu area, near the Palisades fire.
“That number is expected to fluctuate as we get more information,” Nicole Nishida, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles sheriff’s office, said in an email. The sheriff’s office did not cite specific numbers of people who are reporting
their loved ones missing. But, Nishida added, “unfortunately, the number increases every day.”
People are also searching for loved ones online.
Among them were the friends of Kim Winiecki, a 77-year-old Altadena resident who had not been seen or heard from since the Eaton fire erupted. After days of sharing posts, and increasingly losing hope, Winiecki’s friends learned Monday that she had died in her home, according to Jeannette McMahon, a friend who lived six minutes away.
Winiecki had moved to the area about 35 years ago, McMahon said. “Her home was her security. Her everything,” she said.
Officials have warned that the number of missing people and the death toll could rise further. In addition to those reported missing to the sheriff’s
office, the American Red Cross said over the weekend that it had received almost 400 family reunification requests through online form submissions and phone calls.
The organization added that roughly 900 people affected by the fires have sought refuge in one of the Red Cross shelters in Los Angeles.
Officials are still searching thousands of structures that have been damaged or destroyed in the fires, including with cadaver dogs, and are continuing to find remains, Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County sheriff, said during a news conference Monday.
That is also partly why many people are not yet able to return to survey their homes inside the mandatory evacuation zones, Luna said, adding: “We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.”
— A new fire: By Tuesday morning, firefighters in Ventura County, northwest of the city, had contained the Auto fire, which had grown to more than 50 acres Monday night within hours of igniting in a riverbed with overgrown brush. But fire officials worried about the fire breaking free again in windy conditions.
— Forecast: The National Weather Service issued an exceptionally rare red-flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. “Particularly dangerous” conditions, including wind gusts of 45 to 70 mph and very low humidity, could lead to “explosive fire growth” Tuesday, it said.
—
Evacuation zone: Police turned away hundreds of people who were trying to enter the evacuation zone for the Palisades fire Monday. That fire has leveled hundreds of homes in an area northwest of downtown Los Angeles and killed at least eight people.
— Housing crisis: The fires have exacerbated a housing crisis in Los Angeles. On Monday night, Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to expedite permitting for rebuilding after the fires and to fast-track approval of temporary housing for displaced families. Hundreds of schoolteachers were among those who lost their homes.
The hills burn above houses during the Palisades Fire in the Mandeville Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 11, 2025. (Philip Cheung/ The New York Times)
Special counsel report on Hunter Biden denounces president’s criticism of case
By DEVLIN BARRETT and GLENN THRUSH
David C. Weiss, the special counsel who spent years investigating Hunter Biden, criticized President Joe Biden for making “baseless accusations” about his inquiry that threatened “the integrity of the justice system as a whole” in a final report made public Monday.
“The president’s characterizations are incorrect based on the facts in this case, and on a more fundamental level, they are wrong,” Weiss wrote.
His inquiry had been a subject of fierce debate until the president issued a broad pardon that ended the case against his son, saying that the prosecution was the result of “raw politics.”
A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found Hunter Biden guilty of three felony counts in June for lying on a federal firearms application. He also pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges in Los Angeles in September for falsifying records and failing to file returns. The time span of his tax crimes included both a period when he was addicted to crack cocaine and after he became sober.
Hunter Biden and his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden, depart First Street U.S. Courthouse in Los Angeles, Sept. 5, 2024. David C. Weiss, the special counsel who spent years investigating Hunter Biden, issued his final report Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, on his work, criticizing President Biden for making “baseless accusations” that threaten “the integrity of the justice system as a whole.” (Jenna Schoenefeld/The New York Times)
In his report, Weiss pushed back against criticism, largely from Democrats, that the case against Biden was unwarranted or tainted by political motives.
The report acted as a pointed rejoinder to the president. Weiss, citing judicial rulings that found that the case had been fairly brought, used his final words on the longrunning investigation to defend his work and denounce the president’s characterizations.
“Politicians who attack the decisions of career prosecutors as politically motivated when they disagree with the outcome of a case undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system,” Weiss’ report said. “The president’s statements unfairly impugn the integrity not only of Department of Justice personnel, but all of the public servants making these difficult decisions in good faith.”
Past special counsels have issued thick reports running hundreds of pages. Technically, Weiss’ final document is more than 200 pages, but the vast majority of that is appendices containing previously public court documents. The actual findings of Weiss’ report are contained in a brief 27 pages.
The White House did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. A lawyer for Hunter Biden criticized the special counsel’s investigation.
“Like all his court filings, David Weiss’ 27-page report continues to ignore some of the major mysteries of his sevenyear investigation,” said the lawyer, Abbe Lowell, adding that “what is clear from this report is that the investigation into Hunter Biden is a cautionary tale of the abuse of prosecutorial power.”
The release comes amid a much more contentious eleventh-hour legal fight over the publication of a report by Jack Smith, the special counsel who filed two indictments against Donald Trump only for both to collapse in part because of Trump’s 2024 election victory.
Weiss’ time as special counsel began after he had already investigated Hunter Biden for several years on tax, finance and foreign lobbying issues. The two sides briefly struck a plea deal, but the unusual nature of the agreement — in addition to the government’s unwillingness to promise that the investigation would end with the deal — resulted in its collapse in July 2023.
The failed plea led Weiss to seek and receive an appointment as special counsel, allowing him to file indictments against the president’s son in two jurisdictions — related to lying on a gun purchase form in Delaware, and tax charges in Los Angeles.
Biden pardoned his son in December while he was awaiting sentencing in both cases. The president not only absolved him of the convictions, but also gave him a sweeping pardon for any potential crimes covering a period of more than 10 years.
In doing so, the president said his son’s case had been infected with politics, a claim that angered Weiss and the Justice Department, particularly because the president had for years asserted that the case had been handled independently.
Because the presidential pardon had effectively ruled out any such analysis, the report said, Weiss reached no conclusions about the possibility that Hunter Biden had committed other crimes.
The younger Biden’s legal team had long argued that criminal charges were unwarranted, in part because for some of the period at issue, he was in the throes of drug addiction. They also argued that similar conduct by other people had not generally led to federal charges, and that Hunter Biden became a target of opportunity for Republicans who strong-armed the Justice Department into pursuing criminal cases.
Weiss said his prosecutions were warranted based on the facts and the law.
“I considered his struggles with addiction and his choice to file false returns after he became sober,” the special counsel wrote. “And although Mr. Biden may have entered into a loan agreement with the personal friend who paid his taxes, there was no evidence that Mr. Biden repaid any of those funds.”
Weiss also indicted and won a guilty plea from another man, Alexander Smirnov, for lying to the FBI during the 2020 election period by falsely claiming knowledge of corrupt payments to the father and son. Smirnov, a longtime FBI informant, had claimed that executives from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma had paid Joe Biden and Hunter Biden $5 million each around 2015 — an accusation that was trumpeted by congressional Republicans.
Biden administration adopts rules to guide AI’s global spread
By ANA SWANSON
The Biden administration issued sweeping rules earlier this week governing how artificial intelligence chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an attempt to set up a global framework that will guide how AI spreads around the world in the years to come.
With the power of AI rapidly growing, the Biden administration said the rules were necessary to keep a transformational technology under the control of the United States and its allies, and out of the hands of adversaries that could use it to augment their militaries, carry out cyberattacks and otherwise threaten the United States.
Tech companies have protested the new rules, saying they threaten their sales and the future prospects of the U.S. tech industry.
The rules put various limitations on the number of AI chips that companies can send to different countries, essentially dividing the world into three categories. The United States and 18 of its closest partners — including Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan — are exempted from any restrictions and can buy AI chips freely.
Countries that are already subject to U.S. arms embargoes, like China and Russia, will continue to face a previously existing ban on AI chip purchases.
All other nations — most of the world — will be subject to caps restricting the number of AI chips that can be imported, though countries and companies are able to increase that number by entering into special agreements with the U.S. government. The rules could rankle some foreign governments: Even countries that are close trading partners or military allies of the United States, such as Mexico, Switzerland, Poland or Israel, will face restrictions on their ability to purchase larger amounts of American AI products.
In a statement, the European Commission said Monday that it had shared its concerns about the measures with the Biden administration.
“We are concerned about the U.S. measures adopted today restricting access to advanced AI chip exports for selected EU member states and their companies,” the commission said, adding that European countries are “an economic opportunity for the U.S., not a security risk.”
The rules are aimed at stopping China from obtaining from other countries the technology it needs to produce AI, after the United States banned such sales to China in recent years.
But the regulations also have broader goals: having allied countries be the location of choice for companies to build the world’s biggest data centers in an effort to keep the most advanced AI models within the borders of the United States and its partners.
Governments around the world, particularly in the Middle East, have been pumping money into attracting and building enormous data centers, in a bid to become the next center for AI development.
Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security
adviser, told reporters Sunday that the rule would ensure that the infrastructure for training the most advanced AI would be in the United States or in the jurisdiction of close allies, and “that capacity does not get offshored like chips and batteries and other industries that we’ve had to invest hundreds of billion dollars to bring back onshore.”
Sullivan said the rule would provide “greater clarity to our international partners and to industry,” while countering national security threats from malicious actors that could use “American technologies against us.”
It will be up to the Trump administration to decide whether to keep the new rules or how to enforce them.
In a call with reporters Sunday, Biden administration officials said the rules had bipartisan support and that they had been in consultations with the incoming administration about them.
Though companies in China have begun to develop their own AI chips, the global market for such semiconductors is dominated by U.S. companies, particularly Nvidia. That dominance has given the U.S. government the ability to regulate the flow of AI technology worldwide, by restricting U.S. company exports.
Companies have protested those limitations, saying the restrictions could hamper innocuous or even beneficial types of computing, anger U.S. allies and ultimately push global buyers into buying non-American products, like those made by China.
In a statement, Ned Finkle, Nvidia’s vice president for government affairs, called the rule “unprecedented and misguided” and said it “threatens to derail innovation and economic growth worldwide.”
“Rather than mitigate any threat, the new Biden rules would only weaken America’s global competitiveness, un-
Computer chips are tested at a factory in Austin, Texas, Nov. 25, 2024. The Biden administration issued sweeping rules on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, governing how A.I. chips and models can be shared with foreign countries, in an attempt to set up a global framework that will guide how artificial intelligence spreads around the world in the years to come. (Spencer Lowell/The New York Times)
dermining the innovation that has kept the U.S. ahead,” he said. Nvidia’s stock dipped nearly 2% Monday.
Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, said in a statement that the company was confident it could “comply fully with this rule’s high security standards and meet the technology needs of countries and customers around the world that rely on us.”
In a letter to congressional leadership Sunday that was viewed by The New York Times, Jason Oxman, the president of the Information Technology Industry Council, a group representing tech companies, asked Congress to step in and use its authority to overturn the action if the Trump administration did not.
John Neuffer, the president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, said his group was “deeply disappointed that a policy shift of this magnitude and impact is being rushed out the door days before a presidential transition and without any meaningful input from industry.”
“The stakes are high, and the timing is fraught,” Neuffer said.
The rules, which run more than 200 pages, also set up a system in which companies that operate data centers, like Microsoft and Google, can apply for special government accreditations.
In return for following certain security standards, these companies can then trade in AI chips more freely around the globe. The companies will still have to agree to keep 75% of their total AI computing power within the United States or allied countries, and to locate no more than 7% of their computing power in any single other nation.
The rules also set up the first controls on weights for AI models, the parameters unique to each model that determine how AI makes its predictions. Companies setting up data centers abroad will be required to adopt security standards to protect this intellectual property and prevent adversaries from gaining access to it.
Governments facing restrictions can raise the number of AI chips they can import freely by signing agreements with the U.S. government, in which they would agree to align with U.S. goals for protecting AI.
Under the guidance of the U.S. government, Microsoft struck an agreement to team up with an Emirati firm, G42, last year, in return for G42 eliminating Huawei equipment from its systems and taking other steps.
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Wall Street rises in choppy trade as inflation data eyed
U.S. stocks rose modestly in choppy trade on Tuesday as investors gauged inflation data and braced for quarterly earnings reports to justify stock valuations and the strength of the U.S. economy.
Stocks received an initial lift after a Labor Department report showed the producer price index rose less than expected in December, but the report failed to sway expectations about the Federal Reserve’s likely path of monetary policy this year.
Early gains evaporated and each of the three major indexes briefly went lower as investors awaited Wednesday’s consumer price index reading, which will further shape expectations for inflation and the Fed.
“There was a relief rally early but it goes to show that there is an inherent level of uncertainty out there about where rates and the Fed is headed,” said Chris Fasciano, chief market strategist at Commonwealth Financial Network.
“Now we’ll see what tomorrow morning brings,” he said, referring to the CPI report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197.27 points, or 0.47%, to 42,495.92, the S&P 500 gained 17.16 points, or 0.30%, to 5,853.64 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 37.38 points, or 0.20%, to 19,125.48.
The market is pricing in about 29 basis points in rate cuts from the Fed by the end of 2025, according to LSEG data, with expectations for a cut of at least 25 bps not rising above 50% until the June meeting.
Adding to investor caution, U.S. Treasury yields remained at elevated levels, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note at 4.797%, holding near a 14-month high.
Quarterly earnings get under way on Wednesday with results from big banks, which are expected to post stronger profits, fueled by robust dealmaking and trading. The S&P 500 bank index climbed 1.3%.
The benchmark S&P 500 is trading at valuations well above its historical long-term average and a disappointing earnings season could put further gains for equities in jeopardy.
Healthcare was the worst performing of the 11 major S&P sectors as Eli Lilly stumbled 6.7% after it forecast fourth-quarter sales of weight-loss drug Zepbound below estimates.
MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS
Kansas City Fed president Jeff Schmid said the impact of Trump’s policies was an “active conversation” at the central bank and that it would respond if either its inflation or employment goals are pushed off course.
After rallying following the U.S. election, stocks have struggled recently, with the S&P 500 falling in four of the previous five weeks as a resilient economy, nagging inflation and comments from Fed policymakers have fueled worries about the central bank being less aggressive in cutting interest rates than previ-
ously anticipated.
Concerns about potential tariffs from the Trump administration that would further stoke inflation have also lingered.
Boeing fell 2% after the planemaker’s annual deliveries dropped in 2024 to their lowest level since the pandemic.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.9-to1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 119 new lows.
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Israel and Hamas are ‘on the brink’ of ceasefire agreement, Blinken says
By ADAM RASGON, AARON BOXERMAN, ISABEL KERSHNER and ISMAEEL NAAR
Israel and Hamas are “on the brink” of agreeing to declare a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release hostages held there, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, raising hopes for some respite to the violence after more than 15 months of war.
“It’s right on the brink, it’s closer than it’s ever been before,” Blinken said at an Atlantic Council event in Washington. “But right now as we sit here we await final word from Hamas on its acceptance. And until we get that word, we’ll remain on the brink.”
Neither Israeli nor Hamas officials have publicly confirmed their position on the ceasefire proposal, although Blinken suggested that Israel was on board with the agreement and that its fate now rested with Hamas.
U.S. officials have made optimistic remarks about ceasefire talks in the past only for negotiations to break down repeatedly into mutual recrimination.
But in recent weeks, officials familiar with the talks have expressed increasing hope for a deal.
Officials in both the Israeli government and Hamas have suggested that they are ready to move forward if the other side signs off. On Monday, a Hamas official said a deal was possible in the coming days as long as Israel did not suddenly change its positions. On Tuesday, an Israeli official said Israel was ready to close the deal and was waiting for Hamas to make a decision.
Some officials have also suggested that a looming deadline was helping to close the gap: the end of President Joe Biden’s term and President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
Mediators had “managed to minimize a lot of the disagreements between both parties,” Majed al-Ansari, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, told reporters Tuesday. The talks were focused on “the final details of reaching an agreement,” he said.
But mediators, which include Qatar, Egypt and the United States, and other officials have warned that even substantial progress could be dashed at the last minute.
“We believe that we are at the final stages, but until we have an announcement — there will be no announcement,” al-Ansari said, adding that there was no immediate
People search for survivors in the rubble after an Israeli air strike on Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, Oct. 26, 2023. Deaths from bombs and other traumatic injuries during the first nine months of the war in Gaza may have been underestimated by more than 40 percent, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet. (Yousef Masoud/The New York Times)
timeline for signing a deal.
Trump has warned that there will be “all hell to pay” unless the hostages are freed by the time he becomes president. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s pick for Middle East envoy, has also made trips to Qatar and Israel, meeting with top officials there, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Saturday. (Witkoff is also the co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, which is in charge of next week’s ceremony.)
If Hamas and Israel conclude an agreement, it would bring some relief to Palestinians in Gaza, who have endured miserable conditions in displacement camps and relentless bombardments by Israel, and for the families of hostages abducted from Israel, who have worried for more than a year about the fate of their loved ones.
“I pray this time the return is real,” said Manar Silmi, 34, a psychologist with an international aid group, who was hoping to head back to the Gaza City home she had fled early in the war. “We’ve suffered more than enough.”
A framework agreement had been sent to both sides, said al-Ansari, adding that the talks now centered on “outstanding details” about how the deal would be implemented.
In a statement, Hamas also said that the negotiations “had reached their fi-
nal stages.” The Palestinian armed group’s leadership “hoped that this round of talks would end with a complete and clear agreement,” Hamas said.
Hamas officials negotiating in Doha, Qatar, must obtain the consent of the group’s remaining military commanders in Gaza for the emerging deal. Those commanders include Mohammad Sinwar, whose brother Yahya led the group before being killed by Israel in September. Communicating with them can be difficult, leading to delays.
It was still not clear whether Sinwar had conveyed to Hamas leaders in Doha his position toward the ceasefire proposal.
The framework of the deal was heavily inspired by previous proposals discussed in May and July, said a diplomat familiar with the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the volatile negotiations. Those proposals detailed a threestage ceasefire in which Israeli troops would gradually withdraw from Gaza, as Hamas
released hostages in exchange for Palestinians jailed by Israel.
During the first phase of the proposed ceasefire — which would last roughly six weeks — Hamas would release 33 named hostages, most of whom Israel believes are alive, said an Israeli official, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. Israel is willing to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange, the official said, but the number depends on how many of the hostages are still alive.
Eli Albag, whose daughter Liri, 19, was abducted from the military base where she served during the Hamas-led attack, met with Netanyahu on Tuesday evening alongside other relatives of hostages.
Netanyahu projected optimism, Albag said. But he said he still found it hard to think about what it might be like to welcome his daughter home.
“We want to see the deal signed first,” he said. “After that, we’ll make room for other thoughts.”
While there is significant public pressure in Israel to reach a deal to free the hostages, many Israelis also fear that a ceasefire would leave Hamas in power in Gaza, allowing its fighters to regroup and plan more attacks down the road.
Two of Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition allies — Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich — have already denounced the proposed agreement as an effective surrender to Hamas. The two far-right parties could threaten Netanyahu’s government if they withdrew from his ruling coalition in protest.
The agreement would likely still go through, as Israel’s parliamentary opposition has mostly committed to giving Netanyahu a safety net to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal. But it is unclear how long that would last, as it would leave Netanyahu’s political future dependent on rivals who have vowed to oust him.
Pope Francis’ autobiography, ‘Hope,’ arrives in bookstores
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
“Ilike punctuality, it’s a virtue I have learned to appreciate,” Pope Francis writes in the fifth chapter of his autobiography, which was to be published Tuesday in 18 languages, adding that he considers it “a sign of good manners and respect, to arrive promptly.”
Unfortunately, as a newborn, Francis writes, he arrived a week late, necessitating a call to the doctor, who sat on his mother’s abdomen and began “to press and to ‘jump about’ ’’ to induce his birth.
“And so it was that I came into the world,” Francis writes.
“Hope: The Autobiography,” by Pope Francis — a 320-page compendium of the pope’s memories and musings on the major social and political issues of our times, including climate change, poverty, immigration, arms control and war — is billed by its English-language publisher, Random House, as a “historic publication” and “the first memoir to be published by a sitting Pope.”
That is not technically true. That honor belongs to Pope Pius II’s 15th century chronicles, “The Commentaries,” a 13-book account of his life that is considered a seminal text in Renaissance humanism.
Francis is also not the first pope to share his life story. As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wrote an autobiography which was published in 1997, eight years before he became Pope Benedict XVI, and both he and his predecessor, John Paul II, coauthored books with journalists that were personal reflections and not official papal documents.
But for readers, including the Roman Catholic faithful, “Hope” vividly recreates the colorful world where the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio grew up — a world that was a menagerie of migrants from various
Mondadori, the Italian publisher, announced the book’s imminent release at last year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, stirring excitement, not least among Francis’ biographers.
An autobiography was an opportunity, Ivereigh said in an interview, “for Francis to go into episodes of his life, about which his biographers, including me,” had speculated, argued “and struggled sometimes to interpret.”
But while rich in anecdotes about Francis’ childhood in the Buenos Aires barrio, episodes Ivereigh described as “gems,” the book does not offer much insight into Francis’ later life other than that which is already “well-trodden material.”
For example, Francis says little about his years at the Vatican. His comment that the “reform of the Roman Curia was the most demanding, and for a long while there was the greatest resistance to change” does not offer any details about the struggles that were involved.
countries and colorful figures, including prostitutes, his “bag-lady” aunt, and other memorable family members.
People who watch Francis closely will recognize in the autobiography many of his views from his various encyclicals, his weekly addresses at the Vatican and speeches during his travels. “Hope,” however, draws a line from the childhood events and encounters that forged Francis’ thinking to the current day.
Francis’ unswerving support for migrants, he writes, derives from his own background as the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina. His abhorrence of war — “anyone who makes war is evil. God is peace,” he writes in “Hope” — finds root in the wartime experiences of his grandfather in World War I. “Nono described the horror, the pain, the fear, the absurd alienating pointlessness of the war,” he writes. A left-leaning biomedical pharmaceutical researcher he met before entering a seminary “taught me to think — by which I mean, to think about politics.”
There are many personal memories described in the book: As a young teacher teaching creative writing, Francis writes, his students nicknamed him “Carucha” or “Babyface.” He recalls that he once
helped a nearly blind Jorge Luis Borges to shave. “He was an agnostic who recited the Lord’s Prayer every night because he had promised his mother he’d do so, and who would die with the last rites.”
Francis is no stranger to journalistic collaborations. A book on his life written from interviews he gave to Argentine journalist Sergio Rubin was published when he was still Cardinal of Buenos Aires.
Since he became pope there have been several more: Francis wrote “Let Us Dream,” a first-person account exploring how crisis can be a positive catalyst for change, during the coronavirus pandemic, with his biographer Austen Ivereigh. The book made the New York Times bestseller list. Last year, “Life,” an anecdote-rich book written with Fabio Marchese Ragona, was published worldwide, and also made the Times’ list.
“Hope” was six years in the making and one of the publishing world’s best kept secrets. Originally, Francis had intended the autobiography to be published posthumously, but last summer, he changed his mind so that the publication would coincide with the 2025 Jubilee, the Catholic Church Holy Year that takes place every quarter century.
“The pope is the pope and it’s great to have his reflections repackaged for a mass audience,” said Iverneigh, who added that he believed the pope saw these books as “an evangelizing tool.” But, he added, “I was frankly disappointed” to find that most of the original material was relegated to his childhood years.
Perhaps the most newsworthy snippet in the book is Francis’ recollections of his 2021 visit to Iraq, which were published as an excerpt in the Jesuit magazine America in December. Francis wrote that he had survived two foiled assassination attempts. The former governor of Nineveh later denied that any such incidents had occurred. The Times also published an excerpt from the autobiography in December, this one about there being faith in humor.
Gian Maria Vian, a former editor-in-chief of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, said that he appreciated the “many personal details” the book added to Francis’ biography, but that much had been written through “rose tinted glasses.”
Francis wrote the book with Carlo Musso, a former Mondadori publishing director who has recently founded an independent publishing house. The idea took shape in 2019 and work began a year later.
“I was honored by his trust,” Musso said. “I don’t think he wanted an autobiography to talk about himself, but using his memories, his stories, to speak of everyone and to everyone, even very difficult moments.”
Pope Francis prepares to depart after a group portrait session with other world leaders at the G7 Summit in Savelletri, Italy, June 14, 2024. An autobiography of Pope Francis to be published Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, adds details to what is know about the pope’s childhood, but falls short when it comes to his later years. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
Trump’s reckless Greenland comments are not a joke
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Late-night comedians have had a field day with Donald Trump’s musings about his administration possibly seizing Greenland and the Panama Canal. Hahahahahaha! That Trump — such a funny guy — you never know what will come out of his mouth next. Pay no attention. You know him, he’ll just say something else outrageous tomorrow!
Well, I’ll tell you who I am certain is paying attention: President Xi Jinping of China. If the U.S. president can decide that he wants to seize Greenland and explicitly refuses to rule out the use of force to do so, that is like a giant permission slip for China to seize Taiwan, which has strong emotional, historical, linguistic and national connections to mainland China.
It took only a few days after Trump’s remarks for this joke to start circulating among China specialists:
Question: “What does Xi Jinping feel when Trump starts talking about taking Greenland and the Panama Canal?”
Answer: “Hungry” — for Taiwan.
Trump’s remarks are reckless stupidity beyond belief. Imagine what happens when his choice for ambassador to Beijing, David Perdue, takes up his post and, in response to some aggressive act by China toward Taiwan, goes to the Chinese Foreign Ministry to lodge a protest. What will
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People walk through the center of Nuuk, Greenland, during the short daylight hours that the town gets at this time of year, Monday, Jan 13, 2025. Responding on Monday to the diplomatic earthquake set off last week by President-elect Donald Trump, who mused about taking over the gigantic island in the Arctic Ocean, Greenland’s prime minister said the territory would like to work more closely with the United States on defense and natural resources. (Ivor Prickett/The New York Times)
the ministry say?
Presumably something like: “You come in here to protest our actions to reunite with Taiwan when your president is threatening to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal by force? We believe Taiwan is an integral part of China — a belief that while you do not share it, you acknowledged in the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué. What is your connection to Greenland? The fact that Donald Trump Jr. went there on vacation once? Tell your president that China and Russia have as much a claim to Greenland as America does.’’
Vladimir Putin is surely thinking the same thing. How does America get off telling him that by invading Ukraine he has violated international laws and norms by seizing the territory of another nation, while Trump muses
about seizing Greenland and forcibly reimposing U.S. sovereignty over the Panama Canal? Ukraine’s territory was once part of Mother Russia, as was Crimea, which Putin has already fully taken back.
No wonder Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told CNBC on Thursday that Russia is “watching the rhetoric on these topics coming out of Washington with great interest.”
Some may think Trump’s remarks on taking Greenland and the Panama Canal are just a joke from an attentionseeking leader with no filter. They are not a joke. They are a prescription for chaos. They have already done more damage than people realize. If Trump persists with them, the joke will be entirely on us and on the world order we established after World War II.
Residencia de Bad Bunny generará un impacto económico de $100 millones en Puerto Rico
POR CYBERNEWS
SAN JUAN – La residencia de Bad Bunny en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, titulada “No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí”, generará un impacto económico estimado de 100 millones de dólares en la isla, según reveló este martes, el vicepresidente de Discover Puerto Rico, Tomás Ramírez.
“Estimamos que el impacto será de más de $100 millones inyectados a nuestra economía y que se crearán cientos de empleos transitorios antes, durante y después de los conciertos”, expresó Ramírez en entrevista radial con Radio Isla 1320.
“Este proyecto es único y nunca se ha hecho algo similar en Puerto Rico. Lo vemos con mucho optimismo porque demuestra nuestras capacidades”, añadió.
Bad Bunny, cuyo nombre de pila es Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, estableció acuerdos con 18 hoteles en diferentes municipios, incluyendo San Juan, Bayamón, Luquillo, Caguas y Ponce, para ofrecer experiencias ex-
clusivas a los fanáticos internacionales que asistirán a los conciertos programados en agosto.
“El solo hecho de contratar 30,000 noches de hospedaje en estas 18 hospederías tendrá un impacto significativo en las diversas industrias que componen nuestra oferta turística, como restaurantes, renta de autos, transportistas, redes de transporte como Uber, tiendas de regalos, centros comerciales y operadores turísticos”, explicó Ramírez.
Por otro lado, el gerente de ASM Global, la empresa que administra el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, Jorge Pérez, confirmó que se han reservado fechas adicionales en el calendario del recinto en caso de que sea necesario ampliar la residencia.
“Hace más de un año, Noah Assad y Alejandro Pabón de Move Concerts nos hablaron sobre la idea de una residencia, por lo que se reservaron fechas estratégicas para posibles funciones adicionales. Esto ya está contemplado y veremos cómo evoluciona la demanda”, sostuvo Pérez.
La residencia, que comenzará en julio de 2025, marca un momento histórico para la industria del entretenimiento en Puerto Rico, reafirmando el compromiso del artista con su tierra natal y destacando el potencial de la isla para eventos de clase mundial.
Delegación del PIP presenta sus primeras medidas legislativas
POR CYBERNEWS
EL CAPITOLIO – La delegación del Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño (PIP) presentó este martes sus primeras medidas legislativas, enfocadas en temas como protección ambiental, derechos laborales, educación, sinhogarismo, criminalidad y el estatus político, entre otros.
“Como delegación de oposición, tenemos la responsabilidad de vigilar, fiscalizar y mantener viva la agenda de cambio por la que votó casi una tercera parte del
país”, expresó la portavoz en el Senado, María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón, durante una rueda de prensa en el Capitolio.
Por su parte, Denis Márquez Lebrón, portavoz en la Cámara, reafirmó su compromiso de legislar en favor de protecciones sociales y derechos humanos. “Seguiremos fiscalizando al gobierno y seremos firmes en nuestra posición sobre temas como la cancelación del contrato con Luma Energy, defender siempre el servicio eléctrico eficiente que merece el pueblo”, afirmó Márquez Lebrón.
La delegación incluye al senador Adrián González Costa y las representantes Adriana Gutiérrez Colón y Nelie Lebrón Robles, quienes destacaron la diversidad y fortaleza de su equipo. González Costa instó a las mayorías legislativas a priorizar políticas públicas que beneficien a todos los ciudadanos sin distinción partidista. Lebrón Robles concluyó que estas acciones marcan el inicio de un trabajo legislativo continuo durante el cuatrienio, al asegurar que cada oficina legislativa aportará desde su enfoque particular para el beneficio del país.
Ventas de autos nuevos en Puerto Rico disminuyen 5.08%
POR
SAN JUAN – El Grupo Unido de Importadores de Automóviles (GUIA) informó que las ventas de automóviles nuevos en Puerto Rico cerraron 2024 con 121,999 unidades, un 5.08 por ciento menos que las 128,531 unidades vendidas en 2023, debido a factores económicos y financieros.
“El aumento en las tasas de interés, incertidumbre electoral y menor liquidez impactaron la demanda durante el 2024”, expresó José Ordeix, presidente de GUIA en declaraciones escritas.
En diciembre, las ventas alcanzaron 11,655 unidades, un aumento de 1.01 por ciento respecto a di-
ciembre de 2023.
La venta al detal representó el 90.77 por ciento de la demanda total en 2024, con una caída de 4.81 por ciento. Las ventas de flota disminuyeron 7.59 por ciento, concentrando el 9.23 por ciento del mercado.
Para 2025, un estudio de Estudios Técnicos, Inc. proyecta un mercado de autos nuevos de aproximadamente 115,000 unidades, condicionado por factores económicos locales e internacionales, así como el flujo de fondos hacia Puerto Rico.
GUIA, fundada en 2006, continúa representando los intereses de la industria automotriz en la Isla y monitoreando su impacto en la economía local.
en 2024
The San Juan Daily Star
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 13
ICP’s traditional arts & crafts program for Sanse Festival kicks off Thursday
By THE STAR STAFF
The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) has announced the programming for its traditional Handicraft and Plastic Arts Fair as part of the San Sebastián Street Festival.
Activities will begin this Thursday at the ICP headquarters and the inner courtyard of the Ballajá headquarters, both located in the Ballajá Cultural District of Old San Juan. The latest edition of the fair will honor the career of artisan Katherine Guzmán and will feature a diverse program with notable female participation, including musical performances by Fabiola Méndez, Fabiola Muñoz, Mahya Veray, Maribel Delgado, Machas Cabrías, Versos de Mujer and Victoria Sanabria, among others.
“At the Handicraft and Plastic Arts Fair of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, which is part of the San Sebastián Street Festival tradition, we welcome hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans and tourists from around the world who are eager to learn about the work of our artisans, craftswomen, and visual artists,” ICP Executive Director Carlos Ruiz said. “Our fair is the heart of the San Sebastián Street Festival, which has transformed from a small religious celebration into the largest cultural festival in the Caribbean. We hope you en joy our diverse program that reaffirms our commitment to Puerto Rican culture and tra ditions, and this year we anti
The latest edition of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s Handicraft and Plastic Arts Fair will honor the career of artisan Katherine Guzmán and will feature a diverse program with notable female participation, including musical performances by Fabiola Méndez, Victoria Sanabria and Versos de Mujer, among others.
cipate outstanding female participation across all areas.”
More than 525 cultural resources will be present during the four days of events, including artisans, visual artists, creative entrepreneurs, musical resources and educational institutions. In addition to crafts and visual arts, attendees will enjoy musical performances, exhibitions, workshops, and activities for children and young people, a.m.ong other cultural experiences. There will also be a varied musical offering featuring genres such as bomba, plena, salsa, trova, rock, and popular Puerto Rican music on stages at the ICP headquarters and the Ballajá Barracks in Old San Juan.
The fair will kick off at noon on Thursday in the inner courtyard of the Ballajá Barracks. Performances begin at 1 p.m. with trova music by Ventana a la Cultura, followed by the Puerto Rico Police Bureau Band. At 3 p.m., the Plenerxs Meeting will take place, and at 4 p.m., the band and flag bearers of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Cayey Campus will perform. The day will conclude with a presentation by renowned cuatrista and troubadour Irving Santiago at 5 p.m.
From Friday to Sunday, activities will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at both the ICP headquarters and the Ballajá Barracks. During this time, the ICP headquarters will host
Cine ICP, screening special productions that have received Emmy Awards: “Up and Down: The History of the San Sebastián Street Festivals” (2024), “4th Plenazo from Trastalleres to Trastalleres” (2023), and “My San Juan with Hermes Croatto” (2021). Additionally, videos of “Promesas de Reyes” (2023), “Perfiles Artesanales” (2023), and “4th Plenazo from Trastalleres to Trastalleres” (2022) will be shown. Visitors can also enter the headquarters gallery for free to enjoy the exhibition “Ramón López: A Universe of Illuminations” and the “Retrospective Room: Poli/Graphics of Puerto Rico.”
On Friday, music at La Sede will begin at noon with singer-songwriter La Cotto. At 2:30 p.m., Jaimy’s Jibaro Collective will perform, followed by Julio César Sanabria at 4 p.m. Los Chinchillos del Caribe, known for their fusion of cumbia, rock, electronic, and reggae sounds, will close the stage at 5 p.m.
Meanwhile, on the same day in the inner courtyard of the Ballajá Barracks, music will start at 11 a.m. with the UPR Utuado Campus Choir. The celebration continues at 12:30 p.m. with the Tuna of the UPR Río Piedras Campus, followed by the Marching Band of the UPR Humacao Campus at 1 p.m. Majestad Negra will perform at 3 p.m., and at 4:30 p.m., the National Troubadour 2025 Guersom Báez will take the stage, concluding the day with music by Onda Moderna at 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, a petate demonstration workshop will be held at the ICP headquarters at 11:30 a.m., followed by a Kamishibai workshop by Circo Teatro Bandada at 12:30 p.m. The musical performances will start with LuisGa Núñez and Sonoridad at 1:30 p.m., followed by the circus show by Chicle. At 2:30 p.m., Las Vecinas will tour the Ballajá neighborhood, and the petate demonstration workshop will be repeated at 3 p.m., followed by the Kamishibai show. The day will feature International Dub ambassadors at 3:30 p.m., Plenéalo at 4:30 p.m., and will close with the Circo group at 5:30 p.m.
On the same Saturday, in the inner courtyard of the Cuartel de Ballajá, the cultural festival will begin.
Andeno Co
Tasa mínima, promedio ponderado, y máxima para préstamos personales pequeños otorgados para la semana que terminó el sábado, 11 de enero de 2025
Study links high fluoride exposure to lower IQ in children
By RONI CARYN RABIN
Water fluoridation is widely seen as one of the great public health achievements of the 20th century, credited with substantially reducing tooth decay. But there has been growing controversy among scientists about whether fluoride may be linked to lower IQ scores in children.
A comprehensive federal analysis of scores of previous studies, published last week in JAMA Pediatrics, has added to those concerns. It found a significant inverse relationship between exposure levels and cognitive function in children.
Higher fluoride exposures were linked to lower IQ scores, concluded researchers working for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
None of the studies included in the analysis were conducted in the United States, where recommended fluoridation levels in drinking water are very low. At those amounts, evidence was too limited to draw definitive conclusions.
Observational studies cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Yet in countries with much higher levels of fluoridation, the analysis also found evidence of what scientists call a dose-response relationship, with IQ scores falling in lock step with increasing fluoride exposure.
Children are exposed to fluoride through many sources other than drinking water: toothpaste, dental treatments and some mouthwashes, as well as black tea, coffee and certain foods, such as shrimp and raisins. Some drugs and industrial emissions also contain fluoride.
For every one part per million increase in fluoride in urinary samples, which reflect total exposures from water and other sources, IQ points in children decreased by 1.63, the analysis found.
“There is concern that pregnant women and children are getting fluoride from many sources,” said Kyla Taylor, an epidemiologist at the institute and the report’s lead author, “and that their total fluoride exposure is too high and may affect fetal, infant and child neurodevelopment.”
Taylor said that the analysis was meant to contribute to the understanding of the safe and effective use of fluoride. But she said it did not address the benefits and was not intended to assess “the broader public health implications of water fluoridation in the United States.”
Several scientists, including many dentists, criticized the report, pointing to what they said were methodological flaws and emphasizing that the research did not have implications for U.S. drinking water.
The subject is so divisive that JAMA Pediatrics commissioned two editorials with opposing viewpoints to publish alongside the report.
In one, Dr. Steven M. Levy, a public health dentist at the University of Iowa, said that many of the studies included in the analysis were of very low quality. He also warned against concluding that any changes should be made in American fluoridation policies.
“A lay reader or policymaker at a water board in a small community somewhere may see the evidence and think that every way you analyze it, it’s a concern,” Levy said in an interview. “It isn’t as clear-cut as they’re trying to make it.”
The report’s findings align in some ways with statements by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to
head the department of health and human services. He has questioned the safety of fluoride and said one of the first acts of the Trump administration will be to advise water systems to remove fluoride.
Criticism of fluoridation has popped up frequently since the practice was initiated in many U.S. communities in the 1950s. But opposition was originally dismissed, as it was strongest among those with extremist or fringe views, and right-wing groups like the John Birch Society, which called fluoridation a communist plot.
That is changing. Last September, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen regulations for fluoride in drinking water because of research suggesting that high levels might pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.
In a second editorial published alongside the new study, a public health expert, Dr. Bruce P. Lanphear, noted that as far back as 1944, the editor of The Journal of the American Dental Association expressed concern about adding fluoride, which he termed “a highly toxic substance,” to drinking water. He wrote that “the potentialities for harm far outweigh those for good.”
Some studies have suggested that dental health has improved not because fluoride was added to water, but because of fluoridated toothpastes and better dental hygiene practices. (In some countries, fluoride is added to salt.)
According to this argument, topical application of fluoride to teeth is effective enough to prevent tooth decay, and inges-
tion is not necessary. But other studies have reported increases in cavities after public water fluoridation initiatives ceased in some countries.
Currently, the recommended fluoride levels in the United States are 0.7 parts per million, and the study did not find a statistically significant inverse association between fluoride levels and IQ scores at below 1.5 parts per million based solely on fluoride levels in water.
But nearly 3 million Americans still drink water with fluoride levels above 1.5 parts per million from wells and some community water systems.
Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, called for more research into the potential effects of fluoride levels below 1.5 parts per million.
She emphasized that the study had concluded that exposure can be damaging to developing brains. “The answer is pretty clear: yes,” Birnbaum said.
To protect fetuses and babies who are especially vulnerable, she advised parents to avoid drinking fluoridated water during pregnancy and to use fluoride-free bottled water when preparing formula for their infants.
“My recommendation is that pregnant women and infants shouldn’t be exposed to excess fluoride,” said Birnbaum, who is not an author of the new analysis.
Women who are breastfeeding need not be concerned, she added, as very little fluoride is passed on through breast milk.
“The more we study a lot of chemicals, especially the chemicals that affect IQ, like lead — there’s really no safe level,” Birnbaum said.
Some 74 studies from 10 countries, including China, Mexico, Canada, India and Denmark, were examined. Lanphear noted that the consistent links between fluoride and IQ were found in very different populations.
He urged the U.S. Public Health Service to set up a committee, perhaps one that does not include researchers who have studied the subject in the past and can take a fresh look at the topic, to examine two questions seriously: whether fluoride is neurotoxic, and whether it is as beneficial for oral health as it is believed to be.
“If that doesn’t happen urgently, my concern is there will be growing distrust of public health agencies amid the public, and they will have deserved it,” he said.
Higher fluoride exposures were linked to lower IQ scores, concluded researchers working for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (Freepik)
LEGAL NOTICE
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLAND. DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. JOHN; SBMCOA, LLC, Plaintiff vs. MOISES ESQUENAZI and JACK KEITH, Defendants . Case No. ST-2023CV-00358
SUMMONS
To: Moises Esquenazi. Last known address Parque Bucare 2, Turey B-14, Guaynabo, PR 00969
Within the time limited by law (to wit, within 30 days after the completion of the period of publication or personal service outside of the jurisdiction) you are hereby required to appear before this Court and answer to a Complaint filed against you in this action and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment by default will be taken against you as demanded in the Complaint, to foreclose a lien, to recover a debt, and for appointment of a receiver.
SO ORDERED this 8th day of April, 2024 /s/ HON. CAROL THOMASJACOBS, JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
Attorney for Plaintiffs Maria Tankenson Hodge Hodge & Hodge 1340 Taarneberg St. Thomas, VI 00802 Tel. 340.774.6845 maria@hodgelawvi.com
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante Vs. JOSE ALBERTO UMPIERRE VELAZQUEZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDO COMO JOSE UMPIERRE VELAZQUEZ
Demandado Civil Núm.: FA2024CV00710. (303). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA - IN REM. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.
Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.
A: JOSE ALBERTO UMPIERRE VELAZQUEZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDO COMO JOSE UMPIERRE VELAZQUEZ.
Yo, KEISHLA M. TORRENS LOPEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la
parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 4 DE FEBRERO DE 2025, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Fajardo durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 11 DE FEBRERO DE 2025, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el 19 DE FEBRERO DE 2025, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento número MIL NOVECIENTOS DOS (1902). Es un apartamento residencial de forma irregular, que está localizado en el piso décimo noveno del Edificio CONDOMINIO PLAYA AZUL III, situado en el Barrio Mata de Plátano, Municipio de Luquillo, en el Complejo Residencial Playa Azul, que mide veintiocho pies cuatro pulgadas (28’4”) de largo por su parte más larga por veintiséis pies tres pulgadas (26’3”) de ancho, por su parte más ancha, que hacen un área de SETECIENTOS CINCUENTA Y CUATRO (754) PIES CUADRADOS aproximadamente, equivalentes a SETENTA PUNTO CINCO (70.5) METROS CUADRADOS. Sus linderos y distancias son las siguientes: por el NORTE, en una distancia de dos pies dos pulgadas (2’2”), con el espacio exterior, separado por pared y en una distancia de veintiséis pies dos pulgadas (26’2”), con el apartamento número Mil Novecientos Uno (1901), separado por pared interior; por el ESTE, en una distancia de veintisiete pies tres pulgadas (27’3”), con el corredor común separado por conducto de ventilación, la puerta de entrada y pared interior; por el SUR, en una distancia de veintiocho pies cuatro pulgadas (28’4”),
con el apartamento número Mil Novecientos Tres (1903), separado por pared interior; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de veintisiete pies tres pulgadas (27’3”), con el espacio exterior separado por baranda de la terraza. Este apartamento consta de “foyer”, sala-comedor, una habitación con “walk-in-closet” y baño, “linen closet”, cocina con closet y terraza. El baño está equipado con bañera, lavamanos y servicio sanitario. La cocina tiene gabinetes y calentador de agua. La puerta de entrada de este apartamento está situada en su lindero Este por ella se sale al corredor o pasillo central del piso por el cual se sale al exterior. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación en los elementos comunes generales de cero punto quinientos diez por ciento (0.510%). La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 163 del tomo 258 de Luquillo, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, finca número 5,506, inscripción sexta. Modificada la hipoteca de la inscripción 6ta., la cual se cancela parcialmente en la suma de $173.20 para un nuevo principal que será por la suma de $116,226.80 con pagos de $629.40 comenzando el día 1ro. de diciembre de 2006 y vencedero el día 1ro. de noviembre de 2046, según la escritura número 135, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 16 de octubre de 2006, ante el Notario José V. Gorbea Varona, inscrita al folio 163 del tomo 258 de Luquillo, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, finca número 5,506 al margen de la inscripción 6ta. Modificada nuevamente la hipoteca de la inscripción 6ta.. previamente modificada al margen en la inscripción 6ta., ampliada por la suma de $4,844.51 para un nuevo principal que será por $121,071.31 y al interés que será al 5.875% anual, vencedero el día 1ro. de enero de 2063, según la escritura número 98, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 23 de marzo de 2023, ante la Notario Carla Colón Gómez, inscrita al tomo del Sistema Karibe de Luquillo, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, finca número 5,506 de Luquillo, inscripción 7ma. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Condominio Playa Azul III, Apartamento 1902, Luquillo, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $120,296.03 de principal, intereses sobre dicha suma al 5.875% anual, desde el día 1ro. de enero de 2024, hasta su completo pago, más recargos acumulados, más la cantidad de $11,640.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, así como cualquier
otra suma estipulada en el contrato de préstamo, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $121,071.31 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $80,714.21 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $60,535.65. De declararse desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN
TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, 11 de diciembre de 2024. KEISHLA M. TORRENS
LÓPEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #964, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO. JORGE A. ORTIZ
ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO #622.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-
NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE ANTONIO OMAR MUÑIZ MARTÍNEZ, Y SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN MARÍA CABRERA ACARON T/C/C CARMEN MARÍA CABRERO ACARON, AMBAS COMPUESTAS POR SUS HEREDEROS: CARMEN MARÍA MUÑIZ CABRERA T/C/C CARMEN MARÍA MUÑIZ CABRERO; “JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ANTONIO OMAR MUÑIZ MARTÍNEZ; “JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN MARÍA CABRERA
ACARON T/C/C CARMEN MARÍA CABRERO ACARON; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.)
Demandados Civil Núm.: BY2022CV01836. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. 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 Bayamón, Bayamón, 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 noviembre 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: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento número ciento uno “B” (101-B): Apartamento individualizado de forma irregular de concreto armado y bloques de hormigón de uso residencial identificado con el número ciento uno “B” (101-B) y localizado en la Primera planta del Edificio “B” de Riberas del Río Gardens Apartments. Tiene una cabida superficial de ciento diez punto veinte metros cuadrados (110.20) y consta de una sala-comedor, una cocina, tres dormitorios, dos baños y un balcón. Sus linderos son: Por el NORTE, en 13 metros, con elementos comunes; por el SUR, en igual distancia con
el Apartamento 102-B, escalera común y elementos comunes; por el ESTE, en 9.169 metros, con elementos comunes y escalera común; y por el OESTE, en 9.169 metros, con elementos comunes. La puerta principal está localizada en la parte Oeste del inmueble. Le corresponde el estacionamiento 101-B. Tiene una participación en los elementos comunes del Condominio de 1.28205%. Inscrita en la finca número 66,331, al folio 121 del tomo 1,506 de Bayamón Sur. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Bayamón. La propiedad ubica según pagaré en: 101 B Apt. Riberas del Río, Bayamón, PR. 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: Aviso de Demanda de fecha 5 de noviembre de 2019, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, en el caso civil número BY2019CV06516, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Carmen Maria Cabrera (así surge) Acaron por sí y como miembro de la Sucesión de Antonio Omar Muñiz Martínez, compuesta además por Carmen Muñiz Cabrero (así surge), John Doe y Richard Doe como posibles herederos desconocidos; Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales, por la suma de $94,522.54 más intereses, anotado el día 4 de diciembre de 2019, al tomo Karibe de Bayamón Sur, finca número 66,331, Anotación A. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada y notificada el 7 de noviembre de 2022 siendo publicada en un periódico de circulación general de Puerto Rico (“The San Juan Daily Star”) el 10 de noviembre de 2022 en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $96,307.54 por concepto de principal; generando intereses
a razón de 5.625% desde el 1ro de diciembre de 2018; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $9,520.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 30 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $95,200.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 6 DE FEBRERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $63,466.66, 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 13 DE FEBRERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $47,600.00, 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 Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 16 de diciembre de 2024. EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE PONCE ESTRELLA COMMERCIAL, LLC
Demandante V. SUCESION AMADA RODRIGUEZ RUIZ Y SUCESION DE NELSON VELAZQUEZ CARABALLO COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS CONOCIDOS CARMEN EVELYN VELAZQUEZ RODRIGUEZ; NELSON VELAZQUEZ RODRIGUEZ; BERDANETTE VELAZQUEZ RODRIGUEZ; MONICA VELAZQUEZ RODRIGUEZ; Y PABLO VELAZQUEZ RODRIGUEZ, SUS HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO
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January 15, 2025
In a surprise, 76ers say they are staying in South Philadelphia
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and DAVID W. CHEN
It looks like the Philadelphia 76ers won’t be leaving South Philly after all.
After the city officially backed a deal last month for a new arena in the heart of downtown, a proposal that had long drawn vociferous opposition, the basketball team’s owners announced earlier this week that they now planned to build a new arena in the same sports and entertainment district where they have played for decades.
At a news conference at City Hall on Monday, the team’s owners joined with executives from the entertainment conglomerate Comcast to announce that the Wells Fargo Center, which the team has called home for years, would be replaced with a “world class arena” in the sports complex area. Wells Fargo — which is owned by Comcast and which the Sixers share with the Flyers of the NHL — is a short walk from the stadiums for the Eagles of the NFL and the Phillies of MLB.
Mayor Cherelle Parker described the news as “a win-win-win-win,” but the announcement was a stunning turnaround — a fact that she acknowledged. “This is a curveball that none of us saw coming.”
For months and even as recently as last week, the mayor had been an ardent champion of a new arena in Center City. It is a
part of downtown that has been struggling, and the structure was seen as a big political win for the mayor in her first year in office.
In outlining the new plan, she highlighted elements beyond the building of a new arena, including efforts to attract a WNBA team to the city and a commitment by the new Sixers-Comcast partnership to invest in the revitalization of Market Street East, the Center City neighborhood where the venue was supposed to be built.
“I don’t have the option of wallowing in a 180,” Parker said. “This is a celebration for the city.”
The decision came less than a month after a Dec. 19 vote by the City Council to approve a $1.3 billion plan to build the arena in Center City. That plan, which was discussed for years, had drawn persistent opposition, with protesters staging rallies, blocking traffic and crowding into the City Council chambers.
Much of the opposition was led by people who feared the impact on the city’s historical Chinatown, which is just outside the area where the arena was to have been built. But public disapproval of the plan was broad, driven by concerns about the ability of public transit to manage all the visitors, and the history of stadiums that did not deliver on promises of big benefits to local economies.
At a news conference in Chinatown, im-
Mayor Cherelle Parker, a strong supporter of a proposed arena for the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers in downtown Philadelphia, during a meeting with community leaders about the project, Sept. 11, 2024. The city had approved a plan for a new arena in a struggling part of downtown. But on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, the Sixers said a new arena would be built near their current one. (Hannah Beier/The New York Times)
mediately after the one at City Hall, activists hailed the city’s about-face as a victory. But they said that their trust in officials had eroded, because those people had prioritized the interests of the team’s billionaire owners over the voices of residents and businesses that stood to be displaced.
“How dare the politicians pretend to care
about the community and vote yes?” said Wei Chen, the civic engagement director of Asian Americans United. “They should be ashamed of themselves,” he added, as the crowded started chanting “Shame! Shame!” “Our community will remember those people who voted yes to destroy our community,” he said.
Texas man is charged with stalking Caitlin Clark
By MICHAEL LEVENSON
ATexas man who prosecutors say sent a series of threatening and sexually explicit messages to basketball star Caitlin Clark and traveled to Indiana to be closer to her has been charged with stalking.
The man, Michael T. Lewis, 55, was arrested Sunday after investigators discovered that he had sent messages from an IP address in Indianapolis and that he was staying at a hotel near the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home of Clark’s team, the Indiana Fever of the WNBA, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.
Clark, 22, told a lieutenant from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday that she had been “very fearful” since she learned of Lewis’ posts on the social platform X and that she had “altered her public appearances and patterns of movement” because she feared for her safety, according to court documents.
Clark said that she did not know Lewis and had never responded to any of his messages or posts.
Prosecutors said Lewis had stalked her from Dec. 16 until Jan. 11. Court documents described the messages as “sexually violent” and said that they had “actually caused Caitlin Clark to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated or threatened.”
Lewis traveled to Indianapolis “with the intent to be in proximity to the victim,” court documents said.
When Indianapolis police officers learned that he was in the city and talked to Lewis outside his hotel room on Jan. 8, he told them he was in “an imaginary relationship,” and that his messages were a “fantasy-type thing,” a “joke,” and “nothing to do with threatening,” according to court documents.
The police asked Lewis not to send more messages to Clark, but he continued, court documents said.
Lewis was charged with stalking, a felony that is punishable by up to six years in prison. He was scheduled to appear in Marion Superior Court on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
The court issued an order Sunday requiring Lewis to stay away from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Hinkle Fieldhouse, a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University.
“No matter how prominent a figure you are, this case shows that online harassment can quickly escalate to actual threats of physical violence,” Ryan Mears, the Marion County prosecutor, said in a statement Monday. “It takes a lot of courage for women to come forward in these cases, which is why many don’t. In doing so, the victim is setting an example for all women who deserve to live and work in Indy without the threat of sexual violence.”
A representative for Clark declined to comment Monday. The Indiana Fever did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Clark has emerged as one of the biggest stars in basketball, and she has been credited with drawing more fans to the WNBA. She won Rookie of the Year in 2024 and led the league in assists, setting a single-season record with 337.
Last month, an Oregon man pleaded guilty to stalking another star in women’s basketball, Paige Bueckers of the University of Connecticut. The man was given a one-year suspended sentence and three years of probation.
The San Juan Daily Star
January 15, 2025 23
Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 21
