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FDOT: ‘Isolated’ construction issue caused nearly 791,000 toll transaction mistakes. $433K refunded to customers billed for driving in I-95 express lanes when they weren’t 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

South Floridians pay extra for the convenience of driving along the Interstate 95 express lanes, but 7Investigates has found some drivers were paying for something they didn’t get. 7’s Karen Hensel has the story.Thousands of people use I-95, including Greg Vella, who makes the drive to work every day from Broward County to Miami Beach.Greg Vella: “I’d rather live closer to family and take a longer commute than live closer to work and have to commute to see family.”But when Greg started to notice new charges on his SunPass account, he started asking questions.Turns out, he was being billed for driving in the express lane when he was actually driving in the lane next to it.He alerted SunPass.Greg Vella: “‘You have a transponder somewhere that’s activating and billing me, even though I’m not in the lane, just letting you know.'”The toll cameras also took pictures of his car, and those clearly show he was driving to the right o...

Groundbreaking ceremony held for new Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department broke ground on their future home.Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis joined city officials and other dignitaries on Thursday for the ceremonial start of construction of the headquarters.The building will go up next to the existing police department at Southwest First Street and Broward Boulevard.The state-of-the-art three-story facility will feature a community center, an expanded training area and space for art.Officers said it will not only be beneficial for them but also for the community they serve.“With the expansion itself, that gives us an opportunity as a city to expand our recruiting efforts to get more qualified candidates in here so we can ultimately provide a better service to the city,” said Fort Lauderdale Police Capt. Adam Solomon, “because it will help us with calls for service and just doing the things we need to do to perform better as an agency.”Fort Lauderdale residents voted to approve a $100 millio...

Why Ukraine should get an invitation to NATO

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

Alyona Getmanchuk is the founder and director of the New Europe Center. Olena Halushka is the co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory and a board member at the Anti-corruption Action Center.For decades, NATO’s policy toward Ukraine was driven by the desire to avoid “provoking” Russian President Vladimir Putin at any cost. And, unfortunately, it appears the invasion of Georgia in 2008 and of Ukraine in 2014 didn’t teach NATO member countries the lesson that it is concessions — and not strength — that provoke Russia.The upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius has a historic mission to fix the strategic mistakes of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum and NATO’s 2008 Bucharest Summit. It is a chance to introduce effective security guarantees for Ukraine — which voluntarily gave up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal — and effectively end the era of so-called strategic ambiguity that has allowed Russia de facto veto power over the accession of various countries to NATO,...

Peak anger: Mountain plan makes Italians cross

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.Do right-wing politicians employ people whose sole job is to hunt down anything that could be deemed potentially offensive and then immediately alert their boss so they can post an outraged tweet?Let’s go with the answer “yes.” That would explain the furious response from Italian politicians this week when it was suggested that no more crosses should be placed atop mountain peaks. It was reported that the Italian Alpine Club wanted to stop putting crosses on high peaks because they “are anachronistic, they don’t represent all climbers” and “peaks must be neutral territory.” If they had simply said “have you any idea how difficult it is to carry a massive cross up a mountain? They are really heavy,” then the response may have been more measured. But they didn’t, and it wasn’t.Ten points if you guessed that Matteo Salvini was furious. “You will have to pass over my body to remove...

How Spain went woke — and why that may not last

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

The country has been a world leaderon women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. Will next month’s election change all that?By AITOR HERNÁNDEZ-MORALESin MadridIllustration by Marco Lawrence for POLITICOCARLA ANTONELLI REMEMBERS when being gay in Spain could get you sent to a work camp.Under Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, the LGBTQ+ community was harshly persecuted by authorities and forced to live in the shadows, recalled Antonelli, a 63-year old actress, activist, politician and transgender woman. Even after the dictator’s death in 1975, she would “routinely be arrested and beaten by police.”“They’d smash my face against the wall until I lay in a puddle of my own blood, and then they’d laugh and say, ‘Just try and report me, f*ggot,'” said Antonelli.Then something changed. Since the beginning of the century, Spain has galloped ahead when it comes to progressive policies. The once-conservative Catholic country, known around the world as the birthpla...

Europe swings right — and reshapes the EU

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

First, it was Italy. Then came Finland and Greece. Spain could be next. Across Europe, governments are shifting right. In some places, far-right leaders are taking power. In others, more traditional center-right parties are allying with the right-wing fringes once considered untouchable. Elsewhere, hard-right parties are securing more parliament seats and regional offices. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, already under surveillance for suspected far-right extremism, now outpolls Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats and just scored a watershed district election win — an alarming moment for a country conscious of its Nazi past. The trend, of course, didn’t exactly begin with Italy and far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But the last year has featured a series of eye-catching results for conservatives. And more could be on the way, as places like Spain and Slovakia seem poised to turn right in upcoming elections. It’s a development that w...

Keir Starmer revealed his ‘real politics’ by ditching left-wing pledges, ally says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

London — Who is the real Keir Starmer? The man who won the Labour leadership in 2020 on a platform of left-wing pledges, and who thanked his “friend” Jeremy Corbyn during the contest? Or the one Westminster sees today, who abandoned many of those pledges and kicked Corbyn out of the party? In a candid interview with POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast, one of Starmer’s closest allies reveals the answer.“I think what you’re seeing now is his real politics,” said Jenny Chapman, the former Darlington MP who served as Starmer’s political secretary before joining the House of Lords in 2021. “There was an understanding [in 2020] of the best issues to talk about if you want to become leader of the Labour Party. There is permission there to say, ‘this is the kind of country it would be lovely if it could be,’ because you’re not actually pitching to the entire country to be the prime minister.” Starmer’s infamous 10 pledges during the leadership campaign...

Max Scherzer allows just 2 ER but Mets still drop second straight against Brewers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

The Mets keep finding ways to lose and they did, yet again, on Thursday at Citi Field.Brian Anderson’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning gave the Brewers a 3-2 victory to take the four-game set from Mets. The third baseman’s long flyball to the track in center field off of reliever Dominic Leone put the final nail in the Amazins’ coffin who appeared to be in control of the game entering the late innings.Max Scherzer appeared to be on cruise control before Victor Caratini’s game-tying two-run shot in the top of the sixth wiped away the Mets’ back-to-back homers in the third. Brandon Nimmo and Brett Baty’s third-inning solo homers looked like it would be all Scherzer and the Mets would need.The 38-year-old put together a quality start tossing six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out nine. He lowered his season ERA to 3.87. The veteran right-hander turned over a tie game to the bullpen, who immediately gav...

What to stream this weekend: ‘The Bachelorette,’ Idris Elba, The Weeknd, Sarah Snook and ‘Jack Ryan’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

John Krasinski makes his final bow in season four of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” a new album from Lucinda Williams and the debut of the mystery video game Crime O’Clock are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you.Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are Idris Elba on the worst flight ever in the new series “Hijack” for Apple TV+ and a horror movie starring “Succession’s” Sarah Snook as the single mother of a young girl who says she has memories of another life. NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic coming-of-age novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is now available on video on demand — perfect for summer sleepovers or mother-daughter movie nights at home. Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (“The Edge of Seventeen”), Abby Ryder Fortson plays the 11-year-old narrator who is navigating a move to the suburbs, new friends, puberty, periods, first crushes and h...

Minnesota Aurora move to 11-0 with seventh shutout win of season, 4-0 over Green Bay Glory

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

The Minnesota Aurora moved to within one game of completing their second straight unbeaten regular season with a 4-0 win over the Green Bay Glory on Thursday night at Capital Credit Union Park in Green Bay, Wis.Aurora goals leader Maya Hansen scored her 11th of the season, and Cat Rapp, Sophie French and Brenlin Murray added goals for the Aurora (11-0).“For us this game is another moment to celebrate the depth of the squad. We know we can put anyone in at any moment in any game,” said assistant coach Jen Larrick. “Our roster depth is a huge strength of ours heading into playoffs. It keeps us fresh, and it’s hard for opponents to scout us because they don’t know who will start where.”It was the seventh shutout of the season for Aurora, which has outscored its opponents 53-4 this season.“For us this game is another moment to celebrate the depth of the squad. We know we can put anyone in at any moment in any game,” said Assistant Coach Jen Larrick. “Our roster depth is a huge strength ...