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Paradise Lost: South Florida seniors struggling to keep roof over their heads due to rising housing costs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

Florida’s housing crisis is putting the state’s most vulnerable population at risk. While seniors should be enjoying their retirement, some are fighting homelessness and struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Here’s Karen Hensel with our special assignment series, “Paradise Lost.”The golden years. That is what 82-year-old Gustavo Medrano and his wife were looking forward to when they moved to Century Village in Pembroke Pines two years ago.Gustavo Medrano: “I came here to relax. These are the last days of my life. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.”But golden is not how he would describe his life now. He’s afraid his money will run out because of increases in his monthly condo fees.Gustavo Medrano: “They want to charge us $200 increase, supposedly because of the insurance companies.”Like many seniors, Gustavo lives on Social Security, and the $200 monthly increase is stretching his limited budget.G...

Bulgaria’s Russian gas games rile Europe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

BRUSSELS — When it comes to Russia’s energy empire, Bulgaria is giving with one hand and taking with the other — and Europe is getting fed up.Last month, Sofia hit Russia with a new tax on gas exports to the EU — an attempt by the country’s new, reformist administration to burnish its Western-friendly credentials and hammer the Kremlin’s war chest. But the move has infuriated Bulgaria’s neighbors and the country’s own pro-Russian president, who has asked the highest court to review its legality.Experts also say the government can’t claim the country is truly getting tough on Russia: Earlier this year, the country struck a gas deal with Turkey that could help Moscow regain its stranglehold over the EU’s energy supplies. The contradiction highlights the fine line Bulgaria has long walked within Europe. On the one hand, the country is keen to shake off its historical reputation as Moscow’s stooge in the EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Yet even Bulgari...

New Brunswick RCMP looking for armed suspect in Sussex, warn public to avoid Main St.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

New Brunswick RCMP say they’re searching for an armed suspect in the town of Sussex.Mounties say a male is reported to be carrying a firearm “with dangerous intent” in the Main Street area of the town.Police say the suspect is male, approximately 19 years old, wearing a blue coat and grey jogging pants.The suspect is said to be travelling on foot.Police are warning the public to avoid the area and shelter in place.RCMP say there is a heavy police presence in the area.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2023.The Canadian Press

Why Spain’s acting leader is offering a politically explosive amnesty for Catalan separatists

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez ’s chances of forming a new coalition minority government following an inconclusive election in July were greatly boosted this week after reaching an agreement with a tiny party he surely hoped he would never have to rely on.The deal is with Together for Catalunya, also known as Junts — a group bent on achieving independence for the northeastern region of Catalonia that’s headed by Carles Puigdemont, who fled Spain after leading a failed illegal secession bid in 2017 that brought the country to the brink.Key to the agreement signed Thursday is a massively controversial amnesty that could benefit Puigdemont and thousands of other secessionists. But the proposal, backed by several smaller left-wing parties, has roused the ire of the conservative and far-right opposition parties that represent roughly half the country’s population. Many in the judiciary and police are also opposed.Here is what you need to know about ...

Morocco debates how to rebuild from September quake that killed thousands

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

MOULAY BRAHIM, Morocco (AP) — When a historic earthquake struck Morocco in September, Ahmed Aazab tightly hugged his wife and four children as their home’s brick walls tumbled around them.The roof collapsed, shattering clay pots in the kitchen and trapping picture frames and homework assignments beneath rubble. When the ground finally stopped shaking, the construction worker shepherded his five loved ones to a park. Then he rescued his father, mother and aunt, who were trapped in his childhood home nearby. For centuries, families in towns like Moulay Brahim in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains constructed their homes of stone and bricks, which they made by tightly ramming handfuls of muddy earth into molds. Now they face the daunting task of rebuilding from the quake and villagers and architects are debating just how.From Mexico to Hawaii, the question of rebuilding communities without changing them for the worse arises in the aftermath of virtually all-natural disasters. In Morocco, K...

2 charter school teachers ousted for teaching 1st graders about ‘genocide in Palestine’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

A public charter school located at a Los Angeles Jewish synagogue has ousted two teachers for sharing "a lesson on the genocide in Palestine" with first graders, school officials announced on Friday.The teachers are employed by Citizens of the World Charter School, which has classrooms at Adat Ari El Synagogue in the San Fernando Valley, and the lessons were among several points of conflict.In the days after Hamas militants crossed the Gaza border and attacked Israeli civilians, the synagogue hung Israeli flags around its campus, Senior Rabbi Brian Schuldenfrei explained at a news conference on Friday.On Oct. 16, Schuldenfrei says he received an email from the charter school's principal relaying the concerns of "certain teachers" and asking when the flags would be removed. Sheriff: Not enough evidence yet to bring charges in death of Jewish demonstrator "I know that this is a time to hold your community close, and perhaps the flags are intended for that - but do you know how long ...

Werewolves of Brooklyn

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

Shooter Jennings honors songwriting legend Warren Zevon with a 21-song salute.There are covers, there are tributes, and there are homages. But when Shooter Jennings took the stage with his crackerjack Werewolves of Los Angeles lineup, the frontman hollered out the evening’s raison d’être: “Let’s celebrate this motherfucker!”In 21 songs performed one day post-Halloween, the 44-year-old progeny of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter did just that. The sold-out crowd at Brooklyn Made cheered as the band, with Jennings on piano, dove joyously into the marching beat of Warren Zevon’s 1978 gem “Lawyers, Guns and Money.” Past-middle-aged white guys — think gray hair, glasses, and T-shirts extolling NRBQ and Billy Joe Shaver — shouted along with every word, fists raised.Nashville-born Jennings was in his early 20s when Zevon died, on September 7, 2003; the young musician/burgeoning producer had never seen Zevon perform, nor had he met him. But as this show, as well as the email interview I did...

Bay Area high school football playoffs: Friday’s scores, Saturday’s schedule

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

Central Coast SectionOpen/Division INo. 8 Salinas (7-3) at No. 1 Serra (10-0), Saturday, 1 p.m.No. 7 Wilcox 52,  No. 2 St. Francis 28No. 3 St. Ignatius 21, No. 6 Valley Christian 17No. 4 Los Gatos 28, No. 5 Archbishop Riordan 14Note: The first-round winners in the top half of the bracket will play for the Open Division championship in Week 2 of the playoffs. The loser of the Open Division championship will play the winner of the bottom half of the bracket for the Division I championship in Week 3 of the playoffs.Division IINo. 6 Monterey (7-3) at No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep (6-4), Saturday, 1 p.m.No. 2 Soquel 35, No. 7 Carmel 14No. 5 Menlo 30,  No. 4 Live Oak 28No. 8 Christopher 32, No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 28Division IIINo. 6 Scotts Valley 33, No. 3 Aragon 21No. 7 Alisal 20, No. 2 Capuchino 17No. 4 Palma 38, No. 5 Hollister 10No. 1 Menlo-Atherton 49, No. 8 Hillsdale 37Division IVNo. 3 Branham 41, No. 6 Greenfield 14No. 2 Mountain View 49, No. 7 Burlingame 21No. 5 Leigh 21,  No. 4 North S...

Man robbed at gunpoint in Tiburon after using ATM

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

TIBURON, Calif. (KRON) -- An investigation is underway Friday night after a Tiburon man was robbed at gunpoint. Police say the man was followed home after withdrawing money from an ATM.Investigators say the suspects were later arrested, but this is a warning about being aware when withdrawing money. Dog killed, pedestrian injured after San Mateo hit-and-run Police say two suspects targeted a man at a Bank of America ATM at Strawberry Village in Mill Valley and followed him to his Tiburon apartment near Janet Way and Andrew Drive."I can't believe that they would do that, but I do believe that they would do that, but it's kind of sad for the person that it happened to. Scary to say the least," one Mill Valley resident said. People who use the ATM frequently say they have never felt unsafe when withdrawing money. However, after hearing about the robbery, they're on alert."I think these kinds of things are becoming more common and it's not exclusive to a certain city or neighborhood....

Fix-it tickets replaced with vouchers under new Petaluma program

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:53 GMT

PETALUMA, Calif. (KRON) -- Drivers in Petaluma who are burdened with the choice between paying for a mechanical violation or buying groceries could now have those repairs made for free. The Petaluma Police Department is the first in Northern California to take part in the Lights On! initiative.Here's how the voucher program works. If you spend any time behind the wheel on the road, at some point you will inevitably look in the rearview mirror and see an officer trailing with their patrol lights on and come to find out you have a tail or headlight out. APEC traffic, wet storms, protests: San Franciscans brace for rough week Often, the encounter ends with a costly citation to get the malfunction fixed."We're always trying to find ways to improve our trust and confidence with the citizens and our community members," explained Petaluma PD Lieutenant Matthew Parnow.Now in Petaluma, police officers can offer an alternative to a ticket."This is our voucher booklet," explained Parnow.This...