Thursday Jan 12, 2023

GOOD MORNING

US Supreme Court hears arguments on whether fiscal board can be sued to obtain documents

By THE STAR STAFF

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether the Financial Oversight and Management Board can be sued in U.S. District Court to obtain documents considered public records under Puerto Rican law.

Much of the discussion in the case, “Financial Oversight and Management Board v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo,” focused on whether Puerto Rico and the oversight board have sovereign immunity, the doctrine that a government generally cannot be sued without its consent.

The Center for Investigative Reporting (CPI by its Spanish initials) sued the oversight board in federal district court to obtain certain Puerto Rico debt restructuring records that the board had declined to release.

ogy to state sovereign immunity,” he said.

Some justices were reluctant to decide the sovereign immunity issue without a full briefing from Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.

Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested deferring the question for another day.

Justice Department attorney Aimee Brown, who took a middle position in the case, said the court has treated Puerto Rico like a state “for more than a century.”

The idea that territories shouldn’t be hauled into courts by private parties “is just kind of the necessary corollary to the existence of self-government,” Brown said.

Gorsuch noted that a ruling deciding Puerto Rico’s sovereign immunity would apply beyond its borders to all U.S. territories.

INDEX

The CPI argued that the oversight board’s actions violated Puerto Rico’s laws. The center was forced to sue in federal court because the law established that the federal court evaluates disputes with the oversight board.

The oversight board claimed that sovereign immunity barred such a suit. After the court of appeals rejected the board’s immunity claim, the Supreme Court granted a review.

The justices agreed that they must resolve whether Congress’ actions were sufficiently clear to waive sovereign immunity and allow private parties to sue the oversight board, which was established in 2016 to oversee Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy and recovery from a crippling financial crisis.

Though Congress can waive sovereign immunity for states, the Supreme Court has said that it must be unmistakably clear in the language of statutes when doing so.

Several justices noted that it would be odd to answer the central question without determining first if Puerto Rico and the oversight board were entitled to sovereign immunity.

“It just seems quite weird to me,” Justice Elena Kagan said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit assumed Puerto Rico was entitled to sovereign immunity when it decided that Congress had been sufficiently clear to allow a media organization to sue for public records.

The U.S. constitutional provision behind sovereign immunity says “states,” not “things like states,” Chief Justice John Roberts said.

“I’m just wondering how far you can stretch the anal-

“It’s a rather large and important constitutional question” to decide without all the interested parties, Gorsuch said.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett suggested vacating the question and remanding the issue to the First Circuit, which may result in the oversight board having another chance to avoid releasing public documents.

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.

Fiscal board authorization sought to access resources to combat Alzheimer’s

By THE STAR STAFF

Former Rep. Pedro Julio “Pelle” Santiago Guzmán asked the Financial Oversight and Management Board on Wednesday to authorize the island government to access resources from the Catastrophic Diseases Trust Fund to pay for a new experimental drug, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to combat the effects of Alzheimer’s.

“The FDA approval of this experimental drug is great news for the nearly 60,000 patients diagnosed with this disease that affects a person’s cognitive development,” Santiago said. “I call on the financial oversight board to authorize, expeditiously, the use of resources from the Catastrophic Diseases Fund for the government to pay for this treatment for tens of thousands of

Puerto Ricans who urgently need it.”

“The annual cost of this drug, Lequembi, amounts to $26,500. That’s a lot for the vast majority of Puerto Ricans,” the former

legislator added. “The drug has provided excellent results in fighting dementia in its early stages. The time to act is now, the time to do it -- use of Fund money -- is now.

We have an opportunity to save lives and we cannot let it pass.”

In recent days, the FDA approved the use of Lequembi, which has been developed by the Eisai and Biogen companies. According to data from the Alzheimer’s Association, there are at least 60,000 people diagnosed with the disease on the island.

Alzheimer’s, also known as Alzheimer’s Senile Dementia, is a neurodegenerative disease that manifests as cognitive impairment and behavioral disorders.

According to the available literature, the condition is the most common form of dementia.

Dementia is a general term used to describe the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities and is so severe that it interferes with an individual’s daily life. Alzheimer’s currently accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases worldwide.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently approved over $114 million to repair the Enrique Ortega Water Treatment Plant in Toa Alta, which has the capacity to treat about 85 million gallons of water per day for Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) clients who are supplied by the La Plata Reservoir.

A PRASA asset, the plant services about 475,000 residents in the Toa Alta region, which comprises six municipalities.

The funds aim to optimize water treatment processes

including stabilization, oxidation and disinfection. In addition, the work includes replacing water supply pumps and the chemical feed systems, which are essential for effective water treatment. Other repairs to the existing main control building at the facility are being contemplated and include architectural components as well as upgrades to the plant’s control room.

“Through this approval, we seek to strengthen the water treatment system on the island, which is an essential component during disasters,” said Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator José G. Baquero. “We will continue working closely with PRASA and the government of Puerto Rico to ensure that our communities have a better infrastructure for this vital service.”

To face disasters such as Hurricane Maria and help reduce and prevent future damage in similar events, the project includes over $2.3 million for hazard mitigation. That work includes the installation and relocation of a new motor control center and building to minimize flood damage, the installation of geotextile fabric over slopes to prevent future erosion from heavy rains and runoff, and the replacement of damaged lights and components with units that are more resistant to highvelocity wind and wind-driven rain.

PRASA Executive President Doriel Pagán Crespo noted that “the Enrique Ortega Treatment Plant is one of PRASA’s largest and most important plants.”

“The authority, together with FEMA and COR3 [the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and

Resiliency], have worked hand in hand without interruption to obtain authorization for these projects for the benefit of our clients,” she said. “Once again, the effort and commitment of the authority is demonstrated, as is the focus of our governor to put our system at the highest level.”

The funds to repair the La Plata plant are part of PRASA’s recovery budget of $3.6 billion under FEMA’s Accelerated Awards Strategy, known as FAASt. So far, 41 subprojects have been approved for a total of more than $1.1 billion. Additional funding for hazard mitigation activities for these water system projects totals over $26.3 million to date.

Former Rep. Pedro Julio Santiago Guzmán

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia on Wednesday announced plans to extend highway PR-10 between Arecibo and Ponce, with $540.7 million in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds.

Most of the new PR-10 is now complete, with a 6.2-mile (10-kilometer) stretch still remaining to be finished. In its current state it is a freeway only in the completed portions, which make up over three-fourths of the highway.

Pierlusi said that to obtain the money the government had to request authorization from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and undergo a rigorous evaluation, including an environmental impact statement.

The project represents the largest allocation of federal funds, Pierluisi noted. The work, in total, will cost $552 million.

“To obtain these funds, we completed an extensive cost-benefit study that justifies that the project is necessary and that future risks are minimal as it is a mitigation project,” the governor said. “HUD’s approval is a sign of the confidence the federal agency has in the conduct of our government.”

PR-10 is a crucial north-south connector whose construction began in 1972.

“The remaining segment slated to be built is between the towns of Utuado and Adjuntas,” Pierluisi said.

The extension is divided into four sections and includes the construction of 20 bridges in the moun-

tainous area.

Pierluisi specified that the project will benefit 1.3 million people and will generate some 9,720 jobs for residents of the central zone, translated into 5,400 direct, 3,780 indirect and 540 temporary jobs.

As part of the press conference announcing the project, island Housing Secretary William Rodríguez Rodríguez signed an agreement with Transportation and Public Works Secretary Eileen Vélez Vega to grant her $540.7 million for the work. The remaining $11.3 million will come from state funds, Pierluisi said. The

Housing Department is the local custodian of CDBG funds.

Meanwhile, Highways and Transportation Authority Executive Director Edwin González Montalvo noted that the construction of PR-10 “is a priority project, both for the governor and for us.”

“For this reason, we are very pleased to be part of this agreement in which, for the first time at the national level, the federal department of Housing, through the local agency, has authorized such a significant allocation for the construction of a public highway.”

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

Resident commissioner introduces bills aimed at achieving parity for PR in federal programs

By THE STAR STAFF

ResidentCommissioner Jenniffer González Colón began her legislative agenda in Congress on Wednesday by introducing five bills that would give Puerto Rico parity in certain federal programs.

Because Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth and not a state, it receives fewer federal funds.

“Because of our colonial status, American citizens residing in Puerto Rico are excluded from some assistance programs. Unquestionably, the remedy lies in the equality that statehood provides,” the resident commissioner said. “However, we present these measures that, in addition to highlighting the unworthiness of the current status, seek to alleviate the burden on our most vulnerable populations and allow access to tools to improve the quality of life.”

The first measure, the Supplemental Security Income Equality Act, seeks to extend Supplemental Social Security (SSI) to residents of Puerto Rico. SSI is a federal financial assistance program that helps individuals with conditions that affect the family’s ability to earn a sufficient income.

People who qualify to receive SSI are those 65 years of age or older below the poverty level or with disabilities or special conditions, or minors with conditions such as cancer, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, sclerosis, among other conditions. The congresswoman has advocated for the application of SSI for Puerto Rico in different forums. She filed a friend of the court brief in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue and has called on President Biden to comply with his campaign promises to Puerto Rico.

The second legislation, the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Act, would seek the island’s transition from the Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN by its Spanish acronym) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The PAN program has a fixed amount of funds that do not allow the program to adjust to changes in demand automatically. That is particularly notable after and during emergencies, such as hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic, which tend to increase participation in PAN. Similarly, the program offers lower monthly benefits compared to SNAP. The bill authorizes a 60-day period for Puerto Rico to submit an operations plan and a transition plan for SNAP to the federal Department of Agriculture (USDA). The bill would require the USDA to offer technical assistance during that period to maximize the project’s viability. The USDA then has 180 days, or six months, to evaluate the plan and determine if it complies with the SNAP requirements and regulations. If

it complies, the USDA secretary has 60 days to certify to Congress that Puerto Rico complies with the requirements and can operate the program. After that, the island would be in SNAP for the first fiscal year beginning one year after certification, to allow for a budget cycle that guarantees the necessary funds. The measure authorizes a period of up to five years in which the USDA could continue the PAN program and thus protect services to beneficiaries during the transition.

The third measure, the Earned Income Tax Credit Equity for Puerto Rico Act, seeks that workers in Puerto Rico receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In the law known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, it was possible to include a federal subsidy of $600 million per year to subsidize the local EITC program established by the Puerto Rico government. Experience has shown that because the allocation has a ceiling, the island government must cover the difference, increasing the program’s cost for the government.

In addition, the federal grant cap has resulted in a much smaller federal EITC tax credit available to state residents. With this legislation, the resident commissioner seeks to give Puerto Rico the same federal EITC program available in the States, as was already done with the Child Tax Credit. The EITC is a credit against income tax that helps eradicate poverty by encouraging employment and discouraging dependency on the state, providing relief to low- and moderate-income families.

González Colón emphasized that even though Puerto Rico defines itself as a state through Title 10 and the Regulations for TRICARE, in reality it does not provide the same access.

Another bill introduced by González Colón, the Puerto Rico Data Collection Equality Act, is for the island to be included under federal statistics programs, from which it is currently excluded, and thus ensure that the needs of the residents of Puerto Rico are better served. Specifically, the measure requires the United States Interagency Statistical Policy Council to implement a plan for the collection and publication of federal statistics for Puerto Rico as is done with the states.

The resident commissioner said “the territorial status of Puerto Rico allows the island to be excluded from various data collection programs.”

“This exclusion hinders our efforts to analyze and develop informed policies so that the federal government properly addresses the needs of our people,” she said. “That also creates a feeling that American citizens residing in Puerto Rico do not count for the United States government. This unequal treatment is simply unacceptable and must be fixed.”

Divided House approves GOP inquiry into ‘weaponization’ of government

By LUKE BROADWATER and CATIE EDMONDSON

Adivided House voted earlier this week to launch a wide-ranging investigation into federal law enforcement and national security agencies, as Republicans promised to use their new power in Congress to scrutinize what they said was a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives at all levels, from protesters at school board meetings to former President Donald Trump.

On a party-line vote of 221-211 with all Democrats opposed, the House approved the formation of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which is to be chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the incoming chair of the Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of Trump.

Jordan, who was deeply involved in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has for months been investigating what he says is a bias in federal law enforcement against conservatives. Now that Republicans have the majority, he plans to use his gavel and his subpoena power to escalate and expand that inquiry, including searching for evidence that federal workers have become politicized and demanding documents about ongoing criminal investigations.

In a floor speech, Jordan said his goal was not to target Democrats or law enforcement officers who have scrutinized Trump’s behavior. He said his interest was merely in “protecting the First Amendment” at a time when he said the right was being unfairly targeted.

“We don’t want to go after anyone,” he said. “We just want it to stop.”

Still, the panel has such broad reach that it appeared positioned to become a main instrument for Republicans to go after the Biden administration, potentially prompting showdowns over access to highly classified information and the details of criminal inquiries.

The subcommittee will have openended jurisdiction to scrutinize any issue related to civil liberties or to examine how any agency of the federal government has collected, analyzed and used information about Americans. It also has authority to obtain some of the most sensitive secrets in the government, including information about covert actions that is usually the exclusive territory of the congressional intelligence committees.

While Republicans have traditionally styled themselves as the party of law and order, in recent years they have contended that law enforcement has treated Trump unfairly, citing the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida for classified White House documents he did not return for more than a year after leaving office, as required by law. They have added other complaints to their ledger to investigate, including allegations that the federal government encouraged Twitter to discriminate against Republicans and the treatment of conservative or rightwing protesters at school board meetings and abortion clinics.

They say they have modeled the new subcommittee after the well-respected Church Committee, referring to a 1970s investigation by Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, that uncovered decades of intelligence and civil liberties abuses, including the surveilling of civil rights groups.

But Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the panel was more akin to the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee, which demonized Americans suspected of being sympathetic to communism.

“I call it the McCarthy committee, and I’m not talking about Kevin; I’m talking about Joe,” McGovern said, adding: “This committee is nothing more than a deranged

ploy by the MAGA extremists who have hijacked the Republican Party and now want to use taxpayer money to push their far-right conspiracy nonsense.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., echoed that sentiment, arguing the goal of the panel was to “enable the House Republicans to interfere with the free operation of businesses they do not like, to inhibit the fight against domestic terrorism and to settle political scores on behalf of Donald Trump.”

The Justice Department has traditionally resisted making information about open criminal investigations available to Congress, suggesting that legal and political fights over subpoenas and executive privilege are most likely looming.

It remains to be seen who else will serve on the panel. Speaker Kevin McCarthy made numerous concessions to a far-right faction of his party to win the speakership, and the full extent of his promises is not known. Both Jordan and McCarthy have spoken for months about their desire for such an investigation and pledged to voters during the 2022 campaign to carry one out.

The resolution appears to enable Jordan to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for information about the special counsel inquiry into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified

documents, along with other politically charged matters like an open tax investigation into Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

While Jordan’s inquiry will be housed within the Judiciary Committee, its 13 members — eight of whom would be Republicans — will not be limited to lawmakers on that panel. That could result in lawmakers trying to scrutinize a Justice Department investigation while the department examines some of those same lawmakers’ conduct concerning the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

As the House debated the select committee’s creation on Tuesday, Democrats repeatedly emphasized that both McCarthy and Jordan had refused to comply with subpoenas from the committee investigating Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, an inquiry that they both sought to block. Jordan strategized with Trump about an effort to disrupt the certification of the results of the 2020 election on the floor of the House.

Republicans have made little secret of the fact that they plan to shower the Biden administration with investigations, some of them overtly political in nature. But they won bipartisan support on Tuesday for the formation of a separate select committee focused on the strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese government.

On a vote of 365-65, the House formed a special committee to investigate the Chinese government’s “economic, technological and security progress, and its competition with the United States.”

The panel is set to be led by Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a Marine veteran known as a sober-minded national security hawk. Its mission is to examine a slew of topics, including the economic dependence of the United States on Chinese supply chains, the nation’s security assistance to Taiwan, and lobbying efforts by the Chinese government to influence local and state government, as well as academic institutions.

Gallagher said the two countries are “in the early stages of a new Cold War.”

Republicans on Monday also approved a third wide-ranging investigation to look into the coronavirus pandemic, including the origins of the virus, so-called gain-of-function research, the production of vaccines and the conduct of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s former chief medical adviser, whom Republicans have pledged to call before them for questioning.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) speaks on the House floor, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2023. Jordan will lead the Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

US carbon emissions grew in 2022

By ELENA SHAO

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from energy and industry rose last year, moving the nation in the opposite direction from its climate goals, according to preliminary estimates published earlier this week by the Rhodium Group, a nonpartisan research firm.

Emissions ticked up 1.3% even as renewable energy surpassed coal power nationwide for the first time in over six decades, with wind, solar and hydropower generating 22% of the country’s electricity compared with 20% from coal. Growth in natural gas power generation also compensated for coal’s decline.

The new estimate puts nationwide emissions back in line with their long-term trajectory after nearly two years of COVID-related disruptions, said Ben King, an associate director at the Rhodium Group and an author of the report.

“We are essentially on the same trajectory that we’ve been on since the mid-2000s,” he said, calling it a “long-term structural decline,” but one that’s “not happening fast enough.”

Two years ago, President Joe Biden promised to accelerate the pace, setting a goal of reducing the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, an amount that is thought to be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. Beyond that threshold, scientists say the risk of climate catastrophe, including life-threatening heat waves and food and water scarcity, increases significantly. The planet has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius over the past century.

But the Rhodium Group’s analysis suggests the country is not on track to meet Biden’s target.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate and tax law, is supposed to help bend the emissions curve closer to the 2030 goal, but even it is likely to fall short.

The emissions estimate reflects a continued rebound from 2020 pandemic lows. The initial outbreak of the coronavirus triggered widespread lockdowns and slashed U.S. energy use to its lowest level in decades, with emissions plummeting more than 10%. They rebounded 6.2% in 2021 as the economy began to bounce back, but ongoing supply chain disruptions and new coronavirus variants dampened the recovery. The smaller rise in 2022 emissions came amid Russia’s war in Ukraine, the resulting global energy crisis, and high inflation.

Emissions from electric power generation fell as renewable energy and natural gas displaced coal, which saw a small and short-lived increase in 2021 because of high natural gas

prices. Natural gas is less carbon-intensive than coal, but its production and distribution releases methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas.

A recent report from the International Energy Agency estimated that renewables are on track to overtake coal as the largest source of electricity generation worldwide by early 2025, as countries respond to fossil fuel supply disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine by enacting stronger policies to shift away from carbon-emitting oil, gas and coal.

Still, the United States made little progress last year in either of its highest-emitting sectors, transportation and industry, which together account for roughly two-thirds of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Industrial emissions rose by 1.5% and transportation emissions rose by 1.3%, the latter driven mainly by demand for jet fuel as air travel continued to recover from pandemic-era declines.

Some experts are hopeful that provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act can provide money to help speed decarbonization at industrial plants and reduce fossil fuel emissions from heavy industry, including cement and steel production. The legislation also expanded consumer tax credits for electric vehicles, which typically create fewer emissions than gasolinepowered cars.

The most significant increase in emissions last year came from homes and buildings, which burn fossil fuels like natural gas in furnaces, hot water heaters and other appliances. Those emissions rose 6%, and reached prepandemic levels. Colder-than-average temperatures early in the year led many Americans to increase their home energy use by turning up the heat.

The estimates from the Rhodium Group sector-by-sector analysis do not include emissions from agriculture or from wildfires, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as they burn forests and grasslands. Agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, with farming activities accounting for 11.2% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2020, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The report does contain some good news: Last year, the country’s economic growth, measured in GDP, outpaced emissions growth, indicating that the economy was less carbon intensive, King said. This “decoupling” of economic growth from fossil fuel consumption is crucial in charting an economically sustainable path toward decarbonization.

“We’ve seen the challenges that happen when declines in emissions are tied to declines in GDP,” he said. “Look at 2020.”

As storms hammer California, homeless campers try to survive outside

By SHAWN HUBLER, LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA and CORINA KNOLL

The wind on the American River was blowing the rain nearly sideways.

Just two nights before, a nearby tree toppled onto a woman, killing her as she slept. Through the flap of a makeshift tent, Jose Reyes, 50, peered into the whipping downpour as cold water pelted his leaky tarp and sluiced down the rusty bed frame he was using as ballast. His sleeping bag was soaked. So were his socks and pant legs.

Behind him, a young woman nibbled wet Pringles, her bare feet slender and pale against the mud beneath them. Reyes — part of a homeless encampment that has occupied this stretch of parkway for years in Sacramento — said it had been days since they rested.

“I’ve just been paying attention to the wind,” he said early Monday. “Wondering which tree will crack next.”

From rural Sonoma County to the celebrity enclave of Montecito, a brutal parade of atmospheric rivers has tested California’s infrastructure and endurance. Streets have flooded, levees have failed, mudslides have closed highways, and wind gusts have knocked out electricity for days. At least 17 people have died since late December.

But few have faced as stark a challenge as the more than 170,000 people who are homeless in California. The state not only has the nation’s largest population of homeless residents, but unlike in colder locales, nearly 70% of them sleep in tents, vehicles or public open spaces. Outreach workers in recent days have found them huddling in underpasses and riverbeds, in parks and on beaches.

In Ventura County, firefighters rescued at least 14 people in heavy rain Monday when record flooding in the Ventura River engulfed a homeless encampment. In Sacramento County, officials said, at least two people — Steven Sorensen, 61, and Rebekah Rohde, 40, a member of the American River encampment — were killed outdoors in separate incidents over the weekend when huge, storm-weakened trees fell onto their tents.

Homeless campers along the American River Parkway remain dry at most times of the year in Sacramento but encounter peril in hard rains or when melted snow rushes down from the Sierra Nevada foothills, filling reservoirs and prompting dam releases that flood low-lying encampments.

Park rangers try to warn and evacuate as

many homeless people as they can, although plenty insist on staying. Some say they feel unsafe in group shelters. Some have pets that they cannot bear to leave and that cannot be accommodated. Some fear exposure to COVID-19. Some do not want to leave their belongings behind, or they resent curfews and strict sobriety requirements.

“A lot of people in our shelter are fresh out of prison,” said Steve Andert, 61, an amputee in Sacramento who had taken a break from a facility for homeless people early Monday to watch the American River. People unaccustomed to inmates are frightened enough to want to stay away, he added.

On Monday, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it had met with more than 400 representatives of community agencies and nonprofits across California to connect homeless people and other vulnerable groups with resources and shelters. Outreach workers in some cities say that the additional effort is sorely needed.

“The city and the county have failed to meet people — to provide emergency shelter that actually meets people’s needs,” said Talya Husbands-Hankin, who runs homeless advocacy organization Love and Justice in the Streets in Oakland. On Monday she was handing out hot coffee, sandwiches and tarps at encampments in the city.

“As a result of that, people are left to fend for themselves in extremely unsafe circumstances,” Husbands-Hankin said. “The storm really exposes the bigger issue, which is that living outside without shelter is just not safe.”

Just outside an Oakland encampment known as Wood Street, once among the largest in the Bay Area, debris and trash bags floated in ankle-deep waters. Residents have been evicted over the past several months and have moved onto neighboring streets, one of which is now partially flooded. Further evictions had been planned for Monday but were temporarily halted by a federal judge, who cited the severe weather in his ruling.

Officials in Alameda County and the city of Oakland said that outreach teams were visiting encampments across the region. They said they had increased their number of emergency shelter beds and that there were still some available. The city said that animal services could provide overnight shelter for pets.

Ramona Choyce, 44, said she had not encountered any outreach workers and that she did not believe people should be forced

into shelters. “What is shelter?” she rhetorically asked as she waded through the water just outside the Wood Street encampment, sorting recyclables that she planned to sell so that she could buy propane.

Choyce said she had four dogs and valued the private space of her RV. “I can’t just give them away,” she added of her pets. “They’re my kids.”

In Los Angeles, where the new mayor declared a state of emergency to address the city’s homelessness crisis, advocates worried particularly about skid row, a fixture of homeless encampments located downtown. Among the 4,400 homeless people there, less than half identify as sheltered.

“Most of them have years of street life and are pretty adept at surviving on the streets, but this cold and wet weather increases the likelihood of people dying from exposure, and that’s something we’re all very concerned about,” said Mike Arnold, the president and CEO of the Midnight Mission, a longestablished shelter in the area.

With flash flood warnings in Los Angeles County, which has about 70,000 people who are homeless, local organizations were handing out rain gear, ponchos and even tents, which they usually do not distribute for fear that recipients will avoid seeking shelter. But a shortage of temporary beds has left limited options, a problem exacerbated by the coronavirus as well as the winding down of a state initiative that had provided

hotel and motel rooms during the pandemic.

The mission, which has about 270 beds and, like most shelters in the area, is close to capacity, has been trying to figure out how to quickly add temporary canopies to its outdoor courtyard to offer refuge, albeit unheated.

As California braced for the week, north to south, the race to protect people living outside raised larger questions, including the existential matter of how long the place and its people can endure the current battering.

At an Oakland shelter run by Omni Commons, a community nonprofit, Cy Brown said that he decided to come inside after sleepless nights spent shivering in his drenched clothes.

“That rain was really, really cold, bone-chilling rain. I couldn’t find nowhere to hide,” said Brown, who is in his 60s. He said he was now suffering from pneumonia and frostbite on his toes. “I stayed under a tree, but it just kept pounding me,” he said of the rain.

On Monday morning, Brown was taking refuge along with about a dozen others inside the emergency shelter, a dimly lit ballroom where the shapes of sleeping bodies could be made out, swaddled in blankets on inflatable mattresses.

Silver Zahn, a volunteer at the shelter, said that for many, the deluge had been overwhelming: “We’re Californians in drought. We don’t know how to respond to rain.”

Residents of Santa Cruz, Calif., stack sandbags and clear storm drains near their homes on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, while bracing for potential flooding in the coming days.

Trump’s longtime finance chief sentenced to 5 months in jail

By BEN PROTESS, JONAH E. BROMWICH and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM

Allen Weisselberg, once one of Donald Trump’s most loyal lieutenants, was sentenced earlier this week to five months at the Rikers Island jail complex for his role in a tax fraud scheme that led to the conviction of the Trump Organization last year.

A state court judge handed down the sentence after Weisselberg, 75, who worked for the Trump family for the past halfcentury, testified as the prosecution’s star witness at the trial of the company. Weisselberg, its former chief financial officer, had been facing years in prison. Under a plea deal, he agreed to testify in exchange for a punishment that, with good behavior, might last no more than 100 days.

Still, Weisselberg’s lawyer, Nicholas A. Gravante Jr., pleaded with the judge in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Tuesday to impose a lighter sentence, citing his client’s military service, lack of a criminal record and the many hours he had spent with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney’s office preparing for the testimony.

“Each month makes a big difference when you’re 75 years old,” Gravante said.

But the judge, Juan Merchan, rejected the defense’s request and said that had he not promised the sentence of five months in August, the evidence at trial would have prompted him to impose a significantly longer sentence. “The entire case was driven by greed,” Merchan said.

Weisselberg initially will be assigned to the North Infirmary Command, a jail on Rikers Island that houses people with serious medical conditions as well as a portion of the general population.

Once the hearing concluded, Weisselberg, wearing an olive North Face jacket and dark sneakers, hugged Gravante and was placed in handcuffs by court officers and taken into custody. The district attorney, Alvin Bragg, was in the courtroom for the sentencing, sitting near the back with a sober expression on his face.

“In Manhattan, you have to play by the rules no matter who you are or who you work for,” Bragg said in a statement. Noting

the company’s conviction at trial, he added, “These consequential felony convictions put on full display the inner workings of former President Trump’s companies and its CFO’s actions.”

The sentencing punctuated a precipitous fall for Weisselberg, who like other Trump insiders before him, had his misdeeds placed under a microscope and ultimately lost his freedom, collateral damage from a wider investigation into Trump himself. Michael Cohen, Trump’s onetime fixer, served time in federal prison, as did the former president’s campaign chair, underscoring the perils of associating with Trump, whose campaign, presidency and family business have been magnets for law enforcement scrutiny.

As an older man with frail health, Weisselberg faces particularly stark consequences: He will serve time at a notorious jail complex where more than a dozen people died last year, with no promise that the district attorney will forgo additional charges against him.

His ties to the Trumps are also becoming tenuous. After a decadeslong entanglement with Weisselberg, who got his start as a bookkeeper for Trump’s father in the 1970s, the Trump Organization has parted

ways with him as of Tuesday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

He has been on paid leave and recently received his annual bonus from the company for last year, one of the people said. He is expected to receive a broader severance package as well.

The company has good reason not to alienate Weisselberg. While his testimony helped convict the Trump Organization, a cardinal sin for the family and those close to it, he has refused to turn on Trump to assist Bragg’s broader investigation into the former president.

Weisselberg, who initially held the title of controller and eventually became chief financial officer, also logged decades of service in which he created the Trump Organization’s accounting department and helped bring the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. And as the district attorney’s inquiry remains active, with prosecutors interested in Weisselberg’s help as they investigate Trump for his role in hushmoney payments made to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, it would be risky to cast him aside.

After the sentencing, Gravante said on the courthouse steps that Weisselberg “deeply regrets the lapse in judgment that

resulted in his conviction, and he regrets it most because of the pain it has caused his loving wife, his sons and wonderful grandchildren,” adding that he “also regrets the harm his actions have caused to the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family.”

Weisselberg, Gravante said, “is grateful to them for their continued support throughout this difficult chapter of his life.”

As part of Weisselberg’s plea deal — which required him to plead guilty to scheming to defraud, grand larceny, conspiracy and tax fraud — he already paid New York authorities more than $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest that he owed after reaping lavish off-the-books perks from Trump and his company. Those perks, which were at the center of the prosecution’s case, included leased Mercedes-Benzes, an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

The company, which was convicted on all 17 counts of tax fraud and other financial crimes, will be sentenced Friday. It faces up to $1.6 million in penalties.

As it investigated Trump’s business practices, the Manhattan district attorney’s office initially took aim at Weisselberg in early 2021, seeing him as the potential linchpin in a case against the former president.

He was indicted in the tax scheme case that summer after refusing to cooperate. But his stint in Rikers may not alleviate the pressure he faces from the office. Prosecutors are considering a new round of charges against the executive, people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times last year.

The charges concern potential insurance fraud, and prosecutors hope that, in combination with his time in Rikers, that threat could persuade Weisselberg to finally turn against Trump, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Prosecutors made no mention of that inquiry Tuesday but credited the former executive for having testified truthfully against the company.

“Mr. Weisselberg provided significant testimony about his culpability, about how the long-running tax scheme was conducted,” said Susan Hoffinger, the lead prosecutor on the case.

Allen Weisselberg, center, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, leaves State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Weisselberg, who was once one of Donald Trump’s most loyal lieutenants, served the family company for decades but agreed to testify about its tax fraud in exchange for a lighter punishment.

Wall St climbs on growth stocks boost ahead of inflation data

Stocks closed higher Wednesday after a choppy session as investors looked past Federal Reserve meeting minutes that showed the central bank will remain aggressive in its policy to tame high inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133 points, or 0.40%, to close at 33,269.77. The S&P 500 climbed 0.75% to 3,825.97 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.69% to close at 10,458.76. Bond yields were lower, even as the Fed reiterated that rates would move higher this year.

All three indexes notched their first positive close of the year, breaking two consecutive days of losses, after rallying from negative territory in the afternoon.

Stocks opened in positive territory Wednesday following Tuesday’s rough start to the year, but briefly dipped in the morning following two key economic releases.

The November Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, or JOLTS, came in slightly better than anticipated, signaling continued labor market strength amid the central bank’s rate hikes to tame inflation. The ISM manufacturing index, on the flip side, showed a contraction in the sector after 30 months of expansion, signaling that interest rate increases may be working to slow the economy.

U.S. stocks rose as investors digested the reports but pared gains when minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed hawkish sentiment from the central bank even as it delivered a half-percentage point rate hike, smaller than previous increases. The report also showed the Fed intends to hold higher rates until there’s sufficient data proving inflation has cooled.

“The Fed is juggling a lot of balls here in the sense they want to slow the pace of rate increases but they don’t want the market to start a party, which would then ease financial conditions,” said Peter Boockvar of Bleakley Financial Group. “They want to tighten, to crush inflation, but they don’t want to cause a recession.”

Next, investors will be looking to Friday’s jobs report for further information about how the economy is faring amid the Fed’s rate hikes. Consumer companies Walgreens Boots Alliance and Constellation Brands are scheduled to report quarterly earnings before market open on Thursday.

“This is very much wait and see mode,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial. “After wrapping up a year that was pretty terrible on all fronts, there’s always going to be trepidation by investors to put money to work and we’re seeing that in real time at least in the first two trading days.”

Stocks rose Wednesday even after the Federal Reserve reiterated that it plans to raise interest rates and keep them high in an attempt to tame inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133 points,

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS

or 0.40%, rallying from lows of the day but remaining off the highs. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also dipped but remained up 0.75% and 0.69%, respectively.

It was the first positive close of the year for the three major indices and broke two consecutive days of losses. All 11 sectors in the S&P 500 closed higher Wednesday.

Nvidia rallied more than 8%, Microsoft jumped 6.2% and Apple climbed 4.9%.

Tesla Inc’s shares surged 7.7% after China Merchants Bank International said Tesla’s sales in China in November were boosted by price cuts and incentives offered on its Model 3 and Model Y.

The S&P 500 climbed 3.09% to end the session at 4,079.97 points.

The Nasdaq gained 4.41% to 11,468.00 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.18% to 34,589.24 .

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index surged 5.85%, trimming its loss in 2022 to about 28%.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was heavy, with 15.0 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 11.1 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

Ukraine battles for eastern town as Russia advances

By MEGAN SPECIA and IVAN NECHEPURENKO

Intense fighting continued in the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar on Wednesday, despite a claim by the founder of a mercenary force leading Russia’s offensive there that his troops had seized control of the town.

A morning update from Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces gave no indication that the battle for Soledar, a small salt-mining municipality enmeshed in Russia’s quest to take a bigger city, Bakhmut, had ended. And Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Kremlin did not confirm the claim by the mercenary force, the Wagner private military company, that Soledar had fallen, saying that the town was only blocked for now.

In the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily briefing, it said that its paratroopers “had blocked Soledar from the north and south” and that its assault units were “fighting in the city.” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, urged reporters to wait for official announcements about whether the city had been captured, adding that “tactical successes are certainly very important as they come at a rather expensive price.”

Peskov’s recommendation to wait for official announcements came days after the founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, asserted that it was his fighters who were leading the assault on Soledar and that he would be the one to announce its fall.

On Tuesday, he circulated a photograph of himself purporting to be in a salt mine in Soledar and claimed that his forces had taken the city.

On Wednesday, Prigozhin doubled down on his claim of full control over Soledar, saying that there was only some residual resistance in the mines.

The competing claims over who has the authority to announce the fall of Soledar appeared to suggest growing strains between Russia’s military and Wagner. Prigozhin, an entrepreneur, is a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin of Russia but has also been publicly critical of Russia’s Defense Ministry. He has become increasingly outspoken after acknowledging in

September that he was the founder of the group.

The group’s fighters have also been deployed in support of the Kremlin’s military campaigns in Africa and the Middle East. Wagner, which now includes recruited prisoners, has become the main force in the battle in the area of Bakhmut, and the fighting has been brutal.

The claims played out in Russian media. Even as the Kremlin expressed caution, Russia’s Channel One — one of the two main state-run television networks — trumpeted in its news report Wednesday that Russian forces had achieved “a strategically important victory in the Donbas,” saying that “Soledar is under control.”

The report said that Russian forces had pushed through a “labyrinth of underground strongholds” to capture Soledar. “The road is now open to other important towns,” the anchor said. No mention of Wagner was made.

If Soledar did fall, the seizure of the relatively small municipality would be Russia’s first notable victory in months, after a string of humiliating losses. Ukraine changed the course of the war with its capture of the Kharkiv region in September and then the city of Kherson in November, successes of far greater magnitude.

Moscow sees its campaign in the area around the city of Bakhmut as important to achieving its goal of occupying all of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Military experts say that although taking Soledar would be significant, it would not signal that Bakhmut was about to fall into Russian hands. Ukraine has strongly reinforced its positions in the area, presenting a formidable obstacle to further progress by Moscow.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based research group, concluded in a Tuesday analysis that even if Russia captured Soledar, Ukraine could defend and resupply soldiers in Bakhmut.

“The reality of block-by-block control of terrain in Soledar is obfuscated by the dynamic nature of urban combat,” the analysis said, though it noted that “Russian forces have largely struggled to make significant tactical gains in the Soledar area for months.”

Russia replaces military chief in Ukraine after 3 months on the job

By ANATOLY KURMANAEV

Russia has once again shaken up its military command in Ukraine, the latest sign of its faltering invasion.

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who helped plan Russia’s stumbling invasion in February and who had served as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military chief of general staff for more than a decade, has replaced Gen. Sergei Surovikin as the head of the Russian forces in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Surovikin, who had previously commanded Russian forces in Syria and was installed to lead Russia’s campaign in Ukraine in October, is now one of Gerasimov’s three deputies, according to the statement.

Analysts said the replacement of Surovikin, a re -

spected commander inside the Russian military, with a Kremlin apparatchik like Gerasimov — who served as an architect of the invasion, including the failed battle plan to take over Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in the first days of the war — showed that Putin remains focused on projecting stability rather than improving Russia’s darkening military outlook.

“They have taken someone who is competent and replaced him with someone who is incompetent, but who has been there a long time and who has shown that he is loyal,” said Dara Massicot, senior policy researcher at the RAND Corp. in Washington. “Whatever is happening in Moscow, it is out of touch with what is happening on the ground in Ukraine.”

In October, Surovikin’s appointment to lead Russian forces in Ukraine ended months of disjointed military operations that analysts said contributed to Russia’s

disastrous battlefield performance. His appointment came after the Ukrainians recovered thousands of square miles of territory in a lightning counteroffensive in the northeast of the country.

Under Surovikin, the Russian military largely switched to a defensive mode, allowing it to reduce the military failures that had characterized the first half year of the war. He was able to conduct an orderly retreat from the southern city of Kherson, the only Ukrainian provincial capital captured by Russian forces in nearly a year since the invasion.

But Surovikin, who earned a reputation for ruthlessness in Syria, also launched waves of missile and drone attacks intended to cripple the Ukrainian energy grid as winter set in. The strategy seemed intended to demoralize Ukrainian civilians and erode the will to fight.

Olga Karakuts, a farmer, with her cows near the frontline town of Kreminna, Ukraine on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023.

Biden defends border effort, saying nations can’t ‘wall ourselves off’

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and ANUSHKA PATIL

President Joe Biden earlier this week defended his handling of the border and thanked his Mexican counterpart for a willingness to accept asylum-seekers rejected by the United States during a period of what he called “the greatest migration in human history” across the region.

In remarks at the end of a two-day summit in Mexico City with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, Biden dismissed criticism from Republicans, Democrats and humanitarian groups, calling them the “extremes” and saying he was pursuing a middle ground in his approach to immigration.

“I want to thank the president of Mexico for agreeing to take up to 3,000 people back,” Biden said, apparently referring to the announcement last week that Mexico would accept 30,000 migrants each month from Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua and Cuba who attempt to cross into the United States illegally.

That increased enforcement at the border has been condemned by Democrats and human rights groups as an inhumane denial of asylum rights. But Biden said on Tuesday that the creation of new legal immigration programs for people from those countries counterbalanced that effort.

“There can no longer be any question, none, in today’s interconnected world. We cannot wall ourselves off from shared problems,” Biden said, adding, “We’re trying to make it easier for people to get here.”

The president’s comments followed several hours of closeddoor discussions with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada that also focused on the climate crisis, drug trafficking, economic prosperity and trade.

All three men said the summit underscored the cooperation among their governments and played down long-standing disagreements and tensions, especially over the economic competition in energy and emerging technologies such as electric vehicles.

“We’re true partners, the three of us,” Biden said at a news conference after the meetings.

But if the summit was intended to show a shared commitment to addressing immigration, it also showed the intractability of the issue. Questions about how to confront the waves of people fleeing their homelands across Central and South America dominated much of the private discussion and the public statement to the news media, and a fact sheet distributed by the White House listing “key deliverables” from the summit did not include any new major migration initiatives.

Aides to Biden said the broader challenge of how to secure the border was his top priority at the summit. In a one-on-one meeting on Monday night, Biden and López Obrador “reaffirmed their commitment to implement innovative approaches to address irregular migration,” according to a White House summary of the meeting.

At the news conference after the summit, López Obrador delivered a lengthy history of the changes in migration patterns over the past several decades and emphasized his belief that the best way to prevent people from leaving their homes was to invest in making their countries prosperous and safe.

He praised Biden for what he said was a recognition of that reality while criticizing past American presidents for focusing too heavily on trying to keep migrants out of the country.

“You are the first president of the United States in a very long time that has not built not even one meter of wall,” López Obrador said. “And that — we thank you for that, sir.”

The Mexican president also took a veiled swipe at Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, who bused a group of migrants to Washington last month, dropped them off in frigid weather in front of the Naval Observatory, the home for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“This is politicking. This is completely inhuman,” López Obrador said, referring to “one of the governors” in a “neighboring country” in his remarks. “And this should not be done.”

López Obrador hosted Biden and Trudeau for the closeddoor discussions at the National Palace in Mexico City, the seat of government and the residence for the Mexican president.

On climate change, White House officials said the three leaders had agreed to some new targets, including a pledge to “reduce methane emissions from the solid waste and wastewater sector by at least 15% by 2030 from 2020 levels.” They will work to develop a plan to cut down on food waste, and a separate plan for coordinating electric vehicle charging stations along their borders, White House officials said.

Trudeau emphasized economic cooperation on the continent, saying the three leaders were “all dedicated to driving economic growth that supports the middle class and those working hard to join it.”

Brazilian authorities arrested the rioters. Now they want to arrest security officials.

By ANA IONOVA, ANDRÉ SPIGARIOL and JACK NICAS

Brazilian authorities on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for two government security officials, zeroed in on people suspected of funding this week’s violent protests and asked a federal court to freeze the assets of the far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, a broad expansion of the investigation into the invasion of Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices by protesters on Sunday.

The moves showed that, a day after arresting hundreds of people suspected of taking part in Sunday’s riot in Brazil’s capital, Brasília, the nation’s top officials have now turned their focus to the political and business elites suspected of inspiring, organizing or aiding the rioters.

Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, issued the warrants for the two security officials, including Anderson Torres, the man effectively in charge of security for the capital, in response to a request by federal police.

Moraes, a controversial figure who has been accused of severely overstepping his authority, said investigators had evidence that the officials knew violence was brewing but did nothing to stop it. He said that they were under investigation for terrorism, criminal association and offenses related to the violent overthrow of democracy.

Separately on Tuesday, a top public prosecutor asked a federal court to freeze Bolsonaro’s assets in connection with the investigation into the riots, though his office declined to explain why.

Protesters invaded government buildings under the false belief that October’s presidential

election, which Bolsonaro lost, was rigged, their actions spurred in part because of his yearslong efforts to undermine the electorate’s faith in Brazil’s election systems.

The request to freeze Bolsonaro’s assets is now in the hands of a judge, but it is unclear whether the court has the legal power to block his accounts. And freezing assets, even if it were not challenged in court, could prove a lengthy and complex process.

Authorities are also expected to take action against more than 100 companies thought to have helped the protesters, including many believed to have transported rioters to the capital or to have provided them with free food and shelter, according to Brazilian media reports.

Brazil’s new justice minister, Flávio Dino, said government investigators had zeroed in on companies in at least 10 states that were suspected of having helped finance the riots. Authorities were seeking arrest warrants for “people who did not come to Brasília, but who participated in the crime, who are organizers, financiers,” Dino said Tuesday.

Dino and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have said that they believe prominent players in the country’s powerful agriculture industry, which largely backed Bolsonaro in the election, played a role.

“These people were there today, the agribusiness,” Lula said after the attacks, adding that “all these people will be investigated, found out, and will be punished.”

The moves highlighted the growing scope of the hunt to identify the ideological, logistical and financial architects of Sunday’s chaos, the worst attack on Brazil’s institutions since a military dictatorship ended in 1985.

Many people who participated in the riots had been camped out for weeks outside the army headquarters in Brasília, espousing the false claim that October’s election was stolen and calling for the military to step in. Military and independent experts found no credible evidence of voter fraud in the election, in which Lula, a leftist former president, defeated Bolsonaro. Lula took office on Jan. 1.

While Bolsonaro had for years asserted, without evidence, that Brazil’s election systems were plagued by fraud, after the election he authorized the transition of power to Lula. Bolsonaro, who has been in the United States since before the inauguration, criticized the rioters on Sunday, saying that peaceful demonstrations were part of democracy but that the “destruction and invasions of public buildings” was not.

In the wake of the riot, investigators are grappling with difficult questions about why rioters were able to enter federal government buildings so easily — and whether security authorities were blindsided, negligent or somehow complicit.

Some officials have been quick to place much of the blame on Torres, who served as Bolsonaro’s justice minister before becoming security chief of the Federal District, a small province that includes Brasília, on Jan. 2. That position made him largely in charge of the security plans for the protest on Sunday.

Yet upon taking the new job, Torres quickly dismissed several key officials in his staff and then left for a vacation to Florida, leaving him out of the state during Sunday’s protests, according to Ricardo Cappelli, who has temporarily replaced Torres under an emergency decree signed by Lula.

In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo on Tuesday, Cappelli said that in the days ahead of the large planned protests on Sunday, Torres assured the federal government that his team was in control.

“What reached us was information saying that everything was fine, that the demonstration would be peaceful and that the troops would guarantee it,” he said.

In comments to reporters on Tuesday, Cappelli accused Torres of purposefully “sabotaging” the security around the protests. As soon as Torres took over on Jan. 2, he said, “Chaos ensues. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

Federal officials have also said that, during a planning meeting two days before the protests, Torres and other officials promised a far more robust security presence during the demonstrations than what they delivered.

State officials have said they accepted responsibility for the failures, but have not explained why security was light, despite warnings of the possibility of violent protests.

Torres said on Twitter that he would cut his vacation short and return to Brazil to de-

fend himself. “I have always guided my actions with ethics and legality. I believe in the Brazilian justice system and in the strength of the institutions. I am certain that the truth will prevail,” he said.

Torres has long been a close ally of Bolsonaro. As the former president’s justice minister, Torres was a key player in the attacks against Brazil’s electronic voting machines. In July 2021, Bolsonaro announced that he would lay out his full case on why Brazil’s election system was rife with fraud. In a subsequent two-hour livestream, Torres sat next to him and presented videos claiming to show how voting machines could be hacked, which security experts later debunked.

Responding to requests from the federal police, Moraes issued warrants for the arrest of Torres and Fabio Augusto Vieira, chief of the Federal District’s police. Moraes said the arrests were necessary to protect the investigation, preventing the suspects from destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses.

Brazil’s solicitor general also issued a request for Torres’ arrest, while another top federal prosecutor requested to freeze his assets. That prosecutor also asked to freeze the assets of the Federal District’s governor, Ibaneis Rocha, who has also been accused of allowing inadequate security during the protests.

Hours after the riots concluded, Moraes suspended Rocha from his job as governor for at least 90 days.

By Tuesday, the police had arrested 727 people in connection with the riots and were still questioning hundreds of others, the federal police said in a statement. Some 599 people who were detained for questioning had been released from custody.

Many rioters filmed themselves and others as they invaded the government buildings, giving authorities a body of evidence to build a case. Augusto de Arruda Botelho, Brazil’s justice secretary, said police had also collected DNA samples and fingerprints from the buildings.

Supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who were arrested after attacking democratic institutions, leave the headquarters of the federal police in Brasilia, Brazil, on Jan. 10, 2023.

Brazil’s Jan. 6 imitation and the futility of populism

By ROSS DOUTHAT

For two years we have debated whether the essential feature of the Jan. 6 riot, the mob stirred up to storm the Capitol in frustration over the 2020 election, was the ambition in the background or the futility and unreality up front.

The ambition, which belonged to Donald Trump and his shrunken inner circle, aimed to provoke a constitutional crisis, which was supposed to begin with Mike Pence’s intervention and culminate, somehow, with the House of Representatives voting Trump into a second term. The futility belonged to the rioters, whose violence and vandalism was an expression of dreampolitik rather than a coup — its plan for success nonexistent, its end in mass arrests and imprisonment foreordained. And the challenge of analyzing Jan. 6 is that these elements existed together, in an unstable mixture that could theoretically inspire all kinds of imitations — some empty and grifting and fantastical, some destabilizing and deadly serious.

Now we have the first major international imitation of our Capitol riot — the riots that took over government buildings in the Brazilian capital last weekend in the name of the defeated populist president Jair Bolsonaro. And whatever you make of the original, so far the imitation falls decisively into the unreal-and-futile category.

The rioters wanted Bolsonaro back in office as the Jan. 6 protesters wanted Trump to continue in the White House. They believed that the Brazilian presidential election had been stolen much as Trump’s supporters believed that Joe Biden had stolen the 2020 election. Their rhetoric echoed the language of American Trumpists.

But their homage to Jan. 6 was just that: an act of pure performance unmoored from the realities of power.

The timing was the tell. Instead of attempting to halt the work of government or disrupt a transfer of power, the Brazilian rioters stormed into Brasília Three Powers Square at a time when its crucial buildings — the Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace — were largely empty. The Congress wasn’t in session, the already-invested President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was away touring flood damage; Bolsonaro himself was hanging out in Florida, not hovering nearby. There was no handover of power to forestall, no government to seize, no leader to restore. The only reason to mount such a protest now, it seemed, was the date: Jan. 8 is close enough to Jan. 6 to provide the necessary imitative frisson.

Even writers who make it their business to be alarmed by the perils of populism seemed a bit baffled by all this. “Today’s riot makes more sense if the point was to create a visual echo of what happened in Washington,” wrote Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic, as opposed to actually blocking Lula “from exercising power.” In the same publication, Yascha Mounk called the scene “surreal,” featuring rioters who “seemed almost to be cosplaying American insurrectionists.”

And since the Jan. 6 experience was itself thick with forms of cosplay — the QAnon Shaman and the people snapping selfies were engaged in a lark, not a serious political intervention — the Brazilian imitation felt even more distant from reality, a LARP (live action role play) of a LARP.

Since Bolsonaro, like Trump, really was elected president, you can’t dismiss all of his populism as simple unreality, any more than you can dismiss the violence that accompanied both of the January protests. (Though the rising violence in Peru, which has been roiled by protests on behalf of a left-wing president who was forced out after attempting to rule by decree, probably deserves more attention than the Brazilian riots at the moment.)

But you can look at Brazil’s Jan. 8 and see two tendencies of contemporary populism confirmed. First is the way that today’s populist movements and politicians tend to alienate and alarm the stakeholder groups whose support they would need for any true regime change or revolution. This was clearly true on Jan. 6 in the United States, where every major institution was against the Trumpists, leading to populist philippics against not only the news media and the courts but also the FBI and the military.

Yet even in Brazil, with a history of military rule and an armed forces clearly favorable to Bolsonaro’s populism, the movement to overturn Lula’s election has ended up isolated

and impotent.

Second, in Brasília as in America, you can see the reliable tendency of today’s populists to seek the showy confrontation, the grand and futile act of protest, over the grinding work of politics and policy. This is a quality they have in common with right-wing radicals (and other radicals) of the past. But cable news and the internet has magnified the opportunities for unreal gestures, pure performativity, fan bases built on an unremitting series of glorious defeats. It doesn’t matter if the revolution is ever real; so long as it’s on television, that’s enough.

For populism’s enemies, center-left and liberal, this combination of attributes has saved them more than once from the consequences of their own hubris or mistakes. Blunder as our elite institutions might, the populist rebels and their avatars are usually ready with a greater fecklessness, a stumblebum anti-politics, a toxic mix of the authoritarian and the incompetent — and then, as in the new Republican House of Representatives or Liz Truss’ ill-fated Tory government, a cycling back to the unpopular agendas that provoked populist rebellion in the first place.

This leaves those who can’t rally to liberalism, who are stuck for one reason or another on the right (or on the leftwing fringe), with two main options. They can look hopefully in the chaos for hints of a more constructive populism — the sort that exists in theory but not in Trumpian or Bolsonaran practice, the sort that various intellectuals spent the Trump era trying to import into his movement, the sort of new right or even newer left-right fusion that’s always just around the corner.

Alternatively, they can try to look beyond populism entirely, treating it as a failed experiment, as fundamentally unreal in both its plans and its effects as Jan. 8’s bizarre Latin American imitation of America’s Jan. 6.

DRNA detiene construcción en área de la Cueva del Indio en Arecibo por no tener permisos

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) paralizó el miércoles, una construcción que no muestra permisos de la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe) y cuya cercanía a la zona marítimo Terrestre (ZMT) y/o faja de salvamento requiere un deslinde que debió ser presentado junto con la solicitud de los permisos requeridos.

“Los procesos que requiere el gobierno dan la certeza necesaria de que las obras que se construyan se adhieran a las leyes, normas y reglamentos ambientales. No es fácil comprender cómo algunas personas insisten y prefieren arriesgarse a perder su inversión que cumplir con las leyes. A todas esas personas que prefieren violentar las leyes y reglamentos ambientales le tenemos un mensaje, vamos a detener la obra y no sólo perderán lo que invirtieron sino que se exponen a multas considerables, tendrán que demoler la obra a costa de su propio bolsillo y también tendrán que restituir el medioambiente a su estado natural, lo que es igualmente costoso. Amar la naturaleza es gratis, destruirla le va a resultar caro”, sostuvo la titular de las agencias ambientales Anaís Rodríguez Vega en declaraciones escritas.

La intervención del Cuerpo de Vigilantes y del CRIM en la carretera 681, kilómetro 8.1 del barrio Islote, sector

Cueva del Indio, en Arecibo, se realizó mediante querella presentada ayer martes. La paralización es preventiva hasta que los dueños de la propiedad muestren los documentos que requiere la ley.

Ante el DRNA no existe permiso de concesión de permisos ni solicitud de consulta de ZMT. El DRNA enviará el personal técnico para determinar si la construcción se realiza sobre la ZMT y/o la faja de salvamento.

Según reconocieron los trabajadores de la construcción ante los vigilantes, no tenían permisos de construcción. Esta consiste de una casa en cemento y un proyectado gazebo. Alegadamente, el huracán María en 2017 destruyó la casa previa de madera y el gazebo.

Se investigará asimismo si la nueva construcción en cemento se realiza sobre el mismo lugar que la casa de madera destruida, o se relocalizó más cerca de la ZMT.

Los vigilantes descubrieron además una chorrera en lo que puede ser marmolite u otro elemento que simula piedra natural, que reviste el cemento u otro elemento que la sostiene, y varillas expuestas. Ese elemento será analizado por el personal técnico de la Agencia.

El DRNA exhortó a las personas que se orienten con las agencias pertinentes antes de comenzar algún desarrollo, particularmente cuando estas se ubican cerca de la ZMT o reservas.

In need of spotlight, Hollywood welcomes back tarnished Globes

By BROOKS BARNES

The companies behind the tarnished Golden Globe Awards pushed forward with a rehabilitation effort Tuesday, with Hollywood luminaries making their way through a waterlogged Los Angeles to accept trophies for film and television achievements.

Standup comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosted the 80th Globes ceremony, forgoing the typical monologue (zingers about highwattage attendees) for a subdued opening directly addressing the lack of diversity that kept the show off the air last year. In several moments, a quiet awkwardness fell over the room, as when he noted that the group that awards the Globes didn’t “have a single Black member until George Floyd died.”

“One minute, you’re making mint tea at home, the next you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organization,” he continued, explaining how he came to take the gig. “Life really comes at you fast, you know?” He cracked that a friend, upon learning that he would get paid $500,000, told him to “put on a good suit and take them white people’s money.”

“The Fabelmans,” a semi-autobiographical family drama from Steven Spielberg, won the Globe for best film, drama, and the award for best director.

“I’m really, really happy about this,” Spielberg said while accepting the directing prize. “I’ve been hiding from this story since I was 17 years old.” He joked that his mother, Leah Adler, was in heaven “kvelling about this.”

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” a windswept tragicomedy about a moldered friendship, was named best film, musical or comedy, also picking up Globes for Martin McDonagh’s screenwriting and Colin Farrell’s acting.

But behind the sharp jokes, fervent acceptance speeches, Champagne and couture lurked another sad truth: After two years of upheaval caused by an ethics, finance and diversity scandal — culminating with NBC’s refusal to broadcast the 2022 ceremony — Hollywood has dropped any pretense that the Globes are meaningful as markers of artistic excellence.

The Globes are about business, plain and simple.

Most movie studios view the Globes telecast and accompanying red carpet spec-

tacle as crucial marketing opportunities for winter films, especially dramas, which have been struggling at the box office. In a study released in 2021, economists at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania found that, on average, films that win Globes earn an additional $16.5 million in ticket sales.

“The Fabelmans,” which cost $40 million to make, not including marketing, was one of the films with the most to gain. It has collected $13.4 million at the domestic box office since its release in November.

James Cameron, a best director nominee for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” had received the memo. He turned a red carpet moment into a sales pitch. “We’re back to theaters — as a society we really need this,” he said. “Enough with the streaming already!”

The lead acting Globes for dramas went to Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Cate Blanchett (“Tár”). Ke Huy Quan was honored for his supporting performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” while Angela Bassett won the Globe for best supporting actress for her regal role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

In a surprise, HBO’s “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon” won the Globe for best television drama. (Awards prognosticators had predicted that “Severance” on Apple TV+ would get the prize.)

“Abbott Elementary,” the ABC comedy set in a Philadelphia school, was named best comedy.

“Thank you for believing in this show,” Quinta Brunson, the “Abbott Elementary” star and producer, said earlier as she collected the trophy for best actress in a comedy. “It has resonated with the world in a way that I couldn’t even imagine it would have.”

“The Banshees of Inisherin,” and “Abbott Elementary” had the most nominations going into the night among movies and TV shows. “Banshees” was up for eight film prizes, while “Abbott Elementary” figured into five TV categories.

Farrell won the Globe for best actor in a comedy or musical for his baffled “Banshees” performance, taking time to thank studio executives, his co-stars, his family and the donkey that appeared in the film. Michelle Yeoh won best actress in a comedy or musical for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a zany twist on superhero movies.

“I think all of you women understand this — as the days, the years and the numbers get bigger, it seems like opportunities start to get smaller,” Yeoh said, noting that she turned 60 last year and referencing the discrimination she has faced in Hollywood. She then started to say how grateful she was for the role when show producers started playing music to nudge her offstage. “Shut up, please,” she said, to cheers, before continuing.

People who assist stars behind the scenes (agents, publicists, stylists) will tell you that very few were eager to attend the ceremony, either as nominees or presenters. At

least 20 nominees did not attend, including Julia Roberts, Blanchett and Zendaya, who was named best actress in a television drama for “Euphoria.” Some of the no-shows cited work conflicts, but the weather didn’t help, with the event coming on the heels of what meteorologists said was the worst rainstorm to sweep through Los Angeles since 2005.

Still, most nominees went through the motions — smiles! smiles! smiles! — because they care greatly about Oscar nominations, and voting by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences begins Thursday.

The Golden Globe Awards broadcast also generates tens of millions of dollars for various Hollywood businesses. Catering companies, party planners, chauffeurs, banquet workers, florists and spray tanners count on the show to generate a significant part of their winter income.

“This is so exciting,” Marc Malkin, a senior Variety editor, said at the start of Variety’s red carpet preshow, sounding like he was still trying to convince himself. (Globes producers actually put down a gray carpet for stars to walk, explaining that it was part of a “new palette.” Some of the biggest stars walked the carpet but did not give interviews, perhaps to avoid awkward questions about why they decided to come.)

Advertisers bought roughly $50.3 million worth of airtime during NBC’s most recent Globes telecast, according to Kantar, a media research firm. NBC paid about $40 million for rights to this year’s show, money that went to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the unorthodox nonprofit organization that bestows the Globes, and Dick Clark Productions, which mounted the telecast.

As host, Carmichael veered from serious to lighthearted to boorish (vulgar language, a Whitney Houston joke) during a ceremony that was notable for the diversity of winners and those in contention. The show even made time for a taped message about freedom by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Eddie Murphy and television producer Ryan Murphy (“Pose,” “Glee,” “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) received lifetime achievement awards. Growing up gay in Indiana, Ryan Murphy said, “I never saw a person like me getting an award or even being a character on a TV show.”

“I’m really, really happy about this,” Steven Spielberg said while accepting the award for best director.

The stand-up comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosted the ceremony, often poking at its troubles.

From page 17

NBC canceled the 2022 telecast amid an ethics, finance and diversity scandal involving the HFPA. Citing extensive reforms by the group, NBC in September agreed to air the ceremony — under a one-year trial.

The press association has overhauled membership eligibility, recruited new members with an emphasis on diversity, enacted a stricter code of conduct and has moved to end its tax-exempt status and transform into a for-profit company with a philanthropic arm. The 96-member organization now has six Black members — up from zero — and has added 103 nonmember voters, a dozen or so of whom are Black.

NBC billed the 2023 Globes as “the party of the year” in advertisements. In truth, however, Hollywood tried to pare back the glamour and excess, in part to send a signal — the Globes are still on probation — and in part because studios have been cutting costs and laying off staff to cope with setbacks at their streaming businesses. In the past, the Beverly Hilton has hosted as many as six separate after parties; this time around, there was one scheduled.

Even so, the movie capital does not do austerity terribly well. Moët & Chandon was expected to supply more than 100 cases of Champagne, including its Rosé Impérial. Globes attendees were served Icelandic salmon with “citrus-scented celery purée, Maya Pura honey brulée, roasted watermelon radish” and “herb dust.”

2023 GOLDEN GLOBE WINNERS

Best Motion Picture, Drama “The Fabelmans”

Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Best TV Series, Drama “House of the Dragon”

Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy “Abbott Elementary”

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Drama

Kevin Costner, “Yellowstone”

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for TV “The White Lotus”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a TV Movie

Evan Peters, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a TV

Movie

Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a TV Limited Series, Anthology Series or TV Movie

Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a TV Limited Series, Anthology Series or TV Movie

Paul Walter Hauser, “Black Bird”

Best Director, Motion Picture

Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture

Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language

“Argentina, 1985”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Cate Blanchett, “Tár”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a TV Musical, Comedy or Drama Series

Julia Garner, “Ozark”

Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Drama

Zendaya, “Euphoria”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Austin Butler, “Elvis”

Best Motion Picture, Animated “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy

Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin” Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy

Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”

Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy

Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Best Original Song, Motion Picture

“Naatu Naatu,” “RRR”

Best Original Score, Motion Picture

Justin Hurwitz, “Babylon”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a TV Musical, Comedy or Drama Series

Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Three-quarters of teenagers have seen online pornography by age 17

By CECILIA KANG

The internet has transformed pornography, making it much easier to view and share than in the days of Playboy magazine and late-night cable television.

For teenagers, that’s created a deluge of sexually explicit photos and videos that has invaded their everyday lives, according to a report released earlier this week.

Three-quarters of teenagers have viewed pornography online by the age of 17, with the average age of first exposure at age 12, according to the report by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit child advocacy group. Teenagers are seeing the photos and videos on their smartphones, on their school devices and across social media, pornography sites and streaming sites, it said.

The report underlined how ubiquitous pornography has become, with 41% of teenagers saying they had seen images of nudity or sexual acts online during the school day. Much of the exposure was by accident, with 58% saying they did not seek out the sexually explicit videos and photos, but had come across them while surfing the web, on social media, or through search engines or clicking ads.

Teenagers have increasingly grappled with the role of technology on their mental health and well-being. In recent years, lawmakers have criticized social media like Instagram for exacerbating eating disorders and scrutinized how the sites have been used to sell illegal substances such as drugs to adolescents.

The effect of online pornography on teenagers has been less examined, but parents and politicians have been locked in fierce debates over tech safety and whether discussions around pornography should take place in schools or at home. In the fall, sex education courses in Idaho were falsely portrayed in posts and an article as promoting pornography. Tweets linking to the

false report provoked outrage online and were mentioned on Fox News. In Louisiana, a new law will require age verification for pornography sites.

“We can’t sweep this topic under the rug just because it’s uncomfortable to talk about,” said Jim Steyer, president of Common Sense Media, who plans to present the report this week to officials at the White House and at federal agencies. “Pornography is a huge part of the lives of children who have digital access like never before, and we need to have a national conversation about it.”

Part of the issue is that online pornography is a highly lucrative industry, giving it a firm foothold. While there is little data on the size of the online pornography industry, one estimate from Alec Helmy, founder of the trade publication XBIZ, which surveys payment processors, puts

revenues for adult influencers and platforms at at least $15 billion in 2022. He estimated revenues from internet pornography in 2012 were $5 billion.

In recent years, online pornography has evolved into a business in which thousands of people have their own streaming, texting and photo channels that are promoted on sites like Instagram and hosted on platforms like OnlyFans and PornHub, Helmy said.

Common Sense’s report was based on a survey in September of 1,358 Americans ages 13 to 17. More than half said they had viewed pornography of violent acts such as rape, choking or someone in pain. A majority said the pornography portrayed stereotypes of Black, Latino and Asian people. More than half said they felt guilty or ashamed after watching porn.

At the same time, 45% said the pornography provided helpful information about sex. LGBTQ teenagers, in particular, said it helped them discover more about their sexuality.

“We have to be careful about saying all porn is good or bad,” said Emily Rothman, a professor of community health sciences at Boston University. “There is nuance here.”

In the Common Sense survey, teens said much of the content they saw was disturbing. Only 1 in 3 said the pornography included someone asking for consent before engaging in sexual activity. Fewer than half said they discussed pornography with a trusted adult. Of those who did, the conversation “encouraged them to think about ways to explore sex or sexuality other than porn,” according to the report.

Teenagers who intentionally sought pornography said their top sources were sites like PornHub and YouPorn. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and other social media sites ranked second as sources for pornography.

Instagram, Snap and TikTok ban sexually explicit material. But the sites have been used for

promotions that link to pornography sites. They also bar individuals from directing users to pornography on other platforms.

In December, YouTube banned PornHub’s channel for repeatedly violating its policy that forbids links to websites that violate YouTube’s community guidelines, such as pornography. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has a similar ban on outside links and said its algorithms are designed to limit the spread of sexually explicit content.

A YouTube spokesperson said its policy was to “strictly prohibit the posting of explicit content, such as pornography, that is intended to be sexually gratifying on our platform.” Meta said Facebook and Instagram have controls that automatically make it harder for teenagers to search for and find sexually suggestive content.

TikTok said it doesn’t allow sexually suggestive content in its “For You” feeds and that it blocks inappropriate searches and hashtags. “We continue to invest in safe and age-appropriate experiences for teens through robust policies, parental controls and technology to counter this content at scale,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

Reddit declined to comment on the report but said it did not have a strict ban on mature content. The app is geared more toward older users and has a suggested minimum age rating of 17. Users under the age of 17 who enter group discussions with mature content are barred from the app, according to the company’s policy.

Snap said it banned accounts that promoted sexually explicit content and was “constantly working to improve our efforts to combat it.” Content from creators and publishers is moderated before a large audience can view it, which reduces the spread and discovery of content that violates our policies, Snap said.

PornHub did not respond to a request for comment.

Dr. Shelly Viramontes, Superintendent at Campbell Unified School District, at the Campbell Union School District Administrative office in Campbell, Calif. on Jan. 9, 2023.

LEGAL NOTICE

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO.

LIME HOMES, Ltd.

Plaintiff, vs. ALEXIS DIAZ

HERNANDEZ, HIS WIFE

LILLIAM CRISTELA

CARRON ACOSTA AND THE CONJUGAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN

THEM: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Defendants

Civil No. 18-1517 (PAD). RE: FORECLOSURE IN REM. NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: ALEXIS DIAZ

HERNANDEZ, HIS WIFE

LILLIAM CRISTELA

CARRON ACOSTA AND THE CONJUGAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN

THEM: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

WHEREAS: On April 5, 2019

Default Judgment was entered and grated on same day in favor of Plaintiff to recover from defendants the principal amount of $208,684.35, plus interest at a rate of 6.125% per annum since August 1st, 2015 to the present. The defendant also owes Plaintiff late charges in the amount of 5.00% of each and any monthly installment not received by the mortgage note holder within 15 days after the installment was due; all advances made in accordance with the mortgage note, including but not limited to, insurance premiums, taxes and inspections; as well as 10% ($25,900.00) of the original principal amount to cover, costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees guaranteed under the mortgage obligations. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150 Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, and the Writ of Execution thereof, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check without appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the Court, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid

to the plaintiff, the following property described in Spanish: URBANA: Parcela de terreno identificada como Solar 60 del Bloque “MM” de la Urbanización Mansión Del Mar, radicada en el Barrio Sabana Seca del término municipal de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de 407.614 metros cuadrados y en lindes por el NORTE, en 9.34 metros y en una distancia en arco de 3.87 metros, con la calle número 4 (Plaza de Estrellas); por el SUR, en 23.26 metros con los solares número 61 y 62; por el ESTE, en 24.12 metros con la calle número 1; y por el OESTE, en 23.50 metros con el solar número 59. En dicho solar enclava una casa de concreto diseñada para una familia. The encumbered property is recorded at Page 215 of Volume 484 of Toa Baja, Property Registry of Puerto Rico, and lot number #26,650, Section Second of Bayamón. Property address: Urbanización Mansión Del Mar, MM-60 Plaza Estrella, Toa Baja, P.R. 00949. The deed of mortgage is recorded at Page 203 of Volume 549 of Toa Baja, Property Registry of Bayamón, Second Section. WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following Juniors liens described in Spanish: A. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de First Equity Mortgage Bankers, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $76,000.00, con intereses al 10.500% anual, vencedero el día 1 de agosto de 2037, constituida mediante la escritura número 206, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 3 de julio de 2007, ante la notario Ana Isabel Diaz Cabán, e inscrita al folio 204 del tomo 549 de Toa Baja, finca número 26,650, inscripción 7ma. B. Embargo Federal contra Alexis Díaz Hernández y L. Carrión, seguro social xxx-xx-9021, por la suma de $2,987.88, notificación número 180364615, presentado el día 22 de octubre de 2015, anotado al folio 14, Asiento 4, del libro de Embargos Federales número 4. Fecha límite de renovación 21 de enero de 2025. C. Embargo Federal contra Alexis Díaz Hernández, seguro social xxx-xx-9021, por la suma de $3,843.63, notificación número 18364115, presentado el día 22 de octubre de 2015, anotado al folio 14, Asiento 3, del libro de Embargos Federales número 4. Fecha límite de renovación de fecha 22 de julio 2025. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and pre-

ferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal) shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. THEREFORE, the FIRST public sale shall be held on the 14th day of February of 2023, at: 8:30 am. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $259,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND public auction shall be held on the 21st day of February of 2023, at: 8:30 am, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $172,666.67, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD public auction will be held on the 28th day of February of 2023, at: 8:30 am, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $129,500.00, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the third public sale, the property may be awarded to the creditor for the entire amount of its debt if it is equal to or less than the amount of the minimum bid of the third public sale, crediting this amount to the amount owed if it is greater. The undersigned Special Master shall not accept in payment of the property to be sold anything but United States currency (cash), or certified checks, except in case the property is sold and adjudicated to the plaintiff, in which case the amount of the bid made by said plaintiff shall be credited and deducted from its credit; said plaintiff being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied. WHEREAS: Said sale to be made by the undersigned Special Master subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confirmation. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued cancelling all junior liens. For further particulars, reference is made to the judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk of the United States District Court,

District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 29th day of November of 2022. By: Pedro A. Vélez Baerga, Special Master 787-672-8269.

LEGAL NOTICE

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, D/B/A CHRISTIANA TRUST, AS INDENTURE TRUSTEE, FOR THE CSMC 2015-PR1 TRUST, MORTGAGE-BACKED NOTES, SERIES 2015-PR1 Plaintiff, V. EDUARDO LUIS FERREIRA MARTIR; JANNETTE LAY PACHECO, CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP FERREIRA-LAY Defendants

Civil Action Num.: 18-CV-2005. (ADC). Matter: FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE. NOTICE OF SALE.

To: EDUARDO LUIS FERREIRA MARTIR; JANNETTE LAY PACHECO, CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP

FERREIRA-LAY: AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

WHEREAS: On February 10, 2022, Default Judgment was entered and grated the same day in favor of Plaintiff to recover from defendants the principal amount of $155,948.62, plus accrued interests at an annual rate of 5.50%, since February 1st, 2017, to the present, plus a stipulated fee equivalent to 10% of the original principal loan amount, that is $14,000.00 for fees, costs, and attorney’s fees and a late charge fee equivalent to 5% of each and any monthly installment not received by the note holder within 15 days after the installment was due. Such late charges continue to accrue until the debt is paid in full. Defendants also owe Plaintiff all advances made under the mortgage note including but not limited to insurance premiums, taxes and inspections. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150 Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

WHEREAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, and the Writ of Execution thereof, the undersigned Special

Master was ordered to sell at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check without appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the Court, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property described in Spanish:

URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento número 5102 ubicado en el segundo piso del Edificio 51-52 en su Sección número cincuenta y uno en su lado Izquierdo, cual edificio está localizado en el lado Suroeste del inmueble sometido al Régimen de Propiedad Horizontal conocido por Condominio Plaza Antillana, ubicado en el Barrio Hato Rey del municipio de San Juan, Puerto Rico, cuya entrada y salida da hacía a la Avenida César González, la cual radica en el lado Oeste del inmueble, está construido de hormigón reforzado y bloques de hormigón con un área de piso de mil doscientos treinta pies, cuadrados con cuatrocientos cuarenta milésimas de otro (1,230.440 p.c.), equivalentes a ciento catorce metros cuadrados con trescientos setenta milésimas de otro (114.370 m.c.). Su entrada está localizada en el lado izquierdo del piso número dos orientada hacia el Noroeste del edificio y da acceso directamente al vestíbulo de dicho piso que a su vez da acceso a las áreas comunes generales de la propiedad y a los estacionamientos para llegar a la vía pública. El apartamento consta de un solo nivel y está dividido en los siguientes elementos: Una sala-comedor, una cocina, áreas de lavandería, tres cuartos dormitorios con sus closets unidos por un pasillo central, dos baños, uno con acceso al pasillo central y el segundo ubicado dentro del área del cuarto dormitorio principal; la sala-comedor, a su vez da acceso al balcón. Contiene un calentador de agua y gabinetes de cocina. Su forma es triangular aproximadamente. En lindes por el NORTE, en once pies seis pulgadas (11’6”) con el exterior del edificio; por el SUR, en dos alineaciones que suman treinta y cinco pies ocho pulgadas (35’8”), con un área exterior que constituye un elemento común limitado; por el SUROESTE, en once pies seis pulgadas con exterior del edificio; por el ESTE, en treinta y cinco pies seis pulgadas (35’6”), con el apartamento cinco mil dos (5002); y por el NOROESTE, en dos alineaciones

de treinta y dos pies una pulgada (32’1”), con el apartamento cinco mil doscientos dos (5202) y de quince pies (15’) con el pasillo de entrada del edificio que es un elemento común limitado del piso que suman cuarenta y siete pies una pulgadas (47’1”). El estacionamiento es anejo al apartamento y se identifica con el mismo número del apartamento y tiene capacidad para dos vehículos. Le corresponde a este apartamento en los elementos communes generales el punto treinta y dos trescientos veintitrés por ciento (0.32323%). Le corresponde a este apartamento en los gastos de operación y mantenimiento general del Condominio el punto veintinueve trescientos noventa y uno por ciento (0.29391%) como elementos comunes limitados. The property is recorded at Page 121 of Volume 1362 of Rio Piedras Norte, Property Registry of Puerto Rico, and lot number 37,160, Second Section of San Juan. Property address: Condominio Plaza Antillana, Apto. 5102, San Juan, P.R. 00918. The deed of subsequent modifications are recorded at Page 55 of Volume 1532 of Río Piedras Norte, Property Registry of San Juan, Second Section. WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following liens: Senior Liens: NONE. Junior Liens: NONE. Other Liens: NONE. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal) shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. THEREFORE, the FIRST PUBLIC SALE shall be held on the 14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:30 AM. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $154,872.72. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND PUBLIC AUCTION shall be held on the 21ST DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:30 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $103,248.48, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a

THIRD PUBLIC AUCTION will be held on the 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:30

AM and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $77,436.36, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the third public sale, the property may be awarded to the creditor for the entire amount of its debt if it is equal to or less than the amount of the minimum bid of the third public sale, crediting this amount to the amount owed if it is greater. The undersigned Special Master shall not accept in payment of the property to be sold anything but United States currency (cash), or certified checks, except in case the property is sold and adjudicated to the plaintiff, in which case the amount of the bid made by said plaintiff shall be credited and deducted from its credit; said plaintiff being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied. WHEREAS: Said sale to be made by the undersigned Special Master subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confirmation. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued cancelling all junior liens. For further particulars, reference is made to the judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk of the United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, 22nd day of December of 2022. Pedro A. Vélez Baerga, Special Master, 787-672-8269.

LEGAL NOTICE

Demandados Civil Núm.: AR2021CV01702.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E. U.U., EL ESTADO

LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. Yo, WILLIAM LUGO, Alguacil del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Arecibo, al público HAGO SABER: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que se me libró con fecha 3 de agosto de 2022, por la Secretaria de este Tribunal, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor con dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal o letra bancaria con similar garantía, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada de epígrafe sobre la siguiente propiedad perteneciente a la parte demandada, la cual se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número dos del Bloque “Z” del plano de inscripción del proyecto San Daniel, denominado PRcinco-ciento veinticuatro radicado en el Barrio Hato Abajo de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de doscientos noventa y cuatro metros cuadrados con treinta y seis centésimas de metro cuadrado; en lindes por el NORTE, con la calle número treinta y una distancia de doce metros; por el SUR, con la sucesión de Gabino Román Vélez y una distancia de doce metro con diez centímetro; por el ESTE, con el solar número tres y una distancia de veinticinco metros con treinta y un centímetros; y por el OESTE, con el solar número uno y una distancia de veintitrés metros con setenta y cinco centímetros. Enclava en este solar una estructura de hormigón reforzado y bloques de hormigón de una planta. Finca Número 23,134, inscrita al folio 65 del tomo 1142 de Arecibo. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Arecibo. Dirección física: 2Z 30 ST. Jardines de Arecibo (San Daniel), Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612. La finca 23,134 está gravada con la siguiente hipoteca cuya ejecución se solicita en la subasta objeto de este edicto: Hipoteca en garantía de Pagaré a favor de Sun West Mortgage Corporation Incorporated, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $88,369.00, con intereses al 2.75% anual, vencedero el día 1 de septiembre de 2050, constituida mediante la escritura número 99, otorgada en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico el día 24 de agosto de 2020, ante la notario Olga Y. Cabrera Ramos e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Arecibo, finca número 23,134, inscripción 12ma. La propiedad está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: A. Aviso de Demanda emitido el 16 de diciembre de

2021, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, en el caso civil número AR2021CV01702, sobre cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca, seguido por Sun West Mortgage Company Inc., v. Valerie Castro Pérez y su esposo José Leniel Molina Santiago, por la suma de $87,253.62 más intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 27 de diciembre de 2021 al tomo Karibe de Arecibo, finca número 23,134, Anotación B.

La venta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a Sun West Mortgage Company Inc., total o parcialmente el importe de la Sentencia emitida el 28 de abril de 2022. La venta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a Sun West Mortgage Company Inc., por la hipoteca de $88,369.00, total o parcialmente. El importe de la Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, ascendente a las siguientes cantidades: $98,939.47 de principal, más intereses al 2.75% anual desde el 30 de abril de 2022, así como los intereses acumulados y por acumularse a partir de esa fecha y hasta el total y completo pago de la deuda; cargos por demora equivalentes al % de todos aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento hasta el total y completo repago de la deuda; $8,836.90, es decir, el 10% sobre el principal del pagaré hipotecario para el pago de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, según pactado; 10% de la cuantía original del Pagaré para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente al 10% del principal original del Pagaré para cubir los intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. El precio mínimo de licitación con relación a la antes descrita propiedad y la fecha y hora de cada subasta es como sigue: PRIMERA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 6 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $88,369.00. SEGUNDA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 13 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA.

PRECIO MÍNIMO: $58,912.66. TERCERA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 21 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $44,184.50. Las subastas de dicha propiedad se llevarán a efecto en mi oficina situada en el local que ocupa este Tribunal en el Centro Judicial de Arecibo, advirtiéndose que el que obtuviere la buena pro de dicha propiedad consignará en el acto del remate el importe de su oferta en moneda legal, en adición a los gastos de la subasta, siendo éste el mejor postor. En cualquier momento luego de haberse comenzado el acto de

la subasta, el Alguacil podrá requerir de los licitadores que le evidencien la capacidad de pago de sus posturas. Del producto obtenido en dicha venta, el Alguacil pagará en primer término los gastos del Alguacil, en segundo término las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hasta la suma convenida, en tercer término los intereses devengados hasta la fecha de la subasta, en cuarto término las sumas establecidas en la Sentencia para el pago de recargos por demora, contribuciones, seguros y en quinto término la suma principal adeudada conforme con la sentencia dictada. Disponiéndose que si quedara algún remanente luego de pagarse las sumas mencionadas, el mismo deberá ser depositado en la Secretaría del Tribunal para ser entregado a la parte demandada, previa solicitud y orden del Tribunal. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante el título del inmueble y las cargas o gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistiendo, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se le apercibe a los tenedores de gravámenes posteriores al que se ejecuta que, para proteger cualesquiera derechos que tengan sobre el inmueble, deberán comparecer a la subasta, pues de no hacerlo así y de no igualar el precio de venta del gravamen hipotecario que se ejecuta, el Tribunal ordenará la cancelación de todos los gravámenes posteriores. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse al demandante la finca dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes, si así lo estimare conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta fuere igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta fuese mayor. Art. 221, Ley Hipotecaria y del Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, 30 L.P.R.A. §2721. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento del caso de epígrafe están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de Arecibo, durante horas laborables. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda persona que tenga interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, si alguna, y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general el presente edicto se publicará

en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico una vez por semana por un término de dos (2) semanas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre cada publicación. Se fijará además, en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde ha de celebrarse la subasta, estos lugares serán la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía de dicho Municipio. Se notificará a la parte demandada copia del edicto de subasta mediante correo certificado con acuse de recibo a su dirección que obra en autos. Una vez efectuada la correspondiente venta judicial, otorgaré la escritura del traspaso al licitador victorioso, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la Sentencia. Colocaré al licitador victorioso en posesión física de la Propiedad mediante el lanzamiento de los ocupantes en el término legal de veinte (20) días desde la fecha de la venta en pública subasta y para ello procederé a romper candados de ser necesario. El Registrador de la Propiedad cancelará, libre de derechos, todo gravamen posterior a la fecha en que se otorgó la hipoteca que ha sido ejecutada mediante esta acción, y procederá a la inscripción de la venta a favor del comprador en subasta libre de todo gravamen posterior a la fecha en que se otorgó la hipoteca que ha sido ejecutada mediante esta acción. Expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo. En Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a 8 de noviembre de 2023. WILLIAM LUGO #720, ALGUACIL SUPERIOR.

***

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, INC.

Demandante V. VICTOR JUAN APONTE

RIVERA, ROMEDSALLY GONZÁLEZ RAMOS

Demandados Civil Núm.: DCD2012-0256. Sala: 701. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. 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, Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PUBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumpli-

miento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 23 de noviembre de 2022, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número veintiocho del Bloque D, de la Urbanización Toa Alta Heights, localizado en los Barrios Piñas y Mucarabones del término municipal de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, con un área de doscientos cincuenta metros cuadrados, en lindes: por el NORTE, con la Calle número doce de la Urbanización en una distancia de diez metros; por el SUR, con la Calle Principal, en una distancia de diez metros; por el ESTE, con el solar número veintinueve del mismo bloque, en una distancia de veinticinco metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar número veintisiete del mismo bloque en una distancia de veinticinco metros. Sobre dicho solar enclava una casa construida de concreto armado y bloques para fines residenciales. Finca Número 6,266, inscrita al folio 116 del tomo 130 de Toa Alta. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección III de Bayamón. La propiedad ubica en: D-28 12 St. Toa Alta Heights, Toa Alta PR. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 26 de febrero de 2016 y notificada el 26 de abril de 2016, en el presente caso civil, a saber, la suma de $97,607.62 de principal más el 4.875% de interés legal anual desde el 1ro de febrero de 2011 hasta que sea satisfecha esta sentencia, las costas, más la cantidad de $8,429.50 por concepto de honorarios de abogados. 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 15 DE FEBRERO DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $84,295.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 8 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:15

DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $56,196.66, 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 15 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $42,147.50, 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 27 de diciembre de 2022. MARIBEL LANZAR VELÁZ-

QUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #735, 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 COAMO ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. LUIS A. FIGUEROA FLORES Demandado Civil Núm.: CO2022CV00064. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: LUIS A. FIGUEROA FLORES - URB PROVINCIAS DEL RIO 91 CALLE 4 COAMO, PUERTO RICO 00769 / URB PROVINCIAS DEL RIO 1 91 CALLE TALLABOA COAMO, PUERTO RICO 00769.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. José F. Aguilar Vélez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jose. aguilar@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law. com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Coamo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 28 de noviembre de 2022. En Coamo, Puerto Rico, el 28 de noviembre de 2022. ELIZABETH GONZÁLEZ RIVERA, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARIELY LÓPEZ COLÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

MARIA ELIZ RAMIREZ FIGUEROA

Demandante V. HOUSING INVESTMENT CORPORATION, JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO

Y CUALESQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERÉS EN LA OBLIGACIÓN CUYA CANCELACIÓN POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA

Demandados Civil Núm.: CA2022CV04059.

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: HOUSING

INVESTMENT CORPORATION, JUAN Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO.

Por la presente se le notifica que ha sido presentada en este Tribunal una Demanda en su contra en el pleito de epígrafe. En este caso la parte demandante ha radicado una Demanda para que se decrete judicialmente el saldo de un (1) pagaré hipotecario a favor de Housing Investment Corporation, por la suma de $37,300.00. E! pagaré por fue suscrito el día 31 de mayo de 1978, ante el notario Raul J. Villa Selles, garantizado por hipoteca constituida mediante la Escritura número 1152, inscrita al folio 129 del tomo 556 de Carolina Norte, 4ta inscripción, sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Residential Apartment marked one thousand seven hundred one on the seventeenth floor of Marbella del caribe Condominium East Tower, Carolina, Puerto Rico, with an approximate area of six hundred seventy one point ninety six square feet, equivalent to sixty point forty two square meters, bounding on the NORTH, with common corridor of same condominium; on the EAST, with the exterior elements of the building and the empty space over the main entrance of the building; on the SOUTH, with the exterior elements of the building and the empty space over the parling area; and on the WEST, with: apartment one thousand seven hundred two of same condominium. Las dependencias de este apartamento se describen en el documento y

le corresponde el área de estacionamiento trescientos doce. Finca número 27,814, inscrita al folio 127 del tomo 556 de Carolina Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Carolina. La parte demandante alega que dicho pagaré ha sido saldado según más detalladamente consta en la Demanda radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Por tratarse de una obligación hipotecaria y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se le emplaza por este edicto que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de Puerto Rico. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudiciaI.pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, y notifique con copia de ella a la abogada de la parte demandante la Lcda. Zilmarie Delgado Pieras, 33 Calle Resolución, Suite 302, San Juan, PR 00920-2727; Tel. (787) 7826500, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, apercibiéndole que de no hacerlo así dentro del término indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su rebeldía y dictar sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de diciembre de 2022. LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. KEILA GARCÍA SOLÍS, SUBSECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. CELESTE FAMILIA LARA, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO CELESTE M. FAMILIA LARA Y COMO CELESTE MIRIAM FAMILIA LARA

Demandada Civil Núm.: BY2022CV00626. (503). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL. A: CELESTE FAMILIA LARA, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO

CELESTE M. FAMILIA

LARA Y COMO CELESTE MIRIAM FAMILIA LARA; ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, DEPARTAMENTO DE LA VIVIENDA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DE SUBSIDIO DE VIVIENDA Y DESARROLLO COMUNITARIO, PROGRAMA HOME, POR TENER HIPOTECA EN GARANTÍA DE PAGARÉ A SU FAVOR POR LA SUMA DE $32,000.00; LA AUTORIDAD PARA EL FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO, POR TENER HIPOTECA EN GARANTÍA DE PAGARÉ A SU FAVOR POR LA SUMA DE $1,040.00.

Yo, MARIBEL LANZAR VELÁZQUEZ, 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 16 DE FEBRERO DE 2023 A LAS 9:30

DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en el Cuarto Piso, Bayamón, 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 Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 9 de marzo de 2023, a las 9:30 de la mañana y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 16 de marzo de 2023, a las 9:30 de la mañana en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Calle Delicias de la URBANIZACIÓN CONOCIDA

POR VISTA ALEGRE de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número Trece (13) de dicha Calle Delicias, con un área superficial según el documento presentado de DOSCIENTOS

TREINTA PUNTO OCHENTA Y CINCO (230.85) METROS CUADRADOS. Colindando:

por el NORTE, en ocho punto diez (8.10) metros, con finca propiedad de Doctores Meléndez; por el SUR, en ocho punto diez (8.10) metros, con la Calle Delicias; por el ESTE, en treinta punto cincuenta (30.50) metros, con el solar número Quince (15); y por el OESTE, en veintiséis punto cincuenta (26.50) metros, con el solar número Once (11). En dicho solar se construyó la siguiente edificación: Casa de vivienda para una familia de una sola planta de concreto armado compuesta de cuatro dormitorios, baños, sala, comedor, cocina, balcón y marquesina. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 122 vuelto del tomo 1852 de Bayamón Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Primera, finca número 10,401, inscripción octava. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Vista Alegre, Solar 13, Calle Delicias, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $50,899.99 de principal, intereses al 4% anual, desde el día 1ro. de abril de 2020, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $5,967.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $59,676.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $39,784.00 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $29,838.00. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que todo licitador acepta como suficiente la titularidad 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 hipotecada a ser vendida en pública Subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor del Estado

Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Departamento de la Vivienda, Secretaria Auxiliar de Subsidio de Vivienda y Desarrollo Comunitario, Programa Home, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $32,000.00, (no expresa intereses) (no expresa vencimiento), según consta de la Escritura Número 317, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2008, ante el Notario Público Pedro R. Cintrón Rivera, inscrita al folio 122 del tomo 1852 de Bayamón Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Primera, finca número 10,401, inscripción 7ma. Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor de La Autoridad Para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $1,040.00, (no expresa intereses) (no expresa vencimiento), según consta de la Escritura Número 318, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2008, ante el Notario Público Pedro R. Cintrón Rivera, inscrita al folio 122 del tomo 1852 de Bayamón Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Primera, finca número 10,401, inscripción 7ma. Postergado el rango de las hipotecas por las sumas principales de $32,000.00 y $1,040.00 que motivaron las inscripciones 7ma., en beneficio de la hipoteca por la suma principal de $59,676.00 que motivó la inscripción 8va., según consta de la Escritura Número 150, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de mayo de 2013, ante la Notario Público Anne M. Galanes Vidal, inscrita al folio 122 vuelto del tomo 1938 de Bayamón Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Primera, finca número 10,401, inscripción 9na. 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 Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 29 de diciembre de 2022. MARIBEL LANZAR VELÁZQUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #735, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

Demandante Vs. JESÚS FERNÁNDEZ

UMPIERRE

Demandado Civil Núm.: LP2022CV00123. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. Sala: 208. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: JESÚS FERNÁNDEZ

UMPIERRE - PO BOX 1447 LAS PIEDRAS, PUERTO RICO 007711447 / URB LIRIOS CALA 126 CALLE SAN MATEO JUNCOS, PUERTO RICO 00777-8612.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. José F. Aguilar Vélez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jose.aguilar@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy día a 2 de diciembre de 2022. En Humacao, Puerto Rico, el 6 de diciembre de 2022. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL AUXILIAR. DALISSA REYES DE LEÓN, SECRE-

TARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

LIME HOMES LTD. Plaintiff V. JOSE ORLANDO AYALA PEREZ A/K/A JOSE O. AYALA PEREZ, ANA MARIA GARCIA ARROYO A/K/A ANA M. GARCIA ARROYO AND THEIR CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Defendants

Civil Núm.: 19-CV-1696. (ADC). Re: FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE IN REM. NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: JOSE ORLANDO AYALA PEREZ A/K/A JOSE O. AYALA PEREZ, ANA MARIA GARCIA ARROYO A/K/A ANA M. GARCIA ARROYO AND THEIR CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ANY OTHER PARTY WITH INTEREST OVER THE PROPERTY MENTIONED BELOW, GENERAL PUBLIC.

WHEREAS: Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff to recover from defendants the sum of $264,649.23 in principal, interest rate of 5.625% per annum since September 1, 2015. Such interest will continue to accrue until the debt is paid in full. An additional deferred balance of $71,205.89 does not accrue interest at this time. In addition, the defendants owes the Plaintiff the late charges amounting to 5.000% of each and any monthly installment not received by the note holder within 15 days after the installment was due. The Defendants also owe the Plaintiff all of the advances made pursuant to the provisions and/or dispositions of the Mortgage Note and the Mortgage Deed. The Defendants also owe an amount equivalent to 10% of the original principal balance, or $34,505.58 as liquidated amount to cover costs, expenses and attorney’s fees. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150, Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, and the Writ of Execution thereof, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check without

appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property (as described in the Property Registrar in the Spanish language): URBANA: Solar número 95 de la Urbanización Ciudad Jardín I (La Providencia) localizada en el Barrio Piña del municipio de Toa Alta con una cabida superficial de 547.37 metros cuadrados, en lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 20.09 metros y un arco de longitud de 6.11 metros con la Calle Número 7; por el SUR, en una distancia de 19.83 metros con el lote número 110; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 21.22 metros con la Calle B y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 25.00 metros con el lote número 96. Contiene una casa de concreto diseñada para una sola familia. The mortgage is recorded at page number page number 226 of volume number 342 of Toa Alta, in the Property Registry of Bayamón, Section III. On March 1, 2018, the note and Deed of Mortgage were modified pursuant to Deed of Modification of Mortgage number 40 executed before Notary Ernesto M. Rovira Gandara to increase the principal balance to $345,055.80 and modify the annual interest rate. The Deed of Modification is recorded at page number page number 176 of volume number 518 of Toa Alta, in the Property Registry of Bayamón, Section III, eleven inscription. WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following liens: Senior Liens: None. Junior Liens: Federal Attachment vs. Ana Garcia, social security #xxx-xx-1126 for the amount of $39,952.47 notification #322679918, filed and recorded on October 2, 2018 entry 2018-007699-FED under Karibe information system for Judgments and Attachments. Other Liens: None. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal) shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. THEREFORE, the FIRST PUBLIC SALE shall be held on the 14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:50 AM. The mi-

nimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $345,055.80. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND PUBLIC AUCTION shall be held on the 21ST DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:50 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $230,037.20, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD PUBLIC AUCTION will be held on the 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:50 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $172,527.90, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the third public sale, the property may be awarded to the creditor for the entire amount of its debt if it is equal to or less than the amount of the minimum bid of the third public sale, crediting this amount to the amount owed if it is greater. The Special Master shall not accept in payment of the property to be sold anything but United States currency or certified checks, except in case the property is sold and adjudicated to the plaintiff, in which case the amount of the bid made by said plaintiff shall be credited and deducted from its credit; said plaintiff being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied. WHEREAS: Said sale to be made by the Special Master subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confirmation. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued cancelling all junior liens. For further particulars, reference is made to the judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk of the United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 28th day of December of 2022. Pedro A. Vélez-Baerga, Special Master, specialmasterpr@gmail.com, 787-672-8269.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

COLÓN PÉREZ

Demandado Civil Núm.: BY2022CV05198. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (R. 60). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL PUEBLO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: REBECA MILAGROS COLON PEREZ.

Por la presente se le notifica que la parte demandante ha presentado ante este Tribunal Demanda contra usted(es), solicitando la concesión del siguiente remedio: Demanda de COBRO DE DINERO, por concepto de cuotas de mantenimientos vencidas y no pagadas por la suma de $1,430.00 al 30 de septiembre de 2022. Representa a la parte demandante el abogado cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono se consigna de inmediato:

LCDO. MELVYN E. FONTAN LOZADA Colegiado Núm. 15768, RUA: 14519 PO Box 124, Bayamón, PR 00960-0124 Tel. 787-340-6604 Fax 787-261-9168 e-mail: melfonloza@live.com, melvynfontan@gmail.com

Se le apercibe que si no compareciera usted a contestar dicha demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de haber sido diligenciado este Emplazamiento, Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deje de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 4 de enero de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA

SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARILYN COLÓN CARRASQUILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

URBANIZACIÓN

DE BUENA VISTA, INC. Demandante V. REBECA MILAGROS

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE HARRY TORRES ROCHE, COMPUESTA POR SUS HIJOS: MAITE SUZETTE

ASOCIACIÓN DE PROPIETARIOS DE LA

VILLAS

TORRES IRIZARRY T/C/C

MAITE SUZETTE SANTOS TORRES; HARRY GABRIEL TORRES IRIZARRY; y ALEJANDRO JOSÉ TORRES

IRIZARRY; DEBRAH SUZETTE IRIZARRY RIVERA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.); ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: HU2022CV00484.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. 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, Centro Judicial de Humacao, Humacao, 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 13 de diciembre de 2022, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: PROPIEDAD A: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento Residencial número 212, modelo tipo A, localizado en el segundo piso del edificio Condominio Palmanova Plaza, situado en Palmas Inn Road, Palmas del mar, en el Barrio Candelero Abajo del Municipio de Humacao, Puerto Rico. Es un apartamento rectangular con una cabida superficial de 847.32 pies cuadrados, aproximadamente, equivalentes a 78.716 metros cuadrados.

Son sus linderos y distancias las siguientes: por el NORTE, en 67 pies 6 ¼ pulgadas, equivalentes a 20.58 metros lineales, con el apartamento Residencial número 213; por el SUR, en 67 pies 7 ½ pulgadas, equivalentes a 20.61, con el apartamento Residencial número 211; por el ESTE, en 12 pies 6 ½ pulgadas, equivalentes a 3.82 metros lineales, con elementos exteriores del edificio; y por el OESTE, en 12 pies 6 ½ pulgadas, equivalentes a 3.83 metros lineales, con el paso porticado, elemento común. Este apartamento consta de una terraza ubicada en su costado Este, un recibidor exterior que colinda con el paso porticado, sala-cuarto dormitorio, cocina, un baño, recibidor interior, cuartito de desahogo, closet para la unidad de aire acondicionado y closet para maquina lavadora y secadora. Su entrada principal se encuentra en su lado Oeste por la cual se sale al recibidor exterior que

colinda con paso porticado, elemento común, que provee acceso a los elevadores y escaleras y de ahí al exterior del edificio. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación en los elementos comunes generales del Condominio, equivalente a 5.68%. Inscrita número 21,664, al folio 285 del tomo 475 de Humacao. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Humacao. Propiedad ubica según pagaré: Palmanova Plaza Palmas del Mar, Apto. 212 Mod tipo A 2do Piso Edif Cond Palmanova Plaza Palmas Inn, Road Palmas del Mar Bo. Candelero Abajo. La finca antes relacionada se encuentra afectada por unos gravámenes posteriores al que se pretende ejecutar, el cual se describe de la siguiente manera: a. Embargo Federal contra Harry Torres Roche, seguro social xxx-xx-9698, dirección Altos de la Fuentes, F-26 Calle 9, Caguas, Puerto Rico 00725, por la suma de $16,735.02, notificación número 339694518, Certificación de fecha 18 de diciembre de 2018, presentado y anotado el día 30 de enero de 2019, al Asiento 2019-000627FED del Sistema Karibe. b. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 12 de abril de 2022, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, en el caso civil número HU2022CV00484, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Sucesión de Harry Torres Roche compuesta por sus hijos Maite Suzette Torres Irizarry también conocida como Maite Suzette Santos Torres, Harry Gabriel Torres Irizarry y Alejandro José Torres Irizarry; Debrah Suzette Irizarry Rivera; Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (C.R.I.M.); Estados Unidos de América, por la suma de $184,995.99 más otras sumas, anotado el día 13 de octubre de 2022, al tomo Karibe de Humacao, finca número 21,664, anotación A. c. Anotación de Sentencia mediante Mandamiento de fecha 20 de mayo de 2022, por la Juez Enid Cristina Rivera García, expedida en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, Puerto Rico, sobre Cobro de Dinero, en el Caso Civil número HU2020CV01206, seguido por Palmas del Mar Homeowners Association, Inc., contra Debrah S. Irizarry Rivera y la Sucesión de Harry Torres Roche Compuesta de Fulano Torres y Sutano Torres, por la suma de $2,132.78, anotado el 13 de octubre de 2022 al tomo Karibe de Humacao, finca número 21,664, inscripción B. PROPIEDAD B: ESTACIONAMIENTO: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento de Estacionamiento número P1-65, en forma rectangular localizado

en el nivel primero del estacionamiento soterrado denominado P-1 del edificio Condominio Palmanova Plaza, situada en Palmas Inn Road, Palmas del Mar en el Barrio Candelero Abajo del Municipio de Humacao, Puerto Rico, mide 7.99 pies de ancho, equivalente 2.43 metros lineales por 15 pies de largo, equivalente a 4.57 metros lineales, que hacen un área superficial de 119.85 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 11.134 metros cuadrados. Sus linderos y distancias son los siguientes: Por el NORTE, en 7.99 pies con la vía de circulación del piso; por el SUR, en 7.99 pies con el apartamento de Estacionamiento P1-76; por el ESTE, en 15 pies, con el apartamiento de Estacionamiento P1-64; por el OESTE, en 15 pies con el apartamiento de Estacionamiento número P1-66. La entrada a este apartamiento está situada en su lindero Norte y por ella se sale a la vía de circulación del piso, por la cual se sale al exterior. A este apartamiento le corresponde una participación en los elementos comunes generales del Condominio equivalente a.0803%. Inscrita en la finca número número 21,665, al folio 290 del tomo 476 de Humacao. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Humacao. La finca antes relacionada se encuentra afectada por un gravamen posterior al que se pretende ejecutar, el cual se describe de la siguiente manera: Aviso de Demanda de fecha 12 de abril de 2022, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, en el caso civil número HU2022CV00484, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Sucesión de Harry Torres Roche compuesta por sus hijos Maite Suzette Torres Irizarry también conocida como Maite Suzette Santos Torres, Harry Gabriel Torres Irizarry y Alejandro José Torres Irizarry; Debrah Suzette Irizarry Rivera; Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (C.R.I.M.); Estados Unidos de América, por la suma de $184,995.99 más otras sumas, anotado el día 13 de octubre de 2022 al tomo Karibe de Humacao, finca número 21,665, anotación A. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada el 25 de octubre de 2022 y notificada en este caso el 26 de octubre de 2022, y publicada en un periódico de circulación general de Puerto Rico (“The San Juan Daily Star”) el 1 de noviembre de 2022, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $184,995.99 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 7.00%

desde el 1ro de octubre de 2019; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $18,644.14 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente (“Sentencia”). 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 28 DE FEBRERO DE 2023 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Humacao, Humacao, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $186,441.41. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 7 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Humacao, Humacao, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $124,294.27, 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 14 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Humacao, Humacao, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $93,220.70, 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 Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy día 22 de diciembre de 2022. JOSÉ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO. WILNELIA RIVERA DELGADO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #249.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS

LUZ SONES CRUZ E IDALIA RODRIGUEZ ROSARIO

Demandante Vs GREAT ATLANTIC MORTGAGE CORPORATION, JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO Y CUALESQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERES EN LA OBLIGACION CUYA CANCELACION POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA

Demandado Núm. de Caso: CG2022CV03398. Sala: 701. CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: GREAT ATLANTIC MORTGAGE CORPORATION, JUAN

DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES Y CUALESQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERESEN LA OBLIGACION CUYA CANCELACION POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA.

Se notifica a usted que el 3 de enero de 2023 este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia o SentenciaParcial en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 9 de enero de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 9 de enero de 2023.

LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL INTERINA. ENEIDA ARROYO VÉLEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

NOTICE

SOTO; YAMILETTE SOTO COLÓN T/C/C YAMILETTE SOTO; JESSICA SOTO TORRES T/C/C JESSICA SOTO; JOSÉ SAID SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSÉ S. SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSE SOTO; JOSÉ ANGEL SOTO MARTÍNEZ, T/C/C JOSÉ A. SOTO MARTÍNEZ T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO MARTÍNEZ T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO MIEMBROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES

MUNICIPALES Y A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SA2018CV00005.

Sala: 202. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ SOTO DÍAZ T/C/C JOSÉ DÍAZ SOTO; COMPUESTA POR XAVIER SOTO TORRES T/C/C XAVIER SOTO T/C/C KAVIER SOTO TORRES T/C/C KAVIER SOTO; JOSÉ NOÉ SOTO TORRES T/C/C JOSÉ N. SOTO TORRES T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO TORRES T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO; JOSÉ ULISES SOTO COLON T/C/C JOSÉ U. SOTO COLÓN T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO COLÓN T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO; YAMILETTE SOTO COLÓN T/C/C YAMILETTE SOTO; JESSICA SOTO TORRES T/C/C JESSICA SOTO; JOSÉ SAID SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSÉ S. SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO VICENS T/C/C JOSE SOTO; JOSÉ ANGEL SOTO MARTÍNEZ, T/C/C JOSÉ A. SOTO MARTÍNEZ T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO MARTÍNEZ T/C/C JOSÉ SOTO; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO MIEMBROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES MUNICIPALES Y A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. Yo, RICHARD TORRES, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA

#067, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Salinas, a los demandados, acreedores y al público en general con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, por la presente CERTIFICO, ANUNCIO y HAGO CONSTAR: Que el día 1 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Salinas, Salinas, Puerto Rico, procederé a vender en Pública Subasta, al mejor postor, la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria mediante Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, la cual se notificó y archivó en autos el día 1 de julio de 2021. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 8 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 15 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que ha sido liberado por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Guayama, en el caso de epígrafe con fecha de 15 de febrero de 2022, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad ubicado en: 227 Manati St. Montesoria 2 Sector Aguirre PR 00704, y que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número doscientos veinte y siete en el Plano de Parcelación de la comunidad rural Montesoria del Barrio Aguirre del término municipal de Salinas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de seiscientos noventa y cuatro punto cero cinco metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con la Parcela número doscientos veinte y ocho de la comunidad; por el SUR, con la Parcela número doscientos veinte y seis de la comunidad; por el ESTE, con las Parcelas número doscientos cincuenta y dos y doscientos cincuenta y tres de la comunidad; por el OESTE, con la Calle número once de la comunidad.” Finca número 7,409, inscrita al folio 183 del tomo 192 de Salinas, Registro de la Propiedad de

Puerto Rico, Sección de Guayama. La subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer, hasta donde alcance, el importe de las cantidades adeudadas a la parte demandante conforme a la sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: $108,178.02, incluyendo intereses y otros gastos acumulados hasta el 17 de agosto de 2018, y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón del 3.463% por ciento anual, hasta su completo pago; más la cantidad de $28,200.00, equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original pactada, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; más recargos acumulados hasta la fecha en que se pague la deuda; más cualquiera suma de dinero por concepto de contribuciones, primas de seguro hipotecario y riesgo, así como cualesquiera otras sumas pactadas en la escritura de hipoteca, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 109, otorgada el día 19 de marzo de 2015, San Juan, Puerto Rico, ante el Notario Público Alejandro Mues Arias y consta inscrita tomo Karibe de Salinas, finca número7,409, Registro de la Propiedad de Salinas, Sección de Guayama. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Entiéndase: Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $282,000.00, con intereses al 3.463% anual, vencedero el día 10 de octubre de 2095 constituida mediante la escritura número 110, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 19 de marzo de 2015, ante el notario Alejandro Mues Arias, e inscrita tomo Karibe de Salina finca 7,409 inscripción 6th. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta del inmueble antes descrito será la suma de $282,000.00 según se establece en la escritura de hi-

poteca antes relacionada. En caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en su primera subasta se ordena la celebración de una segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, en la cual, la cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $188,000.00; desierta también la segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, se ordena la celebración de una tercera subasta en la cual, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, es decir la suma de $141,000.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación, entiéndase efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Una vez efectuada la venta de dicha propiedad, el Alguacil procederá a otorgar la escritura de traspaso al licitador victorioso en subasta, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la sentencia dictada en este caso. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si el producto de la venta fuere insuficiente para satisfacer la cantidad reclamada, se procederá a la ejecución de la sentencia en contra de la parte demandada por el remanente de las sumas no satisfechas, mediante embargo y venta en ejecución de cualesquiera otros bienes propiedad de la parte demandada en cantidad suficiente para dejar cubierta y totalmente satisfecha a la parte demandante cualquier deficiencia o parte insoluta de la sentencia dictada a su favor según dispuesto en la sentencia dictada en este caso. Se dispone, conforme con la sentencia dictada en este caso que, una vez efectuada la subasta y vendido el bien inmueble, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del mismo dentro del término de veinte (20) días por el Alguacil de este Honorable Tribunal y los actuales poseedores lanzados del referido inmueble. De ser ello

necesario, el Alguacil podrá diligenciar el Acta de Subasta que se expida en horas laborales, de día, los 5 días de la semana y podrá romper cualquier cerradura o candado que dé acceso al inmueble objeto de este desalojo. Y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general, se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley, mediante edicto, en un periódico de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, una vez por semana, por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía, y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto de Subasta para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Salinas, Puerto Rico, a 6 de diciembre de 2022. RICHARD TORRES, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #067, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SALINAS.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING, LLC

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE ROBERTO MENDOZA HORTA COMPUESTA POR ERIC RAFAEL MENDOZA, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE MARICARMEN MENDOZA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRE DESCONOCIDO; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS

MUNICIPALES; Y LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV05192. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (REVERSE MORTGAGE) IN REM. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: SUCESIÓN DE ROBERTO MENDOZA HORTA COMPUESTA POR ERIC RAFAEL MENDOZA,

JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE MARICARMEN MENDOZA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRE DESCONOCIDO; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES; Y LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA.

Yo, EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, a los demandados, acreedores y al público en general con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, por la presente CERTIFICO, ANUNCIO y HAGO CONSTAR: Que el día 1 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, procederé a vender en Pública Subasta, al mejor postor, la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria mediante Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, la cual se notificó y archivó en autos el día 28 de octubre de 2022. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el 8 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 15 DE FEBRERO DE 2023, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que ha sido liberado por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, en el caso de epígrafe con fecha de 2 de diciembre de 2022, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número treinta y dos del Bloque R del Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización El Señorial, situada en el Barrio Cupey de Rio Piedras, Municipio de San Juan, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de quinientos veinticuatro metros cuadrados

con ochenta y un centímetros cuadrados: en lindes por el NORTE, en trece metros con la Calle Pio Baroja; por el SUR, en trece metros con terrenos propiedad de Atanacio Valcárcel; por el ESTE, en cuarenta metros cuarenta y siete centímetros con el solar número treinta y uno; y por el OESTE, en cuarenta metros veintisiete centímetros, con el solar número treinta y tres. En este solar enclava una casa residencial para una familia. Finca número 4,134, inscrita al folio 41 del tomo 114 de Rio Piedras Sur. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección IV de San Juan. Dirección de la Propiedad: 325 (32-R) Pio Baroja St. El Señorial Dev San Juan PR 00926. La subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer, hasta donde alcance, el importe de las cantidades adeudadas a la parte demandante conforme a la sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: de $295,243.49 de principal, más los intereses al 5.810% anual hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y los cuales continuarán en aumento hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más la cantidad estipulada de $36,750.00 equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original pactada, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; más recargos acumulados hasta la fecha en que se pague la deuda; más cualquiera suma de dinero por concepto de contribuciones, primas de seguro hipotecario y riesgo, así como cualesquiera otras sumas pactadas en la escritura de hipoteca, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 96 otorgada el día 26 de mayo de 2010, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, ante el Notario Público Fernando E. Doval Santiago y consta inscrita al folio 109 vuelto del tomo 817 de Rio Piedras Sur, finca número 4,134, Registro de la Propiedad de Rio Piedras Sur, Sección IV de San Juan. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito,

de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Entiéndase: Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $367,500.00, con intereses al 5.810% anual, vencedero el día 27 de abril de 2081, constituida mediante la escritura número 97, otorgada en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, el día 26 de mayo de 2010, ante el notario Fernando E. Doval Santiago, e inscrita al folio 110 del tomo 817 de Río Piedras Sur, finca número 4,134, inscripción 8va. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta del inmueble antes descrito será la suma de $367,500.00 según se establece en la escritura de hipoteca antes relacionada. En caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en su primera subasta se ordena la celebración de una segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, en la cual, la cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $245,000.00; desierta también la segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, se ordena la celebración de una tercera subasta en la cual, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, es decir la suma de $183,500.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación, entiéndase efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Una vez efectuada la venta de dicha propiedad, el Alguacil procederá a otorgar la escritura de traspaso al licitador victorioso en subasta, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la sentencia dictada en este caso. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si el producto de la venta fuere insuficiente para satisfacer la cantidad reclamada, se procederá a la eje-

cución de la sentencia en contra de la parte demandada por el remanente de las sumas no satisfechas, mediante embargo y venta en ejecución de cualesquiera otros bienes propiedad de la parte demandada en cantidad suficiente para dejar cubierta y totalmente satisfecha a la parte demandante cualquier deficiencia o parte insoluta de la sentencia dictada a su favor según dispuesto en la sentencia dictada en este caso. Se dispone, conforme con la sentencia dictada en este caso que, una vez efectuada la subasta y vendido el bien inmueble, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del mismo dentro del término de veinte (20) días por el Alguacil de este Honorable Tribunal y los actuales poseedores lanzados del referido inmueble. Y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general, se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley, mediante edicto, en un periódico de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, una vez por semana, por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía, y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto de Subasta para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 29 de diciembre de 2022. EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE

POR FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS COMO MIEMBRO DESCONOCIDO DE LA SUCESIÓN; SUCESIÓN MARTA IRIS MARRERO MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA I. MARRERO MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA IRIS MARRERO A/K/A MARTA I. MARRERO A/K/A MARTA MARRERO MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA MARRERO COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS COMO MIEMBRO DESCONOCIDO DE LA SUCESIÓN; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. Demandados Civil Núm.: MZ2020CV00700. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. AL: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL. A: SUCESIÓN JOSÉ ANTONIO SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ A. SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ ANTONIO SANTOS A/K/A JOSÉ A. SANTOS A/K/A JOSÉ SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ

SANTOS COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS COMO MIEMBRO DESCONOCIDO DE LA SUCESIÓN; SUCESIÓN

MARTA IRIS MARRERO MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA I. MARRERO

MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA IRIS MARRERO A/K/A MARTA I. MARRERO A/K/A MARTA MARRERO

MARTÍNEZ A/K/A MARTA

MARRERO COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS COMO MIEMBRO DESCONOCIDO DE LA SUCESIÓN; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS

ACQUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1 Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN JOSÉ ANTONIO SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ A. SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ ANTONIO SANTOS A/K/A JOSÉ A. SANTOS A/K/A JOSÉ SANTOS PÉREZ A/K/A JOSÉ SANTOS COMPUESTA

tes indicada se llevará a cabo en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables. El inmueble antes relacionado NO consta de afectos de gravámenes preferenciales. El inmueble antes relacionado consta afecto al siguiente gravamen posterior: a. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 15 de octubre de 2018, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en el Caso Civil número BY2018CV00974, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Oriental Bank versus Sucesión de Fernando Peña García y Benigna Maldonado Maldonado; Jane & John Doe, Departamento de Hacienda y Centro de Recaudaciones Municipales, por la suma de $73,735.06, más intereses y otras sumas adicionales o en su defecto la venta en Pública Subasta, anotado el día 16 de enero de 2020, al tomo Karibe de Bayamón Sur, finca número 21,880, Anotación “A”. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación y que las cargas preferentes, si alguna, continuarán subsistentes; entiéndase que el rematante los acepta y quedan subrogados en la responsabilidad del mismo sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Para la publicación de este edicto en un periódico de circulación general una vez por semana, durante dos semanas consecutivas, y para la colocación del mismo en tres sitios públicos visibles del municipio en que se celebre la subasta, libro el presente en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 10 de enero del 2023. EDMARY DE JESÚS MARTÍNEZ, ALGUACIL #066, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE BAYAMÓN.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

Demandante Vs. MARILYN VARGAS

CANINO, FULANO DE TAL

Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES POR AMBOS COMPUESTA

Demandados Caso Núm.: PO2022CV02243. Salón Núm.: 604. Sobre: CO-

BRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO / INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: FULANO DE

TAL

Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON MARILYN VARGAS CANINO - URB.

HILLCREST VILLAGE 4039 PASEO DE LA VEGA, PONCE, PR 007167009 / COND. PASEO DEL PRÍNCIPE 208, PONCE, PR 00716.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@orf-law. com, y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, hoy día 8 de diciembre de 2022. En Ponce, Puerto Rico, el 8 de diciembre de 2022. LUZ MAYRA CARABALLO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. GISELLE GUTIÉRREZ LEÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

LEGACY MORTGAGE ASSET TRUST

2019-PR1

Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE PEDRO JUAN GREEN ORTIZ COMPUESTA POR

DORALIZ GREEN ORTIZ; PETER JOHN GREEN ORTIZ; MICHELLE GREEN ORTIZ; EDWARD GREEN ORTIZ Y FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; DORA LUZ ORTIZ FRANCO POR SÍ Y COMO CÓNYUGE SUPÉRSTITE; CRIM

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: HU2021CV00608. Salón Núm.: (207). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: SUCESIÓN DE PEDRO

JUAN GREEN ORTIZ COMPUESTA POR DORALIZ GREEN ORTIZ; PETER JOHN GREEN ORTIZ; MICHELLE GREEN ORTIZ; EDWARD GREEN ORTIZ Y FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; DORA LUZ ORTIZ FRANCO POR SÍ Y COMO CÓNYUGE SUPÉRSTITE; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM): ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO: DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA: Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América. Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número GSeis (G-6) de la Urbanización Casa Bella, localizada en la Carretera PR guion novecientos setenta y tres (Puerto de mil veintitrés punto seiscientos sesenta y ocho metros cuadrados (1,023.688 m.c.). En lindes por el NORESTE, en una distancia de nueve punto doscientos catorce (9.214) metros Rico-973)

Kilómetro cero punto sesenta (Km. 0.60) del Barrio Marina Ward en Naguabo, Puerto Rico, con un área con la calle número uno (#1) de la Urbanización; por el NOROESTE, en una distancia de veintisiete punto noventa y cuatro (27.94) metros con el Lote número G guion cinco (G-5); por el SURESTE, en una distancia de cuarenta y un punto ochocientos treinta (41.30) metros con la calle número uno (#1) de la Urbanización; y por el SUROESTE en una distancia de cincuenta punto ochocientos veintiún (50.821) metros con los lotes número G guion uno (G-1), G guion dos (G-2) y G guion Tres (G-3). Enclava una estructura de hormigón, que consta de sala, comedor, cocina, lavandería, cuatro dormitorios y dos baños. Consta inscrita al tomo Karibe de Naguabo, finca número #14,067, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Humacao. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Urbanización Casa Bella, Calle 1 G-6, Naguabo, Puerto Rico 00718.

Según figura en el Estudio de título, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada al siguiente Gravamen posterior a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO: A cuyo favor aparece inscrito un Embargo por la suma de $15,077.11, por concepto de contribuciones sobre ingresos, contra Pedro Green Ortiz, Dora Ortiz Franco, cuenta número xxx-xx-9842 y xxx-xx-7678, embargo número HUM-17-9842, según Certificación de fecha 25 de abril de 2017, anotado el día 28 de abril de 2017, al Asiento 2017-003278-EST, del Sistema Karibe. Se le notifica a los acreedores posteriores anteriormente identificados 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. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $204,343.28, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #665, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 20 de junio de 2008, ante el notario Luis A. Archilla Díaz, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Naguabo, finca número 14,067,

inscripción 2ª. Debidamente modificada según consta de la escritura número 395, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 19 de abril de 2013, ante la notario Magda V. Alsina Figueroa, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Naguabo, finca número 14,067, inscripción 3ª. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 1 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $204,343.28. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 8 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $136,228.85. Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 15 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $102,171.64. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: Suma Principal de $185,432.15, más los intereses que se acumulen desde el 1ro de octubre de 2018, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, la suma principal de $4,769.20 como balance diferido y la cual no genera intereses, con una tasa de interés razón del 6.00% anual, más los cargos por demora que corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que esté en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más adelantos para el pago, entre otros, de seguros y contribuciones, entre otros; más una suma equivalente a $20,434.32, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables. Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un

periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, 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. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Expedido en Humacao, Puerto Rico, a 28 de diciembre de 2022. JOSÉ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ HERNÁNDEZ, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO. WILNELIA RIVERA DELGADO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #249.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAJA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. OMAR ALONSO MARRERO GONZALEZ SU ESPOSA NOELYS COLON PEREZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a) Civil: VB2022CV00590. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: OMAR ALONSO MARRERO GONZALEZ

SU ESPOSA NOELYS COLON PEREZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS - 144 VISTAS DE LA VEGA, VEGA ALTA PR 00692 HC 6 BOX 12448.

COROZAL PR 00783. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 9 de enero de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente

registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 9 de enero de 2023. En Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, el 9 de enero de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARITZA ROSARIO ROSARIO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE PONCE LUNA RESIDENTIAL II, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. CARLOS MARTIN BARCELO PADILLA, PERSIDA PADILLA GONZALEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA

POR AMBOS

Parte Demandada Caso Civil Núm.: PO2022CV02504. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

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

A: CARLOS MARTIN BARCELÓ PADILLA Y PERSIDA PADILLA GONZÁLEZ LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/ sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo

caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, Lcda. Marjaliisa Colon Villanueva, al PO BOX 7970, Ponce, P.R. 00732-7970; Teléfono: 787843-41668. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca bajo el número mencionado en el epígrafe. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que la parte Demandada incurrió en el incumplimiento del Contrato de Hipoteca, al no poder pagar las mensualidades vencidas correspondientes a los meses de febrero de 2020, hasta el presente, más los cargos por demora correspondientes. Además, adeuda a la parte demandante las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en que incurra el tenedor del pagaré en este litigio. De acuerdo con dicho Contrato de Garantía Hipotecaria la parte Demandante declaró vencida la totalidad de la deuda ascendente a la suma de $28,535.89, más intereses a razón del 11.00% anual desde enero de 2020, así como todos aquellos créditos y sumas que surjan de la faz de la obligación hipotecaria y de la hipoteca que la garantiza, incluyendo $4,913.47, pactado para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La parte Demandante presentó para su inscripción en el Registro de la Propiedad correspondiente, un AVISO DE PLEITO PENDIENTE (“Lis Pendens”) sobre la propiedad objeto de esta acción cuya propiedad es la siguiente: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número LL-3 de la comunidad Punta Diamante, localizada en el Barrio Canas del Municipio de Ponce. Tiene una cabida de trescientos veintidós punto cinco mil novecientos (322.5900) metros cuadrados. Linda: Norte, con Calle Rial de la comunidad; Sur, con calle Siclo de la comunidad; Este, con Parcela número LL-4 de la comunidad; Oeste, con Parcela número LL-2 de la comunidad. La propiedad consta inscrita en el Folio treinta y seis (36) del Tomo mil once (1011) de Ponce, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección ll. Finca veintitrés mil cincuenta y tres (23,053).

SE LES APERCIBE que, de no hacer sus alegaciones responsiva a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal en Ponce, Puerto Rico. A día 06 de diciembre de 2022. LUZ MAYRA CARABALLO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA. EREINA AGRONT LEÓN, SUBSECRETARIA.

Carlos Correa comes to terms with Twins, leaving the Mets behind

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN

On Dec. 21, the New York Mets were declared by many as the winners of the offseason after they agreed to terms with Carlos Correa, one of the top infielders in baseball, on a 12-year, $315 million contract. The Mets, who won 101 games in 2022, were adding an all-around superstar in what they hoped was the final piece in team owner Steven Cohen’s championship puzzle.

The Mets deal, which came after Correa’s 13-year, $350 million deal with the San Francisco Giants the week before unraveled, was “pending a physical examination,” contract language that is often glossed over like the “terms and conditions” on a website.

Twenty days later, however, Correa, 28, a shortstop, walked away from that deal as well. On Tuesday, he reached an agreement with the Minnesota Twins, whom he played for last season, on a six-year, $200 million contract. A person familiar with the details of the negotiations confirmed Correa’s deal with the Twins on condition of anonymity.

The Twins deal is also pending a physical. So until it is completed, everyone will have to stay tuned.

Hadn’t Correa already signed with the Mets? What about the Giants?

Correa’s deal with the Giants would have been the second-largest of this offseason, according to Spotrac. The one he agreed to with the Mets would have been the third-largest. But both were held up after the teams conducted physical examinations. Rather than rework those deals, Correa accepted a contract with Minnesota that guarantees him far less money overall but pays him considerably more annually.

With this deal, Correa would trail only Francisco Lindor of the Mets among shortstops in average salary, but his contract is smaller in total value than the ones agreed to this offseason by Trea Turner (11 years, $300 million with Philadelphia) and Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million with San Diego).

How is his new contract different?

In his new agreement with the Twins, Correa would be paid an average of $33,333,333 per season over six years and could increase his earnings up to $245 million over seven years by reaching certain benchmarks, according to the person familiar with the negotiations. There are vesting options built into the deal to protect the team and potentially benefit the player, including ones tied to where he places in regular season and postseason awards.

First, the Twins have to complete the deal, which, considering Correa’s offseason thus far, is not guaranteed.

Are protections like these unusual?

Not particularly. In the past, Boras clients like Iván Rodríguez, J.D. Drew and Magglio Ordóñez agreed to contracts that contained language to protect the teams after medical issues arose while still paying the players competitive salaries.

What have the Mets said?

In an unusual move, Cohen addressed the signing before it was completed — a decision he undoubtedly regrets.

“We needed one more thing, and this is it,” Cohen told Jon Heyman of The New York Post on the day the deal came together. “This was important. This puts us over the top.”

Heyman later reported that the Mets sold $1 million in tickets on the day the Correa news was reported.

Since then, the Mets have not discussed the deal. And after all the excitement Dec. 21, the team is back where it started in terms of its lineup.

What have the Giants said?

The Giants had scheduled a news conference for Dec. 20 to introduce Correa to reporters. But it was canceled that day, leading to speculation that something in his physical examination worried them.

Overnight, the Mets news was reported, and Scott Boras, Correa’s

agent, brushed off any suggestion that there were issues with Correa’s health, telling The New York Times that “medical opinions are just what they are — opinions.”

The Giants made an unusual move by issuing a statement about a deal that fell apart.

“While we are prohibited from disclosing confidential medical information, as Scott Boras stated publicly, there was a difference of opinion over the results of Carlos’s physical examination,” said the statement, which was attributed to Farhan Zaidi, the team’s president for baseball operations. “We wish Carlos the best.”

Zaidi later addressed the issue further in a conference call with beat reporters, taking issue with the idea that the team had blindsided Correa and Boras with their concerns.

What had Correa’s agent said before the Twins deal came together?

Never shy, Boras was happy to talk to reporters once he found a landing spot for Correa after the problems with the Giants.

“He was readying himself for a new place in his life, and then the delays occurred, and you have to go through another transition,” Boras told the Times of Correa’s decision to move on from the Giants. “But he’s very happy to join the Mets.”

Boras described his phone call with Cohen in detail and dismissed any concerns that the Mets would have any issues with Correa’s medical information. After that, he made no public comments about the Mets deal.

What have the Twins said? Absolutely nothing.

OK, is Correa injured?

The short answer is no. The long answer is long.

Nearly all of the speculation and anonymously sourced reporting has focused on the state of Correa’s lower right leg. In 2014, two years after Houston selected him as the No. 1 pick in

Carlos Correa agreed to terms on a $315 million contract with the Mets on Dec. 21. He is still technically a free agent even though he has agreed to new terms with Minnesota.

the draft, Correa was thriving for Class A Lancaster when an awkward slide into third base resulted in his spike catching in the dirt. Correa, who was 19 at the time, was carried off the field.

What was initially diagnosed as an ankle injury ended up being a fractured fibula, with what was described as minor ligament damage. He had seasonending surgery five days after the injury occurred, and Jeff Luhnow, the general manager of the Astros at the time, said the team expected Correa to “return to exactly the point he was at when he got injured.”

That certainly appeared to be what happened. In 2015, Correa began the season with Class AA Corpus Christi and was promoted to Class AAA Fresno after 29 games. He thrived there as well and was called up to the Astros after only 24 games at the minors’ highest level. In Houston, he hit .279 with 22 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 99 games and narrowly edged his close friend Lindor, who played for Cleveland at the time, as the American League rookie of the year.

While Correa missed significant time with injuries in 2017, 2018 and 2019, none of those absences were related to

his right leg. And he has been fairly durable since, playing in 342 of his team’s 384 regular-season games since the start of the 2020 season. If there are other concerns with his physical examination beyond the previous leg surgery, they have not been reported.

So the leg has not been an issue at all?

Mostly. The old injury and the way it was repaired resurfaced briefly last season when Correa was playing for the Twins. On Sept. 20, he tried to steal second and came up limping after being tagged out. After the game, he was not concerned that he had seriously hurt himself.

“He just hit my plate,” Correa told reporters. “I had surgery, and he hit it. Just kind of felt numb. Vibrating. So I was just waiting for it to calm down. It was a little scary, but when I moved, I knew it was good.”

Sure enough, he was back in the lineup the next day and did not miss any time as a result of the slide.

What’s the big deal, then?

Extraordinarily long contracts like the ones Correa had agreed to with the Giants and the Mets carry a large amount of risk. Going into one with a known issue

that could limit a player’s mobility as he ages would increase that risk. That is particularly true of a player like Correa, who derives a lot of his value from his defense and athleticism.

Contract language and insurance adjustments can be included to account for the heightened risk, but Boras had Correa walk away from the Giants when they wanted to alter terms and then moved away from the Mets as well.

Correa will instead go back to Minnesota on a shorter deal that includes more language to account for potential health issues — that is, he will if the deal is completed.

Is there a deadline for a deal to be completed?

Nope!

Will the Mets be OK without him?

For all the money Cohen has spent this offseason — the Mets’ payroll and luxury taxes had been expected to approach $500 million in 2023 — the team’s offense was not upgraded other than Correa. That being said, third baseman Eduardo Escobar, who hit 20 home runs in his first year with the Mets, is still under contract, as is second baseman Jeff McNeil, the NL’s batting champion last season. And Lindor, despite not being as

strong a fielder as Correa, was expected to remain at shortstop all along.

So not signing Correa is a blow to the Mets, but it does not really leave them with a hole in their lineup.

Is he worth all this fuss?

In the short-term, yes. Correa has never hit 30 homers or driven in 100 runs. He’s never stolen 20 bases or won an MVP award. But he has proved to be remarkably valuable when healthy, thanks to his consistently solid batting average, his ability to draw walks, his solid baserunning and his defense.

In the three seasons in which he has played at least 130 games, he has compiled 7.0, 7.2 and 5.4 wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s formula, which is on the cusp of MVPlevel play. As a result of his all-around play, Baseball Reference rates him as the most valuable shortstop in baseball since 2015 despite his having played far fewer games than Lindor and Bogaerts, who are second and third on that list.

There is no question of talent, or leadership, with the risk for the Twins being wrapped up entirely in whether Correa’s body can hold up for the life of a contract. In the end, that risk was too much for the Giants and the Mets.

Women’s soccer bans ex-coaches and fines teams after misconduct report

By JESÚS JIMÉNEZ

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) earlier this week permanently banned four former coaches, suspended other league officials and fined several teams, following a report last month that de -

tailed alleged abuse and misconduct across the league.

Paul Riley, a former North Carolina Courage coach; Rory Dames, a former Chicago Red Stars coach; Richie Burke, a former Washington Spirit coach; and Christy Holly, a former Racing Louisville FC coach, were

permanently banned from the league for alleged misconduct ranging from inappropriate comments to, in the case of Holly, groping a player.

The Red Stars were fined $1.5 million, and Portland Thorns FC were fined $1 million for failure to properly act on allegations of misconduct.

Craig Harrington, a former Utah Royals FC coach, and Alyse LaHue, a former general manager of Gotham FC, each received two-year suspensions from the league. Harrington was found to have “made inappropriate sexual and objectifying comments,” and LaHue was found to have sent players inappropriate messages, the NWSL report said.

The league said in a statement Monday that the sweeping disciplinary actions were based on a 128-page report released in December. The report, a joint effort organized by the NWSL and its players’ union, revealed a number of disturbing problems throughout the league, including instances of sexual abuse, unwanted sexual advances, emotional abuse, racist remarks and retaliation against players who complained about how they were treated.

“Players from marginalized backgrounds, or with the least job security, were

often targets of misconduct,” the report said. “At the same time, these players faced the greatest barriers to speaking out about or obtaining redress for what they experienced.”

Jessica Berman, the league’s commissioner, said in a statement that the “corrective action” announced Monday was “appropriate and necessary.”

“The league will continue to prioritize implementing and enhancing the policies, programs and systems that put the health and safety of our players first,” Berman said. “These changes will require leadership, accountability, funding and a willingness to embrace this new way of conducting business.”

The National Women’s Soccer League announced it had permanently banned four coaches on Monday.

Sudoku

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Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29 Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Is something about your job, lifestyle or financial situation a tad repetitive? If so Aries, it might be time to reflect on what you do want. Perhaps there are new skills you could benefit from or you may be aiming to play a bigger role in your job or community. In the end though, it’s about what makes you truly happy. Give this some thought, as the answers can be deeply revealing.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Today’s Moon/Mercury tie can be a call to connect with your friends, especially if you’ve neglected them in your keenness to forge new links. With so much excitement going on lately, your mind may have been on all the opportunities that seem to dance before your eyes. A call or offer of a coffee or meal lets them know you care, and allows you to enjoy their company.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

Experiencing a setback or stumbling block? If so, the Moon in a private zone could help you backtrack and find the source. Chatting with someone who understands your issue might pave the way for a solution, and assure you that you’re not alone. Mind, Mars’s change of direction tomorrow in your sign, can coincide with a decision to get more exercise. Time to get moving!

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

The Moon’s awkward aspect with Venus, can find you making light of feelings which could be serious. Perhaps you don’t want to admit to them for fear of making a fool of yourself. But you can’t deny that your thoughts may have been more compelling than usual, and dealing with them might seem like a messy business. A friendly chat can reassure you that you’re not alone.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Your ambition to turn a corner with a goal, career or business, can find you planning your next big step. You’ll have a chance to liaise with those who know what they’re talking about, and this could prepare you to make some important decisions. What do you want to accomplish six months to a year from now? If you know what this is, you may begin your journey to making it a reality.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

It’s time to get clear about your biggest and brightest dreams, rather than muddle along hoping for the best. Recently, you may have been presented with a smorgasbord of exciting choices. But current influences encourage you to take one opportunity further by preparing for it. This might mean knowing what skills you’ll need, and then beginning the process of acquiring them, Virgo.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

You may seem calm on the surface, but deep down you might be more anxious, making you hesitant to rush into anything too quickly. This could be because certain matters need closure, and tending to these first is crucial if you’re to make your next move. If you can clear the decks of whatever bothers you, you will see opportunities for progress just about everywhere you look.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

A heart-to-heart talk could turn into a therapy session, in which some surprising truths come to light. You might be shocked by what is revealed, and yet aware that deep down you knew all along. Will this change your relationship with someone? It can alter dramatically, and yet this may be for the better. While illusions could be shattered, you will now be more authentic.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

Planning some lifestyle changes? How about talking to your partner and the rest of the family with a view to getting their support. Ideas might entail cooking healthier meals, exercising daily or making more time to unwind. Handle any objections, and be willing to compromise on a few points, and you might find that your fitness and happiness increase easily and naturally.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

There may be more than one way to reach a goal, so don’t feel you have to stick to a definite plan. By being willing to experiment, you’ll discover ways to achieve your outcome faster. Even so, it’s not about getting there quickly, but more about what you learn along the way, as something you discover could turn out to be worth its weight in gold, as you’ll soon find out.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

Need to have a talk, Aquarius? The Virgo Moon’s positive tie with Mercury, suggests getting clear on the household budget could help you cut back and save for something worthwhile. Equally, a conversation about something for the home might clear up any confusion so you can zero in on the best buy. Feel you’ve missed an opportunity? It will come round again.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

You may be in demand, with a stream of people eager for your attention or advice. You have a knack of dealing with those who are feeling under the weather or who need a morale-boosting session to enhance their confidence. But a key influence could find you suffering from a temporary bout of analysis paralysis yourself, unless you stop overthinking and start doing.