Jamaica’s Independence Grand Gala will celebrate the Caribbean island nation’s culture with a posh party. The dressy event will feature a red carpet with photo opportunities, as well as a welcome drink and hors d’oeuvres, music, dancing and dinner. The gala is being staged by event producer Elizabeth “Liz” Burns, who heads up the Caribbean American Heritage Month USA organization. “I wanted to create a really special event to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of Jamaica’s... Read More
Popcorn Frights: How a horror-palooza in the dead of summer became Broward County’s biggest film festival
At this year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival, John Carpenter’s classic “The Fog” will play as artificial “fog” pumps into the theater. Another movie, the Christmas-themed slasher “Silent Night, Deadly Night” will screen with “snow” streaming from the rafters. And that’s just inside the theater. Outside, the festival will show the 1980s splatterfest “Nightmare Beach,” about an insatiable killer preying on Spring Breakers, at night on Fort Lauderdale beach, a frisbee... Read More
Judge finds that Citizens Insurance’s use of arbitration likely violates policyholders’ right to fair trial
A Hillsborough County circuit judge has ordered state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to stop sending claims disputes to arbitrators employed by the state. Circuit Judge Melissa Mary Polo said that the plaintiff, Martin A. Alvarez, a Hillsborough resident, demonstrated a “substantial likelihood of success” in his claim that Citizens’ practice of ordering cases to be decided by the Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) violates policyholders’ constitutional rights to... Read More
‘She lived big’: South Florida pilot dies in plane crash on flight around world
This summer was meant to be when Anh-Thu Nguyen’s years of planning finally came to fruition. Six years in the making, the experienced pilot and South Florida flight instructor set out on Wednesday morning from Indiana on the second leg of a solo flight around the world. She had every intent of becoming the first Vietnamese woman to do it. “This year is the year. This is the summer. And I’m really gonna do it,” Nguyen said in a video on her Instagram on June 5. “And I want to do... Read More
Florida DOGE starts hunt for wasteful spending. Will it brandish a machete or wield a pencil?
Florida DOGE has commenced, delivering hope and glee to some, agita and fear to others. Day One started small: Nine people dispatched by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia arrived at the Broward County Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, where a county government aide said they were ensconced in an “undisclosed location.” Another group arrived at Gainesville City Hall. Little is known about precisely what the DOGE teams are up to. There have... Read More
Edwards, Ramírez help Marlins come from behind to beat Yankees 13-12
By ALANIS THAMES MIAMI (AP) — Xavier Edwards hit a tying two-run single in the ninth, then raced home with the winning run on Agustín Ramírez’s chopper in front of the plate as the Marlins rallied to beat the New York Yankees 13-12 in front of an electric Miami crowd on Friday night. Edwards’ hit came off new Yankees reliever Camilo Doval (4-3) and he beat the attempted tag at home on Ramírez’s fielder’s choice grounder. Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham hit three-run homers... Read More
Daily Horoscope for August 02, 2025
General Daily Insight for August 02, 2025 Competing cravings could create conflict today. When relational Venus in sensitive Cancer tangles with big-picture Pluto in compulsively logical Aquarius at 1:46 am EDT, it may bother us that the things we’re drawn to don’t quite make rational sense. Pushing hard for the most efficient course of action might backfire as motivated Mars misreads touchy Chiron. However, the soul-searching Scorpio Moon then gives Mars some help. Mustering the... Read More
Jeannie Seely, soulful country singer behind hits like ‘Don’t Touch Me,’ dies at 85
By MARIA SHERMAN, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jeannie Seely, the soulful country music singer behind such standards like “Don’t Touch Me,” has died. She was 85. Her publicist, Don Murry Grubbs, said she died Friday after succumbing to complications from an intestinal infection. Known as “Miss Country Soul” for her unique vocal style, Seely was a trailblazer for women in country music, celebrated for her spirited nonconformity and for a string of undeniable hits in... Read More
Judge pauses Trump administration’s push to expand fast-track deportations
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration’s efforts to expand fast-track deportations of immigrants who legally entered the U.S. under a process known as humanitarian parole — a ruling that could benefit hundreds of thousands of people. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its statutory authority in its... Read More
Senate confirms anti-DEI stalwart Andrea Lucas to second term at top workplace civil rights agency
By ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Senate confirmed Andrea Lucas to another term as commissioner of the country’s workplace civil rights agency, demonstrating firm Republican support for her efforts to root out diversity programs, roll back protections for transgender workers and prioritize religious rights in the workplace. Democratic lawmakers and prominent civil rights groups fiercely opposed Lucas’ confirmation, saying she has subjected the Equal Employment... Read More