Things To Do In SW Florida

If you live in South Florida, chances are higher that you will become an identity theft victim than if you lived in any other major U.S. metro region, according to a new report.

That’s not to say anywhere in the U.S. is safe. It’s just worse here, the report by credit card aggregator Upgraded Points revealed this week.

The Miami metro region, which includes all of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, reported the highest rate of identity theft fraud — 87.3 per 10,000 residents — among 56 metro areas with 1 million or more residents, the Upgraded Points report shows. The 53,201 reports of identity theft from the region in 2022 was 2.8% higher than 2021.

South Florida’s 2022 rate was almost triple the rate of 31.6 complaints per 10,000, or 18,428 complaints, reported in 2015 — another year the region was tops in the nation for identity theft.

As more and more personal and financial information find their way online, thieves have become ever-more skillful at hacking into systems and stealing data, then using it to open accounts and run up huge bills before victims ever realize what happened, the report said. read more

Resplendent yellow-orange squash blossoms look positively posh on the table. Delicately fried fiery petals and vibrant green, pepper-like stems peek through fingers of golden batter that partially conceal the rich, seasoned cheeses within.

They seem leveled-up from everyday cooking, bringing elegant sunshine to salads and glowing in magazine spreads where you might find them adorning bruschetta or frittatas or gracefully wilted into bowls of spaghetti. But all this glamour belies the truth.

The squash blossom is humble, with origins firmly rooted in la cucina povera — the kitchen of the poor.

It’s not limited to Italy, though. Wherever squash grew, from Mexico to the Mediterranean, the peasant community — accustomed to using everything available — employed them, developing beloved recipes in the process. Some people know them well.

“At the market, we’ll hear them say things like, ‘Oh, my grandfather used to cook with these!’” says Jordan Cooper, co-owner of Clermont’s Sugar Top Farms. Here, along with wife and partner, Jessica, Cooper grows all sorts of things. Right now, that includes peaches, arugula, tomatoes, onions, bok choy, microgreens and more. Squash blossoms, too. read more

By ZEKE MILLER, SEUNG MIN KIM, JOSH BOAK and LISA MASCARO (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders confronted each other on the debt limit impasse Tuesday, ending their meeting with no breakthrough but agreeing to meet again this week to try to avert the looming risk of an unprecedented government default.

Speaking at the White House, Biden described the talks as “productive” even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said after the high-stakes Oval Office meeting that he “didn’t see any new movement” toward resolving the stalemate.

Lawmakers and their staffs were to continue discussions on the annual federal budget at Biden’s encouragement. Biden and the congressional leaders are to meet again Friday.

After the hourlong discussion in the Oval Office, Biden said he was “absolutely certain” that the country could avert a default, declaring that failure to meet America’s obligations “is not an option.”

Still, time is short. The government is bumping up against its legal limit for borrowing and will not be able to pay all of its bills as soon as June 1 if Congress doesn’t agree to raise the debt ceiling. That failure would send the country into default with wide-reaching economic impact at home and around the world. read more