Thursday Nov 24, 2022

INDEX

Governor asks Biden for more drug-fighting resources

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia asked President Joe Biden in a letter on Wednesday to allocate more resources from the federal government to combat drug trafficking taking into account that Puerto Rico’s geographical location exposes it as an entry point for illegal drugs, in order to reinforce short- and long-term initiatives that lead to significant reduction in the entry of illegal drugs.

“The murder of a federal agent and the injuries suffered by two other agents last week demonstrate how extremely violent these criminal organizations are, whose members disrespect law enforcement, American citizens living in Puerto Rico and those living in the rest of our Nation,” the governor said in a written statement. “For this reason, I ask for more direct assistance from the federal government, including more resources, so that our federal agents, who dedicate their lives to the security of our people, can more effectively combat everything related to drug trafficking and the violence it causes.”

The governor was referring to the violent incident last Thursday in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Michel Maceda died in the line of duty while par ticipating in an intervention off the coast of Cabo Rojo.

Pierluisi said the rise in the level of violence caused by drug trafficking is due in large part to the island’s strategic location because it is a transshipment point for the smuggling of illegal drugs from Central and South America, as well as from other Caribbean islands, to the mainland United States.

“Drug trafficking in the Caribbean is a national secu rity dilemma,” the governor said. “That is why, while you were vice president and I was resident commissioner in Washington, the federal government took firm positions on this issue by establishing the interagency ‘Caribbean Border Initiative’ to significantly increase the number of federal agents who were deployed throughout the island.”

During National Red Ribbon Week in October, Pierluisi had indicated that the close collaboration between state and federal authorities has been key to highlighting the fight against drug trafficking and the use of illegal drugs.

Between 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported the need to have more fed eral presence on the island because Puerto Rico, Florida, California and Pennsylvania are the four jurisdictions with the highest number of illegal drug seizures. The federal

agency emphasized, in those same years, the trafficking of drugs from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico through the Mona Passage and that the criminal organiza tions involved in trafficking used the U.S. Postal Service, as well as other commercial and various maritime vessels for illegal smuggling from Puerto Rico to Florida.

“It’s no coincidence that the illegal drugs seized in Florida and Pennsylvania come from the Caribbean,” Pierluisi said.

In April of last year, federal agents seized 2,378 kilo grams of cocaine, and another 609 kilos on July 7 of this year. So far in the seven weeks of federal fiscal year 2023, 19,601.36 pounds of drugs have been seized. To carry out investigative work on the island, federal authorities have the assistance of hundreds of officials and agents of the Puerto Rico government from the Police Bureau, the Treasury Department, the Special Investigations Bureau and the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation who are assigned to various task forces.

“I appreciate your attention to this issue that not only impacts the 3.2 million American citizens residing in Puerto Rico but all those who live in the Nation,” the governor said. “I am confident that we will continue to work together to safeguard American citizens from the violence and illegal activity of drug traffickers, who with their actions poison our communities and do harm to our future generations.”

Copies of the letter were sent to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and White House National Drug Control Direc tor Rahul Gupta.

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.

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

NPP lawmaker upbraids Georgia congressman over Puerto Rico comments at hearing

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

New Progressive Party Rep. José Enrique “Quiquito” Meléndez Ortiz criticized outgoing U.S. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) on Wednesday for what the at-large island lawmaker said were offensive statements about Puerto Rico aired during a hearing of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held last week.

“First, the issue of equal federal funding for Puerto Rico is closely related to the issue of statehood,” Meléndez said in a letter sent to Hice on Tuesday. “Why?

Because U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico suffer from political segregation due to the fact that the current colonial condition allows Congress to discrimi nate against voters, all U.S. citizens, on the island.”

Last week, Hice told Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia at the aforementioned public hearing, where the recovery of the island’s energy system was discussed, that: “I

oppose statehood for Puerto Rico.” Hice also said the island government only shows up at Congress to request economic assistance.

“Congress does not treat Puerto Rico the same in most federal programs,” Melén dez noted in the letter. “Sometimes, it is important and necessary to remember the basics of what it means to be an American citizen. I’m not talking about statehood, but about the basic and ele mentary constitutional promise of equal citizenship for all.”

“If I had to move to the state of Georgia, I would enjoy the same rights and allow myself the same treatment as any other American citizen living in the United States,” added the island legislator, who is also a national Republican. “On the other hand, if you moved to Puerto Rico, you would not lose your U.S. citizenship, but you would be deprived of essential rights. In particular, the right to vote in presidential elections and have electoral representation in the [U.S.] Senate and the House.”

Legislation filed for major overhaul of naturopathic medicine law

By THE STAR STAFF

Naturopathy doctors will not be required to live in Puerto Rico for a year to practice their profession, and will be able to prescribe natural remedies for ailments if legislation filed in the island House of Repre sentatives to that effect becomes law.

New Progressive Party Rep. Wilson Román López re

cently introduced House Bill 1556, the first major overhaul in 25 years of the 1997 Law to Regulate the Practice of Naturopathic Medicine in Puerto Rico.

The legislation notes that the field of naturopathic med icine has evolved dramatically. As a result, new treatments and practices scientifically recognized as effective and positively impacting health have been developed.

“Studies have demonstrated naturopathy’s effectiveness in treating cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal pain, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune and endocrine conditions, polycystic ovary syndrome, depression, anxiety, and a variety of complex chronic conditions,” the bill reads.

However, Law 208-1997 prevents the practice of Natu ropathic Medicine in Puerto Rico from evolving according to the state of education and knowledge prevailing in the profession.

“This is a great obstacle for the access of the Puerto Rican population to the new advances and treatments that doctors in naturopathic medicine can offer,” the bill notes.

The measure changes the definition of “naturopathy.” It redefines the professionals authorized to practice naturo

pathic medicine in Puerto Rico as “naturopathic physicians.”

Likewise, the bill would eliminate the requirement of having resided in Puerto Rico for a term of not less than one year to obtain a naturopathic physician’s license. In addition, the bill would broaden the scope of the practice of naturopathic medicine to include new treatments and therapies widely recognized as naturopathic medicine.

Naturopathic physicians cannot prescribe controlled medications or perform surgery. Still, they will be able to prescribe natural medicines such as foods, food extracts, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, digestive aids, natural glands and hormones, plant substances, botanicals and homeo pathic preparations.

They will also be able to treat patients using aroma therapy, balneotherapy, biomagnetism, chromotherapies, acupuncture or acupressure, phytotherapy, homeopathy, kinesiology, enemas and showers, therapeutic massages, traditional chinese medicine and acupuncture, and re flexology.

Doctors practicing naturopathic medicine will also be required to buy medical malpractice insurance.

New Progressive Party Rep. José Enrique Meléndez Ortiz

Rep. Wilson Román López

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Business owners in the village of Boquerón in Cabo Rojo are prepared to receive thousands of visitors during the long Thanksgiving weekend and on into December, Boquerón Merchants Association President Henry Correa said Wednesday.

“The outlook is good in terms of what can be expected during these holidays,” Correa said in a written statement, noting that businesses in the area have planned a series of cultural and musical activities for the enjoyment of the whole family. “Despite the atmospheric phenomena that affected us in recent months, we are pleased by the enthusiasm of our fellow merchants to make the town of Boquerón shine.”

On Dec. 2, 3 and 4, several events will be held on the occasion of the lighting of the village of Boquerón, including the arrival of the illuminated boat in the bay on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Merchant Ángel Rodríguez said he and fellow business owners have taken the necessary measures so that commer cial activity proceeds unimpeded.

“All the merchants have made their purchases of goods

early,” Rodríguez said. “In addition, they have power plants ready in case a blackout occurs because Cabo Rojo is stand ing after [Hurricane] Fiona.”

The owner of Parador Boquemar stressed that they have received a considerable number of last-minute calls asking for room reservations. “Many people are tired of all the suf fering caused by Hurricane Fiona,” he said. “Therefore, they are looking for an alternative, like the town of Boquerón, to clear their minds and have a good time with their family.”

On the north coast meanwhile, the Municipality of Cataño started the party on the seafront with its own Christmas lighting. Mayor Julio Alicea Vasallo was slated to light the seasonal decorations dedicated to Puerto Rican culture on Wednesday night to the sound of music and joy throughout the length and breadth of City Hall and the Edwin Rivera Sierra stage.

“This year, after overcoming several challenges, our peo ple deserve a huge Christmas party, in which we reconnect with our roots and traditions that define us as the strong and cheerful people that we are,” the mayor said. “For this year, 78 Christmas prints were designed, each representing a municipality of Puerto Rico, most of them with graphic material sent by the municipalities themselves.”

Businesses in the village of Boquerón in Cabo Rojo have planned a series of cultural and musical activities for the enjoyment of the whole family.

Forbright Bank provides funding for solar parks

By THE STAR STAFF

Forbright Bank, a nationwide full-service bank that is helping accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy, has successfully raised and syndicated debt facilities for Infinigen Renewables to finance two solar parks in Puerto Rico.

Infinigen, a subsidiary of ArcLight Energy Partners Fund VII LP, owns and operates the Oriana in Isabela and Horizon in Salinas.

The solar parks provide a total generation capacity of 73 megawatts (MW). Both assets are fully contracted under 20-plus-year term power purchase contracts with the island’s utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). Forbright acted as first lien administrative agent, offshore collateral agent and lender. It was joined by Generate and Banco Popular as first lien lenders in the transaction. Transitioning to sustainable solar resources is essential for Puerto Rico to enhance safety and reliability, and lower the cost of power, a statement from the Chevy Chase, Mary land-based bank says.

Under Puerto Rico’s Act 17, PREPA must meet a 40% renew able generation goal by 2025, scaling up to 100% renewable energy by 2050. As of 2021, only 3% of the island’s energy was generated by renewables with the rest of the distributed energy powered by higher cost imported oil, coal and fracked gas.

The Forbright-financed solar projects help to progress the island’s energy transition, which will provide for cleaner, more storm-resilient, and localized power generation.

“This financing is another example of the role Forbright plays in speeding the transition to a cleaner economy,” said Don Cole, CEO of Forbright Bank. “Supporting ArcLight and its Infinigen solar platform is a key part of Forbright’s mission to finance companies taking action to decarbonize the economy.”

Forbright Bank said it is committed to accelerating the transi tion to clean energy by providing financing for projects and technologies that support decarbonization and sustainability.

Forbright has committed to dedicating half its portfolio by 2025 to financing the companies, investors, and innovators – like Infinigen – taking action to increase sustainability and shift to a lower-carbon economy.

“Infinigen and ArcLight are pleased to partner with Forbright Bank on this transaction,” stated Gavin Danaher, partner at ArcLight. “The relationship with Forbright provides us an op portunity to partner with companies that not only contribute to a lower carbon future, but also have a deep understanding of renewable financings. Forbright and its syndicate partners provided Infinigen capital that will allow the Infinigen platform to develop additional solar projects in Puerto Rico.”

6 people killed in shooting at Virginia Walmart

By CHRIS CAMERON and JENNY GROSS

AWalmart manager opened fire on fellow employees in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, killing six people and wounding at least four others during a hectic holiday week.

It was the third recent high-profile mass shooting in the United States, after three students were killed at the University of Vir ginia last week and five people were killed Saturday night at a gay club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The gunman in the Virginia shooting used a pistol and was found dead at the store, ap parently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Chief Mark Solesky of the Chesapeake Police Department said during a news conference Wednesday morning.

Police identified the gunman as Andre Bing, 31. Walmart said in a statement that he was an overnight team manager who had worked for the company since 2010.

Donya Prioleau, an employee on the overnight shift, said she saw the gunman come into the break room and, without a word, begin shooting. “None of us deserve to

witness that,” she said, adding, “I just watched three of my friends killed in front of me.”

A shopper in the store, Jeromy Basham, said he heard what sounded liked several loud claps, then people yelling, “It’s a gun; get out.”

Local hospitals said they had treated several people injured in the shooting, includ

ing two who remained in critical condition. Three of the six slain victims died at hospitals, according to officials.

Solesky said the gunman was believed to have acted alone. “We have reason to believe that there’s no risk to the public at this time,” he said. He added that he had no indication that the gunman was known

to police before the shooting. “There is no clear motive at this time.”

A SWAT team has executed a search warrant at the gunman’s home, Solesky said. He said the FBI was also involved with the in vestigation and helping to process the scene.

In a statement early Wednesday, Walmart said, “We’re praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re work ing closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”

President Joe Biden expressed grief over the shooting. “Because of yet another horrific and senseless act of violence, there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving,” he said in a statement. He said he and the first lady, Jill Biden, also mourn for those who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Recent gun control efforts, he added, are not enough: “We must take greater action.”

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin ordered that flags over the state Capitol and all local, state and federal buildings be lowered to half-staff through sunset Sunday. “Heinous acts of violence have no place in our com munities,” he said on Twitter.

By AVA SASANI

The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, temporarily restoring the law that had been blocked by a lower court last week.

The decision reverses last week’s ruling by Judge Robert

C.I. McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court, who had said the six-week ban was unconstitutional when the state legislature approved it in 2019 — more than three years before the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to abortion.

The Georgia Supreme Court also denied a request by abortion providers and advocates for a 24-hour notice before reinstating the ban.

According to a statement from the ACLU, patients who had scheduled abortion appointments last week are being turned away.

A small group of people protested Georgia’s abortion ban outside the State Capitol in Atlanta in June.

Judge upholds $49 million verdict against Alex Jones, despite cap

By ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON

ATexas judge said Tuesday that she would order Infowars fabulist Alex Jones to pay the entire $49 million verdict a jury had awarded to the parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim, despite a Texas law capping punitive damages at far less than the amount jurors had allotted.

In August, a jury in Austin, Texas, ordered Jones to pay Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse Lewis died in the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, $4 million in com pensatory damages and $45 million in punitive damages after Jones spread lies that the shooting had been staged and that the parents were actors. Texas law caps punitive damages at two times economic damages plus $750,000 per plaintiff, which a lawyer for Jones, F. Andino Reynal, had predicted would limit the award to far less than the jury’s verdict.

But in a hearing Earlier this week, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of the District Court in Travis County, where Infowars is based, ques tioned the constitutionality of the Texas cap and called the verdict “a rare case” in which the emotional damage inflicted on Lewis and Heslin was so severe that “I believe they have no recourse.”

Jones is likely to appeal, but the award is only a small part of a deluge of damages he is facing for the conspiracy theories he spread through his Infowars media empire about the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. With a Connecticut court awarding more than $1.4 billion to the families of eight Sandy Hook victims this fall, Jones already

faces financial ruin, and it remains unclear how much money the families will ultimately collect.

A third damages trial awaits, in a lawsuit filed by Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner. On Tuesday, Guerra Gamble schedu led it to begin March 27. Jones has already lost the suit, so the only question that remains is how much he will be ordered to pay.

Jones has denounced the lawsuits against him and has said he is “proud to be under this level of attack.”

In the court proceedings Tuesday, a lawyer for Jones, Chris Martin, argued that while the Texas punitive damages cap had been exceeded in a handful of cases, those suits involved more severe emotional injury than Heslin and Lewis had proved. The judge disagreed.

“This person and this company have done something horrible,” Guerra Gamble said, referring to Jones and Infowars. She said that Texas legislators had themselves questio ned the constitutionality of the cap and added that the case had made her contemplate her own constitutional oath. “Sometimes you are so busy working, you forget what you are sworn to do,” she said.

Legal experts have said there are disagre ements about the constitutionality of the cap, but Mark Bankston, the parents’ Texas lawyer, called the decision Tuesday a message that “Mr. Jones cannot run from accountability.”

“My clients look forward to closing the chapter on the most vile act of defamation in American history,” he said.

entire $49 million

a Texas law capping punitive damages at far less than the amount jurors had allotted.

Alex Jones enters the courthouse in Waterbury, Conn, on Sept. 22, 2022. A Texas judge said on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, that she would order the Infowars fabulist Alex Jones to pay the

verdict a jury had awarded to the parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim, despite

FTX assets still missing as firm begins bankruptcy process

By DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY

Lawyers for the collapsed cryptocurren cy exchange FTX on earlier this week painted a grim picture of the firm’s fi nances and the fate of the billions of dollars in assets that customers lost.

“A substantial amount of assets have either been stolen or are missing,” James Bromley, a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell who is representing FTX, said at a bankruptcy hearing in federal court in Delaware.

FTX filed for bankruptcy this month af ter a run on deposits left the company owing $8 billion. The firm’s failure has sparked in vestigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, fo cused on whether FTX misappropriated cus tomer funds when it lent billions of dollars to Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund. Both firms were owned by Sam BankmanFried, a onetime crypto billionaire who gave up control of the companies at the time of the bankruptcy filing.

The stunning collapse has left amateur investors and major firms scrambling to re cover billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies that they deposited on the FTX platform. In the coming months, the bankruptcy process will determine how much of that money can be retrieved.

But more than a week into the legal process, Bankman-Fried’s poor management of FTX has left lawyers with limited informa tion about the firm’s finances, Bromley said at the hearing.

He said that the company had faced cyberattacks, and that assets were still mis

sing. He appeared to be referring to an appa rent hack on the day the company filed for bankruptcy, which came to light when cryp to researchers noticed the unauthorized mo vement of hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX assets.

At the hearing, Bromley presented a detailed account of FTX’s corporate history and its abrupt collapse this month. Bank man-Fried had established a corporate empi re, which was run as his “personal fiefdom,” Bromley said.

But in the end, he said, “the emperor had no clothes.”

Over the past two weeks, FTX has faced intense scrutiny over how it spent its money before the collapse. One business entity involved in the bankruptcy, Bromley said, bought almost $300 million worth of real estate in the Bahamas, where FTX was based, including homes and vacation pro perties used by senior FTX executives.

Bromley also offered new details about the final hours before Bankman-Fried gave up control of the firm Nov. 11. BankmanFried didn’t make the decision until early that morning, Bromley said, after consulting with his lawyers at the law firm Paul Weiss and with his father, Joe Bankman, a professor at Stanford Law School.

In a letter to employees Tuesday, Bank man-Fried apologized for the company’s collapse. He said that he regretted filing for bankruptcy, and that he had reluctantly gi ven in to pressure to do so.

“Potential interest in billions of dollars of funding came in roughly eight minutes af ter I signed the Chapter 11 docs,” he said in the letter, which was obtained by The New

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are investigating Sam Bankman-Fried the collapse of his crypto exchange, FTX.

York Times. “Between those funds, the bi llions of dollars of collateral the company still held, and the interest we’d received from other parties, I think that we probably could have returned large value to customers and saved the business.”

In court filings, FTX’s new management has sought to distance itself from BankmanFried, emphasizing that he does not speak for the company.

Much of the hearing Tuesday focused on a series of legal issues that have come up in the early stages of the bankruptcy.

Over the weekend, FTX disclosed a re dacted list of its top 50 creditors, revealing that those entities or individuals were owed a combined total of about $3.1 billion. But the company kept the names of the creditors

confidential.

A key issue at the hearing was whether FTX would have to publicly disclose more detailed information about its creditors, a group that likely includes hundreds of thou sands of ordinary people who deposited mo ney in the exchange. Lawyers for FTX and some of the creditors argued that revealing that information would endanger users’ pri vacy.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey ru led that the information could stay private, at least for now.

“Everyone in this room knows the in ternet is wrought with potential dangers,” he said. “It’s important that we protect those individuals who want to participate in this case.”

How Iran’s security forces use ambulances to suppress protests

By NILO TABRIZY and ISHAAN JHAVERI

In early October, about a month into Iran’s anti-government protests, a Tehran resident reported seeing at least three protesters being shoved into an ambulance during a student-led demonstration. But the resident said the protesters did not appear to be injured.

Around the same time, Niki, a univer sity student in Tehran, said she saw security forces using ambulances to detain protesters at an intersection.

“They grabbed people,” she said. “They put them in the ambulance, turned off the lights. There were lots of people in the back.” The ambulance then drove down the street, she said. “I didn’t see where they dropped off the people, but I saw that there were normal people inside, like young girls.”

Protests calling for widespread social and political change that erupted in Sept ember have led to a brutal crackdown by Iran’s security forces, with more than 14,000 people arrested, according to the United Nations. At least 326 people have been killed, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO. The demonstrations began following the death of Mahsa Amini, known by her first Kurdish surname Jina, in the custody of Iran’s morality police and have been primarily led by women.

Part of that crackdown, according to witnesses and dozens of videos and images reviewed by The New York Times, has invol ved the use of ambulances by the security for ces to infiltrate protests and detain protesters. Nearly all of the witnesses interviewed by the Times spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the government.

Such use of ambulances, which experts say violates international norms of medical impartiality, shows the lengths to which the government has gone to try to quell the nationwide demonstrations.

“People are going to be afraid to seek health care, meaning more people will die,” said Rohini Haar, an assistant adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at University of California, Berkeley. “Health care has credibility because of the idea of impartiality. It’s the basic idea of ‘do no harm,’ and misusing ambulances clearly violates that.”

Security forces using ambulances

In an interview over an encrypted messaging app, a 37-year-old restaurant worker described seeing ambulances en tering university campuses during protests almost every day, and uniformed security forces emerging from them. He works near three major universities in Tehran where he sees daily protests. He also attended other protests and said he saw security forces using ambulances there, too.

Witnesses who attended protests in Te hran spoke about seeing plainclothes police officers, known as Basij, forcing students into the back of an ambulance at a demonstration at Sharif University on Oct. 2.

One of the witnesses, in an interview over an encrypted messaging app, reported seeing Basij beating one of the students, who was on the ground and covered in bruises, with a baton before shoving him into an ambulance along with another protester and driving away.

Ambulances at police stations

The Times analyzed and geolocated videos and photos showing ambulances en

tering or exiting police stations, or positioned just outside them, in at least six locations across the country (in one case the location was first mentioned by a Twitter user).

In two of the locations there are hos pitals nearby, according to Google Maps, but the video from one of these locations shows the ambulance clearly going into the police station.

Although the videos and photos don’t show who is being transported, a former emergency room physician said there’s no legitimate medical reason for ambulances to be at police stations.

“I can say with nearly 100% accuracy that this never happens,” said Dr. Amir Alis hahi Tabriz, who previously worked in the Loghman-e Hakim and Torfeh hospitals in Tehran in 2013. Now based in the United States, he works with doctors in Iran to help their patients get care after being injured in protests.

“People don’t feel safe to go to urgent care or hospitals. They know that forces are waiting for them to capture them,” he said. “When patients need help, we send them to health centers in the middle of the night.”

Outrage among Iran’s medical workers

The use of ambulances to detain people has outraged Iran’s medical community. A video posted on Twitter on Oct. 4 and ve rified by the Times shows medical workers demonstrating outside Razi University Hos pital in Rasht, holding signs that read, “Basij are not students,” and “Ambulances should be used for transporting patients.”

Another video posted on Twitter on Oct. 21, deliberately blurred to protect the iden tity of the subjects, shows a demonstration that appears to be at the Mashhad Medical

Society building. At the demonstration, a speaker reads from a statement condemning the use of ambulances and medical symbols by security forces: “We would like it to stop in order to gain social trust.”

The Times verified that the room seen in the blurry footage matches archival footage from the Mashhad Medical Society building’s amphitheater.

Haar, with UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, said that work of the medical community during protests and civil dis turbances is protected under international human rights law.

“The principles of impartiality and independence, of caring for the wounded and not misusing the medical emblem for political gain, are universally accepted foun dations on which the entire medical system relies,” she said. “Medical workers have the obligation to treat the wounded and sick. And the government has the obligation to help us do that.”

For many in Iran, the use of ambulances to suppress protests adds to their distrust in the country’s medical system. There have been several reports about Iranians who have been injured at protests being detained after receiving medical care in hospitals.

In an interview, one Tehran protester said that many people tend to their injuries at home instead of going to the hospital due to a climate of fear.

“We felt most insecure when we saw police. But we have a new level of fear unloc ked. Now we feel the worst pains when we see ambulances,” said one Tehran protester.

“And every time we’re stuck in traffic, now the dilemma is, what if there’s a real patient in there? Or what if they’re going to kill us?”

Power outages reported across Ukraine after new wave of strikes

By MARC SANTORA and THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF

Russian strikes took aim at Ukraine’s energy facilities again Wednesday as explosions rocked Kyiv, the capital, and other cities, causing power outages in parts of Ukraine and in neighboring Moldova.

The blasts sent plumes of smoke into the skies as Ukrainian air defense systems worked to shoot down incoming rockets.

“We have confirmation of hits on critical infrastructure facilities in several regions,” the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said in a statement.

From Lviv in the west to Kharkiv in the northeast, officials reported interruptions in electricity, water and other key services during what appeared to be the latest wave of assaults by Russia aimed at disabling Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and plunging the country into darkness and cold.

“The whole city is without light,” said Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv. “We are waiting for additional information from energy experts. There may be interruptions with water supply.”

At least one Russian rocket hit what the regional gover nor of Kyiv called a critical infrastructure facility there, without elaborating. The city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that some districts were without power and that “water supply has been suspended throughout Kyiv.”

He said that authorities were working to restore service but advised residents to stock up on water and urged them to stay in shelters.

At a hilltop cemetery in Kyiv, Serhiy Myronov, a Ukrai nian soldier who was recently killed in action, was being buried when the first explosions rang out. A crowd of more than 100 people waiting to throw dirt into the grave looked up into the sky.

“Air defenses,” one woman said.

A two-story residential building was also hit, according to the Kyiv city military administration, and at least one person died.

Subway service was halted and people were being eva cuated from underground trains after a power outage in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, said the mayor, Ihor Terekhov.

In the central city of Dnipro, traffic lights went dark and buses stopped after explosions were heard near the city at around 2:30 p.m. An hour before that, at least one cruise missile was seen flying north of the city.

Moldova, Ukraine’s western neighbor whose Soviet-era electricity systems remain interconnected with Ukraine‘s, was experiencing “massive power outages across the country,” the Moldovan infrastructure minister, Andrei Spinu, wrote on Face book.

People gather near the scene of a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Vyshhorod, Ukraine on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

Will Mexico be

By BRET STEPHENS

In 2018, I wrote a column calling the soon-to-be-elected Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, or AMLO, a left-wing version of Donald Trump. Readers were unpersuaded. The comparison between the two men, wrote one person in the comments section, “was absurd.”

Another called the column “shockingly ignorant.”

Let me recant. AMLO isn’t just another version of Trump. He’s worse, thanks to being a more effective demagogue and bureaucratic operator.

That was again made clear when Mexicans took to the streets Nov. 13 in demonstrations against AMLO’s efforts to gut the National Electoral Institute, known by its Spanish acronym, INE. Over three decades, the state-funded but in dependent public agency (previously called the Federal Elec toral Institute) has been vital to Mexico’s transition from oneparty rule to a competitive democracy in which incumbent parties routinely lose elections — and accept the results.

So why would the president — who won in a landslide and maintains a high approval rating, thanks to a cult-ofpersonality style of politics and a policy of cash transfers to the poor, his core constituency — go after the crown jewel of the country’s civil institutions? Isn’t he supposed to repre sent the forces of popular democracy?

AMLO’s answer is that he merely aims to make INE more democratic by having its members elected by popular

next Venezuela?

But it also marks a deeper deterioration, in three impor tant ways.

First, there’s the ever-expanding role of the military under AMLO. “The military is now operating outside civi lian control, in open defiance of the Mexican Constitution, which states that the military cannot be in charge of public security,” notes Mexican political analyst Denise Dresser in the current issue of Foreign Affairs. “As a result of presiden tial decrees, the military has become omnipresent: building airports, running the country’s ports, controlling customs, distributing money to the poor, implementing social pro grams and detaining immigrants.”

vote after the candidates are nominated by institutions under his control. He would also reduce INE’s funding, take away its power to draw up voter rolls and get rid of state electoral authorities. In a Trumpian turn of phrase, AMLO calls his critics “racists, snobs and very hypocritical.”

Reality is otherwise. AMLO is a product of the old ru ling party, the PRI, which dominated nearly every aspect of Mexican political life from the late 1920s to the 1990s. Ideo logically, the party was split between two wings: moderni zing technocrats versus statist nationalists. But the party was united in its devotion to patronage, repression, corruption and, above all, presidential control as a means of perpetua ting its hold on power.

AMLO may have belonged to the statist wing, but his ideas about governance are straight out of the old PRI play book, only this time in favor of his own Morena party. “His thrust all along has been to re-create the 1970s: an over powering presidency with no counterweights,” Luis Rubio, one of Mexico’s leading thinkers, wrote me Monday. “He has thus gone on to undermine, eliminate or neutralize a whole network of entities meant to become checks on presiden tial power.” That includes the Supreme Court, the country’s regulatory agencies and Mexico’s human rights commission. INE and the country’s central bank are among the few entities that have remained relatively free from his control.

What would it mean if AMLO were to get his way? His six-year presidential term expires in 2024, and it’s unlikely he would remain formally in office. But there’s an old Mexican tradition of rule from behind the scenes. Stuffing INE with cronies is the first step back to the old ballotstuffing days that characterized the Mexico I grew up in during the 1970s and ’80s.

The second is that the Mexican government has effecti vely capitulated to drug cartels, which, by one estimate, con trol as much as one-third of the country. That was brought home two years ago, after the Trump administration handed back to Mexico a former defense minister, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, who had been arrested in California and accu sed of working for the cartels. AMLO promptly released the general. Eight of the world’s most dangerous cities are now in Mexico, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Opinion, and 45,000 Mexicans fled their homes, fearing violence, in 2021.

Finally, AMLO’s new statism works even worse than the old one. An attempted overhaul of Mexico’s health sys tem has led to catastrophic medicine shortages. He has invested heavily in the state-owned oil company, PEMEX, which is still managing to lose money, despite record high commodity prices. Welfare spending is up by 20% over the previous administration, but AMLO has done away with one of Mexico’s most successful anti-poverty pro grams, which tied aid to keeping kids in school.

AMLO’s defenders may rejoin that the president re mains popular with most Mexicans, thanks to his profes sed concern for the very poor. That’s often been the case with populists, from Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey to the Kirchner governments in Argentina. But reality has a way of catching up. What Mexicans increasingly face under AMLO is an assault on their economic well-being, personal security and political freedom and the rule of law itself. If Mexicans aren’t careful, this will be their road to Venezuela.

Mexicans took to the streets on Nov. 13 in demonstrations against AMLO’s efforts to gut the National Electoral Institute.

Radicarán cargos contra varias personas por asesinato de militar en Ponce

POR CYBERNEWS

PONCE – La Policía informó el miércoles que el capitán Daniel Justiniano Mercado, director del Cuerpo de Investigaciones Criminales (COC) del Área de Ponce indicó que, agentes de la división de Homicidios, en unión a la Fiscalía del Tribunal de Ponce, radicarán cargos por delitos de Asesinato, Ley de Armas, entre otros, contra varias personas por la muerte del joven militar de 23 años, Jancarlo Rivera

Lugo.

Según la Uniformada, estos hechos fueron repor tados el 14 de noviembre del año en curso, en la calle 8 del sector Nueva Vida en el barrio El Tuque en Ponce, donde resultó herido de bala el joven militar.

Rivera Lugo falleció posteriormente mientras reci bía asistencia médica en el hospital Damas de Ponce.

Este caso, está a cargo de la fiscal Annette Esteves en unión al agente José García Rivas de la división de Homicidios Ponce.

Fianza millonaria en ausencia contra madre e hijo que mataron a militar en El Tuque en Ponce

POR CYBERNEWS

PONCE

– El juez superior Carlos Quiñones Ca pacetti del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Ponce determinó el miércoles causa para arresto en ausencia contra Ana Inés Napoleoni Medina, de 43 años, y Jeromy Pietri Napoleoni, de 24 años, por asesinar al teniente del Ejército de los Estados Unidos, Jancarlo Rivera Lugo, y herir a su prome tida, el pasado 14 de noviembre en la zona de El Tuque en Ponce.

A ambos imputados se les impuso una fianza global de 5 millones de dólares a cada uno.

Según la investigación, mientras Rivera Lugo transitaba junto a Cruz Bonilla por el sector Nue va Vida en el barrio El Tuque, Napoleoni Medina le ordenó detenerse, increpándolos por conducir

por el área. La imputada llamó a Pietri Napoleoni, quien es su hijo, y este les apuntó con un arma de fuego automática. Posteriormente, le disparó al jo ven militar, quien falleció en el Hospital Damas. La pareja de Rivera Lugo resultó herida.

“Este crimen vil y vicioso es producto del nar cotráfico. Gracias al trabajo estratégico del Ne gociado de la Policía y la Fiscalía de Ponce del Departamento de Justicia, dirigida por la fiscal de distrito Marjorie Gierbolini Gierbolini, hemos po dido completar la investigación diligentemente y presentar los cargos con la prueba requerida”, dijo la jefa de fiscales del Departamento de Justicia, Jes sika Correa González en declaraciones escritas.

El sargento Miguel Torres Reyes y el agente José García Rivas estuvieron a cargo de la investigación por parte del Negociado de la Policía.

7 muertos y 181 hospitalizados en informe preliminar COVID-19

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El informe preliminar de CO VID-19 del Departamento de Salud (DS) reportó el miércoles 7 muertos y 181 personas hospitalizadas.

El total de muertes atribuidas es de 5,336.

Hay 170 adultos hospitalizados y 11 me nores. El monitoreo cubre el periodo del 6 al 20 de noviembre de 2022.

La tasa de positividad está en 20.45 por ciento.

‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ review: Another clue for you all

By A.O. SCOTT

It starts as a game for the amusement of a tech billionaire. Miles Bron, a would-be master of the universe played with knowing exuberance by Ed ward Norton, invites a small group of friends to a party on his private island. The weekend’s entertainment will be a make-believe murder mystery, with Miles himself as the victim and center of attention. By the end, real homicides have been committed and the fun has become democratic, as rank-and-file ticket buyers and Netflix subscribers en joy themselves at the expense of imagi nary members of the economic, politi cal and cultural elite.

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mys tery” revives the antic, puzzle-crazy spirit of the first “Knives Out,” which was also written and directed by Rian Johnson. This time the satirical stakes have been raised. Miles Bron is a rip er target with more recognizable realworld analogues than the eccentric nov elist played by Christopher Plummer the first time around. A lone musketeer of disruption, he spouts mantras about the glory of “breaking stuff,” and cloaks his bottomless greed and shallow narcis sism in showy messianic robes. He’s not just a rich guy: He’s a visionary, a ge nius, an author of the amazing human future.

Miles’ friends are all bought and paid

for: a model-turned-fashion mogul (Kate Hudson); an idealistic scientist (Leslie Odom Jr.); a pumped-up, over-inked men’s rights YouTube influencer (Dave Bautista); and the governor of Connecti cut (Kathryn Hahn). The people named in those parentheses have a grand time sending up contemporary archetypes, and are joined in the whodunit high jinks by Madelyn Cline as Bautista’s girl friend and by Jessica Henwick, quietly

stealing scenes as Hudson’s assistant.

Two other guests show up for the murder game, though they don’t seem to be there in the same hedonistic spirit as the rest. One is Cassandra Brand (Janelle Monáe), known as Andi, Miles’ erstwhile business partner. She is a familiar figure in tech mythology, the genius present at the creation who is cast out by a more ambitious, unscrupulous or media-sav vy co-founder. The Eduardo Saverin to Miles’ Mark Zuckerberg, you might say, or maybe the Wozniak to his Jobs.

Andi’s presence on the island is something of a surprise, as is — though not to “Knives Out” fans — the arrival of Benoit Blanc, the world’s greatest detec tive. Blanc is once again played by a flor idly post-Bond Daniel Craig, now sport ing an absurd but somehow appropriate collection of neckerchiefs and pastel shirts, and speaking in what was once described as a “Kentucky Fried Chicken Foghorn Leghorn” accent. My ear also picks up undertones of Truman Capote and a sprinkling of Adam Sandler’s “Ca jun Man” character from “SNL.”

A descendant of Lt. Columbo, Her cule Poirot and Edgar Allan Poe’s genre-

creating C. Auguste Dupin, Blanc is both a diviner of hidden meanings and a mas ter of the obvious, the soul of discretion and a hogger of the spotlight. He is un compromising in matters of taste, ethics and English usage, as well as a wet-eyed sentimentalist and a man who likes to have a good time.

In that way, he may be Johnson’s ava tar. A pop-culture savant with technique to spare, Johnson approaches the classic detective story with equal measures of breeziness and rigor. The plot twists and loops, stretching logic to the breaking point while making a show of following the rules. I can’t say much about what happens in “Glass Onion” without giv ing away some surprises, but I can say that some of the pleasure comes from being wrong about what will happen next.

Which means that, by the end, when Blanc wraps it all up and the party dis perses, you may feel a little let down. That’s in the nature of the genre, but as in “Knives Out” Johnson turns the commit ting and solving of crimes into a trellis to be festooned with gaudy characters. The core ensemble does what amounts to superior sketch-comedy work, rising enough above caricature to keep you interested. Monáe goes further, turning what at first seems like the least com plex, most serious character into — but I’m afraid if I told you, you would have to kill me.

I also won’t give away any jokes. It’s been a while since I’ve laughed out loud in a movie theater, but I did, partly because a lot of people around me were laughing, too. (I don’t know if the effect would be the same watch ing the movie at home on Netflix.)

“Glass Onion” is completely silly, but it’s not only silly. Explicitly set during the worst months of the COVID pan demic — the spring of 2020 — “Glass Onion” leans into recent history with out succumbing to gloom, bitterness or howling rage, which is no small ac complishment. One way to interpret the title is that a glass onion may be sharp, and may have a lot of layers, but it won’t make you cry.

Daniel Craig returns as the detective Benoit Blanc in “Glass Onion,” Rian Johnson’s sequel to his hit murder mystery, “Knives Out.”

Japan topples Germany, the World Cup’s latest fallen favorite

By RORY SMITH

These are the days in which the mighty fall. On Day 3 of the World Cup, Ar gentina was left reeling after suffering a chastening defeat to Saudi Arabia. On Day 4 Wednesday, it was Germany’s turn. An other of the pretournament favorites was left shocked and embarrassed by a supposed makeweight.

This time, Japan took center stage. Just

like Saudi Arabia, it had struggled for air in the first half, falling behind to a penalty from Ilkay Gündogan and then holding on with grim determination to restrict the damage before halftime. And, just like Saudi Arabia, it capitalized on its good fortune, drawing level through Ritsu Doan and then claim ing a 2-1 victory with a goal from Takuma Asano.

Japan’s win is not, in truth, a shock of the same order as Saudi Arabia’s defeat of

Argentina a day earlier: Japan is, after all, a regular presence at the World Cup, a feature of each of the last seven editions and, on oc casion, a team that survives long enough to make it beyond the group stage. Its most fa mous victories, though, have come against the likes of Denmark and Colombia; it does not, or at least had not, generally made a seismic impact on the tournament.

Defeating Germany changed that with a stroke. Not simply because of the caliber of opponent — coach Hansi Flick’s Ger many boasts a core of players from Bayern Munich, as well as stars from Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund — but because of the likely consequences.

Drawn in the same group as another of the favorites, Spain, Germany — which be gan the game with a silent protest against FIFA’s armband ban — had precious little margin for error. Though this is not quite a knockout blow, should the Germans fail to beat Spain -- 7-0 winners over Costa Rica on Wednesday -- when they meet on Sun day, one of Europe’s great traditional powers would face the ignominy of a second suc cessive elimination in the group stage.

It is tempting to wonder, too, if some thing of a pattern is starting to emerge. The

opening days of World Cups tend to be just a touch chaotic, with even the most talented teams still settling into their shape and their rhythm, and those squads marked out as un derdogs not yet confronted with cold, harsh reality.

Given the circumstances, that was al ways likely to be more pronounced in Qa tar: Rather than the traditional three-week break in which to craft players from dispa rate clubs into something resembling a co herent unit, coaches had only a few days. The rosters of the favorites are packed with players who have spent the previous three months playing a game almost every three days.

It has not applied to everyone — France and England both sailed through their open ing games — but nor are Germany and Ar gentina the only powerhouses to stumble. Earlier on Wednesday, Croatia, a finalist in 2018, had labored through a scoreless tie against Morocco. A day earlier, Denmark, having qualified imperiously, was held to a scoreless draw by Tunisia. Reputations, in these days of shock and awe, seem to count for very little.

Also on Wednesday, Belgium beat Can ada, 1-0.

The San Juan Daily Star

20)

A fabulous New Moon in your travel zone, inspires a sense of excitement. Felt a desire for something fresh? If so, you’re being encouraged to set a new agenda that appeals to your love of adventure. Consider bla zing your own trail rather than go with the tried and trusted, as with boldness and persistence you’ll shine bright and inspire others with your enthusiasm, Aries.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Ready for a fresh start, Taurus? The New Moon in your sector of change and transformation, is exce llent for getting rid any dead wood so you can em brace fresh opportunities. Keen to get your finances and business affairs moving forward? Make a start now. And with jubilant Jupiter pushing ahead from today, an invite to an event could result in a suppor tive new friendship.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

Today’s New Moon in your sector of relating may cau se a stir, and could be the reason that a partnership or a romance reaches a critical point. And yet with aspects looking so upbeat, whatever decisions you reach could be a success for both of you. Whether you are making a commitment or going solo after a break up, a new confidence and sense of destiny can emerge.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

You may be delighted and amazed by an offer that comes your way. There’s more though, as by taking this up, new doors can open for you. A sparkling New Moon could be a call to embrace opportunities that may be exactly what you have been looking for. Plus, as Jupiter turns direct from today, opportunities that seemed like closed doors could become availa ble to you.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

With a potent influence encouraging a shift, the co ming days and weeks can see fresh developments. If you’ve been eagerly waiting to launch a project or small business, that time could be now. Falling for someone? Wait before taking things further, as emo tions can be dazzling due to the New Moon. Will you feel the same way next week? It’s wise to wait and see.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Anything linked to the home, family and your roots, may gain in importance. A decision to move, ex pand your family or to explore your ancestry in depth, might reveal new possibilities and exciting opportunities. There’s more good news, as Jupiter turns direct in your sector of relating. If a romance has been slow to take off or a team project was de layed, it’s all systems go, Virgo!

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

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

The New Moon in your sector of talk and thought, means words can boost morale. News or informa tion may come your way that frees you from stress. It might be something you’ve been waiting for or even the outcome of a decision. Either way once you get it, you’ll know where you stand. Keen to seek out a new job? Jupiter’s forward motion could be helpful, Libra.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

With a potent lunar phase on the go, your money situation may be about to change for the better. Stay alert for opportunities to enhance your income and make the most of your talents. A new beginning may be on the cards, and someone you know could help you make the most of your options. And Jupiter turns direct from today, so a romance that’s stalled may get back on track.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

Jovial Jupiter your guide planet, forges ahead after its rewind phase, so family projects get a boost. And a New Moon in your sign can initiate a time of po sitive change, encouraging you to take the plunge and get moving on a plan that may have been in the works for some while. You’ll feel a surge of enthu siasm that helps overcome any doubts and pushes you to have a go.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Spiritual topics and activities may be strongly on your mind, and today’s New Moon in a private sec tor can be a call to engage in a practice that reduces stress and leaves you more able to handle everyday life. At the same time Jupiter turns direct, which hints at news or a conversation that could change your fu ture for the better. Get ready, as something good is coming your way.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

Today’s New Moon sets the stage for changes that will usher in a new beginning for you. This lunar phase can see you reaching out and networking with new groups and friends. And any contacts you make could be very helpful to you. There’s bet ter news on the financial front, as Jupiter pushes ahead. Delays may soon ease, and money-making schemes can take-off now.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

A far-reaching New Moon in a prominent sector, suggests you could be offered an opportunity that sets a new course. It could bring changes that cata pult you to the next level or onto a path that you’ve always wanted to follow. But you’ll also benefit from Jupiter turning direct in your sign. It’s time to say yes to life, and to focus on goals that enhance the feel-good factor, Pisces.

Frank & Ernest

Scary Gary

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