El ganadero Félix Urbieta fue secuestrado la noche del miércoles 12 de octubre en su estancia ubicada en Belén Cué. Si bien ya se posee datos sobre el monto exigido para el rescate, que llega a los US$ 500.000, hasta la fecha no se cuenta con más datos sobre el estado de la víctima. “No hay noticias, no sabemos nada. Esperamos noticias, pero nada hasta el momento”, relató su sobrino Arturo Urbieta, intendente de Horqueta, en conversación con ABC Cardinal.
Por otra parte, desmintió haber afirmado que el hijo de Alejandro Ramos esté implicado en el caso. “Ellos decían eso pero no podemos ser irresponsables para confirmar. No acusamos a nadie ni confirmamos nada”, reiteró el intendente Urbieta. Además, con preocupación expresó que son ellos quienes viven en la zona y, por tanto, no pueden acusar a nadie. “No es joda vivir acá”, manifestó.
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Judie McRae se enfrentó al huracán Harvey acurrucada en la cama de su casa remolque.
Entre los escombros dejados por el huracán Harvey, el más potente en impactar a Estados Unidos en más de una década, en Rockport, una ciudad costera de Texas, llama la atención una pincelada de rojo, blanco y azul.
Se trata de una bandera estadounidense empapada, medio enterrada por el verde de las hojas de los árboles arrancados de raíz.
A pocos pasos de distancia Judie McRae, de 44 años, inspecciona el daño provocado por el fenómeno, ya degradado a tormenta tropical, a su casa remolque.
Ha pasado en ella más de media vida, pero es la primera vez que ha tenido que hacer frente a un huracán desde su interior.
Derechos de autor de la imagen MARK RALSTON / Getty Images
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Casa destrozada por el huracán Harvey en Rockport.
Lo hizo acurrucada en la cama, incapaz de dormir. Y dice que no quiere volver a pasar por ello.
“Sentía que el techo iba a salir volando en cualquier momento”, cuenta y describe el “terrible crujir” que no dejó de oírse mientras la tormenta pasaba literalmente sobre su cabeza.
“Tuve mucha suerte de que sólo se me rompieran un par ventanas”.
En efecto, una mirada a su alrededor evidencia lo afortunada que es.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Joe Raedle / Getty Images
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El destrozo en Rockport, una de las localidades más afectadas por el paso del huracán Harvey, salta a la vista.
Las casas remolque de tres de sus vecinos quedaron en ruinas.
La lámina de metal que las recubre se dobló y la espuma aislante del interior de las paredes cuelga ahora de los árboles.
De una de las caravanas, la de color azul empolvado, sólo queda el esqueleto, roto y expuesto.
Mientras examinamos el desastre, se nos acerca un hombre joven, visiblemente agitado.
Nos pregunta si hemos mirado en el interior del remolque, si está allí su dueño. Pero no lo hemos hecho.
“Dan, ¿estás ahí?”, grita.
Trepamos a los escombros para ayudar a buscar a Dan y revisamos con cuidado lo que queda de sus posesiones. Pero no hay nadie allí.
“Fue feroz”
McRae, mientras, está preocupada por otros dos vecinos.
Ambos salieron de la comunidad antes del huracán y aún no regresaron a ver cuán destrozados quedaron sus hogares.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Reuters
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Decenas se quedaron sin casa en Rockport, Texas.
Pero está especialmente inquieta por la anciana que vive dos caravanas más allá.
“No tiene dinero y esa era su casa. Ya era un desastre (antes del huracán), así que…”, dice Judie, alejándose y dejando la frase a medio terminar, como si no encontrara la forma, como si no tuviera esperanza que ofrecer.
Mientras tanto, en la costa de Rockport, Robert Zbranek, de 56 años, está tratando de amarrar su bote al muelle, después de que se soltara durante la tormenta.
Estaba dentro cuando el temporal lo arrancó del embarcadero, rompiéndole el casco.
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Muchas de las embarcaciones de Rockport, en Texas, se hundieron tras el paso del huracán Harvey.
Ante eso, y en medio de la tormenta más poderosa que ha golpeado Texas desde 1961, con vientos de hasta 215 kilómetros por hora, tuvo que salir del yate y correr a su coche.
Pero tampoco se sintió seguro en el interior del vehículo, ya que el fuerte vendaval lo levantaba del suelo.
¿Cómo fue?
“Muy duro”, dice riéndose.
Ante su reacción, le digo que habrá quien cuestione su cordura.
“Lo sé, estoy loco”, me responde.
“Pero se suponía que iba a ser de categoría dos, tal vez tres”, se justifica.
“Aunque no fue así. Fue feroz”, reconoce.
“Pero aún tengo casa, aunque algo rota”, añade.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Reuters
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Durante años Rockport fue una localidad próspera, gracias al comercio de carne primero y a la pesca, pero esos tiempos ya pasaron.
Mientras conversamos, aparece su amigo Craig Hack, de 56 años.
Él también tuvo que hacer frente a la tormenta a bordo de un yate.
“Estuve a punto de perder el mástil”, recuerda. “Y el cerebro”.
Ambos explican que decidieron no ser evacuados porque querían quedarse con sus barcos, que son sus casas, y con sus vehículos.
Y concuerdan que muchos como ellos perdieron todo lo que tenían por no poseer un seguro.
“La vida es dura aquí”
En este pueblo costero la historia de los que luchan por salir adelante y terminan siendo abandonados a su suerte suena familiar.
Rockport fue fundado como matadero de ganado y puerto en el que se empacaba carne tras la Guerra de Secesión (1861-1865).
Debe su nombre a la geología local, ya que se asienta sobre un lecho de roca sólida.
Durante años fue una localidad próspera, como también la vecina Fulton, gracias al comercio de carne primero y a la pesca, especialmente de camarón, después.
El siglo XX trajo también otra actividad: la del turismo.
Derechos de autor de la imagen MARK RALSTON / Getty Images
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Los vecinos de Rockport cuentan que últimamente la vida es dura en este municipio de Texas, duramente golpeado por el huracán Harvey.
Los visitantes siguen llegando, y gastan tiempo y dinero navegando y observando aves, desde grullas a colibríes.
Pero esos dólares no parecen haber hecho mucho por los residentes del puerto y de los boscosos suburbios.
Rockport es una localidad eminentemente blanca. Así lo son el 88,7% de los que viven aquí, según el último censo, de 2010.
Y la mayoría votó por el candidato republicano, ahora presidente, Donald Trump, en las elecciones de 2016.
“La vida es dura aquí”, dice Judie McRae. “Y nunca lo ha sido tanto como ahora”.
Mientras lo dice, nos llega una buena noticia. Al parecer, Dan, el hombre desaparecido, se fue con sus familiares o amigos antes de que el huracán tocara tierra.
“Dios estuvo con nosotros”, exclama la mujer, agradecida de haber sobrevivido, a la vez que observa la destrucción del entorno.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Joe Raedle / Getty Images
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Algunos de los vecinos de Rockport dicen que no pudieron dejar sus casas frente a la llegada del huracán por falta de recursos.
A pesar de las alertas del gobierno y los llamados a evacuar la zona, ella se quedó.
Y lo hizo porque no tenía medios para huir ni ningún lugar al que ir, asegura.
“Tuve problemas para salir de la ciudad. Algo se me estropeó y tuve que regresar a casa… Ya sabes, es difícil”, relata.
“No pudimos huir de aquí porque aquí todos somos clase obrera, todos somos pobres, y ahora no nos queda nada”, prosigue.
“Somos esos que acuden a los restaurantes, te esperamos y recogemos tu basura. Hacemos todos esos trabajos y no tenemos mucho dinero”, explica.
At the center of the legal debate over the law is the mechanism that essentially deputizes private citizens, rather than the state’s executive branch, to enforce the new restrictions by suing anyone who performs an abortion or “aids and abets” a procedure. Plaintiffs who have no connection to the patient or the clinic may sue and recover legal fees, as well as $10,000 if they win.
In its court filing, the Justice Department called this mechanism “an unprecedented scheme that seeks to deny women and providers the ability to challenge S.B. 8 in federal court.”
Understand the Texas Abortion Law
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The most restrictive in the country. The Texas abortion law, known as Senate Bill 8, amounts to a nearly complete ban on abortion in the state. It prohibits most abortions after about six weeks of preganancy and makes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape.
It said that in other cases where states had enacted laws that abridged reproductive rights to the extent that the Texas law does, courts had stopped those measures from taking effect.
Texas’ “attempt to shield a plainly unconstitutional law from review cannot stand,” the department said in its motion.
The Supreme Court did not rule on whether Senate Bill 8 was constitutional when it refused to block the law. The Justice Department has placed its constitutionality at the heart of the lawsuit, which could force the court to consider new factors and possibly come to a different decision if it hears the case.
Opponents and supporters of the Texas law recognize that it is an enormous shift in the nation’s battle over abortion, which has long rested on whether the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that granted women the constitutional right to the procedure.
The Texas law essentially allows a state to all but ban abortions before a legal test of that watershed case. If the law is not stopped by the courts, other Republican-led state legislatures could use it as a blueprint for their own restrictions.
Following a disputed CNN story about a Russian informant who was exfiltrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federalist editor Mollie Hemingway called out CNN’s Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto for misleading the public and framing facts to fit a political narrative.
“It is once again an incorrect story from CNN,” she said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends.” “Jim Sciutto was an Obama operative who had a lot to do with the Russian collusion stories that have since been debunked and yesterday’s was so exception.
“But what’s interesting about it is that it was part of a trio of stories based on leaks from intelligence officials that seem to be preparing to out someone,” Hemingway continued. “And so even though the story that they’re telling is not correct, there is an interesting story here. It has nothing to do with Donald Trump.”
Sciutto billed the story as an exclusive and claimed the Trump administration had to exfiltrate a high-level Kremlin spy back in 2017 because they had mishandled classified materials, and put the asset at risk. The story goes on to quote several unnamed intelligence sources who leaked information to CNN and who may have served under the Obama administration.
“It’s not good that you have intelligence officials just leaking like sieves about something that normally… they attempt to protect,” Hemingway told Fox News.
The CIA issued a statement condemning the report and called it “misguided” and “false.”
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“CNN’s narrative that the Central Intelligence Agency makes life-or-death decisions based on anything other than objective analysis and sound collection is simply false,” the statement read. “Misguided speculation that the President’s handling of our nation’s most sensitive intelligence – which he has access to each and every day – drove an alleged exfiltration operation is inaccurate.”
“[The statement] is really damning in the sense that this exfiltration was first offered in 2016 before Donald Trump was president,” Hemingway added. “This has nothing to do with Trump. So why was someone trying to make it sound like it had something to do with Trump?”
What the documents say: A memo the committee obtained that was sent by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in March 2020 warned that the then-isolated cases of Covid-19 would balloon into “a very serious public health emergency” and lamented that “movement has been slow” to prepare. The memo advised the president to shore up domestic supply chains for PPE and accelerate development of diagnostics and therapeutics.
In the months that followed, according to other documents the committee released Wednesday, Navarro and other senior officials and outside advisers pushed federal agencies to give no-bid contracts for pharmaceutical ingredients and other supplies to companies that were recently formed and had political ties with the Trump administration.
One deal under investigation is a $354 million contract awarded to the Phlow Corporation — a first-time government contractor that had incorporated just a few months before receiving the funds. It was the largest contract ever awarded by BARDA, and it followed a series of emails from Navarro to agency leaders in March of 2020.
“Phlow needs to get greenlit as soon as humanly possible…Please move this puppy in Trump time,” he wrote. In a subsequent message he said: “My head is going to explode if this contract does not get immediately approved.”
Steven Hatfill, an adjunct assistant professor at George Washington University with ties to White House political advisor Stephen Bannon, was also involved in brokering the contract, the committee said.
The panel is also investigating a $3 million federal contract given to a company formed by former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Zachary Fuentes to provide respirator masks to the Navajo Nation through the Indian Health Services. Fuentes’ company received the contract just 11 days after its creation.
“When the respirator masks were delivered, IHS determined that they were unsuitable for use in a medical or surgical environment,” the committee wrote, asking for further records detailing how the contract was negotiated.
Why it matters: The Trump administration’s Covid contracting received some scrutiny last year. A plan to loan Eastman Kodak $765 million to shift to producing drug ingredients was scuttled after suspicious stock trades on the eve of the loan’s announcement prompted the U.S. International Development Finance Corp to cite “recent allegations of wrongdoing.”
But Democrats in charge of oversight panels on Capitol Hill say there is still more to uncover, in part because the Trump administration did not respond to requests for documents. Republicans on the committees are complaining that the panels are focusing too much on the past and failing to hold the Biden administration accountable.
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Keylor Navas quiere demostrar que está en capacidad de triunfar en el Real Madrid.
Es una guerra. Real Madrid y Manchester United están en abierto enfrentamiento tras el fallido traspaso de David de Gea al club blanco a cambio de Keylor Navas y una buena suma de dinero.
Dos superpotencias del fútbol no lograron completar a tiempo los trámites para asegurar el intercambio de porteros en el último día del mercado de fichajes.
En Madrid apuntan a Manchester. Desde el norte de Inglaterra a la capital española.
Lea: David de Gea y otras inverosímiles tramas del mercado de fichajes de fútbol
Pero mientras el enfrentamiento dialéctico toma forma en los despachos, en el frente de batalla yacen los dos soldados que dieron origen al conflicto.
Image copyright Getty
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David de Gea tiene como objetivo ser el número de España en la Europa 2016.
Ambos están heridos. Navas por el menosprecio del club en el que quiere triunfar, De Gea por no poder cumplir su deseo de regresar a España tras haber creído que había finalizado su aventura inglesa.
Pero, ¿qué pasará ahora con dos de los mejores porteros en el fútbol?
Orgullo tico
Hace un año Keylor Navas aterrizó en el Santiago Bernabéu después de ser la gran revelación del Mundial de Brasil y tras una gran temporada con el Levante en la liga española.
Image copyright Getty
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Navas tuvo que conformarse con ser el segundo portero del Real Madrid la pasada temporada por detrás de Iker Casillas.
Su primer reto era pelear la portería con toda una institución del Real Madrid, Iker Casillas.
Casillas fue titular y el portero tico tuvo que conformarse con las esporádicas oportunidades que se le presentaban. Navas respondió con cada llamado, pero su nombre nunca estuvo cerca de la titularidad del equipo.
Ni siquiera cuando el capitán madridista anunció su salida del club. En el horizonte estuvo inamovible la figura de David de Gea, el deseo de la directiva del Madrid, a quien veían desde la capital española como el futuro número uno del equipo.
“Ellos (la prensa española) quieren tener a un español como portero del Real Madrid, entonces al ver un centroamericano lo aceptan y no lo aceptan”, fueron las fuertes declaraciones del padre de Keylor, Freddy Navas, tras confirmarse que su hijo seguiría defendiendo la portería en el Santiago Bernabéu.
“Saben que es el mejor, pero por orgullo no lo aceptan”, dijo.
Image copyright Getty
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El portero tico fue el líder de la selección de Costa Rica que terminó invicta en el Mundial de Brasil 2014.
Lo cierto es que Keylor Navas no quería salir del Madrid. Aceptó a regañadientes su salida al Manchester United porque no quería pasar otro año en el banquillo, pero su corazón y mente siempre estuvieron de blanco.
Es posible que su aventura con el número uno del Real Madrid tenga fecha de caducidad en 2016, pero sabe que en esta temporada tiene la posibilidad de demostrar a la directiva blanca de su valor.
Por lo pronto ya comenzó ganándose a la afición, que lo ovacionó el pasado fin de semana en el partido contra el Betis y le agradece su lealtad para con el equipo.
Resignación española
Para David de Gea la herida tardará más en cicatrizar.
Image copyright Getty
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David de Gea fue el mejor jugador de Manchester United durante las dos últimas temporadas.
En su último partido con el Manchester United la pasada campaña, el portero español se lesionó y en su lugar entro su compatriota Víctor Valdés.
Mientras se retiraba del campo De Gea se despedía de los aficionados consciente que ese podía haber sido su último partido de diablo rojo.
Image copyright Getty
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El portero español pareció despedirse de la afición en su último partido la pasada campaña.
Al fin de cuentas, había sido el mejor jugador del club inglés durante la temporada, el Real Madrid lo quería y sólo le quedaba un año de contrato. Además, habían traído a Valdés para que fuera su sustituto.
Pasaron tres meses y su anunciado fichaje por el Madrid nunca se concretó y hubo que esperar hasta el último día del mercado de fichajes para ser protagonista del “ridículo” que supuso la negociación entre ambos clubes.
El portero español no ha jugado un partido oficial con el United este año debido a que no estaba concentrado, como arguyó el técnico Louis van Gaal, quien contrató al argentino Sergio Romero para ocupar su puesto.
Pero el argentino no ha convencido –pese a no recibir goles en tres de los cuatro partidos disputados– y la prensa y exjugadores británicos lo culparon del segundo gol del Swansea en la derrota de su equipo el pasado fin de semana.
Número uno
En Inglaterra dan por descontado que Romero será el segundo portero del equipo (lo hubiera sido por detrás de Navas si al final el costarricense hubiera llegado a Old Trafford) y que De Gea no tendrá problemas para recuperar su lugar en el once titular.
Image copyright Getty
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De Gea y Navas estuvieron frente a frente en un amistoso entre España y Costa Rica.
Falta ver cómo será el reencuentro de De Gea con Van Gaal, con quien tuvo marcadas diferencias en el verano, pero dado el rendimiento del portero español la pasada campaña será difícil que el técnico holandés opte por un castigo en forma de banquillo.
Para Phil Neville, exjugador del Manchester United y comentarista de la BBC, lo más importante es pensar en el equipo.
“Desde el punto de vista de los aficionados estoy seguro que ellos están fascinados que no se dio el traspaso”, dijo Neville.
“La portería es una posición que estaba tambaleando un poco y De Gea ha sido el mejor jugador del equipo las dos últimas campañas. Él querrá jugar porque el año que viene está la Eurocopa 2016 y el quiere ser el portero número uno de España“.
“Eso puede ser una bendición disfrazada para el Manchester United”.
De Gea también tiene otras tres opciones que barajar esta temporada.
Una es renovar el contrato que Manchester United le ofreció y que le garantiza un salario más elevado de lo que se informa le prometía el Real Madrid.
Las otras son salir gratis hacia la capital española el próximo año o esperar que llegue la paz entre ambos clubes antes del mercado de fichajes de enero, donde podría concluir la novela que esta semana anunció “continuará…”.
Eric Trump weighs in on his father’s success with boosting the U.S. economy and the left’s and media’s assault on the Trump administration
Eric Trump appeared on “Hannity” Thursday and called Democrats attacking his father “deranged” and dismissed the 2020 Democratic presidential field as “weak.”
“They don’t have any leaders out there. These candidates all look very weak to me, I welcome running against, quite frankly, any of them and helping my father in every way we can,” Trump told Sean Hannity.
Trump said the Democrats “won’t let it go” with their continuous allegations against President Trump and their call for more inquiries into the Russia investigation, and that will lead his father to win in 2020.
“They are failing, Sean. They don’t have a message, they don’t have proper leadership, and I am telling you, he’s going to win this thing again. He’s going to win this thing in 2020 because they are incredibly deranged,” Trump said
The Trump Organization executive vice-president also lashed out at Congress saying they were not doing their jobs and that the American people are “sick and tired” of it.
“This is what you get out of these people. They don’t want to work for the American people, they don’t want to do their jobs in congress. I say this as a civilian, people are sick and tired of this nonsense,” Trump said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., vowed a “reckoning” Thursday after Attorney General Bill Barr boycotted a scheduled hearing, likening President Trump to a dictator and threatening the Justice Department leader with contempt.
Instead of Barr testifying on his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report Thursday the session became bizarre, one Democrat placed a prop chicken near an empty seat meant for Barr, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., ate a bucket of fried chicken while Democrats voiced their displeasure with Barr and the president.
“They want their legislators to actually work and do their jobs. That is why you see the approval rating of Congress is terrible. These people are incompetent,” Trump said.
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Anti-government protests in Hong Kong started five months ago
Hong Kong has confirmed it has entered its first recession for a decade as it continues to be gripped by protests.
Its economy shrank 3.2% in the July-to-September period compared with the prior quarter, figures showed, confirming earlier preliminary data.
It means the economy has contracted for two quarters in a row, which is the usual definition of a recession.
Tourists are staying away and shops are suffering amid battles between anti-government protesters and police.
“Domestic demand worsened significantly in the third quarter, as the local social incidents took a heavy toll on consumption-related activities and subdued economic prospects weighed on consumption and investment sentiment,” the government said in a statement.
It now expects the economy to shrink 1.3% for the full year.
“Ending violence and restoring calm are pivotal to the recovery of the economy. The government will continue to closely monitor the situation and introduce measures as necessary to support enterprises and safeguard,” the government added.
Hong Kong – a British colony until 1997 – is part of China under a model known as “one country, two systems”.
Under this model, Hong Kong has a high degree of autonomy and people have freedoms unseen in mainland China.
The protests started in June after the government planned to pass a bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to mainland China.
Many feared this bill would undermine the city’s freedoms and judicial independence.
Image copyright Getty Images
The bill was eventually withdrawn but the protests continued, having evolved into a broader revolt against the police, and the way Hong Kong is administered by Beijing.
Protests have taken place every weekend over the past few months, causing widespread disruption and a number of deaths.
On Thursday, a 70-year-old cleaner died after he was hit in the head during a protest in the Hong Kong border town of Sheung Shui.
Video purported to be of the incident shows two groups throwing bricks at each other before the man falls to the ground after being struck on the head.
Image copyright Getty Images
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Burberry says it has seen a “double digit” percentage decline in sales in Hong Kong
Dramatic scenes such as these have kept tourists away. In August, arrivals to the city – a popular travel destination and transit hub – hit their worst level since the SARS crisis of 2003.
Some hotels have slashed prices as they struggle to fill their rooms.
On Thursday, two companies with major operations in Hong Kong revealed the financial impact of the protests.
Luxury fashion house Burberry said its sales in Hong Kong had fallen by more than 10% and would “remain under pressure”.
Airline Cathay Pacific cut its profit guidance and said the civil unrest had “been exceptionally challenging, severely impacting demand and operations of the business”.
Why the spike in anger?
This week has seen a marked escalation in violence with intense street battles, violent clashes at universities and lunchtime protests in the financial heart of Hong Kong.
It is the first time in weeks that protests have taken place during weekdays.
Media captionHong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng is jostled by protesters in London
Monday’s protests followed a weekend of vigils and demonstrations after a 22-year-old student protester died last week.
Alex Chow had been in hospital since he fell from the ledge of a car park during a police operation a week ago.
Later on Monday, violence escalated further when a police officer shot an activist in the torso with a live bullet and a pro-government supporter was set on fire by protesters.
In London, Hong Kong’s Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng was hurt after being jostled by anti-government protesters, the Chinese embassy said.
Ms Cheng is seen as having played a key role in promoting the unpopular extradition bill that triggered the protests. China strongly condemned the incident and called for a thorough investigation.
Los procuradores generales y fiscales generales de los estados parte y asociados del Mercosur emitieron un comunicado en el que “repudian vehemente” la destitución de la fiscal venezolana, Luisa Ortega.
“Los jefes de los Ministerios Públicos de los Estados Partes y Asociados del Mercosur repudian vehemente la destitución de la Fiscal General de Venezuela y piden a la comunidad internacional la adopción de medidas inmediatas para promover la recomposición del orden constitucional en la República Bolivariana de Venezuela”
Además solicitaron “garantizar la seguridad, libertad e integridad física de fiscales, jueces y funcionarios del sistema de justicia de ese país”.
Por otra parte aseguraron que “la remoción de Ortega, por acto de la asamblea nacional constituyente, es un claro atentado a la autonomía e independencia del Ministerio Público venezolano”.
“Con ese ilegal acto, se provoca un daño profundo al Estado de Derecho en especial en su faceta de administración de justicia, que afecta de manera directa a todos los habitantes de Venezuela, en tanto no tienen una institucionalidad autónoma e independiente que defienda los derechos fundamentales de víctimas e imputados y conduzca investigaciones de manera independiente e imparcial”, expresaron.
La fiscal fue removida de su cargo ayer sábado como una de las primeras decisiones tomadas por La Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (ANC) que ya entró oficialmente en funciones.
Cumpliendo el deseo del presidente Nicolás Maduro de darle un revolcón a la Fiscalía, luego de que Ortega se rebelara en su contra, la ANC separó del cargo a la funcionaria, que acusa al mandatario de tener “una ambición dictatorial”.
La fiscal será sometida a juicio por supuestas irregularidades, anunció más temprano el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ) —acusado de servir al gobierno— al suspenderla en sus funciones.
Comunicado completo
Ante la ilegal destitución de la Fiscal General de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Luisa Ortega Díaz, ocurrida el sábado 5 de agosto en Caracas, y considerando la suspensión de Venezuela del Mercosur por violación de la cláusula democrática prevista en el Protocolo de Ushuaia, los Procuradores Generales y Fiscales Generales de los países miembros del Mercosur, aprueban la siguiente declaración:
1. La remoción de la Fiscal General de Venezuela Luisa Ortega, por acto de la asamblea nacional constituyente, es un claro atentado a la autonomía e independencia del Ministerio Público venezolano.
2. Los Ministerios Públicos de los Estados Parte y Asociados del Mercosur no reconocen la autoridad de una institución encabezada por autoridades ilegal y arbitrariamente designadas.
3. La destitución de la Fiscal General de Venezuela representa una violación de la regla 4 de los Principios rectores relativos a la Función de los Magistrados del Ministerio Público, según la cual “Los Estados deberán asegurar que los magistrados del Ministerio Público puedan desempeñar sus funciones profesionales sin ninguna intimidación , Obstáculo, coacción, interferencia indebida o exposición injustificada a la responsabilidad civil, penal o de otra naturaleza “(Reglas de las Naciones Unidas aprobadas en La Habana, en 1990).
4. Con ese ilegal acto, se provoca un daño profundo al Estado de Derecho en especial en su faceta de administración de justicia, que afecta de manera directa a todos los habitantes de Venezuela, en tanto no tienen una institucionalidad autónoma e independiente que defienda los derechos fundamentales de víctimas e imputados y conduzca investigaciones de manera independiente e imparcial.
5. Se informa que la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente pretende alterar el sistema acusatorio y suprimir las competencias del Ministerio Público venezolano.
6. El cerco militar al edificio de la Fiscalía General venezolana ocurrido este sábado es sólo el signo visible de este ataque a la autonomía de la institución, ataque que se agravó con el derrocamiento de la legítima jefa del Ministerio Público venezolano.
7. Por tales razones, los jefes de los Ministerios Públicos de los Estados Partes y Asociados del Mercosur repudian vehemente la destitución de la Fiscal General de Venezuela y piden a la comunidad internacional la adopción de medidas inmediatas para promover la recomposición del orden constitucional en la República Bolivariana de Venezuela y garantizar seguridad, libertad e integridad física de fiscales, jueces y funcionarios del sistema de justicia de ese país.
8. Declaran además que permanecerán atentos al desarrollo de los eventos en Venezuela y preocupados por el pleno respeto de los derechos y garantías del pueblo venezolano.
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Un Facebook Live que decía mostrar un doble tornado del huracán Irma aproximándose a Florida era en realidad parte de un video que fue grabado por lo menos en 2007.
Los desastres meteorológicos y huracanes tropicales como Irma no sólo dejan a su paso una estela de destrucción, sino también un aluvión de noticias falsas e imágenes que no se corresponden con la realidad.
Durante cerca de dos semanas ha circulado por internet todo tipo de información errónea, desde datos científicos incorrectos hasta un directo a través de Facebook Live que aseguraba mostrar el huracán Irma, pero que en realidad correspondía a un fenómeno ocurrido hace más de 10 años.
No siempre resulta fácil distinguir lo falso de la real. De hecho, algunas noticias resultaron tan confusas que hasta la Casa Blanca las dio por verdaderas.
Hubo engaños elaborados, pero también artículos que parecían basarse en malas interpretaciones.
A continuación, te mostramos algunas de estas informaciones falsas y te contamos qué debes hacer para distinguir lo verdadero de lo falso.
El “control de rumores” de la Casa Blanca
La Agencia Federal para el Manejo de Emergencias en Estados Unidos (FEMA, por sus siglas en inglés) ha publicado su propia “lista para el control de rumores”, con el objetivo de ayudar a la gente a verificar lo que se comparte en internet sobre Irma.
Final de la publicación de Twitter número de @fema
Pero las autoridades estadounidenses también han cometido errores a la hora de tratar la información.
Este domingo, Dan Scavino, director de redes sociales de la Casa Blanca, tuiteó videos e imágenes sobre el impacto de Irma en Florida. Dijo que se las estaba mostrando al presidente Donald Trump y al vicepresidente Mike Pence.
Una de ellas incluía una llamativa instantánea del Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami cubierto de agua.
Derechos de autor de la imagen @Scavino45
Sin embargo, a los minutos de publicar el tuit, el aeropuerto corrigió a Scavino a través de Twitter: “Este video no es del Aeropuerto Internacional de Miami”.
Poco despué, Scavino eliminó su tuit, agradeciendo la corrección. “Gracias. Estaba entre los cientos de videos e imágenes que estoy recibiendo sobre Irma por parte del público. Al tratar de comunicarlo todo, lo compartí. Ya lo eliminé. ¡Cuídense!”, escribió en la red social.
Final de la publicación de Twitter número de @iflymia
“Guarda tus bienes de valor en el lavaplatos”
La gente compartió consejos sobre cómo hacerle frente a las inundaciones causadas por Irma. Y una de las advertencias fue guardar las cosas en el lavaplatos, sosteniendo la creencia popular de que estas máquinas son resistentes al agua.
Varios residentes de zonas afectadas directamente por el huracán compartieron la sugerencia.
Final de la publicación de Twitter número de @christinawilkie
La reportera de Fox Sports Kristen Hewitt dijoen una publicación en su blog y en un video en Facebook Live el 5 de septiembre que el lavaplatos es un fantástico lugar “resistente al agua en caso de emergencia” para guardar documentos importantes.
Esa misma advertencia también circuló en una lista de consejos en Twitter el 5 y 6 de septiembre.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Twitter
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Lista de consejos en Twitter: “6. Haz capturas de pantallas de todos los documentos importantes y envíatelas por email. Mete los originales en bolsas selladas o de basura. Guarda cosas de valor en el lavaplatos y ciérralo en caso de inundación”.
El consejo fue compartido en grupos de Facebook creados por personas afectadas por el huracán, incluidos habitantes de las Islas Vírgenes Británicas, donde el fenómeno climático causó gran devastación.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Facebook
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Post en Facebook: “Aacabo de leer algunos buenos consejos sobre cómo usar tu lavaplatos y secadora para guardar cosas como documentos y fotos”.
A algunos usuarios de la red social les pareció un buen consejo: “Una idea fabulosa, muchas gracias”, respondió una persona. Y otro internauta comentó: “Buena idea”.
Otra publicación de Facebook con más de 100.000 “Me gusta” que mostraba carpetas con documentos y fotos de boda dentro de un lavavajillas fue compartida más de un millón de veces.
“¡Gente de Florida, un buen consejo! Vacíen su lavaplatos y pongan ahí lo que quieran preservar. Es resistente al agua y está empotrado dentro de los armarios de la cocina así que es más probable que sobreviva a una tormenta. Díganselo a sus amigos”, se lee en esta imagen de Facebook de la estadounidense Anna Kearns.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Anna Kearns/Facebook
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Esta es la imagen con fotos y documentos dentro del lavapltos que fue compartida en Facebook más de un millón de veces.
La página web de verificación de hechos Snopes analizó este caso y publicó una nota advirtiendo que no había fundamento alguno para hacerlo.
“No se citó ningún fabricante, experto en desastres o agencia gubernamental. Y el argumento (“está empotrado dentro de los armarios de la cocina”) suena más a una observación que a información creíble”, aseguran, detallando casos de personas que hicieron lo propio en inundaciones y cuyas pertenencias no sobrevivieron dentro del electrodoméstico.
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Richard Branson no fue asaltado: sufrió un accidente de bicicleta en agosto de 2016.
Este lunes por la mañana circulaban por internet reportes falsos sobre multimillonarios británicos, como el magnate Richard Branson, que habían sido asaltados por saqueadores en sus hogares en las Islas Vírgenes Británicas.
Uno de ellos fue publicado en la web Houstonchronicle-tv.com, que supuestamente funciona como una versión online regional del diario estadounidense Houston Chronicle (aunque al hacer clic en el artículo, se redirige a otro sitio llamado Houston News).
Pero la información era falsa; usó fotografías de Branson magullado tras sufrir un accidente de bicicleta en agosto de 2016.
“Qué noticia más alarmante. Le deseamos una pronta recuperación”, escribió en respuesta a la noticia un usuario de Facebook.
Pero algunos fueron más escépticos. Otro le contestó: “Más noticias falsas”. Y una tercera persona puso un enlace de 2016 sobre el accidente.
Videos falsos
También se compartieron rápidamente videos que mostraban la potencia y magnitud del huracán.
Cuando el río llegó hasta el centro de Miami -algo que muchos grabaron y describieron correctamente- varios posts dijeron erróneamente que las imágenes mostraban carreteras inundadas de agua.
“¡Eso no es la carretera! !Es el valle! ¡Es el agua! Yo crecí allí”, respondió el usuario de Twitter Magnolia Emporia a una de estas publicaciones el domingo.
Final de la publicación de Twitter número de @Eire_QC
También hubo un video de Facebook Live que fue visto más de 500.000 veces el sábado y que decía mostrar un doble tornado aproximándose a Florida. “Huracán Irma se acerca”, advirtió.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Facebook
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Este Facebook Live no es en realidad de Irma, sino de un evento ocurrido hace más de 10 años.
Sin embargo, el video data de al menos 2007 y se corresponde con las imágenes de una tormenta cerca de la isla de Elba. en el Mediterráneo, en 2006.
¿Qué puedes hacer para detectar las noticias falsas?
Pregúntate lo siguiente:
¿Quién lo publica?
¿Es esta la fuente que creo que es o tan sólo se le parece?
¿Puedo señalar en un mapa dónde ocurrió esto?
¿Fue publicado en otro lugar?
¿Hay más de una prueba que evidencie lo que afirma?
Democratic presidential candidates reacted on Friday to their placement in the upcoming presidential primary debates, with most expressing eagerness ahead of the televised events later this month.
Sanders’s campaign called it “a terrific lineup” and a chance to debate issues that matter to the presidential candidate, including “Medicare for All.”
“This is a terrific lineup because there will be a real debate over the key set of choices in this Democratic primary,” said Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir in an emailed statement.
“This debate will also provide Senator Sanders the opportunity to highlight his leadership on a host of important issues, including Medicare For All, opposition to the Iraq war, votes against horrific trade agreements, and record of boldly taking on the fossil fuel industry and corporate greed,” Shakir added. “We look forward to hearing other candidates outline their visions for the country and plans to fully guarantee all people the right to health care, housing, education, a clean environment, and the freedom of basic economic rights.”
Despite being deprived of a chance to hit Biden and Sanders on the debate stage, Warren tweeted that she was looking forward to further sharing her policy proposals.
I’m looking forward to the first debate of the Democratic presidential primary on Wednesday, June 26 on @NBCNews and having an opportunity to discuss my plans for big, structural change in this country. Let’s dream big, fight hard, and win!
Delaney, who has struggled to gain traction in the polls, released a statement saying he looks forward to sharing the stage with Warren.
“I am also pleased to be sharing the debate stage with many strong candidates, particularly Senator Warren who, like me, is talking about new ideas,” Delaney said. “I look forward to a debate on issues and solutions, not personality and politics.”
Booker responded to his placement on the first night’s stage with a fundraising email to supporters, saying the debate will present an opportunity for all of the candidates to stand out.
“This debate will be a make or break moment for a lot of campaigns, including ours, and we’re confident that Cory will shine through. But we need your help,” Booker wrote.
Harris acknowledged her future debate partners in a fundraising email of her own.
“On June 27, 2019, I will share the national stage with candidates like Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Pete Buttigieg for the first debate of this Democratic presidential primary in Miami, Florida,” Harris wrote.
O’Rourke also shared his excitement on Twitter, adding that it will give him a chance to further share his platform.
Really looking forward to the first democratic debate on Wednesday the 26th. The challenges we face are the greatest in living memory but we have a big, bold, ambitious, forward-looking vision to share that will bring this country together to overcome every single one of them.
Hickenlooper praised his debate stage partners, but warned against socialism, which could be perceived as a dig at Sanders, who will appear onstage with him.
Excited to be on stage with these leaders. We may disagree at times, but we all agree that defeating Trump and boldly addressing the challenges facing American families is essential.
Socialism is not how we will achieve a progressive future. And I look forward to that debate. https://t.co/JQd9hvy9rk
However, not every Democrat seeking the nomination made the lineup for the first debates.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock‘s (D) campaign released an ad with a Montanan named Jock, who calls Bullock’s future absence on the debate stage “horseshit.”
“You don’t need to be from Montana to know that anybody who wins by four in the same election that Trump won by 20 is doing something right here,” he said, referring to Bullock’s ability to win election in a red state. “He doesn’t qualify. Really?”
The U.S. is unlikely to meet its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year, health officials said this week.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. is unlikely to meet its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans by the end of the year, health officials said this week.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Snowstorms, holidays and general inexperience in handling a pandemic response is to blame for a “lag” in the number of Americans so far vaccinated for the coronavirus, according to U.S. officials.
The federal government previously estimated that 20 million Americans would receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine by the end of the year. But as 2020, a year defined by the coronavirus pandemic, comes to a close on Thursday, the government appears set to fall well short of that goal.
U.S. Army Gen. Gustave F. Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, and Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to federal vaccine effort, said the U.S. has deployed around 14 million vaccine doses as of Wednesday, but only 2.1 million people had received shots. Perna and Slaoui spoke on Wednesday during a news conference.
The vaccination process started on Dec. 14 with frontline health workers getting the shots first.
The number of people vaccinated as reported by Perna and Slaoui contrasts with data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday morning, the agency said that more than 12.4 million doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines had been distributed across the country. The CDC reports just 2.7 million people have been vaccinated. It has said, however, it is working with out-of-date data.
Perna said he is also working off of a 72- to 96-hour lag in vaccine reporting data, which he says will be adjusted as time goes on.
Regardless of the data used, Perna and Slaoui say the number of Americans vaccinated from the coronavirus is far lower than what they would like.
“We know it should be better, and we are working hard to make it better,” Slaoui said.
More than 340,000 Americans have died from the pandemic, as of Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. Health officials warn that January could be the deadliest month since the start of the pandemic, making a successful vaccine distribution all the more critical.
The vaccine rollout has been challenging, but officials expect that between Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, access to vaccines will greatly increase, Perna said.
Despite the early hiccups, Perna and Slaoui applauded the multipronged effort involving states and local governments, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and delivery companies to get the immunization program rolling.
President Trump criticized state officials for the lag in a tweet this week and urged states to, “Get moving!”
The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer. Get moving!
News of the lag in vaccinations comes as reports of problems with state-level distribution processes trickle out.
Florida’s county-by-county plan to vaccinate the state’s elderly residents created a scramble earlier this week. CNN reported that a southwest Florida county encouraged anyone 65 and older and high-risk frontline health care workers to come to one of its seven vaccination sites — no appointment necessary. Each location only had 300 doses, leading to overwhelmed health centers and residents camping out for several hours to get their shots.
In Wisconsin, a medical center employee intentionally left 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine out of its cold storage, leaving health officials with no choice but to destroy them. The vials could have provided around 500 doses.
Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran who lives in Florida, said he felt “deeply invested” in seeing the proposed wall come to fruition. The wall, which Trump has repeatedly promised, is still unstarted as Washington braces for a government shutdown over the president’s demand for taxpayer funding.
Pese a la difusión de que el Gobierno denunció finalmente a NOTICIAS ante la Justicia Federal por publicar la lista de 138 nuevos agentes K de la ex SIDE, la edición cerró normalmente y entró a imprenta sin que llegara a la redacción ninguna comunicación judicial.
En el próximo número, Edi Zunino cuenta cómo se tomó la decisión de afrontar el riesgo de transgredir la Ley Nacional de Inteligencia, que prohíbe revelar nombres y rostros de los agentes del servicio secreto, pese al acoso gubernamental.
Por su parte, Rodis Recalt vuelve sobre esa lista (que ya supera los 200 espías).
Una faja negra cruza la portada con el siguiente texto: EDICIÓN PROHIBIDA POR EL GOBIERNO.
Y en el copete se anuncia: “Quién es quién entre los flamantes espías: militantes, tuiteros, hijos y amigos de funcionarios, sin formación. El escandaloso método de reclutamiento. Los tiempos del Truchismo de Estado”.
Eli Broad made his billions building homes, and then he used that wealth — and the considerable collection of world-class modern art he assembled with his wife — to shape the city around him.
Dogged, determined and often unyielding, he helped push and prod majestic institutions such as Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Museum of Contemporary Art into existence, and then, that done, he created his own namesake museum in the heart of Los Angeles.
With a fortune estimated by Forbes at $6.9 billion, the New York native who made California his home more than 50 years ago flourished in the home construction and insurance industries before directing his attention and fortune toward an array of ambitious civic projects, often setting the agenda for what was to come in L.A.
Active and still looking ahead until late in life, Broad died Friday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Suzi Emmerling, a spokesperson for the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, said in a statement. A cause of death was not given.
“We join the city of Los Angeles in mourning the loss of Eli Broad. The city and the nation have lost an icon,” Los Angeles Times Executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele, said in a statement.
“Eli’s life story is an inspiration and a testament to the possibilities America holds,” they said. “The Broads’ support and leadership of the cultural, educational and medical institutions that sustain us have been transformative. Our thoughts are with Edye and their family and we’re forever grateful to her and Eli.”
Civic transformation was “his driving force,” Barry Munitz, a longtime Broad associate and former chancellor of the California State University, told The Times in 2004.
Eli Broad, philanthropist, art collector and builder, has died at 87.
Broad spent millions to endow medical and scientific research programs, including stem cell research centers at UCLA, USC, UC San Francisco and Harvard. He was also a deep-pocketed booster of public education reform who funded charter schools, a training academy for school district executives and, for a dozen years, the annual $1-million Broad Prize for high-achieving urban school districts.
But he left his most visible legacy as a cultural philanthropist and broker, whose money and world-class modern art collection made him a powerful and often controversial force on the local arts scene.
In the late 1970s, he became the founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art, and he bailed it out of a financial scandal three decades later with a $30-million grant.
In the 1990s, when the effort to build Disney Hall was falling apart, he took charge of a $135-million fundraising campaign to complete construction in 2003.
That year, he also pledged $50 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to build the contemporary art wing that bears his name.
Calling himself a “venture philanthropist,” he expected his benefaction to bring more than a pat on the back and naming rights. He regarded his donations as investments, the success of which he would judge by their returns, whether in the form of scientific breakthroughs, improved test scores or higher museum attendance.
“I am a builder,” the tall, white-haired Broad once told The Times. “I don’t like to preside over the status quo and simply write checks.”
His demands made some potential recipients think twice about accepting money from Broad. “Too many strings,” said the leader of a major Los Angeles nonprofit, who asked not to be named. Others put it less politely. “Eli is a control freak,” Disney Hall architect Frank Gehry said of his former client in a 2011 segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Broad was known not only for aggressive involvement in his philanthropic projects but also for a tendency to withdraw his support when developments failed to go his way. These traits were well known in L.A.’s art world, in which he was an unavoidable force.
“The truth is that Eli is L.A.’s most prominent cultural philanthropist, and if you run a museum in this city you have a relationship with him one way or another,” Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum, where Broad once sat on the board, said in a 2010 Vanity Fair article.
Broad’s relationships with the institutions he enriched were often vexing.
In 2010, as a dominant member of the MOCA board, he steered the museum toward the controversial choice of Jeffrey Deitch, a New York gallery owner from whom he had purchased art, to be its new director. In 2012 he forced the resignation of the museum’s longtime chief curator, Paul Schimmel, who had clashed with Deitch over shows involving celebrity artists such as Dennis Hopper that seemed to pander to popular tastes. Several board members resigned in protest, including Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, Barbara Kruger and Catherine Opie.
In 2013, with MOCA struggling financially, Broad tried to broker a merger between the museum and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, a match that made little sense to many in the museum world. The proposal died amid sharp questioning by critics, including the New York Times’ Roberta Smith, who wrote: “The combination of the domineering Mr. Broad and unusually passive trustees has forced to its knees one of the greatest American museums of the postwar era.”
At LACMA, Broad insisted that the much-needed modern art wing be called the Broad Contemporary Art Museum and personally recruited architect Renzo Piano to design it and a board to govern it. LACMA agreed to his terms without a solid pledge from the multibillionaire to donate works from the 2,000-piece contemporary art collection he had built with his wife, Edythe.
Just before the 80,000-square-foot building’s formal unveiling in 2008, Broad stunned much of the museum world by announcing that he would not be giving LACMA his treasure trove of Warhols, Rauschenbergs and Lichtensteins. Instead, he said he would lend works to the museum from the private art foundation he founded in 1984, an arrangement that he believed would ensure the art he and his wife had amassed over decades would be seen and not stored away.
His decision brought pointed headlines, such as the one accompanying a New York Times story: “To Have and Give Not.” Time magazine’s Richard Lacayo was most blunt, writing on his blog, “LACMA got screwed.”
Although Broad had said over the years that he would not go the way of Armand Hammer and Norton Simon, he ultimately did decide to build his own museum. He settled on a prime downtown lot adjacent to MOCA and Disney Hall for the Broad, the eponymous museum and art lending library that opened in September 2015, part of his vision to cement Grand Avenue as the cultural heart of L.A.
“We believe we have reinvented the American art museum,” he wrote in a 2019 L.A. Times essay on Los Angeles’ cultural evolution.
Broad was a major architecture patron, who over the years supported projects by many of the world’s top architects, including Zaha Hadid — who designed the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, Broad’s alma mater — Cesar Pelli and Richard Meier.
Closer to home, he and his wife made major gifts to UCLA for a fine arts complex and to Caltech for a biological sciences center. He also supplied a $10-million endowment for programming and arts education at Santa Monica College’s performing arts center.
Born in New York on June 6, 1933, Broad was an only child who grew up in Detroit, where his Lithuanian immigrant father, Leon, worked as a house painter before operating several five-and-dime stores. His mother, Rita, was a seamstress who later worked as a bookkeeper for her husband.
The family name was spelled Brod and pronounced like the slang term for a woman, which made young Eli the butt of many jokes. This grew tiresome, so in junior high he added an “a” to his last name and told people “Broad, rhymes with ‘road.’“
“Some of the teasing continued,” he recalled in his 2012 memoir, “Eli Broad: The Art of Being Unreasonable,” “but it didn’t really sting anymore. I had changed myself.”
He graduated with a degree in accounting from Michigan State University in 1954, the same year he married Edythe “Edye” Lawson. In 1956 their son Jeffrey was born, followed three years later by another son, Gary. His wife and sons survive him.
At 20, Broad had become a certified public accountant — one of the youngest in Michigan history. He shared office space with Donald Kaufman, a carpenter-contractor who was married to his wife’s cousin. In 1957 he and Kaufman borrowed $25,000 from Broad’s father-in-law and launched a home-building company, Kaufman & Broad (now KB Home).
Broad had heard of a company in Ohio that beat its competition by building houses without the customary basement. “I didn’t understand why you couldn’t do that in Michigan,” he said in a 2006 Vanity Fair profile. “So we came up with a product, which I modestly called the Award Winner, which sold for $13,740, and vets could move into it for, like, 300 bucks. My idea was if they could move out of garden apartments into three-bedroom houses for less than rent and have equity and the tax benefits, it worked.”
His hunch proved correct. The houses sold quickly, and Kaufman & Broad became the biggest independent builder of single-family homes in the country. The company expanded into Arizona and California. Broad was a millionaire before he turned 30.
In 1963, after Kaufman retired, Broad moved the company from Phoenix to Los Angeles. He and his wife bought a home in Brentwood.
At first, Los Angeles, with geographic sprawl unlike Detroit or Phoenix, baffled him. But gradually he became a master of the metropolis, joining civic boards and elite social circles. Richard Riordan, the venture capitalist and future L.A. mayor, became a close friend.
“Los Angeles is a meritocracy,” Broad told Los Angeles magazine in 2003. “It’s one of the few cities you can move to without the right family background, the right religious background, the right political background, and if you work hard and have good ideas, you’re accepted.”
He got involved in politics, running California Democrat Alan Cranston’s first winning campaign for the U.S. Senate in 1968. Four years later, afraid that Democratic Sen. George McGovern was too soft on the Soviet Union, he served as vice chairman of Democrats for Nixon. Broad later led the successful effort to bring the 2000 Democratic National Convention to Los Angeles.
While he was building Kaufman & Broad, his wife, Edythe, immersed herself in L.A.’s gallery world. Before long her husband became an ardent collector too.
Their first major purchase came in 1972 when they paid $95,000 for a Van Gogh drawing. Broad eventually found modern art more to his liking and began accumulating works by such artists as Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Damien Hirst.
In the late 1970s, he led a campaign that raised more than $10 million to launch a museum dedicated to modern art. With a personal donation of $1 million, he became founding chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art and influenced the selection of Japanese modernist Arata Isozaki to design it.
In 1984, he stepped down as MOCA chair after disagreements with the board but remained one of the city’s most powerful art patrons.
In 1994, Riordan enlisted him to resuscitate the fundraising campaign for Disney Hall, which had been stalled by an economic recession. Riordan and Broad each contributed $5 million to the effort, and with Broad leading the charge the $135-million goal was reached by 1998. Despite a major tiff with architect Gehry, with whom Broad had a troubled history (Gehry designed his Brentwood home but was fired when Broad thought he was taking too long), the concert hall opened in 2003 to jubilant reviews. Broad received the lion’s share of credit for its completion.
His role in reviving the Disney Hall project established him as Los Angeles’ most formidable philanthropist. Los Angeles magazine put him on the cover in June 2003 with the headline, “He has more pull than the mayor, more art than the Getty, and more money than God. Does Eli Broad own LA?”
He acknowledged that people often questioned his motives. He liked putting his name on buildings and always sought the best return on his investments.
In 1995, he purchased a Lichtenstein painting called “I … I’m Sorry” for $2.5 million and paid with his American Express card, reportedly so he could rack up frequent-flier miles. He later donated the miles to California Institute of the Arts in Valencia for student travel. But the real reason for putting a seven-figure tab on his credit card, he said in his memoir, was to keep earning interest on the $2 million until the bill was due.
Strategic planning, as well as keeping a sharp eye on the bottom line, was what got him to the top of two industries. He had taken Kaufman & Broad into the life insurance business in the 1970s, when the housing market was in a slump. In the 1980s, he expanded into annuities and other financial services, which he eventually spun off into a separate company, SunAmerica. In 1993, he stepped down as chairman of Kaufman & Broad to run SunAmerica, his second Fortune 500 company.
In 1999, he sold SunAmerica to American International Group for $18 billion, and he retired in 2000 to become a full-time philanthropist.
Flush with cash from the sale, he committed $2 billion to his philanthropies, including $100 million to create the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, which supports school reform. It has spent more than $600 million since 1999 on a variety of initiatives.
As with the arts, Broad demanded a hands-on role in improving education.
He played a prominent role in the development of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s downtown arts high school. He personally helped recruit two superintendents, former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and veteran educator John Deasy. But his ambitions ranged beyond L.A. and California.
In 2002, his foundation began to fund the Broad Prize, which targeted urban districts with large achievement gaps. It exemplified its founder’s philosophy of tying monetary awards to concrete results such as gains in student test scores. Disappointed in the slow pace of improvement, he suspended the prize in early 2015.
He also founded the Broad Superintendents Academy, the largest training program in the nation for urban school superintendents. Its more than 150 fellows, many of them from business, the military and other fields outside education, undergo a 10-month program heavy on corporate-style management techniques and have gone on to leadership positions not only in Los Angeles (Deasy is a Broad graduate) but also in New York, Chicago and other major city school districts. In 2019, Broad announced he was moving the academy to Yale University.
The wealth and vision that created these initiatives also made Broad a target of scorn by some education experts. One of his most prominent critics was education historian Diane Ravitch, who assailed Broad along with Microsoft’s Bill Gates and others as members of “the billionaire boys’ club” of business titans whose top-down reform efforts weaken the voices of parents and teachers unions.
“His Broadies are leading districts and states,” Ravitch wrote in her blog in 2012. “Some are educators, some are not. Some are admired, some are despised. But the question remains, who elected Eli Broad to reform the nation’s schools? He is like a spoiled rich kid in a candy shop, taking what he wants, knocking over displays, breaking jars, barking orders.”
None of this discouraged Broad. “Our role is to take risks that government is not willing to do,” he told Newsweek in 2011. “The fact that I don’t concern myself about criticism or pushback helps.”
Broad made an offer to buy the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015, saying he believed the papers should be owned by a Californian. His offer, which had reportedly been solicited by Tribune Publishing, was rejected. The newspapers were later purchased by Soon-Shiong, a Los Angeles biotech billionaire.
Notoriously impatient — ”Let’s move on” was his favorite way of telling people they were wasting his time — Broad liked to stay busy, multitasking even during his leisure time. The only regret he expressed about an extraordinarily successful life was that he spent too much time building his businesses and not enough time being a father to his sons, neither of whom has sought the public spotlight.
“I was serious, focused, demanding, and not much fun,” Broad wrote in his memoir. “I took the boys with me to tour subdivisions, and now I realize that’s not exactly how kids want to spend their weekends. I missed too many moments.”
“I am unreasonable,” he wrote. “It’s the one adjective everyone I know — family, friends, associates, employees, and critics — has used to describe me…. But I believe that being unreasonable has been the key to my success.”
Woo is a former Times staff writer. Times staff writer Steve Marble contributed to this report.
En la tarde de este viernes fue encontrada muerta una joven de 27 años, denunciada como desaparecida desde el jueves por su familia. Las pericias forenses realizadas en el lugar determinaron que la víctima fue asesinada, confirmaron a El País fuentes policiales.
El cuerpo de la mujer, de iniciales L.D., fue hallado debajo de unos arbustos junto al helipuerto del sanatorio Mautone de Maldonado, a solo tres cuadras de su domicilio.
En su cuello tenía un pañuelo y las primeras hipótesis apuntan a que fue ahorcada. Pero continúa la investigación ya que la misma zona del cuerpo presentaba una herida punzante.
Según indicó la familia en la denuncia, la joven había salido hacia las inmediaciones del sanatorio para utilizar la red wifi y comunicarse con su padre, que reside en España.
El momento en que un helicóptero ataca el Tribunal Supremo de Venezuela
El gobierno de Venezuela denunció este martes una “escalada golpista” después de que un helicóptero pilotado por un policía que había publicado una proclama contra Nicolás Maduro disparara contra el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia y el Ministerio del Interior.
El ministro de Información, Ernesto Villegas, identificó como autor al inspector Oscar Pérez, del Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (CICPC), a quien señaló por tener vínculos con la CIA.
Según Villegas, Pérez hurtó un helicóptero poco después de publicar en sus redes sociales un video en el que habla del gobierno como “transitorio y criminal” y dice hacer un despliegue para “devolver el poder al pueblo democrático”.
Nicolás Maduro: “Vamos a capturar el helicóptero y a los que han hecho este ataque terrorista armado”
El ministro dijo que desde la aeronave se lanzaron cuatro granadas -una no explotó- y se hicieron 15 disparos. No se reportaron heridos. Pérez y el helicóptero siguen en paradero desconocido.
Villegas además vinculó al atacante con el exministro del Interior Miguel Rodríguez Torres, ahora crítico con el gobierno.
Durante el anuncio, el gobierno no dio a conocer pruebas de que los disparos y lanzamientos de granadas se produjeron.
Por su parte, líderes de la oposición cuestionaron la versión oficial, afirmando que aún no hay suficiente información sobre el helicóptero y llamando a continuar con las manifestaciones en las calles.
Varios comentaristas opositores fueron más allá y calificaron el episodio de “un show“.
La ONG especializada en defensa Control Ciudadano, crítica del gobierno, aseguró que el supuesto alzamiento en armas era falso.
En redes sociales, vecinos del edificio del Tribunal Supremo publicaron videos en que se puede ver un helicóptero azul con distintivos de la policía sobrevolando la sede del TSJ. Además se oyen disparos y al menos una detonación.
También fueron compartidas fotografías de los tripulantes de la nave sosteniendo un cartel en el que se puede leer la palabra “libertad” y el número 350, en referencia al artículo de la Constitución venezolana que es invocado por la oposición al gobierno de Maduro como legitimación de la desobediencia civil.
El incidente se registró en la tarde de un día de múltiples sucesos en Venezuela en medio del fuerte clima de tensión que vive el país desde que, hace casi tres meses, comenzara una ola de protestas contra el gobierno que ha dejado ya casi 80 muertos.
“Somos guerreros de Dios y nuestra misión es vivir al servicio del pueblo”, el manifiesto que Óscar Pérez difundió antes del ataque del helicóptero
Después del incidente del helicóptero, el vicepresidente de la Asamblea Nacional y líder opositor Freddy Guevara afirmó que todavía no tenían la suficiente información al respecto.
“Lo único seguro es que la calle debe seguir: mañana tranca (bloqueo de calles) nacional”, dijo el asambleísta.
Horas antes, los diputados de la Asamblea Nacional, controlada por la oposición, se enfrentaron con agentes de la Guardia Nacional y denunciaron el asedio del palacio legislativo por parte de simpatizantes del oficialismo.
El presidente Maduro también elevó el tono el martes más temprano.
“Si Venezuela fuera sumida en el caos y la violencia y fuera destruida la Revolución bolivariana, nosotros iríamos al combate, nosotros jamás nos rendiríamos y lo que no se pudo con los votos lo haríamos con las armas, liberaríamos nuestra patria con las armas”, dijo en un acto.
El inspector sublevado
Pero las imágenes del helicóptero generaron confusión en un país en conflicto y en el que el gobierno acusa a la oposición de estar tramando un golpe de Estado.
El inspector Pérez publicó en las redes sociales un video en el que lee un comunicado en el que habla de un “combate en contra de la muerte de inocentes que luchan por su derecho, en contra del hambre”.
“Somos una coalición entre funcionarios militares, policiales y civiles en búsqueda del equilibrio y en contra de este gobierno transitorio criminal”, dice Pérez en el video con cuatro compañeros encapuchados a su espalda.
El grupo, que dice no pertenecer a ningún partido político, se define como “nacionalista, patriota e institucionalista” y contrario a la “tiranía”
Image caption
Diputados de oposición denunciaron el asedio de simpatizantes oficialistas sobre el palacio legislativo.
El ministro Villegas lo tildó de “acto subversivo” y “ataque armado” y dijo que el individuo, antes de identificarlo como Oscar Pérez, “se ha alzado en armas contra la Constitución”.
Maduro habló de “ataque terrorista armado contra las instituciones del país”.
En un comunicado del TSJ, el presidente del tribunal, Maikel Moreno, rechazó y condenó el “ataque terrorista” que puso “en peligro la integridad física de los trabajadores y trabajadoras que se encontraban dentro de sus instalaciones”.
El Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (TSJ) ha sido muy criticado por la oposición y por la fiscal general, Luisa Ortega, quienes lo acusan de actuar al dictado del Ejecutivo, que está promoviendo ahora una Asamblea Nacional Constituyente para reformar el Estado y redactar una nueva Carta Magna.
La oposición y sectores del chavismo crítico están en contra y acusan al gobierno de haberse convertido en una “dictadura”. El Ejecutivo, por su parte, afirma que sus rivales políticos están promoviendo un golpe y una intervención extranjera.
El germen de las protestas fueron dos decisiones del TSJ por las que se atribuía los poderes de la Asamblea Nacional, el cuerpo legislativo. Aunque fueron parcialmente corregidas, el descontento continúa sobre todo por la grave situación económica que vive el país.
Casi a la misma hora del incidente del helicóptero se conoció una sentencia del TSJ que da a la Defensoría del Pueblo el mismo poder que a la Fiscalía para acusar e investigar, lo que algunos constitucionalistas como José Ignacio Hernández interpretan como una forma de minar el poder del Ministerio Público, ahora crítico del Ejecutivo y del poder Judicial.
One lucky lottery ticket-buyer in Illinois may soon be a billionaire, following Friday night’s $1.337 billion Mega Millions lottery drawing.
According to lottery officials, the winning numbers — 13, 36, 45, 57 and 67 and a gold Mega Ball of 14 — match a single ticket sold at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, roughly 17 miles northwest of Chicago. The winner has yet to claim the prize, Harold Mays, director of the Illinois Department of the Lottery, said at a news conference on Saturday.
“We don’t know whether or not they even know that they won a prize,” Mays said. “So, I encourage everybody to check your ticket.”
The jackpot ranks as the third-highest lottery prize in American history, and its winner — who likely paid around $2 for the ticket — stands to either gain $780.5 million as a cash lump sum or receive payments in an annuity over the next 30 years.
If the winner chooses the more popular lump sum option, which “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary recommends, he or she will have to account for a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding. The winner will likely also owe state income tax: If the winner lives in Illinois, the winnings will be considered taxable income at the state’s 4.95% rate, and they may owe even more if they live in a state with a higher income tax rate.
That means the winner should expect to owe a minimum of almost $226 million in taxes, lowering the take-home amount to roughly $554.5 million — still a potentially life-changing sum of money.
In a statement on Saturday, Mega Millions also noted that 26 tickets earned second-tier prizes worth either $2 million or $1 million apiece, and a total of 14,391,740 tickets won some amount of money across nine different prize tiers Friday night.
If you’re one of the lucky winners — especially if you’re the mystery individual who hit the jackpot — experts say you should immediately take steps to protect your ticket and privacy.
“Privacy is key,” Emily Irwin, senior director of advice at Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management, told CNBC on Friday. “That provides safety to both you and your family from scammers or other individuals who can start to prey on you.”
You should then hire a team of professionals to assist you, including an experienced attorney, a financial advisor, a tax advisor and an insurance expert, as CNBC recently noted.
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