Miami Herald
Ken Griffin donates $3M to Ronald McDonald House in Miami. How it helps patients
A $3 million donation from billionaire philanthropist and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has put the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida one step closer to opening a multimillion-dollar complex that will provide free temporary lodging to hundreds...
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ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP
A woman prays after receiving ashes on her forehead during Ash Wednesday Mass on Wednesday at Gesu Catholic Church in downtown Miami. The Mass was fully packed with worshippers standing in the back of the church.
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Cardboard coffins, rotting garbage, end of surgeries: Images of Cuba’s humanitarian crisis
In Velasco, a town in the eastern Cuban province of Holguín, a man was buried in a cardboard box, his body carted on a wheelbarrow to the cemetery because of a lack of wooden coffins and fuel. In the capital city of Holguín, residents are cooking with...
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Fired BSO deputies after Tamarac triple murder want job back — with back pay
Days after Mary Catherine Gingles was hunted down and shot to death by her estranged husband, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony vowed to “send the fear of God” to his deputies for a cascade of failures that led to the death of her, her father and a...
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SUNSHINE AND SUPERYACHTS
The Miami International Boat Show kicked off Thursday afternoon and runs through Sunday in Miami Beach. Above, an aerial view at Sailors Cove along the MacArthur Causeway on Thursday. At right, Jake Nazarian and his 8-month-old daughter Natalie tour a...
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Who gives the most political money to Miami-Dade’s mayor and county commissioners?
To raise more than $6 million for their political committees last year, the elected officials running Miami-Dade’s government relied on developers and county vendors for most of their largest contributions. A Miami Herald analysis of more than 1,500...
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Staying true to a vision
A few years ago, Linda Udell Zakheim, owner of Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant, was doing some cleaning in the restaurant’s second dining room. As she wiped down surfaces and some of the old-fashioned, kitschy decor that defines the Dania Beach...
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Bad Bunny’s halftime show reminds the world ‘America’ is more than just the U.S.
Fans and critics expected Bad Bunny to make a major political statement at the Super Bowl halftime show. With a pan-American parade of flags, he met those expectations. Just a week after his “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” became the first Spanish-language...
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Why this dad has waited longer than any other patient for a new heart at Broward hospital
Doctors told Chevon Byfield that he had only a few months to live. His heart would give out by Thanksgiving. But 10 years later, Byfield is still alive, waiting for an organ donor. His failing heart beats with the help of an LVAD, a device that helps...
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Four Miami Beach commissioners didn’t attend the mayor’s State of the City address
Four Miami Beach city commissioners did not attend Mayor Steven Meiner’s State of the City address Wednesday, noticeable absences at an event that often brings shows of unity and support for the mayor. The four commissioners missing from the mayoral...
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Call about a shooter at Columbus High is false, but panics kids, parents, school
A false call about a person with a gun on the campus of Christopher Columbus High led to Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies swarming the school Wednesday morning, administrators locking down the classrooms and anguished parents, blocked by a fence,...
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Federal judge blocks termination of Haitian TPS, keeps protections from ending Tuesday
In a pointed rebuke of the Trump administration’s push to make hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants suddenly deportable from the United States, a federal judge in Washington blocked the Department of Homeland Security on Monday night from ending...
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BUNDLED UP IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Pedestrians walk through the pathway near the HistoryMiami Museum on Monday. With a high of 56 degrees, commuters swapped their usual warm-weather looks for hoodies, sweaters, coats and jackets. Temperatures in South Florida dipped overnight as the...
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HARD TIMES FOR THE COLD-BLOODED
An iguana is seen laying on the ground in a neighborhood in Pembroke Pines on Sunday as South Florida iguana removal companies say they scooped up hundreds of cold-stunned and dead lizards due to the cold snap. How long will the cold last? See more on...
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‘My students are the legacy I get to leave behind’
Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ top educators gathered Wednesday evening as one of them was crowned Teacher of the Year in the annual celebration of the county’s best and most passionate teachers. Roberto Rabelo, a social studies and civics teacher...
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RALLYING TO PROTECT HAITIANS
With Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status designation set to expire on Tuesday, protesters gathered during a candlelight vigil and interfaith prayer at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Wednesday as airport workers and faith leaders to...
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Minnesota judge orders ICE chief to appear in person for defying orders
An angry Minnesota federal judge ordered the Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief to appear in court in person on Friday to explain why the agency has failed to obey “dozens of court orders” stemming from the violent crackdown on immigrants and...
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Miami Holocaust Memorial debuts new technology to keep survivors’ memories alive
Rodi Glass is not convinced that something like the Holocaust will never happen again. Amid the United States’ divisive climate and with global antisemitism on the rise, 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Glass believes that hatred toward Jewish people —...
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RUNNERS PUT IN 26.2 IN THE 305
Above, runners head eastbound on the MacArthur Causeway, running past docked cruise ships at the Elite Life Time Miami Marathon & Half on Sunday. Right, marathon attendees cheer on runners, waving flags and signs and giving words of encouragement, as a...
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A NEW ERA FOR THE MIAMI DOLPHINS
Miami Dolphins Chairman and Managing General Partner Stephen M. Ross, center, introduces the new General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, at left, and Head Coach Jeff Hafley, at right, during a press conference at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami...
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It’s professor vs. professor as UM, Gables clear way for 1950s dorm demolitions
The University of Miami, widely held to be the first U.S. college campus entirely made up of Modernist buildings, seems set to erase a big chunk of that historic and architectural legacy as it looks to replace the last of its surviving original dorms —...
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‘It’s a dream come true’
Fernando Mendoza’s parents loved watching every single pass their son threw during his Heisman Trophy-winning season. But they often cringed whenever Mendoza tucked the ball away and ran, putting his body at risk. On Monday night, that’s what it took...
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PARTY (HARD) ROCK
Above, JC Mena wears a cafecito helmet as he celebrates during tailgate parties before the College Football Playoff national championship game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Indiana Hoosiers on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. At...
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Lack of affordable child care is a billion-dollar problem for Miami-Dade
A billion-dollar crisis is brewing among Miami-Dade parents with young children — and their employers. Child care costs are draining parents’ wallets and hitting their employers’ bottom lines, according to a new study published by The Women’s Fund...
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‘Hialeah is ready to lead,’
Framing his inauguration as a moment of responsibility rather than celebration, Bryan Calvo was sworn in as mayor of Hialeah on Monday, promising to rebuild trust in local government and guide the city into what he called a defining new era. “For one...
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AFTER FIRING, THE DOLPHINS’ NEXT MOVE NEEDS TO GIVE FANS A REASON TO HOPE
Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ majority owner since 2009, is now looking for his eighth different head coach in a parade of floundering, flailing and failing. South Florida’s flagship sports franchise — the one once-proud and associated with the...
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‘We are not free; we just changed the regime’s leader’
Two days after Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States and brought to New York on drug-trafficking charges, Venezuelans in South Florida and around the U.S. are still struggling to process what the moment means. Is...
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MADURO ON DISPLAY
Pedro ‘Marthi’ Martin is photographed on Tuesday in front of his mural in Wynwood of Nicolás Maduro, who was apprehended by the U.S. last weekend. A Venezuelan artist, ‘Marthi,’ painted the mural of Maduro based on the arrest photo circulated by the...
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‘TODAY, WE’RE ALL VENEZUELANS’: In Doral, prayers for peace post-Maduro
On the day after Venezuelans woke up to the news of strongman Nicolás Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces, Venezuelan exiles in Doral, grappling with the uncertainty facing the country, gathered at Our Lady of Guadalupe to pray for the nation’s...
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A LOVELY START TO THE NEW YEAR
Above, Lina Ali and her daughter Nina lounge on the sand in South Beach on Thursday morning, the first day of 2026. Right, other beach-goers enjoy the view, the sun and the cool weather that had highs in the mid-to-upper 60s. Below, Dr. Elsa Orlandini...
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‘I have nothing.’ How a mass eviction left retired, disabled Miamians homeless
On a Sunday evening in December, Angel Rogelio Diaz Franco sprawled on a dingy twin mattress in the van he now calls home. Looking around, he squinted. The sole source of light inside came from a small flashlight, which cast a dull, white glow over a...
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Here’s what to expect in South Florida’s luxury real estate market in 2026
South Florida’s luxury real estate market is crowded and experiencing a slowdown. With a cooler luxury market that’s tipped in favor of buyers, 2026 might be a good time to score a deal, said Zack Simkins, a managing director at Vaster, a lending firm...
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‘BELONGING IN TRANSIT’
Belonging is what everyone seeks — even in transit as people move in search of opportunity and a better life. The recently opened HistoryMiami Museum exhibit “Belonging in Transit” highlights Redland Market Village in Homestead as a vibrant, living...
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‘A python in the water’:
The airboat engine with long metal rods at the front sputtered to a stop as researchers stood ready with long nets off Tamiami Trail. In the afternoon sun, electrodes dipped into the shallow, coffee-colored water and released a mild current, a process...
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New home may not be homey, but it beats homeless shelter for mom and her two sons
The apartment overlooks a gas station lit up like Times Square and the noisy on-ramp of West Okeechobee Road. To the north lies a cement factory; to the south, a diesel truck repair shop; to the west concrete block and brick paver manufacturers. The...
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BRINGING JOY DURING TOUGH TIME
Hospital staffer Lianet Bujosa Giraldino, center, helps Maria Alejandra Mendez, 12, and her father, Gaspar Mendez, pick out toys on Tuesday during the annual Snowpile Toy Store at Holtz Children’s Hospital in Miami. The free, winter-themed shopping...
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Hangs onto her dream
Wilangelys Porrata has always dreamed of becoming an artist. As a child, she drew strikingly colorful cartoons, anime, ghosts and pumpkins. But three years ago, when she was 12, the shy, bespectacled girl from North Miami abruptly stopped. “I really...
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FAMILY SEEKS HELP IN FINDING SHOOTER
Trawonna Barron, left, is comforted by her mother, Mary Brown, Dwight Wells’ mother, after pleading for the public’s help in solving the murder of her son. Dwight Wells, a prominent Liberty City activist, was gunned down in October. The family spoke...
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How this Florida Keys diver and his ‘spare part’ helped a boy needing transplant
Aaron got a lot of surprises for his ninth birthday. He went on his first Disney cruise. And he got a special gift from a Florida Keys scuba diver, one he will carry with him for the rest of his life: a new kidney. Since he was a baby, Aaron has...
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These Miami residents choose to live without cars. It can be a challenge
Driving in Miami-Dade is something that just about everyone will agree is frustrating — with bumperto-bumper traffic jams, last-minute merges and inevitable road rage. Yet many residents would still rather spend nearly three full days a year stuck in...
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‘Everybody is so proud’
The raucous crowd at Vice Pizza in South Miami fell to a hush as the announcement was about to be made. Nearly 200 people with ties to Christopher Columbus High School — alumni, faculty, administrators, families and friends — were on site to watch one...
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How Nobel winner María Corina Machado outsmarted Maduro’s forces to get to Norway
The extraordinary escape of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado from the grip of Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime to fly to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize involved months of planning, a stealth journey through 10 military...
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MESSI MAKES HISTORY
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi receives Major League Soccer’s Landon Donovan MVP Award on Tuesday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Messi, who led Inter Miami to the MLS title on Saturday, won the award for the second year in a row, something no other...
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South Dade woman’s daughter was taken by ICE. Now, she’s raising 6 grandchildren
On an ordinary weekday morning in September, Angela De Borja helped her daughter Cecilia with the usual routine: Get her six grandchildren dressed, prepare their backpacks and drive them to school in Homestead. But the moment they dropped the kids...
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‘A SAD, CRUEL MOMENT’
The small figures huddled together at Miami International Airport carried backpacks, stuffed animals and three suitcases. One wore a silver cross necklace. Families of the seven travelers – ages 3 to 15 – have been torn apart this year by the Trump...
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Art with a purpose
Alleging human-rights abuses in two South Florida immigration detention facilities, Amnesty International released a 61-page report on Thursday describing inhumane conditions at Alligator Alcatraz and Krome North Service Processing Center. The report,...
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ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH ADAPTS AS MARKETS SHIFT AND COLLECTORS CHANGE
The artist known as Beeple is at it again. His “Regular Animals” exhibit — part of Art Basel Miami Beach’s inaugural AI sector, Zero 10 — was an instant hit at Wednesday’s VIP opening. The project features fleshcolored robot dogs that resemble Rock...
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Miami Art Week returns with high hopes, rotating ‘library’
A concrete ring revolves ever-so-slowly around the man-made pond anchored by a 50-foot-high triangular bookcase that doubles as a sundial. Quotes displayed on a digital strip along the facade are read aloud, recalling stories that plumb the depths of...
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A landmark hotel in Miami Beach got $55 million makeover before Art Basel
Loews Miami Beach Hotel has completed a $55 million renovation that it hopes will keep it well-positioned in the growing, increasingly competitive high-end market in South Florida. One of the region’s most popular hotels has upgraded all 790 guest...
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ART WEEK EVENTS CELEBRATE BLACK ART, CULTURE
As the art world flocks to Miami Beach for Art Basel, Miamians looking to celebrate and appreciate Black artists during Miami Art Week have a myriad of events where they can view their work. This year, Soul Basel returned to Overtown on Saturday with...
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ON THE CAMILLUS HOUSE THANKSGIVING MENU: TURKEY, DIGNITY, HOPE AND COMMUNITY
Above, Anastasia Fernandez, 6, gets help from her mother and fellow volunteer Carolina Vester to deliver a meal. Camillus House held its 65th annual Thanksgiving celebration at its main campus on Thursday in Miami. Right, Joshua Cabadiana, 9, and his...
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Miami-Dade school adopts classical-education model championed by conservatives
Families in Miami-Dade County seem increasingly interested in having their children study the classics — think Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. As classical-education charter schools like True North move into communities, amassing wait lists of...
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HARDER THAN IT LOOKS
The dun sectional was soft and seemed to swallow Jill Eber as she leaned back into it, appraising the view of Brickell from across an incandescent Biscayne Bay. The vista and the condo that framed it, a Fisher Island unit that she has been trying to...
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Ready for a Black Friday sales frenzy in South Florida?
Black Friday used to be a one-day shop-a-palooza, focusing on a sales frenzy the day after Thanksgiving, maybe even starting on the night of the holiday before the turkey leftovers even cooled. If shopping were an Olympic event, Black Friday would be...
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READY FOR A THANKSGIVING TRAVEL CRUNCH?
Traveling through South Florida airports during Thanksgiving week? You’re not alone. MIA and FLL are expecting record numbers of passengers during the holiday crunch. Miami International is undergoing $9 billion in renovations to be completed by 2039...
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TRIBUTE FOR A FALLEN OFFICER
Above, the hearse carrying the casket of Sgt. David Cajuso rides in the funeral procession as it approaches Hard Rock Stadium, the site of Wednesday’s services for the Miami Beach officer — who died last month in a motorcycle crash. Left, Police Chief...
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PAYING TRIBUTE TO AMERICAN HEROES ON VETERANS DAY
Top, German tourist Jacob Anderson, 3, crouches to get a better look as Miami Beach's Girl Scouts Troop 1905 marches northbound on Ocean Drive for the city’s 17th annual Veterans Day Parade on Tuesday. Right, members of the Miami Beach Navy Junior ROTC...
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How her fitness mission in the Navy turned into another mission in Miami
Wellness is a way of life for Wynwood-based Pilates instructor Shay Williams. The Navy veteran vividly remembers the moment that she found her purpose: when she taught her first Pilates class. “I realized that this was something that I knew I wanted...
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Billionaire’s $20 million gift kickstarts Vizcaya expansion. His side offer will draw questions
As the landmark, publicly owned Vizcaya Museum and Gardens starts work on an extensive, long-planned restoration and enhancement of the estate’s historic farm village, the initiative has lured a large gift from billionaire Ken Griffin — and a...
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Fire destroys multimillion-dollar home owned by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
A two-alarm fire broke out early Thursday morning at the home of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, with firefighters battling the blaze for eight hours before extinguishing it at the home, which has a pool and tennis court in one of Miami-Dade’s...
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LEADERS APPEAR IN MIAMI
Above, President Donald Trump leaves the America Business Forum at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Wednesday. Right, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, is introduced for her video conversation at the...
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MAKING DECISIONS
Many South Floridians went to the polls on Tuesday. Above, Homestead residents were voting on two council seats and four referendums. Below left, a Miami resident walks to a ballot box with his ballot after casting his vote at Legion Memorial Park...
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‘Buyer’s remorse.’ South Florida Black men on life in Trump era
Toppcuttaz Barbershop in Miami Gardens is buzzing with sounds from Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as chairs swivel and clippers buzz. It’s still early — just past 10 a.m. — but in a corner, six Black men, including the barbershop’s...
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THE LAST ROYAL CASTLE IN MIAMI HAS CLOSED
Gerry Goldstein remembers his childhood trips to Royal Castle like yesterday. Burgers at the Miami restaurant chain were only 3 cents each in the 1960s. After Goldstein and his friends collected glass bottles and got paid for them at the local...
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‘Truly heartbreaking’ Jamaica assesses damage from Hurricane Melissa
Thousands of Jamaicans were still without power, water and internet service on Thursday as the government continued to assess the widespread damage from Hurricane Melissa. Days after the hit from Jamaica’s most catastrophic hurricane, the scope of the...
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‘CATASTROPHIC’ HIT KILLS AT LEAST 27 Trump vows assistance for Caribbean after Hurricane Melissa strikes
President Donald Trump pledged that the United States will help the island nations of the Caribbean on a “humanitarian basis” as Hurricane Melissa continued to ravage the area. “We’re watching it closely, and we’re prepared to move,” the president...
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MONSTROUS MELISSA SLAMS JAMAICA
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa officially made landfall on Jamaica on Tuesday as the most powerful hurricane to ever strike the island as well as the third-strongest hurricane to ever form in the Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center formally declared...
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‘These lights are way too long.’ Bumpy debut for Miami-Dade’s new transit system
Miami-Dade’s $300 million rapid-transit bus system failed to fully deliver during its first morning rush hour Monday, with passengers facing delayed arrivals and crowded buses idling at red lights that were supposed to turn green automatically. “These...
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‘Sunday church in the Everglades’
They’re out there, deep in the Florida Everglades every Sunday evening — rain or shine — holding signs, singing songs and praying. Since it opened at the beginning of July, Florida’s migrant detention center dubbed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ has sparked a...
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Cardiac arrests, then a coma How a therapy dog helped a Broward patient recover
Priscilla Timmons remembers rushing to the bathroom to vomit. Then, her eyesight went dark. Grabbing the sink’s counter, she eased herself onto the floor. Unable to speak, the 38-year-old shakily used a finger to text her mom, who was in the living...
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A TRAFFIC JAM, UNDERWATER
A nearly life-size car made of concrete weighing more than 14 tons was slowly lowered to the ocean floor, just a short swim from the sands of Miami Beach. It’s the first of a small fleet of similar cars — 22 in all — that make up the initial...
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OUT OF TIME
Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park was lifeless Monday afternoon — except for the people forced to leave their homes. Police officers patrolled the neighborhood. U-Haul trucks rumbled through the Sweetwater park — for the people who could afford them. Some...
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This Miami nonprofit serves refugees in South Florida
Kristen Bloom knows what it’s like to start over. In the 20 years that her husband has served in the Air Force, the couple has moved 10 times. Their first assignment took them to Okinawa, Japan. Bloom, now 42, is originally from a small town in...
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