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Family safely escapes burning Davie mobile home after possible lightning strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Flames and smoke shot through the roof of a mobile home in Davie after the family who lived inside said they felt a strike from the sky, leaving them without a place to call home.Davie Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the blaze near Southwest 131st Terrace and Fifth Court, at around 4:30 p.m., Saturday.Hours later, 7News captured Roy Vazquez, brought to tears as he assessed what was left of of his home.Vazquez said he was inside at the time with his 13-year-old son, his girlfriend and their two dogs.“This is like some sort of freak accident, it’s just lightning,” he said.Vazquez said it happened during a downpour.“I heard a loud bang. I thought it was the transformer, ’cause the power went out,” he said.Neighbors told 7News they also heard the bang.“It was really scary. The whole house was vibrating,” said a neighbor.Cellphone video captured flames and smoke billowing from Vazquez’s home.“I could smell the smoke, and I...

It doesn’t hurt to get some business cards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Q. I don’t have a business card. Do I need one? I’ve been meeting people in social situations who ask for them. Others don’t have them. In the fall, I’ll probably go to networking events and whatnot. Think it’s a good idea to have one?A. I’m a fan of business cards. Yes, it’s a good idea to have one; although they are becoming more obsolete, it’s still a good idea to have one. If you don’t need to use it and simply follow people you meet on social media, that’s what I’ve seen happen a lot lately. Other people have their own QR codes with contact information.But it doesn’t hurt to have one. You can make them inexpensively online and just carry a few with you in your wallet. If you meet someone on a flight and they ask for your card, you’ll wish you had one.As for what happens if you give them your card and it’s not an even exchange if they don’t have one, ask for their email address and/or phone...

The man who inspired Hollywood nightmares

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Ed Gein’s horrific crime wave was first discovered in 1957 and 60 plus years later his enduring influence is examined in the MGM+ true-crime series “Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein,” streaming Sunday.Touted as America’s first known serial killer — even though it was decades before the term was coined by the FBI — Gein is notorious for his influential hallowed Hollywood trio. He inspired the demented mama’s boy Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” Leatherface, the killer with a human skin face mask, in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Buffalo Bill, who also wore human skin, in “Silence of the Lambs.”As Gein resurfaces as the subject of the 4-part series, there is ample opportunity to look and look again at the truly disturbing crime photos taken at Gein’s farm in Plainfield, WI, and hear, for the first time, the man himself.“The tapes are recorded right after Ed Gein’s arrest by Judge Boyd Clark, who we show in the series,” said “Lost Tapes” director James Budd...

Steal of a lifetime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Hailed in Britain as among the best series in years, “The Gold,” streaming its first two episodes Sunday on Paramount+, charts the complex, decades-spanning true crime case known as the Brinks-Mats gold bullion heist.In 1983 near Heathrow Airport, six thieves robbed the Brinks-Mats warehouse, surprised to find a then-historic gold haul in history, worth nearly $100 million today.The sudden acquisition meant melting the gold bars, converting them into British pounds and making them “disappear” as Scotland Yard was on the trail of what became an international hunt involving Swiss bank account secrecy, murder and international extradition law.Neil Forsyth, an award-winning Scottish writer, created and scripted this 6-episode epic. “I’ve been aware of this story obviously my whole life. About five or six years ago, I knew people were looking at it as a possible film”, he said in a Zoom interview from London.His initial research convinced him: This is much more than a film. This story de...

GF won’t let man attend events where ex is present

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Q. I am throwing my best friend a surprise 40th birthday party. She is divorced and her ex is my husband’s best friend. They were getting along just fine and would have easily attended the same party until he started dating another woman. This woman is very jealous and will not allow my BFF’s ex to be around my BFF, even if it is one of their children’s birthday parties. I would invite both the ex and my BFF to the party, but his girlfriend probably won’t have it. I think I should explain to him why he’s not being invited. What’s good ex-etiquette?A. Oh what a tangled web we weave. To be blunt, this is your friend’s ex’s problem, not yours. He dates whom he wants and gets the baggage along with it.From an ex-etiquette standpoint, it is not the host’s responsibility to mediate between exes. The only responsibility a host has to their guests is to be gracious, kind and polite.Quite frankly, I took more notice that this new woman in your friend’s life will not allow him to attend his c...

Orioles crush Rays, 8-0, behind Grayson Rodriguez and Gunnar Henderson to reach verge of postseason clinch: ‘This is what you dream of’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

In games like these, youth and inexperience are often referenced as negatives. Grayson Rodriguez and Gunnar Henderson flipped that narrative Saturday night.The Orioles’ two youngest players entered the season as the club’s top two prospects and among the sport’s best. In the biggest game of their careers, the pair proved that their immense talent matters far more than their lack of experience.Rodriguez masterfully twirled eight scoreless innings, while Henderson hit an early home run to break the offense out of its slump to carry the Orioles to a crucial 8-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.“This is what you dream of whenever you go through the minor leagues together, is playing meaningful games in September,” Henderson said. “It was really fun to be able to go out there and especially watch him do his thing right behind him.”The win ended Baltimore’s four-game losing streak and put the club back in sole possession of first place atop t...

Try these techniques to control your anxiety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Dear Mayo Clinic: I recently turned 45 and have been dealing with anxiety for several years. My feelings of worry, stress and fatigue have increased, leading me to avoid social events and limit activities I used to enjoy. My friend suggested I try something she called mindfulness meditation to help manage my anxiety. What is this technique, and how can I start doing it?A: Anxiety is often described as sustained and excessive worry that a person cannot control related to the anticipation of a future threat, such as a traumatic event. At times, anxiety can significantly and adversely affect our daily lives, work, relationships and overall happiness. Anxiety also can manifest as an irritable, worried, restless and debilitating stress response lasting minutes to days. Most everyone has had anxiety surrounding a stressful situation.Anxiety becomes an obstacle when it affects our day-to-day lives. Anxiety can negatively affect people at home, work, school and socially.Emotionally, anxiety...

How detailed does documentation need to be?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Q. You know how the advice to clients is to document interactions and exchanges?  Well, how is that used?  I feel like I’ve written so much and don’t know how to synthesize it or make it less cumbersome for myself to write out.  Is demeanor important, what he says/does, how our kids appear, or just a date and cut-and-dry description of the events?A. The documentation is used for different purposes which makes it hard.  If you are still living in the same home, documenting interactions may become necessary to help prepare a detailed affidavit in support of a motion to vacate the home. This is where you need a very detailed account of interactions because you will need to recall what was said, who was there, the tone and demeanor and how you felt / what you did as a result of the interaction and how your children behaved.  The standard for a motion to vacate a home is difficult to meet. You need to show the judge in a short and busy motion session that there is risk to you...

Editorial: Identity politics drives American division

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Social scientists believe they know why America has become so divided along political lines. “The human brain in many circumstances is more suited to tribalism and conflict than to civility and reasoned debate,” The Wall Street Journal reported last month in a piece headlined “Why Tribalism Took Over Our Politics.”Modern communication tools are especially able to exploit this finding, providing users with what they want to hear rather than challenging assumptions. “Decades of social science research show that our need for collective belonging is forceful enough to reshape how we view facts and affect our voting decisions,” the essay asserts. “When our group is threatened, we rise to its defense.”The Journal cites Donald Trump as a reliable practitioner of exploiting group identity, although it allows that Democrats also use the tactic, but “not as forcefully.”It’s true that the former president’s ardent supporters see themselves in similar terms as outsiders scorned by the elites. B...

New cat doing well, but older cat has issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:42 GMT

Dear Dr. John,I just adopted a new cat. He is adjusting well to his new home with me and my other cat. I lost another cat suddenly a few weeks ago. As I look at his neuter site, I notice there is still some swelling, and I cannot help but wonder if he was properly neutered. How can I be sure? My older cat that is approaching 13 has recently lost quite a bit of weight. Could it be because of the new younger cat being in the house or could it be something with his health? Could he be depressed because of the absence of the other cat? He seems normal, doesn’t always play with the young adult male, but seems to be eating less. What should I do? D.M.Dear D.M.,I am sure that your newly adopted cat was properly neutered. It is a relatively easy surgery and not prone to error or omissions. It is typical to have some localized swelling of the scrotal sac before it eventually contracts after which not much is seen in the area of where it originally was. The only way to be sure is to have the ...