News

In Skopje, marijuana, amphetamines and hashish oil were found during the search of the house  Telegrafi

In Skopje, marijuana, amphetamines and hashish oil were found during the search of the house  Telegrafi

By ZEKE MILLER, MICHELLE L. PRICE and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he is naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as his nominee to be transportation secretary, as he continues to roll out picks for his Cabinet.

Duffy is a former reality TV star who was one of Trump’s most visible defenders on cable news — a prime concern for the media-focused president-elect. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, was a member of the Financial Services Committee and was chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and is now co-host of a show on Fox Business, the “Bottom Line.”

In his announcement Monday, Trump noted that Duffy is married to a Fox News host, calling him “the husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News.”

Duffy is so far the second Fox-affiliated television host to be named to a cabinet position in Trump’s new White House. Trump last week announced he was choosing Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary.

Trump said Duffy would use his experience and relationships built over the years in Congress “to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”

Duffy in 2022 ruled out a run for Wisconsin governor, despite pleas from Trump to make a bid, saying he needed time to care for the needs of his family of nine children, posting on social media that his youngest child had a heart condition.

He is a former lumberjack athlete and frequent contributor to Fox News. He was featured on MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” in 1997. He met his future wife on the set of MTV’s “Road Rules: All Stars” in 1998.

He was a special prosecutor and Ashland County district attorney who won election to Congress as part of a tea party wave in 2010. He served until resigning in 2019.

Trump, in his statement, said Duffy would “prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding America’s highways, tunnels, bridges and airports.” Trump, as he campaigned for the White House, would sometimes complain about the state of air travel in particular, lamenting that the nation’s “once-revered airports” are a “dirty, crowded mess.”

Duffy, Trump said Monday, “will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.” DEI refers to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.

The Transportation Department oversees the nation’s complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks and transit systems as well as federal funding for highways.

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The department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates automakers, including Elon Musk’s Tesla. The department sets fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and regulates the airline industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, one of its agencies.

Trump has criticized electric vehicles as expensive and unreliable and called President Joe Biden’s policy to promote EVs “lunacy.

He also has said EV manufacturing will destroy auto industry jobs and has falsely claimed that battery-powered cars don’t work in cold weather and aren’t able to travel long distances.

Trump has softened his rhetoric in recent months after Musk endorsed him and campaigned heavily for his election.

Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow a shift to electric cars, and a tax credit for EV purchases is reportedly among those the Trump administration may seek to eliminate next year.

Price reported from New York and Superville reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

MIAMI — Clayton McCullough seems like a smart man. Friendly. Even-keeled. Quick with a thought, too, like when he was asked if he was a patient man and he said, “Only if I have to be.”

The game being played in South Florida is wondering why he wanted the Miami Marlins job, though there’s only 30 of them out there and this job represents the top of the mountain to a man who spent years working the minor leagues.

“This is where I wanted to be,” he said Monday upon being introduced as the Marlins manager on a loanDepot Park concourse.

The harder part is deciding just how far down the following list of Marlins issues you have to go until the manager matters in this franchise:

* 29th in earned-run-average;

* 25th in runs scored;

* 25th in payroll;

* Zero players on MLB.com’s latest list of Top 100 players;

* Three players rated on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects, led by No. 46 Tomas White, a left-handed pitcher who played in Class A last season.

Are we getting close to where McCullough’s culture and strategic decisions matter? Where the daily demands he makes come into play? Well, there’s still this:

* 29th in attendance;

* 26th in local TV deal;

* 29th in revenue, according to Forbes.

The manager will matter, you see, when the players he writes on the lineup card matter. And those will only matter when general manager Peter Bendix creates a supply line from the minors. And it’s not going to happen this coming season.

Bendix is still in the stage that any remaining talent, like Sandy Alcantara returning from Tommy John surgery, is on the trade block. Alcantara’s salary rises from $20 million last season to $37 million in 2025, too. Will he even be around Opening Day?

“I sure hope so,” Bendix said.

The fantasy is finding an owner willing to lose money. Good luck finding a billionaire like that. The Marlins’ owner never has been one of them. Not H. Wayne Huizenga, who brought baseball here, won a World Series, then asked players wanting to keep the 1997 champions together to defray some of his losses.

The next Marlins owner, John Henry, became part of a three-team ownership trade and a model owner with the model Boston Red Sox. Next came Jeffrey Loria, who took his millions out of town after getting a publicly-built stadium. So, why this hope Bruce Sherman would fork over tens of millions?

“I’ll spend money (on players) when it’s the right time to spend,” Sherman said Monday.

There are only two paths to win in baseball: Outspend teams or be smarter than them. The Marlins haven’t been, either. Derek Jeter didn’t come within sight of front-office smarts. Can Bendix do better? And how patient is McCullough as this process works?

“I’d be considered a patient individual,” he said. “But with that patience is a sense of urgency in each day as well. The path of players’ improvement it not always linear. It has some winding curves to it.

“There’s patience involved in letting things take their course. You believe in the character of the player. You believe in the talent. You know that it’s there. So then you strike a balance each day of, you know, we’re working to get better. There’s no going backwards.”

Skip Schumaker was 42 upon accepting the Marlins job two years ago. He was named the National League manager of the year after the Marlins made the playoffs his first season.

Schumaker opted out of his contract after last season. He didn’t want to be part of a full-scale rebuild. He saw his few players, Luis Arraez to Jazz Chisholm, traded off for prospects. He had to pencil in a lineup card that was similar to veteran Jim Leyland holding up his lineup card one day during the abysmal 1998 rebuild.

“Worst lineup I’ve ever written,” Leyland said.

It won’t have much historical heft if McCullough, 44, says the same. You have to wish him well. He worked his way up through years playing and managing in the minors, became the Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach and just won a World Series ring in October.

A month later, he’s back in the minors. It’s not hard to see why he took the job. The hard part is understanding if his job really matters until the players he manages actually matter.

A man was arrested Saturday after he allegedly stabbed to death a woman who he had children in common with and who was five months pregnant, according to police.

Victor Ricardo Chavez Sanchez, 38, of Hallandale Beach, faces two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death on Nov. 12 of Delfina Perez Chilel, 41, and the 20-week old unborn infant, according to an arrest warrant.

A woman who works at a preschool and daycare center in Hallandale Beach called for officers about 6:30 p.m. because Chilel did not pick up her 8-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son from the school, as she routinely did, the warrant said. Chavez Sanchez is the father of the children, and he had previously been violent toward Chilel, Chilel’s sister told investigators.

Hallandale Beach Police had to force their way into Chilel’s apartment in Hallandale Beach and found her dead in a bathroom, the warrant said. Chavez Sanchez was “in a deep and heavy sleep” in a bedroom with an empty bottle of pills prescribed to him in the room. It took several tries to wake him up, and he was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital.

Investigators were later told that Chavez Sanchez “took several pills and was attempting to end
his life,” according to the arrest warrant. He had written “notes to his family, including (Chilel) in them, as though they both wanted to leave the world and were saying their final goodbyes before departing.”

Records from the State Attorney’s Office show Chavez Sanchez had been accused of domestic violence in recent years.

In 2017, he was charged with domestic battery, but the victim did not appear for trial and prosecutors dropped the charge. In 2015, he was charged with aggravated battery of his girlfriend who was seven months pregnant “after he stuck his girlfriend with the blade of a knife,” according to a document provided by the State Attorney’s Office Monday. The woman told prosecutors she did not want to bring charges, and the case was dropped.

Chavez Sanchez was held in the Broward Main Jail as of Monday night. Attorney information was not available.

FEMA home inspections underway after Hurricanes Milton, Helene and Debby leave major impacts  AOL

What’s the Best Way to Negotiate Home Inspection Repairs?  Glenside Local

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

What’s the Best Way to Negotiate Home Inspection Repairs?  morethanthecurve.com

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

Scharf Inspections Updates Home Inspection Reports  GlobeNewswire

What to Expect From a Home Inspection  CapeGazette.com

Aging experts unveiled a grim outlook for aging seniors who increasingly are impoverished and dependent on government help to get by.

And in South Florida, they say the numbers are reaching more of a crisis level as the number of seniors grow, often with no pensions and not enough savings — relying instead on Social Security benefits.

“If you aren’t being kept up at night by the impending ‘silver tsunami,’ then you aren’t paying attention,” declared Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller, who is also the chair of the South Florida Regional Planning Council.

(Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Shirley Taylor, 90, of South Carolina, competes in the 85-90 year-old tennis competition during the 2024 USTA National Women’s Intersectional Team Championships at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation on Wednesday. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Commonly referred to as the “silver tsunami,” residents age 65 and older are projected to number more than 2.13 million in the seven-county region by 2050, reflecting an increase of 54.5% since 2021, according to the Planning Council.

Of these residents, 520,000 will be 85 years of age or older, reflecting a projected increase of 133.6% from 2025 to 2050.

A conference about “preparing for the silver tsunami” was held Friday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, presented by the South Florida and Treasure Coast Regional Planning Councils. There, experts shared what the future could look like, using figures from the U.S. Census, and studies by state agencies, the Federal Reserve Bank, and more:

— By 2034, Americans ages 65 and older will outnumber those 18 and younger for the first time.

— Nearly half of elderly unmarried women rely on Social Security for 90% of their income, compared to 22% of all seniors.

— Older Americans are carrying more debt into retirement.

— The age-85-and-older population in southeast Florida will more than double in 25 years, which means the need for more elder care.

— The median income for American adults is $50,290 while their average annual expenses are $57,818. The average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,907, or $22,884 a year.

“There is a disconnect of how much people understand they have to save,” said Angela Antonelli, a research professor and executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives.

One in five Americans rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income, she said. “Social Security does not keep you out of poverty,” she said.

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On Friday, experts urged policymakers to use the information to try to think of ways to create change when it comes to crucial areas of health care, transportation, housing and finances.

Housing

Broward Mayor Nan Rich, a panelist, said “right now we have a crisis in our community when it comes to seniors,” especially as the condos they purchased in the 1970s now are in need of expensive repairs and maintenance.

There is also an expectation that more seniors are facing being homeless, and Rich said she’s trying to make headway there, too: The county is expected to soon make a decision on whether to build Pallet shelters, tiny transitional houses for the homeless.

Broward County Mayor Nan Rich speaks on a panel during the Silver Tsunami conference on aging at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton on Friday. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Miami-Dade County has nearly half a million residents age 65 and older.

But poverty is the highest for seniors than any other age group, said Tyler Moroles, assistant division director of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program for Miami-Dade.

While housing is expensive for everyone — the median rent is $2,100 which requires a salary of $75,600 to be affordable — it’s nearly impossible for the thousands of seniors in public housing. The average senior income there is $14,691 a year.

“I’m sure none of you could live off $14,000, nor could I,” he said.

The county is now redeveloping 1,800 public housing units to create more living spaces.

This year, 137,000 applicants have applied for housing vouchers, he said, and only 5,000 of those were chosen.

“It’s a national issue, we’re trying to deal with it,” he said.

Among the issues that the experts pondered: What changes does government need to prepare for, such as “granny flats” to allow housing additions so multiple generations can live together “to encourage senior-friendly housing” and allow seniors to age in place.

Moroles suggested local government work to streamline the process for permits to push pass bureaucracy to get projects done. “It’s not a sexy topic,” he admitted. “Make it easier for folks to develop.”

Health care

There is a national shortage of 30,000 geriatricians, said Dr. Naushira Pandya, the chair of Geriatrics at NSU.

“There will never be enough geriatricians for what we need,” she said. “The need is really great.”

It’s an “intellectual challenge” to treat the host of medical issues, but it doesn’t get the same level of enthusiasm as other medical fields, she said.

That panel conversation sparked an idea to attract more doctors to specialize in geriatrics by state Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, who noted how this year’s “Live Healthy” legislation assists in loan repayments for doctors who work in underserved areas.

“One of the things we can possibly look at is if you practice a geriatric subspecialty,” she said. “Perhaps that’s a very good idea that just came out of this.”

Transportation

And transportation also is a topic that will have to be addressed by policymakers as more seniors have to give up their cars.

“Most adults will outlive their ability to drive by seven to 10 years,” warned panelist Laura Streed, the senior associate state director of AARP of Florida.

Isolation “is a huge factor in senior health,” said Chris Stephenson, the transportation mobility director of the Senior Resource Association in Indian River County, which provides services including Meals on Wheels and adult day care. Isolation can have profound health consequences, he said. Yet if seniors don’t have adequate transportation they are homebound.

He shared a popular program in Palm Beach County that has adapted “to meet the needs of our senior population.” It uses Uber and other ride-sharing companies “to fill the gaps” to get seniors to public transit stations, which might be too far to reach by walking.

Karen Deigl, president and CEO of Senior Resource Association, warned policymakers to be mindful of issues such as cracked sidewalks, and streetlights that change too quickly, which are detrimental to seniors navigating the streets by foot, especially those using walkers.

They urged policy makers to enhance public transit by creating routes that connect to neighboring counties, make transit accessible with wheelchair lifts and low floors, and a voice that calls out each stop, and allow same-day trip requests.

Because “some people just shouldn’t drive,” she said.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash

The most frightening aspect of the proposed expansion of the Monarch Hill landfill is the lack of a liner in one section of the dump and only one layer of an old, outdated liner in another section.

This landfill does not comply with current EPA standards since it was grandfathered in. County commissioners know this, but don’t seem to care. The groundwater around the dump is already polluted as well as the air by PFAS chemicals and other toxins.

Speaking as a concerned resident, what’s next? Will groundwater pollutants rise to the level of declaring it a superfund site right smack in the middle of densely populated North Broward? Or worse yet, subsidence (the possibility of sinkholes). What happens then?

Bear in mind, they are exposing children in North Broward to carcinogens. Three parks are near the dump (Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach is less than three miles away). A study by the University of Florida revealed that PFAS chemicals are released into the air surrounding landfills at levels much higher than anticipated.

Tammy Lettieri, Coconut Creek

One-party dominance

Everyone’s focus right now is on the recent presidential election.

But in Florida we face a number of issues that we are not grappling with, such as unaffordable housing. That’s why the articles by reporter Susannah Bryan on the homeless crisis in Fort Lauderdale are so important.

It’s scary when you consider the condominium inspection law (HB 1021) that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed, which took effect on July 1. DeSantis is now trying to fix the law, but as I understand it, his normally rubber-stamp state Legislature refuses to meet on this until next year. These are the perils of one-party rule.

Kathleen Vullis, Fort Lauderdale

(Editor’s Note: The next regular session of the Legislature begins March 4, 2025.)

Too much Trump-bashing

It has only been a few days since the 2024 election, and the media has once again started the national pastime: Bash Trump.

If we are seriously going to unify the country, the mainstream media must do its part — to stop bashing the new administration and criticize responsibly.

Carlo Ermoli, Tamarac

Two serious problems

As an 88-year-old senior, and as a former Republican who changed to independent after Donald Trump arrived on the political scene, I’m having a problem with two issues that may have caused a jump in his popularity.

No. 1, two of the country’s largest newspapers (The Washington Post and the L.A. Times) refused to endorse Kamala Harris as was planned. So much for a free press.

No. 2, allowing Elon Musk to hold his $1 million-a-day Republican Party sweepstakes lottery in swing states. And they say money can’t buy politics.

Am I the only one who feels that this was highly unethical?

Marco Cirrincione Jr., Tamarac

Liberate Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is on the road to independence, not statehood. With statehood essentially blocked by the Republicans, only a free and independent nation, a friend and ally of the United States, has any chance of ever liberating our people from their colonial yoke.

Luis Geigel, Boca Raton

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