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South Florida businesses deal with stolen checks that are sold on dark web

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

Before you send another check in the mail, there’s something you need to know. Checks are being stolen in South Florida and sold on the dark web. Seven’s Kevin Ozebek investigates.Debra Beilman/MGI president: “It’s just a little eye shadow palette with all of the latest and greatest shades.”If you wear makeup, there’s a good chance it was designed by Debra Beilman and her team at MGI.The North Miami company develops and markets make-up for major brand names.Debra Beilman: “It’s very, very rewarding to see.”Business is booming.But in March, more than a dozen of Beilman’s vendors and suppliers were not paid. She quickly realized why.Debra Beilman: “I mean, the last place that you think you are are going to get robbed is when you mail a check to a supplier.”But that’s what happened. Someone broke into the outgoing mailbox at the industrial park where MGI is located.Kevin Ozebek: “And it was clear that t...

‘He gave us quite a battle’: Trappers capture 11-foot gator found at Homestead Sports Complex

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

There was a reptile roundup in a South Florida neighborhood featuring an angry alligator that did not go down without a fight.A resident spotted the massive gator while he was exercising early at the Homestead Sports Complex, Thursday morning.The 11-foot long reptile was hanging around on the property.Homestead Police quickly brought in wildlife control to assist in capturing the gator.“We responded, and sure enough, we found this 11-foot gator with a pretty bad disposition in the middle of the road,” said Todd Hardwick, Pesky Critters Wildlife Control. The massive reptile was intent on giving the trappers all they could handle as they worked to safely secure it.“During the capture, he gave us quite a battle,” Hardwick said. “He’d been resting on the pavement. At night, these alligators will lay on the warm street, and they actually fall asleep until a vehicle or somebody comes along, so he was well rested by the time we showed up.”After mor...

Miramar partners with Florida League of Cities to join campaign to go carbon neutral by 2050

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

City of Miramar officials are doing their part to help the environment.The city has partnered with the Florida League of Cities to join the Race to Zero Campaign. Their kickoff launch took place Thursday at Miramar City Hall, located at 2300 Civic Center Place. The event, hosted by Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam, who spearheaded the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 campaign.The mayor outlined Miramar’s substantial progress on the Climate Action Plan, which includes: An ongoing Energy Efficiency Project that is 60% complete, which will retrofit streetlights and all the lights in all city buildings to LEDHVAC uprgades.LEED certified buldings.Utilization of carbon neutral cooling and heating technology.Conducting an EV Roadway Study.An Energy Efficiency Block Grant, which the city awarded $170,000 in funding in addition to the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant.“The city is gearing up to roll out its programs to support the Race to Zero initiative,” Messam said in a statement....

The art of the political interview

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast POLITICO’s Ailbhe Rea takes us inside the art of the political interview. In a rare conversation on the other side of the microphone, Today programme presenter and ex-BBC political editor Nick Robinson open...

Up yours! When politicians give the middle finger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.Sometimes even the most stoic of politicians can’t take it anymore and, instead of responding with a reasoned argument, they simply flip the bird at their opponent.In the European Parliament this week, a very serious debate about a migrant shipwreck off the Italian coast turned into a shouting match, with Czech lawmaker Tomáš Zdechovský accusing German socialist Birgit Sippel of giving the middle finger to colleagues.“You think you can get away with this? You should be before the ethics committee here. Calm the hell down, colleague,” Zdechovský snapped.Incidentally, “Calm the hell down, colleague” sounds perfect for printing on a T-shirt, perhaps worn by an exasperated centrist MEP. The Parliament has seen offensive gestures before — and not just when a Bulgarian MEP gave a Nazi salute in the chamber. Back in April 2016 — when the idea of a country actually voting to leave the EU was just a Nigel Farage ...

BBC’s Nick Robinson: I regret telling Boris Johnson to ‘stop talking’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

LONDON — Nick Robinson has said he regrets telling Boris Johnson to “stop talking” during a heated BBC interview in October 2021. The Radio 4 presenter and former political editor sparker a nationwide furor by cutting across Johnson in the first interview the then-prime minister had given to the “Today” program in two years, following a government boycott of the BBC’s flagship current affairs show. As Johnson plowed ahead with one of his trademark lengthy answers, an exasperated Robinson interrupted to say: “Prime minister — stop talking! We are going to have questions and answers, not where you merely talk, if you wouldn’t mind.” The BBC received hundreds of complaints about the exchange, and subsequently issued a statement clarifying “there was certainly no desire to appear rude.”Speaking on a new episode of POLITICO ‘s Westminster Insider podcast, “The Art of the Political Interview,” Robinson explained what was happening behind the scenes. ...

The Tories fought the blob: The blob won

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s civil service appears to be taking out ministers left, right and center. So is this the “blob” fighting back?A growing list of senior ministers has been forced to quit after clashing with government officials, whether directly or indirectly. Having put the nail in the coffin of Boris Johnson’s premiership and shrugged off the hapless Liz Truss, it was civil servants who ensured the demise of Rishi Sunak’s deputy, Dominic Raab, after a bullying inquiry. Right-leaning Tories are now up in arms at questions over the conduct and performance of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, fearing she could be next in line for defenestration by the “snivel service.”A section of the Conservative Party explains recent events as a coordinated coup by what they call the “blob”: a mass of pathetic, left-leaning, Remain-supporting functionaries trying to block the government’s agenda.Others say the current confrontation between elected ministers and Whitehall mandarins can not ...

‘Complete denial’: Europe largely blind to Chinese influence, says EU adviser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

BRUSSELS — China is ramping up efforts to influence policy and public opinion in the EU — but much of the bloc is blind to what’s happening, a special adviser to the European Commission told POLITICO.Beijing has long aimed propaganda at the European Union, seeking to undermine transatlantic unity and promote Beijing’s outlook on world affairs, said Ivana Karásková, a Czech academic and foreign influence specialist who’s advising European Commission Vice President Věra Jourová.But since 2019, China’s approach to the EU has been “hardening” as it ramps up direct propaganda via so-called wolf warrior diplomats; as well as covert funding of think tanks, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations, she said. And EU countries, particularly outside of eastern Europe, are oblivious to or unwilling to see the extent of these operations, Karásková added.“In some countries, awareness of [Chinese influence operations] is high because they have a history of Russian-backed action...

The EU needs to find its own voice in the Indo-Pacific

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

Viktor Buzna is a journalist, former guest-researcher at Peking University and a PhD fellow at the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan.Meet up with any European friend in Taiwan, and you will soon hear about the unenviable choice between staying on the island or returning home.Europe is currently facing its hardest times since World War II, with bloodshed in Ukraine, high inflation, widening social divides and an energy crisis that make everyday life depressing and difficult. Meanwhile, Taiwan has become a source of growing controversy, as the rivalry between China and the United States slowly pushes it to the edge of war.Despite this, the public mood on the island seems to be drifting away from such outside realities. Local media is often criticized for being too politically driven and is limited in its coverage of cross-strait relations. Meanwhile, politicians talk more about the relationship with the U.S. than the rising threat from China, and many locals seem to bury their...

State lawmakers consider possible ‘floating hospital’ for mental health, substance abuse recovery on decommissioned ship 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:15 GMT

Massachusetts state lawmakers are considering a plan to help people with mental health and substance abuse issues by possibly putting a recovery facility on a decommissioned ship. The idea was born, in part, with the goal of assisting those living near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard in Boston. Speaking this week, state senators said they believe such a move could revolutionize the way Massachusetts battles the opioid crisis. “What’s happening isn’t working,” said Sen. John Velis. “We can and must do better. Human beings are dying.”The state senate recently passed a budget amendment proposed by Sen. Nick Collins that would set aside funding for a study looking into the decommissioned ship proposal. “It could be a one-stop shop for those suffering at Mass & Cass, and for anyone suffering from mental health and substance abuse challenges,” Collins said.Collins continued, saying the vessel would offer medical services ...