South Florida Local News

Sun Sentinel: Your source for South Florida breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic

URL: https://www.sun-sentinel.com

Updated: 21 min 2 sec ago

Today in History: December 2, first permanent artificial heart implanted

50 min 21 sec ago

Today is Monday, Dec. 2, the 337th day of 2024. There are 29 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 2, 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Dr. Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.

Also on this date:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in a coronation ceremony at Notre Dame de Paris cathedral.

In 1823, President James Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harpers Ferry the previous October.

In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time at the University of Chicago.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate passed, 67-22, a resolution condemning Republican Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, saying he had “acted contrary to senatorial ethics and tended to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute.”

In 1993, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar was shot to death by security forces in Medellin (meh-deh-YEEN’).

In 2015, a couple loyal to the Islamic State group opened fire at a holiday banquet for public employees in San Bernardino, California, killing 14 people and wounding 21 others before dying in a shootout with police.

In 2016, a fire that raced through an illegally converted warehouse in Oakland, California, during a dance party killed 36 people.

In 2018, Israeli police recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges, adding to a growing collection of legal troubles for the longtime leader.

Today’s Birthdays:

Film director Penelope Spheeris is 79.
Author T. Coraghessan Boyle is 76.
Actor Dan Butler is 70.
Actor Steven Bauer is 68.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is 64.
Actor Lucy Liu is 56.
Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 54.
Tennis Hall of Famer Monica Seles is 51.
Singer Nelly Furtado is 46.
Pop singer Britney Spears is 43.
Actor-singer Jana Kramer is 41.
Actor Yvonne Orji is 41.
Actor Daniela Ruah is 41.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 41.
Actor Alfred Enoch is 36.
Pop singer-songwriter Charlie Puth is 33.

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine’s legal troubles expand with two South Florida lawsuits

1 hour 40 min ago

Tekashi 6ix9ine might soon be released from a New York prison, but a growing number of problems await him back in South Florida.

The controversial rapper, whose legal name is Daniel Hernandez, is currently facing several accusations, including that he abused, drugged and stole from an ex-girlfriend and skipped out on millions of dollars of payments to a vape company.

The Broward-based vape company QR Joy filed a lawsuit against the rapper earlier this month, saying it foot the bill for the song, “Shaka Laka,” including a $1 million payment to Kodak Black — but Hernandez didn’t hold up his end of the deal, according to a complaint.

Meanwhile, Hernandez faces a separate lawsuit in South Florida federal court from his ex-girlfriend and fellow Latin rapper Yailin La Mas Viral, who alleges he physically and emotionally abused her, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her, and at one point held her hostage at his home in Palm Beach County.

The accusations are also linked: QR Joy, which is behind the popular Fume vapes, claims Hernandez used Yailin La Mas Viral, whose legal name is Jorgina Lulu Guillermo Diaz, as a negotiating tactic to get more money from them.

Hernandez’s attorneys, in recent court filings, have denied the claims made by Diaz. He has not yet responded to the vape lawsuit, as he is currently in prison in New York over a probation violation. He is set to be released on Dec. 12, according to his attorneys.

The South Florida saga is a continuation of Hernandez’s many legal dramas. The rapper is known for testifying against his fellow gang members in 2019 in exchange for a shorter prison sentence, which earned him the derogatory label of a “snitch” within the rap world.

“It’s like no good deed goes unpunished,” Josh Kon, one of the attorneys for QR Joy, the vape company, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “They tried to help him, tried to rehabilitate his reputation. I think Kodak Black got a lot of flack for what he did.”

‘Violate all possible bounds of decency’

Diaz filed her lawsuit against Hernandez in September, only a month after the two broke up but over a year since she began to endure his abuse, according to her attorneys.

The lawsuit is an effort to “hold Defendant accountable for his long history of physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse and exploitation of Plaintiff, his former girlfriend, as well as financial fraud that he has committed,” attorneys wrote in the complaint.

The two began talking in April 2023 after Hernandez approached Diaz while she was in the middle of divorcing Latin music star Anuel AA, with whom she has a daughter, according to the complaint. “Anuel AA had once been a close friend of Defendant’s, until Defendant became a federal informant,” attorneys wrote.

Diaz and Hernandez began to collaborate, including on the viral hit “Pa Ti,” which has garnered over 100 million views, though Diaz never received compensation for it, attorneys argue in the complaint.

The complaint says Hernandez soon began to isolate Diaz from her family and friends, telling her that people around her were exploiting and stealing from her. Meanwhile, he began to beat her, drug her, and steal from her, according to the complaint. One of the attacks allegedly occurred on a private plane from New York to Florida, another at a Miami nightclub.

Then, in December 2023, the complaint argues, Hernandez and his security “effectively imprisoned” Diaz at his Palm Beach County home, taking her passport and money.

A “distraught” Diaz “lashed out” and damaged his car and scuffled with him, according to the complaint. Hernandez then called the police. He told them she had begun hitting him when he tried to leave the house during a daylong fight, which originated out of her thinking he was looking at other women, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Diaz on aggravated domestic battery with a deadly weapon and other charges. The charges were later dismissed; Hernandez’ attorneys say he chose not to pursue them. In January, Hernandez was arrested in the Dominican Republic on domestic violence charges after authorities say he assaulted Diaz.

In a statement Saturday, Strebnick and Guerrero said Diaz had been violent towards Hernandez, calling her accusations “baseless.”

“When Daniel met Yailin, she and her baby had been abandoned,” the statement said. “Out of compassion and love, Daniel provided them emotional and financial support, playing a pivotal role in advancing her career. Yailin repaid his kindness with violence, documented in multiple videos online, leading to her arrest for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon — charges that Daniel chose not to pursue. His heartbreak inspired a song about their relationship. Now, instead of showing gratitude, Yailin has filed a lawsuit full of baseless accusations to exploit him for financial gain. These claims are outrageous and transparently opportunistic.”

In March 2024, the complaint states, while Diaz was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Hernandez and his brother convinced her to sign an agreement that allowed them to act as managers for her. It also made Hernandez the beneficiary of her life insurance policy.

“This clause gave Plaintiff’s violent abuser a perverse financial interest in Plaintiff’s death — an appalling threat to her personal safety,” her attorneys wrote.

After Diaz signed the management agreement, Hernandez began to use his position to ask her label for hundreds of thousands of dollars, which he would then claim he was spending on her as if it were his own money, according to the complaint.

He also told Diaz multiple times that he was “unsatisfied with her looks” and persuaded her to get multiple plastic surgeries, the complaint states.

Finally, in August, Diaz’s attorneys say she learned of the “fraud, theft, and deception” and ended the relationship. In response, attorneys argue that he posted revenge porn of the two of them on X, and that, without a court order, he will continue to do so.

The lawsuit against Hernandez almost ended in a default judgment in favor of Diaz when he failed to respond. But on Nov. 25, attorneys Lisandra Guerrero and Howard Strebnick with the firm Roy Black filed a motion to vacate the judgment, saying Hernandez “was confined under 24-hour lockdown in the Special Housing Unit at MDC Brooklyn on an unrelated matter with limited communication to the outside world” at the time the default was entered.

Hernandez “categorically denies, and intends to fully disprove, the serious accusations in the Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint seeking millions of dollars in damages,” his attorneys wrote.

A judge granted the motion and gave Hernandez 30 days to respond.

The vape lawsuit

In addition to the lawsuit from Diaz, the Broward vape company QR Joy says Hernandez owes it over $2 million after failing to abide by the terms of their contract.

“He’s kind of gone rogue,” Kon said.

About the same time as his relationship with Diaz began, the rapper had sought to improve his image, which was still tainted by the controversy over his serving as an informant, according to the Broward lawsuit filed by QR Joy.

The company had reached out to Hernandez, asking about starting up a relationship. However, at the time, Hernandez was already working with a rival vape company, Dummy Vapes, which prohibited him from working with them. (The two vape companies had also sued each other over their relationships to 6ix9ine, and the lawsuit was later settled, attorneys say).

Since Hernandez could not work with them right away, he directed QR Joy to start a relationship with Diaz instead, who began marketing vapes for them, according to the complaint.

Eventually, in July 2023, the company signed an agreement with Hernandez that would allow them to use his likeness in their projects, excluding vapes.

A month later, Hernandez “expressed concerns about his public image,” the complaint states, “which had suffered due to his legal troubles, including his past cooperation with law enforcement. To help restore his reputation, he proposed a collaboration with the well-known artist Bill Kahan Kapri, known professionally as Kodak Black, suggesting that the visibility from the collaboration, along with QR Joy’s vape brand featured in the music video, could improve his standing.”

Through a mutual friend, Hernandez made the collaboration happen. The “Shaka Laka” music video, which features Kapri, Hernandez and Diaz and depicts Diaz and Hernandez smoking Fume vapes, has garnered over 70 million views.

QR Joy ended up spending over $2.6 million on the song and other expenses, including $1 million to Kapri alone, according to the lawsuit. In return, the company was supposed to receive full rights to the song, and Hernandez was supposed to market the vapes in various ways, including sending gift boxes to influencers and attending events. He was also forbidden from using his likeness to market any other products.

But Hernandez did not abide by these agreements, the complaint states. On top of that, he began interfering with the company’s relationship to Diaz, threatening to stop her from promoting the vapes unless QR Joy gave him additional payments. Because Diaz does not speak fluent English and relies on Hernandez for translation, the complaint argues, he was “manipulating communication and potentially mispresenting information to both parties.”

Asked whether Diaz and QR Joy ever repaired their relationship, Kon said he didn’t think so.

“I know it soured it,” he said.

Both lawsuits are further complicated by the fact that Hernandez is currently in prison.

“We’re going to try to serve him there and see where it goes,” Kon said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Morning Update: South Florida’s top stories for Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.

1 hour 56 min ago

Here are the top stories for Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. Get the weather forecast for today here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get our free Morning Update email. Sign up here.

Four shot, two fatally, outside Hollywood event hall

Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to

Democrats slam DeSantis filling GOP vacancies quicker than others

Trump names Massad Boulos, campaign liaison and family relative, as a senior adviser on Middle East

Border Patrol trains more chaplains as the job and polarizing immigration debate rattle agents

Former FAU standout Azeez Al-Shaair knocks Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence out of game on controversial hit | PHOTOS

No Washington mandates for Florida small businesses | Opinion

America can’t afford Trump’s war on remote work | Opinion

Asking Eric: My neighbor yells at me when I try to reclaim my yard from her ‘wilding’

Ten things we learned from the Hurricanes’ loss to Syracuse

They farm Florida’s clams. To survive climate change, they’re counting on Republicans.

2 hours 15 min ago

Joseph Cannon was glued to the TV until the early morning hours of Nov. 6, when it had become clear that Donald Trump would be the next president. “People were so happy,” the tall, passionate Army vet recalls. He, too, was feeling a sense of hope he hadn’t felt in a while.

For the past 25 years, Cannon has been farming clams in the shallow Gulf off Cedar Key, the small island where he grew up with fish sandwiches for breakfast and fried mullet for dinner. But last week, he had to get away from the destruction and despair four hurricanes had caused in just 14 months, opting to spend some time with family in Illinois.

He needed distance, he said, because he had to contemplate the future, and whether he’d once again reinvest in the Florida’s battered clam industry. “I’m a Republican, but I believe in climate change,” Cannon said last month in his office, a place where he’d been coming to cry, and to help fellow farmers fill in yet another application for disaster relief.

Until recently, some 200 Cedar Key farmers produced virtually every clam consumed in Florida, pulling in 120 million mollusks a year. Clamming had allowed them to fend off over-development and retain the island’s Old Florida charm that’s become so hard to find.

Hurricane Helene shattered that economic backbone. Cannon knows that not every single storm or the heat waves that have suffocated his clams in bathtub-warm waters can be attributed to climate change, but he sees how it’s made things worse. It’s impossible to deny the impact, he said, “if you’ve lived here any amount of time.”

As these impacts are set to become worse, Cedar Key’s backbone can’t just be restored as it was. It’ll need to be fortified. It can’t happen without help from the government – business loans and more disaster aid in particular, Cannon says.

Whether they’ll receive it now hinges on the Republican party, set to lead the House and Senate, and President-elect Donald Trump.

Cannon doesn’t worry about the president-elect calling climate change a “scam” or his plans to repeal climate legislation that is pumping $390 billion into mostly Republican districts. “The one thing that Republicans believe in is they believe in business,” he said. And his personal belief is that that they will “fix the situation, address the situation, but don’t give climate change the credit.”

The son of a local fisherman, Cannon joined the Army at 17, served in Haiti and Korea, and returned to make a living off the water. Out on one of his boats, it was easy to see why he loves his job: Spoonbills scraped for shrimp that will hue their feathers pink, and as Cannon zipped past pockets of mangroves imbued by warm morning sun, one dolphin popped its head through the surface, then another, and another.

Clam farmer Jeffrey Schleede takes the boat out at dawn on Oct. 2 in Cedar Key. (Courtesy Miami Herald, Ashley Miznazi)

“You get to watch the world come alive, and it’s God’s creation,” he said. Today, he has five kids – four of them stepchildren – 13 grandchildren, one great grandchild, a broken back and knee, and lots of pride and love for his work. He couldn’t have asked for more – if it wasn’t for the storms.

Early last month, Cannon’s crew dove into an aquatic mass grave with millions of casualties. Helene’s storm surge had pelted the island’s clam farms with such unprecedented force that almost none survived.

“Over to the left,” he directed 19-year-old Jeffrey Schleede, the son of another clammer, and 24-year-old Blake Buckley, who gave up a college baseball scholarship to clam. Clad in wetsuits and with PVC-coated gloves to protect them from cuts – though not the stingrays that have pierced through their fingers – Schleede found one of the nylon mesh bags in which the clams grow from microscopic to chowder-ready.

He poured thousands of clams out on the stern. They would have sold for $120, Cannon said, but he found just two survivors. “We’re looking at maybe 26 cents…maybe $1, if I keep looking.” Any clams that had survived Hurricane Debby in August, Hurricane Helene had finished off.

Across the globe, farmers know that any crops they grow can fail. Every once in a while, flooding will kill Spain’s tomato harvest, and a drought will leave Brazil’s coffee plants parched. In Cedar Key, farmers expect hurricanes to come in roughly seven-year cycles. It’s part of their risk assessment. Something they can account for.

Though last year’s Hurricane Idalia cost him $400,000 worth of clams, the hit was expected. “We were due for a storm,” Cannon said. “We looked at it and said, hey, it’s a storm. Let’s get cleaned up and get back to work.”

Jeffrey Schleede brought a mesh bag back to the boat with what should’ve be filled with clams ready to harvest, but all but a few were dead after the hurricane. (Courtesy Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald)

Any school kid in Cedar Key will tell you that storms are always followed by a period of calm and quiet, a truce nature offers to allow them to recover their losses. Cannon and his colleagues followed that wisdom. They went all in, invested millions back in the industry. Within 16 months, they’d have new clams to harvest. Another hit? “It doesn’t happen. It never happened.”

What farmers have been doing isn’t dissimilar from calculations made on a much grander scale. Insurance companies, banks, and FEMA all use historical data to project chances of future catastrophes.

But the temperatures in which the weather forms are now much warmer than in decades past. Over a 12-month period this year, they rose more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above levels observed before humans started burning industrial-levels of oil, gas and coal. The patterns we’ve observed – the climate – are unraveling.

Without the past to inform the future, projections are impossibly difficult.

Some farmers were still waiting for their disaster relief payments from last year’s Idalia. The programs need to work faster, a federal grant that has covered the paychecks for the five men he employs needs to be extended, and federal and state loans need to be adapted to ensure that clam farmers won’t have to repay them until they’re making profits, Cannon says.

That could be a long time. Clams take between 14 to 16 months to grow, exposing them to two hurricane seasons, give or take. On top of that, they died during heat waves, when oxygen levels in the Gulf drop so low they essentially suffocate, and struggle when increasingly common torrential rainfall dilutes the Gulf’s salinity.

Cannon hopes that the government will start treating them like other farms, that their risks will be mitigated by extending crop insurance to clams, and that the Farm Bill, currently stuck in Congress, will help put money into developing a more resilient GMO clam.

Whether the government will be willing to do so is a pressing question, particularly in Florida, the state whose economy and people are more threatened by the warming climate than anywhere else in the US.

Sen. Marco Rubio met with locals in Cedar Key on Oct 1., including Joseph Cannon, who expressed the clam industry would need government support to rebound after the hurricane. (Courtesy Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald)

On a tour of Cedar Key just days after Hurricane Helene, Sen. Marco Rubio, dressed in beige pants and a blue shirt, the go-to uniform politicians often don when they tour disasters, addressed the challenges.

Any effort to rebuild would need to “take into account that these events are becoming more common,” said Rubio, a fellow Republican likely to be influential with the incoming Trump administration. Cannon, his back facing the gulf, was intent on making the senator understand that it wasn’t just buildings that would need to be rebuilt better, but the clam industry that supports the island community.

It would be a “mammoth undertaking – I’m not sure it’s something that’s ever been done yet. But it’s something we should aim for,” Rubio said, who is now President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of state.

Economic considerations will make things difficult, David Letson, an environmental economist who researches the social impacts of climate change at the University of Miami, said. Investments need to take a long-term view, “because every time you make investments – it may sound inhumane, but yeah, you’re doubling down. And you have to ask yourself: Is that wise?”

Four hurricanes in 14 months have already caused between $3 and $4 billion in damages on Florida’s farms, and the state is already bleeding taxpayers’ money into other programs, from windstorm insurance to a reinsurance entity, taking on enormous financial risks that will only become riskier. “Do you want to do something that further extends that?” Letson asked.

What’s clear is that the government’s – and taxpayers’ – pockets are finite. “You’re not going to be able to protect everything, unfortunately,” Letson said. Will Cedar Key and its clam farmers get the support they need? “It sounds like a really nice community,” Letson said, “but these are hard questions.”

Last month, Cannon drove his pickup past friends and colleagues, greeted each by name — Denis and young Brian, the old mayor and Phil — and wondered who’ll be able to stay. The word “purge” came to his mind.

Throughout its history, Cedar Key survived the loss of other industries. Its cedar mills, the railroad, and the whisk broom industry were all destroyed by hurricanes. Each time, the community reinvented itself. The latest hit was back in the 90s, when 72 percent of Floridians voted in favor of banning gill nets, which ended the type of commercial fishing that had kept Cannon’s and other families in Cedar Key.

“Son, don’t come home,” his father told him. Many left in bitterness, and Cannon stayed in the Army. Others, including Cannon’s father, gave the state’s proposal to start clamming a chance. Cannon was elated when he heard that it was working.

Clam farming wasn’t fishing, but he’d still get to make a living off the water, right here in Cedar Key. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years now, and I ask myself, Do I know what I’m doing?” He looks at Schleede and Buckley. They’re young, he says. “Am I going to help these guys further their lives, or do I need to get out of their way, and let maybe a new idea come in?”

Seagulls fly over Cedar Key’s coast on the morning of Oct. 2. (Courtesy Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald)

Last week, he decided that it wasn’t time to give up yet. The election of Donald Trump lifted his spirits. He feels that a federal grant that has covered his employees’ paychecks will get extended, and that the farm bill will finally be passed. When land grabbers call, Cannon answers with expletives. In Cedar Key, new clams are already being put out in the Gulf. He feels confident about the future, he says. “In 16 months, I know I’ll be harvesting clams.”

This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.

This story was produced in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, WLRN Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.

Disbelief over Trump’s early decisions | Letters to the editor

2 hours 20 min ago

I’m astounded that the voters of America could elect a convicted felon with rock-bottom morals to the nation’s highest office. Nevertheless, this is America. That was the people’s choice.

The current administration promises a peaceful transfer of power to this wannabe dictator. He owns the Supreme Court and he will control both houses of Congress. What happened to the checks and balances envisioned by our founding fathers?

He’ll politicize the Department of Justice. He promises to pardon violent criminals. He is guaranteed immunity from the most seditious of actions. His choice of a Fox commentator as Secretary of Defense is beyond belief. It’s almost as big of an insult to the military as having a draft dodger as commander-in-chief.

His other cabinet choices are based strictly on loyalty. Let’s hope that when his term is up, there will be another peaceful transfer of power after the next election — if there is one.

Alan Greenberg, Delray Beach

No recess appointments

There comes a time, now, when the members of the U.S. Senate (Republicans, Democrats
and independents) need to take their oath of office seriously by supporting the Constitution and specifically Article II, Section 2, regarding Advise and Consent of the Senate.

Agreeing to bypass the right and responsibility of the Senate to vote on nominees by allowing recess appointments is outrageous and will affect we, the people.

Stand upright, Senators, and do not bend.

Ron Field, Boynton Beach

The people have chosen

Here’s a thought: Let Trump make his own mistakes.

Democratic senators who sanctimoniously object to some of his picks for Cabinet positions, who also argue that recess appointments are not constitutionally contemplated under these circumstances, might just as well let it play out — however it does.

The people have chosen, so let them live with their choice.

Each federal agency has its own bureaucracy, which is fully capable of objecting to plans its new leaders might have. No Cabinet secretary is remotely capable of doing the trench work on his or her own. The quality of their work will speak for itself, so let them have at it.

The divisions that have permeated American life recently are simply being given another life by the actions of the Democrats. It’s time to let the people have their way, even if it disrupts life as we know it. Do we trust them, or not? I do.

Michael Peskoe, Fort Lauderdale

Dogs in parks? Uh-oh

I read with interest that dogs are now allowed in public parks in Fort Lauderdale.

What was the reason they weren’t allowed before? Have those issues been corrected? I think not.

Take a walk around the hundreds of apartments in Flagler Village, a pricey new community not far from Las Olas Boulevard, a nice community with nice, young outdoors-type people.

Now, try to find a sidewalk without dog poop smeared all over it, and I mean all over it. I am also convinced that the residents think those green bags are leash decorations. And I really believe that these folks think that when their little dog squats, it is praying.

As for rules, will there be doggie police with doggie handcuffs? Nonsense. My suggestion is for walkers to start wearing rubber boots. P.S.: Dogs are not allowed in parks in many major American cities for exactly the aforementioned reasons.

Peter Beshouri, Fort Lauderdale

You can submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or by filling out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 200 words and must be signed. Please include your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.

[contact-form]

ASK IRA: Are Heat up to the challenge of an overachieve-or-perish season?

2 hours 20 min ago

Q: Ira, do you agree that we now have a large enough sample to strongly suggest that the Heat is a .500 team? – Bill, Palm Beach Gardens.

A: I do not, because based on the upcoming schedule, including the Celtics, Lakers, Suns and Cavaliers as the next four, with games thereafter against the Thunder, Rockets and Magic twice, standing at .500 at midseason would almost be a significant accomplishment. But what is stark, truly stark is the lack of consistent and committed effort. Look, by now the players and coaching staff have to know where they are in terms of talent. The flaws in terms of size and athleticism are ample. But what long has masked such deficiencies has been sustained and relentless effort. Now? Not so much. With this roster, it’s either overachieve or perish. And at the moment, after Sunday in Toronto, it is difficult to get away from what came off as rancid.

Miami Heat | Submit your “Ask Ira” question here!

Q: Injuries are part of the game, but, like most, I cringe when Jimmy comes up limping, because it’s usually going to require some time off. We’ll see. The Heat just have to play the year out. I do think they are figuring some things out like Terry Rozier being a good piece off the bench. – Douglas.

A: But this team is not in position to take one step forward and one step back. For the past five years, the key to success has been Jimmy Butler being great when it mattered most, particularly as a two-way player. He’s not that at the moment, even before this latest knee issue. And if he’s not, then I’m not sure the best of Terry Rozier or even Tyler Herro can mask that.

Q: Ira, I’m not surprised that Boston has pulled up on Cleveland in the standings. But I still think the Heat know what it takes to beat the Celtics. Monday night would be a good message. – Pete.

A: Since the teams’ 2023 playoff series, the Celtics have consolidated their talent to a level that I’m not sure even if Jimmy Butler was available for last season’s playoff series that it would have made a significant difference in what turned into Boston’s resounding 4-1 win. This is not just about seeing how the Heat’s Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo measure up against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. This also is about the reality that the Celtics then can hit you with Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. It is that depth of talent that has significantly swung the pendulum. As it is, it is looking like a good chance of no Butler again.

Daily Horoscope for December 02, 2024

4 hours 50 min ago

General Daily Insight for December 02, 2024

Our emotions won’t be predictable today! Conversational Mercury in truth-telling Sagittarius begins the day with a trine to healing Chiron in Aries, encouraging open communication. Next, a fabulous trine between loving Venus in Capricorn and excitable Uranus in Taurus at 9:43 am EST will take center stage, inspiring us to express ourselves in invigorating ways. Meanwhile, the Moon will square off foggy Neptune in Pisces before slipping into Capricorn, creating a space for us to settle down after a wonderful but wild ride.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Your reputation is positively sparkling. Venus in your public-facing 10th house is boosting your ability to wow others in professional situations, and its trine to rebel Uranus in your money-loving 2nd house is encouraging you to try something different in the name of advancement. Go ahead and throw your usual playbook out the window! As long as you don’t try to blow up anyone’s spot in the process, your unusual approach to a matter could turn out to be fabulously lucrative.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

A little change won’t hurt, even for your stability-loving sign. Your ruler Venus is dancing through your adventurous 9th house, giving you a taste for all things exotic and new. You’ll want to bring more of this spice into your life when Venus trines eclectic Uranus in your luxurious sign, encouraging you to wrap yourself in color and exciting experiences. Dive into anything that resides outside of the bounds of your “normal” or “usual,” and the results should be delightfully stimulating.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Expect the unexpected, but expect it to be positive. A comforting trine between Venus in your 8th House of Depth and change-maker Uranus in your 12th House of the Subconscious is bathing you in cosmic warmth — it may even come with a financial bounty attached. You probably won’t see this coming until it arrives and is staring you right in the face, but don’t think you haven’t earned this reward. Quite the opposite, in fact, so enjoy this abundance.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Allow people to surprise you today. Venus in your partnership sector is bringing pleasant interactions with plus-ones your way, and this influence grows even broader when Venus trines Uranus in your social sector. All kinds of friendly faces are being brought into the mix! A friend-of-a-friend could turn out to be pivotal to your plans, or maybe you’ll meet someone cool who’s very different from your usual acquaintance, but brings a lot of joy into your life. Be open to the possibilities.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Progress doesn’t need to feel like pulling teeth. Happily, it should be easier than normal to make advancements and improvements with Venus in your 6th House of Productivity forming a harmonious trine to Uranus in your 10th House of Career. Their collaboration offers you hidden loopholes and unexpected boosts up life’s great ladder. Don’t follow the same old path that you’re used to — instead, explore any options available to you. You can discover something special when you take the time to look.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

The further you go, the more joy you can uncover. Venus in your 5th House of Pleasure is reminding you of life’s silver linings, and that energy takes on global proportions as Venus trines Uranus in your 9th House of Expansion. A world of possibilities awaits you! Make an effort to accept the guidance of your heart, whatever direction it chooses. Its path should take you somewhere that brings a smile to your face, literally, metaphorically, or a satisfying mix of both.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

You have more people on your side than you may realize. Your ruler, gentle Venus, is in your domestic sector, making this moment ideal for surrounding yourself with loving and supportive people. In addition to this, Venus’s beneficial trine to Uranus in your 8th House of Shared Resources could bring more support and help your way than you would have ever anticipated. A relative or roommate might make all the difference, so don’t think you have to handle life all by yourself.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

You don’t need to control the reins right now. You can actually hand them off to someone else, knowing you’ll enjoy the ride. This is all thanks to Venus in your communications sector making a gorgeous trine to Uranus in your connection sector, inspiring you to appreciate any surprises from well-meaning peers. Even if you normally prefer to be the one captaining the boat on a daily basis, a little change is just what the doctor ordered. Try to go with the flow for today!

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Go forth and get your money’s worth! Luxury-loving Venus is in your 2nd House of Income, blessing your revenue stream, and it is trining Uranus in your 6th House of Daily Work, bringing updated chances to increase your finances. Whether it’s a raise at your job, or you come up with a side hustle that will pay off handsomely, focus on solutions and projects that are a bit outside the box. The more you color outside the lines, the better off you can be.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

It’s the perfect day to do as you please. Venus is dancing through your sign, making it easy to lean into the pleasantries of life. This encouragement is majorly amplified when Venus trines Uranus in your fun-loving 5th house. This alignment is all about doing as you please and letting your creative side out to play! There’s no need to follow your traditional rules at this time. Break out of any ruts and go dance in the sun, because you’ve earned it.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

It’s a wonderful day to spend cozied up at home. A special trine between Venus in your dreamy 12th house and Uranus in your domestic 4th house is going to make it almost impossible not to enjoy yourself. If you’re in a social mood, then consider playing host and sending out a few last-minute invites, because people could be more than happy to come and warm your space. Since this should be a relaxed chill session, don’t worry about cleaning things perfectly for any guests.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

What’s happening in your world, Pisces? Whatever’s going on, you can likely have more fun when you add some socializing to it, especially as Venus in your 11th House of Networking aligns with Uranus in your 3rd House of Local Community. They’re adding an extra dose of fun and positivity to all encounters. Consider exploring some local spots, because you could find a place that becomes a favorite haunt for you and your friends. A little curiosity can lead you somewhere very exciting.

Winderman’s view: At this point, after another loss, Tyler Herro left looking for a friend

Sun, 12/01/2024 - 18:37

TORONTO – Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 119-116 loss to the Toronto Raptors:

– There have been times in recent seasons when the onus on Jimmy Butler seemed overwhelming.

– There have been times when that same could be said the past few years with Bam Adebayo, and his bucketload of responsibilities on both ends.

– And then you have a night like this and wonder if, maybe, Tyler Herro could get a bit of help.

– Herro carried the Heat in the first half.

– Was active while others were anemic.

– And then in the third period, a driving layup . . . that wasn’t.

– Because of basket interference on Adebayo.

– And a pinpoint pass for a 3-pointer . . . that wasn’t

– As Duncan Robinson bobbled the ball out of bounds.

– This team, of course, wasn’t built this way.

– But for Adebayo, scoring has been an ongoing struggle.

– And for Butler, it’s just not an every-night thing anymore.

– Instead, Herro heroics have defined the best of the Heat to this stage.

– As he returns Monday to Boston, where he last season produced a tour de force in the Heat’s lone playoff win.

– In October, who had Herro as the Heat’s leading All-Star candidate?

– In December, who doesn’t?

– The concern is he also is the only current candidate.

– All or nothing.

– With his late 3-point miss in this one costly.

– But also the player who got the Heat into that position.

– The Heat opened for a sixth consecutive game with a lineup of Herro, Adebayo, Butler, Robinson and Haywood Highsmith.

– Entering 4-1 with that lineup.

– Robinson was called for his second foul 1:19 into the game.

– With the Heat’s options somewhat limited, with Nikola Jovic (ankle) and Josh Richardson (illness) not with the team.

– The Heat were without rookie center Kel’el Ware, with the first-round pick out of Indiana sidelined by right foot tendinitis.

– Kevin Love and Pelle Larsson entered together in the Heat’s first substitution.

– Terry Rozier followed.

– Then Jaime Jaquez Jr.

– With Alec Burks, at the start of the second quarter, making it 10 deep for the Heat.

– That left Thomas Bryant and Dru Smith as the only available players out of the mix.

– Adebayo’s first conversion from the foul line moved him past Rony Seikaly and into fourth on the Heat all-time list.

– The double-double was the 201st of Adebayo’s career. Only Rony Seikaly (221) and Alonzo Mourning (205) have had more with the Heat.

– The Heat were coming off Friday night’s 54 3-point attempts in their home victory over the Raptors.

– “We just want to have a profile that makes sense, the most sense for our team,” coach Erik Spoelstra said pregame.

– But Spoelstra also stressed it also cannot just be 3-pointers.

– “We’ve said all along it’s not one being more important than the other,” he said. “We also have to be aggressive. We also have to have our paint attacks.”

– This time the 3-point volume was way down.

– Raptors coach Darko Rajaković for the second consecutive game spoke pregame about the Heat’s zone defense.

– Miami is a team that plays zone quite a bit,” he said. “They play more than other teams, they found over the years success with that zone.”

– So the Raptors got R.J. Barrett into the heart of the Heat defense and the former Knick went to work from there.

– The game concluded the second of the three times the Heat will face the same opponent in consecutive games, with the Heat defeating the Raptors 121-111 Friday night at Kaseya Center.

– The Heat split the first such pairing against the Pacers, winning the first and losing the second, both in Indiana.

– The final such occurrence will be at Atlanta on Feb. 24 and home against the Hawks on Feb. 26.

– The game also opened the Heat’s third back-to-back set of the season, to conclude Monday night at TD Garden against the Celtics.

– The Heat have split their previous two back-to-back sets, with a total of 15 this season.

– Meanwhile, down in the G League, Heat two-way players Keshad Johnson and Josh Christopher both had their moments in a Sunday victory over the Pistons’ affiliate in Detroit.

– Johnson, who closed with 28 points in that Sioux Falls Skyforce victory over the Motor City Cruise, is expected to join the Heat for Monday night’s game in Boston.

– Christopher had 22 points in that 133-110 Skyforce victory.

– The Skyforce also got 25 points from Heat camp invitee Nassir Little as well as 11 assists from Heat summer and camp standout Isaiah Stevens. Little and Stevens are free to be signed by any NBA team.

Heat come up short 119-116 in Toronto as Butler sits late, with greater challenges now ahead

Sun, 12/01/2024 - 18:34

TORONTO — What you want when the next four are against the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers is some sort of cushion.

The Miami Heat squandered the opportunity Sunday night with a 119-116 loss at Scotiabank Arena to the lowly Toronto Raptors, a loss that dropped them to 9-9.

On this night, even mediocrity proved to be a struggle, which is all that might have been required against an opponent that improved to 6-15.

Instead, the Heat proved unable to double up on Friday night’s 121-111 victory over the Raptors at Kaseya Center, dominated in the paint by the Raptors and dominated on the scoreboard by Toronto forward R.J. Barrett, who closed with 37 points.

“We were not worthy to win tonight,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game.

About the only enduring pushback from the Heat came from guard Tyler Herro, who closed with 31 points. Jimmy Butler somewhat came around in the second half to finish with 17, although he was forced to sit at the end with an apparent knee issue.

Otherwise, it was another night when Heat center Bam Adebayo was able to get everything going but his offense, closing with a season-high 20 rebounds along with seven assists but just 13 points.

“We didn’t give enough effort,” said Adebayo, who became the first Heat player with 20 rebounds and seven assists in the same game.

And, with that, the Heat immediately had to move on to Monday night’s game against the Celtics at TD Garden, the site of where last season ended in the first round of the playoffs.

“You can’t hide,” Adebayo said of what now immediately follows.

As for Butler, questions remain, likely to be answered by Monday’s NBA injury report.

“I’m cool. Banged up. Ain’t nothing new,” he said of his right knee, which was problematic last season.

Asked about Monday in Boston, he said, “I don’t know. We’ll see how it feels when I get up in the morning.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

1. Closing time: The Raptors led 34-24 after the first period and 65-60 at halftime.

The Heat went up three early in the third quarter, before the Raptors stormed back for a 98-87 lead going into the fourth.

Butler then returned with 7:10 to play and the Heat down 105-91.

From there, the Heat rallied within 113-107 with 2:14 to play on a Haywood Highsmith 3-pointer, with a Butler 3-point play drawing the Heat within 113-110 with 1:27 remaining.

The Raptors’ Scottie Barnes and Herro then traded 3-pointers, leaving the Heat down 116-113 with 64 seconds to play.

“It actually was more of a surprise it was close at the end,” Spoelstra said. “We didn’t put ourselves in a position to win.”

But they did.

After Raptors 24-second violation, Herro was off on a potential tying 3-pointer, with a Barnes free throw making it 117-113 with 12.2 seconds to play.

“A great look,” Herro said of his shot.

2. Herro from the start: Herro scored 13 in the first quarter, at 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 4 on 3-pointers.

He basically kept the Heat afloat early, with Adebayo 0 for 4 from the field and Butler taking only one shot in the opening period, each scoreless in the first quarter.

Herro by the midpoint of the opening period had extended his personal best streak to 52 consecutive games with a 3-pointer, 17 games off Duncan Robinson’s franchise record, and had extended his career-best streak to 48 consecutive games scoring in double figures.

Later, with his fourth 3-pointer, Herro tied Tim Hardaway for second on the Heat all-time 3-pointers list, with 806, behind only Robinson.

“I’ll be chasing him for a while,” Herro said of Robinson.

Herro was up to 18 points by halftime.

3. Filling it up (sort of): Adebayo, even in the lack of early offense, again otherwise filled the box score.

Two games after achieving a double-double in assists and rebounds against the Hornets and one game after securing his eighth career triple-double on the final rebound of Friday night’s victory over the Raptors, Adebayo this time was up to 11 rebounds and six assists at halftime, but also just 2 of 8 at that stage for four points.

The rebounding continued. The assists tapered. But the points never arrived in a needed quantity.

But it was the lack of energy by his team that was Adebayo’s postgame focus.

“We didn’t give enough energy trying to impose our will,” he said.

4. Limited lift: While Butler had filled out his scoring totals in recent games through working his way to the foul line, a lack of lift has become increasingly apparent.

During one second-quarter sequence Sunday, Butler, 35, was unable to rise for an alley-oop feed from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and then was credited for two of his five first-half points on a Raptors goaltend, when he attempted a reverse layup in transition that appeared to be off the mark.

By the third quarter, Butler reset his game with more of a bump-and-grind game, working his way to the line, until a jolt to the knee on his 3-point play took him out late.

Butler appreciated his teammates rallying.

“We always compete to get back in it,” he said.

5. Length limited: With first-round pick Kel’el Ware a late scratch due to foot tendinitis and with Nikola Jovic back in South Florida with an ankle sprain, the already undersized Heat were further undersized Sunday.

That had the Raptors attacking almost with impunity, closing with a 68-46 scoring edge in the paint.

“That’s what they do,” Spoelstra said of the Raptors pounding the paint. “But we definitely did not offer any resistance.

“We just were not able to contain the ball in transition or in any kind of one-on-one situation.”

For all of Adebayo’s defensive versatility off the ball, he proved no match for the 7-foot, 253-pound bulk of Raptors starting center Jacob Poeltl, who outscored him for the second time in as many games, this time with 17 points.

Spoelstra added: “Often in this game, you get what you deserve.”

Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to

Sun, 12/01/2024 - 17:37

By ZEKE MILLER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN LONG

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family.

The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden’s legacy.

Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump’s first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.

In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”

The president’s sweeping pardon covers not just the gun and tax offenses against the younger Biden, but also any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”

In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”

As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”

The elder Biden has publicly stood by his only living son as Hunter descended into serious drug addiction and threw his family life into turmoil before getting back on track in recent years. The president’s political rivals have long used Hunter Biden’s myriad mistakes as a political cudgel against his father: In one hearing, lawmakers displayed photos of the drug-addled president’s son half-naked in a seedy hotel.

House Republicans also sought to use the younger Biden’s years of questionable overseas business ventures in a since-abandoned attempt to impeach his father, who has long denied involvement in his son’s dealings or benefiting from them in any way.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said in his statement. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.”

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend.

The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with Hunter and his family, and was set to depart for Angola later Sunday on what may be his last foreign trip as president before leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He had been set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.

David Weiss, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware who negotiated the plea deal, was subsequently named a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to have more autonomy over the prosecution of the president’s son.

Hunter Biden said he was pleading guilty in that case to spare his family more pain and embarrassment after the gun trial aired salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.

The tax charges carry up to 17 years behind bars and the gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible he would have avoided prison time entirely.

Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced this month in the two federal cases, which the special counsel brought after a plea deal with prosecutors that likely would have spared him prison time fell apart under scrutiny by a judge. Under the original deal, Hunter was supposed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and and would have avoided prosecution in the gun case as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years.

But the plea hearing quickly unraveled last year when the judge raised concerns about unusual aspects of the deal. The younger Biden was subsequently indicted in the two cases.

Hunter Biden’s legal team this weekend released a 52-page white paper titled “The political prosecutions of Hunter Biden,” describing the president’s son as a “surrogate to attack and injure his father, both as a candidate in 2020 and later as president.”

The younger Biden’s lawyers have long argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict the president’s son amid heavy criticism by Trump and other Republicans of what they called the “sweetheart” plea deal.

Rep. James Comer, one of the Republican chairmen leading congressional investigations into Biden’s family, blasted the president’s pardon, saying that the evidence against Hunter was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“It’s unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability,” Comer said on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Biden is hardly the first president to deploy his pardon powers to benefit those close to him.

In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump over the weekend announced plans to nominate the elder Kushner to be the U.S. envoy to France in his next administration.

Trump, who has pledged to dramatically overhaul and install loyalists across the Justice Department after he was prosecuted for his role in trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election, said in a social media post on Sunday that Hunter Biden’s pardon was “such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice.”

“Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump asked, referring to those convicted in the violent Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Hunter Biden said in an emailed statement that he will never take for granted the relief granted to him and vowed to devote the life he has rebuilt “to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”

“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” the younger Biden said.

Hunter Biden’s legal team filed Sunday night in both Los Angeles and Delaware asking the judges handling his gun and tax cases to immediately dismiss them, citing the pardon.

A spokesperson for Weiss did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday night.

NBC News was first to report Biden was expected to pardon his son Sunday.

___

Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Nantucket, Massachusetts, contributed to this report.

Today in History: December 1, Rosa Parks refuses to give up bus seat

Sun, 12/01/2024 - 02:00

Today is Sunday, Dec. 1, the 336th day of 2024. There are 30 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a Black seamstress, was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus; the incident sparked a yearlong boycott of the buses and helped fuel the U.S. civil rights movement.

Also on this date:

In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives after none of the candidates (John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay) won more than 50% of the electoral vote. Despite Jackson winning the most electoral votes, Adams would ultimately win the presidency.

In 1965, the first “Freedom Flight” from Cuba to the United States landed in Miami. Over the ensuing eight years, the twice-daily flights allowed more than 250,000 Cuban refugees to migrate to the United States through a joint U.S.-Cuban agreement.

In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery for military service since World War II.

In 1991, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union.

In 2009, President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan but promised during a speech to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to begin withdrawals in 18 months.

In 2017, retired general Michael Flynn, who served as President Donald Trump’s first national security adviser, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about reaching out to the Russians on Trump’s behalf. (Trump would later pardon Flynn.)

Today’s Birthdays:

World Golf Hall of Famer Lee Trevino is 85.
Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 80.
Actor-singer Bette Midler is 79.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is 72.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is 66.
Model-actor Carol Alt is 64.
Actor Jeremy Northam is 63.
Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Walker is 58.
Actor Néstor Carbonell is 57.
Actor-comedian Sarah Silverman is 54.
Actor Riz Ahmed is 42.
Singer-actor Janelle Monáe is 39.
Actor Sarah Snook is 37.
Actor Zoe Kravitz is 36.

Trump Demands ‘Commitment’ From BRICS on Using US Dollar

Sun, 12/01/2024 - 01:06

Stephanie Lai

(Bloomberg) — US President-elect Donald Trump warned the so-called BRICS nations that he would require commitments that they would not move to create a new currency as an alternative to using the US dollar and repeated threats to levy a 100% tariff.

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social network on Saturday.

“We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” he added.

Trump on his campaign trail pledged that he would make it costly for countries to move away from the US dollar. And he’s threatened to use tariffs to ensure they complied. Saturday’s threat took on new relevance as the president-elect prepares to retake power in January.

Trump and his economic advisers have been discussing ways to punish allies and adversaries alike who seek to engage in bilateral trade in currencies other than the dollar. Those measures include considering options such as export controls, currency manipulation charges and levies on trade, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump has long stressed that he wants the US dollar to remain the world’s reserve currency, saying in a March interview with CNBC that he “would not allow countries to go off the dollar” because it would be “a hit to our country.”

The president-elect’s warning against the BRICS nations suggests “how confused the incoming administration is about the global trade and capital system,” according to Michael Pettis, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The US cannot both reduce its trade deficit and increase the global dominance of USD because these impose diametrically opposed conditions,” Pettis said on his X account.

The BRICS nations discussed the issue of de-dollarization at a summit in 2023. Backlash against the dollar’s dominance gained traction in 2022 when the US led efforts to impose economic sanctions on Russia.

While some potential dollar rivals such as the Chinese yuan have already made inroads, that has often happened at the expense of currencies other than the dollar.

Despite the group’s rhetoric, the infrastructure that backs the dollar, such as the cross-border payment system, will likely give the US currency a decisive edge for decades to come.

Evidence of this emerged during the bloc’s October meeting in Kazan hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, a champion of reducing the international role of the dollar. Organizers for the meeting encouraged attendees to bring US dollars or euros with them as non-Russian Mastercard or Visa cards don’t work in the country.

Economic advisers to Trump and his campaign have spoken in particular about targeting the BRICS effort.

Earlier: Trump Aides Discuss Penalties for Nations That De-Dollarize

“There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America,” Trump said Saturday.

The president-elect has already rattled world markets ahead of his second term with threats to levy an additional 10% tariffs on goods from China and 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada if those countries do not do more to stem the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants across US borders.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Trump on Friday to discuss trade and border issues in a bid to tamp down tensions between the two allied nations after the tariff threat.

But other nations may consider ways to mitigate the Trump tariffs on their economies. China could allow its yuan to depreciate by as much as 10-15% in response to any trade war unleashed by Trump, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bank sees a 5% average depreciation in emerging-market currencies over the first half of 2025.

Read: The New Ways China Can Fire Back If Trump Starts Trade War Again

–With assistance from Harry Suhartono and Trista Xinyi Luo.

(Updated with comments in seventh and eight paragraph)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

Border Patrol trains more chaplains as the job and polarizing immigration debate rattle agents

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:49

DANIA BEACH (AP) — As immigration remains a hotly contested priority for the Trump administration after playing a decisive role in the deeply polarized election, the Border Patrol agents tasked with enforcing many of its laws are wrestling with growing challenges on and off the job.

More are training to become chaplains to help their peers as they tackle security threats, including the powerful cartels that control much of the border dynamic, and witness growing suffering among migrants — all while policies in Washington keep shifting and public outrage targets them from all sides.

“The hardest thing is, people … don’t know what we do, and we’ve been called terrible names,” said Brandon Fredrick, a Buffalo, New York-based agent some of whose family members have resorted to name-calling.

Earlier this month, he served as a training academy instructor for Border Patrol chaplains, whose numbers have almost doubled in the last four years. It’s an effort to help agents motivated by the desire to keep the U.S. borders safe cope with mounting distress before it leads to family dysfunction, addiction, even suicide.

Border Patrol specialist Mitchell Holmes, right, and Fish and Wildlife Regional Law Enforcement agent Kevin Shinn, use skills they learned in the Border Patrol Chaplaincy academy during a training session in Dania Beach. (Marta Lavandier/AP) Chaplains academy trains agents to tackle emotional distress

During the latest academy, held at a Border Patrol station near Miami, Fredrick evaluated pairs of chaplains-in-training as they role-played checking on a fellow agent who hadn’t reported for work.

They discovered he’d been drowning in alcohol his angst at being deployed away from his family for the holidays at one of the border’s hotspots. The training scenario was achingly real for the South Florida-based agent role-playing the distressed one — he had struggled when relocated for 18 months to Del Rio, Texas, away from his two children — and also for Fredrick, who overcame alcoholism before becoming a chaplain.

Interacting with chaplains can reduce the agents’ reluctance to express their emotional trials, Fredrick said.

“My mission every day is that there’s not a young agent Fredrick suffering alone,” he added. Fredrick, a Catholic, has been an agent for more than 15 years and worked tragic cases like a smuggling attempt where an Indian family froze to death at the Canada-U.S. border.

Border Patrol instructor and Chaplain Christopher Day directs a session at the Border Patrol Chaplain Academy on Nov. 20, 2024, in Dania Beach. (Marta Lavandier/AP) Confidential support, with a side of faith

Unlike the police or military, which recruits faith leaders for help with everything from suicide prevention to dealing with the unrest after George Floyd’s murder, the Border Patrol trains mostly lay agents endorsed by their faith denominations to become chaplains.

After graduating, they join about 240 other chaplains and resume their regular jobs — but they’re constantly on call to provide largely confidential care for their 20,000 fellow agents’ well-being.

While most chaplains are Christian, Muslim and Jewish agents also have been trained recently. The chaplains don’t offer faith-specific worship and only bring up religion if the person they’re helping does first.

“I’m not there to convert or proselytize,” said academy instructor Jason Wilhite, an agent in Casa Grande, Arizona, and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A chaplain since 2015, he was previously involved in the agency’s nonreligious, mental health-focused peer support program after a fellow agent died in a car accident.

Agent Jesus Vasavilbaso decided to join the Border Patrol’s peer support program after witnessing the trauma of repeatedly responding to calls from lost and dying migrants in the unforgiving desert southwest of Tucson, Arizona.

“Sometimes you go home and keep thinking you didn’t find them,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important we check on each other all the time.”

Training to deal with deaths at the border Border Patrol chaplain and instructor Jason Wilhite holds two Silent Partner cards he carries with him at all times showing two of his colleagues that died in the line of duty. (Marta Lavandier/AP)

At the most recent chaplain academy, which lasted 2.5 weeks, the 15 chaplains-in-training — mostly from the Border Patrol, plus a few Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management officers — practiced real-life scenarios, including responding to a deadly wreck involving agents and notifying a spouse their loved one died on the job.

Chris Day, a chaplain since 2017, evaluated trainees trying to comfort an agent who kept screaming that it was all his fault his partner was killed. In the training scenario, their car crashed as they chased someone crossing the border illegally.

Day praised the trainees’ efforts to get the agent to talk, but advised them not to say, “’I understand.’ Because you don’t.”

Later, Day told the class he had helped an agent who watched the smugglers he was chasing smash their car into a family, gravely injuring a toddler. He said the agent had “ugly cried” at the scene and kept repeating that his child was the same age, so Day took him aside briefly and followed up after.

“We hugged it out,” said Day, a Baptist with a Psalm verse tattooed on his right arm.

He also has helped the wife of an agent who killed himself, and prayed for migrants who request it. More than 100 migrants have died so far this year in New Mexico’s desert, where Day is stationed.

“The smells and visuals stay with you forever,” Day said. “We have empathy for people coming across.”

Border Patrol specialist Mitchell Holmes, left, listens to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Regional Law Enforcement agent Kevin Shinn, during a Chaplain Academy training session on Nov. 20, 2024, in Dania Beach. (Marta Lavandier/AP) Combining vigilance with empathy on and off duty

Trying to comfort migrant children in their custody, including the thousands who cross the border alone, is also a wrenching task for agents.

At the academy, Trinidad Balderas, a father and medic in McAllen, Texas, and Yaira Santiago, a former schoolteacher who runs a Border Patrol migrant processing center at the other end of the southern border in San Diego, California, said they both seek to provide some calm in the chaos of the children’s situation.

“One tries to give them support within the limits of what your work allows. I always have the biggest smile,” Santiago said.

Border Patrol Agent Trinidad Balderas looks at his new chaplain pin after graduating from the program. (Marta Lavandier/AP)

Border Patrol assistant chief and chaplaincy program manager Spencer Hatch highlighted the need to maintain both the “hypervigilance” of law enforcement and the humanitarian instinct to empathize with migrants and fellow agents.

He also taught strategies to protect the agents’ families from “spillover trauma.” Divorces increase when agents are redeployed during migrant surges — some up to 9 times over 18 months during the record border crossings early in the Biden Administration.

Many agents’ children are scared to reveal their parent’s job — especially in border communities. They might be going to school with children of cartel members, or of undocumented migrants, or those who see the Border Patrol as “keeping people from living the American dream,” in Hatch’s words.

“That’s a really hard thing to deal with, as things tend to flip from one side to the other, and we’re still in the crossfire,” he added.

Hatch uses as a case study of moral injury, a 2021 incident in Del Rio where agents on horseback appeared in some viral photos to be whipping immigrants with their reins — which a federal investigation later determined hadn’t happened.

“For one picture to be taken out of context and to have the highest levels of government shaming those people, that was very disheartening. That hurt all of us,” Hatch said.

The USBP chaplaincy program class members listen to remarks during their graduation on Nov. 21, 2024, in Dania Beach (Marta Lavandier/AP) Wrestling with moral standards and a higher calling

Dealing with that “dissonance” of enforcing immigration laws, including rescuing migrants, and hearing their jobs demonized by the public, is a major challenge, said Tucson-area chaplain Jimmy Stout. He was one of first four chaplains when the program was started through a grassroots effort at the southern border in the late 1990s.

“We go over this on day one,” Stout said. “Is what they’re doing meeting their personal standards?”

For the agents who got their chaplain pins last week, those standards now involve a higher calling, too.

Class speaker Matt Kiniery, a father of three who joined the Army after 9/11 and the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in 2009, decided to become a chaplain after an on-duty car wreck so bad the doctor called his survival miraculous.

“‘The guy upstairs has got something for you.’ I took that to heart,” Kiniery said. Chaplains helped his wife Jeanna then, and the couple is now eager to support his new role.

“Even in moments of uncertainty, your presence is often enough,” the 6-foot-5 agent told the graduating class, before his voice broke. Several instructors in the audience wiped away tears.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Who are the Border Patrol chaplains? And why does the agency need more of them now?

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:45

DANIA BEACH (AP) — Border Patrol agents are tasked with enforcing hotly contested immigration policies as many Americans at both ends of the political spectrum look askance at the border — and the agents.

That’s taking a mounting toll, so the agency is training more among its ranks to become chaplains and provide spiritual care for their fellow agents on and off the job.

“That’s a really hard thing to deal with, as things tend to flip from one side to the other, and we’re still in the crossfire,” said Border Patrol assistant chief and chaplaincy program manager Spencer Hatch.

Who’s a Border Patrol chaplain?

Unlike the police or military, which recruit faith leaders to serve as chaplains, the Border Patrol trains mostly lay agents endorsed by their faith denominations to become chaplains through a 2.5 week academy.

Their numbers have grown to about 240 from 130 four years ago. Three times a year, an academy is held at a different Border Patrol station. About a dozen Border Patrol personnel, plus a few Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management officers, graduated from the most recent academy, held near Miami earlier this month.

The program, and a nonreligious, mental-health focused peer support program, were started by grassroots efforts in the 1990s. Chaplains stay in their regular jobs, but are on call to assist.

What do agents wrestle with?

Border Patrol agents say they’re motivated by the desire to protect U.S. borders from security threats, including the powerful cartels that control much of the border dynamics. They also often rescue migrants lost and dying in the harsh deserts that line the southern U.S. border.

But many agents feel the American public sees them as obstacles to migrants seeking a better life in the United States. They often tell their children to say their parent does “government work” for fear of reprisals, especially in the border communities where they live.

That dissonance between upholding a duty they feel proud of, and getting called “terrible names” for it, adds an emotional toll to the already dangerous, often isolating work the agents do.

That’s where the chaplains come in — to help their fellow 20,000 agents cope and prevent the trauma from degenerating into family crises, addiction or even suicide.

What do Border Patrol chaplains do?

While most chaplains are Christian, with a smattering of Muslim and Jewish agents, they don’t offer faith-specific worship and only bring up religion if the person they’re helping does first.

Rather, they are a comforting presence during critical moments like assisting a suicidal colleague, notifying a family their loved one was killed on the job, and counseling those dealing with addiction, survivor guilt and other traumas.

Those are the scenarios that chaplains-in-training practice role-playing at the academy. They also learn about communication and family dynamics, because constant redeployments — some up to 9 times over 18 months during the record border crossings early in the Biden administration — affect their families too.

Hatch teaches about the need to maintain both the “hypervigilance” of law enforcement and the humanitarian instinct to empathize with fellow agents as well as migrants.

Many agents say they are especially affected by the plight of migrant children at the hands of smugglers.

“One tries to give them support within the limits of what your work allows. I always have the biggest smile,” said a newly minted chaplain, Yaira Santiago, a former schoolteacher who runs a Border Patrol migrant processing center in Southern California.

By relying on their faith, their commitment to help their colleagues, and their training, chaplains can make a difference.

“Even in moments of uncertainty, your presence is often enough,” said Matt Kiniery, an agent in El Paso, Texas, for 15 years and a graduate of the latest chaplain academy.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

ASK IRA: What next for Heat’s Jovic after a whirlwind three weeks?

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:36

Q: Ira, three weeks ago Nikola Jovic scored the winning basket in Minnesota and was mobbed by teammates. I would think that was the high point of his career. And now he doesn’t get on the court. – Evan.

A: This is similar to the answer I offer to the question below. The search for the right players in the right roles is about more than finding something that is merely acceptable. The search is for a definitive answer. It is why Erik Spoelstra has cycled through so many options at power forward, and yet could cycle back to Nikola Jovic. It also is why Duncan Robinson is now a starter and why Terry Rozier is a reserve. The Heat are 4-1 with the current lineup and current rotation mix, so I would expect copacetic for the moment. As it is, Nikola is now sidelined with an ankle sprain. And as for that winning 3-point play against the Timberwolves, I’m not sure that rates as the high point of Nikola’s career over his bronze medal with Serbia at this summer’s Paris Olympics.

Miami Heat | Submit your “Ask Ira” question here!

Q: What is your theory as to why the Heat tend to deemphasize length and point guard play? – Brian.

A: I think it’s more about emphasizing versatility. So when Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro are moving the ball, the need for a true point guard is minimized. Similarly, a versatile power forward also can open the rest of the team’s game. Of course, it also has to be the right players, something the Heat haven’t necessarily found to this point.

Q: So that’s why there was a gap in the schedule there? – Quentin.

A: Yes, it is not as if the Heat will be off from the Dec. 8 home game against the Cavaliers to the Dec. 20 home game against the Magic. The NBA will add in two games in the middle there to compensate for the Heat not advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, with one game added at home and one on the road. We should know that schedule after the completion of NBA Cup play on Tuesday night.

America can’t afford Trump’s war on remote work | Opinion

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:33

The Trump administration’s plan to force federal employees back into the office full-time has ignited intense debate, with concerns mounting about inefficiency and waste. Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), outlined the strategy during an interview with Tucker Carlson. He described it as a way to shrink the federal workforce by rescinding remote-work privileges, expecting approximately 25% of employees to resign voluntarily. However, this approach risks undermining the federal government’s ability to serve the public while wasting taxpayer dollars.

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky is the CEO of the hybrid work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts.

Ramaswamy argued that by eliminating telework and mandating strict in-office attendance, the administration could naturally reduce headcount without directly firing employees. This, he claimed, would save money and address what he called a “bloated bureaucracy” that undermines Congressional authority. Carlson, however, expressed doubts about this plan, citing the strong job protections enjoyed by federal employees. Ramaswamy dismissed such concerns, asserting that revoking remote work alone would prompt resignations.

The plan hinges on the assumption that reducing payroll will streamline government operations, given that federal salaries amount to $110 billion. Yet in reality, this proposal is economically and operationally short-sighted. The federal workforce of 2.2 million employees is responsible for managing a $6.1 trillion budget, meaning 1.8% of the budget goes for salary, a very low number for overhead.

Moreover, this proposal overlooks the critical role federal employees play in managing vital functions across agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve. Forcing mass resignations would create skill shortages in areas requiring specialized expertise, jeopardizing essential programs. Recruiting and training replacements would likely offset any initial savings and delay operational recovery. Experienced personnel, integral to ongoing projects, would leave a gap difficult to fill, disrupting government services and reducing efficiency.

The federal workforce has already demonstrated the success of remote work. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telework enabled federal agencies to maintain productivity while cutting costs on office-related expenses like utilities and maintenance. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reported that flexible work arrangements often enhanced operational efficiency. Reversing this progress would require significant reinvestments in office infrastructure, adding expenses that would erode any savings from payroll reductions.

Ramaswamy also tied the proposal to broader regulatory reforms, arguing that reducing the workforce would enable a rollback of federal regulations. He claimed up to 50% of existing rules could be deemed invalid if written by unelected officials. While this argument may resonate with critics of bureaucracy, it ignores the complexities of governance and the importance of institutional expertise. Federal employees are not simply rule-makers; they implement the policies Congress passes, ensuring the smooth operation of programs relied upon by millions of Americans, from Social Security benefits to disaster response.

The ripple effects of this plan extend beyond the federal workforce itself. Morale among remaining employees would likely plummet as workloads increase and institutional knowledge dissipates. This could trigger further resignations, creating a cycle of inefficiency. Industries dependent on federal oversight would face delays, while businesses and state governments could experience disruptions in critical services. These consequences would compound the challenges of managing a $6.1 trillion budget, diminishing the effectiveness of federal spending and exacerbating waste instead of reducing it.

A more effective approach to workforce reform would involve targeted solutions rather than sweeping mandates. Modernizing outdated systems, leveraging technology and embracing remote work where it has proven effective could reduce costs without undermining service quality. Forcing federal employees back into offices indiscriminately ignores the nuances of their roles and the risks associated with dismantling critical programs. Taxpayers would ultimately bear the burden of these costs, negating the fiscal prudence the plan purports to achieve. The federal government must prioritize reforms that protect taxpayer dollars while ensuring its ability to serve the public effectively.

Gleb Tsipursky serves as the CEO of the hybrid work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts and author of “Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Team.”

Trump’s nominees are totally unqualified | Letters to the editor

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:32

It is becoming increasingly apparent that Donald Trump is going to do irreparable damage to our government institutions.

By selecting nominees who are completely unqualified for their positions, he underscores his intent to destroy our democracy.

Pete Hegseth, the nominee for defense secretary, has zero experience running any kind of institution, let alone one as massive as the DOD — not to mention his opposition to women serving in combat.

Next is Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. She sided with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who dropped nerve gas bombs on his own people. She spread Russian propaganda about biological labs in Ukraine.

It keeps going: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine denier, has spread conspiracy theories and has no medical experience or training to be head of HHS. His nomination is an insult to the many dedicated scientists and professionals who work tirelessly to keep all of us safe.

But this comes as no surprise to me. Trump made his intentions clear, but too many people choose to ignore it — or worse, maybe they think that the destruction of our democracy is a good thing.

I pray we can survive this coming storm. I fear we may not.

Steven Hoover, Margate

Florida and fluoride

The Florida surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, is being taken seriously about removing fluoride from our drinking water. I have to say something.

I went to college in Lubbock, Tex., in 1961. I’ll never forget the sight of the most beautiful girl who smiled. When you saw her teeth, they were green and black, and only half there. It was said that you could tell what part of Texas kids came from by their local water systems.

What on earth is Ladapo doing to our kids?

He claims to worry that because of fluoride, they are not as smart. Today’s kids are far ahead of the game in intelligence. Does Ladapo hold stock in the bottled water industry?

Dentists must be excited. No fluoride means loss of protective enamel and thus more cavities and more tooth decay.

Sandra Hill, Tamarac

In praise of Pam Bondi Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi at a Trump rally at First Horizon Coliseum on Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP)

Who says you never see Donald Trump around strong, intelligent women?

Mark Cuban better not say that to Pam Bondi. She would put Cuban in his place.

Bondi has incredible experience as a prosecutor and served as Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019. She’s not only strong, but brilliant, and will soon be our nation’s next attorney general.

Someone, serve Cuban a plate of crow to eat in the presence of Trump’s female nominees.

JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

Coming MAGA attractions

“The Apprentice, Part II,” begins streaming on Jan. 20.

The cast includes Trump and other entertainers known for their familiarity with the star of the
show. The producers and directors are the Heritage Foundation, Republican Party, and the 1 percenters. The script is the Project 2025 report.

Coming soon, a series for the uneducated masses who will buy “Apprentice” merchandise and the BS being thrown at them. And they will feel great again.

Sheila Jaffe, Boca Raton

Submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the form below. Letters are limited to less than 200 words and must be signed. You must include your email address, address with city and daytime phone number for verification. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length.

[contact-form]

No Washington mandates for Florida small businesses | Opinion

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 23:32

As the president of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I know how much Florida’s small businesses contribute to our local economies. They are the coffee shops, souvenir shops, restaurants, boutiques and service providers that make our communities unique and vibrant. They are innovators, job creators and drivers of economic growth. One big reason that Florida’s small businesses can thrive is that the credit card and digital payments process provides everyone with significant benefits.

More importantly, today’s digital payments process provides consumers and small business owners with the security they need. The ability to accept credit cards eliminates the costs and risks associated with accepting cash, including cash storage and transportation, and counting errors, which cost billions of dollars annually. Swiping or tapping a credit card also guarantees that payments are processed safely, empowering small business owners to build trust and loyalty with their customers.

Liliam Lopez is president and CEO of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. (courtesy, Liliam Lopez)

Small businesses also benefit from the convenience of digital payments. When customers pay with a credit card, transactions are quick and easy on both sides of the register. Data shows that transaction size increases by up to 15% when a small business starts accepting credit cards. Accepting credit cards also allows small businesses to expand their businesses online, giving their customers more flexibility to shop conveniently, quickly and securely while empowering them to grow and to continue powering their communities. Plus, studies show that accepting credit cards can save a small business 10% in overhead costs. That is revenue that can be reinvested back into the business and into one of its most valuable assets: employees.

Speaking of growing a small business, credit card rewards are a key component of the revenue stream for many small businesses and can be invested directly back into the company. We know that one in 10 rewards points goes to small businesses, which makes a significant difference in lowering costs for Main Street shops.

Unfortunately, some in Congress are pushing a bill misleadingly titled the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA). This bill threatens our small businesses and the security and convenience provided by the electronic payments process. It would also put rewards programs at risk and force banks to open credit cards to untested, less secure payment networks.

The CCCA, also known as the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, was introduced under the guise of enhancing competition and reducing costs. The reality is that the legislation would circumvent the free market with a government “routing mandate” that would dictate the processing networks that businesses use, without regard to security or quality. Corporate megastores with enormous volumes of transactions would benefit by leveraging their size to negotiate their own special rates, but small businesses would be forced to struggle with new compliance mandates. This drastic shift in the digital payments ecosystem would decimate rewards programs while increasing the risk of fraud for small businesses and consumers who are pushed into unproven networks.

Small business owners in Florida understand the consequences of this bill and oppose government mandates that would threaten the security and rewards programs they rely on. That’s why we recently traveled to Washington with a simple message for Congress: Don’t try to fix a process that isn’t broken.

This bill stands to hurt, not help, Florida’s small businesses. We urged our elected representatives to prioritize legislation that uplifts Florida’s entrepreneurs instead of proposals that will stifle their growth, and we urge South Florida’s retail customers to do the same. For the future of Florida’s small businesses, we hope Congress will listen.

Liliam Lopez is president and CEO of the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She resides in Miami.

Daily Horoscope for December 01, 2024

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 22:00

General Daily Insight for December 01, 2024

Today arrives with a flair for the exotic. The skies play host to a special New Moon in Sagittarius at 1:21 am EST, which will give us all an extra jolt of energy to chase after exciting openings. The Moon will go on to form a tense square to Saturn before opposing Jupiter, so we may feel blocked one moment, then like we’re getting a million green lights the next. Our minds should provide some answers once Luna finally conjoins Mercury.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

It’s time for an adventure, Aries. There is an exciting New Moon landing in your 9th House of Expansion, boosting you up out of any ruts or routines that have overtaken your life. When was the last time you tried something totally unfamiliar? This could be the perfect moment to travel, so perhaps you should book a whirlwind vacation or make dinner reservations for a foreign cuisine. This sector also rules higher education, so returning to school may benefit you as well.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Sometimes a little intensity can be a good thing. While Taurus is generally known to prefer calmer waters that won’t rock the boat, today’s New Moon in your 8th House of Transformation could make it difficult to avoid confrontation or change. You may need to stand up for yourself in one capacity or another, perhaps in a financial situation or an intimate relationship with a lot riding on it. As long as you’re willing to own your part, the rewards can be wonderful indeed.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You are positively in your element. There is an emphasis on doubling up (something your sign of the Twins is almost always happy to do) as the New Moon rises in your 7th House of Partnerships, putting important plus-ones front and center. Whether you’re forming dynamic duos in the name of business, romance, or good old friendship, you’ll enjoy the universe’s offerings much more at this time if you do so with someone special by your side. There’s no need to fly solo.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

A little extra efficiency can’t hurt! Let the universe jolt you out of any stupor and get your life in order as your 6th House of Daily Work hosts the spectacular New Moon, giving you the chance to transform your life for the better. That being said, this sector of your chart doesn’t require massive change — instead, focus on small and simple changes that won’t feel like bending over backward in order to implement them. These improvements can add up to something massive.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

What a lovely day this will be! You’re all set up to enjoy yourself as your 5th House of Creativity is the setting for today’s New Moon, giving you cosmic clearance to go forth and do as you please. This sector really lets you be as selfish as you want in the pursuit of your pleasures, so know that you can make this day whatever you want it to be! Just make sure that your self-indulgence doesn’t actively hurt anyone else, of course.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

It’s never a bad idea to get more comfortable in your surroundings. This is a particularly opportune moment to turn your analytical eye toward improving your homestead, thanks to the New Moon landing in your 4th House of Domestic Matters. Whether you decide it’s time to call a family meeting to clear the air, or simply want to spruce up the living room with a few modern design elements, use your natural judgment and discernment to make your house feel like a home.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

This is no time to hide away. In fact, there are few days better than this to get out and circulate, and it’s all thanks to the New Moon in your 3rd House of Local Community. Let Luna suffuse you with energy to go see what everyone else is up to. What you discover along the way could bring some wonderfully fascinating opportunities into your life, so be sure to say hello and check in with people as you move along.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Today is all about knowing your worth. There is an emphasis on getting paid what you’re worth (and treated like it, too) as a New Moon occurs in your 2nd House of Material Security, reminding you to make sure you have everything you need — and recommending different paths if you’re not quite prepped yet. This is a great day to either start seeking out new money-making gigs or unique ways of making the cash you already have work better for you.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Get ready for a fresh start. It should be easier than ever, thanks to a vibrant New Moon happening in your free-spirited sign. This means it’s in your 1st House of Self-Expression, giving you the cosmic green light to be yourself. Even though 2025 is still a month away, you can get an early start on making any resolutions for the new year. Try setting a variety of goals — some that you know you’ll complete and others that will require a bit more effort.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

It’s time to let go. You don’t need to abandon everything, of course, but there is a big emphasis on release as a New Moon lands in your 12th House of Endings. Analyze your life by asking yourself which aspects of it no longer serve you. It may seem odd, since New Moons are about beginnings, while this sector rules completions, but if you focus on eliminating unhelpful tendencies from your life, you can be in a wonderful place by the corresponding Full Moon.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Even the most anti-social Aquarius will have good reason to change up the program. Your 11th House of Networking is hosting a beautiful New Moon, granting you the powers of a cosmic socialite, connecting with people near and far, be they old friends or brand-new faces. People who have hung about on the fringes of your circle could turn out to be just the influence you’ve been needing in your sphere without even knowing it. Make space in your life for fresh faces.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

It’s your moment to step forward and let people see you. As the potent New Moon lands in your 10th House of Career, your reputation shines with fantastic energy to ensure your talents stand out from the competition. A VIP or other supervisor could be especially helpful when it comes to opening new doors, so don’t be shy about asking for advice or letters of recommendation. A project initiated today or within the near future could earn you some long-term rewards.

UF dominates hapless FSU to end Gators’ 2-game skid to Seminoles

Sat, 11/30/2024 - 20:39

TALLAHASSEE — A wild and unpredictable close to college football’s regular season didn’t reach Florida’s state capital, where the heavily favored Gators left nothing to chance against Florida State.

A workmanlike 31-11 win Saturday night over the Seminoles continued UF’s recent run of big wins and ended a two-game losing streak against FSU.

On a day featuring Michigan’s stunning win at Ohio State, Miami’s loss at Syracuse and South Carolina’s win at Clemson, Florida (7-5) dominated its hapless archrival FSU (2-10) to secure the Gators first winning season since 2020.

Florida head coach Billy Napier looks on prior to the Gators’ win at Florida State Nov. 30 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

“It’s what we came here to do,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “If we want to go where we’re we intend to go we, we’re going to have to do it consistently.”

Emotions ran high when the clock expired. After UF edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted the Gators team flag at midfield, FSU coach Mike Norvell grabbed it and tossed it.

A scuffle among players ensued that lasted several minutes before order was restored.

“What happened at the end of the game is not who we want to be as a program,” Napier said.

The Gators’ performance wasn’t pretty, either, but it was effective against the sloppy Seminoles.

Florida’s players and coaches celebrated with cigars as smoke filled the tunnel near the visitors’ locker room.

“FSU flavor,” veteran linebacker Shemar James said.

A 65-yard touchdown run by senior Montrell Johnson Jr. iced the game and gave him more than 3,000 career rushing yards. UF ended the night with 356 yards, including just 30 during the third quarter, but compiled 235 rushing.

“We didn’t have our fastball on offense,” Napier said. “We had some missed opportunities.”

The Gators, though, didn’t need much against a FSU offense averaging just 13.3 points against FBS competition.

Florida’s defensive front overwhelmed a makeshift Seminoles offensive line featuring nine different starting combinations in 2024.

The Gators recorded a season-high 8 sacks, including 2 by defensive tackle Cam Jackson who left the game after the first offensive snap but returned with his right ankle heavily taped. Sophomore linebacker Jaden Robinson of Lake City, located 90 minutes due east on I-10, also had 2 sacks while end Tyreak Sapp continued his recent tear with a sack and another tackle for loss, giving him 8 during UF’s three-game winning streak.

Mistakes doomed Florida State as the Seminoles ended their worst season since a 1-10 finish in 1973.

FSU fumbled eight times, with the five of them recovered by the Gators. The most costly occurred with the game still in the balance.

Facing 2nd-and-goal from the Gators’ 3 late in the third quarter, freshman tailback Kam Davis bobbled a pitch and Gumbs Jr. recovered to end the scoring threat and preserve a 17-3 UF lead.

Florida converted two of the miscues into 10 points while the other ended the Seminoles’ best drive when James wrestled away the ball from tailback Lawrance Toafili at the Gators’ 20 and UF leading 7-0.

“It was a big turning point in the game,” James said.

DJ Lagway #2 of the Florida Gators throws a pass during the first half of the Gators win at Florida State Nov. 30 in Tallahassee. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Edge rusher Jack Pyburn set the tone early when he flattened FSU true freshman quarterback Luke Kromenhoek to force a fumble recovered by former Orlando Jones standout D’Antre Robinson on the FSU 14. Ja’Kobi Jackson followed with runs of 13 and 1 yard to start the scoring.

A 4-yard touchdown pass from Florida quarterback DJ Lagway to Marcus Burke stretched Florida’s lead to 14-0 and gave the Gators a cushion with 25 seconds remaining in a first half lacking offensive fireworks.

“It was huge,” Lagway said.

Lagway, as usual, provided most of them to become the first Florida true freshman QB in five tries to beat Florida State. The performance included another great escape, which set social media ablaze and spotlighted the 19-year-old’s big-play ability.

Early in the second quarter, FSU defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr. appeared to have Lagway in his grasp and dead to rights on 2nd-and-8 in UF territory. As he was falling behind, the 6-foot-3, 239-pound Lagway maintained his balance, shucked the 6-foot-5, 330-pound Jackson, gained his footing, squared his shoulders and fired a 17-yard strike to Chimere Dike along the sideline.

“Superman,” Napier said.

But a Lagway interception in the end zone eventually ended the drive when Dike and Burke ended up in the same vicinity and Azareye’h Thomas came up with the ball.

The miscue only delayed the inevitable and gave Napier’s program a much-needed win.

A 24-15 home loss to the unbeaten Seminoles in 2023 ended a 5-7 season for the Gators while UF’s 45-38 loss in 2022 was the fourth in season-ending five-game skid.

“Our guys deserve it,” Napier said. “They’ve worked their tails off. I’m proud of them.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Inspected once, inspected right. ®

LogoUp.com
Thanks LogoUp.com for the best embroidered apparel!

G.E.T. Home Inspections, LLC is a top Coral Springs, FL home inspector on Inspectopia.com!

Call Us Today!

Main

Inspection Services

Environmental Testing