Inicio Blog Página 1364

Arrestan a sospechoso en homicidio de tres peruanos en Virginia (EE.UU.)

Por
EFE
-
Wesley Brownlee, de 43 años, arrestado en relación con una serie de asesinatos ocurridos en California en los últimos tres meses, fue acusado este martes de tres cargos de homicidio a hombres latinos, entre otras acusaciones, informaron medios locales. Imagen de archivo. (Foto: EFE/Miguel Sierra)

Washington, EE. UU.– Un hombre de 24 años de edad fue arrestado y acusado de homicidio este martes por la muerte, a balazos, de cuatro personas -por lo menos tres de ellas peruanas- en una residencia de Woodbridge, Virginia, unos 45 kilómetros al sudoeste de Washington.

Las víctimas fueron identificadas como Miguel Flores, de 44 años; Kelly Sotelo, de 42, Karrie Sotelo, de 19, y Richard Revollar Corrales, de 36. Este último, aparentemente, vivía en la casa como inquilino en el subsuelo.

El Gobierno peruano confirmó que por lo menos tres de las víctimas son de nacionalidad peruana, y falta por confirmar la nacioldad de la cuarta.

Un boletín policial señaló que el incidente «aparentemente de índole doméstica» ocurrió el lunes en la tarde, que tres de las cuatro personas eran miembros de una familia, y que al parecer la joven de 19 años fue la primera atacada.

El jefe de la policía del Condado Prince William, Peter Newsham identificó al sospechoso como Daniel Maine, domiciliado en Woodbridge, y ahora acusado con cuatro cargos de homicidio en segundo grado y dos por el uso de arma de fuego en la comisión de un crimen.

«La única palabra que puedo usar para describir esto es ‘insenstatez'», dijo Newsham a los medios. «Carece totalmente de sentido que alguien pueda cobrar cuatro vidas de esta forma».

Según las autoridades el sospechoso era conocido de otro miembro de la familia que también vivía en la casa pero no estaba presente cuando ocurrió el ataque.

Después del incidente adentro de la casa el sospechoso abandonó el lugar y llamó a la policía para denunciar que alguien había hecho disparos en la residencia, según las autoridades.

Los agentes que concurrieron al lugar encontraron la casa con las puertas sin cerrojo y en la inspección encontraron dos hombres y dos mujeres muertas, con heridas de bala, en diferentes partes de la residencia.

Luego los agentes policiales encontraron al sospechoso a corta distancia de la casa y lo arrestaron.

«Todavía seguimos tratando de determinar el motivo en este caso», dijo Newsham.

EEUU suma 11 muertes más en choques de carros automatizados

Por
Associated Press
-
Vehículos esperan en un semáforo en rojo el 22 de abril de 2021 durante la hora pico en el Strip de Las Vegas. (Foto: AP/John Locher/Archivo)

Detroit, EE. UU. — Once personas murieron en accidentes viales en Estados Unidos en los que se vieron implicados vehículos con sistemas de conducción autónoma durante un periodo de cuatro meses a mediados de este año, según datos oficiales, lo que forma parte de un patrón alarmante de incidentes relacionados con esta tecnología.

En 10 de las muertes estuvieron implicados vehículos fabricados por Tesla, aunque los datos de la Administración Nacional de Seguridad del Tráfico en las Carreteras (NHTSA, por sus siglas en inglés) no aclaran si la culpa fue de la propia tecnología o si pudo ser un error del conductor. En la undécima muerte estuvo implicada una camioneta Ford.

Las muertes incluyeron cuatro choques con motocicletas que ocurrieron durante la primavera y el verano boreal: Dos en Florida, una en California y una en Utah.

Los defensores de la seguridad señalan que las muertes de motociclistas en accidentes con vehículos Tesla que utilizan sistemas autónomos de ayuda a la conducción, como Autopilot, se han incrementado.

Los accidentes están documentados en una base de datos que la NHTSA está creando con el fin de evaluar de manera general la seguridad de los sistemas de conducción autónoma, cuyo uso ha ido en aumento, principalmente por Tesla.

Tesla tiene más de 830.000 vehículos en las carreteras estadounidenses con este tipo de sistemas.

La agencia exige a las empresas automovilísticas y tecnológicas que informen el total de accidentes en los que estén implicados vehículos autónomos y autos con sistemas de ayuda a la conducción que puedan sustituir a las personas en algunas tareas de conducción.

Los 11 nuevos accidentes mortales, notificados entre mediados de mayo y septiembre, se incluyeron en las estadísticas que la agencia hizo públicas el lunes.

La agencia hizo públicos en junio los datos que había recabado desde julio del año pasado hasta el 15 de mayo.

Los datos que se publicaron en junio mostraron que seis personas murieron en choques en los que estaban implicados los sistemas autónomos. Cinco de esas muertes se produjeron a bordo de Teslas y una en un Ford.

En todos los casos, la base de datos indica que los sistemas avanzados de ayuda al conductor estaban en uso en el momento del accidente.

Everything to know to apply for student loan forgiveness

Por
Associated Press
-
President Joe Biden speaks about the student debt relief portal beta test in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. (Photo: AP/Susan Walsh)

New York, EE. UU.— President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. announced in August, will cancel up to $20,000 in debt per borrower. The application process is now open, and the administration says the forms should take five minutes to complete.

Borrowers who apply before mid-November should see forgiveness before Jan. 1, when payments on loans are scheduled to restart after a pause during the pandemic. Some Republican-led states have filed lawsuits to try to stop the cancellation, but the Biden administration says they’re confident the challenges won’t succeed.

Here’s how to apply, and everything else you need to know:

WHO QUALIFIES FOR STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS?

You qualify to have up to $10,000 forgiven if your loan is held by the Department of Education and you make less than $125,000 individually or $250,000 for a family. If you received Pell grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, you can have up to $20,000 forgiven. If you are a current borrower and a dependent student, you will be eligible for relief based on your parents’ income, rather than your own.

One major lingering question is what will happen to students with commercially held FFEL loans who didn’t refinance before Sept. 29. At the moment those loans are not eligible (even though they were initially going to be eligible). The administration has said it’s looking for “additional legally-available options to provide relief” to those borrowers, but nothing has been announced yet.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS?

Go to studentaid.gov and in the section on student loan debt relief, click “Apply Now.”

Be ready to type in some basic personal information. The form asks for: name, Social Security Number, date of birth, phone number and email address. It does not require documentation about your income or your student loans.

Next, review the eligibility rules and confirm that you’re a match. For most people, that means attesting that they make less than $125,000 a year or that their household makes less than $250,000 a year. If you meet the eligibility rules, click the box confirming that everything you provided is true.

Click “Submit.”

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO RECEIVE FORGIVENESS?

After the form is submitted, the Biden administration says it should take four to six weeks to process. The Education Department will use its existing records to make sure your loans are eligible and to look for applicants who might exceed the income limits. Some will be asked to provide additional documentation to prove their incomes. The Education Department estimates that the verification application will take about half an hour, including time to review and upload tax documents.

Most borrowers who apply before mid-November should expect to get their debt canceled before Jan. 1, when payments on federal student loans are scheduled to restart after a pause during the pandemic.

WILL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS DEFINITELY HAPPEN?

Things could get more complicated, depending on the outcomes of several legal challenges. The Biden administration faces a growing number of lawsuits attempting to block the program, including one filed by six Republican-led states.

A federal judge in St. Louis is currently weighing the states’ request for an injunction to halt the plan. Biden on Monday said he’s confident that the suit will not upend the plan. “Our legal judgment is that it won’t,” he said, “but they’re trying to stop it.”

HAS THE STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT FREEZE BEEN EXTENDED?

The payment freeze has been extended one last time, until Dec. 31. The freeze started in 2020 as a way to help people struggling financially during the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s been extended several times since. It was set to expire Aug. 31.

Interest rates will remain at 0% until repayments start. Under an earlier extension announced in April, people who were behind on payments before the pandemic automatically will be put in good standing.

DOES GRADUATE STUDENT DEBT QUALIFY?

Yes, federal student loans taken out to cover graduate degrees qualify for forgiveness.

WHAT IF MY STUDENT LOAN BALANCE INCLUDES A LOT OF INTEREST?

The interest itself is considered part of the balance for purposes of this program. Forgiveness will remove $10,000 from the total balance you owe.

WILL I HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON THE AMOUNT I’M FORGIVEN?

At least a few states have said they plan to tax the forgiveness, including Indiana and Mississippi, and it’s unclear whether some others will change their tax rules to exclude forgiven student debt. Previously, Congress eliminated taxes on loan forgiveness through 2025.

DO PARENT PLUS LOANS QUALIFY?

Parent Plus loans are included in the forgiveness plan, subject to the same $250,000 income cap for families that applies to the rest of cancellation.

Parent Plus loans differ from other federal education loans in that they can go towards covering expenses other than tuition, such as books, and room and board for college students. As of March 2022, parents of 3.6 million students owe more than $107 billion in Parent Plus loans, according to the Department of Education. That represents about 6% of the total amount of federal student debt held by Americans.

If a parent received a Parent Plus loan on behalf of a student and the same student received a direct loan, both would receive relief, as the cancellation is on a per-borrower, not a per-student basis. That means that each person who has Education Department-held federal student loans and meets the income requirements qualifies for cancellation.

WHAT’S A PELL GRANT AND HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE ONE?

Roughly 27 million borrowers who qualified for Pell grants will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness under the Biden plan.

Pell grants are special government scholarships for lower-income Americans, who currently can receive up to $6,895 annually for roughly six years.

Nearly every Pell Grant recipient came from a family that made less than $60,000 a year, according to the Department of Education, which said Pell grant recipients typically experience more challenges repaying their debt than other borrowers.

Pell grants themselves don’t generally have to be paid back, but recipients typically take out additional student loans.

“This additional relief for Pell borrowers is also an important piece of racial equity in cancellation,” said Kat Welbeck, Civil Rights Counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center. “Because student debt exacerbates existing inequities, the racial wealth gap means that students of color, especially those that are Black and Latino, are more likely to come from low-wealth households, have student debt, and borrow in higher quantities.”

To find out if you have a Pell grant, check any emails you’ve received that describe your FAFSA award.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL THIS HELP?

About 43 million Americans have federal student debt, with an average balance of $37,667, according to federal data. A third of those owe less than $10,000. Half owe less than $20,000. The total amount of federal student debt is more than $1.6 trillion.

WHAT IF I’VE ALREADY PAID OFF MY STUDENT LOANS — WILL I SEE RELIEF?

If you’ve voluntarily made payments since March 2020, when payments were paused, you can request a refund for those payments, according to the Federal Office of Student Aid. Contact your loan servicer to request a refund.

WHAT REPAYMENT PLAN IS THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROPOSING?

The Department of Education has proposed a repayment plan that would cap monthly payments at no more than 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income, down from 10% now. Borrowers will need to apply for the repayment plan if it’s approved, which could take a year or more.

For example, under the proposal, a single borrower making $38,000 a year would pay $31 a month, according a government press release.

The amount considered non-discretionary income will also be increased, through the department has not said how much.

Discretionary income usually refers to what you have left after covering necessities like food and rent, but for student loan repayment purposes it’s calculated using a formula that takes into account the difference between a borrower’s annual income and the federal poverty line, along with family size and geographic location.

“What’s tough about income-driven repayment is that it does not take into account your other liabilities, such as your rent payment,” said Kristen Ahlenius, a financial counselor at Your Money Line, which provides financial literacy training. “If someone’s living paycheck to paycheck and their rent is taking up half of their paycheck and then their car payment takes the other, they have to choose. Unfortunately, income-driven repayment doesn’t take that into consideration, but it is an option.”

Student Debt Relief offers a calculator to help determine your discretionary income.

WHAT IF I CAN’T AFFORD TO PAY EVEN WITH LOAN FORGIVENESS?

Once payments resume, borrowers who can’t pay risk delinquency and eventually default. That can hurt your credit rating and mean you’re not eligible for additional aid.

If you’re struggling to pay, check if you qualify for an income-driven repayment plan. You can find out more here.

The Biden plan also includes a proposal that would allow people with undergraduate loans to cap repayment at 5% of their monthly income. Proposals like this one can take a year or more to be implemented, and it’s not clear what the fine print will be.

If you have worked for a government agency or a non-profit organization, you could also be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which you can read more about here.

Migrantes varados en isla deshabitada cerca de Puerto Rico

Por
Associated Press
-

San Juan, Puerto Rico.— Las autoridades federales de Estados Unidos informaron el martes que estaban tratando de rescatar a más de 100 migrantes varados en una isla deshabitada cerca de Puerto Rico luego de una operación de contrabando humano.

No fue posible averiguar de momento la nacionalidad de los migrantes que esperaban ayuda en la isla de Mona, aunque los funcionarios creen que son en su mayoría haitianos, indicó Jeffrey Quiñones, portavoz de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de Estados Unidos (CBP, por sus iniciales en inglés) en Puerto Rico.

“No hemos visto un grupo de este tamaño varado en una yola desde la década de 1990”, dijo Quiñones a The Associated Press, en referencia a las endebles balsas usadas por los contrabandistas.

No estaba claro si alguien en el grupo se ahogó antes de que las autoridades fueran alertadas de la situación. Quiñones dijo que las autoridades están todavía entrevistando a los migrantes.

En el grupo hay 60 mujeres, 38 hombres y cinco niños con edades de entre 5 y 13 años, según Anaís Rodríguez, secretaria del Departamento de Recursos Naturales de Puerto Rico. Recalcó que tres de las mujeres están embarazadas y que el grupo en general goza de buena salud.

La isla de Mona está ubicada en las traicioneras aguas entre República Dominicana y Puerto Rico y desde hace mucho tiempo ha sido un punto de partida para los traficantes que prometen transportar migrantes haitianos y dominicanos al suelo continental estadounidense a bordo de embarcaciones destartaladas. Decenas de ellos han muerto en los últimos meses huyendo de la pobreza y la violencia en sus países.

A fines de julio, las autoridades rescataron a 68 migrantes haitianos que fueron abandonados en las aguas que rodean la isla de Mona. Al menos otros cinco se ahogaron.

Desde octubre de 2021 hasta marzo pasado, 571 haitianos y 252 personas de República Dominicana fueron detenidos en aguas cercanas a Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes estadounidenses, según la CBP. De los haitianos, 348 desembarcaron en la deshabitada isla de Mona en Puerto Rico y posteriormente fueron rescatados.

Small town in southern Mexico hosts thousands of migrants

Por
Associated Press
-
Migrants, mostly from Venezuela, arrive at a camp where Mexican authorities will arrange permits for their continued travel north, in San Pedro Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, Mexico Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. As migrants, especially Venezuelans, struggle to come to terms with a new U.S. policy discouraging border crossings, the town of San Pedro Tapanatepec is unexpectedly playing host to over 10,000 migrants camped far from the U.S. border. (Photo: AP/Marco Ugarte)

Mexico City. — As migrants, especially Venezuelans, struggle to come to terms with a new U.S. policy discouraging border crossings, one small town in southern Mexico is unexpectedly playing host to thousands of migrants camped far from the U.S. border.

San Pedro Tapanatepec had 7,000 migrants, about 75% Venezuelans, when The Associated Press visited at the beginning of October. By Monday, Mayor Humberto Parrazales estimated the number had grown to 14,000. The AP could not independently verify that figure.

While many Venezuelans had planned to make their way to the U.S. border, the new U.S. policy says only those applying online, and arriving by air, will be admitted. Border crossers will simply be expelled. That leaves many camped out in five large tent shelters wondering what they’ll do next.

They while away the sweltering day with just a few electric fans to cut the heat.

San Pedro Tapanatepec is obviously not where they wanted to wind up. The heat-drenched town in Oaxaca state is only about 180 miles (300 kilometers) from the border with Guatemala. Many of the migrants had thought they left Guatemala behind forever on the long trek that took many of them from the Darian Gap in Panama, through Central America to Mexico.

Since August, the town has served as a way station where migrants would wait for a few days while Mexican immigration authorities issued them a sort of transit pass that gave them time to make it to the U.S. border.

But Parrazales said the flow of that paperwork has slowed down, leaving many more migrants waiting here in an impoverished town ill-equipped to play host to so many people.

“I don’t understand anything,» Venezuelan migrant Robinson Rodríguez said by phone from Tapanatepec. “If everything at the border is closed, then they shouldn’t be handing out these (transit) passes. And if you ask (the authorities), they say they don’t know, but they keep handing them out.”

Time is not on the migrants’ side. Rodríguez had actually received a seven-day transit document, which basically required him to leave Mexico within a week. But he had to spend time raising the money to pay for transport to the northern border, and by the time he got it, his pass had expired.

Confusion reigns. Nicaraguan migrant Luis Martinica showed a leaflet containing the web link for Venzuelans to apply, but it was confusing; if he, as a Nicaraguan, showed up at the U.S. border, would he too be expelled?

Mayor Parrazales has his own set of worries. The town’s transformers can no longer handle the electricity needed for the camp, and there have been partial blackouts. Health care, sanitation and water are also problems.

Still, migrants have to pay for most things, and Parrazales acknowledges the town has seen about $15 million in extra business selling migrants food, places to sleep, medicine, taxi and bus rides. “They have to pay to charge cell phones,” he notes.

Mexico has issued about 77,000 transit passes to Venezuelans so far this year, most of them in the last three months. Like Nicaraguans and Cubans, Venezuelans are hard to deport, both for Mexico and the United States.

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute did not respond to requests by the AP about how the camp will be managed after the new U.S. program. In the face of the lack of official information, rumors and tensions run high.

Martinica, the Nicaraguan immigrant, says officials stopped issuing passes for a while “after a dispute in which some Venezuelans offended a police officer.”

“There is a big lack of information,” Parrazales said. “This is a pressure cooker I’m trying to contain here.”

Here’s how you can apply for student loan forgiveness

Por
Associated Press
-
President Joe Biden answers questions with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona as they leave an event about the student debt relief portal beta test in the South Court Auditorium on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022. (Photo: AP/Susan Walsh)

Washington, EE. UU.— President Joe Biden on Monday officially kicked off the application process for his student debt cancellation program, opening the door for millions of Americans to apply for up to $20,000 in forgiveness. The Biden administration touts it as a simple, straightforward application that should only take about five minutes. Here’s how to apply.

Go to studentaid.gov and in the section on student loan debt relief, click “Apply Now.”

Be ready to type in some basic personal information. The form asks for: name, Social Security Number, date of birth, phone number and email address. It does not require documentation about your income or your student loans.

Next, review the eligibility rules and confirm that you’re a match. For most people, that means attesting that they make less than $125,000 a year or that their household makes less than $250,000 a year. If you meet the eligibility rules, click the box confirming that everything you provided is true.

Click “Submit.”

After the form is submitted, the Biden administration says it should take four to six weeks to process. The Education Department will use its existing records to make sure your loans are eligible and to look for applicants who might exceed the income limits. Some will be asked to provide additional documentation to prove their incomes. The Education Department estimates that the verification application will take about half an hour, including time to review and upload tax documents.

Most borrowers who apply before mid-November should expect to get their debt canceled before Jan. 1, when payments on federal student loans are scheduled to restart after a pause during the pandemic.

Things could get more complicated, depending on the outcomes of several legal challenges. The Biden administration faces a growing number of lawsuits attempting to block the program, including one filed by six Republican-led states. A federal judge in St. Louis is currently weighing the states’ request for an injunction to halt the plan. Biden on Monday said he’s confident that the suit will not upend the plan. “Our legal judgment is that it won’t,» he said, “but they’re trying to stop it.”

Ozuna compra un equipo de la liga superior del baloncesto puertorriqueño

Por
EFE
-
(Foto: EFE/Alicia Civita/Archivo)

San Juan, Puerto Rico.- El Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) de Puerto Rico anunció este lunes la aprobación de la compraventa del equipo de los Brujos de Guayama al intérprete puertorriqueño de música urbana Ozuna que trasladará el conjunto al municipio de Manatí, en la costa norte de la isla.

«Ser apoderado de una franquicia del Baloncesto Superior Nacional de Puerto Rico ha sido uno de mis grandes sueños, por el cual hemos estado trabajando hace un tiempo. Siento mucha pasión por este deporte y poder formar parte de esta familia me llena de mucho orgullo. Gracias al BSN por abrirme las puertas y a todos los que han hecho esto posible», expresó Ozuna.

Asimismo, el BSN informó de que la franquicia los Brujos de Guayama ahora pasará a llamarse los Osos de Manatí.

Por su parte, el presidente del BSN, Ricardo Dalmau, le dio la bienvenida al artista urbano como nuevo apoderado del equipo.

«Es con gran entusiasmo que le damos la bienvenida a Ozuna a la familia del BSN. El compromiso mostrado a lo largo de todo este proceso nos da confianza en lo que será su gestión a cargo de los nuevos Osos de Manatí», destacó Dalmau.

Ozuna se une así a otros famosos como Yadier Molina, Bad Bunny o Noah Assad que invirtieron en la liga del baloncesto puertorriqueño.

Este año, el BSN de Puerto Rico contará con la participación de 12 equipos para la temporada 2023, los Atléticos de San Germán, Cangrejeros de Santurce, Capitanes de Arecibo, Gigantes de Carolina, Grises de Humacao, Indios de Mayagüez, Leones de Ponce, Mets de Guaynabo, Osos de Manatí, Piratas de Quebradillas y los campeones Vaqueros de Bayamón.

Ozuna es un caso de éxito que se remonta a 2012, cuando sacó al mercado la canción «Imaginando», el comienzo de una aventura musical que lo ha llevado a vender cerca de 15 millones de discos, lo que lo sitúa entre los artistas hispanos más exitosos de los últimos tiempos.

Puerto Rico acogerá reunión de agencias estatales de artes de EEUU en 2024

Por
EFE
-
Fotografía de archivo del director del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), Carlos Ruiz. (Foto: EFE/Jorge Muñiz)

San Juan, Puerto Rico.- El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) anunció este lunes que la reunión anual de la National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (Asamblea Nacional de Agencias Estatales de las Artes, NASAA) de 2024 se realizará en Puerto Rico, lo que representará una oportunidad para enlazar a las entidades culturales puertorriqueñas con las de todo Estados Unidos.

“Nos enorgullece ser anfitriones y que Puerto Rico sea la sede de este importante evento, que es el enlace principal entre las entidades culturales de Estados Unidos y sus territorios. Será una gran oportunidad para dar a conocer nuestra riqueza artística y gestión cultural», expresó Carlos Ruiz, director ejecutivo del ICP.

«Esperamos la participación de todos los directivos de las agencias estatales de las artes, miembros de consejos y personal ejecutivo”, agregó Ruiz sobre el evento en el que participan alrededor de 500 funcionarios y ejecutivos de las artes.

El anuncio se hizo durante la asamblea de NASAA de este año, celebrada en la ciudad de Kansas City, Misuri, mientras representantes de diferentes estados participaban de charlas y adiestramientos para promover el desarrollo de las artes y la cultura en sus estados.

San Juan iba ser la sede de esta asamblea en noviembre de 2020, plan que se vio afectado con el desarrollo de la pandemia causada de covid-19.

NASAA es una organización nacional, sin fines de lucro y no partidista, que defiende el apoyo público a las artes en Estados Unidos y es la asociación profesional de las 56 agencias de artes estatales y jurisdiccionales estadounidenses.

Algunas de las metas principales de la NASAA son apoyar las comunidades rurales, estimular espacios públicos, promover la salud y la sanación, acelerar el desarrollo económico, impulsar el éxito educativo, fomentar la inclusión y la equidad, llegar a comunidades de bajo ingreso y crear oportunidades para artistas.

Harper, Machado tangle in wild-card NLCS between Phils, Pads

Por
Associated Press
-
San Diego Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar (10) tries to grab the cap from Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jean Segura, left, as Padres third baseman Manny Machado, center, and right fielder Juan Soto, right, look on during practice ahead of Game 1 of the baseball NL Championship Series Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, in San Diego. The Padres host the Phillies for Game 1 Oct. 18. (Photo: AP/Gregory Bull)

San Diego, EE. UU. — Either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado will be playing in the World Series this year.

Harper’s Philadelphia Phillies will face Machado’s San Diego Padres in an all-wild card NL Championship Series starting Tuesday night at Petco Park. It’s not exactly the matchup most fans would have predicted, but neither slugger is about to apologize about their teams making thrilling October runs as the two lowest seeds.

“I think, honestly, we’ve got the two best teams going up against each other, and it’s going to be a fun week for sure,” said Machado, who had an MVP-caliber season as he carried the Padres in the absence of star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.

The 89-win Padres, who have benefited from veteran manager Bob Melvin’s calm style during his first year as their skipper, went to New York and beat the 101-win Mets in the wild-card round. Then they eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball’s best team with a franchise-record 111 wins, by winning three straight games after losing the opener on the road.

The 87-win Phillies are the No. 6 seed. They downed the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals in the wild-card round and then beat the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves, who took the NL East title with 101 wins, in the division series.

That sent the Phillies and their hot bats to San Diego, which was back to being sunny and 72 degrees for Monday’s workout after a rare October rainstorm drenched the ballpark during the electric Game 4 clincher against the Dodgers on Saturday night.

“People kind of counted us both out, right?” said Harper, who missed two months after breaking his left thumb when he was hit by a pitch by San Diego’s Blake Snell at Petco Park on June 25. “I think it was L.A. or the Braves or the Mets are going to win because those three teams are so dynamic and they had such great regular seasons, as they always do.»

“I think it is going to be a great series,” Harper added. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I know we’re looking forward to it as a team and the opportunity to come in here and win a game hopefully and get home.”

Right-hander Zack Wheeler is expected to start for the Phillies in Game 1, and 36-year-old Yu Darvish takes the mound for the Padres. Darvish would have gone on three days’ rest if the Padres had been forced to play Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night. But they finished the Dodgers with a five-run seventh inning in a 5-3 victory in Game 4.

Most of the focus will be on Harper and Machado. They were teammates on the 2009 under-18 U.S. national team that won the Pan-Am championship. Harper was the top overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft by Washington while Machado was the third pick by Baltimore.

They made their big league debuts three months apart in 2012, Harper as a 19-year-old and Machado shortly after turning 20. Seven years later they signed massive deals as the top free agents going into the 2019 season; Machado got a $300 million, 10-year contract with San Diego, and Harper went to Philadelphia for $330 million and 13 years.

“We were two of the top free agents,” Machado said. “And he went to a city that wanted to bring a championship back, and I went to a city that’s never won a championship. Here we are a couple years later, we’ve done that, two organizations, and we’ve helped the organizations out big time.

“It’s going to be fun. He brings an energy. He’s one of the best players in the game.”

Harper said Machado “is a great talent. He’s one of the best defenders in the game. He can swing the bat very well. He’s having a great year this year. I’m excited to be able to share the field with him.”

The Padres are in the NLCS for the first time since 1998, right before they were swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series.

The Phillies are in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, when they capped a five-year run that included a World Series championship in 2008 and then losses in the World Series in 2009 and the NLCS in 2010.

Philadelphia, which outscored Atlanta 17-4 at home in the final two games of the NLDS, has had some memorable moments this postseason.

Harper has hit three playoff homers, including two while going 8 for 16 in four games against the Braves. Rhys Hoskins had an epic bat spike on a monster homer against the Braves, and J.T. Realmuto became the first catcher in postseason history to hit an inside-the-park home run.

Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber won the NL home run title with 46. Rob Thompson took over as manager on June 3 after Joe Girardi was fired and led the Phillies to the playoffs. He was rewarded with a two-year contract.

Harper, meanwhile, played for some San Diego travel ball teams years ago and knows a bit about the city.

“I expect this place to be pretty rowdy tomorrow night,” Harper said. “They’re a city that loves their baseball.”

EE.UU. lanza portal para condonación de deuda estudiantil

Por
Associated Press
-
El presidente Joe Biden habla sobre el portal de préstamos estudiantiles en la Casa Blanca, el lunes 17 de octubre de 2022, en Washington. (Foto: AP/Susan Walsh)

Washington, EE. UU. — El presidente Joe Biden dio inicio formal el lunes al proceso de inscripción para su programa de condonación de préstamos estudiantiles y anunció que 8 millones de deudores ya habían solicitado el fin de semana la eliminación de su deuda durante el periodo de prueba.

Biden exhortó a decenas de millones de personas que podrían calificar para la ayuda a que visiten el portal studentaid.gov, y aseguró que llenar el formato de solicitud toma menos de cinco minutos. El viernes se lanzó una versión “beta” del formato en línea, la cual manejó una primera oleada de solicitudes “sin ninguna falla o dificultad”, declaró el mandatario.

“Significa que más de 8 millones de estadounidenses ya dieron el primer paso para recibir una ayuda capaz de cambiarles la vida”, afirmó Biden el lunes, acompañado por el secretario de Educación Miguel Cardona. El presidente dijo que su programa es un “cambio radical” para millones de estadounidenses que lidian con una deuda contraída para pagar sus estudios superiores.

El número de prestatarios que presentaron solicitudes durante el periodo de prueba ya supera la cuarta parte del total de solicitantes que había proyectado el gobierno, lo que pone en evidencia la popularidad del programa y la ansiedad de los deudores para recibir asistencia.

A unos 8 millones de deudores que ya habían presentado su información de ingresos al Departamento de Educación se les cancelaría su deuda sin necesidad de una solicitud.

El plan de Biden contempla condonar 10.000 dólares de deuda por préstamos federales para estudiantes a individuos con ingresos menores a los 125.000 dólares anuales o a familias con ingresos menores a los 250.000 dólares anuales. Aquellos que recibieron subvenciones Pell para asistir a la universidad son elegibles para la cancelación de 10.000 dólares adicionales. El plan elimina por completo la deuda por préstamos federales para estudiantes de unas 20 millones de personas.

Durante su campaña presidencial, Biden prometió un plan a gran escala de cancelación de deuda estudiantil, pero el tema atravesó más de un año de deliberaciones internas en medio de cuestionamientos sobre su legalidad. La medida desató un intenso debate de cara a las elecciones de mitad de mandato, luego de que los republicanos y algunos demócratas aseguraran que es una dádiva injusta para los graduados universitarios.

Pero el lunes, Biden defendió con firmeza su decisión.

“Mi compromiso era que si llegaba a ser elegido presidente, haría que el gobierno trabajara para cumplirle al pueblo”, dijo. “Esta acción cumple con ese compromiso”.

1...1.3631.3641.365...2.242Página 1.364 de 2.242