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General Daily Insight for July 17, 2024

Let the good times roll! With the emotional Moon trining lovely Venus, our hearts lead us in a pleasantly social direction, encouraging our ability to manifest abundance as well as find peace with the people that we care about. The Moon then faces off with expansive Jupiter at 7:20 pm EDT, blowing emotional situations out of proportion, whether in good ways or bad. The best way to channel this energy would be to trust that our feelings will teach us what we need to know.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

You could be taking a risk in order to invite positive people into your life. You might have been worried about putting yourself out there to meet newbies, as there’s always a risk that new friendships will destabilize your dynamic with old ones. Change is natural — and you’re allowed to have friends that don’t know each other. Either way, avoid worrying about such things while spending time with either group. As much as possible, keep your head and your heart in the moment.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

You’re seeking out peace for your place, wherever that is. Perhaps you’re redecorating your home in order to create a more healing and positive vibe when you have people over or for the other people who live there with you — or just for you! There’s also strong potential to find healing with family members or with close friends at the moment, so spending time in their presence is a great way to re-energize yourself. The one potential pitfall is overspending on your new decor

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You’re letting your heart do the talking. You may have been overthinking what you wanted to say to someone else or continually pondering the perfect words that should get the response that you’re looking for from them. The actual best way to manage this would be to speak what you’re truly feeling. Just be wary of getting caught up in defensiveness or needless debates! Try to keep any argumentative energy to a minimum — that way you can both say what needs to be said.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

You’re bringing in assets through current consistency. Attempts to keep up good habits and avoid past bad ones are extra likely to be paying off. For instance, if you’ve been going for a daily walk, you may notice that you’ve got an abundance of new energy. If you’ve been saving a little bit of money each week, it’s potentially starting to add up to something substantial. While temptations or distractions might lurk around every corner, just keep your eyes on the prize!

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Your point of view may boost your progress on your goals. You may struggle to see how being yourself will support your journey, but now is not the time to fall back on past insecurities or allow your nerves to prevent you from reaching your destiny. Don’t worry that other people could be doing it “better!” No matter how highly acclaimed they are, they can’t do it like you. Your unique nature shapes your dreams in irreplicable ways. Seize the day for yourself!

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

You’re creating peace, but you may struggle to defend it from someone else. There could be an issue with work/life balance for you at present, or you might have a personal authority figure causing you stress. Although it’s easier said than done, it’s important that you protect your soul. You might feel inclined to make yourself uncomfortable or exhausted in vain efforts to please this person, but the more that you do for yourself, the more success you should be able to find.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

You’re creating peace among the people around you. You’re probably working hard to make sure that your circle is getting along. It’s possible that you’re expressing things to loved ones that other people should be the ones saying. If you find yourself as the mouthpiece for someone else’s apology or end up explaining how someone feels and why you think they’re reacting the way they are, try to step back. Make sure that you’re not wasting your energy on someone who’s refusing to grow.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

How many people around you need help you could offer? There may be someone in your life who’s struggling to create stability, and you lending a hand could make all the difference to them. While it’s great of you to be generous with your time, energy, money, or resources, you’re also allowed to want support as well. Maybe you can pick up lunch for the two of you, where they can then be a listening ear while you vent about something stressful. Avoid one-sided connections.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

You might be getting out of your comfort zone to learn more about yourself. This is likely to be rewarding and exhilarating for you, allowing you to make refreshing shifts and explore new ways of life. However, there may be people in your life who think that the way that you’re going about life is too reckless or inconsistent. Their quibbles could create issues for you if you don’t politely but firmly reject their critiques right away. Your life is yours to live.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Positive new resources may come with strings attached. You might have wanted to engage in a business opportunity, a financial agreement, or simply a personal promise. Once you have it, though, you could worry that you’re not going to be able to hold up your end of the bargain. Ultimately, you’re worrying before you’ve even had a chance to allocate any updated resources — plus, it’s important to have some faith in yourself, in addition to a budget. Use these things wisely!

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Abundance may come in the form of friendship. You might have been wondering where the people that you’re meant to spend time with are, or you could feel like you won’t find that chosen family that you hear about from others who’ve been in a long-standing, positive friend group. While it’s understandable that you might be worried about this, it’s important to be open to meeting new people, too. You can’t meet your soul family if you’re not giving them a chance to find you!

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

You have the potential to have a lot of fun — if you can pause thoughts of potential future work. Your mind may be stuck on your chores at home if you’re at work, or your thoughts could continually return to tasks left at work even once you’ve clocked out. Either way, it’ll be tough to relax even after finishing the day’s most vital duties. Instead of remaining mired in tomorrow’s concerns, do your best to stay present today. Fun is important, too!

Boynton Beach commissioners decided Tuesday night to try to prevent the rehiring of a veteran officer who was fired in 2022 after chasing a 13-year-old boy, who crashed and died on his dirt bike.

The city attorney will appeal an arbitrator’s recent decision that Mark Sohn, a nearly 20-year officer with Boynton Beach Police, should get his job back.

Sohn chased Stanley “SJ” Davis III the day after Christmas in 2021 after he attempted to pull over Davis at a gas station on North Federal Highway. Davis fled and crashed as Sohn chased him.

Sohn’s pursuit “clearly and unequivocally” violated the department’s policy, then-Interim City Manager James Stables wrote in Sohn’s termination letter in 2022. The policy says officers are only allowed to chase for forcible felonies. An Internal Affairs investigation suggested that Sohn, who had a history of engaging in multiple pursuits that ended in deaths, “attempted to conceal” that he was chasing Davis that afternoon.

Arbitrator James W. Mastriani wrote in a 43-page opinion dated May 20 that though Sohn did violate the pursuit policy, the city did not have just cause to fire him. Mastriani determined Sohn should get his job back without back pay and that any future violations of the policy would be grounds for him to immediately be fired. The city had 90 days to appeal the decision.

At Tuesday’s commission meeting, commissioners unanimously cleared the way for the city attorney to appeal the arbitrator’s award. Vice Mayor Aimee Kelley, Commissioner Woodrow Hay and Commissioner Angela Cruz each gave approval to file the appeal. Mayor Ty Penserga and Commissioner Thomas Turkin were not at the meeting at the time of the vote.

Many community pastors, activists, Boynton Beach residents and Davis’s family members spoke during public comment, urging the city to appeal the arbitrator’s decision.

Davis’s mother, Shannon Thompson, started by saying she is “not the first mother to have experienced this,” referencing Sohn’s past pursuits that ended in deaths. Sohn was suspended previously for one day without pay after a chase that ended in the death of 38-year-old Cyrus Deal in 2012. In 2016, a driver who was fleeing from Sohn lost control and crashed, hitting and killing 5-year-old Jayden Readon. Sohn was not disciplined.

Before then, Sohn was suspended for a week for violating the pursuit policy in 2004, though the police department no longer had records in that case. A 2004 Sun Sentinel report said Sohn and two other officers pursued a stolen car, putting drivers and pedestrians in danger during rush-hour traffic. Sohn was disciplined for violating the pursuit policy in July 2010, but the department also no longer had records in that Internal Affairs investigation.

“I don’t know about you guys, but seeing my 13-year-old son lie on that asphalt breathless is an image that I cannot wipe out of my memory  … I’m just baffled for words to even have to be standing here and constantly pleading with you guys when this should not even be a topic of discussion. His record is so despicable,” Thompson said.

Dedrick Straghn, an attorney and president of the South Palm Beach County branch of the NAACP, said he believes the arbitrator’s opinion is “riddled with contradictions.” He pointed out in the opinion where the arbitrator wrote that the past discipline Sohn received for violating the pursuit policy gave him “insufficient notice of the importance of compliance.”

“Everybody, marinate on what that means. What the arbitrator is saying is even though this officer was responsible or involved in incidents that caused the deaths of three people, the penalties that he suffered was such that this 20-year veteran officer had no idea how important it was for him to continue to comply with city policy,” Straghn said. “Is it just me, or is that one of the most ridiculous things that anybody in this room has ever heard?”

Pernell Davis, Davis’s uncle, said that because they weren’t notified by the city about the arbitrator’s decision in May, the family had been “definitely reliving some of that hurt” they felt immediately after his nephew’s death, when the family routinely spoke publicly about a lack of communication between them and city officials.

“We’re here. We’re willing to have that relationship, but we also want you to know that it’s definitely a slap in the face to even think about the possibility of getting the job back,” he said.

Pastor Richard Dames, senior pastor at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, said the Black community is afraid and outraged at the idea of Sohn getting his job back.

“How much more pain and problems does this commission intend to pour out on the very families who have lost loved ones at the hands of this individual?” Dames said.

Resident Lesha Roundtree, who stood at the lectern with her son who is not much younger than Davis was, said other officers on the force she has talked to are afraid, too, and feel as if they will “have to watch their backs.” She said her 10-year-old son is “a good kid, just like their son was” and that she sympathizes with Davis’s family as a mother of her own young child.

“I feel for that mother and that family because again, my son is a good kid, and it’s like if he just made one wrong decision in this community, he’ll be dead,” Roundtree said. “And that’s how a lot of our parents are feeling … the kids in this community are feeling  —  if we make one wrong turn, we’ll be dead just like our friend in the community.”

Commissioners did not have any discussion about the arbitrator’s decision or their approval for the appeal during the meeting.

“With the approval of the consent agenda, Boynton Beach city commissioners voted to appeal the decision of the arbitrator,” city spokesperson Dani Moschella said in a text message to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The city intends to exhaust all means in this case to ensure a fair and equitable process for the community and the city of Boynton Beach.”

Information from the Sun Sentinel archives was used in this report. 

DALLAS — Georgia defender Mykel Williams fielded questions Tuesday at SEC Media Days with his game face firmly in place.

But when tailback Trevor Etienne entered the conversation, the menacing pass rusher broke into the wide, knowing grin.

Asked what the Florida transfer brings the Bulldogs, Williams simply said, “Juice” — and laughed.

Etienne’s addition energized a program seeking some new playmakers on offense.

While his impact has yet to be felt on Saturdays in Athens, his departure was an offseason gut punch in Gainesville.

UF’s most explosive playmaker down the stretch could now be its biggest problem when the rivals meet Nov. 2 in Jacksonville to begin a season-ending gauntlet for the Gators.

“His ability to make a safety miss, take it all the way to the end zone — that’s huge,” quarterback Carson Beck said. “We don’t have to do as much when you have that type of big-play impact. Also out of the backfield receiving abilities, check it down, he’s going to go get 10, 15 [yar]s), be able to make a guy miss.

“Super excited to see what he’s able to.”

Florida running back Trevor Etienne glides to the end zone for a touchdown against Arkansas, one of 8 rushing touchdowns in 2023. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

Etienne’s transition to a new school to hit a snag March 24 when he was arrested and jailed for DUI. The charges were dismissed last week as he pled no contest to reckless driving and underage possession of alcohol.

Four other Georgia players since have been arrested or cited for driving related issues, a continuing problem in Athens since the Jan. 15, 2023 fatal crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.

“The incidents that we’ve had off the field are not something that that we condone,” Smart said Tuesday, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. “It’s very unfortunate — disappointing I guess is the best word.”

Etienne joins an attack that averaged 40.1 points in 2023 and returns the SEC’s top quarterback in Beck. But the Bulldogs also have major holes to fill, beginning with All-American tight end Brock Bowers who was able to line up in different spots, find space and make defenses pay.

The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Etienne possesses similar home-run ability and has been a quick study.

Georgia defensive back Malaki Sparks appears on a radio show during SEC Media Days Tuesday in Dallas. (Jeffrey McWhorter/AP)

“It’s crazy because he can be here and be there in a second,” All-America safety Malaki Starks said. “Being out there this spring just watching him learn the offense, being able to still be who he is it’s just an incredible.”

Etienne’s footwork, vision and acceleration allowed him to shine behind the Gators’ leaky offensive line, highlighted by a three-game November stretch when he averaged 115.3 yards from scrimmage and scored six times during losses to Arkansas, LSU and Missouri.

At Georgia, Etienne will be able to maximize his abilities behind an offensive line returning four starters and considered the nation’s best. He also arrives as the Bulldogs push to replace 1,000-yard rusher Daijun Edwards and sidekick Kendall Milton, a duo that rushed for 1,893 yards and 27 touchdowns.

“He’s able to be patient in the hole before he hits the gap,” Williams said. “In the spring, he kind of surprised me with how patient he was. I really liked it.”

Carson Beck returns as the quarterback for Georgia, and he has a new backfield weapon in Trevor Etienne from UF. (Jeffrey McWhorter/AP)

Etienne’s patience was tested during two seasons at Florida.

Operating in a two-tailback system at UF, he and Montrell Johnson Jr. rushed 1,628 yards and 13 touchdowns last year — 8 by Etienne on 21 fewer carries — during a 5-7 season.

Eager for more touches and wins, Etienne entered the transfer portal less than two weeks after making his first career start during a Nov. 25  loss to Florida State in the Swamp.

After two seasons wearing No. 7, Etienne assumed the No. 1 jersey at Georgia, the number Johnson dons with the Gators.

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is seriously considering legislative proposals that would dramatically alter the Supreme Court, including imposing term limits and an enforceable code of ethics on the justices, according to a person familiar with the ongoing discussions.

Biden’s proposals to overhaul the court, which could be unveiled in the coming weeks, would need congressional approval, something that is likely to be a long shot, given Republican control of the House and the slim Democratic majority in the Senate.

The president is also considering calling for a constitutional amendment that could limit the broad presidential immunity that the court’s conservative majority backed at the end of its term this year, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the president’s deliberations have not been made public.

Biden has called the court’s ruling a “dangerous precedent” that means “that there are virtually no limits on what a president can do.” But an amendment would face even greater challenges, requiring two-thirds votes in Congress or at a convention called for by two-thirds of the states, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures.

In a virtual meeting over the weekend with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Biden said he was considering changes to the court but did not provide any specifics to the lawmakers.

“I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out,” he said, referring to the proposals under consideration. “I don’t want to prematurely announce it, but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court and what we do.”

He added, “I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help.”

It appeared that Biden meant that he would need help passing the legislation required to advance his proposals through Congress, though it was not clear whether he would try to do that this year or in a second term if he won in November.

Biden’s consideration of major court changes, which were reported earlier by The Washington Post, is a shift for the president, who for years has rebuffed progressive activists and academics who have urged him to make changes to limit the power of the conservatives on the court. A commission created by Biden in 2021 to examine the issues deadlocked without making any specific recommendations, and the president did not take any action.

Since then, the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has overturned Roe v. Wade, blocked gun control measures, eliminated affirmative action in college admissions, and diminished LGBTQ+ rights.

Several of the justices have also found themselves at the middle of ethics scandals. Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose lavish gifts and luxury travel, while the wife of Justice Samuel Alito flew flags suggesting allegiance with rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The president is now in a fierce fight for another term in office, and proposals to change the court are likely to appeal to many of his supporters, especially in the wake of a series of decisions by the conservative justices.

The president is unlikely, however, to embrace the most radical idea pushed by progressive activists: packing the court with more liberals by expanding the number of justices from the current nine who sit on the bench. In 2023, Biden rejected that idea.

“If we start the process of trying to expand the court, we’re going to politicize it maybe forever in a way that is not healthy,” he said at the time in an interview with MSNBC.

Public polling suggests that if he proceeds, it will be popular with Americans. Several surveys over the past few years show that large majorities support term limits for the justices and imposing an ethics code.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law amid growing concerns that the justices are not held accountable, according to three people briefed on the plans.

It would mark a major shift for Biden, the former head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to reform the high court, though since taking office he has been increasingly vocal about his belief that the court is abandoning mainstream constitutional interpretation. The details were first reported by The Washington Post.

Any changes would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely in a divided Congress. But with Republican nominee Donald Trump bragging about putting the three justices on the high court who are now part of the conservative majority, Biden’s call for major changes could help animate his voters.

Biden is also considering calling for a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the broad immunity for presidents granted by the court in its most recent term, after Donald Trump claimed he was immune from prosecution for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters violently descended on the U.S. Capitol.

The people were not authorized to speak publicly about proposals that have not been finalized and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The consideration of such proposals comes in response to growing outrage among Democrats about high court opinions that overturned landmark decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers that had stood for decades. There have also been increasing questions surrounding the ethics of the court after revelations about some of the justices, including that Clarence Thomas had accepted luxury trips from a GOP megadonor.

Biden in an interview with BET on Tuesday predicted “there are probably going to be two more appointments” in the coming four years when justices retire and blamed Trump for nominating three conservative justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. “Just imagine if he has two more appointments, what that means,” he said.

The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposal.

Biden, speaking in a weekend call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, talked about the possibility, the people said. Biden often tells voters they need more Democrats in Congress and a Democrat in the White House to counter the impact of the conservative-leaning court, but these proposals would go much further.

“And by the way, I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out. I don’t want to prematurely announce it, but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court and what we do and — I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” he said, according to a transcript of the call.

About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, according to a 2022 poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

According to June survey on the court, confidence remains low: 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they have hardly any confidence in the people running the Supreme Court.

The survey found that 7 in 10 Americans think the high court’s justices are more influenced by ideology, while only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults think the justices are more likely to provide an independent check on other branches of government by being fair and impartial.

In November, the court adopted its first code of ethics. The policy, agreed to by all nine justices, does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each justice.

Republicans have focused for years on remaking the federal judiciary and Supreme Court. When Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the majority leader, he refused to even meet in 2016 with Obama’s pick for the high court — current Attorney General Merrick Garland, a federal judge at that time. The nomination stalled until a Republican president, Trump, took over.

Establishment GOP operatives backed Trump because of his pledge to name as many judges to the bench as possible. Their gamble worked. Trump ended up with three Supreme Court nominees and 54 federal appeals court judges, reshaping the courts for a generation.

Democrats are now finally understanding the power of judges as a voting tool, and Biden has made judicial nominations a priority, appointing a record number of judges for a president at this point in his first term, including some of the most diverse picks yet to the judiciary. Biden often speaks about those accomplishments during his reelection campaign, but Democrats have pushed him to go further.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, panned the possible Biden move, saying: “The Democrats are attempting to interfere in the Presidential Election, and destroy our Justice System, by attacking their Political Opponent, ME, and our Honorable Supreme Court. We have to fight for our Fair and Independent Courts, and protect our Country.”

NEW YORK (AP) — The leader of a neo-Nazi extremist group based in eastern Europe has been charged with plotting to have an associate dress up as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children in New York City to sow terror, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old man from the Republic of Georgia, was indicted on four charges, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. It wasn’t known if he has an attorney.

Chkhikvishvili, who has various nicknames including Commander Butcher, allegedly leads the Maniac Murder Cult, which prosecutors said is an international extremist group that adheres to a “neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems ‘undesirables.’ ”

The group’s goal is to upset social order and governments via terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos, the statement said.

Chkhikvishvili was arrested after he tried to recruit an undercover law enforcement officer to join his group and commit violent crimes such as bombings and arsons, according to court documents.

In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili began planning a “mass casualty event” for New York City on New Year’s Eve, prosecutors said.

“The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn,” the Department of Justice statement said.

He “drafted step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme” and shared with the undercover officer “detailed manuals on creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases,” the statement said.

Prosecutors said since September 2021, Chkhikvishvili has distributed a manifesto titled the “Hater’s Handbook” in which he states that he has “murdered for the white race” and encourages others to do the same.

“For example, and among other things, the handbook encourages its readers to commit school shootings and to use children to perpetrate suicide bombings and other mass killings targeting racial minorities,” the Justice Department statement said. “The document describes methods and strategies for committing mass ‘terror attacks,’ including, for example, using vehicles to target ‘large outdoor festivals, conventions, celebrations and parades’ and ‘pedestrian congested streets.’ It specifically encourages committing attacks within the United States.”

Chkhikvishvili traveled to New York City at least twice in 2022 and stayed with his paternal grandmother in Brooklyn, officials said.

If convicted, Chkhikvishvili faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for solicitation of violent felonies, five years for conspiring to solicit violent felonies, 20 years for distributing information pertaining to the making and use of explosive devices and five years for transmitting threatening communication.

A dive bar that has been a staple in Lake Worth Beach for decades has received immense backlash from supporters of Donald Trump after it displayed a message on its marquee sign making a joking reference to the attempted assassination of the former president.

Since Monday, many people have posted photos of Harry’s Banana Farm’s recent marquee sign in reviews on Yelp: “How do you miss a head that’s that inflated?” the sign said.

At an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, a 20-year-old man positioned on a roof with an AR-style rifle shot at Trump from over 100 yards away, hitting Trump’s ear and killing a spectator, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore. He was a former fire chief who attempted to shield his family when the gunfire erupted. At least two others were injured, the Associated Press reported.

Harry’s page on Yelp was flooded with negative reviews from outraged Trump supporters, so much so that Yelp now gives an “unusual activity alert” to users who click on the bar’s page, warning that it has “recently received increased public attention” and that it has temporarily disabled the ability for anyone to post reviews.

The business apparently removed multiple previous posts from its public Facebook page after receiving a huge backlash from Trump supporters in the comments.

It was not immediately clear when the sign was posted or when it was taken down. Harry’s Facebook page shows a new sign had been posted by about 4 p.m. Tuesday: “Yeah for Trump, so happy for him, you crazy bastards happy.”

A photo posted in a Facebook group for Trump supporters shared Tuesday afternoon showed a few people with Trump flags standing on the street corner across from the bar.

General manager Lou De Stout did not return a voicemail from a reporter Tuesday afternoon. The bar’s phone number appears to be temporarily unavailable.

WPTV-Ch. 5 reported that De Stout said the message was up for less than 24 hours before the business started receiving threats.

“You know, that sign is meant to be humorous, and I thought it was just another humorous sign, but apparently it struck a nerve,” De Stout told the TV station.

Harry’s Banana Farm, at 1919 N. Dixie Highway, is well known to locals for the messages it displays on its marquee. They often make joking and controversial references to current events, news and politics.

Staff writer Shira Moolten contributed to this report. 

Carlos & Pepe’s, the revered Mexican cantina, has permanently closed after 45 years on Fort Lauderdale’s 17th Street Causeway.

The upscale restaurant, under new ownership since June 2023, made no announcement on social media, nor through its website. Instead, a North Palm Beach-based Sunshine Auction Services on Tuesday announced plans for a next-day sale to liquidate the restaurant’s “complete contents,” 203 lots in all. The auction website, which mentions Carlos & Pepe’s name and address, lists everything from ceiling chandeliers and flatscreen TVs to back-of-house dinner plates and stainless-steel prep tables.

“Short notice sale! Short notice sale! Added at last minute, we are selling the complete contents of this upscale, like-new Mexican restaurant located in the heart of the causeway!” the company posted on Facebook. The auction is scheduled for noon Wednesday online and in person at the restaurant, 1302 SE 17th St.

Carlo’s & Pepe’s has been shut since July 1, after initially posting a “Closed for HVAC maintenance” sign on its front door along with a note describing the shutdown as temporary.

“We will be closing … until further notice,” the message read, adding that a Carlos & Pepe’s food truck would offer to-go orders “as an alternative option.”

Rich and Paula Ehmke took over ownership of Fort Lauderdale’s Carlos & Pepe’s in June 2023. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Asked last week about the restaurant’s status, co-owner Paula Ehmke told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Carlos & Pepe’s was “temporarily closed.”

“Right now the restaurant is temporarily closed (that’s the notice that we have posted right now) as we are trying to get our HVAC system resolved,” Ehmke said.

Multiple follow-up phone calls and texts to Ehmke’s cellphone went unanswered Wednesday afternoon.

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The closing falls one year after Ehmke and her husband, Richard, took ownership of the iconic restaurant in June 2023 from longtime employee Roberto Martinez, who retired after 44 years, and locals John and Sandy Benz.

Ehmke, a California and Fort Lauderdale restaurateur (Café Maxx, Bistro Mezzaluna and Valentina Cucina Italiana), at the time told the Sun Sentinel she’d signed a 10-year lease and planned to “bring this restaurant back to its luster” with a refreshed decor and menu, adding that they’d get “rid of what’s not selling.”

Customers enjoy a meal at Carlos & Pepe’s in Fort Lauderdale in December 2023. (John McCall/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Menu changes last summer prompted near-instant backlash and negative reviews from customers who complained about new food items, inconsistent quality and wobbly service. Others complained about the removal of classic Carlos & Pepe’s items, including its brown sauce. In response, the Ehmkes posted a mea culpa on Facebook, promising to earn “back [customers’] trust.”

“We took our shots online,” Richard Ehmke said in December 2023. “There were some that were BS, but others were well-deserved. I get it, you go to your restaurant and there’s something you like and all of a sudden they take it off the menu. That sucks. I’ve been there. I said, ‘Listen, you have my word, give me a minute, we’ll get it right.’ ”

Dave Alderman, a restaurateur and surfer from California, founded the cantina with restaurateurs Burt Rapoport and Dennis Max in 1979. Rapoport and Max left the partnership after a few months, but Alderman remained until 2017, when he sold Carlos & Pepe’s to Martinez.

By ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former CIA employee and senior official at the National Security Council has been charged with serving as a secret agent for South Korea’s intelligence service, the Justice Department said.

Sue Mi Terry accepted luxury goods, including fancy handbags, and expensive dinners at sushi restaurants in exchange for advocating South Korean government positions during media appearances, sharing nonpublic information with intelligence officers and facilitating access for South Korean officials to U.S. government officials, according to an indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan.

She also admitted to the FBI that she served as a source of information for South Korean intelligence, including by passing handwritten notes from an off-the-record June 2022 meeting that she participated in with Secretary of State Antony Blinken about U.S. government policy toward North Korea , the indictment says.

Prosecutors say South Korean intelligence officers also covertly paid her more than $37,000 for a public policy program that Terry controlled that was focused on Korean affairs.

The conduct at issue occurred in the years after Terry left the U.S. government and worked at think tanks, where she became a prominent public policy voice on foreign affairs.

Lee Wolosky, a lawyer for Terry, said in a statement that the “allegations are unfounded and distort the work of a scholar and news analyst known for her independence and years of service to the United States.”

He said she had not held a security clearance for more than a decade and her views have been consistent.

“In fact, she was a harsh critic of the South Korean government during times this indictment alleges that she was acting on its behalf,” he said. “Once the facts are made clear it will be evident the government made a significant mistake.”

Terry served in the government from 2001 to 2011, first as a CIA analyst and later as the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council, before working for think tanks, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

Prosecutors say Terry never registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent.

On disclosure forms filed with the House of Representatives, where she testified at least three times between 2016 and 2022, she said that she was not an “active registrant” but also never disclosed her covert work with South Korea, preventing Congress from having “the opportunity to fairly evaluate Terry’s testimony in light of her longstanding efforts” for the government, the indictment says.

Funds providing home inspections for Florida homes dry up  NBC2 News

Funds providing home inspections for Florida homes dry up  NBC2 News

Part of My Safe Florida Home program paused as funding runs out  WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm

Home inspector says he’s ‘more impressed [by] fifth grade gingerbread houses’ than some of the problematic new builds in Carolina. Here’s how to make sure you don’t buy a money pit  Moneywise

Today is Tuesday, July 16, the 198th day of 2024. There are 168 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 16, 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare (mar-AY’) Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas.

Also on this date:

In 1790, a site along the Potomac River was designated the permanent seat of the United States government; the area became Washington, D.C.

In 1862, Flag Officer David G. Farragut became the first rear admiral in the United States Navy.

In 1951, the novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger was first published by Little, Brown and Co.

In 1957, Marine Corps Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record by flying a Vought F8U Crusader jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8.4 seconds.

In 1964, as he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater declared that “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice” and that “moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

In 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy in Florida on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement by a federal judge in New York for lying about a stock sale.

In 2008, Florida resident Casey Anthony, whose 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, had been missing a month, was arrested on charges of child neglect, making false official statements and obstructing a criminal investigation. (Casey Anthony was later acquitted at trial of murdering Caylee, whose skeletal remains were found in December 2008; Casey was convicted of lying to police.)

In 2015, a jury in Centennial, Colorado, convicted James Holmes of 165 counts of murder, attempted murder and other charges in the 2012 Aurora movie theater rampage that left 12 people dead.

In 2017, 10 people died at a popular swimming hole in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest after a rainstorm unleashed a flash flood.

In 2018, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, President Donald Trump openly questioned the finding of his own intelligence agencies that Russia had meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to his benefit. (Trump said a day later that he misspoke.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• International Tennis Hall of Famer Margaret Court is 82.
• Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson is 81.
• Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 76.
• Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 76.
• Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 72.
• Playwright Tony Kushner is 68.
• Dancer Michael Flatley is 66.
• Former actor and teen model Phoebe Cates is 61.
• Actor Daryl “Chill” Mitchell is 59.
• Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 57.
• Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders is 56.
• Actor Corey Feldman is 53.
• Actor Jayma Mays is 45.
• Retired soccer star Carli Lloyd is 42.
• Actor AnnaLynne McCord is 37.
• Actor-singer James Maslow (Big Time Rush) is 34.
• Actor Mark Indelicato is 30.
• Pop singer-musician Luke Hemmings (5 Seconds to Summer) is 28.

Part of My Safe Florida Home program paused as funding runs out  WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm

General Daily Insight for July 16, 2024

You’re creating your stability. Thanks to the emotional Moon trining the confident Sun at 11:04 am EDT, healing moments with close friends or family members are abundant. It’ll be easier to make solid plans that only a chosen few know about. However, the Moon then faces off with out-of-the-blue Uranus and passionate Mars, bringing a shock that may shake our foundations. We are capable of finding peace within ourselves as Luna collaborates with spiritual Neptune. Be the calm harbor in the storm.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

You’re making plans that not everyone is going to comprehend. You might find more understanding from your family or people who’ve been in your life for a long time, because they’re more likely to understand why you do what you do. Some may see your life as being too stagnant or rigid in one area, but you understand the value of building personal security that will benefit you further down the line. It’s okay to think today about what you’ll need tomorrow.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

A confidant might emerge from an unlikely place. You might previously have thought that you and this person didn’t have much in common, until you started to talk to them about more serious aspects of your life. Even if the details are dissimilar, their motivations could be right in tune with yours. This is a great time to create alliances and network with people who could boost you toward the finish line of a major goal. Sometimes all you need is one cheerleader!

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You might begin to see fruit from seeds you planted in the past. Others may be surprised if these were things you didn’t tell everyone about. When they see the fruits of your labor without having noticed the work that took place behind the scenes, you could hear claims that you’re experiencing overnight success or that your rewards were handed to you on a platter. The truth is that you don’t have to convince them of your truth. They’ll believe whatever they want anyway!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Creativity may bring unexpected healing. Maybe you’ve been dabbling in creative pursuits just for fun, but putting your heart on a canvas or writing stream-of-consciousness thoughts are both great ways to process your feelings. You don’t have to become a career artist in order to take advantage of this, either. In fact, you can find amazing insights by doing something you consider yourself “bad” at! Without putting too many rules on yourself, make something new — and, most importantly, make it YOU.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Spiritual guidance may come in the form of family connections. You might be reaching out for support from someone in your family or a friend who’s been in your life for ages. Without even sharing specific current details, you may learn some surprising information about them that is eerily close to what you yourself are experiencing. Whether this is from their past or your shared present, do your best to hold space for what they have to say — for your benefit and theirs.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Delights are doubled when shared! In the past, you might not have felt comfortable with the people around you, even if you were supposed to relate to them. While you might not have thought of those people as being negative or malicious, it would have been hard to engage with a community that diverged from your preferences or values in a major way. It simply wouldn’t have nourished your growth in the way your current circle can. Embrace those who are embracing you.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Stable decisions today will be the bedrock of your future. You may have historically struggled to make a decision without interviewing a panel of peers to see what they thought about your situation. In this moment, you probably don’t have others to ask! Even if loved ones would love to advise you, the choice might need to be made in a split second, leaving you no time to reach out. You have the answer within you already — you just have to look.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Outsiders might not know how to receive the new you. You might not think that you’re all that different from how you used to be, but the ways in which you have changed are probably significant enough that it could be all that they can see for the moment. It’s something that the people who are meant to stay in your life ought to get used to, while others may drift from your life. The rewards of walking your unique path should be worth it.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

You could be taking a leap of faith. There might be a lot of uncertainty involved with a decision that you are making. Would you be shocked to learn that some people are competing with you or even working against you to try and prevent your success? This doesn’t mean that you’re doing something wrong, of course. On the contrary, these might be enemies who don’t want you to recognize all that you have to provide to the world. Walk with confidence.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Power can be found by collaborating, as long as you’re willing to stay flexible. Look out for the temptation to grab control of this cooperative project, as your talents will currently be more useful when you act as a team player here. If you want to take on more responsibilities, that’s valid, but avoid elevating your importance above that of others. That could greatly hinder your success by making it more difficult for peers to communicate with you. Keep an open dialogue and even footing.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

You’re making plans to achieve a goal, but your history may get in the way. Events or people from your past could pop up like surprise potholes on the road to your success. Attempts to expand your horizons or improve your life are in particular danger. Both jealous cynics and empathetic supporters might make themselves known at any moment! Don’t hesitate to set down any negative habits or cut off bitter frenemies. Those things will only hold you back from your dreams.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Really hearing yourself can teach you things you never knew. You might have spent quite a bit of time learning about the world or other people in your life as of late. These are valuable pursuits, but not when you’ve been neglecting to check in with yourself along the way. Consider spending some time in solitude and asking these questions that you’ve been asking everyone else to yourself, either through a journal or through meditation. The path forward may become clearer than ever.

Frankston tradie fined $11,500 by council for filling in hole, now faces home inspection for ‘unsafe’ works  news.com.au

Frankston tradie fined $11,500 by council for filling in hole, now faces home inspection for ‘unsafe’ works  news.com.au

Kevin Rector | (TNS) Los Angeles Times

President Joe Biden said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt on Monday that it was a “mistake” to say prior to the weekend assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that it was “time to put Trump in the bullseye.”

However, Biden said he only meant that the nation’s focus should be on Trump and the “threat to democracy” he represents. He also said Trump has repeatedly engaged in worse rhetoric — including by “making fun of” and “joking about” the violent attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul at their home in San Francisco in 2022.

“I didn’t say crosshairs. I was talking about focus on,” Biden said of his remark.

“Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told at the debate. I mean, there’s a whole range of things,” Biden said. “Look, I’m not the guy who said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.”

“You can’t only love your country when you win,” Biden said. “And so the focus was on what he’s saying.”

Holt asked Biden if he has done “a little soul-searching” about things he’d said that could “incite people who are not balanced.”

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it might incite somebody?” Biden said.

“Look, I … have not engaged in that rhetoric. Now, my opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there will be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he is going to forgive all those — actually, I guess suspend the sentences of — all those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened at the Capitol” on January 6.

He asked Holt if he remembered when Trump mocked the attack on Pelosi.

The interview was set to be aired in full Monday evening. Holt described it as the first in an “unscripted setting” since the assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The interview drew some political attention back to Biden on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump formally received the party’s nomination.

Biden previously spoke to the attack on Trump in remarks late Saturday, just hours after Trump was shot, when he said “everybody must condemn” political violence. On Sunday, he gave a prime-time national address from the Oval Office where he again condemned the violence and asked everyone, amid high passions, to “cool it down.”

His campaign has pulled down attack ads against Trump in the wake of the shooting. Still, critics on the right have latched onto previous campaign rhetoric denouncing Trump, including the “bullseye” comment, to suggest that Biden and Democrats more broadly were partially to blame for the shooting.

Monday’s interview, which was scheduled before the assassination attempt, also was Biden’s latest chance to project competence following his disastrous debate performance last month, which elevated concerns, including from within his own party, about his age and his ability to lead.

Biden is 81. Trump is 78.

Biden has been under an intense microscope since the June 27 debate, where he repeatedly lost his train of thought and failed to challenge Trump’s talking points and falsehoods. He sounded hoarse and came out stiff, and the performance heightened existing concerns for many about his age.

Biden rebuffed calls for him to bow out in the days after, saying he may not be a “young man” anymore but still knew how to do the job well.

Biden gave an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on July 5, where he dismissed his debate performance as a “bad episode” and rejected the idea that he had any serious health condition that would undermine his ability to do the job. He also rejected the idea of submitting to an independent medical evaluation, saying the job of the presidency presented him with a “cognitive test every single day” — which he said he is passing while also being out on the campaign trail.

On July 11, Biden held a nearly hour-long news conference where he answered a range of questions from the media, including around foreign policy. There, he sounded defiant and boasted of his track record getting legislation passed.

He called himself the “most qualified person to run for president,” and said he would defeat Trump in November. “I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plunged 29% in June, the lowest month of Joe Biden’s presidency, according to figures released Monday that provide another window on the impact of a new rule to temporarily suspend asylum.

Arrests totaled 83,536 in June, down from 117,901 in May to mark the lowest tally since January 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

A seven-day average of daily arrests fell more than half by the end of June from Biden’s announcement on June 4 that asylum processing would be halted when daily arrests reach 2,500, which they did immediately, said Troy Miller, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner.

“Recent border security measures have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully,” Miller said.

Arrests had already fallen by more than half from a record high of 250,000 in December, largely a result of increased enforcement by Mexican authorities, according to U.S. officials.

Sharp declines registered across nationalities, including Mexicans, who have been most affected by the suspension of asylum, and Chinese people, who generally fly to Ecuador and travel to the U.S. border over land.

San Diego was the busiest of the Border Patrol’s nine sectors bordering Mexico by number of arrests, followed by Tucson, Arizona.

More than 41,000 people entered legally through an online appointment app called CBP One in June. The agency said 680,500 people have successfully scheduled appointments since the app was introduced in January 2023.

Nearly 500,000 people from four countries entered on a policy to allow two-year stays on condition they have financial sponsors and arrive at an airport. They include 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans and 110,541 Venezuelans, according to CBP.