South Florida Local News

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A major deadline under the half-century-old War Powers Resolution came this week for President Joe Biden to obtain Congress’ approval to keep waging his military campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, in line with its sole authority under the U.S. Constitution to declare war and otherwise authorize military force.

Came, and went, in public silence — even from Senate Democrats frustrated by the Biden administration’s blowing past some of the checkpoints that would give Congress more of a say in the United States’ deepening military engagement in the Middle East conflicts.

The Biden administration contends that nothing in the War Powers Resolution, or other deadlines, directives and laws, requires it to change its military support for Israel’s five-month-old war in Gaza, or two months of U.S. military strikes on the Houthis, or to submit to greater congressional oversight or control.

That’s left some frustrated Senate Democrats calibrating how far to go in confronting a president of their own party over his military authority.

Democrats are wary of undercutting Biden as he faces a difficult reelection campaign. Their ability to act is limited by their control of only one chamber, the Senate, where some Democrats — and many Republicans — back Biden’s military actions in the Middle East.

While Biden’s approach gives him more leeway in how he conducts U.S. military engagement since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, it risks making any crisis deeper if things go badly wrong.

James A. Siebens, leader of the Defense Strategy and Planning project at the Stimson Center in Washington, called it a “latent constitutional crisis.”

The Middle East conflicts have revived what’s been a long-running clash between presidents, who are the commanders in chief, and Congress, which holds the authority to stop and start wars, or lesser uses of military force, and controls their funding.

U.S. and British warships, planes and drones opened attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 11. Hundreds of U.S. strikes have followed. The U.S. strikes are aimed at knocking back what has been a surge of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, a clan-based movement that has seized control of much of northern Yemen, on international shipping in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war began.

Biden formally notified Congress the next day. The administration took pains to frame the U.S. military campaign as defensive actions and not as “hostilities” that fall under the War Powers Resolution.

The resolution gives presidents 60 days after notifying Congress they’ve sent U.S. forces into armed conflict either to obtain its approval to keep fighting, or to pull out U.S. troops. That deadline was Tuesday.

The White House continues to insist that the military actions are to defend U.S. forces and do not fall under the resolution’s 60-day provision.

Congress pushed through the War Powers Resolution over presidential veto in 1973, moving forcefully to reclaim its authority over U.S. wars abroad as President Richard Nixon expanded the Vietnam War.

Since then, presidents have often argued that U.S. involvement in conflicts doesn’t amount to “hostilities” or otherwise fall under the resolution. If lawmakers disapprove, their options include pressuring the executive branch to seek an authorization of military force, trying to get Congress at large to formally order the president to withdraw, withholding funding or stepping up congressional oversight.

For Yemen, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is looking at introducing legislation within weeks that would authorize the U.S. campaign against the Houthis under set limits on the time, geographical range and scope. The plan has not been previously reported.

Murphy and other Democrats in Congress have expressed concern about the effectiveness of the U.S. attacks on the Houthis, the risk of further regional escalation and the lack of clarity on the administration’s end game. They’ve asked why the administration sees it as the U.S. military’s mission to protect a global shipping route.

“This is ‘hostilities’.’ There’s no congressional authorization for them,” Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on obtaining congressional authorization for the U.S. strikes on the Houthis. “And it’s not even close.”

Asked this week what happens now that the 60 days are up, Kaine said it would be premature for Congress to consider authorizing the U.S. action against the Houthis without understanding the strategy.

Idaho Sen. James Risch. the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had no such doubts.

“I believe that the president has all the power that he needs under the Constitution to do what he’s doing in Yemen,” Risch said this week.

But it’s Gaza, and the soaring death toll among Palestinian civilians, that has stirred the most protests from Congress. The Israel-Hamas war also has a far higher profile in U.S. domestic politics. While many Americans are dead-set against any cut in military support to Israel, a growing number of Democrats have begun withholding votes from Biden in state presidential primaries to demand more U.S. action for Gaza’s trapped people.

Some in Congress were frustrated early in the war that the administration bypassed congressional review to rush additional military aid to Israel, by declaring a national security emergency.

A presidential order negotiated with Senate Democrats requires Israel to certify in writing by March 25 that it will abide by international law when using U.S. weapons in Gaza and will not impede humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians — or face a possible cut in U.S. military aid.

The United Nations has said Israeli restrictions are keeping many aid trucks from getting into Gaza. The U.S. this month began air drops and work on a sea route to get more food and other vital goods into the territory.

Some in Congress are pushing the administration to cut the military aid now, under existing federal law requiring countries that get U.S. military support to use it in compliance with international law, including by allowing humanitarian access to civilians in conflicts.

A group of Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote Biden this week that it was already plain that Israel was obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza. They urged him to cut military aid immediately, absent a turnaround by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, under existing laws on U.S. foreign assistance.

“I’m still flabbergasted” that the administration hasn’t acted, Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, one of the senators pushing hardest on the point, said.

——

Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed.

(JNS) Rabbi Abraham Cooper, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, was part of a delegation that was about one-third of the way through a tour of Diriyah, a town in the Riyadh area and the original home of the Saudi royal family.

The group was about to enter Diriyah Gate, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Saudi prime minister’s office had arranged a dinner and a light show for the bipartisan USCIRF mission, which had already met with high-level members of the kingdom’s cabinet.

Courtesy of U.S. Commission on International Religious FreedomRabbi Abraham Cooper. Courtesy of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

“I was told there was a phone call for me,” Cooper told JNS. “I was told I was required to remove my kippah in order to continue the tour.”

Cooper, who chairs the Congress-mandated government advisory body and who was part of an official trip to the kingdom, told JNS that he believes that the call originated in the office of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince known as MBS and prime minister of Saudi Arabia.

“It wasn’t done on a low level,” Cooper said.

The rabbi, also associate dean and director of global social action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, told JNS that Saudi Arabia is taking steps toward modernizing reforms, including religious freedom.

“They’re not necessarily being universally applauded,” he said.

Cooper told the person on the other end of the line, “It’s like asking someone to take off their hijab.”

He told JNS that he spent four weeks in the Soviet Union in the early 1970s visiting refuseniks. “I didn’t take off my kippah for the month I was in the Soviet Union, and I’m sure not going to do it there,” he said, of Riyadh.

Cooper told the official on the phone that wearing a the head covering is “not a political statement” for him. “It’s who I am.”

The official called back a minute later and insisted that if Cooper didn’t remove his kippah, the authorities would escort him out.

With the delegation’s full backing, Cooper refused to go bareheaded, and the mission left with him, a gesture that he found meaningful.

“One hundred percent, to me it was very moving. USCIRF is mandated by Congress to be bipartisan, but it’s obvious that religiously, politically, ideologically, we are very different,” he told JNS. “Them having my back was a moment of validation at a time of rising antisemitism.”

The incident at Diriyah Gate was especially surprising given that the rest of the mission, approved by the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry, went smoothly, Cooper told JNS. That included meetings with the foreign affairs and interior ministries, the country’s human-rights commission and other officials.

“Regarding a recent incident in which a member of a delegation visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—Rabbi Abraham Cooper—was denied entry to Diriyah Gate, we would like to convey the following clarification: This unfortunate incident was the result of a misunderstanding of internal protocols,” the Saudi embassy in Washington stated.

“The matter was escalated to senior officials and Her Royal Highness the ambassador had the opportunity to speak with the rabbi,” the embassy added, of Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, a cousin of MBS. “The matter was resolved, but we respect his decision to not continue the tour. We look forward to welcoming him back to the Kingdom.”

Cooper told JNS he had not yet spoken to the ambassador but would be seeing her in Washington at USCIRF’s monthly meeting.

“I’m absolutely committed to going back to Saudi,” Cooper told JNS. Part of his first conversation with the ambassador “will be setting dates” for his return, he said.

The Associated Press reported of Cooper being asked to remove his religious garment that “The current Saudi sensitivity may come in part because of Israel’s grinding war targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”

It reported that the U.S. State Department said it “raised our concerns with Saudi government authorities.”

‘No one should be denied access to a heritage site’

“The United States fully supports freedom of religion or belief, including the right to express beliefs through religious attire,” it added. “The United States continues to work with our Saudi counterparts on religious freedom issues and we hope the net effect of this incident will push Saudi Arabia to make further strides on these issues.”

“Praise is due to the U.S. government delegation that cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia after officials demanded one of its members, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, remove his kippah in public,” wrote the Combat Antisemitism Movement. “Zero tolerance is the only acceptable response to antisemitism.”

USCIRF stated that “After several delays to the tour, officials requested that Cooper, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, remove his kippah while at the site and anytime he was to be in public, even though the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had approved the site visit.”

“U.S. Embassy staff accompanying the USCIRF delegation supported and conveyed to Saudi officials Chair Cooper’s polite but resolute refusal to remove the kippah,” it added. “Despite their efforts, site officials escorted the delegation off the premises after chair Cooper indicated he sought no confrontation or provocation but as an observant Jew could not comply with a request to remove his kippah.”

“No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to highlight unity and progress, simply for existing as a Jew,” Cooper stated. “Saudi Arabia is in the midst of encouraging change under its 2030 Vision. However, especially in a time of raging antisemitism, being asked to remove my kippah made it impossible for us from USCIRF to continue our visit.”

USCIRF has encouraged the State Department to “designate Saudi Arabia as a ‘country of particular concern,’ or CPC, for systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations every year since 2000,” per the commission.

“Saudi officials’ request for chair Cooper to remove his kippah was stunning and painful. It directly contradicted not only the government’s official narrative of change but also genuine signs of greater religious freedom in the kingdom that we observed firsthand,” said Rev. Frederick Davie, vice chair of the commission.

“While we appreciate the various meetings we had in the country with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Human Rights Commission and other interlocutors, this unfortunate incident starkly illustrates that much more work remains to be done for Saudi Arabia to align with international legal protections guaranteeing this fundamental right,” he added.

To read more content visit www.jns.org

 

For its 15th year, the All People’s Day Diversity Festival will feature more than a dozen singers, dancers and other performers from many cultures and backgrounds when the event returns to Pompey Park, 1101 NW Second St., in Delray Beach, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 30.

Susan Berkowitz-Schwartz, founder and president of All People’s Day, put on the original festival in New Jersey for 35 years before moving it to Florida.

“All People’s Day is about connecting people from many different cultures and issues through the arts, because the arts touch people’s hearts,” she said in a statement. “All People’s Day is a fun event for everyone, but it is so much more. It’s about learning from one another through the arts.“

Marie Stevenson poses for a photo while attending the 14th All People’s Day Diversity Festival. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Organized in partnership with the Lake Worth Interfaith Network and the Delray Beach Parks & Recreation Department, All People’s Day also includes 50 interactive booths, showcasing many nonprofit organizations, and art, T-shirts, books and jewelry for sale, as well as free food from local restaurants representing various cultures.

Performers in the lineup are Cecelia St. King, a European peace troubadour singer; the Delray Divas  step dancers; S F Taiko Dojo playing Japanese drums; Pink Slip European duo singers; fitness with Rosa Showers; Caribbean American singer Angel; European folk singer Rod McDonald; Zumba with Simone Huete; dancer Kailani C; the Gay Men’s Chorus; and Carol Garrett singing Jewish songs.

Juggles the Clown performs at the 14th All People’s Day Diversity Festival. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Some additional activities planned include puppet making, a family mural, a world puzzle, Clowns on Call making balloon animals, crafts, games and raffles.

The day begins with a free Craft Dough People project from 9:30 to 11 a.m. for children ages 4 to 11, which has become the traditional kick-off to the festival. Advance registration is required by emailing Berkowitz-Schwartz at apd22@bellsouth.net.

Parking is free, but visitors should park at a block away at S.D. Spady Elementary School, 901 NW Third St., because of renovations at Pompey Park.

Visit allpeoplesday.org.

Dude ranches often are associated with summer vacations. We picture city slickers slipping away to enjoy the great outdoors and fresh mountain air, learning the rhythms of a horse’s gait and some new tunes around a campfire. But visiting a ranch in winter? Oh, what fun!

Come the colder months, Colorado’s dude ranches offer all kinds of activities, including gliding across the snow on cross-country skis and galloping through the powder on horseback. There’s also dog sledding, sleigh rides, tubing and more, says Courtney Frazier, executive director of the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association.

“You’ll love the evening campfires and cozy cabins,” Frazier says. “Some of our ranches also have full spas to relax in after a busy day of exploring the Rocky Mountains.”

Saddle up: Here are five dude ranches that are perfect for winter escapes with amenities that include a private ski mountain, a top-notch culinary program and a murder mystery weekend.

The C Lazy U Ranch near Granby is an all-inclusive luxury guest ranch. (Provided by C Lazy U Ranch) C Lazy U Ranch

The C Lazy U near Granby couldn’t have a more idyllic setting. Days on the 8,500-acre ranch start with “Cowboy Coffee” traditions around an outdoor firepit with the nip of the alpine air and end with toasting s’mores. In between, there are horse and sleigh rides through the winter wonderland. Plus, a Zamboni is used to groom a pond on the property so you can skate in the open air or join a pickup hockey game.

Guests can also go fly-fishing in Willow Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River. Some sections build up ice shelves, but the creek is still flowing and the fish are still biting.

Three daily gourmet meals are a part of the all-inclusive rate (expect to pay $587 per person/night or more) and the winter dining menu includes carmel apple venison, pheasant cordon bleu, duck confit perogies and rose glazed pink prawns.

Devil’s Thumb Ranch offers lodging for families and friends groups and winter fun including cross-country skiing and horse-drawn sleigh rides. (Provided by Devil’s Thumb Ranch) Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa

Go dashing through the snow — on a sleigh, cross-country skis, or with a pair of snowshoes strapped to your feet. Devil’s Thumb Ranch near Granby is a rustic-luxe winter playground with some unique offerings, including cozy rides in a heated snow cat that traverses the snow-covered Ranch Creek Valley.

The resort also has fat tire bikes that can plow through powder, and Winter Park Ski Resort is just 10 miles from the ranch if doing laps on the slopes is on your mind. After playing in the snow, book a spa treatment and slink into a copper soaking tub or enjoy a heated river stone massage. Rates vary widely, depending on lodging, meal and activities booked. Expect to pay at least $460 a night for lodging for two people.

Vista Verde Ranch offers an array of activities throughout winter, including the occasional live-music performance in the lodge. (Jad Davenport, Provided by Vista Verde Ranch) Vista Verde Guest Ranch

Old West meets luxury at Vista Verde, an all-inclusive dude ranch near Steamboat Springs. The culinary program is worth writing home about, with winter dishes that include carrot cake waffles with walnut syrup, Cuban sandwiches and gnocchi with short rib ragu.

At dinner, add a wine pairing. The guest ranch’s cellar, with more than 90 selections, has received accolades from Wine Spectator.

There are plenty of ways to work up an appetite. The ranch has a fleet of fat tire bikes, plus snowmobiling excursions, tubing, and backcountry ski touring. There also are plenty of groomed trails for beginners. Three-night stays in late winter start at $2,295 per person.

Three Forks Ranch

Near the Colorado-Wyoming border, Three Forks Ranch bills itself as being the “West Kept Secret.” The 200,000-acre ranch has an exclusive partnership with the Mayo Clinic, a healthcare nonprofit that staffs the wellness facility with certified coaches who can provide nutrition advice and personal training.

A stay at the all-inclusive resort includes spa treatments (guests staying three nights can pre-book two services). The ranch also offers private skiing on a mountain that gets blanketed in snow and has 20 runs. Heated snowcats deliver guests to the summit. Nightly rates start at $1,995 per person.

Guests’ boots are lined up and ready for the next ride at Sundance Trail Guest Ranch on Dec. 20 2013. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post) Sundance Trail Guest Ranch

Sundance Trail’s guests have a few options for winter visits at the ranch near Red Feather Lakes. The Country Inn stay includes lodging, meals and morning horseback rides. Or, select the bed-and-breakfast route.

Guests enjoy horseback rides through the Roosevelt National Forest, cozying up by the fireplace and stargazing in the jacuzzi. Gather a group of 8-12 people and the ranch will provide a Murder Mystery getaway. Between meals and horseback rides your group can try to figure out “whodunnit.”

Bed and breakfast nightly rates start at $230 per two-person suite or $170 for single occupancy.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden could face trial in Delaware on federal firearms charges as soon as June, in the midst of his father’s reelection campaign.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika set the tentative date during a short telephonic hearing Wednesday, though she is still weighing several defense motions to toss out the case against the president’s son that could yet derail any potential trial.

The trial is slated to begin June 3 and could last up to nine days. A separate trial on tax charges against him in California is now tentatively set to begin later that month.

Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use in October 2018 on a form to buy a gun that he kept for about 11 days. He has acknowledged an addiction to crack cocaine during that period, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law and another nonviolent, first-time offender would not have been charged.

He was indicted after a plea deal that would have resolved the case without the spectacle of a trial imploded in July 2023 when a judge who was supposed to approve it instead raised a series of questions.

Hunter Biden’s attorneys have since sought to have the case tossed out by arguing that prosecutors bowed to political pressure after the agreement was publicly pilloried by Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, as a “sweetheart deal.”

They also argue that immunity provisions from the original deal still hold, a position that defense attorney Abbe Lowell pressed with the judge Wednesday.

Noreika said she hadn’t fully decided how she would handle the case’s four pending motions to dismiss but wanted to ensure that time for any trial would be available on her calendar.

Prosecutors have said there’s no evidence the case is politically motivated, the evidence against him is “overwhelming” and the immunity deal blew up with the rest of the plea deal.

Hunter Biden has also pleaded not guilty to the separate tax charges in Los Angeles alleging a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle.

By JASON DEAREN and MICHAEL REZENDES (Associated Press)

A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was featured in an Associated Press investigation into how the church protects itself from allegations of sexual abuse was arrested by police in Virginia this week after being indicted on charges he sexually abused his daughter while accompanying her on a school trip when she was a child, according to court filings.

Police and federal authorities had been searching for John Goodrich after a grand jury in Williamsburg on Jan. 17 found probable cause that he committed four felonies, including rape by force, threat or intimidation, forcible sodomy, and two counts of felony aggravated sexual battery by a parent of a child.

Those charges were filed weeks after the AP investigation revealed how a representative of the church, widely known as the Mormon church, employed a risk management playbook that has helped it keep child sexual abuse cases secret after allegations surfaced that Goodrich abused his daughter Chelsea, now in her 30s, at their home in Idaho as well as on a school field trip to the Washington, D.C., area 20 years ago.

“I hope this case will finally bring justice for my childhood sexual abuse,” Chelsea Goodrich said in a statement to the AP. “I’m grateful it appears that the Commonwealth of Virginia is taking one event of child sexual assault more seriously than years of repeated assaults were treated in Idaho.”

A call Wednesday to John Goodrich’s cellphone went immediately to voicemail. Thomas Norment, a Williamsburg defense attorney for John Goodrich, declined to comment, saying he was still familiarizing himself with the case. The Williamsburg Police Department also did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Goodrich’s case.

Goodrich’s arrest in Virginia comes nearly eight years after he was arrested in Idaho on similar charges. Chelsea and her mother, Lorraine, went to Idaho police in 2016 to report wide-ranging allegations of abuse during her childhood.

Those charges were eventually dropped after a key witness in the case, another Mormon bishop to whom John had made a spiritual confession about him and his daughter, refused to testify. While the details of that confession have not been made public, the church excommunicated Goodrich.

The AP’s investigation was based in part on hours of audio recordings of Chelsea’s 2017 meetings with Paul Rytting, a Utah attorney who was head of the church’s Risk Management Division, which works to protect the church against sexual abuse lawsuits and other costly claims.

Chelsea went to Rytting for help in getting the bishop to testify about John’s spiritual confession. During the recorded meetings, Rytting expressed concern for what he called John’s “significant sexual transgression,” but said the bishop, whose position in the church is akin to a Catholic priest, could not testify. He cited a “clergy-penitent privilege” loophole in Idaho’s mandatory reporting law that exempts clergy from having to divulge information about child sex abuse that is gleaned in a spiritual confession.

Without that testimony, prosecutors in Idaho dropped that earlier case.

Invoking the clergy privilege was just one facet of the risk management playbook that Rytting employed in the Goodrich matter. Rytting offered Chelsea and her mother $300,000 in exchange for a confidentiality agreement and a pledge to destroy their recordings of their meetings, which they had made at the recommendation of an attorney and with Rytting’s knowledge. The AP obtained similar recordings that were made by a church member at the time who attended the meetings as Chelsea’s advocate.

The church also employed the use of its so-called sex abuse Helpline, which John Goodrich’s bishop had called after his confession. As AP revealed in 2022, the Helpline is a phone number set up by the church for bishops to report instances of child sex abuse. Instead of connecting church victims to counseling or other services, however, the Helpline often reports serious allegations of abuse to a church law firm.

In a statement to the AP for its recent investigation, the church said, “the abuse of a child or any other individual is inexcusable,” and that John Goodrich, following his excommunication, “has not been readmitted to church membership.”

News coverage of the Idaho case brought out another alleged victim. After learning about Chelsea’s allegations, a 53-year-old single mother accused him of having nonconsensual sex with her after giving her the drug Halcion, a controlled substance John Goodrich often used to sedate patients during dental procedures. She alleged that Goodrich drugged her the previous July after she cut off a sexual relationship with him.

In the end, John Goodrich reached a plea agreement in that case, and escaped sex crimes charges.

Chelsea Goodrich approached the AP with her story, she said, because her father remained free and practicing dentistry in Idaho with access to children.

On Tuesday, after authorities spent two weeks searching for him, Goodrich turned himself in to police in Williamsburg, a court official told Chelsea Goodrich, and he posted bond. He will be allowed to leave Virginia during legal proceedings, the court official said.

—-

Contact AP’s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/.

By JACK DURA and JOSH FUNK (Associated Press)

A Democratic legislator on Wednesday called for an inquiry into South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s trip to Texas for dental work and a promotional video in which she praises the doctors for giving her “a smile I can be proud of and confident in.”

State Sen. Reynold Nesiba said he initially found the nearly five-minute video to be simply odd. Later he considered other questions and asked the Republican co-chairs of the Legislature’s Government Operations & Audit Committee to put the matter on the panel’s next meeting agenda in July for discussion and questions.

“I just thought it was a very strange video about how much she enjoyed having her teeth done at that particular place,” said Nesiba, a member of the audit committee.

Nesiba said he wonders whether Noem used a state airplane or public funds for the Texas trip and whether the governor paid for the dental procedure or if it was discounted because of her video.

Noem’s office did not respond to questions Wednesday about the promotional video posted Monday night to her personal account on X in which she praised the dentists and staff at Smile Texas, a cosmetic dental practice in the Houston area.

In the video, Noem complimented the dentists that recently “gave me a smile I can be proud of and confident in.” Noem, who is seen as a potential vice-presidential pick by former President Donald Trump, identifies herself as the governor of South Dakota and includes clips of her speaking at a Republican Party event with Trump signs in the background.

A woman who answered the phone at Smile Texas cited privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in response to The Associated Press asking to speak with a member of the practice. When asked if Smile Texas plans to use Noem’s video for promotion, the woman said, “No, she posted that,” then hung up when asked again.

South Dakota law bans gifts of over $100 from lobbyists to public officials and their immediate family. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable up to a year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. The state attorney general’s office declined to answer questions about whether the gift ban applies to people who are not registered lobbyists.

Noem’s video, in which the governor says she went to Smile because it was “the best,” comes at a time when South Dakota has spent $5 million on a workforce recruitment ad campaign in which she stars in TV spots portraying herself as a plumber, electrician, nurse and other high-demand workers. In one ad, Noem portrays a dentist in blue scrubs, speaking over a patient with a dental instrument in her hand amid the sound of a drill.

Nesiba said the dental promotion “just undermines the millions of dollars that we have invested in her as being a spokesperson for South Dakota.”

Paul Miskimins, a Republican former state legislator who practiced dentistry over 37 years in South Dakota, said he saw nothing wrong with Noem seeking care out of state, noting he had sought dental care from a friend in Canada. Miskimins added that celebrities often give testimonials about dental work, and he didn’t see why a public official couldn’t do the same.

“I think that this is America, and we all have a right to choose where we receive our care,” Miskimins said.

Noem has previously faced ethics questions, including an investigation in 2019 about her use of a state plane to attend six events outside of South Dakota hosted by political organizations, including the Republican Governors Association, Republican Jewish Coalition, Turning Point USA and the National Rifle Association. At the time, the governor’s office defended the trips as part of her work as the state’s “ambassador” to bolster the state’s economy.

Noem also was criticized for having family members join her on several trips. But her office has said that was keeping in line with a precedent set by former governors.

Ultimately, South Dakota’s ethics board dismissed the complaint over Noem’s flights to the political events in 2022 because state law doesn’t clearly define what is meant by “state business.”

But the state ethics board did say Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license.

The governor intervened with a state agency after it had moved to deny her daughter’s application for an appraiser license in 2020. Noem had called a meeting with her daughter, the labor secretary and the then-director of the appraiser certification program where a plan was discussed to give the governor’s daughter, Kassidy Peters, another chance to show she could meet federal standards in her appraiser work.

Noem has said she followed the law in handling her daughter’s licensure and that Peters received no special treatment.

Voters re-elected her in 2022 with 62% of the vote.

Michael Card, an emeritus political science professor at the University of South Dakota, said he has no ideas about the governor’s motivation for the video but found it puzzling.

“It just seems unusual for an elected official in office to make an infomercial like that,” he said.

___

Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska.

By DAVID HAMILTON (AP Business Writer)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk abruptly canceled “The Don Lemon Show” on his social media network X after the former CNN anchor recorded an interview with the billionaire for its as-yet unaired first episode.

Musk owns X, formerly known as Twitter, and frequently proclaims himself a “free speech absolutist.” In a post on X, the San Francisco-based company said only that after careful consideration, it “decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.” It added that Lemon’s show “is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities.”

In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Lemon declared that “ Elon Musk is mad at me ″ and said he will be airing his interview with the Tesla CEO on YouTube and via podcast on Monday.

Lemon didn’t go into specifics about the source of Musk’s alleged unhappiness, but wrote, “Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him that although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see and hear our exchange and that they would learn from our conversation.”

“But apparently free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me,” Lemon added.

X announced in January a “new content partnership” with Lemon for the show, saying it would post 30 minute episodes three times a week on subjects including politics, culture, sports and entertainment. That deal was part of the struggling platform’s efforts to bolster its content offerings and attract advertisers. X also announced shows hosted by former member of Congress Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio host Jim Rome.

Lemon was fired by CNN last year after a 17-year run with the network. His ouster came a little over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley not being in “her prime” that he made during his short run as a morning show host.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER (Associated Press)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a running mate for his independent presidential campaign on March 26 in Oakland, California, his campaign said Tuesday.

The campaign did not say whom Kennedy will pick, but he told The New York Times this week that NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura are among the frontrunners.

Kennedy is making an unusually early announcement because of ballot access rules in many states that require independent candidates to name their vice presidential nominees before they can begin the process. Ballot access for independent candidates is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, with rules varying vastly across states.

Kennedy’s father was attorney general for the candidate’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy. He began his presidential campaign as a primary challenge to Democratic President Joe Biden but later changed gears to run as an independent. His bid for the presidency, along with his embrace of conspiracy theories and views on vaccines that aren’t supported by scientific consensus, have angered many of his famous relatives.

Kennedy is a lawyer and environmental activist who has found a loyal following among people who believe vaccines are harmful. He’s energized supporters alienated from the political system and distrustful of the government, corporations and media.

Candidates from outside the Republican and Democratic parties rarely make a splash, if they can make the ballot to begin with. But third-party candidates don’t usually carry a famous last name like Kennedy’s, or his existing network of supporters.

Rodgers, the longtime Green Bay Packers quarterback who now plays for the New York Jets, shares Kennedy’s distrust of vaccine mandates and, like Kennedy, is a fixture on anti-establishment podcasts. Ventura, a former professional wrestler, shocked observers when he won the race for Minnesota governor as an independent candidate in 1998.

Fort Lauderdale’s waterways will be shining bright as Broward County advances plans for several bridges to display colorful lights. The county soon may decide on costs to transform the Andrews Avenue bridge into an artful downtown showpiece.

County commissioners will decide next week whether to increase the tab of the project from $615,000 up to $670,000, due to rising costs, records show. The “lighting artwork will activate our riverfront by transforming the drawbridge that spans the New River between Las Olas Boulevard and South Fifth Street,” according to the Broward Cultural Division.

The project’s completion timeline is by the end of 2024.

The Andrews Avenue Bridge is among a string of efforts by the county. Broward in December also approved a $6 million art project to transform the E. Clay Shaw Jr. Bridge, also known as the Southeast 17th Street bridge, into a shiny nighttime display, with the hope of bedazzling tourists. That bridge, farther south in the city, is located near the Broward County Convention Center and Pier Sixty-Six.

The difference in the costs between the two bridge projects are due to the scale and size of the bridges.

Plans for the Andrews Avenue bridge have been in the works for years. The commissioned artist will design, fabricate and install the artistic lighting for the bridge. Documents show the display will be a lively one, featuring an “ever-changing” presentation whose lights will shimmer across the New River’s surface.

A rendering shows a proposed lighting project for the Andrews Avenue bridge.  (Broward County/Courtesy)

The county first chose an artist for the work in November 2020 for what was proposed to be a $490,000 project.

The artist withdrew, so artist Susan Narduli’s conceptual artwork design proposal was approved in April 2021.

The county upped the cost to $615,000 in September after the artist’s engineering team determined that the existing electrical supply was insufficient to power the design.

A month later, the artist told the county’s Cultural Division that the subcontractor’s bids for fabrication and installation of the artwork design were above the amount budgeted.

“However, the Cultural Division determined that the artist’s proposed modifications would diminish the impact of the artwork and were therefore not acceptable,” according to county records.

The proposed increase is due “to the escalating cost of fabrication and installation.”

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

By TIA GOLDENBERG (Associated Press)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area.

The fate of the people in Rafah has been a major area of concern of Israel’s allies — including the United States — and humanitarian groups, worried an offensive in the region densely crowded with so many displaced people would be a catastrophe. Rafah is also Gaza’s main entry point for desperately needed aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Rafah offensive is crucial to achieve Israel’s stated aim of destroying Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 taken hostage and brought into Gaza. Israel’s invasion of Gaza has killed more than 31,000, according to Gaza health officials, left much of the enclave in ruins and displaced some 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.

Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said moving those in Rafah to the designated areas, which he said would be done in coordination with international actors, was a key part of the military’s preparations for its anticipated invasion of Rafah, where Israel says Hamas maintains four battalions it wants to destroy.

Rafah has swelled in size in the last months as Palestinians in Gaza have fled fighting in nearly every other corner of the territory. The town is covered in tents.

“We need to make sure that 1.4 million people or at least a significant amount of the 1.4 million will move. Where? To humanitarian islands that we will create with the international community,” Hagari told reporters at a briefing.

Hagari said those islands would provide temporary housing, food, water and other necessities to evacuated Palestinians. He did not say when Rafah’s evacuation would occur, nor when the Rafah offensive would begin, saying that Israel wanted the timing to be right operationally and to be coordinated with neighboring Egypt, which has said it does not want an influx of displaced Palestinians crossing its border.

The U.S. has been firm with Israel over its concerns about Rafah, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had yet to receive from Israel its plans for civilians there.

“We need to see a plan that will get civilians out of harm’s way if there’s a military operation in Rafah,” he told reporters in Washington after convening a virtual ministerial meeting on Gaza aid with officials from the UN, the EU, Britain. Cyprus, Qatar and the UAE. “We’ve not yet seen such a plan.”

At the start of the war, Israel directed evacuees to a slice of undeveloped land along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast that it designated as a safe zone. But aid groups said there were no real plans in place to receive large numbers of displaced there. Israeli strikes also targeted the area.

More than 31,270 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and most of its 2.3 million people forced from their homes, Gaza’s Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Israel blames the civilian death toll on Hamas because the terrorist group fights in dense, residential areas. The military has said it has killed 13,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.

Hamas has been designated a terrorist group by the U.S., Canada and the E. U.

Meanwhile, fighting continued across Gaza. An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a food distribution site in southern Gaza run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency that works with Palestinian refugees, killing one staff member from the agency and wounding 22 others.

The death brings to 165 the number of workers for the agency killed during the past five months of fighting, according to UNRWA.

Gaza’s health authorities said a total of five people were killed in the strike on the yard of an UNRWA warehouse.

Hagari said the army was looking into the report.

The conflict has sparked a humanitarian disaster that has led to growing hunger. Aid delivery has been hobbled by Israeli restrictions, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order inside Gaza, according to the United Nations. Israel denies it is restricting the entry of aid.

The crisis has been particularly acute in northern Gaza, Israel’s initial target in the early weeks of the war.

Hagari said Wednesday Israel plans to “flood the area” with aid, with plans to scale up the entry of goods from multiple points in northern Gaza, after half a dozen trucks delivered aid entered from the north on Tuesday as part of a pilot program. He did not say how many more trucks were expected to enter and at what frequency.

Hagari also said representatives from the U.S. military were expected in Israel this week to further coordinate a planned U.S. floating pier that will be built off the coast of Gaza, which he said would be “significant” for northern Gaza.

The U.S. and other countries have also been airdropping food into northern Gaza in recent weeks to help alleviate the crisis. Aid groups said air drops and bringing sea shipments are far less efficient and effective than bringing in food by truck.

___

Associated Press writer Matt Lee contributed to this report from Washington.

___

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Martin Garcia is stepping down as chairman of Florida’s Disney World oversight board, creating another leadership shakeup at the district playing a starring role in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ nationally watched feud with the theme park giant.

Garcia’s departure comes about a week after district administrator Glen Gilzean left his post to serve as Orange County’s elections supervisor, a position that pays roughly half the $400,000 annual salary Gilzean earns at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, thanked Garcia for his service on the five-member, governor-appointed board. Garcia was appointed as board chairman in February 2023 as part of a state overhaul of the district previously known as Reedy Creek. His term on the unpaid board ran through 2027.

“We thank and greatly appreciate Martin Garcia for his full year of service to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, having successfully navigated the transition from the former Reedy Creek District and developed a new district focused on transparency and the elimination of corporate welfare,” Griffin said in an email.

Garcia and the tourism oversight district did not respond to emails seeking comment on Wednesday.

State Sen. Linda Stewart said she’s concerned about instability at the district, which oversees fire protection, roads and other government services for Disney World and nearby properties.

“What it seems to say is things are not operating properly,” the Orlando Democrat said of the departures.

Critics have accused the district’s leadership of cronyism by awarding no-bid contracts and jobs with lucrative salaries to conservative allies. The district saw dozens of employees resign or retire after the state takeover.

In exit surveys, some departing employees said they were leaving because of a politicized work environment and low morale. Gilzean disputed that assessment, saying morale had improved under his leadership.

DeSantis hailed the district as a model of good government during a visit last month, marking one year since he ousted Disney loyalists on the board and replaced them with his political allies. DeSantis’ feud with Disney started in 2022 over the company’s opposition to legislation critics called the “don’t say gay” law, which limited classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

For decades, Disney controlled the district’s board by electing its members, allowing the corporation to essentially self-govern its Central Florida theme parks and resorts. State lawmakers upended that arrangement last year, granting the governor the power to appoint the board.

For Gilzean’s job, DeSantis is recommending Stephanie Kopelousos, a top adviser who most recently worked on his campaign for president. The DeSantis-appointed board must vote to hire her. The governor’s office has not announced a replacement for Garcia.

Stewart has asked DeSantis to appoint a Central Florida resident to the board. Only one of the five board members, Ron Peri, lives in the Orlando area. The other members are Moms for Liberty co-founder and Sarasota resident Bridget Ziegler and Tampa Bay lawyers Charbel Barakat and Brian Aungst Jr.

Garcia, also a Tampa lawyer, is a DeSantis ally and a GOP donor. Through his Pinehill Capital Partners investment firm, he has donated $260,000 to political campaigns in Florida, including $53,000 to DeSantis and $25,000 to the Republican Party of Florida.

Garcia praised the board’s work during the governor’s visit last month.

“Instead of acting as a corporate subsidiary of Disney, our board now operates as an independent government agency for all of the citizens of the state of Florida,” he said.

Gilzean told Spectrum News 13 he plans to resign from the district after working with the board on a “seamless transition.” He wouldn’t say how long the process could take because he didn’t want to “get ahead of the board.”

District officials have not responded to questions from the Orlando Sentinel on whether Gilzean has submitted a notice of resignation or received written authorization to work as Orange County’s election chief.

Garcia is the second board member to resign since DeSantis seized control of it last year. Michael A. Sasso, a Central Florida attorney, resigned in May just a few months into his tenure. His resignation came as his wife, Meredith Sasso, was elevated to the Florida Supreme Court by DeSantis.

Disney is clashing with DeSantis and the district in court. DeSantis won a victory in a federal lawsuit filed by Disney, accusing him of political retaliation. Disney is appealing that ruling dismissing the suit. The oversight district sued Disney in state court, asking a judge to void agreements limiting its authority over development.

The Orange County elections chief position, which Gilzean now fills, became vacant when Bill Cowles, a Democrat, resigned on Jan. 31. That allowed DeSantis to appoint a temporary director to oversee voting in one of Florida’s most Democratic counties.

Gilzean’s appointment lasts only until the winner of the election in November takes office in January 2025. Gilzean, who has no experience running elections, is currently not listed as a candidate.

Kopelousos’ work for the governor includes serving as his legislative affairs director. In that role, Kopelousos worked behind the scenes to get Disney World a carve-out from the governor’s Big Tech social media bill three years ago, when the company still was contributing to his gubernatorial reelection campaign.

Kopelousos also served as Clay County manager for eight years and was Department of Transportation secretary under former Gov. Charlie Crist.

Stewart said she thinks Kopelousos is qualified and will work across the aisle, but the board should consider other candidates and conduct interviews before making its decision.

“That would be a better process than the governor having total say in who he puts into the office,” Stewart said. “They just hire people they know.”

Staff writer Jeffrey Schweers contributed to this report.

By Dave Skretta

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will remain at T-Mobile Center through 2031, commissioner Brett Yormark said Tuesday night, shortly before Texas and Iowa State played for the women’s title in the building for the first time.

The women’s tournament had long been played down the street from the glitzy downtown arena at Municipal Auditorium, which has tremendous history as one of the homes of early NCAA championship games but has grown antiquated over time.

One of Yormark’s priorities after taking over leadership of the Big 12 was to raise the profile of the women’s tournament, and that meant moving it to the T-Mobile Center. That also required moving the dates of the championship, with early-round games occurring last week and the title game Tuesday night following the first two games of the men’s tournament.

“I think I said to many last year, when I came here the first time to the community, met with many of the leaders, it was a real easy decision when I went back to Dallas that we needed to double down on this community,” Yormark said. “It feels like a Super Bowl each time we’re here. The fan support is tremendous. The community is tremendous.”

The men’s and women’s tournaments were scheduled to be played in Kansas City through 2027, so the extension amounts to four years. But it also comes as the league expands its footprint west with Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah replacing Oklahoma and Texas in the league, and that gave the Big 12 other hosting options such as Las Vegas and Phoenix.

In fact, the Big 12 will be holding its football media days in Las Vegas later this year.

“We are a national conference now. We’re in 10 states, four time zones,” Yormark said. “When it comes to men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s soccer, this needed to be our home. We’re going to football media day in Vegas, which we are excited about, and there will be other opportunities to move closer to that footprint, but we needed to be in Kansas City.”

Along with the basketball tournaments, Yormark announced that the Big 12 women’s soccer championship was moving to CPKC Stadium. The first stadium facility built for a women’s professional soccer club in the U.S. — in this case, the Kansas City Current of the National Women’s Soccer League — is scheduled to open Saturday when the Current plays Portland.

“It’s an amazing time to be in Kansas City, and it’s an amazing time to invest in Kansas City,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who has been supportive of an April ballot issue to renew a sales tax that would help fund renovations to Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, along with a new downtown ballpark for the Royals.

“The Big 12 Conference is part of Kansas City’s DNA. We all have stories about the Big 12, or if we’re old enough, the Big Eight here in Kansas City,” Lucas said. “We’re excited to continue to share the story in Kansas City.”

In other news, Yormark said the lame-duck status of Oklahoma and Texas, which are departing for the SEC after this season, has not created any challenges even as the Big 12 looks toward the future as a revamped 16-team league.

“Texas and Oklahoma, great contributors to the conference. Been here since Day 1,” Yormark said. “They’re finishing strong, obviously, and when the time comes, we’ll wish them well. But there’s never been a better time to be part of this conference.”

Yormark also indicated that he would be in favor of expanding the NCAA Tournament.

“I read what you read, and from what I’ve been told, and what I’m reading, there could be modest expansion. I think 76 is the number that has been out there,” he said. “The data shows if you expand to 76, the power-four conferences will benefit mostly, and that includes the Big 12. I’m all about access. We have the deepest conference in America.”

‘Original Sins’ by Erin Young. Flatiron, 368 pages, $28.99 

The Midwest continues to be a formidable place for mystery fiction, with authors capitalizing on the vast rural regions, the close-knit small towns and the cities. Erin Young’s “Original Sins,” her second novel about Riley Fisher, digs deep into the Iowa landscape with an intense action-packed plot and fully realized characters.

“Original Sins” finds Riley starting a new career as an FBI agent in the Des Moines office. That’s a major step up from her job as the first female sergeant in Iowa’s Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office. She has barely settled into her new office when she and another agent are called to the Iowa governor’s mansion.

Jess Cook, Iowa’s first woman governor, has just received an anonymous, misogynistic letter threatening her and her family. The letter contains the markings of the Sin Eater, who violently assaulted about 18 women during the 1990s.

“Original Sins,” by Erin Young (Flatiron/Courtesy)

The Bible-quoting Sin Eater appears to have returned, following several recent brutal attacks on women. The FBI regional branch has not forgotten those women; their photographs remain on the crime scene board. “A wall of sorrows” that the agents will, unfortunately, have to add to.

Riley is assigned to the new Sin Eater task force created by the FBI and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. The pressures to solve the case are immense with public scrutiny not letting up its focus on safety and politics. It also is a chance for Riley to prove herself.

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Young’s debut “The Fields” (2022) was a perceptive look at how family farms are being bought by large agricultural conglomerates. “Original Sins” shows Young can take what could be a routine procedural and reshape the plot into a feminist thriller. “Original Sins” starts on a high note, barely giving the characters, or the readers, time to take a breath as the plot careens to a stunning finale.

Fans of thriller writer Karin Slaughter will find much to like in Young’s “Original Sins.”

A year later, Jordan Poyer is indeed coming to the Miami Dolphins.

The former Buffalo Bills All-Pro safety agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Dolphins on Tuesday night, according to multiple league sources, flipping division rivals in the AFC East after spending the past seven seasons in Buffalo.

Poyer, who has family in South Florida, flirted with the idea of joining Miami last offseason before rejoining the Bills. Last week, Buffalo had Poyer among a series of veterans released for salary cap relief, freeing him up to sign with any team.

Poyer, who turns 33 on April 25, provides another veteran presence to a defense that is being remodeled in 2024 after the Dolphins’ release of cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Jerome Baker and the losses of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins (Las Vegas Raiders), outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (Minnesota Vikings) in free agency, and defensive tackle Raekwon Davis (Indianapolis Colts).

Specifically at safety, Miami is losing Brandon Jones to the Denver Broncos in free agency and had DeShon Elliott as a free agent. Poyer can immediately be slotted in as the starter next to Jevon Holland for a secondary that still needs to add a starting-caliber cornerback opposite star Jalen Ramsey.

Despite his age, Poyer still has shown he has plenty left in the tank. He played 16 games for the Bills last season, with 100 tackles and four pass deflections and a forced fumble. In 2022, he had 63 tackles, four interceptions and eight passes defensed in 12 games as he earned Pro Bowl honors. The 2021 season saw Poyer named a first-team All-Pro safety with five interceptions and 93 tackles.

He and Micah Hyde have formed a vaunted safety tandem for Buffalo in recent years as the Bills have dominated the rivalry with the Dolphins.

Poyer’s career took off when he went to the Bills in 2017. Before that, he was a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 who spent most of that rookie season and the next three years with the Cleveland Browns.

Poyer is married to model and social media influencer Rachel Bush, a Florida Atlantic University alum.

Tuesday night, Bush posted on X, “FINS UP WE ARE HOME !!”

Earlier Tuesday, Miami picked up edge rusher Shaquil Barrett, another 30-plus-year-old veteran who can help a new-look defense compete in 2024. On Monday, the Dolphins agreed to sign linebackers Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr.

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday approved the $92 million bond put up by former President Donald Trump to ensure that writer E. Jean Carroll will receive a jury award for his verbal attacks against her if it survives appeals.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan formally approved the bond on Tuesday, a day after lawyers agreed there was no argument over it.

The bond offered by the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner comes after Trump’s lawyers announced they were appealing the verdict to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Over the weekend at a campaign rally, Trump resumed his attacks on the credibility of the longtime advice columnist, saying she had falsely accused him of raping her in spring 1996 in the dressing room of a luxury department store across the street from Trump Tower.

Her lawyer responded to his remarks at the Georgia rally and a Monday television appearance by suggesting that a third defamation lawsuit was possible if Trump’s verbal attacks continued.

Trump had all but stopped his public attacks on Carroll in the weeks after the $83.3 million January defamation award by a jury that had been instructed only to assess damages from Trump’s 2019 statements while he was president and accept the findings of another Manhattan jury that last May awarded Carroll $5 million.

That jury had concluded that Trump defamed Carroll in 2022 and sexually abused her in 1996, though it also found that he had not raped her according to how rape was defined in New York state. The judge, though, said afterward that the jury’s findings were consistent with how rape is defined in some jurisdictions.

Trump did not show up for the May trial, but he attended nearly every day in January, grumbling about the case aloud even when jurors were seated in the courtroom. His testimony, though, was limited to just a few minutes because he was not permitted to refute conclusions that had been resolved by the jury last year.

Carroll first made her claims public against Trump in a 2019 memoir.

Trump, 77, also faces a $454 million civil fraud penalty after a New York state judge ruled against him recently. He also faces four criminal cases.

A Palm Beach County man fighting extradition from Northern Ireland on a second-degree murder charge lost his last appeal this week in a European court, clearing the way for his return to South Florida to face trial in a 2016 shooting.

Jonah Horne, 28, took his case to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that sending him back to the United States would be unjust because of the likelihood he would be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

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The Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office has indicated on repeated occasions that if Horne is convicted, prosecutors will not seek a sentence of more than 40 years, said office spokesman Marc Freeman.

“The defendant has exhausted all of his appeals concerning his extradition. As such, he is expected back in Palm Beach County,” Freeman said.

Horne is accused of the June 7, 2016, murder of Jacob Walsh, 25, during a drug deal gone bad on North Military Trail in Boca Raton. His co-defendant, Matthew Lewis, pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge and is awaiting sentencing, Freeman said.

According to news reports at the time, Horne traveled to Northern Ireland in October 2016 with $600 in his pocket before he was identified as a suspect in Walsh’s murder. He was arrested the following March in Lisburn on a warrant for the shooting.

The assurance that prosecutors won’t seek a life sentence led the European court to concluded Horne faced no “real risk” of a life sentence without parole. Such a sentence would be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, Horne’s lawyers argued.

Life sentences for second-degree murder convictions are not unusual, but they are not mandatory. Judges typically are usually more lenient than prosecutors at sentencing time, though there are cases in which judges are harsher. An assistant Palm Beach County Public Defender, Scott Pribble, testified in the European court and told judges about several Florida cases in which the judge imposed a sentence greater than prosecutors sought.

Horne’s lawyers in the United Kingdom, Ben Keith and Roger Sahota, said it would be “an embarrassment” if he were to be sentenced to life.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. 

By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman has sued director Roman Polanski, alleging he raped her in his home when she was a minor in 1973.

The woman aired the allegations, which the 90-year-old Polanski has denied, in a news conference with her attorney, Gloria Allred, on Tuesday.

The account is similar to the still-unresolved Los Angeles criminal sexual assault case that prompted Polanski in 1978 to flee to Europe, where he has remained since.

The woman who filed the civil lawsuit said she went to dinner with Polanski, who knew she was under 18, in 1973, months after she had met him at a party. She said Polanski gave her tequila shots at his home beforehand and at the restaurant.

She said she became groggy, and Polanski drove her home. She next remembers lying next to him in his bed.

“He told her that he wanted to have sex with her,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff, though groggy, told Defendant ‘No.’ She told him, ‘Please don’t do this.’ He ignored her pleas. Defendant Polanski removed Plaintiff’s clothes and he proceeded to rape her causing her tremendous physical and emotional pain and suffering.”

Defense attorney Alexander Rufus-Isaacs said in an email Tuesday that Polanski “strenuously denies the allegations made against him in the lawsuit and believes that the proper place to try this case is in the courts.”

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in June under a California law that temporarily allowed people to file claims of childhood sexual abuse after the statute of limitations had expired. Under the law, Polanski also could not be named initially, so the lawsuit was not reported on by media outlets. It seeks damages to be determined at trial.

A judge has since given the plaintiff approval to use his name in the case. The judge on Friday set a 2025 trial date.

In his legal response to the lawsuit, Polanski’s attorney denies all of its allegations and asserts that the lawsuit is unconstitutional because it relies on a law not passed until 1990.

The woman first came forward with her story in 2017, after the woman in Polanski’s criminal case asked a judge to dismiss the charges, which he declined to do.

At the time, the woman who has now filed the civil lawsuit gave her first name and middle initial and said she was 16 at the time of the assault.

In the lawsuit and at Tuesday’s news conference, she did not give her name and said only that she was a minor at the time. She spoke only briefly.

“It took me a really long time to decide to file this suit against Mr. Polanski, but I finally did make that decision,” she said. “I want to file it to obtain justice and accountability.”

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.

At least three other women have come forward with stories of Polanski sexually abusing them.

A major figure in the New Hollywood film renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s, Polanski directed movies including “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Chinatown.”

In 1977, he was charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He reached an agreement with prosecutors that he would plead guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse and would not have to go to prison beyond the jail time he had already served.

But Polanski feared that the judge was going to renege on the agreement before it was finalized and in 1978 fled to Europe. According to transcripts unsealed in 2022, a prosecutor testified that the judge had in fact planned to reject the deal.

Polanski’s lawyers have been fighting for years to end the case and lift an international arrest warrant that confined him to his native France, Switzerland and Poland, where authorities have rejected U.S. requests for his extradition.

He continued making films and won an Oscar for best director for “The Pianist” in 2003. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled him in 2018 after the #MeToo movement gained momentum.

Doug Thron was strolling back to his houseboat on the Isle of Venice in Fort Lauderdale when he got a strong whiff of something ghastly.

“I thought ‘My God, what’s that smell?’” Thron said Tuesday.

It turned out to be diesel fuel from a boat that sank to the bottom of the canal on Saturday.

“I couldn’t even stay on my houseboat for the last few days because the smell is so strong,” Thron said. “The whole neighborhood is up in arms about it.”

Worried about the fuel spreading and possibly killing marine life, Thron says he and his neighbors called “everyone under the sun,” including the local fire department, the U.S. Coast Guard and officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, Thron says he was relieved to see the salvage company Tow Boat U.S.A. show up to remove the leaking boat.

Fort Lauderdale firefighters checked things out on Saturday after getting a complaint about the boat sinking, Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said

The firefighters alerted the Coast Guard.

“At that time, there were no leaks,” Gollan said. “On Sunday they went out again and noticed it was beginning to leak.”

Coast Guard officials were in touch with the owner by Monday, Gollan said.

“Tow Boat U.S.A. told us on Monday they were still waiting on approval from the owner to move the boat,” Gollan said.

Crews with Tow Boat U.S.A. work Tuesday to remove a boat that sank along the Isle of Venice in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The boat started leaking fuel on Sunday. (Doug Thron/Courtesy)

In the meantime, the salvage company is cleaning up the immediate area where the boat sank, Gollan said.

But with tidal surge, some of the diesel fuel and possibly motor oil might have spread into nearby waterways, Gollan said. If the damage is widespread, Gollan said the city would hire a subcontractor to handle the cleanup and bill the owner. But it’s too soon to say if that’s the case, he said.

“We won’t know until the boat’s gone,” Gollan said.

The boat wasn’t towed away until just before 5 p.m.

Thron says he was stunned that no one took action right away.

“A boat like that could probably hold a few hundred gallons of fuel,” Thron said. “I would have thought in this day and age, there would have been a rapid response. To me, it was a huge deal. If a boat is leaking gas into a waterway, the government should be able to step in and remove it and figure out who pays later. Now the fuel is all over the canal.”

But government officials are required to first find the owner, said Mark Ercolin, an attorney specializing in maritime law.

“Here’s how it would usually go,” he said. “Boat sinks. First question is, who owns the boat? If they can’t find the owner, it becomes a big question of who pays the salvage company. … It’s not done for free.”

Thron says he’s worried about all the fish and manatees that swim up and down the canal. He hasn’t seen any since the boat started leaking on Sunday.

Nearby resident Suzee Bailey wondered why the city didn’t put up signs warning people about the fuel spill.

“We have signs when there’s heavy flooding,” Bailey said. “Do you think it’s healthy to be paddle boarding through those areas? People can smell the fumes, but what about what you can’t smell? My first concern is public safety. How can you worry about what you don’t know about?”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me @Susannah_Bryan

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis has agreed to terms with the Indianapolis Colts on a two-year, $14 million contract, according to ESPN.

Davis, the Dolphins’ 2020 second-round pick, had 28 tackles and one sack in 17 games last season.

Davis, a pending free agent, seemed likely to depart and his exit leaves yet another hole in a defensive front that’s been rocked by the departures of tackle Christian Wilkins and the injuries to edge rushers Bradley Chubb (knee) and Jaelan Phillips.

Davis totaled 129 tackles in four years with Miami, along with 2.5 sacks.

Tuesday has been a relatively quiet day for Miami.

It agreed to terms with Tampa Buccaneers edge rusher Shaq Barrett.

The Dolphins had a busy day Monday, the first day teams and players were allowed to agree to contract terms. Contracts can’t be signed until 4 p.m. Wednesday, the start of the new league year.

Miami lost guard Robert Hunt to the Carolina Panthers, Wilkins to the Las Vegas Raiders, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel to the Minnesota Vikings and safety Brandon Jones to the Denver Broncos.

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The Dolphins agreed to terms with Seattle linebacker Jordyn Brooks, the apparent replacement for Jerome Baker, Cleveland linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., and Tennessee center Aaron Brewer, the apparent replacement for center Connor Williams.

Just as importantly, the Dolphins got salary cap compliant for 2024 as they restructured contracts for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, defensive tackle Zach Sieler, fullback Alec Ingold and tight end Durham Smythe.

The Dolphins got more financial wiggle room by adjusting the contract of Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, who is returning to the team.

Before Monday’s flurry of activity the Dolphins made some fairly meaningful moves among signing tight end Jonnu Smith, re-signing safety Elijah Campbell and guard Robert Jones, who could have become restricted free agents, and re-signing cornerback Nik Needham and punter Jake Bailey.

In moves that could matter to the Dolphins, Buffalo defensive tackle DaQuan Jones agreed to terms to return to the Bills late Monday night on a two-year, $16 million deal with $10.5 million guaranteed.