El Instituto Uruguayo de Meteorología (Inumet) prevé una mínima nacional de -1° C para esta jornada. La misma se registrará en la zona noreste del territorio, para donde está previsto una máxima de 20° C.
Para el noroeste se espera una mínima de 0° C y una máxima de 21° C, mientras que en el resto del país las mínimas oscilan entre los 2° C y los 22° C de máxima, según el último reporte meteorológico.
Hoy, para el Área Metropolitana, se prevé una jornada con cielo claro y algo nuboso, con una mínima de 5° C y una máxima de 19° C.
Para el resto del país se pronostica una jornada con cielo algo nuboso y períodos de nuboso, con heladas en el noroeste y noreste, y heladas agrometeorológicas para el este, suroeste y centro-sur del país.
En cuanto a la dirección y velocidad del viento, el pronóstico a nivel nacional es que el mismo soplará desde el oeste a una velocidad de entre 10 y 30 kilómetros por hora, con períodos de variables y calmos.
Por otro lado, la ministra de Desarrollo Social, Marina Arismendi, reconoció ayer, al culminar el Consejo de Ministros, que un indigente que falleció durante la noche de sábado en la calle “es una aparente hipotermia”.
Arismendi indicó que “va a demorar la autopsia, pero es una aparente hipotermia. Es un hombre que vivía en calle con perros. El hombre fue abordado infinitamente por el equipo de calle del Ministerio, tenía un compañero y el equipo de calle está buscando al compañero para ver qué noticias nos puede dar y para saber si ese compañero está bien”.
The Windy City and other areas in the upper Midwest are preparing for historic cold later this week, with some weather projections predicting around -45 to -60 wind chills.
When the polar vortex plunges into the U.S., it will be warmer in parts of the Arctic — Greenland, northern Canada and Alaska — than in Chicago and Minneapolis, meteorologists said. Cities such as Fargo, Minneapolis, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit will all see the brunt of the brutally cold temperatures by Wednesday and Thursday.
The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said Monday that a storm system is bringing heavy snow over the Great Lakes on Monday before ushering in bitter cold air into the region.
“Some of the coldest air in decades will pour in across the Northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes with windchills in the -40 to -50 degree range and air temperatures below zero for several days,” Fox News Senior Meterologist Janice Dean said Monday. “This will be dangerous and potentially deadly for these regions, and people need to stay inside.”
In Chicago, where temperatures dipped below zero over the weekend, city officials are encouraging residents to check on their neighbors during the bitter snap.
“Run faucets overnight,” plumber Mark Mitsdarffer told FOX32.
Mitsdarffer, who said the number of calls he’s been handling this month have doubled compared to last year, said that simple tips can prevent homeowners from avoiding these problems.
“Try to run them during the day if you can. Do be aware that you are running water all night, so if you have a slow running drain, it’s gonna back up on you. Secondly, open up all the cabinets underneath your sinks and faucets. Get as much warm air into all the areas that you can.”
The cold weather has claimed 18 people in Cook County so far this winter, according to FOX32.
The polar vortex could sweep across the east coast this winter, bringing with it harsh conditions, climate scientists have warned.
“We already did our grocery shopping, so I think we’re kind of prepared for it to be really cold and for us to hibernate inside,” Erin Antonik told the television station
“We might not come back out for like four days from this,” said Aaron White.
The cold is coming from what is known as the polar vortex, which is a “large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles,” according to the NWS.
A man is bundled up against the cold in downtown Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
“Record-breaking and potentially historic outbreak of cold still appears to be in the offing for the middle of next week,” according to the Chicago National Weather Service. “Greater than normal degree of forecast uncertainty in temperatures, due in large part to models showing all-time records being broken and in some cases shattered.”
Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report
Entrevista exclusiva al expresidente Alejandro Toledo. | Fuente: RPP Noticias
Luego de su presentación este martes en un foro de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas, el expresidente Alejandro Toledo conversó en exclusiva con Conexión de RPP Noticias sobre su condición legal, a propósito del pedido de prisión preventiva que pesa sobre él y la orden de captura por estar involucrado en el caso Odebrecht.
Su situación judicial. “El tema de la justicia no voy a entrar a tocarlo. En dos o tres días vas a tener noticias muy fuertes y contundentes. Van a escuchar mi versión. Yo soy respetuoso de la ley y de la justicia justa. En este país (EE.UU.) el debido proceso se respeta”, dijo el exmandatario a través del hilo telefónico, desde los Estados Unidos.
Al ser consultado sobre si volvería en algún momento al Perú y se pondría a disposición de la justicia, Toledo Manrique respondió: “Mis huesos quedarán siempre en el Perú y si es posible en Cabana”.
Sin opinión sobre Chinchero. El exlíder del desaparecido partido político Perú Posible prefirió evitar tocar temas de coyuntura, como la reciente salida del ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones de Martín Vizcarra por el contrato para la construcción del aeropuerto de Chinchero, en Cusco.
“No voy a entrar a hacer comentarios sobre la política interna del Perú. Entrar a detalles de lo que ha sucedido con el ministro Vizcarra y la decisión del Congreso sería impertinente de mi parte”, dijo.
El caso. Toledo es acusado de haber recibido 20 millones de dólares de Odebrecht a cambio de adjudicarle los tramos dos y tres de la Carretera Interoceánica Sur a la constructora.
El exmandatario tiene orden de captura nacional e internacional para que cumpla prisión preventiva por 18 meses que se dictó en su contra. Esto como parte de la investigación preparatoria que se le sigue por presuntos delitos de lavado de activos y tráfico de influencias.
De estar en el país, Toledo habría sido capturado de forma inmediata. Y, mientras un juez del estado extranjero en el que se encuentra no apruebe su captura, el expresidente podrá movilizarse sin problemas. La acusación por el caso Odebrecht fue documentada por el Estado peruano y enviada al Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos para que un magistrado federal evalúe y apruebe la detención.
Alejandro Toledo, expresidente de la República. | Fuente: Flickr
Alejandro Toledo dejó entrever su regreso al Perú. | Fuente: Flickr
WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Robert Mueller told a House panel Wednesday that the Russian government’s interference in the 2016 presidential election is “among the most serious” threats to American democracy he has seen over his career.
“This deserves the attention of every American,” Mueller said in his opening statement during his testimony on Wednesday, repeating the same phrase he said in his first public appearance since he was appointed to run the government’s investigation of Russian efforts to sway the election that put President Donald Trump in office.
Mueller began testifying before Congress on Wednesday at the start of a pair of hearings that Democrats hope could change the trajectory of Donald Trump’s presidency, though it became apparent soon after the start of his remarks that he was unlikely to offer information beyond what had been detailed in his office’s final report.
“The report is my testimony,” Mueller said. “And I will stay within that text.”
Mueller, who has spoken publicly only once since he was appointed to run the government’s investigation of Russian efforts to sway the election that put Trump in office, is appearing before two House committees in a back-to-back testimony. He faces questions from Democrats and Republicans, both factions eager to score points from his remarks even as many lawmakers have already made up their minds about whatever it is he might have to say.
Democrats are betting that the spectacle of Mueller’s public appearance will carry far more weight than a 448-page document his investigation produced. They’re hoping that words from Mueller himself would be pivotal and would make the case that the president’s conduct should be punishable by impeachment or a 2020 defeat.
Republicans, who have long questioned the integrity and genesis of the Russia inquiry that they say exonerated the president, will likely use the rare public appearance to highlight the lack of charges against Trump and the perceived political motivation behind the probe. The president and his allies have accused Democrats of trying to redo the investigation by staging a belated spectacle.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, began Wednesday’s hearing with a summary of Mueller’s years in public service as a Marine officer who was awarded a Purple Heart and as director of the FBI.
“Director Mueller, we have a responsibility to address the evidence you’ve uncovered,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a prepared opening statement. “You recognized as much when you said, ‘the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.'”
Nadler said the hearing would highlight episodes in which Trump sought to thwart Mueller’s investigation. “Any other person who acted this way would have been charged with a crime. And in this nation, not even the president is above the law.”
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Georgia, emphasized that Mueller’s investigation did not find that Trump or his campaign conspired with Russia. Trump’s reaction to the investigation of him and his campaign was “understandably negative,” Collins said, “but he did not shut down” the inquiry.
Acknowledging his role as a reluctant witness, Mueller warned lawmakers that his answers would likely be limited to the contents of his investigation and will likely decline to respond to questions that may be central to ongoing investigations into the origins of the Russia inquiry.
“Public testimony could affect several ongoing matters,” he said. “In some of these matters, court rules or judicial orders limit the disclosure of information to protect the fairness of the proceedings. And consistent with longstanding Justice Department policy, it would be inappropriate for me to comment in any way that could affect an ongoing matter.”
Mueller also said that the Justice Department has asserted privileges concerning investigative information and decisions, ongoing matters and deliberations within the agency.
“I therefore will not be able to answer questions about certain areas that I know are of public interest. For example, I am unable to address questions about the opening of the FBI’s Russia investigation, which occurred months before my appointment, or matters related to the so-called ‘Steele Dossier,'” Mueller said. “These matters are the subject of ongoing review by the Department. Any questions on these topics should therefore be directed to the FBI or the Justice Department.”
Even before Mueller’s testimony began, Trump began issuing a series of pointed – and now familiar – critiques of the former special counsel and the investigation he ran. “Why didn’t Robert Mueller investigate the investigators?” Trump wrote in an early morning tweet, repeating unproven claims that Mueller had conflicts of interest and claiming that he had been the victim of “The Greatest Witch Hunt” in history.
In a letter made public on Monday, Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer told Mueller that “any testimony must remain within the boundaries” of his report, a redacted version of which was made public in April. Weinsheimer said information such as presidential communications, discussions about investigative steps and decisions made during the investigation can’t be disclosed.
The department’s longstanding policy also prohibits publicly discussing the conduct of “uncharged third-parties,” Weinsheimer said.
Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told Mueller in his own letter late Tuesday that the Justice Department’s restrictions “will have no bearing” on what Mueller can and can’t say.
Mueller’s spokesman, Jim Popkin, reaffirmed that the former FBI director will not veer from his report’s findings.
Mueller spent two years investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump obstructed the inquiry that consumed Washington and the first half of his presidency. Trump and his allies spent nearly as much time questioning the basis of the investigation, deriding it as a witch hunt undertaken by a conflicted special counsel and politically biased investigators, some of whom the president has accused of spying and treason.
Mueller’s testimony comes about three months after the release of his exhaustive report. The investigation revealed a systematic effort by Russia to sway the election in Trump’s favor and a campaign that embraced the assistance but did not conspire with the Kremlin. The report also said Trump repeatedly tried to impede the Russia investigation, though Attorney General William Barr and former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein determined that the evidence does not establish Trump had committed a crime.
During the brief public appearance in May, Mueller did not clear Trump of criminal wrongdoing but said charges were “not an option” because of Justice Department policy of not indicting a sitting president.
“If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said that,” Mueller said.
Mueller also said that allegations of “multiple” and “systematic” Russian interference in U.S. elections deserve “the attention of every American.”
The House Judiciary Committee first questions Mueller for three hours before the House Intelligence Committee gets its turn.
In his letter to Mueller, Weinsheimer underscored the forced nature of the testimony.
“As the attorney general has repeatedly stated, the decision to testify before Congress is yours to make in this case, but the department agrees with your stated position that your testimony should be unnecessary under the circumstances,” Weinsheimer wrote. “The department generally does not permit prosecutors such as you to appear and testify before Congress regarding their investigative and prosecutorial activity.”
Contributing: Bart Jansen
More on Robert Mueller and the Russia investigation:
MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ crew talks about Amazon’s decision not to build a new headquarters in Long Island City, New York and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrating that she had “defeated Amazon’s corporate greed.”
Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world. https://t.co/nyvm5vtH9k
“We are in a dangerous place,” panelist Donny Deutsch warned. “If people in the party don’t start to speak up against people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is young and dynamic but does not know what she’s talking about, they’re going to hand the presidency back to Donald Trump.”
There will be a briefing at the White House with Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway, ONDCP Director Jim Carroll, and Assistant Secretary of Public Health ADM Brett Giroir. This briefing will be on the 2018 CDC Mortality Numbers which show a decline in drug overdose deaths for the first time in 29 years and will discuss other ways the administration is combating the opioid crisis.
FOX News operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Radio, FOX News Headlines 24/7, FOXNews.com and the direct-to-consumer streaming service, FOX Nation. FOX News also produces FOX News Sunday on FOX Broadcasting Company and FOX News Edge. A top five-cable network, FNC has been the most watched news channel in the country for 17 consecutive years. According to a 2018 Research Intelligencer study by Brand Keys, FOX News ranks as the second most trusted television brand in the country. Additionally, a Suffolk University/USA Today survey states Fox News is the most trusted source for television news or commentary in the country, while a 2017 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey found that among Americans who could name an objective news source, FOX News is the top-cited outlet. FNC is available in nearly 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape while routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A gunman armed with a rifle opened fire in an El Paso shopping area packed with as many as 3,000 people during the busy back-to-school season, leaving 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, police said.
Hours later, there was another mass shooting across the country. Police in Dayton, Ohio, said nine people were killed by a shooter who was shot to death by responding officers.
Authorities are investigating the possibility the Saturday shooting in El Paso was a hate crime, working to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly beforehand was written by the man arrested in the attack on the 680,000-resident border city.
Despite initial reports of possible multiple gunmen, the man in custody is believed to be the only shooter, police said. Two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity identified him as 21-year-old Patrick Crusius. Authorities didn’t release his name at a news conference but said the gunman was arrested without police firing any shots and is from Allen, which is a nearly 10-hour drive from El Paso.
Many of the victims were shot at a Walmart, according to police, who provided updates about the shooting in English and Spanish in the largely Latino city. The shopping area is about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the main border checkpoint with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
RELATED: El Paso shooting leaves 20 dead, more than two dozen injured
From left, Melody Stout, Hannah Payan, Aaliyah Alba, Sherie Gramlich and Laura Barrios comfort each other during a vigil for victims of the shooting Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, in El Paso, Texas. A young gunman opened fire in an El Paso, Texas, shopping area during the busy back-to-school season, leaving multiple people dead and more than two dozen injured. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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“The scene was a horrific one,” said El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen, adding that many of the 26 people who were hurt had life-threatening injuries.
The shooting came less than a week after a 19-year-old gunman killed three people and injured 13 others at the popular Gilroy Garlic Festival in California before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Adriana Quezada said she was in the women’s clothing section of the Walmart in El Paso with her two children when she heard gunfire.
“But I thought they were hits, like roof construction,” Quezada, 39, said of the shots.
Her 19-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son threw themselves to the ground, then ran out of the store through an emergency exit. They were not hurt, Quezada said.
Relatives said a 25-year-old woman who was shot while apparently trying to shield her 2-month-old son was among those killed, while Mexican officials said three Mexican nationals were among the dead and six more were wounded.
Ryan Mielke, a spokesman for University Medical Center of El Paso, said 13 of the injured were brought to the hospital with injuries, including one who died. Two of the injured were children who were transferred to El Paso Children’s Hospital, he said.
Eleven other victims ages 35 to 82 were being treated at Del Sol Medical Center, hospital spokesman Victor Guerrero said.
Residents quickly volunteered to give blood to the injured. President Donald Trump tweeted: “God be with you all!”
Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke, who is from El Paso and was at a candidate forum Saturday in Las Vegas, appeared shaken after receiving news of the shooting in his hometown.
He said he heard early reports that the shooter might have had a military-style weapon, saying we need to “keep that (expletive) on the battlefield. Do not bring it into our communities.”
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said police were investigating whether a document posted online shortly before the shooting was written by Crusius. In it, the writer expresses concern that an influx of Hispanics into the United States will replace aging white voters, potentially turning Texas blue in upcoming elections and swinging the White House to the Democrats.
The writer also is critical of Republicans for what he described as close ties to corporations and degradation of the environment. Though a Twitter account that appears to belong to Crusius included pro-Trump posts praising the plan to build more border wall, the writer of the online document says his views on race predated Trump’s campaign and that any attempt to blame the president for his actions was “fake news.”
Though the writer denied he was a white supremacist, the document says “race mixing” is destroying the nation and recommends dividing the United States into territorial enclaves determined by race. The first sentence of the four-page document expresses support for the man accused of killing 51 people at two New Zealand mosques in March after posting his own screed with a conspiracy theory about nonwhite migrants replacing whites.
Margo said he knew the El Paso shooter was not from the city.
“It’s not what we’re about,” the mayor said at the news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and the police chief.
In the hours after the shooting, authorities blocked streets near a home in Allen associated with the suspect. Officers appeared to speak briefly with a woman who answered the door of the gray stone house and later entered the residence.
El Paso County is more than 80% Latino, according to the latest census data, and the city, where the mayor said tens of thousands of Mexicans legally cross the border each day to work and shop, has become a focal point of the immigration debate. Trump visited in February to argue that walling off the southern border would make the U.S. safer, while city residents and O’Rourke led thousands on a protest march past the barrier of barbed wire-topped fencing and towering metal slats.
O’Rourke stressed that border walls haven’t made his hometown safer. The city’s murder rate was less than half the national average in 2005, the year before the start of its border fence. Before the wall project started, El Paso had been rated one of the three safest major U.S. cities going back to 1997.
Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, said the El Paso shooting suspect wasn’t on her group’s radar before the shooting. “We had nothing in our files on him,” Beirich wrote in an email.
The shooting was the 21st mass killing in the United States in 2019, and the fifth public mass shooting. Before Saturday, 96 people had died in mass killings in 2019 — 26 of them in public mass shootings.
The AP/USATODAY/Northeastern University mass murder database tracks all U.S. homicides since 2006 involving four or more people killed, not including the offender, over a short period of time regardless of weapon, location, victim-offender relationship or motive. The database shows that the median age of a public mass shooter is 28, significantly lower than the median age of a person who commits a mass shooting of his family.
Since 2006, 11 mass shootings — not including Saturday’s — have been committed by men who are 21 or younger.
___
Balsamo reported from Orlando, Florida, and Heidgerd from Dallas. Associated Press writers Martha Irvine in Chicago; Eric Tucker and Michael Biesecker in Washington, D.C.; Michael Kunzelman in Silver Spring, Maryland; Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas; Jeff Karoub in Detroit; and Jake Bleiberg in Allen, Texas, contributed. AP data editor Meghan Hoyer also reported from Washington, D.C.
Era un restaurante y una tienda de las que hoy solo quedan sus letreros descoloridos. Los locales donde funcionaban –en una cuadra de la avenida Guillermo Pareja en la ciudadela Alborada en el norte de Guayaquil– tienen el letrero de ‘Se alquila’. Uno de los que atiende un negocio donde arreglan celulares, en la misma calle, dice que ambos establecimientos cerraron hace tres meses: “De la tienda no sé, pero el mesero que atendía en el restaurante me dijo que trabajaban a pérdida”.
La opción de cerrar también cruza la mente de este hombre de 32 años que se identifica como Luis, ante el derrumbe de sus ventas desde el año pasado. No sabe bien a partir de qué mes. “Desde abril más o menos”, afirma mientras ve el cajón de madera en el que guarda el suelto para los cambios.
Una década de elevación de precios
La Cámara de Comercio de Quito calcula –basado en datos de la Superintendencia de Compañías– que 6.532 empresas han entrado en proceso de cierre de enero a junio de este año. En 2015 fueron 1.528. Esto se da en un país en el que, según los reportes de este año del Índice de Precios al Consumidor, los costos subieron un 49% durante la última década.
Aunque la opinión de los ciudadanos a la hora de hacer compras es de que aumentaron el doble. Hace diez años, un supermercado promocionaba en la prensa productos como 2 kg de arroz o una lata de atún de 175 g, cuyos costos pasaron de $ 1,25 y $ 0,63 a $ 2,67 y $ 1,30, respectivamente. Por ejemplo, en ese tiempo el valor de una casa de tres dormitorios al interior de una urbanización costaba unos $ 70.000 y hoy vale desde $ 150.000.
Roberto Salazar, principal de la firma de análisis económico Hexagon Group, afirma que la informalidad provoca que los datos macroeconómicos no reflejen toda la economía. “Es información que debe analizarse de manera relativa”, asegura.
Este analista dice que la economía atraviesa un proceso de “sinceramiento”, en el que algunos de los precios hoy altos deben ajustarse a la demanda real, la que se expandió por factores externos como los altos precios del petróleo y de las materias primas en un país de baja productividad: “Los empresarios quieren tratar de mantener los precios anteriores, pero la gente ya no tiene el mismo poder adquisitivo”, dice.
Es un escenario que se evidencia en locales del centro comercial Garzocentro 2000, como el negocio de Leila, quien tiene una mueblería: “Hemos tenido que bajar obligatoriamente los precios”, asegura.
Pese a las bajas ventas hay quienes incluso suben los precios como un local de venta de lencería del sector de la Bahía, en el centro de la ciudad. Allí la dependiente Wendy Viejó, de 37 años, afirma que los precios aumentaron desde junio pasado cuando la docena de calzones más económica se vendía en $ 11 y hoy vale $ 13.
Los clientes que llevan para revender en cantones y provincias compran menos y le han dicho que suben los precios para ganar por prenda, dice Viejó. Esta comerciante palpó la subida de precios en mayo cuando compró zapatos para la escuela de sus hijos en $ 25: “El año pasado valían $ 19”.
Salazar afirma que la informalidad en la que funcionan los negocios es otro factor que resta la posibilidad de ofrecer precios más competitivos. “Si (los dueños de los negocios) no tienen un registro de crédito, no tienen manera de presentar balances, no van a recibir créditos, Esto incide en no colocar precios más competitivos al no mejorar la capacidad productiva”.
Un caso es el de Edward Barzola, de 35 años, quien para alimentar a su esposa y el hijo de ambos de 4 años y mantener el hogar destina $ 80 semanales, incluyendo productos de limpieza y de uso personal. Pero hasta hace dos años dejaba unos $ 50 de sus ingresos para ese tipo de gastos. “Gasto más ganando menos (como comerciante ambulante)”, asegura.
Competitividad
Patricio Alarcón, presidente de la Cámara de Comercio de Quito, afirma que el Gobierno y los entes gremiales deben promover y educar a los comerciantes pequeños para que puedan emprender y sostener sus negocios con precios más competitivos. El ser formal en Ecuador también implica pagar un salario mínimo que subió un 121% en la última década al pasar de $ 160 a $ 366.
El sector turismo (hoteles y restaurantes) y el comercial están entre los más afectados por la reducción de las ventas, según las últimas cuentas trimestrales del Banco Central del Ecuador. El sector comercial dejó de aportar $ 3.500 millones al Producto Interno Bruto nacional durante el primer trimestre de este año.
Se ha dado un incremento del salario que no ha estado acompañado con el aumento de la productividad para sostenerlos”. Pablo Arosemena,
Presidente de la CCG
La Cámara de Comercio de Guayaquil (CCG) registra entre sus afiliados un 30% de reducción de las ventas de enero a junio de 2016 con respecto al mismo periodo de 2015.
El presidente de la CCG, Pablo Arosemena, indica que este encarecimiento responde también a nuevos impuestos como las salvaguardias (sobretasas que hoy van del 15% al 40% que se cobran a productos importados desde marzo de 2015) y el incremento de las tarifas de energía eléctrica y de los combustibles de uso industrial a partir de este año.
Los precios altos se evidencian en los almacenes de tecnología y ello ha dejado consecuencias, dice Itamar Rodríguez, subgerente comercial de Computron. Las ventas de esta cadena, que maneja 23 locales a nivel nacional, se redujeron un 50% en la Costa y un 65% en la Sierra de enero a junio de este año con respecto al mismo periodo de 2015. “En línea de impresora el aumento es del 45% porque el gravamen está en ese nivel”, afirma Rodríguez.
Las estanterías comerciales hoy ofrecen promociones que se siguen centrando en llevar un artículo de determinado valor más otros de menor costo que los dueños de los locales dicen que dan como regalo. Esto último es lo que aplica María (nombre protegido), quien vende tecnología en el sector de la Bahía de Guayaquil.
¿Bajarán los precios?
“Imposible, no podemos desde abril (de 2015)… Tenemos que tener el mismo margen (dice que gana un 30%), pero desgraciadamente debemos subirle la salvaguardia. Pasamos a pagar el 45% y ahora bajó al 40% por una impresora. Viene el cliente y nos dice esa impresora costaba $ 160 y ahora vale $ 230. Yo le digo sáquele pues el 45% y súmale y allí está el precio”. En este último caso, el aumento se realiza al costo final del producto que se ofrece al consumidor.
El sector de restaurantes también evidencia menos comensales. Martín Ayala, dueño de la cadena de restaurantes Una Vaca en el Tejado en Guayaquil, afirma que el peor error en estas circunstancias es subir precios o mantenerlos restando calidad . Para él, la clave está en bajar precios siendo más eficiente. “Hay que reducir los costos como conseguir la materia prima, pero ya en negociación directa sacando los intermediarios…”, asegura.
Walter Spurrier, director de la publicación económica Análisis Semanal, asegura que el encarecimiento ha provocado también la pérdida de mercados para productos como el camarón: “Hoy Vietnam nos compra camarón entero y revende a Estados Unidos la cola tras un mínimo procesamiento. Hacerlo en Ecuador es muy caro por los costos laborales”.
Los ecuatorianos empezaremos a ver con tranquilidad cómo la situación en el segundo semestre de este año mejora”. Patricio Rivera,
Ministro de la Política Económica
En entrevista con el portal ecuadorinmediato.com, el ministro coordinador de la Política Económica, Patricio Rivera, afirmó esta semana que la situación del país mejorará durante el último semestre de este año por tres factores. Asegura que el nivel de los depósitos y de los créditos ha mejorado, que se está cumpliendo con el pago a proveedores estatales y que aumentó el acceso a financiamiento internacional. (I)
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Vice President Kamala Harris drew heat online Saturday for telling Americans to “enjoy the long weekend” — which ends with a national day of mourning.
Harris tweeted the celebratory words Saturday afternoon, alongside a picture of herself smiling. She did not mention Memorial Day, the upcoming federal holiday reserved for honoring military members that have died protecting the US.
Reactions to the tweet were largely negative and sarcastic, with one user replying, “I’ve never been able to “enjoy” Memorial Day. It became that much harder when I lost my son fighting for this country. Thanks anyway Madam Vice President.”
Long Island Congressman Lee Zeldin finished Harris’s short sentence: “…and pay tribute to the courageous men and women of our nation’s military who sacrificed their lives in defense of our freedoms and liberties,” he wrote.
Even some admirers of the first female veep did not hesitate to share their displeasure.
“What a disappointing tweet from a person I like and support. Please do better,” one wrote.
Staunch supporters of the Democrat fired back at her detractors, two days ahead of the national holiday.
“[Harris] has done more to respect and honor soldiers and vets in 6 months than the previous administration did in 4 years. Back off,” a comment read.
On Friday, the White House issued a proclamation marking Memorial Day, signed by President Biden.
“Our Nation will never forget the courage and patriotism demonstrated by the countless women and men who laid down their lives so that we may continue to pursue a more perfect Union and to protect the unalienable rights Americans hold dear,” it read in part.
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(CNN)The White House on Thursday evening informed Congress it was withdrawing its nomination of Ron Vitiello to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a letter obtained by CNN.
The son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas was fatally shot and her husband critically wounded when a gunman dressed as a FedEx driver entered her home near North Brunswick, N.J., Sunday afternoon, according to local media.
Salas herself was reportedly unharmed in the attack, the New Jersey Globe reports. Daniel Anderl, Salas’ 20-year-old son, was killed. Her husband, Mark Anderl, a criminal defense attorney and former assistant Essex County prosecutor, reportedly underwent surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, and is listed in critical but stable condition.
The FBI in Newark tweeted that it was “investigating a shooting that occurred at the home of Judge Ester Salas” and that the bureau was “looking for one suspect.”
The FBI is investigating a shooting that occurred at the home of Judge Ester Salas in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey earlier this evening, July 19. We’re looking for one subject & ask that anyone who thinks they may have relevant information call us at 1-973-792-3001.
A New Brunswick Police dispatcher told NPR that he could not confirm any details of the incident, but confirmed an ongoing investigation.
Salas, the first Latina to serve as a federal district judge in New Jersey, was nominated to her current position in 2010 by President Barack Obama.
The Globe said it was not immediately clear whether Salas, who it said had received threats in the past, was the target of the shooting. She has presided over high-profile cases, including the 2013 fraud trial of The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Joe and Teresa Giudice.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted late Sunday: “Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act.”
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said: “I know Judge Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her to President Obama for nomination to NJ’s federal bench.”
“My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice,” Menendez was quoted by the Globe as saying.
With nearly all the votes now counted, it’s safe to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been reelected. For those catching up, here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s Israeli election:
Bibi Survives. This of course is the biggest takeaway, and love him or hate him, it’s a testament to his incredible resilience. Netanyahu was initially elected back in 1996, but was driven into the political wilderness by 1999. Yet a decade after his failed premiership, he was back in power, and after a decade as the nation’s leader, he’s about to start a record fifth term. This was far from a guarantee. Facing indictment for corruption and a strong challenge from a newly formed center-left alliance, he found himself in the fight of his political life. With 95% of the vote counted, his Likud party tied with the center-left Blue and White Party with 35 seats apiece. However, the right-wing bloc of parties gained a total of 65 seats, compared to 55 for the left-wing bloc, meaning Netanyahu is in a much stronger position to form a government, which requires a majority of 61 in the nation’s parliament, the Knesset. As things stand, Netanyahu has been prime minister for nearly 20% of Israel’s existence.
RIP Trump-Kushner peace plan. The outcome of the elections, and the fragile coalition Netanyahu will have to put together, will make it very unlikely he’d be able to support any sort of President Trump-Jared Kushner peace plan proposal. Any plan that involves significant Israeli concessions to get buy-in from Arab countries is almost certainly going to be opposed by Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partners with the power to bring down the government. The religious Zionist Union of Right Wing Parties in particular will be an obstacle, and they currently have five seats, which means without their involvement alone, Netanyahu would be down to 60 seats and thus lack a majority. Add to this the fact that Netanyahu will be facing indictment, and it’s hard to imagine he’d have the political capital to make a deal. The only remaining question at this point is whether Trump even bothers to roll out the peace plan at all, or delays it indefinitely.
The racist party that drew international backlash likely shut out of the Knesset. Netanyahu drew significant international backlash, even in pro-Israel circles, for his cynical move that brought the racist fringe Jewish Power party into the political fold. What happened is that in the Israeli system, to qualify for the Knesset, any party has to win at least 4 seats, or 3.25% of the vote, or else its votes are tossed out and the seats are re-allocated among the larger parties that meet the threshold. Netanyahu was concerned that too many right-wing votes would go to waste, so he brokered a deal that brought the Jewish Power party into the Union of Right-Wing Parties. However, the party’s representative, Itamar Ben Gvir, was seventh in line to gain a seat, and the party only won five according to the current results.
Religious parties win big. While, internationally,most coverage of Israel focuses on the conflict with the Palestinians and Iran, domestically, one of the biggest issues is the tension that exists between proponents of secularism and religious pluralism and ultra-Orthodox forces. Secular Israelis who serve in the military, work, and pay significant taxes bristle at ultra-Orthodox communities that skip military service, spend their time studying Torah, and then depend on state welfare to support their large families. Additionally, secular Israelis are increasingly frustrated with the power exerted in by the Chief Rabbinate, particularly over marriage laws. But boosted by massive turnout, the two largest ultra-Orthodox parties (Shas and United Torah Judaism) won eight seats each, tying them for the third largest party in the Knesset, and ensuring that they’ll represent the largest bloc of votes within the new Netanyahu government after his own Likud. Their combined 16 votes will be able to stymie any sort of secular reforms, and allow them to exert considerable influence.
An exercise in political cannibalism. In the end, the overall balance of power did not shift significantly from the 2015 elections, when the right-wing bloc secured 67 seats and the left-wing was at 53. What ended up happening was a lot of political cannibalism. As Jerusalem Post’s Gil Hoffman noted, the major parties directed much of their campaigns against the smaller parties in their own likely coalition to consolidate support. In the case of challenger Benny Gantz, this proved fatal, because it meant he wasn’t doing enough to steal away votes from the other side. The outcome was that after the last election, Likud was at 30 seats and the closest rival, the makeshift Zionist Union alliance, was at 24 seats and there were multiple other parties in the double digits. Now Likud and rival Blue and White are both at 35, and no other party has more than eight seats.
“Trump has always been successful when he’s had a bogeyman and China is the perfect bogeyman,” said Chris LaCivita, a longtime Republican strategist.
But there is a potential impediment to the G.O.P. plan — the leader of the party himself.
Eager to continue trade talks, uneasy about further rattling the markets and hungry to protect his relationship with President Xi Jinping at a moment when the United States is relying on China’s manufacturers for lifesaving medical supplies, Mr. Trump has repeatedly muddied Republican efforts to fault China.
Even as the president tries to rebut criticism of his slow responseto the outbreak by highlighting his January travel restrictions on China, he has repeatedly called Mr. Xi a friend and said “we are dealing in good faith” with the repressive government. He also dropped his periodic references to the disease as “the China virus” after a telephone call with Mr. Xi. Yet in private, he has vented about the country. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he informed Mr. Trump in a Thursday telephone conversation that the meat processing plant in South Dakota suffering a virus outbreak is owned by a Chinese conglomerate. The president responded, “I’m getting tired of China,” according to Mr. Cramer.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. Trump’s conflicted messaging on China will hurt him with voters, who have repeatedly seen the president argue both sides of issues without suffering the harm that another politician would. And while Mr. Trump’s team knows that his own words will be used against him, they believe they can contrast his history favorably with that of Mr. Biden.
On Tuesday, at his daily briefing, Mr. Trump was candid about the transactional rationale behind his stance toward China. Pressed on how he could criticize the World Health Organization for what he called pushing “China’s misinformation,” after he had also lavished praise on Beijing’s purported transparency, he responded, “Well, I did a trade deal with China, where China is supposed to be spending $250 billion in our country.”
President Trump unleashed a Twitter tirade Saturday against one of the highest ranking African Americans in Congress and the community he represents, leading to a new round of criticism for engaging in overt racism against political opponents.
Trump, in a series of tweets, called the majority nonwhite Baltimore district of House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and a “very dangerous & filthy place” where “no human being would want to live.”
The remarks seemed to be inspired by a segment on Fox News that compared conditions in a section of Cummings’ district to those on the Mexican border, which Cummings has repeatedly called out as inhumane and illegal.
Trump’s comments stoked an angry response from activists, Democratic leaders and Baltimore residents.
“I won’t stand for anyone, not even the alleged Leader of the Free World, attacking our great city or our representative to Congress,” said a statement from Baltimore Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young. “Mr. Trump, you are a disappointment to the people of Baltimore, our country and to the world.”
Many of Trump’s tweets lately have targeted nonwhite opponents with increasingly incendiary language, including his racist suggestion earlier this month that four nonwhite Democratic female lawmakers “go back” to the countries “from which they came.” (Three of them are American-born and the fourth is a Somali-born U.S. citizen.)
….As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place
“Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States,” Trump wrote Saturday, demanding the congressman be investigated.
“The Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded,” another Trump tweet said. “Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
Trump also called the Democratic congressman a “brutal bully” for his investigations into conditions at the border.
Cummings’ Baltimore-area district is 53% African American but also includes predominantly white outlying suburbs, and the Trump voters who live in them. It is also
home to several apartment buildings owned by the family of Trump’s son-in-law and White House advisor, Jared Kushner. Allegations that the Kushners have used heavy-handed tactics in pressuring low-income tenants have been the subject of national news reports and lawsuits in Baltimore.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) called the president’s remarks “racist attacks” and declared Cummings a champion “for civil rights and economic justice.” Several other lawmakers and presidential candidates joined Pelosi in rallying around Cummings, a beloved colleague and among the most effective lawmakers in the Democratic caucus.
The congressman posted a brief response on Twitter. “Mr. President, I go home to my district daily,” he wrote. “Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”
He then renewed an invitation for Trump to join with Democrats in their push to lower prescription drug prices.
Trump’s attack sparked sharp rebukes from Democrats on the presidential campaign trail Saturday.
“Donald Trump once again is a racist who makes ever more outrageous, racist remarks,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said while campaigning in New Hampshire. For Cummings “to be attacked by a president issuing racist tweets is beyond insulting; it is disgusting,” she said.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker compared Trump’s recent attacks on prominent minority lawmakers to dark episodes in American history, including the blacklisting of the McCarthy era and the anti-civil rights crusade led by segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace. “This is a moral, defining moment in America,” Booker wrote. “We must now answer. Silence is toxicity.”
This is painful.
This is a moral, defining moment in America.
Other generations had to answer:
When the Know Nothings, McCarthy, Wallace and so many others sought to demean, degrade, demagogue and divide,
On the program “Fox and Friends Saturday,” GOP strategist Kimberly Klacik offered an assessment of Baltimore and Cummings nearly identical to what Trump would later announce to his 62.4 million Twitter followers.
“There is a crisis at the border, but there’s also a crisis in Baltimore,” Klacik said. “Congressman Cummings represents the most dangerous district in America.” The segment included footage of streets strewn with garbage.
Klacik came to the president’s defense later in the day. She accused rival network CNN of trying to “turn the light currently shining on #WestBaltimore into a race issue” and posted some of her footage of the city.
Cummings, 68, has a long history in the civil rights movement. At the age of 12 he was violently attacked in Baltimore as part of a group of African American residents trying to integrate a community pool. He told ABC News last Sunday that he heard chants at the time of “go home, you don’t belong here,” similar to the chant that Trump inspired among his supporters at a North Carolina rally after his racist attacks on the four nonwhite congresswomen, three of whom sit on his committee.
The congressman routinely rattles the administration with his committee’s investigations. Last week, he pilloried Trump’s acting head of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, for conditions at the border. He accused the department of treating detainees like animals.
“What does that mean? When a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower?” Cummings said. “Come on, man. What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position.”
Cummings accused the department of more successfully tracking the personal property of immigrants than the whereabouts of their children the government detains.
Such challenges incense Trump. In his attack Saturday on Cummings, the president said the congressman “spends all of his time trying to hurt innocent people through ‘Oversight.’ He does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district!” Trump then posted video of a blighted West Baltimore street and the hashtag “#BlacksForTrump2020.”
The president’s words were not welcomed on the streets of Baltimore.
Among the many who came out in support of Cummings is Baltimore artist and filmmaker John Waters, whose film “Hairspray” is considered a love letter to the city. In an email to ARTnews, Waters said, “Give me the rats and roaches of Baltimore any day over the lies and racism of your Washington, Mr Trump. Come on over to that neighborhood and see if you have the nerve to say it in person!”
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