Tuesday Jun 25, 2020

Thursday, June 25, 2020

San Juan The

50¢

DAILY

How Joel Schumacher Briefly Saved Batman

Star

P20

Biden Takes Commanding Lead Over Trump in 2020 Race

P7

40 Major Drug Companies Treasury Employees Sued by 2 PR Towns Demand COVID-19 Protocol, Over Opioids Damages Bonus Owed for Years P4

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 19

P5

GOOD MORNING

3

June 25, 2020

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.

Puerto Rico project to gauge mosquito control method’s potential for disease prevention

Today’s

Weather

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Day

Night

High

Low

90ºF

79ºF

Precip 20%

Precip 40%

Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy

Wind: Humidity: UV Index: Sunrise: Sunset:

P

From E 18 mph 66% 10 of 10 5:50 AM Local Time 7:04 PM Local Time

INDEX Local 3 Mainland 7 Business 11 International 13 Viewpoint 17 Noticias en Español 19 Entertainment 20 22 Movies

Health Science Legals Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons

23 24 25 26 29 30 31

uerto Rico will be a pioneer in implementing the vector-control technique of releasing male mosquitoes carrying the Wolbachia bacteria with the launch of a project in late July in Ponce.

The study, part of a series of studies by the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit of the Science, Technology and Research Trust of Puerto Rico, aims to prevent the reproduction of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a carrier of diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya.

“In the project in Puerto Rico we are looking for various things and specifically in this project we want to evaluate the effectiveness of this technique to reduce mosquito-borne diseases,” said Dr. Marianyoly Ortiz, associate director of the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit. “Although it has been evaluated in countries and states of the United States, studies have focused on determining whether or not this technique decreases the population of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and [that] has been successfully demonstrated. However, the studies have not focused on demonstrating whether the fact that the number of mosquitoes is reduced causes a reduction in diseases.”

“That is what is expected and we have always worked under that premise,” Ortiz added in a workshop for the media conducted through the Zoom platform. “This study has the goal of demonstrating with this particular technique that we are monitoring the number of diseases. Puerto Rico would be a pioneer in demonstrating this. Furthermore, we are evaluating whether the technique is effective for use in Puerto Rico, which has very different environmental and cultural characteristics from the places where the technique has already been evaluated.”

As detailed, the project will be implemented in 12 areas of the municipality of Ponce, which includes more than 120 communities. The mosquito will be released in some areas to enable comparisons with the areas where it was not released. The mosquitoes will be released from buses or trucks three times a week for a total of 1.5 million mosquitoes weekly.

The project will last six months in this initial phase scheduled to start at the end of July.

Ortiz noted that Wolbachia is a bacterium that occurs naturally in six out of 10 of the world’s insects, but it is not found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Scientists transferred it from a fly to the Aedes albopictus mosquito and found that releasing male mosquitoes with Wolbachia reduces the amount of Aedes aegypti.

The researcher said this is achieved by raising large numbers of mosquitoes with insects carrying

the bacteria. Then the males are separated from the females and released into the environment. The males mate with other females and because they are not compatible, the female mosquitoes do not reproduce, which causes a reduction of mosquitoes in the environment. Analysis carried out in states such as Florida, California and Texas indicate that the technique has no effect on other organisms or species in danger of extinction.

“This method is preventive, which means that it is not for stopping an outbreak once it has started,” Ortiz said. “It is [designed] to start reducing the mosquito population before we have an outbreak. Only male mosquitoes, which do not bite, are released.”

She said the technique has experimental permission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be evaluated in Puerto Rico by authorized personnel in specific limited areas. There are also permits from the island departments of Agriculture and Health. Only authorized and trained people can execute the study.

“We have to know that in these first months we are not necessarily going to see a reduction,” Ortiz said. “In Puerto Rico we are starting with a fairly high mosquito population. We hope it will take several months for us to see these effects. In this first phase what we want is to evaluate how many mosquitoes we are going to have to release because we are going to have to compete with those in the environment.

[And] [w]e are going to see the logistics of what are the best hours [for release].”

The mosquito is produced by the Verily company, which has a relationship with the Mosquito Mate company, the first to transfer the bacteria from the Aedes albopictus mosquito to the Aedes aegypti.

Verily is a subsidiary of Alphabet Co.

4

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Treasury employees demand federal relief incentive, bonus owed for years and a COVID-19 protocol meeting

By THE STAR STAFF

E

mployees of the island Treasury Department asked Gov. Wanda Vázquez on Wednesday to be included in the bonuses granted to employees who have worked during the coronavirus pandemic emergency, and demanded that Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés pay the productivity bonus they have been owed since 2012 and that he discuss with the union the protocols for avoiding the spread of the coronavirus in the agency.

“We are asking the governor, since she is distributing money to everyone, to give the employees of the Treasury, who since day one of the declared pandemic have been working so that people receive their federal incentives, the same bonus that they have been awarding to other workers who have worked during this emergency,” said Jessica Otero, president of

the Financial Employees Union, Local 2373 of the Union Auto Workers (UAW). “How is it possible that the employees who are day by day reaching out and disbursing all this aid have not been taken into consideration for this bonus?”

The union leader noted that Treasury employees have continued to work during the pandemic on the filing of income tax returns, the disbursement of reimbursements and the disbursement of federal and state incentives that have been approved under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Likewise, Otero said, the employees of the Tax Collection Bureau are owed the payment of the productivity bonus approved since 2012.

“The salary discrimination with these employees of the Treasury reaches such a level that a productivity bonus that has been approved

and budgeted since 2012 for the employees of the Collection Bureau is still owed to them,” she pointed out. “They don’t give them the incentives for COVID-19, but they also don’t give them the ones they already have approved.

The auditors, who are an essential part of this agency because they are the ones who look for the debts of taxpayers to the Department, also have been forgotten; for years they have not been given any increase. We also do not know the status of the reclassification and remuneration plan, which has already been delivered but is now in the hands of the Financial Oversight and Management Board.”

Meanwhile, UAW International Representative Desiré López emphasized that Parés, the Treasury secretary, has not yet discussed with the union the protocols established by the agency to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“As everyone knows, governor Wanda

Vázquez herself urged the secretaries of agencies to discuss with the unions that represent the workers the protocols that have been created to avoid infection with COVID-19 among employees and taxpayers,” López said. “To date the secretary has not met with us for such purposes. What we are asking for is that he meet as soon as possible with us in order to establish those protocols that will ensure the health and safety of both employees and citizens who visit the agency to receive services.”

Environmental groups denounce PREPA privatization

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

O

rganizations collectively calling themselves Queremos Sol on Wednesday repudiated the privatization announcement by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), saying the transaction lacks transparency and public participation, which only benefits private interests.

The contract, “agreed to in dark rooms behind the backs of the people, was only made public on Tuesday, a day after the transaction was announced,” the group said in a press release.

“The transaction, which commits another $1.5 billion from the people, adds to the long stretch of irregular and misguided transactions that have torn apart the image and capacity of that public corporation and that delay the agenda toward efficiency and distributed renewable energy, [the source of which is] located mainly in the skies,” added Ingrid Vila Biaggi, president of the environmental group CAMBIO. “The contract is flawed and does not protect the interests of the people.”

The organizations urged citizens to express their rejection of the transaction, as well as to orient themselves on the democratic and sustainable alternative offered by Queremos Sol. “We have shared the proposal with communities and other organizations,” said Adriana González, a coordinator with the Sierra Club. “It is important that each citizen knows that Puerto Rico has more cost-effective options for all of us. We must demand that the government desist from privatization and take our proposal seriously.”

The agreement was described by attorney Pedro Saadé as “yet another in the trajectory of bad government transactions that harm the country and enrich private interests with the potential to increase the cost of energy to consumers.”

Myrna Conty, coordinator of the Anti-Incineration Coalition, added that if this were a good transaction for the people, they would not have had to hide it from public scrutiny as the senior management of PREPA did.

“On Monday, government officials were proud to have shared thousands of pages of documents with the proponents, when the people, to whom they owe [their loyalty], has not been presented with a single piece of information that validates that the transaction will benefit consumers,” Conty said.

The group pointed out that, far from having a comprehensive and long-term energy vision, the proposal to privatize PREPA was used as a subterfuge by the government of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in the face of his disastrous handling of the emergency and quickly restoring the electrical system after hurricanes Irma and Maria.

“Here the managers of PREPA and the government have decided to abdicate their duty to administer public assets in the face of their own incapacity in the efficient and effective management of that [public] corporation,” said Dr. Agustín Irizarry, a professor in the Department of Electrical Energy at University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez and one of the island’s top authorities on energy issues.

“Essential services, such as electrical service, cannot be at the mercy of the market or subject to profit motives. This increases the vulnerability of our people, particularly in the most needy communities.”

Meanwhile, Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers

Union President Ángel Figueroa Jaramillo said the process left out PREPA employees, whose staff has been reduced in recent years as a strategy to favor corporate interests and justify the sale of the utility’s profits.

“Now, the workers are exposed to the risk of losing their jobs at the discretion of the contracting company,” Figueroa Jaramillo said. “Likewise, the contract opens the door for the bankruptcy of the Employees Retirement System. A serious transformation process would have integrated the workers, who know first-hand the needs and opportunities for providing Puerto Rico with a reliable, cost-effective and sustainable electricity system.”

PREPA Management Employees Association President Abraham García Román rejected statements made yesterday by government officials indicating that PREPA employees are pleased with the transaction.

“This disastrous agreement betrays the people of Puerto Rico, as well as the trust and loyalty of PREPA employees, who, despite all the difficulties due to lack of maintenance, materials and equipment, kept working and managed to restore the electrical system to the last client after the passage of Hurricane Maria, and the earthquake, and who maintain it today despite the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Federico Cintrón, director of El Puente, stated that “this transaction represents another delay in the system’s transformation agenda toward efficiency and distributed renewable energy, since the centralized model is being perpetuated.”

He warned that the contracted company specializes in centralized generation and in large-scale transmission infrastructure, not in distributed generation, which he said is the most appropriate model for Puerto Rico.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

5

FEMA assigns $9.5 million to DTOP for signage

By THE STAR STAFF

T

he Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Wednesday an obligation of over $9.5 million to the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP by its Spanish acronym).

The funds will be used to replace signs on 238 roads covering approximately 496 miles in the Aguadilla, Arecibo and San Juan regions.

Some 890,000 residents comprising much of the northern and western regions of the island will benefit from the funds, which will help provide drivers with necessary road signage.

“With the obligation of these funds, we will continue to work aggressively on the installation of the more than 18,000 road signs damaged by Hurricane Maria,” said DTOP Secretary Carlos Contreras Aponte. “As we promised, through various programs, including ‘Abriendo Caminos,’ we have returned to the island a first-rate state road system that we should be proud of. We thank FEMA for this $9.5 million obligation, which brings the total assigned for these

projects to $28 million.”

The funds will pay for signs and road markers in 93, 122 and 23 sections of road in the regions of Aguadilla, Arecibo and San Juan, respectively.

Repairs include removing and replacing aluminum road signs, steel posts and their concrete foundations as well as replacing aluminum plates with reflective sheeting signs.

Arecibo Mayor Carlos Molina Rodríguez said he was pleased with the funding assignment.

“Our roads have many needs, so we appreciate this allocation of funds, which is very helpful in improving conditions in the municipalities,” he said.

FEMA works with Puerto Rico’s Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience, through the federal agency’s Public Assistance program, to obligate recovery funds to private nonprofit organizations, municipalities and agencies of the commonwealth government for expenses related to hurricanes Irma and Maria. To date, nearly $6.9 billion has been awarded to Puerto Rico as part of FEMA’s Public Assistance program.

Two island towns sue drug firms over damages caused by opioids

By THE STAR STAFF

T

he municipalities of Adjuntas and Cidra separately sued some 40 major drug companies and firms in the supply chain in the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico late Tuesday over damages to their towns caused by prescription opioids.

The suits, which were separate but are identical in their contents, were filed against dozens of pharmaceutical companies headed

by Purdue Pharma, which is trying to settle a torrent of opioid-related lawsuits. Included as defendants are Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., among others.

The municipalities brought as a cause of action violations to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in which they said the firms engaged in an opioid enterprise as they “had a systematic link to each other through joint participation in lobbying groups, trade industry organizations, contractual relationships and continuing

coordination of activities.”

The towns are asserting two categories of claims against the pharmaceutical manufacturers of prescription opioid drugs. The first is for engaging in a massive false marketing campaign to drastically expand the market for such drugs and their own market share, and the second is against entities in the supply chain that reaped enormous financial rewards by failing to monitor and restrict the improper distribution of those opioid drugs.

“This case arises from the worst manmade epidemic in modern medical history — the misuse, abuse, and over-prescription of opioids. America’s largest drug companies saturated the country with 76 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pain pills from 2006 through 2012 as the nation’s deadliest drug epidemic spun out of control,” the lawsuits state. “The recently released DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] pain pill database reveals what the companies knew about the number of pills they were shipping and dispensing and precisely when

they were aware of those volumes, year by year, town by town. In case after case, the companies allowed the drugs to reach the streets of communities large and small, despite persistent red flags that those pills were being sold in apparent violation of federal law and diverted to the black market.”

The municipalities are seeking a judgment requiring all pharmaceutical companies to pay restitution, damages, including multipliers of damages, disgorgement, civil penalties, attorney’s fees, costs, and expenses, injunctive relief, and any other relief to which they may be entitled.

The municipalities contend that the conduct of the drug companies has exacted a financial burden for which they seek relief. That burden includes the costs of providing medical care, additional therapeutic, and prescription drug purchases, and other treatments for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease, including overdoses and deaths. They also want reimbursement for the costs of pro-

viding treatment as well as counseling and rehabilitation services, and for providing treatment of infants born with opioid-related medical conditions.

6

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

AAFAF advances corrective action plan for developmental disabilities council after feds pull plug on syndication

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

F

iscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF by its Spanish acronym) Executive Director Omar Marrero Díaz announced on Wednesday that the syndication process of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (CEDD) has ended.

“Unfortunately, mismanagement and non-compliance for approximately eight years caused the federal government to issue a Cease and Desist order related to the allocation of funds to the CEDD, so that this entity is currently not offering services to the population with disabilities,” Marrero Díaz said in a written statement.

“However, in line with the public policy of Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced and through the mechanism of the syndicate, the AAFAF team managed to get the federal government to approve a Corrective Action Plan that would respond to the serious indications of the federal government.”

“In addition, the reconciliation and accountability work of the CEDD program component was launched,” he added. “It is essential to establish that, thanks to the negotiations and agreements, it was also possible to

use part of the administrative fund within the federal budget for the process of preparing and implementing the corrective action plan.”

Marrero Díaz said that since 2015, the CEDD has received cuts of $5.4 million in its allocations due to noncompliance with federal regulations. Furthermore, at the time of the AAFAF intervention in May 2019, the CEDD was at risk of losing an additional $1.6 million due to lack of proper documentation. However, with the syndication process, the AAFAF obtained the approval of these and other reimbursements, amounting to $3.4 million.

The AAFAF executive director noted that another of the achievements that formed part of the Corrective Action Plan was the fiscal closure of the projects subsidized with the aforementioned federal funds aimed at the developmentally disabled population in Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, Marrero Díaz announced that the Office of the Ombudsman for People with Disabilities (DPI by its Spanish initials) remains under the syndication process after the federal government has alleged noncompliance with federal regulations and mismanagement of the funds it administers.

“The AAFAF also developed a Corrective Action Plan for the DPI in accordance with federal requirements in order

to correct the reported deficiencies and so that this vulnerable community continues to benefit from the functions and programs offered by the agency,” Marrero Díaz said.

“In order for our corrective plan to bear fruit and ensure an effective and optimal operation, we need to guarantee by law the federal and state separation of the efforts corresponding to the program in order to avoid duplication of funds and inconsistencies in the operation of the DPI, and thus be able to safeguard the minimum guarantees that this type of agency requires to operate.”

He noted that Rep. Néstor Alonso filed House Bill 2301 to create the Office of the Ombudsman for Persons with Disabilities and to create and designate the Protection and Defense Division of Puerto Rico. The legislation aims to promote the healthy development of the public entity and make new services available.

The bill repeals the current legislation and tries to give more force to the commonwealth entity that watches over the rights of people with disabilities and guarantees the requirements of the federal government regarding programmatic and fiscal compliance. In addition, it addresses the corrective actions developed and implemented by the AAFAF to avoid cease and desist determinations related to federal funds.

Vitamins giant GNC files for bankruptcy

By THE STAR STAFF

G

NC Puerto Rico Holdings Inc. and GNC Puerto Rico LLC, which have vitamin stores in Puerto Rico, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The filing is part of a bankruptcy process that began Tuesday for the entire GNC franchise in the mainland United States and in other countries. The company listed between $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities. It also listed more than 100,000 creditors.

GNC Holdings Inc. said it plans to close at least 800 to

1,200 stores.

The Pittsburgh-based chain, which had approximately 5,200 retail locations in the U.S. and 7,300 locations globally as of March 31, said the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the need to file for bankruptcy protection after being under “financial pressure for the past several years.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic created a situation where we were unable to accomplish our refinancing and the abrupt change in the operating environment had a dramatic negative impact on our business,” it said on its website.

In a statement, GNC said it has reached an agreement with its key stakeholders “to pursue a dual-path process that will allow the Company to restructure its balance sheet and accelerate its business strategy through Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.”

The Pittsburgh Business Times said GNC had reached a deal with some of its secured lenders for $130 million in financing and it would continue operations through the bankruptcy process and work toward a prearranged reorganization plan by a number of its creditors. GNC also announced it had reached an agreement in principle for the $760 million sale of the company with the agreement of a “significant majority” of secured lenders and

Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co. Ltd., GNC’s largest shareholder.

The company termed the restructuring as dual-track, leading either to a standalone recovery or through a sale process. GNC said it had begun a marketing process for the business and the sale could be implemented instead of emerging from bankruptcy, the publication said.

WE BUY OR RENT IN 24HRS

787-349-1000

SALES • RENTALS • VACATIONS RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (SOME RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY).

FREE CONSULTS REALTOR

Ray A. Ruiz Licensed Real Estate Broker • Lic.19004 rruizrealestate1@gmail.com

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

7

Biden takes dominant lead as voters reject Trump on virus and race

By ALEXANDER BURNS, JONATHAN MARTIN and MATT STEVENS

J

oe Biden has taken a commanding lead over President Donald Trump in the 2020 race, building a wide advantage among women and nonwhite voters and making deep inroads with some traditionally Republican-leaning groups that have shifted away from Trump following his ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new national poll of registered voters

by The New York Times and Siena College.

Biden is currently ahead of Trump by 14 percentage points, garnering 50% of the vote compared with 36% for Trump. That is among the most dismal showings of Trump’s presidency, and a sign that he is the clear underdog right now in his fight for a second term.

Trump has been an unpopular president for virtually his entire time in office. He has made few efforts since his election in 2016 to broaden his support beyond the right-wing base that vaulted him into office with only 46%of the popular vote and a modest victory in the Electoral College.

But among a striking cross-section of voters, the distaste for Trump has deepened as his administration failed to stop a deadly disease that crippled the economy and then as he responded to a wave of racial-justice protests with angry bluster and militaristic threats. The dominant picture that emerges from the poll is of a country ready to reject a president whom a strong majority of voters regard as failing the greatest tests confronting his administration.

Biden leads Trump by enormous margins with black and Hispanic voters, and women and young people appear on track to choose Biden by an even wider margin than they favored Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. But the former vice president has also drawn even with Trump among male voters, whites and people in middle age and older — groups that have typically been the backbones of Republican electoral success, including Trump’s in 2016.

Arlene Myles, 75, of Denver, said she had been a Republican for nearly six decades before switching her registration to independent earlier this year during Trump’s impeachment trial.

Myles said that when Trump was first elected, she had resolved to “give him a chance,” but had since concluded that he and his party were irredeemable.

“I was one of those people who stuck by Nixon until he was waving goodbye,” Myles said. “I thought I was a good Republican and thought they had my values, but they have gone down the tubes these last few years.”

Myles said she planned to vote for Biden, expressing only one misgiving: “I wish he was younger,” she said.

Most stark may be Biden’s towering advantage among white women with college degrees, who support him over Trump by 39 percentage points. In 2016, exit polls found that group preferred Clinton to Trump by just 7 percentage points. The poll also found that Biden has narrowed Trump’s advantage with less-educated white voters.

The exodus of white voters from the GOP has been especially pronounced among younger voters, an ominous trend for a party that was already heavily reliant on older Americans.

Fifty-two percent of whites under 45 said they supported Biden while only 30% said they supported Trump. And their

opposition is intense: More than twice as many younger whites viewed the president very unfavorably than very favorably.

Tom Diamond, 31, a Republican in Fort Worth, Texas, said he planned to vote for Trump but would do so with real misgivings.

He called the president a “poor leader” who had mishandled the pandemic and said Biden seemed “like a guy you can trust.” But Trump held views closer to his own on the economy, health care and abortion.

“Part of you just feels icky voting for him,” Diamond said.

“But definitely from a policy perspective, that’s where my vote’s going to go.”

Some unease toward Trump stems from voters’ racial attitudes. According to the poll, white voters under 45 are overwhelmingly supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement, while older whites are more tepid in their views toward racial justice activism.

And nearly 70% of whites under 45 said they believed the killing of George Floyd was part of a broader pattern of excessive police violence toward African Americans rather than an isolated incident.

What’s striking, though, is that even among white seniors, one of Trump’s strongest constituencies, he has damaged himself with his conduct. About two-fifths of whites over 65 said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of both the coronavirus and race relations.

Trump retains a few points of strength in the poll that could offer him a way to regain a footing in the race, and the feeble condition of his candidacy right now may well represent his low point in a campaign with 4 1/2 months still to go.

His approval rating is still narrowly positive on the issue of the economy, with 50% of voters giving him favorable marks compared with 45% saying the opposite. Should the fall campaign become a referendum on which candidate is better equipped to restore prosperity after the pandemic has subsided, that could give Trump a new opening to press his case.

The president is also still ahead of Biden among white voters without college degrees, who hold disproportionate influence in presidential elections because of how central the Midwest is to capturing 270 electoral votes.

Yet if Trump still has a significant measure of credibility with voters on the economy, he lacks any apparent political strength on the most urgent issues of the moment: the pandemic and the national reckoning on policing and race.

Nearly three-fifths of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling

of the coronavirus pandemic, including majorities of white voters and men. Self-described moderate voters disapproved of Trump on the coronavirus by a margin of more than 2-1.

Most of the country is also rejecting Trump’s call to reopen the economy as quickly as possible, even at the cost of exposing people to greater health risks. By a 21-point margin, voters said the federal government should prioritize containing the coronavirus, even if it hurts the economy, a view that aligns them with Biden.

Trump’s job approval on race relations was just as dismal.

Sixty-one percent of voters said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of race, versus 33% who said they approved. By a similar margin, voters said they disapproved of his response to the protests after the death of Floyd.

Trump has sought several times in the last month to use demonstrations against the police as a political wedge issue, forcing Democrats to align themselves squarely either with law-enforcement agencies or with the most strident anti-police demonstrators.

The poll suggested most voters were rejecting that binary choice, as well as Trump’s harsh characterization of protesters: Large majorities said they had a positive overall assessment of both the Black Lives Matter movement and the police.

The picture of Biden that emerges from the poll is one of a broadly acceptable candidate who inspires relatively few strong feelings in either direction. He is seen favorably by about half of voters and unfavorably by 42%. Only a quarter said they saw him very favorably, equaling the share that sees him in very negative terms.

Trump, by contrast, is seen very favorably by 27% of voters and very unfavorably by 50%.

8

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Trump family to ask court to stop publication of tell-all by president’s niece

EN NUESTRAS

SALAS DE EMERGENCIA

By MAGGIE HABBERMAN

P

ESTÁS SEGURO

Todas nuestras Salas de Emergencia y Centros de Salud Familiar están preparados para atenderte.

SALA DE EMERGENCIA ADULTO Y PEDIÁTRICA CT SCAN Y RAYOS X

24/7

LABORATORIO

VISITAR TU SALA DE EMERGENCIA O CENTRO DE SALUD FAMILIAR NO DEBE PREOCUPARTE. EN MENONITA HEMOS ESTABLECIDO PROTOCOLOS ESTRICTOS PARA QUE PUEDAS ATENDERTE CON NOSOTROS DE MANERA SEGURA Y CON TRANQUILIDAD.

¡CONFÍA TU SALUD EN MENONITA! Visítanos, con nosotros estás seguro AIBONITO

787-735-8001

CAYEY

787-535-1001

CAGUAS

787-653-0550

GUAYAMA

787-864-4300

HUMACAO

787-852-0505

CENTROS DE SALUD AGUAS BUENAS

787-732-0308

COMERÍO

COAMO

CIDRA

YABUCOA

CULEBRA

787-520-7151 787-803-7017 787-739-6600 787-953-0111 787-742-3511

resident Donald Trump’s family is seeking a temporary restraining order to try to block publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, Mary L. Trump.

Mary Trump is the daughter of the president’s late brother, Fred Trump Jr., and her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster on July 28.

Donald Trump’s younger brother, Robert S. Trump, requested the restraining order Tuesday in a filing in Queens County Surrogate’s Court, where the estate of the president’s father, Fred Trump Sr., was settled.

The filing names Mary Trump and Simon & Schuster, and it seeks to stop publication on the grounds that Mary Trump is violating a nondisclosure agreement related to the settlement of the estate of Fred Trump Sr., the father of Donald and Robert Trump and Mary Trump’s grandfather.

Officials at the Trump Organization declined to comment on the legal efforts to stop the book, which is described by the publisher on its website as a “revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him.”

Mary Trump, the website says, will show the “dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world’s health, economic security and social fabric.”

In the book, Mary Trump, 55, is expected to say she was a chief source for The New York Times’ coverage of the president’s finances, and that she provided the newspaper with confidential tax documents. A spokeswoman for The Times declined to comment.

Robert Trump said in a statement that he was “deeply disappointed” in his niece’s decision.

“Her attempt to sensationalize and mischaracterize our family relationship after all of these years for her own financial gain is both a travesty and injustice to the memory of my late brother, Fred, and our beloved parents,” he said.

“I and the rest of my entire family are so proud of my wonderful brother, the president, and feel that Mary’s actions are truly a disgrace.”

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer for Mary Trump, said in a statement that the president and his family were trying “to suppress a book that will discuss matters of utmost public importance.”

“They are pursuing this unlawful prior restraint because they do not want the public to know the truth,” he said. “The courts will not toler-

ate this brazen violation of the First Amendment.”

Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, said the attempt to prevent the book’s publication would fail.

“As the plaintiff and his attorney well know, the courts take a dim view of prior restraint, and this attempt to block publication will meet the same fate as those that have gone before,” he said.

But the book itself and the attempt to prevent it from appearing are only the latest chapter in family tensions that have divided the Trumps for years.

Mary Trump’s father, Fred Trump Jr., turned his back on his own father’s real-estate business, becoming permanently estranged from him, to work for Trans World Airlines. He suffered from alcoholism and died in 1981 at age 42.

When Fred Trump Sr. died in 1999, he all but cut out Fred Trump Jr.’s two children, Mary and her brother, Fred Trump III, from his will, leaving them only a small cash bequest. Trump and her brother contested the will and sued Donald Trump and his siblings, arguing that they poisoned Fred Trump Sr. against them and coerced him to change how he left his fortune.

It was a nasty court battle, and at one point Donald Trump and his brother and sister cut off the medical benefits to Fred Trump III’s infant child, who was born with severe medical issues requiring expensive and intense care.

In 2001, Mary Trump and her brother settled the lawsuit.The exact terms are not known, but the settlement did include a financial payment to them both. In his court filing Tuesday, Robert Trump wrote that the settlement also included a confidentiality agreement barring Mary Trump from writing the type of book she seems to have written.

Donald Trump was apparently referring to that agreement in an interview last week with Axios after the imminent publication of Mary Trump’s book was first reported.

“She’s not allowed to write a book,” he said, referring to his niece.

“You know, when we settled with her and her brother, who I do have a good relationship with — she’s got a brother, Fred, who I do have a good relationship with — but when we settled,” he said, she “signed a nondisclosure.”

The Trump family appears to be trying to block publication of the book before it is printed and shipped to stores and warehouses. When the Justice Department tried and failed to stop publication of a tell-all account of his time in the White House by the former national security adviser John Bolton, the book had already shipped and was set to go on sale a few days later.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

9

Obama urges Democrats: ‘Whatever you’ve done so far is not enough’

By KATIE GLUECK

F

ormer President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, on Tuesday held their first joint event of the 2020 campaign, where Obama warned Democrats against becoming complacent about the presidential election and offered an unusually direct and detailed rebuke of President Donald Trump.

The split-screen appearance of the presumptive Democratic nominee and his former boss came as Biden has enjoyed a run of strong fundraising, while a spate of recent polls have shown him holding as much as a double-digit lead over Trump.

Biden’s campaign announced Tuesday that the event had raised $7.6 million from 175,000 grassroots contributors.

But Obama instructed the 120,000 people who logged on to watch that they must not take the election for granted.“We can’t be complacent or smug or sense that somehow it’s so obvious that this president hasn’t done a good job, because look, he won once,” Obama said.

“This is serious business,” he added.

“Whatever you’ve done so far is not enough. And I hold myself and Michelle and our kids to that same standard.”

Throughout their joint appearance, which ran a little more than an hour, Obama — who speaks infrequently about Trump — praised Biden’s character and experience, and cast the president as a grave threat to the character and values of the nation.

He said that Trump exploited and amplified divisions, and expressed concerns about the example he was setting on the world stage, citing his “militarized response to peaceful demonstrators” and saying he “basically threatens and consistently impugns the free press.”

Such an approach, he suggested, emboldened dictators around the world who may doubt they will be held to account by the United States.

Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for Trump, said in response that the president “makes every decision based on what’s best for the people of the United States, rather than what will make him popular at the United Nations.”

As Obama and Biden assembled

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former President Barack Obama, seen in a video still from a campaign fundraiser on Tuesday. on screen, campaigning virtually amid the coronavirus crisis, Trump was on the trail in Arizona, a few days after holding a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that drew widespread condemnation from public health officials.

“Unlike our current president, we recognize that we have a public health crisis going on,” Obama said, acknowledging that campaign volunteering may look different during the coronavirus outbreak.

Chuckling incredulously, he invoked the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

“Poor Dr. Fauci, who’s having to, you know, testify and then see his advice flouted by the person he’s working for,” Obama said.

In April, after Biden had effectively wrapped up the Democratic nomination, Obama released a video endorsing his former running mate, urging party unity around Biden’s candidacy and making overtures in particular to the younger, liberal supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

On Tuesday, he spoke directly to younger Americans who are pressing for structural changes to address matters from

racism to economic inequality to global warming.

There is a “great awakening” among young people in particular, he said, who are “fed up with the shambolic, disorganized, mean-spirited approach” to governance in recent years, and want to tackle “some of the core challenges that have been facing this country for centuries.”

But he also stressed the need to connect that ambition to electoral participation. Throughout the primary, Biden struggled to excite young Democratic voters, but he will need to find ways to turn many of them out in the general election.

“Just because this energy is out there, it does not mean that it assures our victory,” he said. “And it does not mean that it gets channeled in a way that results in real change.”

Obama also headlined a smaller virtual gathering Tuesday for big donors that raised another $3.4 million.

Throughout the grassroots event, Biden frequently expressed agreement with his former boss, whom he called “Mr. President,” as they discussed issues including health care access and foreign

policy.

They bantered some about Biden’s age — 77 — and the former vice president invoked the baseball player Satchel Paige. In Biden’s telling, Paige’s philosophy toward age was, “ ‘How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?’ I agree with Satchel Paige, I’m 50,” Biden said.

He also spoke passionately about the need to fight racism and spoke expansively about the evolution of civil rights in America. In the 1960s, he said, white Americans saw shocking images of the police like Alabama’s Bull Connor attacking Black Americans with fire hoses, “and they’re going, ‘Oh my God. It really is happening.’ They saw it in black and white, no pun intended, because that’s what most TVs were at the time.”

In contrast to the 1960s, he said, when it comes to civil rights and civic engagement, “this time around there is a much broader participation.”

That level of engagement gave both Obama and Biden hope, they said.

“Love you, Joe,” Obama signed off.

“Love you, too, pal,” Biden said.

10

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Fauci, citing ‘disturbing surge,’ tells Congress the virus is not under control

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Capitol Hill adjusts his face mask before testifying about the coronavirus pandemic, at a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing in Washington.

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and NOAH WEILAND

D

r. Anthony S. Fauci told Congress on Tuesday that he was seeing a “disturbing surge” of infections in some parts of the country, as Americans ignore social distancing guidelines and states reopen without adequate plans for testing and tracing the contacts of those who get sick.

Fauci’s assessment, delivered during a lengthy hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, painted a much grimmer picture of the coronavirus threat than the one given by President Donald Trump, who claimed last week that the virus that had infected more than 2 million Americans and killed more than 120,000 would just “fade away.”

“The virus is not going to disappear,” said Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who testified that the virus was not yet under control in the United States.

His testimony came as more than half of the country was seeing an uptick in cases, with officials in some states slowing their return-to-work plans or even imposing new restrictions. Fauci and three other leaders of the government’s coronavirus res-

ponse who testified Tuesday cast a cloud over the sunny accounts offered by the president as he has portrayed the United States as a nation bouncing back from the brink.

“I am very cautious and I don’t — still don’t sleep well at night,” said Adm. Brett P. Giroir, the assistant secretary for public health, “because we have a long way to go.”

More than three months after Trump declared an emergency because of the virus, Fauci said the picture was a “mixed bag,” with some bright spots, but also some dark ones and many unknowns. Some states like New York are “doing very well” in controlling the spread of the virus, but the surge in other states is “very troublesome to me,” he said.

“The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges that we are seeing in Florida, in Texas, in Arizona and other states,” Fauci added.

Both he and Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned of a dangerous situation looming this winter, when the regular flu season will intersect with the coronavirus, producing what Fauci described as “two respiratory-borne infections simul-

taneously confounding each other.”

The hearing came as the nation was still facing steep challenges in dealing with the virus. There is not nearly enough testing, and the United States lacks sufficient contact tracers to track down and isolate those who have come into contact with infected people — a critical step in controlling the virus’s spread, the experts agreed. Giroir conceded that even the 500,000 tests the country was conducting daily were insufficient. And Redfield said that the country had 28,000 contract tracers, a fraction of the 100,000 he had previously said it would need.

A coronavirus vaccine will not be ready until at least the end of this year or early 2021, Fauci said, reiterating the timetable he has given in the past. He said he was “cautiously optimistic” about meeting it.

He also pledged to lawmakers that he would not allow any vaccine to go to market until it was proved both safe and effective. And even then, there may be different vaccines for different populations, and some may require booster shots.

In the meantime, the witnesses said it was imperative for the nation to stock up on masks and other supplies.

The wide-ranging hearing, which also featured Dr. Stephen Hahn, the commissioner of food and drugs, lasted more than five hours. It veered from questions about how universities and public schools should handle reopening — each school or district should make its own assessment based on the severity of its outbreak, Fauci testified — to the mysterious cancellation of a $3 million research grant for a group that was studying the coronavirus in bats in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated.

“It was canceled because the NIH was told to cancel it,” Fauci said, referring to the National Institutes of Health, without further elaboration. “I don’t know the reason, but we were told to cancel it.”

In somber tones, all four of the doctors testifying Tuesday made clear that the United States was hardly out of danger.

Despite talk of a so-called second wave of the pandemic, Fauci said the nation was still in the middle of the first wave. Redfield said the crisis had “brought this nation to its knees,” cautioning that when it coincides with flu season this year, hospitals and health workers would face a tremendous

strain. Getting a flu shot, he said, would be imperative.

“This single act will save lives,” Redfield said.

Much of the talk during the House hearing was about testing. All four doctors contradicted the president’s claim at his rally in Tulsa that he had asked “my people” to “slow the testing down” because increased screening was revealing more infections, making the country look bad. Each said he knew of no such request.

“We are proceeding in just the opposite — we want to do more testing and of higher quality,” said Giroir, who has been designated the “testing czar” by the president. “The only way that we will be able to understand who has the disease, who is infected, and can pass it, and to do appropriate contact tracing is to test appropriately, smartly — and as many people as we can.”

The officials and lawmakers also repeatedly returned to the question of test positivity rates, an indicator that reveals the severity of outbreaks more than a tally of positive tests.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have both promoted an increase in testing as a reason for the rising numbers around the country, but Fauci at one point on Tuesday said it was more complicated than that.

Referring to recent increasing in positivity rates in North Carolina and Arizona, he said that they were a clear indication of “additional infections that are responsible for those increases.”

And both Fauci and Redfield expressed concern about Trump’s decision late last month to withdraw from the World Health Organization, saying that they had maintained long-standing relationships with the WHO even as the White House moved to punish it over its relationship with China.

Pressed by Congress to develop a plan to address the disproportionate effect of the virus on racial minorities, the administration announced it had created an initiative to do so. Giroir said that the Department of Health and Human Services had started a $40 million initiative at Morehouse School of Medicine, a historically Black college in Atlanta, to educate Americans in underserved communities — including Native American tribes — about the coronavirus threat so that they could have better access to testing and treatment.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

11

Calls rise inside Amazon to address racial inequity

By KAREN WEISE

L

ast week, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, wrote a rare note to all of the company’s employees. His leadership team had been reflecting on the “systemic racism” facing Black communities, he said, and he urged employees to take time to learn and reflect on Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States.

“I’m canceling all my meetings on Friday, and I encourage you to do the same if you can,” he said.

But some of Amazon’s employees said there was one big problem with his suggestion: For the vast majority of Amazon’s Black workers, canceling a meeting is not an option. They work in Amazon’s fulfillment operations, packing, shipping and delivering products to millions of customers.

Several other retailers, like Target, J.C. Penney and Nike, made Juneteenth a paid holiday. At Amazon, many warehouses recognized the day by encouraging workers to dress in black.

“What does a black shirt do for anybody in terms of social justice?” said Adrienne Williams, a Black contract driver for Amazon in the Bay Area, who organized a vigil for Juneteenth. Better pay, she said, would do far more.

“That would cut down the preexisting condition that is poverty,” she said.

Williams and more employees and contractors are arguing that Amazon, one of the nation’s largest employers, needs to do much more to address racial inequality within its own walls. The calls for change — including diversifying its top ranks and addressing racism in its warehouses — have generated an unusual degree of turmoil inside the tech giant.

Many other large businesses also face calls for change from within. But Amazon stands out because it has a large percentage of Black employees — more than a quarter of its 500,000-person domestic workforce, most of them in hourly jobs at its sprawling logistics operations, where they earn far less than their corporate counterparts. That percentage is slightly higher than among Walmart’s employees in the United States, and far higher than at other big tech companies. At Facebook, for example, less than 4% of its workforce is Black.

And few executives have been as blunt in their public support of the Black Lives Matter movement as Bezos, the world’s richest person. On Instagram, Bezos posted disturbing messages he had received in response to his support of racial equality, including an email from a person named Dave, who used racist slurs and said that he would no longer do business with Amazon.

“Dave,” Bezos wrote, “you’re the kind of customer I’m happy to lose.”

Johnnie Corina III, who last week filed a discrimination complaint accusing Amazon of fostering a hostile work environment for Black warehouse employees, said it was hard to consider those statements as more than lip

More than a quarter of the company’s U.S. employees are black, the majority of whom work in its fulfillment operations. service.

“The ‘in’ thing right now is Black Lives Matter and equal justice,” Corina said. “You can tell when something is genuine and something is not.”

An Amazon spokeswoman, Jaci Anderson, said that the company stood in solidarity with the Black community, and that it was “committed to helping build a country and a world where everyone can live with dignity and free from fear.” She said employees had been free to take vacation or accrued unpaid time off to attend Juneteenth events. “We respect and encourage their choice to do so,” she said.

Employees and some shareholders have long groused about the lack of diversity on Bezos’ senior leadership team, a group known as the “S-Team” that has 22 executives, none of whom are Black.

At a town hall in 2017, after Michael Brown, Philando Castile and Sandra Bland had already become household names, an employee asked Bezos about the lack of diversity on his team. Bezos said his top deputies had been by his side for years, and he saw the low turnover as an asset.

Any transition on the team, he said, would “happen very incrementally over a long period of time.”

In April, before George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis, a group of midlevel employees wrote to Bezos and his senior team, saying there was “a systemic pattern of racial bias that permeates Amazon,” according to emails viewed by The New York Times. They said they were prompted to write after a leak of meeting notes showed that David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel, had called a Black warehouse employee in Staten Island “not smart or articulate.”

Zapolsky had said his comments were “personal and emotional” and that he did not know the employee was Black. But in their email, the corporate employees said it “was not an isolated incident, but rather a symptom of a bigger problem.”

They said Amazon adopted the entrenched racism that plagued America, evidenced by the “homo-

geneity” of the its leadership compared with “the rich racial and ethic diversity amongst our hourly worker population.”

The group proposed almost a dozen specific changes, including conducting a third-party audit of bias, releasing detailed figures on race and promotions, establishing goals for representation in management and leadership roles, and having the head of diversity be a member of Bezos’ S-Team.

Bezos’ leadership team in recent weeks has been holding “listening circles” with Black employees, and many Amazon executives have written personal emails to their departments. Some teams have moved away from biased technical terms, ditching phrases like “black lists” and “white lists” to connote network access, according to an email shared among some employees.

But many employees want more to be done. They have been collaborating on a document to propose that Amazon make diversity a new “leadership principle,” the guiding list of attributes Amazon uses to hire, review and promote workers.

In the document, dozens of employees anonymously cited experiences of discrimination in daily work interactions. When a Black employee “said something honest, he was told, ‘You’re not earning trust,’” one wrote. “But when a White Stanford MBA said the exact same thing, he got an accolade.” Others wrote about being passed over for promotions, or not being mentored.

Anderson said that the anecdotes “do not reflect our values.” The company does not tolerate workplace discrimination, she said, and it investigates all claims reported through official channels. She added that the current leadership principles encouraged diversity because they “remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and constantly earn others’ trust.”

In the warehouses where Williams and the bulk of Amazon’s Black employees work, the concerns of some workers can be even more explicit. Corina, in his discrimination complaint filed in California, said Amazon repeatedly failed to adequately respond to racist graffiti in bathrooms of the warehouse where he works east of Los Angeles.

Corina, who is involved with the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that since November he had repeatedly reported racist graffiti and that the language worsened after Floyd’s death. Some used racial epithets to express hatred toward Black people and said that they should “go back to Africa.”

He said Amazon had not addressed the warehouses’ employees to say such behavior was unacceptable, nor had he seen any evidence that Amazon has investigated who wrote the racist graffiti, even though he had asked.

The result, he said, left him scared to go to work. “To not do any interventions is really not a safe environment for a Black person,” he said.

12

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Stocks

Wall Street backpedals amid new virus fears, quarantines

W

all Street’s main indexes tumbled on Wednesday, accelerating pullbacks a day after the Nasdaq notched a record high, after New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced that visitors from states with high coronavirus infection rates must self quarantine.

Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters.

The S&P 500 .SPX was briefly down about 3% and was last off 2.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial average .DJI was off 2.6% and the Nasdaq off 2.33%, after posting its fifth closing record this month on Tuesday.

“I felt that markets were pricing in too much perfection for the past couple of weeks. We were overbought both on a technical and a fundamental level. I’m not surprised by this (sell-off), especially with the news that came out that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut would be putting in a 14-day quarantine for anybody traveling from (coronavirus) hotspots. I think you’re going to see more news like that, and unfortunately, I think that’s going to translate into shock to the people that have been overly optimistic about how this is going to play out. Even if you look at yesterday – gold hitting a multi-year high, the 10year treasury yield being at 0.7% and the dollar selling – they’re not bullish signs for U.S. stock markets.”

“It’s this kind of slow realization that we’re not going to see a straight-line improvement coming out of the lockdown phase of the virus.”

“Maybe a month ago we started to see strong economic data as the lockdown orders were being lifted, and the expectation was that things were going to go swimmingly. Now we’re starting to see scary headlines from certain places again like a Houston-area ICU full and Florida reporting a steep acceleration in cases.”

“I don’t think we’re headed toward broad lockdown orders and I don’t think that is the expectation on consensus either. But even if that isn’t true you’re still not going to see stronger economic activity either. Even if it isn’t mandated by the government to stay home, people aren’t going to be comfortable going out. They’re not going to be out and about shopping.”

“It’s the persistent headlines of increasing virus numbers with Texas and Arizona reporting more it seems this story might be coming back. A week ago everything was great. The economy was opening up the unemployment number came in as a surprise.

“We’re getting a little more bad news creeping in to the market that we hadn’t priced in. We thought we were past this ... it’s not unwarranted but it’s definitely a reaction to the headlines.”

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS

COMMODITIES

CURRENCY

LOCAL PERSONAL LOAN RATES Bank

LOCAL MORTGAGE RATES Bank

FHA 30-YR POINTS CONV 30-YR POINTS

BPPR Scotia CooPACA Money House First Mort Oriental

3.00% 0.00 3.50% 0.00 3.50% 2.00 3.75% 2.00 3.50% 0.00 3.50% 0.00

3.50% 000 4.00% 0.00 3.75% 2.00 3.75% 2.00 5.50% 0.00 3.75% 5.50

PERS.

CREDIT CARD

AUTO

BPPR --.-- 17.95 4.95 Scotia 4.99 14.99 4.99 CooPACA

6.95 9.95

2.95

Reliable

--.-- --.--

4.40

First Mort 7.99 --.-- --.-Oriental 4.99 11.95 4.99

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

13

How the world is learning to live with a deadly pandemic

By SUI-LEE WEE, BENJAMIN MUELLER AND EMMA BUBOLA

C

hina is testing restaurant workers and delivery drivers block by block. South Korea tells people to carry two types of masks for differing risky social situations.

Germany requires communities to crack down when the number of infections hits certain thresholds. Britain will target local outbreaks in a strategy that Prime Minister Boris Johnson calls “Whac-A-Mole.”

Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay.

But in a shift away from damaging nationwide lockdowns, they are looking for targeted ways to find and stop outbreaks before they become third or fourth waves.

While the details differ, the strategies call for giving governments flexibility to tighten or ease as needed. They require some mix of intensive testing and monitoring, lightning-fast response times by authorities, tight border management and constant reminders to their citizens of the dangers of frequent human contact.

The strategies often force central governments and local officials to share data and work closely together, overcoming incompatible computer systems, turf battles and other longstanding bureaucratic rivalries. Already, in Britain, some local officials say their efforts are not coordinated enough.

The shifting strategies are an acknowledgment that even the most successful countries cannot declare victory until a vaccine is found. They also show the challenge presented by countries like the United States, Brazil and India, where the authorities never fully contained initial outbreaks and from where the coronavirus will continue to threaten to spread.

“It’s always going to be with us,” said Simon James Thornley, an epidemiologist from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

“I don’t think we can eliminate the virus long term. We are going to need to learn to live with the virus.”

Even in places where the coronavirus appeared to be under control, big outbreaks remain a major risk. In Tokyo, there have been 253 new infections in the past week, 83 from a nightlife district. In Gütersloh in western Germany, more than 1,500 workers from a meat processing plant tested positive, prompting authorities to shut down two districts. South Korea, another poster child for fast responses, has

Around the world, governments that had appeared to tame the coronavirus are adjusting to the reality that the disease is here to stay. announced dozens of new infections in recent days.

In Rome, which recently emerged from one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, 122 people have been linked to a cluster case at a hospital, the San Raffaele Pisana Institute. Several days later, 18 people who lived in a building with shared bathrooms came down with the virus.

“As soon as we lowered our guard,” said Paolo La Pietra, who owns a tobacco shop in the neighborhood, “it hit us back.”

Some countries, like South Korea and Japan, aimed to make their responses nimble.

South Korea calls its strategy “everyday life quarantine.” The country never implemented the strict lockdowns that were seen in other places, and social-distancing measures, while strongly encouraged, remain guidelines. Still, it has set a strict target of a maximum of about 50 new infections a day — a target that it says its public health system, including its testing and tracing capacity, can withstand.

Officials shift the rules as needed. After a second wave of infections broke out in Seoul, city officials made people wear masks in public transportation and closed public facilities for two weeks.

The South Korean government has added new guidelines as it has learned more about outbreaks. It advises companies to have employees sit in a zigzag fashion. Air-conditioners

should be turned off every two hours to increase ventilation, it said. It has discouraged singing in markets and other public places.

It has also advised people to carry two types of masks in summer — a surgical mask and a heavy-duty mask, similar to the N95 respirator masks worn by health care workers, to be used in crowded settings.

Japan, which endured only limited lockdowns, also wants to keep its limits light to help restart its economy. It is considering allowing travelers from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam. As an island nation, Japan cannot afford to keep its borders closed any longer, said Shinzo Abe, its prime minister.

Last Friday, Japan launched a contact tracing app that would alert users if they had been in touch with a person who tested positive in the last 14 days. Railway operators have launched an app and websites telling commuters how crowded the trains are at any given time.

Some countries, like China, are learning to ease back from their more draconian methods. The Chinese government virtually isolated tens of millions of people in the city of Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province when the outbreak began.

Mindful of the economic damage, Chinese leaders have adopted looser restrictions.

In Beijing, officials told residents that they could take off their masks outdoors. Tempera-

ture screening in the city became less widespread.

Then, on June 12, Beijing officials announced that 53 people had tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead of locking up the capital city, officials promptly shut down a market and residential communities surrounding it and mobilized close to 100,000 community workers to test roughly 2.3 million residents in about a week.

“A city as big as Beijing can’t be in a state of wartime resistance forever,” said Mao Shoulong, a professor of public policy at Beijing’s Renmin University. “How many more times can we endure this?”

Unlike Wuhan, the effort was targeted.

Other Beijing neighborhoods stayed open as usual. The Chinese government tends to favor a mass testing approach focused on specific groups — in addition to the people connected to the market, it said it would also test residents living in high- and medium-risk neighborhoods, restaurant and retail staff, students and teaching staff, and health caThough many of these efforts are intensely local, they require close coordination with central officials and neighboring jurisdictions. England, for example, is exploring limited, tailor-made shutdowns around clusters of infections, but local officials warn that the system is full of potential holes.

Health officials in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are largely responsible for their own strategies. In England, where local officials have complained about a lack of testing data from the central government, employers or building managers have picked up the slack by keeping track of infections and respond to outbreaks. Some, like the headquarters of a major retailer in East Lancashire, have been praised by public health officials for taking quick action.

But controlling the virus would require an understanding of where it is lurking, especially difficult for a disease in which 80% of the cases have mild symptoms. Several local public health directors said in interviews that they learned about outbreaks from the news.

The level of detail that officials need to decide on localized shutdowns — the postal codes of people testing positive, for example — remains elusive.

“Every pandemic begins as a local outbreak,” said Lincoln Sargeant, the director of public health in North Yorkshire. “It’s granular intelligence that we need in a timely fashion.”

14

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

In fight to ban dog meat, China’s activists find an ally: the Coronavirus

A fast-growing network of activists sees the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to push legislation that bans the consumption of dog and cat meats.

By AMY QIN

F

or years, animal rights activists in China have lobbied policymakers, organized education drives and staged protests to persuade the government and the public to support banning the eating of dogs and cats.

They scored few concrete wins.

The coronavirus, which spread from a food market in China, changed everything.

After the national government suspended the sale of wildlife in February, the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai became the first in the country to ban the consumption of cats and dogs. Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture, in a major step, removed dogs from its list of approved domesticated livestock, referring to dogs for the first time as “companion animals.”

Even in the southern Chinese city of Yulin, a dog meat festival that has long courted controversy opened on Sunday to less fanfare than in past years, as fears of the virus kept revelers away.

“We have been working on this issue for years, but the government kept passing the buck,” said Cynthia Zhang, a Guangzhoubased animal welfare activist. “So we are using the epidemic as an opportunity to try to push through as much legislation as possible.”

It is long-fought validation for a loose but fast growing network of local animal welfare activists.

While China’s practice of eating dog

meat has received global attention from celebrities including British comedian Ricky Gervais and American reality television star Lisa Vanderpump, an often overlooked group of animal activists and pet lovers has been the on-the-ground force for change in communities and cities across the country. They have succeeded despite growing pushback from nationalistic critics who say that eating dog meat is a Chinese tradition, no different than the American love of turkey.

The animal activists have managed to carve out a space for their work in a country where advocacy and dissent have rapidly shriveled under China’s leader Xi Jinping.

While human rights lawyers and women’s rights activists are regularly targeted by the Communist Party, animal protection is seen as a relatively fringe issue and less menacing to the party — giving activists more room to maneuver.

Over the years, they have petitioned lawmakers and set up animal shelters. Some of the more zealous players have intercepted trucks carrying dogs for slaughter and lobbied on the steps of government agencies. At least a few hundred formal and informal groups across the country are estimated to be working on animal protection issues.

It remains to be seen how the new guidelines will be enforced. China still lacks national laws banning animal cruelty and the consumption of dogs and cats — all of which activists say are crucial to fully eliminating the

practice.

But their efforts have received tacit backing from the fast-growing number of pet owners in China, drawn mostly from the country’s booming middle class. One recent survey conducted by local animal associations found that there were 55 million pet dogs in China last year, up 8% from the year before.

As their legions have grown, so too has support for banning dog meat consumption.

“The younger generation of Chinese is more international, they have more universal values,” said Qin Xiaona, founder of Beijing’s Capital Animal Welfare Association. “The officials are getting younger, too.”

One activist, Qi Qi, 37, started pressing the issue in 2014 when she answered a call for help on social media from volunteers who had intercepted a truck with hundreds of dogs on the outskirts of Beijing. Over two days, Qi helped care for the dogs as the volunteers negotiated with police and the driver to hand over the animals. Qi went on to participate in about 20 truck rescues, though not all were as successful.

Recently, Qi and her husband have shifted their focus to raising awareness. The couple recently opened a cafe in a trendy Beijing shopping mall where they host talks about animal protection and donate a portion of their proceeds to local trap-neuter-release efforts. Earlier this month, when a truck full of dogs was intercepted in northeastern China, Qi stood with a group of volunteers outside the Ministry of Agriculture every day for a week to urge officials to intervene by putting pressure on local authorities to release the dogs.

“We don’t say it’s to protect dogs, but rather to enforce the law and safeguard public health,” said Qi. “In China, if you say you are doing this because you are a dog lover, a lot of people will be turned off, so we try to circle around it.”

Zhang, the Guangzhou-based activist, said that for years, she and a group of volunteers had taken a more combative stance, staging protests at local government offices and going head-to-head with dog meat vendors.

“The space for doing our work has shrunk,” Zhang said. She noted that authorities had shut down several active animal protection group discussions on the popular social messaging app WeChat after some members had criticized the government.

“There is still room to get our message out there,” she said. “As long as you don’t

criticize the government.”

Several years ago, Zhang said, they changed tactics to take a more “positive” approach, focusing their efforts on reaching out to national policymakers instead.

Zhang figures that her group has sent out thousands of letters to delegates to China’s top legislative bodies in recent years informing them about the dismal conditions of the dog meat trade, which is largely unregulated in China. Since there are few legal dog farms in China, activists say that most of the country’s dog meat comes from captured strays or stolen pets.

In 2015, Zhang said she and her colleagues were able to convince one delegate, a vegetarian, to propose a bill to ban the slaughter and consumption of cats and dogs at the annual gathering of China’s top lawmaking body. The proposal sparked a national conversation, and more lawmakers began to show interest.

But it wasn’t until the unexpected emergence of the coronavirus — and the renewed scrutiny over the wildlife trade in China — that some of the policies long under discussion gained traction.

“China has been in a civil war between animal lovers and people who support dog meat consumption, and the animal lovers are gaining the upper hand,” said Peter J. Li, a China policy adviser with Humane Society International. “The Chinese government sees this.”

Persuading the public can still be an uphill battle.

The practice of eating dog meat is limited to a few areas of China and most people do not eat it regularly. Instead, defenders often subscribe to a belief that “while I may not eat dog meat, I support your right to do so.”

Xu Zhe, 22, a recent college graduate from the northeastern city of Dalian, said he eats dog meat once a year during the Chinese New Year and had no qualms about it even though he grew up with a dog at home.

“I have a deep connection with my dog, but not with the dog I’m eating,” Xu said.

The environment, though, is improving, even in the home of the Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival.

While activists say many locals still eat dog meat, local officials, facing domestic and international pressure, have distanced themselves from the festival in recent years. Activists on the ground said that the atmosphere was noticeably quieter compared with past years, with far fewer visitors.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

15

Hit hard by Coronavirus, Russia holds a mostly mask-free victory parade

By ANDREW HIGGINS

P

German territory known as East Prussia that was seized by the Soviet Union after Hitler’s defeat.

Kremlin critics have accused Putin of gambling with public health in order to put himself at the center of a gigantic display of Russia’s military might and to rally support ahead of a nationwide vote on his future. Voting on constitutional amendments that would allow Putin to stay in power until 2036 begins Thursday.

The mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, urged residents to watch the parade on television instead of thronging the streets as they usually do. Thousands of people still went outside to watch, but the crowds were smaller than usual.

Yelena Loginova, a 36-year-old psychologist who attended the parade, said she had ignored the mayor’s advice to watch events on TV because it was “much more interesting” to see it in person.

“You immediately have totally different emotions than on television,” she said. “You feel it directly when the heavy ones drive by. The asphalt shakes under your feet.”

She said she had traveled with her son from a Yoshkar-Ola, a town 500 miles east of Moscow, just to see the parade in person. Wearing a mask pulled down to her chin, she said she had not even thought about

the possible risks of standing in a crowd of strangers on the street.

Russia on Thursday reported 7,176 new coronavirus cases over the previous 24 hours. The daily increase in infections has dropped from around 10,000 in May, but public health officials have warned that the battle is far from over.

In a sign of the risks involved in holding such a large-scale event, two members of an official delegation that traveled from Kyrgyzstan to attend the Moscow parade tested positive for coronavirus. The Kyrgyz president, who was traveling with them, stayed away from Red Square on Thursday.

Even Putin, in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, cautioned that “the fight against the epidemic continues.”

With the economy and his ratings slumping, however, Putin has sought to revive the country’s spirit with proud memories of Russia’s unequivocal triumph over Nazi Germany.

The Soviet Union lost up to 27 million lives during World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Putin has made the victory over fascism the touchstone of Russia’s collective identity, while also using it as a propaganda battering ram against the West or any grievances directed at Moscow from abroad.

utting to one side Russia’s unfinished battle against the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday celebrated his country’s victory 75 years ago against Nazi Germany, presiding over an enormous military parade through Red Square that featured thousands of soldiers marching shoulder-to-shoulder without face masks.

The parade, the largest of several celebrations taking place nationwide, was originally scheduled for May 9, a joyous annual holiday known as Victory Day, but was delayed for six weeks by the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak continues to grow in Russia — the world’s third hardest-hit country, with nearly 600,000 cases — but at a slightly slower pace than before.

Aging veterans in their 80s and 90s joined Putin on the reviewing stand, nearly all of them without masks, to watch 14,000 troops march in tight formation to stirring martial music. Tanks, missiles and other military equipment then trundled through the square in front of the Kremlin, followed by a flyover by strategic bombers, fighter jets and helicopters.

Putin, who has spent most of the past three months cooped up at his country residence, is hoping that the Moscow parade, one of dozens held across the country on Wednesday, will help lift the gloom that has settled over his rule in recent weeks. The crisis has sent his approval rating to its lowest level since he came to power 20 years ago.

Having staked so much of his previous popularity on Russia’s re-emergence as a major global power, Putin on Wednesday basked in the glory of Russia’s immense role in the defeat of Hitler’s Germany and the liberation of Europe during World War II. “It is impossible to even imagine what would have happened to the world had it not been for the Red Army that stood up to defend it” against fascism, he said in a speech at the start of the parade.

Few foreign leaders, however, were on hand to hear his message. European leaders all stayed away, except for the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the president of Moldova, a former Soviet republic.

President Emmanuel Macron of France and others had planned to attend the previously planned parade in May but skipped the rescheduled event.

China and India, vying for Russia’s support after recent clashes between their armies in a remote border region, sent senior officials and also soldiers, who took part in the parade. China sent the largest foreign contingent.

The military parades began shortly after midnight Moscow time on Tuesday evening in Kamchatka on the Pacific Ocean and then rolled across the country’s 11 time zones. As the main parade was winding down in Moscow, troops began marching in Kaliningrad, a former President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia watching the military parade alongside aging veterans.

16

Thursday, June 25, 2020

North Korea’s leader overrules military plan to deploy troops at border

By CHOE SANG-HUN

N

orth Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has overruled his military’s plans to resume exercises and deploy more troops near the heavily armed border with South Korea, using his authority to de-escalate rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the North’s official news agency reported Wednesday.

Switching back and forth between raising and easing tensions has long been part of the North’s way of gaining diplomatic leverage against its external foes.

The decision came after a series of actions by North Korea this month that imperiled a fragile détente on the peninsula, like cutting off communications lines with the South and blowing up a joint inter-Korean liaison office. The North’s military had also drawn up “action plans” likely to raise tensions along the border

and had sought Kim’s approval of them.

Kim’s decision will most likely put​ at least a​ temporary brake on what appeared to be a rapid escalation of tensions in the peninsula in recent weeks. By staying the hand of hard-liners in Pyongyang, the North’s leader appeared to have left room for diplomatic negotiations.

Kim convened the ruling Workers’ Party​’s Central Military Commission, the highest decision-making body​on military affairs, on Tuesday and “​took s​ tock of the prevailing situation and suspended the military action plans against the South,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency said​.

The news agency did not offer details on Kim’s decision but added that the meeting, which took place through video conferencing, studied “some documents carrying the state measures for further bolstering the war deterrent of the coun-

A North Korean guard post in Paju near the demilitarized zone.

try,” an apparent reference to the North’s earlier threat to boost its nuclear weapons capabilities.

North Korea has been expressing increasingly growing frustration with South Korea and the United States, especially since the second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump collapsed in Vietnam in February last year.

This month, it seized upon anti-Kim leaflets sent by activists in South Korea, mostly North Korean defectors, to start reversing the détente created when Kim met with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea in 2018.

Last week the North’s Korean People’s Army said it had prepared plans that would undermine the agreement between Kim and Moon. Its plans included rebuilding some military ​guard p ​ osts within the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas that were demolished under the Kim-Moon agreement and resuming “all kinds of regular military exercises in the areas close to the boundary.”

On Monday, the North said it had prepared 12 million anti-South Korean leaflets and 3,000 balloons to carry them across the border, along with cigarette butts and other trash.

Most of the threats were made not in Kim’s name but orchestrated by his only sister, Kim Yo Jong, whose influence in her brother’s government has expanded in recent years. ​Analysts have said that by placing his sister up front in North Korea’s growing confrontation with Seoul and Washington and by keeping himself out of the fray, Kim has kept ​diplomatic​ flexibility to de-escalate​.

The North’s sudden turn toward animosity with the South — and, by extension, the United States — reflected a desire to unify the country in the face of an economy further hobbled by the corona-

virus pandemic and of a deepening need to push for concessions on international sanctions, the analysts said.

South Korea also moved quickly this month to placate the North, vowing to use the police to stop any attempt by the activists to send propaganda balloons to the North. The South said that the leaflets do little other than provoke the North and create trash in the South because many of the balloons never make it across the border. Seoul is also pushing to revise the domestic laws to ban the sending of such leaflets.

At the same time, South Korea expressed strong displeasure ​with the ​crude​ insults the North has hurled against its leader, Moon, and threatened retaliation if the North Korean military raised tensions. ​Kim Yo Jong at one point called Moon “insane” and said his speeches calling for peace on the peninsula “sickening.”

The harsh rhetoric was a switch from the warm relations between Kim Jong Un and Moon that peaked in September 2018, when Kim let Moon speak before a huge North Korean audience filling a stadium in Pyongyang and the two leaders climbed Mount Paektu,​raising hands together at the top of the volcanic mountain on the border with China that Koreans consider the sacred birthplace of their nation.

Moon, a champion of political ​ reconciliation between the two Koreas, helped arrange Kim’s historic summit meetings with Trump​​ , which elevated Kim’s global status. But North Korea has repeatedly criticized both Seoul and Washington after Trump and Kim’s diplomacy failed to ease U.S.-led sanctions.

Kim himself has so far largely stopped short of attacking Trump and Moon in person.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

17

The pandemic is still raging. The president pretends otherwise.

By THE NYT EDITORIAL BOARD

M

ore than 100 days into the coronavirus pandemic, here’s where things stand in the United States: 2.3 million people have been infected, and some 120,000 people — more than in any other country — have died. Early epicenters like New York and New Jersey appear to have gotten their outbreaks under control, but several new hot spots have emerged, including in Florida, Texas and Arizona, where daily case counts are higher than ever. Overall, the number of new cases a day is rising, and the rest of the world is taking note: The European Union is mulling travel restrictions that would prohibit Americans from entering any nation in the bloc because the United States has failed to contain the pandemic.

None of these developments have put an end to the denialism that has prevailed at the White House from the start. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal last week, Vice President Mike Pence argued that reports of a coming second wave of infections were exaggerated. That argument was seconded by Larry Kudlow, the administration’s top economic adviser. Scientists do not agree: On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, told a House panel that the country has yet to clear the first wave of the pandemic and that a second wave of outbreaks is possible. “We’re still in the middle of a serious outbreak,” he said. “There is no doubt about that.”

A few days after the publication of Pence’s op-ed, President Donald Trump noted at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that the nation’s case counts would not rise quite so egregiously if the U.S. stopped testing so many people for the virus. “When you do testing to that extent, you’re gonna find more people; you’re gonna find more cases,” he told the crowd. “So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’ ” Administration officials later insisted that the president was joking about requesting a testing slowdown, but it’s difficult to see the humor in that punchline: If the U.S. reduces testing, case counts will decrease, but death counts will undoubtedly increase.

The president’s remarks were hardly surprising. They harken back to the earlier days of the outbreak, when Trump suggested that coronavirus-exposed passengers be kept onboard the Grand Princess cruise ship so they would not contribute to the case count on American soil. At that point, he’d already spent weeks downplaying the risks of the virus, saying, among other things, that it would disappear like a “miracle” come spring.

It’s hard to see the benefit of such magical thinking, especially now, when the truth is so plain that even some of Trump’s reluctant fellow Republicans are starting to acknowledge reality. In recent days, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has finally allowed individual cities and counties to mandate wearing masks, after initially overruling such orders. (The reversal came after several local Republican leaders joined their Democratic colleagues to request more autonomy in

responding to the crisis.) But the pattern is clear: The president and his most loyal supporters keep acting as though if they ignore the seriousness of the coronavirus, it will cease to exist. This game of make believe is made easier for them by the fact that the pandemic is doing the worst damage behind the walls of prisons, nursing homes and meatpacking plants.

There is still hope to be found in this morass. For all the denialism and politicking, scientists have managed to learn quite a bit in recent months about this coronavirus: They’re fairly certain now that it can spread from normal breathing (as opposed to just coughing), that an infected person who isn’t showing any symptoms can pass the virus to others and that even simple cloth masks can prevent such transmissions.

Doctors also say that at least two medications have been shown to help treat COVID-19 and that refined treatment protocols — including for when and how to use ventilators — are helping to improve patient outcomes.

But it would still be better if the nation’s leaders worked to prevent as many people as possible from contracting the virus in the first place — and to do that, they’ll have to start by acknowledging that the threat is real. On Tuesday, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, called the pandemic “the greatest public health crisis our nation and world have confronted in a century.” It’s past time for the rest of the administration to start taking it that seriously.

PO BOX 6537 Caguas PR 00726 Telephones: (787) 743-3346 • (787) 743-6537 (787) 743-5606 • Fax (787) 743-5100

Dr. Ricardo Angulo Publisher

Manuel Sierra General Manager

María de L. Márquez

Ray Ruiz

Legal Notice Director

Sharon Ramírez

Business Director

Legal Notices Graphics Manager

R. Mariani

Elsa Velázquez

Circulation Director

Lisette Martínez

Advertising Agency Director

Reporter

María Rivera

Graphic Artist Manager

18

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL

The boy who cried fake news

President Trump arriving at Joint Base Andrews after the rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday night.

By JAMELLE BOUIE

I

f there’s anything we’ve learned in the five years since Donald Trump came down that escalator, it’s that he cannot thrive without a constant stream of attention, adulation and affirmation. It’s why he’s obsessed with cable news and Fox in particular; why his Cabinet meetings begin with almost worshipful praise from each of his appointees; and why he’s constantly touting his sky-high support from other Republicans.

It’s also why, on Saturday, he held an indoor rally in the midst of a respiratory disease pandemic. “I guarantee you after Saturday, if everything goes well, he’s going to be in a much better mood,” an unnamed Trump political adviser told CNN the day before the event. “He believes that he needs to be out there fighting and he feeds off the energy of the crowds.”

The president is plainly unable to handle bad news, or even the idea that he isn’t popular or well-liked. Someone who rejects the idea of being rejected may, for example, believe that voter fraud is the only threat to his reelection. And he’s constructed a bubble, let’s call it a safe space, in which he’s insulated from bad news, negative feedback and pretty much any kind of criticism. The result is that he’s unable to respond to a changing national mood, unable to adjust to a

public that wants more leadership than spectacle.

We have plenty of evidence that Trump shields himself from anything that could disrupt the illusion of popularity and success he’s constructed around himself. At the Tulsa rally, he told his audience that, when faced with evidence of rising coronavirus infection rates, he urged his team to reduce the rate of testing. “When you do testing to that extent, you’re gonna find more people, you’re gonna find more cases. So I said to my people ‘slow the testing down, please,’ ” he said. His press secretary says this was a “comment that he made in jest,” but Trump has expressed similar sentiments in the past. “If we did very little testing, we wouldn’t have the most cases,” he said in May during a meeting with Kim Reynolds, the governor of Iowa. “So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad.”

Likewise, on the question of his campaign, the president’s reelection staff knows just what he wants to hear.

They’ve either downplayed his poor numbers — telling him that the polls showing Joe Biden ahead skew Democratic — or challenged them outright. After a CNN poll found him trailing Biden by 14 points, the Trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to Jeff Zucker, the president of the network, demanding that he retract the poll and apologize for its release. The poll, read the letter, is a “stunt” meant to “cause voter suppression, stifle momentum and enthusiasm

for the president, and present a false view generally of the actual support across America for the president.”

The obvious problem with building a cocoon of praise and sycophancy around oneself, as any failed authoritarian could explain, is that it hinders one’s ability to respond to conditions on the ground, whether that’s a pandemic or a presidential race. You can’t change course if you refuse to see what’s happening in front of you.

Trump rejects his poor ratings on the pandemic and the protests — 58% of Americans disapprove of his handling of the coronavirus, and 60% disapprove of his handling of the demonstrations to protest the death of George Floyd — and so he continues to do the things that have placed him in a historically weak position for an incumbent president seeking reelection.

If Trump were less cloistered, he might know that to improve his prospects he has to speak to voters on the fence between him and Biden. He has to address their fears and make a positive case for his administration. But because he lives within the confines of a gated MAGA community, Trump has no sense of what the skeptical public wants to hear. This, too, was apparent at his Tulsa rally, where he spoke at length about minor controversies — his ability to drink a glass of water with one hand, his ability to walk down a ramp — that are almost certainly irrelevant to everyone other than himself and his staunchest supporters.

And it’s not just Trump who is closed off from the rest of the world. Republican officials across the country refuse to believe that the president is on the path to defeat. “The more bad things happen in the country, it just solidifies support for Trump,” one North Carolina Republican Party county chairman told Politico in a story on the belief, within Republican circles, that “coronavirus is on its way out” and “polls are unreliable.”

We can’t predict what will happen in November. But right now Trump is losing the presidential race, Democrats are likely to hold the House of Representatives, and Republicans are at risk of losing the Senate. A backlash is brewing, and Trump can’t see or even sense it. There are those in his camp, like Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader of the Senate, who can see the writing on the wall.

This is presumably why he’s pushing a police reform bill — to give Republicans something to tout in the fall to those moderate voters who sympathize with protesters.

But it’s not clear if the conservative movement as a whole knows what it has unleashed by hitching its wagon to Donald Trump. They thought they were getting “252 beautiful, brand-new, conservative, wonderful judges” and a chance to cement their political preferences into the constitutional order. What they may receive instead is a newlyenergized and increasingly liberal public that has the numbers to sink that project for at least the near-future, if not much longer.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

19

UGT rechaza totalmente acuerdo AEE-LUMA Por THE STAR

E

l presidente de la Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), Gerson L. Guzmán López, expresó el rechazo total del gremio que dirige al acuerdo suscrito entre la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) y el consorcio LUMA por considerar que el mismo no beneficia en nada al pueblo puertorriqueño y de la poca información publicada sobre el mismo se desprende que será la empresa privada la que obtenga los mayores beneficios en el manejo de las millonarias aportaciones que hará el Congreso de los Estados Unidos para las mejoras a nuestro sistema eléctrico.

“La información que ha estado circulando sobre este acuerdo, que es muy poca, apunta a un contrato donde la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) no obtendrá mayores beneficios, y pone en manos privadas, no tan solo la transmisión de la energía eléctrica, sino que todo lo relacionado a servicios, facturación y cobros queda en manos del consorcio Luma. Este acuerdo aumenta los costos de operación de la AEE y le da mano libre para que sea el ente privado el que maneje las asignaciones de fondos que otorgará el Congreso para la rehabilitación de nuestro sistema eléctrico”, expresó.

Guzmán López añadió que “al examinar esta información podemos darnos cuenta que la negociación llevada a cabo por los funcionarios

de la AEE tuvo en muy poca consideración los intereses del pueblo de Puerto Rico al poner todos los aspectos favorables del lado de LUMA. Este consorcio no tan solo estará cobrando por sus servicios, sino que podrá facturar adicionalmente todos los gastos en que incurra de manera extraordinaria. Creemos que esto conllevará un aumento en la facturación, lo que constituye un total contrasentido con lo que siempre han dicho los que promueven la alternativa privada de que

a través de la misma veríamos una reducción en el costo de los servicios”.

Para Guzmán López la forma en que se desarrolló la negociación de este acuerdo, la pobre información que se ha ofrecido y el correo electrónico que se ha hecho público sobre el trato que recibirán los trabajadores de la AEE bajo la nueva compañía administradora ponen de manifiesto que la ausencia de transparencia gubernamental y la política laboral de la nueva empresa tendrán como resultado un mal negocio para el país y los trabajadores.

“Si de entrada nos dicen que las fallas que hoy tiene el sistema van a seguir por largo tiempo, que no hay garantías de que baje la factura de la luz, que el control que antes tenía el gobierno ahora lo tiene la empresa privada y que prevalecerá una política anti obrera y anti unión en las nuevas operaciones, no podemos esperar nada bueno del presente acuerdo. Por nuestra parte, expresamos total solidaridad con las expresiones y denuncias que ha hecho la UTIER sobre el proceso que llevó a este acuerdo y las nefastas consecuencias que pudiera tener para nuestro pueblo. Consignamos nuestra disposición a luchar, junto a todo el movimiento obrero del país, para garantizar que éste o cualquier otro acuerdo que vaya en contra de los mejores intereses de nuestro pueblo quede fuera de toda consideración dirigida a mejorar nuestra AEE”, precisó.

Decenas de residentes de Culebra llenan sus solicitudes de ayuda al Desempleo y PAN Por THE STAR ecenas de residentes de la Isla D Municipio de Culebra recibieron el miércoles, ayuda presencial

para completar sus trámites relacionados a las solicitudes ‘online’ con el Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos y el Departamento de Hacienda, incluyendo el sistema de validación SURI, así como casos ante el Departamento de la Familia, gracias al personal de la Oficina Regional del Este del presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Carlos ‘Johnny’ Méndez Núñez.

“Como siempre hemos hecho, llevamos los servicios básicos de las agencias del gobierno a nuestras islas municipios, en este caso Culebra, para facilitar a nuestros constituyentes el proceso de completar sus solicitudes. Conocemos la necesidad que existe de ayuda ante los estragos causados por el COVID-19

y las medidas tomadas para prevenir su propagación. Por eso desarrollamos esta plataforma de asistencia, donde nuestro personal se trasladó a Culebra para ayudar de manera directa a nuestra gente en sus trámites”, comentó el líder legislativo en comunicación escrita.

El personal de la Oficina Regional del Este estableció desde el martes, un centro temporero de ayuda al ciudadano en los predios de la ‘Mamacitas Guest House’, la cual ubica en el número 64 de la calle Castelar. Desde las 8:30 a.m., hasta las 2:30 p.m. se habían atendido un total de 84 personas, incluyendo comerciantes, que buscan completar sus solicitudes de asistencia sobre la pandemia.

También se llenaron solicitudes de ayuda para el Programa de Asistencia Nutricional, mejor conocido como el PAN, al igual que el de la Asistencia de Desempleo Pandémi-

co, PUA por sus siglas en inglés.

De acuerdo a datos del último censo, Culebra es hora para

unas 1,818 personas y cuenta con un ingreso per cápita promedio de $10,349 por residente.

20

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Don’t forget that Joel Schumacher briefly saved Batman

By JASON BAILEY

W

hen news broke Monday of director Joel Schumacher’s death, many obituaries led (as he might have expected) with the Caped Crusader. He steered “the Batman franchise into its most baroque territory,” wrote The Associated Press.

That’s putting it mildly. The overt campiness and winking theatricality of Schumacher’s “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” have long been a point of polarization among fans of comic book movies, particularly as a darker aesthetic, first established by Tim Burton and then cemented on movie screens by Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder, has come to define the character. But Schumacher’s approach may well have saved the franchise. (And then, two years later, nearly sunk it.)

Schumacher seemed, to some, like an unlikely candidate to take the Bat-baton (Baton?) from Burton.

But throughout his career, there was rarely a specific idea of a “Joel Schumacher film”; he was closer to the filmmakers of the classic studio system, a journeyman who could take on just about any assignment he was tossed, deliver it on time and on budget, and generate a profit.

So he dabbled in rowdy comedy (“D.C. Cab”), touchy-feely dramedy (“St. Elmo’s Fire”), romantic comedy (“Cousins”), horror (“The Lost Boys”) and sci-fi (“Flatliners”). Warner Bros. handed him Batman based on the success of his adaptation of John Grisham’s legal thriller “The Client.”

It’s easy to forget how necessary that handoff was deemed at the time.

Though “Batman Returns,” Burton’s 1992 sequel to the record-breaking 1989 “Batman,” was a commercial success, its grosses fell far short of its predecessor’s. And while critical reaction was mostly positive, some complained about its gloomy tone (Roger Ebert called it “odd and sad”). Plenty of parents agreed, put off by both the dark violence and the subtle, leather-heavy kinkiness of the relationship between Batman and Catwoman. The studio partnered with McDonald’s on Happy Meal tie-in for the PG13-rated film, but no one at the fast-food giant had even seen the film when it devised the campaign, and a McDonald’s spokesman later told The New York Times

that the promotion “wasn’t intended to encourage young kids to see the movie.”

In a July 1992 report in “Entertainment Weekly” on the relative disappointment of “Returns,” Steve Daly whispered, “Word is they intend to make sure that ‘Batman 3’ and its progeny showcase a much less dark Dark Knight — a kind of ‘Batman Lite’ — possibly without Burton at the helm.” That’s exactly what happened, and that’s exactly what they got.

Schumacher’s critics (and there were many) often gleefully noted that his training was not in filmmaking but fashion, entering the film industry as a costume designer. But that eye for flash and style was clearly what Warner Bros. felt the franchise needed at the time, after the bleak and borderline monochromatic look of

Burton’s Batmen — which were less comic-book movies than graphic-novel movies, taking visible pains to separate themselves from the campy and colorful 1960s television series that still loomed large in the popular imagination.

“Batman Forever,” on the other hand, opened its arms to that influence. The screenplay — credited to Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler and Akiva Goldsman — is gleefully goofy, filled with corny one-liners and leering double entendres. Schumacher and his cinematographer, Stephen Goldblatt (nominated for an Oscar, one of the film’s three nominations), cram their Dutch-angled frames with candy-coated colors, neon lights and billowing dry ice, while Elliot Goldenthal’s musical score takes the orchestral pomposity of Danny Elfman’s earlier “Batman” themes and cranks it up to 11. The performers similarly go for the gusto: Jim Carrey is at his most unhinged (no small achievement), Tommy Lee Jones chews scenery like it’s his first meal in weeks, and Nicole Kidman vamps it up like the daughter Dietrich didn’t know she had.

Reviews were more mixed for “Forever” — our critic called it, ironically enough, “the emptycalorie equivalent of a Happy Meal” — but audiences were ecstatic. It out-grossed “Batman Returns” both domestically and internationally, and Warner Bros. quickly signed Schumacher for another installment. Alas, he fell into something of the same trap as Burton; taxed with reprising a megasuccess, he leaned so far into his stylistic flourishes that he alienated a mass audience. “Batman & Robin” has acquired a reputation as one of the worst blockbusters of all time, and it’s not entirely unearned.

Sloppy, overcooked and painfully unfunny, it feels like exactly what it was: a filmed deal.

That failure caused a bit of retroactive conflation of the two Schumacher pictures, which is unfortunate.

“Batman Forever” may not have proven a bellwether of big-screen superhero entertainment, though a dose of self-aware silliness wouldn’t hurt the Very Serious Filmmakers at both Marvel and DC one bit. But it may be the most succinct encapsulation of the Schumacher style: a big and gaudy, colorful and stylish, cheerfully unapologetic crowdpleaser.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

21

Jimmy Kimmel apologizes for use of blackface in past comedy sketches

By DAVE ITZKOFF

A

fter weeks of criticism, the ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel addressed his past use of blackface in comedy sketches, saying Tuesday that he apologized “to those who were genuinely hurt or offended by the makeup I wore or the words I spoke.”

Kimmel, the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” had previously used blackface to play celebrities like Karl Malone and Oprah Winfrey on “The Man Show,” a Comedy Central series he starred in from 1999-2003.

Kimmel said in a statement that his impersonation of Malone had started when he was a radio host for KROQ in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s. When he brought that impersonation to TV, Kimmel said, “We hired makeup artists to make me look as much like Karl Malone as possible. I never considered that this might be seen as anything other than an imitation of a fellow human being, one that had no more to do with Karl’s skin color than it did his bulging muscles and bald head.”

Kimmel, who did not use the word “blackface” in his statement, said that as he looked back on his previous comedy sketches, many of them had become “embarrassing, and it is frustrating that these thoughtless moments have become a weapon used by some to diminish my criticisms of social and other injustices.”

He added in the statement, “I believe that I have evolved and matured over the last 20-plus years, and I hope that is evident to anyone who watches my show. I know that this will not be the last I hear of this and that it will be used again to try to quiet me.”

Kimmel made his remarks following several weeks of sustained criticism on social media that he and other entertainers

have faced for using blackface in their work.

On June 1, Jimmy Fallon, the host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC, apologized on his program for a “Saturday Night Live” sketch from 2000 in which he had appeared in blackface to impersonate Chris Rock.

Tina Fey, creator of the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” said that she and her co-showrunner, Robert Carlock, had asked for several episodes of that show to be pulled from streaming services because they depict characters in blackface. Fey said in a statement, “As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing makeup are best taken out of circulation. I understand now that ‘intent’ is not a free pass for white people to use these images.”

Episodes of other comedy shows like “Little Britain” and “The Mighty Boosh” have also been pulled from streaming services amid concerns about blackface.

Kimmel, who is slated to host the Emmy Awards in September, announced last week that he would be taking a vacation from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and would have guest hosts fill in for him throughout the summer. He said in his statement Tuesday that this vacation had been planned “for more than a year and includes the next two summers off as well,” adding that he would return to the show in September.

Ron Jeremy, adult film star, charged with sexually assaulting 4 women

By JULIA JACOBS

A

dult-film actor Ron Jeremy has been charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, the attacks date back to as far as 2014, with the most recent having occurred in July 2019. Three of the incidents detailed in the charges happened at the same bar in West Hollywood, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.

Allegations of sexual assault against Jeremy, one of the few in the adult-film industry whose name is familiar in the mainstream, first surfaced in the early days of the #MeToo movement, when he was the subject of a 2017 Rolling Stone article in which more than a dozen women came forward with accusations. Jeremy denied all of them to the magazine, saying, “I have never raped anyone.”

Golden Artists Entertainment, the management company that represented Jeremy, stuck with him after the 2017 report, believing that he had shown them proof of his innocence. But Tuesday, Dante Rusciolelli, owner of Golden Art-

ists Entertainment, announced that the company was dropping Jeremy as a client. Jeremy’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the complaint, Jeremy, 67, is accused of raping a 25-year-old woman at a West Hollywood home in 2014.

He is also accused of two attacks that prosecutors said took place in 2017 at the same bar in West Hollywood. Jeremy is charged with forcible rape and sexual battery by restraint in one case and with sexual penetration by use of force and sexual penetration by intoxicating substance in the second.

A fourth woman said that Jeremy raped her at the same bar last year, the news release said.

The district attorney’s office said that it had decided against prosecuting an additional case related to an incident in 2016 because of insufficient evidence.

Jeremy was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, and prosecutors recommended setting bail at $6.6 million. If convicted, Jeremy could face a maximum sentence of 90 years to life in prison, the district attorney’s office said.

22

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

‘You should have left’ review: This haunted house is familiar lent spasms of fear, delivers a more intriguing performance when he exudes an air of wrath, but that fierce tension isn’t maintained throughout. Meanwhile, we become lost in the house’s ever-expanding hallways and stairways, which draw the eye but remains the movie’s only real point of interest.

Sure, there’s Theo with his secrets, but he is ultimately forgettable, a cookie-cutter portrait of a protagonist — and that goes for the whole brood. Essex’s Ella, though reliably adorable, is ornamental, meant to do nothing more than heighten the stakes. Seyfried has even less to do.

Armed with allegory, the film cobbles together a slapdash religious metaphor involving damnation out of the workings of the house, what the house actually is and its relationship to Theo, who’s ensnared by its constant turns and shifting dimensions. Koepp and Kehlmann’s screenplay fails to properly set the groundwork for the film’s final twist, instead dropping egregious and poorly incorporated hints on the sluggish march to a telegraphed conclusion. And the direction, too, feels languid, almost mechanical, with rote terrors and tones robbed from horror movies past.

Theo should have left the house right away — the title didn’t need to tell us. But “You Should Have Left” also offers us a dreary term of confinement. Time to head for the door.

By MAYA PHILLIPS

A

creepy abandoned house in the boondocks, a shadowy figure in the background, a mysterious man battling unnamed demons — even if you haven’t visited the Welsh spook-house in “You Should Have Left,” you’ve definitely been here before. The film, which is adapted by the director David Koepp and Daniel Kehlmann, from Kehlmann’s novel of the same name, aims for depth but only wades through shallow waters.

The retired, middle-aged Theo (Kevin Bacon) and his much younger actress wife, Susanna (Amanda Seyfried), venture to Wales with their young daughter, Ella (Avery Essex), for some bonding and R&R. The land is picturesque, but the house, an impersonal, aggressively modern design, seems to have been dreamed up by Doctor Who: It’s inexplicably bigger on the inside.

Some lukewarm scares (doors opening and shutting, as they’re wont to do in haunted houses) signal the fact that something isn’t quite right. And then there’s Theo, who’s suspiciously neurotic about people learning his identity; he’s widely hated and, on top of that, a recovering hothead.

He tries to manage his thinly veiled rage and jealousy with journaling and meditation. But in his character, too, there’s something amiss.

What the film seems to want to build toward, as Theo angrily scrawls out his frustrations with his wife and wanders through the labyrinthine home, is a Jack Torrancestyle breakthrough. Bacon, almost comical in Theo’s vio-

‘Feel the beat’ review: Tough love in the dance studio

By NATALIA WINKELMAN

A

number of energetic dance routines elevate “Feel the Beat,” a predictable dramedy streaming on Netflix. The film hews to the formula of “The Bad News Bears,” following a self-absorbed Broadway achiever named April (Sofia Carson) who becomes an instructor for a preteen dance troupe. Her heart has been hardened in blind ambition, but it’s nothing a few gawky kids in leotards can’t revive.

In the film’s opening moments, April botches a Broadway audition by way of an embarrassing public mishap. Her cap brim pulled down in shame, she grudgingly decamps to her Wisconsin hometown where she accepts a job teaching at her old ballet studio. She hopes that an upcoming youth dance competition — in which the instructor shares the spotlight — will resuscitate her career, but her prickly tough love approach leaves the pigtailed girls petrified.

The harmony among the kids, particularly the older girls Kari (Lidya Jewett) and Sarah (Eva Hauge), is the

film’s greatest asset, and the director, Elissa Down, uses their natural charm as a crutch for the run-of-the-mill story. In an authentic touch, one of the dancers is deaf, and the group often uses sign language to communicate.

The kids’ enthusiasm as an ensemble suggests a funnier, warmer movie, a cute clone of “School of Rock” in which the misfits take center stage as they blossom into talented ballerinas. Their joy is enough to thaw April’s iciness, but it can’t save the slight movie that surrounds them.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

23

Copper won’t save you from Coronavirus

By KATHERINE J. WU

I

t began in mid-March. Every time Michael D.L. Johnson checked his email, the University of Arizona microbiologist would find a new batch of messages, all asking the same question: Will products made with copper keep the coronavirus at bay?

“I was getting three to four emails about it a day,” Johnson said. Some asked if he recommended ingesting copper as a cure.

Others wondered if it was a good idea to outfit their homes with it. A few inquisitive citizens even wanted to know whether wearing copper accessories, such as bracelets, would stave off disease.

“It was kind of a wild ride,” Johnson said.

The flood of missives in his inbox eventually waned. But in many ways, the COVID-19 copper craze has not. In recent months, there’s been a surge of interest in materials laced with the metal, including socks, bedsheets and coatings that can be sprayed onto surfaces. Multiple companies are marketing face coverings and masks with built-in copper linings, touting their germkilling properties. One company even offers a “nasal wand” designed to apply “the touch of solid copper” to the hands, face and nostrils at the first sign of illness.

But while copper does have antimicrobial qualities, Johnson and others said you should think twice before buying into many of these products’ claims.

What Copper Might Do To Pathogens People have been aware of copper’s sanitizing abilities at least as far back as ancient Egypt, said Karrera Djoko, a biochemist and microbiologist at Durham University in England.

“Even before we had a concept of what a germ is,” Djoko said, “we were using copper to contain water” and keep it safe to drink.

Scientists today know the mighty metal as a swift slayer of microbes, capable of limiting the spread of E. coli, salmonella, influenza virus and more. In certain settings, it may stifle the coronavirus, too. In a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported that, under controlled laboratory conditions, the coronavirus couldn’t last more than a few hours on copper surfaces, compared with a couple days on stainless steel or plastic. (Though scientists don’t think

3D-printed masks with a copper-lined filter in a workshop in Santiago, Chile. surfaces are the main way the virus spreads between people.)

For humans, copper is an essential nutrient, which you easily get enough of in a typical diet. But Djoko said many microbes don’t take to copper so kindly. When copper physically contacts a germ like coronavirus, it can release reactive ions that pummel and puncture the bug’s exterior. That gives the ions access to the microbe’s innards, where they wreak similar havoc on its genetic material.

Copper can be calamitous for microbes in other ways as well, Johnson said. Metal ions, like iron or zinc, are found in about 40% of proteins with known structures, and most likely play essential roles in their function. But in a vicious game of musical chairs, copper that finds its way into a cell or a virus can swoop in and displace other metals, impairing or even destroying the proteins it commandeers.

“If 40% of your proteins don’t work, you don’t work,” Johnson said. Copper may even be capable of jamming up proteins that typically run metal-free by simply glomming onto their surfaces.

Even our own immune systems appear to exploit copper’s protective perks.

Some evidence suggests that immune cells like macrophages — which gobble up and destroy bacteria, viruses and other microbes — may be capable of engulfing and seques-

tering germs in an acidic “ball of death” chamber that’s then spiked with lethal doses of copper, Johnson said. “Our bodies have been using this for warfare” long before copper masks hit the market, he added.

But it remains to be seen which of these scenarios will play out with the coronavirus, and to what extent. Johnson is one of several scientists currently on the case, tinkering with copper to suss out exactly how it exerts its apparently potent effects on this dangerous germ.

Steer Clear of the Copper Nose Picker What works well in the lab, however, won’t necessarily pass muster in the real world. Both Johnson and Djoko have held off on recommending copper-infused accessories, including face coverings and masks, to their friends, family and colleagues as a way to reduce transmission. (Overingesting copper is also a bad idea, and probably wouldn’t do much to boost immunity, Johnson said.

And Djoko isn’t keen on the idea of sticking copper wands up your nose.)

Loosefitting face coverings, like cloth or surgical masks, aren’t air tight and don’t make the wearer impervious to infection.

But if the wearer is infected, masks can do a great deal to protect others from virus-laden droplets spewed by coughs, sneezes and speech. A 2010 study found that the metallaced accessories could curb the amount of

active influenza virus lingering on contaminated masks. (The analysis was conducted by Cupron Scientific, one of several companies now selling copper-lined face coverings.)

If copper face coverings also curtail the coronavirus, that could come in handy for people who mishandle their masks, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol scientist at Virginia Tech. A hefty dose of copper could diminish the chances of viable virus making it into the eyes, nose or mouth via a wayward hand that’s touched the front of a mask.

Still, not all metal-infused masks are created equal. Manufacturers would need to design them with enough copper — ideally near the product’s surface — to actually do the job.

“If your mask is only 1% copper, that means it’s 99% not copper,” Djoko said. If the metal and microbe don’t physically meet, the mask “won’t confer any more benefit than just regular masks.”

Durability could also be an issue, especially if copper masks are getting repeatedly washed or disinfected. Many common household cleaners are formulated with compounds that could strip copper ions off a protective surface, Djoko said.

Still, copper may yet have a role to play in the pandemic. Installing copper-based surfaces in hospitals has been shown to cut down on transmission rates of certain pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Djoko thinks it could keep coronavirus in check in such settings, too.

But all experts emphasize that having the metal around doesn’t let anyone off the hygiene hook. Copper on its own is no cureall — and its effects aren’t instantaneous. It takes about 45 minutes for copper to reduce the amount of virus on a surface by half.

“It’s not like it hits the copper and poof, it’s gone,” Marr said. So you might want to keep that in mind before you buy a copper or brass tool for using touch screens and opening doors. To minimize transmission risk, people should still wash their hands, avoid crowds and maintain a safe distance from one another.

More copper-containing accouterments — coronavirus-related or not — may yet be headed our way. Johnson has nothing against that.

“Copper is a fantastic fashion choice,” he said. “You’re going to look fabulous. It just might not work the way you think.”

24

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

China reports progress in ultra-secure satellite transmission

A quantum communication ground station in Xinglong, in northern China, in 2016, communicating with the quantum satellite Micius, the world’s first.

By WILLIAM J. BROAD

T

he world of artificial satellites, silent in the void of space, might seem pacific. In fact it’s a highflying battlefield rife with jamming, snooping, blinding, spoofing, hacking and hostility among the planet’s growing array of spacecraft and space powers.

Now, Chinese scientists report new progress in building what appears to be the first unbreakable information link between an orbiting craft and its terrestrial controllers, raising the odds that Beijing may one day possess a super-secure global communications network.

In the journal Nature, the team of 24 scientists describe successfully testing the transmission of a “secret key” for encrypting and decrypting messages between a satellite and two ground stations located roughly 700 miles apart.

The method enlists quantum entanglement, an idea of modern physics that seems ridiculously at odds with common sense. It posits that a pair of widely separated subatomic particles can still seem instantaneously linked: Measuring a property of one will simultaneously affect the measured results on its

companion, even if the two are millions of light-years apart. Albert Einstein called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance.”

The Chinese authors, who in 2017 first reported on entanglement success in a satellite transmission, now show that they have increased its efficiency and reduced error rates enough to use quantum entanglement for the relay of cryptographic keys. In a research summary, Nature said the team had demonstrated that the system “produces a secure channel that is resistant to attacks.”

Duncan Earl, a former scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and president and chief technology officer of Qubitekk, a company in Vista, California, that is exploring quantum encryption, said that the Chinese advance appeared to be significant.

“It’s an important milestone,” Earl said in an interview. “It’s the scaling of the technology that makes this so important. They’re an incredible group.”

Traditional communications satellites used radio waves to send signals. In contrast, the quantum communication satellite uses pairs of entangled photons, or light particles, whose properties remain entwined even as one photon is transmitted over a long distance.

Messages are sent by manipulating the properties.

The scientist in charge of China’s quantum satellite effort is Jian-Wei Pan, who is the senior author on the Nature paper. He is a physicist at the University of Science and Technology of China, in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province in east-central China.

A 2012 profile of Pan in Nature reported that he was in his early 30s when, in 2001, he set up China’s first laboratory for manipulating the quantum properties of photons.

“The lucky thing was that, in 2000, the economy of China started to grow, so the timing was suddenly right to do good science,” Pan said.

In August 2016, from the Gobi Desert, China launched the world’s first satellite for testing the transmission of quantum information on light particles. The satellite was nicknamed Micius after a fifth-century B.C. Chinese philosopher. It fired concentrated beams of laser light to relay the quantum signals between two telescopes built at ground stations in Delingha and Nanshan, in China, 700 miles apart.

Then, in June 2017, Pan and 33 of his Chinese colleagues reported transmission success in the journal Science. The signal’s efficiency, they said, was “orders of magnitude higher than that of the bidirectional transmission of the two photons through telecommunications fibers,” the standard approach.

In the new paper, Pan’s team reported that it had increased the efficiency of the communications link by upgrading the telescopes and optics as well as the fine tracking of targets among the system’s far-flung parts.

The experimental results showed a rise in the practical security of secret-key transmission “to an unprecedented level,” the authors wrote.

Earl of Qubitekk said that the Chinese transmissions between Earth and space had previously shown much weakening from such environmental factors as clouds and rain.

“This is progress and a significant step forward,” he said of the newly disclosed research.

NASA has drawn up plans to rival the Chinese advance. Known as the National Space Quantum Laboratory program, it intends to use a laser system on the International Space Station to relay quantum information between two ground stations. The program was initiated in 2018.

Generally, Earl said, Beijing seems far ahead of Washington in the race to master the quantum riddles and their practical applications in space. He noted that he has no access to classified information and thus cannot evaluate the nation’s possible secret progress.

Earl estimated that matching China’s quantum accomplishments in orbit will take the unclassified parts of the U.S. program another three years “and maybe longer, which is pretty concerning. We have a long way to go.”

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

OTONIEL HUERTAS RODRIGUEZ. URB. HIGHLAND GARDENS A18 CALLE ALBORADA GUAYNABO, PR 00969 Peticionario

EX-PARTE

Civil #: BY2019CV06142. Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO POR EXCESO EN CABIDA. COD: 114-013-028-04-001.

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

A: Rubén Rodríguez Centeno, se desconoce dirección específica; Ana Luisa Serrano Rodríguez, se desconoce dirección específica; Edwin H. Rodríguez Rivera, se desconoce dirección específica: Vicente Rodríguez Rivera, se desconoce dirección específica; Primitivo Juan Ros Rodríguez, se desconoce dirección específica; Gladys García Rodríguez, falleció y recibí información de son sus herederos sus hijos nombrados Gladimir Ortega, reside en Clermont, Florida, EUA, Ángel José Ortega, reside en Carolina del Sur, EUA y, Glarimar Ortega, reside en Texas, no se conoce dirección específica; Luz María García Rodríguez, se desconoce dirección especifica; María del Carmen Meléndez García, se desconoce dirección especifica; José M. Meléndez García, ultima dirección conocida: 30023 Tavares Ridge Blv, Tavares, Florida, 32778; Carlos D. Meléndez García, ultima dirección conocida: 2510 Hadleigh St., Kissimmee, Florida 34743; Delfín Meléndez Quiñones, falleció y lo que tenía era el derecho de usufructo viudal y sus hijos son los de apellidos Meléndez García arriba indicados @

en los apartados h, i y j; Elisa Odette García se desconoce dirección especifica; Ruth Haydee Calo, ultima dirección conocida: 420 Windmeadow, Alto monte spring, Fla 32707; José Emanuel García Calo, ultima dirección conocida: 420 Windmeadow, Alto monte spring, Fla 32707 Y A CUALQUIER PERSONA IGNORADA QUE PUEDA PERJUDICARSE.

POR CUANTO: La peticionaria solicita se declare a su favor el exceso de cabida sobre la finca que se describe según sus títulos del siguiente modo: “URBANA: Parcela de terreno en el barrio los Frailes del término municipal de Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, compuesto de 463.14 metros cuadrados, con las siguientes medidas lineales y colindancias; por el NORTE: en una distancia de 13.13 metros con una quebrada que los separa de los terrenos de la Sucesión Martínez Nadal; por el SUR: su frente, en 12.02 metros con camino público; por el ESTE: en una distancia de 9.50 metros con terrenos de Juan Suárez y en distancia de 26.17 metros con terrenos de Dolores Ortiz y por el OESTE: en distancia de 40.62 m con terrenos de Diego Centeno.” Enclava una estructura para fines residenciales. Consta inscrita al folio 20 del tomo 307 de Guaynabo, finca 16871. Según mensura se describe del siguiente modo: “URBANA: Parcela de terreno en el barrio los Frailes del término municipal de Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, compuesto de 602.1065 metros cuadrados, con las siguientes medidas lineales y colindancias; por el NORTE: en una distancia de 13.13 metros con una quebrada que la separa de terrenos de la Sucesión Martínez Nadal; por el SUR: su frente en 12.02 metros con camino público; por el ESTE: en una distancia de 9.50 metros con terrenos de Juan Suárez y en distancia de 26.17 metros con terrenos de Dolores Ortiz (estos dos colindantes hoy son sustituidos por Carlos Martínez Serrano) y por el OESTE: en distancia de 40.62 m. l. con terrenos de Diego Centeno.” Esta pretensión se publicará tres veces en veinte días en este periódico.

El que tenga interés o derecho real en el inmueble, los anteriores dueños y personas ignora-

Thursday, June 25, 2020 das que puedan perjudicarse y deseen oponerse tienen 20 días para ello a contar desde la última publicación, siendo abogado de los peticionarios, Lic. Jaime Rodríguez Rivera, cuya dirección es #30 Calle Reparto Piñero, Guaynabo, PR 00969-5650, Teléfono 787-7209553 (Fax 787-790-4104). En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 11 de febrero de 2020. LAURA SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. XIOMARA FERRER VARGAS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I. ***

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

NELSON L. ESPADA VARGAS

Parte Peticionaria VS.

Ex - Parte

CIVIL NÚM: CG2019CV03320.

SALA 705. SOBRE: EXHUMACIÓN DE CADÁVER. AVISO

AVISO AL PÚBLICO SOBRE EXHUMACIÓN DE CADÁVER.

POR LA PRESENTE se le notifica que la Parte Peticionaria Nelson L. Espada Vargas, ha presentado ante este tribunal una “Petición” solicitando la concesión del siguiente remedio:

EXHUMACIÓN DEL CADÁVER DE CLARA MARCANO URBINA

Toda persona que pudiera verse afectada por la solicitud mencionada, deberá presentar su alegación o reclamación al Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, dentro término de treinta (30) días desde la publicación del último edicto y notificar su reclamación a la Parte Peticionaria con dirección postal en Urb. Borinquen, Calle Emanuel Soto Aponte #22, Caguas, P.R. 00726 y número de teléfono (787)595-7862. Se apercibe a toda persona interesada, que de no comparecer dentro dei termino de treinta (30) días, consignando su reclamación en esta Sala del Tribunal y remitiendo copia de la misma a la Parte Peticionara, el caso seguirá su tramite y se dictará Resolución concediendo el remedio solicitado. Expedido bajo mi firma del sello del Tribunal hoy día 31 de enero de 2020.

Carmen Ana Pereira Ortiz, Sec Regional. Vilma Oyola, SubSecretaria.

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

LEGAL NOTICE

25 PLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: Joel Ortiz Vózquez URB FLAMBOYAN GDNS K1O CALLE 13 BAYAMON, PUERTO RICO 00959-5810

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE POR LA PRESENTE se le CAGUAS. emplaza y requiere para que NELSON L. conteste la demanda dentro de ESPADA VARGAS los treinta (30) días siguientes Parte Peticionaria VS. a la publicación de este Edicto.

Ex - Parte Usted deberá presentar su aleCIVIL NÚM: CG2019CV03322. gación responsiva a través del SALA 705. SOBRE: EXHUMASistema Unificado de Manejo y CIÓN DE CADÁVER. Administración de Casos (SUAVISO AL PÚBLICO MAC), la cual puede acceder SOBRE EXHUMACIÓN utilizando la siguiente direcDE CADÁVER. ción electrónica: https://unired.

POR LA PRESENTE se le no- ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se tifica que la Parte Peticionaria represente por derecho propio, Nelson L. Espada Vargas, ha en cuyo caso deberá presentar presentado ante este tribunal su alegación responsiva en la una “Petición” solicitando la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted concesión del siguiente reme- deja de presentar su alegación dio: responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dicEXHUMACIÓN DEL CADÁVER DE ERNESTO tar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remeVARGAS DOMENA Toda persona que pudiera dio solicitado en la demanda o verse afectada por la solicitud cualquier otro sin más citarle ni mencionada, deberá presentar oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercisu alegación o reclamación cio de su sana discreción, lo al Tribunal de Primera Instan- entiende procedente. El sistecia, Sala Superior de Caguas, ma SUMAC notificará copia al dentro término de treinta (30) abogado de la parte demandías desde la publicación del dante, el Lcdo. José F. Aguilar último edicto y notificar su re- Vélez cuya dirección es: P.O. clamación a la Parte Peticio- Box 71418 San Juan, Puernaria con dirección postal en to Rico 00936-8518, teléfono Urb. Borinquen, Calle Emanuel (787) 993-3731 ala dirección Soto Aponte #22, Caguas, P.R. jose.aguilar@orf-law.com y a 00726 y número de teléfono la dirección notificaciones@orf(787)595-7862. Se apercibe a law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO toda persona interesada, que MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribude no comparecer dentro dei nal, , Puerto Rico, hoy día- 6 de termino de treinta (30) días, marzo de 2020. En Bayamón, consignando su reclamación Puerto Rico, el 6 de marzo de en esta Sala del Tribunal y re- 2020. Lcda. Laura Santa Sanmitiendo copia de la misma a chez, Sec Regional. Ivette M. la Parte Peticionara, el caso Marrero Bracero, Sec Auxiliar seguirá su tramite y se dictará del Tribunal I. Resolución concediendo el remedio solicitado. Expedido bajo mi firma del sello del Tribunal hoy día 31 de enero de 2020.

Carmen Ana Pereira Ortiz, Sec Regional. Vilma Oyola, SubSecretaria.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO Tribunal General de Justicia TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAMUY.

LEGAL NOTICE

Parte Demandante Vs.

LEGAL NOTICE

ADELA MUÑIZ RAMOS

HECTOR MANUEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNIEVES RIVERA NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Parte Demandada CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYA- CIVIL NÚM. CM2019RF00010.

MON. SOBRE: DIVORCIO (RUPTURA IRREPARABLE). NOTIFIPR RECOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT JV, LLC CACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. DEMANDANTE VS. DELINMARI RIVERA ROSADO, JOEL ORTIZ VAZQUEZ

A: HECTOR MANUEL NIEVES RIVERA 2340 VALENTINE AVENUE 1B, BRONX NY

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 recursos 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 17 de JUNIO de 2020. En CAMUY, Puerto Rico, A 17 DE JUNIO DE 2020. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZALEZ, Secretaria Regional. ISAMAR RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ, Secretario(a) Auxiliar.

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

AMERICAS LEADING FINANCE LLC Demandante V.

ROBIN AGUILO PEREZ, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2020CV00849 (602). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y EJECUCIÓN DE GRAVAMEN MOBILIARIO (REPOSESIÓN DE VEHÍCULO).

EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. DE AMERICA EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: ROBIN AGUILÓ PEREZ, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

naria en la que se alega que los demandados, ROBIN AGUILÓ PEREZ, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS, le adeudan solidariamente al Americas Leading Finance, LLC la suma de principal de $25,629.57, más los intereses que continúen acumulando, las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado según pactados.

Además, solicitamos de este Honorable Tribunal que autorice la reposesión y/o embargo del Vehículo. Se les advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAd, al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr/sumac, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarles ni oírles. La abogada de la parte demandante es la Lcdo. Gerardo M. Ortiz Torres, cuya dirección fisica y postal es: Cond El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, el facsímile (787) 946-0062 y su correo electrónico es: gerardo@bellver1aw.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en Puerto Rico, hoy día 22 de junio de 2020. GRISELDA RODRÍGÍEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARIA M. CRUZ RAMOS, Subsecretario (a).

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

AMERICAS LEADING FINANCE LLC Demandante, V.

JOEL SOSTRE REYES, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

DEMANDADOS Quedan emplazados y notifiCIVIL NÚM.: BY2019CV06135. EL SECRETARIO que suscribe cados que en este Tribunal se Demandados SALA: 503. SOBRE: COBRO le notifica a usted que el 16 de ha radicado Demanda sobre CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2020CV01928.

DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EM- JUNIO de 2020, este tribunal cobro de dinero por la vía ordi- SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO

(787) 743-3346

POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y EJECUCIÓN DE GRAVAMEN MOBILIARIO (REPOSESIÓN DE VEHÍCULO). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. DE AMERICA EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: JOEL SOSTRE REYES, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Quedan emplazados y notificados que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre cobro de dinero por la vía ordinaria en la que se alega que los demandados, JOEL SOSTRE REYES, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS, le adeudan solidariamente al Americas Leading Finance, LLC la suma de principal de la suma de principal de $8,867.00, más los intereses que continúen acumulando, las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado según pactados.

Además, solicitamos de este Honorable Tribunal que autorice la reposesión y/o embargo del Vehículo. Se les advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarles ni oírles. La abogada de la parte demandante es la Lcdo. Gerardo M. Ortiz Torres, cuya dirección fisica y postal es: Cond. El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, el facsímile (787) 946-0062 y su correo electrónico es: gerardobellverlaw.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de junio de 2020. Griselda Rodriguez Collado, Sec Regional. Yoalys Torres Rodriguez, Sec de Servicios a Sala.

26

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

New York City Marathon canceled because of pandemic

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

T

he New York City Marathon, the world’s largest marathon and one of the city’s biggest annual spectacles, has been canceled this year as concerns about the spread of the coronavirus continue to dash hopes of holding large-scale events, organizers announced Wednesday.

The race, one of the most prestigious and lucrative events of its kind, would have celebrated its 50th anniversary in November. It is one of the highlights of fall in New York and on the endurance sports calendar, attracting more than 50,000 runners, 10,000 volunteers and roughly one million fans, who line nearly every accessible yard of the 26.2-mile course through the five boroughs.

City officials and New York Road Runners, which owns and organizes the event, decided holding the race would be too risky. Public health experts have said mass events, especially those that bring people together from across the globe, will remain a danger until a treatment or a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, is widely available.

White House officials have issued warnings about another wave of infections this fall. And while infection rates in the New York metropolitan area are now among the lowest in the country, the virus is spreading at concerning rates in areas that have not heeded the advice of public health officials to continue to practice social distancing, avoid public gatherings and wear masks.

Cases were rising in 26 states on Tuesday night.

Following those guidelines while holding a major race is simply impossible, leaving the endurance sports business economically devastated this year.

Michael Capiraso, the chief executive of New York Road Runners, said he and other organizers had held out hope that the race could happen. They decided to cancel before having to spend more money to organize it.

“There was hope but that turned to uncertainty, and given what we have seen the past months this was really the only decision,” Capiraso said.

Runners who had signed up for this year’s race will be able to choose to receive a refund or to defer their entry to the race during the next three years. They will also have the option to run the race virtually.

Organizers said they would announce de-

Social distancing would be too difficult if the New York City Marathon went forward. tails of the virtual event in July.

In the New York marathon, the runners and thousands of volunteers are transported to a starting line village at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, where they huddle and wait for hours to be called to the start at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. The runners then cram into a series of starting corrals while they wait for a cannon sound to signal the start of the race.

Remaining 6 feet apart simply cannot happen.

Organizers canceled the race once before, in 2012, after Hurricane Sandy hammered the region just days before the race.

They decided against having only an elite field this year in part because they feared crowds gathering on the streets and because of the uncertainty of being able to bring international runners to the United States.

With the announcement, New York became the third of the six major international marathons to be canceled in 2020.

In March, the Boston Marathon postponed its race, scheduled for April, to September, then canceled it altogether last month. The London and Chicago ma-

rathons remain scheduled for the fall, but organizers have yet to commit to holding them. The Tokyo Marathon went forward in early March only with elite runners.

The Marine Corps Marathon remains scheduled for late October in Washington and Northern Virginia, though organizers have canceled two shorter races for that weekend.

New York Road Runners carries cancellation insurance for the race, which eases what will be a significant blow for the organization.

The marathon is the signature event and among the main revenue generators for the organization, which collects a little more than $100 million each year but had to cancel two other major events this spring — the New York City and Brooklyn half marathons. According to tax filings, those races accounted for the bulk of the running organization’s $41 million in race entry fees in 2018, the last year for which figures are available.

When the race was canceled in 2012, the organization had infuriated runners by insisting until just two days before the race that it would take place. By then, thousands

of runners had already traveled from across the United States, Europe and Asia only to have to return home without racing after training for months.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York had signaled in the spring that the chances for holding the marathon were poor. He described such large events as “the last piece of the puzzle” in terms of reopening the city.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s going to be a while before we’re comfortable with any large gathering,” de Blasio said then.

The cancellation was a major disappointment for Aliphine Tuliamuk, who won the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in February.

After the Tokyo Games, which have been postponed a year to 2021, she had planned to run New York, the place where she proved to herself in 2017 and 2019 that she could be a world class marathoner. When the Olympics were postponed, she wanted to use New York to stay sharp ahead of the Games in 2021.

Without a race on the horizon, she said she is “training for the love of training.”

“I sort of knew this was coming,” Tuliamuk said. “After what we have been through the past four months, it’s the right call.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

27

Baseball’s plan: A 60-game sprint with fingers crossed

By TYLER KEPNER

T

here will be no asterisk for the 2020 baseball season because the year itself is an obvious outlier in every way.

Whoever wins the World Series — if the season makes it that far — will overcome the challenges of a three-month sprint inside empty ballparks during a pandemic.

No other champion, to be sure, will have faced those obstacles.

“The teams that lose, they’ll be the ones going, ‘Well, it’s not for real, they didn’t play 162, they didn’t have the marathon,’” Mike Stanton, a former pitcher who played in six World Series and won three with the New York Yankees, said Tuesday. “But for the team that wins, it’ll be just as special as any other — and in some ways even more so, because of the trials and tribulations that everybody has gone through to get to that point.”

“This will be a year that everyone remembers,” Stanton added. “Everyone.”

Baseball, of course, will be just a small patch on 2020’s tapestry of the weird. But for a sport with such a deep and enchanting history, it will stand out as a singular phenomenon, by far the shortest season since the 1870s — before the invention of the pitcher’s mound, the catcher’s mitt and the infield fly rule.

Teams will play only 60 games, with opening day set for July 23 or July 24. That is a week before the traditional trading deadline, when also-rans give up on the season and trade veterans to contenders for prospects.

Now, though, every team will reach late July as a contender, with a trade deadline to be determined. Think of it as forced competitive balance, when even the worst teams can dream of getting hot for nine weeks and stealing a playoff berth. Every game will count 2.7 times more than usual, infusing daily urgency to a sport in which teams often have time to coalesce.

After 60 games last season, the Washington Nationals were 27-33 — two games worse at that point than the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Nationals surged up the standings and won the World Series. The Pirates spiraled and finished in last place.

Then again, last year’s postseason field did not change much after the 60-game mark. At that point, the playoff teams would have been the Yankees, Minnesota, Houston, Tampa Bay and Texas in the American League, and Atlanta, Milwaukee, Philadel-

phia, the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League. Seven of those teams wound up in the postseason; only the Rangers, the Phillies and the Cubs faded.

For a while, it seemed as if this year’s postseason was destined to be like a preschooler’s birthday party, where everyone in the class gets invited. The last proposals by the players and the owners added three wild-card teams in each league, allowing more than half of all teams to take part.

Both sides agreed on that change, so why not implement it this October? Negotiating is the reason. The players believed that if Commissioner Rob Manfred was going to give them 60 games at full prorated salaries with or without an agreement, it would be foolish to give up a valuable bargaining chip by authorizing the lucrative expanded playoff package owners covet.

Rejecting the owners’ offer was a calculated gamble by the players, who turned down more money upfront for the chance to claim a lot more — perhaps $1 billion — through a grievance accusing the owners of bad-faith negotiating. The rejection meant that other proposed innovations would be shelved, too, like in-game broadcast enhancements and (thankfully) advertising on players’ uniforms.

The universal designated hitter might be retained as part of a 2020 rules package the sides must still discuss. Teams might also start extra innings with a runner on second base to spark offense and allow games to finish quicker.

The schedule will be limited to divisional play, plus interleague games with teams in the corresponding geographic division. So the Yankees, for example, will play their American League East rivals Baltimore, Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto, but also the National League East teams: Atlanta, Miami, the New York Mets, Philadelphia and Washington.

Doing so without fans will be jarring, but perhaps not for long.

“You’re playing the Red Sox, you’re at Yankee Stadium or Fenway, the place is rocking and rolling — it’s hard not to get excited in those situations,” Stanton said. “It’s going to be missed, but the passion for the game, the reason you’re playing, the competitiveness of every player — that doesn’t go away because there are no fans in the stands. The first week or two will be different, but then it’s going to be, ‘We’re just playing baseball.’”

Major League Baseball has set up a mad dash to the World Series this year.

Stanton continued: “You may have to go back to college or high school, or even prior to that, but at some point, everyone was playing with just the people on the field. I played in Atlanta when we had 1,500 people — might as well have not been anybody there — and select games around the league, same thing. There were always a few fans, but there was never any energy coming out of the stands, so it really didn’t matter all that much. They’re going to have to adapt, but I think they’ll do it quickly.”

Everything must happen quickly now as baseball dashes to the World Series while trying desperately to wall itself off from the coronavirus. That is the threat looming over players as they re-enter the workforce.

As Brewers pitcher Brett Anderson put it in an ominous tweet on Monday night: “What happens when we all get it?” For all of the league’s careful planning, that is the question it cannot answer, and the one that would ruin everything.

28

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

The team that Liverpool forgot

By RORY SMITH

F

or a few minutes, right at the start of the second half, Vicky Jepson tried to sit down. Jepson, Liverpool’s coach, arranged a blanket neatly over her legs, to stave off the bitter winter cold, squeezed in alongside her players on the substitutes’ bench, and sat still for as long as she could.

It should have been a pleasant way to pass the time, as relaxed an afternoon as Jepson might have had all season. Her Liverpool team was methodically cutting through its opponent, Blackburn Rovers, its lead going from 4-1 to 5-1 and on to six, seven and eight. Even then, though, sitting still does not come easy to Jepson.

Instead, she found herself back on her feet again, pacing and prowling. Jepson is an active, thoughtful coach, not a bawler and bellower. She offered precise, corrective advice — where to run, when to overlap, where to stand — rather than meaningless motivational phrases.

Her instructions were surprisingly detailed, occasionally drifting into coaching jargon. Her players, though, listened intently, taking it all in.

That afternoon in January was supposed to be Liverpool’s springboard. The previous week, Jepson’s team had won its first game of the Women’s Super League (WSL) season. Sweeping past Blackburn, in the FA Cup, had the air of a corner being turned. Jepson spoke afterward of how the victory might restore her players’ composure, relieving the anxiety that had set in.

In the end, the day proved nothing more than some respite. When the WSL season was shuttered in March, Liverpool was rooted to the foot of the league table. It had still won only one game. By May, it was seeing a flood of players at the end of contracts leave the club.

Many of them, including Scottish midfielder Christie Murray and English striker Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, explained their decisions by suggesting they wanted to be somewhere they could “enjoy what I love again.” The thinly veiled subtext was, of course, that taking pleasure and pride in their jobs had become impossible at Liverpool.

And then, in the first week of June, it was announced that the WSL season would be decided on a points-pergame formula. Chelsea was crowned champion. Liverpool, which had eight games left, was relegated. There was sympathy for Jepson, and for her players, but little or none for the club. To many, Liverpool had got what it deserved.

At a time of rapid growth for the women’s game in Europe, with booming interest and increasing investment — even from a number of teams, like Manchester United and Real Madrid, that had been slow to form a women’s division — at least one former player accused Liverpool of “playing at” women’s soccer. Even those inside the club wondered if it needed to decide if it was “going to take this seriously or not.” After her departure, Sweetman-Kirk talked about not only a lack of investment by the club, but a “lack of importance” afforded to the women’s team.

The contrast with the men’s team was a sharp, damn-

ing one. Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool is the world and European champion. When the Premier League resumed last week, Liverpool needed only two wins to end its 30-year wait for an English championship. It pays out $392 million a year in salaries to its players.

Liverpool’s women, on the other hand, were hardly paid salaries commensurate with their status as elite athletes. Until a former coach complained, they had been housed in substandard accommodations. Only 10 staff members were considered full-time employees, in a year when the club as a whole had reported a record revenue, as well as a record profit.

Both of Liverpool’s first teams had been taken on last year’s preseason tour to the United States, but their treatment had been so different that many of the women’s players wondered why they had been invited at all. Once the Liverpool women returned to England, they were playing their home games at Tranmere, on a field once described

by Chelsea coach Emma Hayes as a stain on the club.

What seemed to capture the dichotomy best, though, was the fact that when Liverpool unveiled plans for the club’s new training facility, it did not contain provisions for both the men’s and the women’s teams. Peter Moore, the club’s chief executive, has described Liverpool as “two teams, one club.” Reality has made that look like a hollow slogan.

As the criticism of its treatment of its women’s team built over the course of the season — its struggles painted in sharp relief by the concurrent success of the men — Liverpool offered a partial rebuttal. The club contended that its budget, while less than Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal’s, is competitive with the top half of the WSL. It said that it provided Jepson with a full-time doctor, physiotherapist and analyst, still not standard among topflight teams in England. And though the issues with the field at Tranmere have caused embarrassment and consternation, the club is adamant it is still a better class of facility than many women’s teams have access to.

But Liverpool also asks its women’s team — to some extent — to be self-sustaining. While the women’s team’s budget is subsidized by income from the men’s game, Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), has made clear that to spend more, it must generate more.

It is, at least, a consistent philosophy — and one that FSG applies to the men, too — but it gets to the heart of a crucial question for women’s soccer in Europe: How can it reach a point where it can exist, comfortably, independent of the financial support of long-established men’s teams?

The theory, though, falls down when it confronts reality.

There is a difference not just of scale, but of context. The men’s game is at the peak of its earning power. The women’s professional game is still on the ascent: There is a need to speculate to accumulate. Besides, an increase in budget that would barely cause a ripple for a men’s team can have a sizable effect on a women’s side.

Most of Liverpool’s rivals have realized that. The WSL, Jepson said, has “stepped on to another level.”

“Sam Kerr, one of the best strikers in the world, came into Chelsea for a big wedge of cash,” Jepson noted. “A lot of play-

Liverpool’s women won only one game last season, and were relegated after the season was cut short by the pandemic. ers that have played on a World Cup platform have come into the league. That is what you have to do if you want to compete with the best.”

Instead, she said, Liverpool had decided that its future lay not in buying stars, but producing them. That was how she saw her job: “Creating a pathway so that we can be where we want to be.”

In the crowd that day against Blackburn, Stephen Nelson sat alongside his father, Stan. Stephen Nelson is a tour guide at John Lennon’s house, and over the past few years has transferred much of the affection he has always had for Liverpool’s men’s team onto its women’s side. Now, given the choice, he says he will go and watch the women’s team, for all its struggles, over Klopp’s relentless, victorious machine.

“I’ve seen great players playing for Liverpool,” he said.

“Teams with a real identity, a real soul. What has happened has been heartbreaking to see.”

That day, Nelson was confident the worst might be averted.

So, too, was Jepson. She acknowledged that she had experienced frustrations over the previous few months, but she thought that the club had at last happened upon a clearer direction. “We have done a lot of work to ask where we are going,” she said.

A few months later, they have their answer, and it is a wonder, really, that they could not see it coming.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Sudoku

29

How to Play:

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

Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

GAMES

HOROSCOPE Aries

30

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

(Mar 21-April 20)

Despite assuming more responsibilities and working harder than ever, your income has remained flat. It’s time to make some changes. One of the best ways to improve your financial situation is to think of yourself as a prosperous person. Focus on what you have. It will grow and multiply.

Whenever you worry about paying your bills, make a list of blessings. These can include anything from a roof over your head to a full stomach, to loving pets. The good feeling associated with these things will attract abundance.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

The rates for an insurance policy will skyrocket. It’s time to find a better arrangement. Team up with a Gemini or Virgo who has excellent research skills. Together, you’ll find good coverage that makes sense for your budget. It will be easier than expected. Beware of the company you keep. Associating with someone who is always insulting people, whether in person or social media, will create embarrassment. You’re advised to keep your distance from this troublemaker. You don’t want to be painted with the same brush.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

You’re highly sensitive. Insecure situations fill you with anxiety. It’s time to learn some relaxation techniques.

Learning how to put problems in perspective will be like acquiring a superpower. No matter what your financial or romantic situation, you will thrive. If an appliance, car or computer breaks down, don’t panic. You’ll find an inexpensive substitute that serves you very well. Spread the word on social media about what kind of replacement you’ll want. Help is on the way; don’t block its path.

If you’re dissatisfied with a medical diagnosis, get a second opinion. A holistic approach to health could bring tremendous relief from prevailing conditions. Keep an open mind.

At times like these, it’s important to stay positive. Watch funny movies and chat online to upbeat friends. Try to fix a communication glitch as soon as possible. Check your inboxes for messages that might have gone astray. If you owe someone a call, contact them now. A relative or neighbour has important news for you.

Going along with popular opinion isn’t advised. It’s better to stick to your principles. Just because someone in your group is behaving oddly doesn’t mean they are stupid or wrong.

Keep an open mind, even if this means challenging some judgmental people. A cutback in hours or reduction in pay is not the end of the world. Look for the silver lining to this cloud. At long last, you’ll have an opportunity to write a story, play a non-contact sport or invent some recipes.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

A promotion or salary increase has been postponed. This makes you cautious when planning for the future. You’re tired of working hard with little reward. Resist the temptation to plunge into a downward spiral. By adopting a positive outlook, you’ll attract a great job offer. It will be very difficult to control your temper with a relative. This family member knows how to push your buttons, taunting you about your artistic ambitions and political positions.

Turn a deaf ear to this pest. You have bigger fish to fry.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

Assuming financial responsibilities for a romantic partner or adult child is a mistake. The best thing you can do to promote a healthy relationship is show faith in their moneymaking abilities. By expecting them to make their own money, they’ll feel better about themselves. Obeying conventional wisdom will backfire. Your intuition is urging you to choose the path less travelled. Taking this route will bring the intellectual stimulation you crave. It will also cultivate a level of spiritual fulfilment you never dreamed possible.

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Someone close is getting restless and anxious. Don’t encourage them to complain about their situation. Instead, invite them to focus on all the advantages this position affords. When they develop an attitude of optimism for the future, their mindset will improve. This isn’t a good time to enter a binding agreement. Negotiate better terms. If the other party won’t budge, you should walk away from the deal. Only do business with people who treat you respectfully; it saves lots of trouble.

A loved one is facing a temporary layoff. Give them as much positive reinforcement as possible. One of your nicest qualities is your upbeat attitude. Your friend’s chances of landing a better job will be dramatically improved when they feel good about themselves. Someone who lives at a distance will ask for your financial support. Lending them money will be cause for regret. It will pave the way to a level of dependency you can’t handle. Reject their request as firmly but politely as possible.

Legal problems are weighing on your mind. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. If an official agency wants receipts or invoices, give them the information. Is the documentation lost? Try to satisfy their enquiries. Be polite and helpful.

Beware of getting entangled in a power struggle with a relative. If they’re trying to gain control of a vulnerable person’s finances, put your foot down. Be firm. When this manipulator realises you can’t be swayed, they’ll look for another target.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Don’t let a relative push you into signing a document. This deal doesn’t benefit you at all. Put your interests first, even if this causes tension in your family. Getting legal advice and representation will help you get your fair share of a group fund. A business or romantic partner is experiencing financial difficulty. Don’t let their anxiety rub off on you.

By maintaining an upbeat attitude, you can have a positive impact on your other half. Remind them that they still have many marketable skills.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

You’ll be asked to correct some embarrassing mistakes.

Offer a sincere apology and do everything in your power to rectify the inconvenience. A genuine desire to fix the situation will preserve your stellar professional reputation.

People are more forgiving than you suspect. Are you unemployed? It will take longer than expected to find a new job.

Be patient and try enjoying your freedom while it lasts.

Take this opportunity to clear your home of clutter. While you’re at it, catch up on your reading.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Thursday, June 25, 2020

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

The San Juan Daily Star

Ziggy

32

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Disfruta el Verano

36 MESES SIN

¡Disfruta el mejor Perfortmance!

INTERESES Nevera BIZT

$289.00 Super Bass 2MH 3000

$89.00

Super Sonic 32”

$189.00

TOPE de Gas

$489.00 Studio Z STZP-800

LG CM4360

$169

LG 65 ó Samsung .00

$59

Studio Z SZC-1207BW

$789 PS4

$399.00

$389

Máquina Lavado a presión .00

.00

.00

Estufa MABE Silver .00

$449

$39

Incluye Pendrive y Música variada

$115.00

Samsung A10s

$149.00

I Pad Generación 7 .00

$449

Abanico Industrial

Model RL-20IFF

$39.00

Licuadora OSTER .00

Generador Inverter 2200 .00

$799