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Jets star Sauce Gardner gives brutal comments about team's focusMIAMI — Two wealthy Miami Beach brothers accused of raping a woman while she was pinned down were ordered detained by a Miami-Dade circuit judge Thursday until their formal bond hearings on Friday. Twin brothers Oren and Alon Alexander, 37, who were wearing suicide-prevention vests during their first court appearances via video from a Miami-Dade County jail, were arrested Wednesday by local police and FBI agents in connection with the state attorney’s sexual battery cases and a separate federal sex-trafficking case in New York City. The arrests culminated parallel criminal investigations into allegations of rape and sex-trafficking against the once-superstar luxury real estate brokers and their older brother, Tal Alexander, 38, who is in federal custody in Miami awaiting a detention hearing on Friday. Federal prosecutors plan to ask a magistrate judge to detain Tal, who is only charged in the FBI-led sex-trafficking investigation. State Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer called the twin brothers’ alleged rape of a woman identified as “M.W.” at a Collins Avenue condo on New Year’s Eve in 2016 a “dangerous crime” that required her to hold them until their detention hearing on Friday. She also issued stay-away orders, ordering them to make no contact with M.W. Prosecutors with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office are seeking to detain both brothers in connection with that charge, saying they’re a danger to the community and flight risks. The brothers’ Miami defense attorney, Joel Denaro, told the judge that he plans to argue for their release and prepare a bond package. Additionally, Glazer granted Oren Alexander $25,000 bonds with house arrest on two other sexual battery charges while also issuing stay-away orders regarding two other alleged rape victims identified as “M.G.” and “S.M.” During the morning hearing, Oren blurted out that his wife is nine months pregnant and that he wants to be with her when she delivers their baby, saying “I would like to be able go to the hospital if my wife’s in labor.” Whether he’s granted that opportunity will depend on Friday’s detention hearing in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Oren’s arraignment on the three sexual battery charges is scheduled for Monday. Three alleged rapes in Miami Beach Locally, Oren Alexander has been charged with rape in three separate incidents. The first alleged incident was during a 2016 New Year’s Eve gathering at a Collins Avenue condo in Miami Beach. The victim said, according to the arrest report, Alon Alexander invited her to the condo saying they were having a party. The two knew each other from New York City. When she arrived, Alon introduced her to Oren and Ohad Fisherman, their friend. (The State Attorney’s Office had erroneously identified Fisherman as their cousin.) Alon led her into a bedroom and Oren and Fisherman followed. There, the arrest report says, she was pinned by Fisherman while the Alexander twins argued over who would assault her first. She claims she was raped by Oren, before Alon raped her as his brother watched. Oren Alexander is also accused of rape on Oct. 20, 2017. The victim said she met met Oren and a friend for dinner, followed by an evening at a real-estate event in Hallandale Beach and later drinks at a bar. She had one drink before leaving with Oren and agreeing to go to the Collins Avenue condo for a drink. At the condo, the woman drank a glass of wine and put on a pair of virtual reality goggles. She alleges Oren undressed her without consent, moved her to his bedroom and sexually assaulted her while she had the glasses on. A few weeks later, the woman met with Oren to discuss her concerns, according to the report. When she wouldn’t allow him to kiss her, he began to masturbate and ejaculated on her stomach. She said Oren texted her later with a threat to “ruin” her if she mentioned anything about the incident. Another woman claimed Oren raped her in 2021. The arrest form says the two met for dinner and then took a boat to his Miami Beach home. He then took her phone, saying no pictures permitted. Then, she said, a tour of his home led her to a sitting area near the bedroom. He got aggressive. As she tried to get away, the woman said Oren ripped her dress. When the woman realized the doors were locked remotely, she said Oren Alexander mounted and assaulted her, before ejaculating on her stomach. The friend of the Alexander brothers, Fisherman, is also facing a sexual battery charge accusing him of pinning down the first victim, M.W., while Alon and Oren Alexander allegedly raped her. Prosecutors said Fisherman remained “at large” Wednesday. But Fisherman’s attorney, Jeffrey Sloman, told the Miami Herald that his client is with his wife on a long-planned honeymoon trip in Japan and plans to return to Miami to face the charges. Drugged, raped ‘dozens of victims,’ feds say Ultimately, the three Alexander brothers are expected to be transferred to Manhattan, where a three-count sex-trafficking indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the same court where rap mogul Diddy was recently indicted in a similar case. Federally, Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander have been charged with conspiracy to commit sex trafficking between 2010 and 2021 in Manhattan, Miami and elsewhere. Tal is also charged with sex trafficking two victims by force, fraud or coercion in July 2021 and September 2016 in Manhattan and elsewhere. Tal’s two brothers are charged along with him regarding the 2016 allegation. If convicted, the brothers face up to life in prison. The Alexander brothers used their wealth and position in the real estate industry to violently drug and sexually assault women, Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Wednesday. The brothers sought women for trafficking through dating apps and social media accounts, sometimes taking them on luxurious international trips. The brothers also hosted group events where they invited other men to rape women, Williams said. “This conduct, as alleged, was heinous,” Williams said at a news conference. “... With our law enforcement partners, this office is determined to investigate and prosecute anyone who engages in sex trafficking, no matter how powerful, or wealthy, or famous you may be.” The federal indictment unsealed in Manhattan Wednesday morning tells a story of serial sexual predators. The Alexander brothers “worked together and with others ... to repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of victims,” reads the indictment. “At times, the Alexander brothers arranged for these sexual assaults well in advance, using the promise of luxury, experiences, travel and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations where they were then forcibly raped or sexually assaulted, sometimes by multiple men, including one or more of the Alexander brothers. “Other times, the Alexander brothers encountered and chose their victims by chance,” the indictment says. “Often, the Alexander brothers drugged their victims before assaulting them, preventing them from fighting back or escaping.” Women called ‘courageous’ On Wednesday, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said the charges against the brothers stem from the three cases in Miami Beach and date back to 2016. She said she was confident aggravating factors involved in the alleged rapes are enough to extend any statute of limitations. She called the women who came forward “courageous.” “Sometimes they grapple with their own shame,” Fernandez Rundle said. Since the early summer filing of the civil suits, an attorney representing two of the women told the Miami Herald an additional 40 women — including a dozen from the Miami area — have come forward with allegations against one or more of the brothers. Some of the alleged incidents happened decades ago, when the brothers attended Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School near Aventura. The New York attorney representing some of the women told the Miami Herald in September that more lawsuits should be expected. Precipitous fall for real estate superstars Even before Wednesday’s arrests, the lawsuits and national media scrutiny had been costly for Oren and Tal Alexander, who stepped away from Official, the boutique New York City-based real estate firm they founded about three years ago. Alon continued to work for Kent Security, a private security firm built by his father Schlomy Alexander, which offers crisis management, guards and video technology. It’s been a precipitous fall for the trio, two of whom’s success in the high-end real estate markets of Miami, Aspen and Manhattan are legendary. They got a jump-start in the business from their father, who also dabbled in the sale of high-end luxury properties. In 2012, Schlomy Alexander helped Tal and Oren sell an Indian Creek Village home for $47 million, a record in Miami-Dade at the time. And they made international headlines in 2019 with the sale of a $240 million condo in midtown Manhattan to billionaire Citadel Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin, who is now headquartered in Miami. At the time, it was the most expensive residential sale in U.S. history. The brothers frequented the hottest clubs and often jet-setted between Miami, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard. They were often highlighted on celebrity Page Six of the New York Post. Gotham Magazine named the twins some of the most eligible and hottest bachelors in New York City in 2014. And a Miami Herald article in 2019 told of how the brothers’ Instagram accounts were overflowing with pictures of them cavorting in the Bahamas, Cambodia and Hawaii and visiting Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. Remarkably, Art Basel may have played a part in Wednesday’s arrests. Investigators looking to take the brothers into custody were fairly certain the brothers would be in town for the art show that ended last weekend, according to a law enforcement source. “We’re one step closer to obtaining justice and closure for the victims,” said Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones. ©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.zm bet 。

After working in the wine industry for about 40 years, Jamie Slingerland knows a thing or two about the uncertainty of harvesting grapes. As he anxiously waits for that welcome cold snap to arrive either in late December or January, Slingerland, director of viniculture at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is preparing to work 20-hour days, alongside other employees, harvesting frozen grapes to make that precious “liquid gold” that has become a hallmark of the Niagara-on-the-Lake region. Icewine by the Pillitteri family was first developed in 1985, with his assistance. In 1988 the icewine vintage was “really nice” and in 1989 the winery won an award as icewine became a coveted item, a unique product attracting media and public attention. “We started getting calls from people wanting to buy it,” Slingerland said. Now the winery sells about 60,000 cases of icewine, about half of the 120,000 cases of wines it sells around the globe. “Half of what we produce we export it,” said Slingerland. As he tracks the weather using state-of-the-art technology, and also enduring the roller-coaster of economic news, the 2025 season is shaping up to be about the same as last year. “I expect smaller quantities this season, slightly lower than last year,” he said. Jamie Slingerland, director of viniculture at Pilitteri Estates Winery, pictured in 2015, said making icewine is about striving for better quality rather than quantity. According to VQA Ontario’s latest report, the amount of icewine produced in Ontario has been rising after trending downward from 502,082 litres made in 2021 to 111,614 litres in 2022. It bounced back in 2023 with 332,147 litres, and in 2024 it edged up to 374,152 litres. Katherina Radcliffe, director of communications for VQA Ontario, said pre-registration for grapes set aside for icewine from the 2024 vintage total 1,976 tonnes, a drop from last year’s 4,095 tonnes. It’s an industry that has become increasingly specialized in such a risk-taking environment. The number of approved producers of icewine declined from 41 producers in 2019 to about 10 for both 2020 and 2021, said VQA Ontario officials. Corey Mio of Beamsville’s Mio Vineyard isn’t interested in producing icewine grapes. “It is not worth the squeeze,” he said recently. “The prices have been so depressed (especially after) COVID.” Also, there is additional work to make icewine, that doesn’t really justify the extra cost, he said. “It’s a pain in the ass to clean (the equipment),” said Mio. “I love drinking it. But everyone else can make it.” Pillitteri Estates Winery staff are constantly checking the weather for a cold snap that will allow them to race out to pick frozen grapes to make icewine. After the grapes are picked they are then pressed allowing the juice to ooze out. One of the reasons Slingerland is upbeat about the 2024-25 season is Pillitteri, which has about 70 full-time employees and another 70 part time, will be making icewine from the Corvina grape for the first time. Corvina is an Italian wine grape variety that is sometimes also referred to as Corvina Veronese or Curina. It produces light to medium body wines with a slight crimson colour. “The vintage this year will be very interesting,” said Slingerland. Icewine is usually produced using Vidal Blanc grape varieties, said Slingerland, but other grapes that are harvested include Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is produced from grapes that have been left on the vine after the fall harvest. When temperatures dip to –8 C or lower, the frozen grapes are picked and pressed immediately, “similar to what you do with a Popsicle,” said Slingerland. “Minus 10 degrees is ideal.” Years ago, it took about 50 people picking 15 tonnes of grapes a day. Now with a harvester, it takes about five people to pick 15 tonnes of grapes within two hours, he said. Slingerland said the cold temperatures turn the grapes brown. If the grapes remain green, the taste is similar to grape juice. “It is a high-risk, high-reward production,” he said. “We do focus on quality more than quantity. We are generating a demand that almost nowhere else can be created.” Pillitteri’s wines have ended up in Asia, China, Europe and the United States. The wines are found in “mom and pop” shops, Costco stores and high-end restaurants. “(Icewine) is such a unique product,” he said. “There are now only a few places that can make the wine because of global warming.” He said locations such as Germany and Austria now have difficulty producing icewine because of inconsistent cold temperatures. Niagara, so far at least, benefits from Lake Ontario for the particular weather needed to harvest frozen grapes. “You can grow (the grapes) in Niagara-on-the-Lake, but not Niagara Falls,” he said. “It is the moderation effect of the lake. But getting the colder weather is key.” There have been one or two cold December days for grape picking, but local wineries are waiting for that really piercing cold snap in the first few weeks of January that prompts workers to harvest continuously night and day. Allowing the grapes to remain on the vine throughout the fall creates another problem for farmers. “Birds love icewine,” Slingerland said. There are a variety of measures Pillitteri uses to prevent hungry birds from swooping down and snatching grapes, including netting, propane cannons, tinsel tied to the vines, balloons and flares. One of the tenets of being a farmer, said Slingerland, is constantly adapting to the next big thing. As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump talks about imposing a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian products entering the United States, Slingerland said life continues to change and a farmer is best prepared for it. “You must be a perpetual optimist,” he said. “You live and die by the weather and the markets. There has always been a conscious understanding to export our wines. It’s how you navigate that path and develop your customer base.” The icewine market, similar to other exports, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wineries, he said, decided to produce less wine as demand dried up. Yet wineries also managed to adapt to the changing market to sell wine at the retail level, as well as online, as the demand for the product shifted. Icewine has become a specialty drink for the holiday season, with sales increasing during Christmas, as people are eager to buy a unique quality product as a gift for friends and family, said Slingerland. “The COVID-19 slump is still continuing,” he said. “But we are very optimistic.” He credited the three generations of the Pillitteri family who have adapted to an ever-changing wine industry for his sunny outlook, even in the face of unsettling markets and transformational environmental trends. “It’s a big part of our success,” he said.Revealed: The number of Ipswich families living in temporary accommodationOpinion: Why taxpayers deserve a public inquiry into Elections BC Legislative committees won't solve mounting concerns about missteps on election night Carson Binda Nov 22, 2024 3:30 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Voting place at Whistler Conference Centre | Photo by Megan Lalonde. Listen to this article 00:03:06 Elections BC is drawing scrutiny which threatens to undermine taxpayer’s faith in our elections. That’s a problem. Here’s the solution: call a public inquiry into Elections BC, not a politicised process through legislative committees working behind closed doors. There is nothing to suggest the B.C. provincial election was stolen. There is nothing to suggest Elections BC was in cahoots with one party or another. But that doesn’t mean we can afford to turn a blind eye to its mishandling of the most important day in our democratic cycle. In a democracy, taxpayers must have faith in elections and repeated errors from Elections BC erodes that trust. And make no mistake, Elections BC did mess up its handling of the provincial election. The problems with Elections BC range from bad to worse. It took Elections BC more than a week to finish the preliminary tally of votes. Voting closed Oct. 19, but the final count didn’t occur until Oct. 28. British Columbians shouldn’t be left in limbo because Elections BC workers didn’t stay late to count votes. And it shouldn’t take an extra week for the final count to begin. Then came the revelation that Elections BC officials were storing ballots in their personal homes. Think about that for a moment. When you cast your ballot, did you imagine it would find its way into the basement of someone’s home? British Columbians generally believe Elections BC acts in good faith. But why allow questionable chains of custody for the most important pieces of paper in a democracy? Why risk storing ballots in home basements instead of secure government buildings? In three-quarters of B.C.’s 93 ridings, mistakes by Elections B.C. led to unreported votes. That’s unacceptable. To be fair, all the votes were eventually accounted for and counted. But our elections are too important to risk with these kinds of blunders. Both the ruling NDP and Opposition BC Conservatives agree there needs to be an investigation into Elections BC’s mistakes. The NDP wants an all-party committee made up of MLAs to probe Elections BC. But that’s not good enough. Legislative committees are political and are made up of politicians fighting for the spotlight. They can hide behind in camera meetings the public doesn’t have access to. For the public to have faith in our elections, the public needs to be involved in the inquiry. That’s what the BC Conservatives are calling for: an independent public review. British Columbians need to have faith in our elections, so the public must be a part of the investigation. This is far too important an issue for taxpayers to be shunted off to the side while politicians play partisan games. Carson Binda is the B.C. director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up Related Opinion: No more waiting games for B.C. tax relief Nov 1, 2024 7:00 AM Opinion: British Columbians can't afford NDP's mismanaged SkyTrain extension Aug 26, 2024 4:00 PM Opinion: Eby must scrap B.C.'s carbon tax now rather than wait on Ottawa Sep 20, 2024 7:00 AM

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Primark fans are going crazy for a new set of floral pyjamas that they say are "cute" with people getting "obsessed" with. The pink pyjamas are on sale soon at stores under the budget fashion retailer, including those in Essex. The pyjamas come in either a one or two-piece set, with a pink material with roses and other red flower patterns all across them. They were first unveiled by Primark on their social media feeds between Christmas and New Year. Writing on their Instagram page, Primark said: "obsessing over these floral pyjamas #Primark #Nightwear #ComingSoon." Read more: The Essex pubs, cafes and restaurants that closed their doors for good in 2024 Read more: Essex Eats Awards 2024: The award-winning Essex restaurant where people travel from ‘all over the county’ to dine Fans went crazy for the pyjamas in the comments section. lilyr_w wrote: "this better be coming to Portugal too" and shared a pink heart emoji. berli.n819 shared multiple pink flower emojis, while another user shared multiple clapping hands emojis. iamthepsychewhisperer said: "Omg they are so cute!" and shared a smiling face emoji. alicia080458 said: "Beautiful EVERYTHING" with a heart emoji.None

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