A woman repeatedly stabbed a teenage girl inside a Cutler Bay home Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Matt Rourke
AP
A woman repeatedly stabbed a 15-year-old girl inside a Cutler Bay home Sunday afternoon after an argument over the teen’s cell phone, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said.
The girl was sleeping in the living room of the home at the 21000 block of Southwest 92nd Avenue around 3:20 p.m. when she awoke to see 26-year-old Lynn My Le looking through her phone, according to Le’s arrest report.
The girl, who was not named in the report, nor was her relationship with Le explained, confronted Le and asked her why she was going through her phone, detectives said.
The girl took the phone away, and Le responded by grabbing a “black knife,” the report states. The girl ran toward the front door, but detectives say Le caught up to her and stabbed her in the back about four times, causing her to collapse,
Le then stabbed the girl about six more times as the teen pleaded for her life, according to the report.
The girl survived, but the sheriff’s office said she was left with about 10 puncture wounds. Detective Samantha Choon told the Herald Monday that the teen is in “critical, but stable” condition.
The report noted that Le refused to speak with detectives. She was booked into Turner Guilford Correctional Center on one count of attempted murder. Her bond information was not immediately available, nor was information on her legal representation.
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
Some victims depicted in the photos and videos were infants.
A teenage boy told police that he was bullied several times before a video circulating among students at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School showed him holding and racking a handgun while on a Facetime call with another classmate last week, court records show.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office detectives went to the school Wednesday and a dean played them Facetime video showing the boy holding the gun and pulling the slide back, making it appear like he loaded a round in the chamber, according to a report from the agency petitioning for the boy to receive mandatory mental health care.
The Facetime call was between the teen and a classmate, detectives say.
The video did not have sound, but the school official also played detectives a voice memo that the boy sent in which he says, “Tomorrow it is going down,” and then making popping noises to mimic gunfire, the report states.
Detectives went to the boy’s home and interviewed him and his mother, the report states. The boy, who the Miami Herald is not naming, told detectives he was the person in the video. He said he took the gun from his grandfather’s closet without permission, per the report.
The teen told detectives he racked the gun to make it look like he loaded a bullet in the chamber “because he wanted to ensure his classmate heard the sound,” the report states.
The gun was not loaded, he told detectives, according to the report, which notes the teen said he was bullied several times in the past, including by the classmate with whom he was on the call.
The sheriff’s office told Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami the teen is receiving mental health care under Florida’s Baker Act. His mother told detectives she was also getting her son mental health help, per the report.
CBS News Miami also obtained a letter the school sent to parents saying that additional security measures have been put in place as a result of the video.
“The safety of everyone on our campus will always be our number one priority,” the letter stated. “We hope that everyone—students, faculty, staff, and parents—can work together to remain vigilant.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 8:05 PM.
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the planned transfer of prime downtown Miami land for Donald Trump’s future presidential library.
Ruling emphasizes non-political nature
The move by Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz came after a Miami activist alleged that officials at Miami Dade College violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted the sizable plot of real estate to the state, which then voted to transfer it to the foundation for President Trump’s planned library.
“This is not an easy decision,” Ruiz said Tuesday when explaining her ruling from the bench.
“This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics,” she added.
Valuable property at the heart of dispute
The nearly 3-acre (1.2-hectare) property is a developer’s dream and is valued at more than $67 million, according to a 2025 assessment by the Miami-Dade County property appraiser.
One real estate expert wagered that the parcel—one of the last undeveloped lots on an iconic stretch of palm tree-lined Biscayne Boulevard—could sell for hundreds of millions of dollars more.
Lawsuit alleges violations of open government laws
Marvin Dunn, an activist and chronicler of local Black history, filed a lawsuit this month in a Miami-Dade County court against the Board of Trustees for Miami Dade College, a state-run school that owned the property.
He alleges that the board violated Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on Sept. 23, when it voted to give up the land.
A week later, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted to transfer the land again, effectively putting the property under the control of the Trump family when they deeded it to the foundation for Trump’s library.
The foundation is led by three trustees: Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos, and the president’s attorney James Kiley.
Attorney stresses public’s right to transparency
Richard Brodsky, an attorney for Dunn, said the issue before the court was not a question of politics, but whether the public board followed the open government law.
“The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the students and the college of this land,” Brodsky said.
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
Under the law, businesses and private property owners can choose whether to allow or ban open carry on their premises.
They say it’s “where shopping is a pleasure,” but now, customers may see fellow shoppers walking the aisles with a pistol on their hip at their neighborhood Publix.
Some Publix customers support the move, others express safety concerns
“I believe it can cause unnecessary stress and drama,” Publix customer Scott Gonzalez said. “It needs to stop being political and it needs to be more about the safety of our community.”
Some shoppers say the change gives them a sense of awareness and control.
“I feel like if you’re going to carry a gun, I’d rather know that it’s on your person than be caught off guard and have it brought out without me even being aware,” customer Erica McKeon told CBS News Miami. “At least I can walk away from the person if I see a gun and I’m not comfortable.”
Others worry the sight of firearms in stores could cause anxiety.
“As someone that has a concealed carry permit, I’m not that against open carry,” customer Dominic Carissimi said. “But in terms of other people that aren’t used to being around guns and things like that, it can cause unnecessary, like, I guess, stress and anxiety.”
McKeon added, “I support our governor and I believe that if he’s allowing this that he has our best interests in mind.”
Publix cites compliance with Florida law and respect for customers
A Publix spokesperson released a statement, saying in part:
“Publix follows all federal, state and local laws. Treating customers with dignity and respect is a founding belief at Publix. In any instance where a customer creates a threatening, erratic, or dangerous shopping experience—whether they are openly carrying a firearm or not—we will engage local law enforcement to protect our customers and associates.”
Publix runs stores in eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The grocery chain has more than 1,421 supermarket locations in those states, and over 900 location in Florida.
Open carry laws in other states where Publix operates
Several of the states where Publix operates already allowed some form of open carry, even before Florida’s recent policy change.
In Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, gun owners can generally carry firearms openly without a permit, though each state has its own set of restrictions.
Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky all have so-called “permitless carry” laws, which allow most adults legally allowed to possess a firearm to carry it openly or concealed.
Virginia also allows open carry, though its rules are more restrictive than most of its southern neighbors. Local governments there can prohibit firearms in certain public areas, and restrictions apply to specific types of guns, including semi-automatic weapons in some localities.
In all, that means nearly every state on Publix’s operating map already permitted open carry in some form.
It is unclear if the grocery chain allows open carry in its stores in other states beside Florida. In 2019, Publix’s publicly stated that it “respectfully requests that only law enforcement officials openly carry firearms in our stores,” even in states where open carry is legally allowed.
Winn-Dixie takes a different stance on Florida open carry
While Publix is allowing open carry, competitors like Winn-Dixie say they will not permit customers to openly carry firearms inside their stores.
Miami-Dade deputies are searching a wooded area west of Tamiami after a machete attack near Southwest 137th Avenue that left a woman with minor injuries.
Miami Herald file
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputies are on a manhunt in a wooded area of west Tamiami — searching for a man who attacked a woman with a machete Wednesday evening.
Around 5:30 p.m., deputies rushed to the area of Southwest 137th Avenue and Eighth Street to reports of a fight between a man and woman that got out of hand, the sheriff’s office said.
The unidentified man pulled out a machete and hit the woman with the weapon’s backside, not stabbing nor cutting her. He subsequently fled into the woods.
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition with minor injuries.
Deputies deployed K-9 units as they continued their search for the man.
Miami Herald Cops and Breaking News Reporter Devoun Cetoute covers a plethora of Florida topics, from breaking news to crime patterns. He was on the breaking news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He’s a graduate of the University of Florida, born and raised in Miami-Dade. Theme parks, movies and cars are on his mind in and out of the office.
Publix has installed self-service kiosks for car registrations, beginning in Miami-Dade.
The Florida-based supermarket also is opening new locations and offering a new Miami Dolphins Pub Sub.
See the details below.
Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernández (right) shows how a Florida MV Express self-service kiosk at Publix can be used to renew a driver’s registration at a launch event at the Doral Publix on July 11, 2025.
NO. 1: HOW TO RENEW YOUR CAR REGISTRATION AT PUBLIX AND WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT EXPANSION
Renewing your car’s registration and auto tag is now as easy as ordering your lunchtime Pub Sub. | Published July 31, 2025 | Read Full Story by Howard Cohen
This new Publix opened April 4, 2024, in Homestead at the Valencia Center at 1220 E. Palm Dr.
NO. 2: PUBLIX JUST OPENED 8 NEW GROCERY STORES — AND MORE ARE ON THE WAY. SEE LOCATIONS
A Publix deli staffer dresses up a new Dolphins Sub with its newest ingredient for the 2025 NFL season, chicken tenders, at the Briar Bay Publix near The Falls in Miami-Dade on Sept. 7, 2025. By Howard Cohen
NO. 3: PUBLIX JUST REVAMPED ITS DELI’S MIAMI DOLPHINS PUB SUB. SEE WHAT’S INSIDE
There’s a new Miami Dolphins lineup this season — and we’re not talking about the team that took the field Sunday in the opening game against the Indianapolis Colts. | Published September 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Howard Cohen
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Sounds of music, song and sorrow swelled inside a small South Miami-Dade church on Saturday, as loved ones of victims killed in an August semi-truck crash on Florida’s Turnpike gathered to say their last goodbyes.
News of the crash made national headlines and landed one man in jail, a truck driver, Harjinder Singh, 28, who authorities say caused the deaths by making an illegal U-turn with his 18-wheeler, blocking the northbound lanes of the highway.
The crash took the lives of driver Herby Dufresne, 30, and passengers Faniola Joseph, 37, and Rodrigue Dor, 54. The three were visiting South Florida, where they had once lived, before returning home to Indiana. Dor and Joseph died at the scene. Dufresne died later at the hospital.
Inside Princeton Church of the Nazarene, two white coffins—matching and gleaming under the sanctuary lights—rested side by side holding Joseph and Dufresne. Nearly every seat in the church was filled, the air thick with grief and gospel.
Dor’s service had been held two weeks earlier on Sept. 20, at Haitian Evangelical Baptist Church. He was laid to rest at Vista Memorial Gardens in Miami Lakes.
In Princeton, the community came together to mourn Dufresne and Joseph, two friends who had died together and were buried at Palms Woodlawn Cemetery in Naranja.
Joseph was remembered as a woman of remarkable strength, someone who, as one loved one put it, was “born only to give love.”
She stood as a pillar for her family—a steady presence and a nurturing soul. At the heart of her life was her daughter, Angeline, whom friends and relatives said Joseph raised to be both resilient and tender, reflecting her mother’s own spirit.
Angeline was unable to attend the funeral because she lives in the Dominican Republic.
Memorial pamphlets for Faniola Joseph and Herby Dufresne given to the attendees of their funeral service at the Princeton Church of Nazarene on Oct. 4, 2025. Milena Malaver/Miami Herald
“She served as a guiding star for her family, and today, even though she is no longer with us, her light will always shine in our memories and prayers,” a loved one said in Creole during the service.
A loving father, brother and son
Dufresne was born in Port-au-Prince, the only son among five children, and was the father of two young daughters.
“He had a lot of love for all his family and friends. When he met you, he would hug you with a big smile on his lips,” said his cousin, Oscar Cedieu, speaking in Haitian Creole.
The service itself pulsed with sound with horns blaring, drums pounding and voices rising in song. Friends, relatives and reverends took turns at the podium singing in memory of a man who himself had loved music, playing several instruments.
Yet even the loudest music could not drown out the anguish. Sobs and screams split the air. Women clutched children in their arms, weeping uncontrollably. Some had to be carried out when grief overcame them. At one point, a woman fainted and was lifted out of the church.
Dufresne’s sister Katy Dufresne painted a picture of her brother: strong, kind, a man who cooked with passion and sang every morning in the kitchen.
“He loved to sing a lot in the morning,” she said at the podium in Creole. “The first thing that will wake you up is a song.”
Herby Dufresne, 30, a single dad with a 5-year-old and another child on the way, was killed Aug. 12 after the minivan he was driving slammed into a semi tractor-trailer that had made an illegal U-turn on the Florida Turnpike near Fort Pierce. The accident garnered national attention after it was discovered the driver was an undocumented driver from India. Dufresne died in the accident along with his two passengers, who were also Haitian. Courtesy of friend of Herby Dufresne
But she also shared his hesitations about leaving Haiti. Though he was approved to come to the United States in December 2023, Dufresne had confessed that he didn’t want to leave their mother behind. Still, he sought a better life. Katy’s last memory of him was their visit together, with Joseph and Dor, just before the crash.
In one of their final conversations, he had told her she was the strength of their family.
‘Justice and reparations’
The fatal crash rippled far beyond South Florida’s Haitian community—it reached the Sikh community as well. Authorities have charged Harjinder Singh, a Sikh, and the truck driver in the fatal crash, with vehicular homicide. Singh is being held at the St. Lucie County Jail on no bond.
Sikhs for Justice, an activist group, stepped in to cover funeral costs and pledged $100,000 in humanitarian aid for the victims’ families. The donation came entirely from Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, a Pennsylvania-based physician and co-founder of the group, who attended Saturday’s service and spoke during the service.
“No words can measure their loss, but we have stood with them to ensure their loved ones are laid to rest with dignity,” said Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the group’s general counsel.
The aid was distributed in coordination with Haiti’s Consulate General in Miami. Consul General Yverick Delerme Cyril personally thanked the organization for its support.
Singh’s immigration status and commercial license sparked national debate, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican leaders seizing on the case as a flashpoint in immigration.
Back inside the church, Joseph’s cousin Fekel Morisette took the podium and called the congregation to its feet.
“Justice and reparation,” he said—then asked the packed church to repeat the words after him.
This story was originally published October 4, 2025 at 4:29 PM.
James Edward Daniels was convicted on federal kidnapping charges in December 2024. He was erroneously released from Miami-Dade County jail, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, which does not run corrections operations, said.
James Edward Daniels, the fugitive killer and kidnapper wrongly freed from a Miami-Dade jail over the weekend, was caught by law enforcement in Georgia after spending four days on the lam, officials said Wednesday night.
Daniels, 60, was captured in Macon, Georgia sometime Wednesday, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced. A reward of up to $30,000 was being offered for any information that led to his arrest.
MDSO officials did not say when Daniels will be taken back to South Florida.
A fugitive wrongly freed from a Miami-Dade jail was captured in Macon, Georgia after four days on the run. Authorities probe the procedural error enabling his release. MDSO
He was erroneously released from the custody of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department on Saturday afternoon after a “procedural error,” the department said. An investigation was opened “to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and any potential failures to follow departmental policy.”
Daniels was found guilty of kidnapping and torturing Osmar Oliva, Julio Verdecia and Juan Gonzalez from an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020. He and two other men killed Oliva and Gonzalez; Verdecia survived a gunshot wound to the head.
As a result, he was sentenced to four life sentences in March. He was in federal custody until Sept. 24, when he was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade to close a 2021 state drug case that had been put on the backburner.
The U.S. Marshals Service, the agency responsible for transporting Daniels between facilities, had placed a federal detainer on him. That designation flags jail and court personnel notifying them that he must remain in the Miami-Dade jail and not be released, the agency said.
On Sept. 25, Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez convicted Daniels on drug charges and credited him with time served, forgoing any prison time due to him already serving a life sentence.
A fiasco ensued when court and jail records show Daniels was released Saturday because of Hernandez’s sentencing, despite the federal detainer, which should have returned him to the custody of the Marshals Service.
It’s not yet clear who’s responsible for missing, ignoring or putting aside the federal detainer.
Miami Herald Cops and Breaking News Reporter Devoun Cetoute covers a plethora of Florida topics, from breaking news to crime patterns. He was on the breaking news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He’s a graduate of the University of Florida, born and raised in Miami-Dade. Theme parks, movies and cars are on his mind in and out of the office.
Convicted Miami-Dade killer James Daniels was mistakenly released, possibly due to a procedural failure. Rules on holding inmates may have been overlooked.
Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation
Reality Check is a Herald series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at tips@miamiherald.com.
Federal prisoner James Edward Daniels was transferred into a Miami-Dade County jail last Wednesday and released — erroneously — onto the streets by Saturday afternoon, court records show. After law enforcement officials on Monday made a public plea for help tracking down the “armed and dangerous” fugitive, it begs the question: why was a convicted South Florida kidnapper and killer, serving a life sentence, allowed to roam free?
Many are demanding answers, and the Miami Herald has found that detention procedures may not have been followed during his three-day stint at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Daniels, 60, was found guilty of kidnapping and torturing Osmar Oliva, Julio Verdecia and Juan Gonzalez from an Opa-locka truck yard in December 2020. He and two other men killed Oliva and Gonzalez; Verdecia survived a gunshot wound to the head.
While the kidnapping and murder case was closed in March, with Daniels receiving four life sentences, he was still on the hook for drug charges out of Miami-Dade County. The effort to finally close that case triggered the fiasco that led to the erroneous release of Daniels over the weekend.
Procedure not followed?
In 2021, deputies arrested Daniels after finding cocaine and marijuana in his car, said Evan Hoffman, his attorney at the time. The ensuing drug case was well underway when it was sidelined by the federal kidnapping charges filed against Daniels two years later. With the federal case taking precedent, the comparatively minor drug case was put in limbo.
That was until Wednesday, when Daniels was transferred from federal custody by the U.S. Marshals Service and placed in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, so he could appear and finally settle his drug case, Hoffman said.
The Marshals Service also handed over a crucial piece of documentation that would keep Daniels in jail so he could return to prison — a federal detainer, officials with the Marshals Service confirmed to the Herald.
On Thursday, Daniels was convicted of possessing cocaine and driving under the influence. Circuit Court Judge Christine Hernandez credited Daniels with time served, forgoing any prison time on those charges, as he was already serving a life sentence on the federal charges, Hoffman said.
Somehow, court and jail records show that he was released Saturday despite the federal detainer, which should have returned him to the custody of the Marshals Service.
“I’ve been practicing law close to 28 years, I have seen errors being made because no one is perfect, but I would pretty much say this is a pretty big mess up,” Hoffman said.
Who exactly missed, ignored or put aside the federal detainer remains unclear. The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, who oversees the custody of jail inmates, has not commented on the federal detainer.
“A full internal affairs investigation is underway to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and any potential failures to follow departmental policy,” said Juan Diasgranados, spokesperson for the corrections department. He said the department “is committed to ensuring that those responsible for failing to follow policy are held accountable to the fullest extent possible.”
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday the reward for information leading to Daniels’ capture was increased from $5,000 to $30,000.
‘Slip through the cracks’
Roy Kahn, a former prosecutor who has been a criminal defense attorney for four decades, said there a number of errors that may have allowed Daniels to slip through the cracks and walk out of jail.
“It’s certainly not the first time,” Kahn told the Herald. “It’s happened before.”
One red flag was the detainer, also known as a jail card, that explains the hold a prisoner may have so they can be returned to custody, Kahn said. But in Miami-Dade it is a physical paper document, not a computerized record.
So, if the judge does not see the card, Kahn said it’s possible he or she would tell the prisoner that he’s free to go once the case is closed. This scenario is more likely to occur in a physical courtroom, which was the case for Daniels, rather than inside a jail during a video court appearance, where several steps must be taken before an inmate is released.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office told the Herald Tuesday evening that Daniels needed to be physically present in the courtroom in order to enter a guilty plea and finally close the 2021 case.
“Did it not make the computer since he just arrived?” Kahn said.
Judge Christine Hernandez, who presided over Daniels’ case, could not be immediately reached to comment on the federal detainer.
The sheriff’s office asks anyone with information on Daniels’ whereabouts to call Homicide Detective C. Santos at (305) 471-2400. People can also submit an anonymous tip to Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or online at crimestoppers305.com.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:49 AM.
Miami Herald Cops and Breaking News Reporter Devoun Cetoute covers a plethora of Florida topics, from breaking news to crime patterns. He was on the breaking news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2022. He’s a graduate of the University of Florida, born and raised in Miami-Dade. Theme parks, movies and cars are on his mind in and out of the office.
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
The matriarch of a wealthy South Florida family was convicted Thursday of murder in the killing of her former son-in-law, a prominent law professor who was locked in a bitter custody battle with his ex-wife when he was gunned down in 2014.
Jurors returned guilty verdicts in the weekslong trial of Donna Adelson on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in the killing of Florida State University law professor Daniel Markel in Tallahassee where he taught. The case had riveted attention in Florida for more than a decade amid sordid details of a messy divorce, tensions with wealthy in-laws and custody fights leading to the killing.
When the judge announced that the jury had convicted Adelson of first-degree murder, the defendant exclaimed, “Oh!” and started shaking and crying.
The jury was then taken out of the courtroom and Florida Second Judicial Circuit Judge Stephen Everett gave Adelson a two-minute break to collect herself.
“While this was not the outcome I’m sure that you desire, there will not be any further outbursts in front of the jury,” he told her.
A family’s grief and a decade-long saga
In an impact statement after the verdict Ruth Markel, Daniel Markel’s mother, spoke about her profound sadness and grief after her son’s death.
“We have lost a treasure. My son Dan’s life was cut tragically short at 41 years old,” she said. “For 11 years we have been forced to a life filled with unimaginable pain and heartbreak.”
Daniel Markel and Wendi Adelson were divorced and shared custody of their two children, but she had wanted to move them more than 370 miles (595 kilometers) from Tallahassee to South Florida to be closer to the rest of her family. A judge ruled, however, that Wendi Adelson couldn’t move the children, and Markel refused to relocate.
Prosecutors had argued at trial that Donna Adelson helped orchestrate Markel’s killing after he stood in the way of letting her daughter and two young grandsons make the move south.
The judge said sentencing would come “at a later date,” but scheduled case management for Oct. 14.
Adelson was the fifth person put on trial for what prosecutors cast as a murder-for-hire plot to kill Markel. Among those already serving a life sentence for the killing is Donna Adelson’s son, Charles Adelson.
Wendi Adelson denied involvement in the killing and has not been charged.
At trial, prosecutors had painted Donna Adelson as the calculated and controlling matriarch of an affluent South Florida family with the means and motive to orchestrate the killing of the ex-son-in-law she “hated.”
Defense attorneys insisted the state didn’t have sufficient evidence to link the aging grandmother to the murder plot, instead emphasizing the roles played by others and casting suspicion on two of Adelson’s adult children.
Charles Adelson is serving a life sentence, as is his ex-girlfriend Katherine Magbanua. Prosecutors said Magbanua served as the go-between for the two men hired to carry out the killing, Sigfredo Garcia, who was sentenced to life in prison, and Luis Rivera, who is serving a 19-year sentence after cooperating with the state.
MIAMI – Former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has died. Graham, who chaired the Intelligence Committee following the 2001 terrorist attacks and opposed the Iraq invasion, was 87.
His family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham.
The Florida Democratic Party issued the following statement on Graham’s passing:
“There are no words that can fully capture what Bob Graham meant to the state of Florida. A giant in Florida politics, Bob set the standard for every elected official who followed — both Democrat and Republican. He lived a life most of us could only dream of, one where he impacted the lives of millions with an unparalleled heart for service and a moral compass that always pointed true. Our hearts go out to Adele, Gwen, and the entire Graham family as they mourn their loss and celebrate his incredible life.
“Part of the DNA of every Florida Democrat is living up to the example Bob Graham set for us. As we honor his legacy, may we all love and serve Florida the way he did — with a twinkle in our eyes and a curiosity for things unknown.”
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava posted on X that he inspired so many.
I am deeply saddened to learn of Senator Bob Graham’s passing. He was not only a great friend and mentor, but also a role model whose dedication to public service inspired so many. My heartfelt condolences to his loved ones. May his legacy live on through the lives he touched. https://t.co/kqyIUj9FQA
Graham, who served three terms in the Senate, made an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing his opposition to the Iraq invasion.
But his bid was delayed by heart surgery in January 2003. Never able to gain enough traction with voters to catch up, he bowed out that October. He didn’t seek re-election in 2004 and was replaced by Republican Mel Martinez.
A man of many quirks, Graham perfected the “workdays” political gimmick of spending a day doing various jobs from horse stall mucker to FBI agent. He kept a meticulous diary, noting almost everyone he spoke with, everything he ate, the TV shows he watched and even his golf scores.
But he closed the notebooks to the media during his short-lived presidential bid.
Graham was among the earliest opponents of the Iraq war, saying it diverted America’s focus on the battle against terrorism centered in Afghanistan. He also criticized President George W. Bush for failing to have an occupation plan in Iraq after the U.S. military threw out Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Graham said Bush took the United States into the war by exaggerating claims of the danger presented by the Iraqi weapons of destruction that were never found. Saying Bush distorted intelligence data, Graham argued that was more serious than the sexual misconduct issues that led to President Clinton’s impeachment in the late 1990s.
The Town of Miami Lakes community mourns the passing of Senator Bob Graham. A key member & figure of our town’s history, his leadership and service will be celebrated long after his passing. Our thoughts and condolences are with his loved ones during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/zFwBgpnWs8
It spurred Graham to launch his brief presidential bid.
“The quagmire in Iraq is a distraction that the Bush administration, and the Bush administration alone, has created,” Graham said in 2003.
As a politician, few were better. Florida voters hardly considered him the wealthy Harvard-educated attorney that he was.
Bob Graham was a good man and a great Floridian who dedicated his life to our state. His legacy will live forever, not because of any title he held, but for what he did with those opportunities to improve Florida and the lives of families in the Sunshine State.
Graham’s political career spanned five decades, beginning with his election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1966.
He won a state Senate seat in 1970, was elected governor in 1978, and was re-elected in 1982. Four years later, he won the first of three terms in the U.S. Senate when he ousted incumbent Republican Paula Hawkins.
Graham remained widely popular with Florida voters, winning re-election by wide margins in 1992 and 1998 when he carried 63 of 67 counties.
Even when in Washington, Graham never took his eye off the state and the leadership in Tallahassee.
When Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated the Board of Regents in 2001, Graham saw it as a move to politicize the state university system. He led a successful petition drive the next year for a state constitutional amendment that created the Board of Governors to assume the regents’ role.
Daniel Robert Graham was born Nov. 9, 1936, in Coral Gables where his father, Ernest “Cap” Graham, had moved from South Dakota and established a large dairy operation. Young Bob milked cows, built fences and scooped manure as a teenager. One of his half-brothers, Phillip Graham, was publisher of The Washington Post and Newsweek until he committed suicide in 1963, just a year after Bob Graham’s graduation from Harvard Law.
In 1966 he was elected to the Florida Legislature, where he focused largely on education and health care issues.
But Graham got off to a shaky start as Florida’s chief executive, and was dubbed “Gov. Jello” for some early indecisiveness. He shook that label through his handling of several serious crises.
As governor, he also signed numerous death warrants, founded the Save the Manatee Club with entertainer Jimmy Buffett and led efforts to establish several environmental programs.
Graham pushed through a bond program to buy beaches and barrier islands threatened by development and also started the Save Our Everglades program to protect the state’s water supply, wetlands and endangered species.
Graham also was known for his 408 “workdays,” including stints as a housewife, boxing ring announcer, flight attendant and arson investigator.
“This has been a very important part of my development as a public official, my learning at a very human level what the people of Florida expect, what they want, what their aspirations are and then trying to interpret that and make it policy that will improve their lives” said Graham in 2004 as he completed his final job as a Christmas gift wrapper.
After leaving public life in 2005, Graham spent much of his time at a public policy center named after him at the University of Florida and pushing the Legislature to require more civics classes in the state’s public schools.
Graham was one of five members selected for an independent commission by President Barack Obama in June 2010 to investigate a massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened sea life and beaches along several southeastern Gulf states.
Here’s the statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham:
MIAMI – Former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has died. Graham, who chaired the Intelligence Committee following the 2001 terrorist attacks and opposed the Iraq invasion, was 87.
His family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham.
The Florida Democratic Party issued the following statement on Graham’s passing:
“There are no words that can fully capture what Bob Graham meant to the state of Florida. A giant in Florida politics, Bob set the standard for every elected official who followed — both Democrat and Republican. He lived a life most of us could only dream of, one where he impacted the lives of millions with an unparalleled heart for service and a moral compass that always pointed true. Our hearts go out to Adele, Gwen, and the entire Graham family as they mourn their loss and celebrate his incredible life.
“Part of the DNA of every Florida Democrat is living up to the example Bob Graham set for us. As we honor his legacy, may we all love and serve Florida the way he did — with a twinkle in our eyes and a curiosity for things unknown.”
Graham, who served three terms in the Senate, made an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing his opposition to the Iraq invasion.
Former U.S. Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham. (Source: CBS4)
But his bid was delayed by heart surgery in January 2003. Never able to gain enough traction with voters to catch up, he bowed out that October. He didn’t seek re-election in 2004 and was replaced by Republican Mel Martinez.
A man of many quirks, Graham perfected the “workdays” political gimmick of spending a day doing various jobs from horse stall mucker to FBI agent. He kept a meticulous diary, noting almost everyone he spoke with, everything he ate, the TV shows he watched and even his golf scores.
But he closed the notebooks to the media during his short-lived presidential bid.
Graham was among the earliest opponents of the Iraq war, saying it diverted America’s focus on the battle against terrorism centered in Afghanistan. He also criticized President George W. Bush for failing to have an occupation plan in Iraq after the U.S. military threw out Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Graham said Bush took the United States into the war by exaggerating claims of the danger presented by the Iraqi weapons of destruction that were never found. Saying Bush distorted intelligence data, Graham argued that was more serious than the sexual misconduct issues that led to President Clinton’s impeachment in the late 1990s.
The Town of Miami Lakes community mourns the passing of Senator Bob Graham. A key member & figure of our town’s history, his leadership and service will be celebrated long after his passing. Our thoughts and condolences are with his loved ones during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/zFwBgpnWs8
It spurred Graham to launch his brief presidential bid.
“The quagmire in Iraq is a distraction that the Bush administration, and the Bush administration alone, has created,” Graham said in 2003.
As a politician, few were better. Florida voters hardly considered him the wealthy Harvard-educated attorney that he was.
Graham’s political career spanned five decades, beginning with his election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1966.
He won a state Senate seat in 1970, was elected governor in 1978 and was re-elected in 1982. Four years later, he won the first of three terms in the U.S. Senate when he ousted incumbent Republican Paula Hawkins.
Graham remained widely popular with Florida voters, winning re-election by wide margins in 1992 and 1998 when he carried 63 of 67 counties.
Even when in Washington, Graham never took his eye off the state and the leadership in Tallahassee.
When Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated the Board of Regents in 2001, Graham saw it as a move to politicize the state university system. He led a successful petition drive the next year for a state constitutional amendment that created the Board of Governors to assume the regents’ role.
Daniel Robert Graham was born Nov. 9, 1936, in Coral Gables where his father, Ernest “Cap” Graham, had moved from South Dakota and established a large dairy operation. Young Bob milked cows, built fences and scooped manure as a teenager. One of his half-brothers, Phillip Graham, was publisher of The Washington Post and Newsweek until he committed suicide in 1963, just a year after Bob Graham’s graduation from Harvard Law.
In 1966 he was elected to the Florida Legislature, where he focused largely on education and health care issues.
But Graham got off to a shaky start as Florida’s chief executive, and was dubbed “Gov. Jello” for some early indecisiveness. He shook that label through his handling of several serious crises.
As governor, he also signed numerous death warrants, founded the Save the Manatee Club with entertainer Jimmy Buffett and led efforts to establish several environmental programs.
Graham pushed through a bond program to buy beaches and barrier islands threatened by development and also started the Save Our Everglades program to protect the state’s water supply, wetlands and endangered species.
Graham also was known for his 408 “workdays,” including stints as a housewife, boxing ring announcer, flight attendant and arson investigator.
“This has been a very important part of my development as a public official, my learning at a very human level what the people of Florida expect, what they want, what their aspirations are and then trying to interpret that and make it policy that will improve their lives” said Graham in 2004 as he completed his final job as a Christmas gift wrapper.
After leaving public life in 2005, Graham spent much of his time at a public policy center named after him at the University of Florida and pushing the Legislature to require more civics classes in the state’s public schools.
Graham was one of five members selected for an independent commission by President Barack Obama in June 2010 to investigate a massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened sea life and beaches along several southeastern Gulf states.
Here’s the statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham:
MIAMI — Authorities were investigating what led to a crash between two boats Sunday afternoon that led to over a dozen people being hurt near PortMiami.
A crash sent several people to the hospital after two boats collided Sunday afternoon.
CBS News Miami
Around 3:15 p.m., over 30 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel, including two fireboats and an air rescue unit — alongside the City of Miami Fire, the Florida Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard — responded to reports of a boat collision in Fisherman’s Channel near Dodge Island.
According to the Coast Guard, the two watercraft involved were a tour boat and a recreation vessel.
According to MDFR, the response was upgraded due to the number of people involved and the need for additional manpower.
MDFR told CBS News Miami that a total of 13 people were transported by responding agencies to a local hospital, while other patients on the scene were evaluated and released.
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The Miami Heat arena is now called the Kaseya Center after its owners this week inked a more than $100 million deal with a new sponsor, Miami-Dade County officials said.
Miami-Dade County commissioners on Tuesday voted to enter a 17-year naming rights deal for the county-owned facility with Kaseya, an IT management and security software firm. Kaseya will pay $117.37 million over the term of the deal, with much of that going to the county. The Heat will receive $2 million per year under the deal.
The name change takes effect immediately.
The new sponsorship comes roughly three months after a federal bankruptcy court terminated the arena’s previous $135 million sponsorship deal with FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed amid fraud allegations late last year. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who stepped down as company CEO in November, has been in and out of court in recent weeks after federal prosecutors charged him with money-laundering, fraud and most recently bribery.
After having FTX’s name stripped from its roof, court and hallway entrances, the South Florida stadium was temporarily redubbed the Miami-Dade Arena.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to new federal charges of bribery.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
FTX’s implosion just two years into its 19-year deal with Miami-Dade County made county’s officials more cautious about picking the right sponsor for this latest naming deal, CBS News Miami reported.
“The collapse of our previous partner caught everyone by surprise but, in conjunction with Miami-Dade County, we worked efficiently and incredibly quickly to fill our naming rights vacancy with Kaseya,” Heat business operations president Eric Woolworth said in a statement.
“I learned that some companies do bad things. This isn’t cryptocurrency, this is a business, just like FTX was supposed to have been,” Miami-Dade County Commissioner Keon Hardemon told CBS News Miami. “But unfortunately that business committed crimes, and sometimes businesses do that, however, we don’t expect this company to commit a crime,” he said.
The county will generate net revenues totaling $83.3 million over the term of the deal, CBS Miami reported — $3.5 million more than it stood to earn from the FTX deal. The county will allocate those funds toward the Anti-gun Violence and Prosperity Initiatives Trust Fund (Trust Fund).
Headquartered in Miami, Kaseya serves 48,000 customers in more than 25 countries and has roughly 4,500 employees, according to the company.
As part of the deal, Kaseya’s name will also appear on arena signage and digital content. The company will also have a presence in hospitality and game-day features and community engagement events.
The Miami Heat’s arena-naming situation wasn’t always so complicated. The stadium bore the name “AmericanAirlines Arena” for two decades before the company declined to renew the deal in 2019.
Brand New Lenovo laptops, Mac Book, and iPhone X to be given away at Gun exchange
Press Release –
updated: Jul 31, 2018
MIAMI, July 31, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– The Miami-Dade Police Department has partnered with The Children’s Trust, Rise Up 4 Change Inc., and Digit All Systems “Computers for Guns” Campaign to present the “Miami-Dade Computers for Guns and Community Peace Celebration” the event on is on Saturday, August 4, 2018, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. in Miami-Dade County Goulds Park 11350 SW 216 Street Miami, FL 33170. The Computers for Guns Exchange Program is a community-based initiative focused on reducing gun violence, providing positive alternatives and opportunities through technology and setting the stage for peaceful and purposeful dialogue among all members of the community. As part of the larger Community Peace Celebration, the Computers for Guns Campaign offers an entry point for Miami-Dade residents to learn about tech-focused career opportunities. Community members, particularly youth, and older adults, are encouraged to anonymously exchange Firearms for new Lenovo laptop computers*. Participants will receive an asset resource map and brochure listing all local technology-related programs; community-based organizations information, and public services, as well as tips about how to interact with the police and, will have a chance to win a raffled off a brand new iPhone 10, or Mac Book at each event. Simultaneously, the entire community is invited to attend a YOUTH LEAD Community Peace Celebration anchored by technology-free training, with prizes and will feature local and national tech experts. Attendees will enjoy free food, music, and information from various community partners. *Limited Supply
Digit All Systems organized the first Computers for Guns in the USA for Baltimore City on 13 July 2013 Founded by Lance Lucas, Digit All Systems, Inc. (DAS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to bridge the digital divide and bring the benefits of expanding the technology to everyone. Founded in September 1998, the organization has served more than 25,000 clients. Digit All Systems has donated over 16,000 computers to churches, community groups, and schools in the Miami, New Orleans, and Baltimore/Washington DC Metropolitan area. In 2018 Digit All will sign students up at Computers for Guns event and train Miami-Dade community members in computer basics and Cyber Security Certifications under their Cyber Warrior Community Program following the event.
The Gun exchange is important as well as the Cyber Warrior Community Program in which Digit All Systems will train Miami-Dade residents for free over the next couple years. Miami-Dade Police
Department made this event possible. Rise Up 4 Change provided valuable community support and The Children’s Trust is a great sponsor. ‘Stop Shooting and Start Cyber’ is the slogan.
Lance Lucas, CEO, Digit All Systems
For More Information: llucas@digitallsystems.org Lance Lucas, CEO of Digit All Systems Inc.
.jpg "A woman repeatedly stabbed a teenage girl inside a Cutler Bay home Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.")
.jpg "A toddler in North Miami Beach was hospitalized after nearly drowning in the bathtub Monday afternoon, Oct. 13, 2025, according to police.")
