MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Gov. Ron DeSantis has sparked a debate over Florida's reputation as a safe haven for migrants as rising numbers of Cubans and Venezuelans seek to resettle in the state.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday proposed legislation that would prohibit the purchase of lands near military bases by “China and other countries of concern.”

In an appeal to DeSantis’ hunger for political clashes, Martinez tried to frame his arrest as a hit job by a Democrat, Herald Editorial Board writes.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a major toll relief proposal Wednesday that would give Florida commuters using SunPass or E-ZPass a 50% discount for an entire year.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 17-year-old high school student died. and three other people remained hospitalized Tuesday, two of them in critical condition, after a Sunday night boat crash in the Florida Keys. >> Read more trending newsLucy Fernandez, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in southwest Miami-Dade County, was killed when a well-known South Florida businessman crashed a vessel near Biscayne Bay, according to the Miami Herald. Investigators confirmed to the Herald that alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the crash. The TV station also confirmed that one of the injured girls remained in a medically-induced coma Tuesday afternoon, while another girl underwent several extensive surgeries but regained consciousness Tuesday.

Florida voters in 2022 will decide if Gov. DeSantis will stay in office, who should run the Florida Legislature, who should represent them in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, all the way down to county commissioner and school board member.

Charlie Crist, the Democrat running against Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced on Saturday that he has chosen Karla Hernandez as his pick for running mate and Lieutenant Governor.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — (AP) — Democrat Charlie Crist on Saturday tapped Miami-Dade County teachers union president Karla Hernandez-Mats as his running mate as he challenges Republican Gov. Crist, a congressman who served as the state’s Republican governor a decade ago, announced United Teachers of Dade President Hernandez-Mats as his pick at a rally in Miami. She is the daughter of two Honduran immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1970s and was the first Hispanic to be elected to lead the United Teachers of Dade in 2016. READ: Autopsy report confirms Naomi Judd’s cause of deathCrist secured the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday after defeating state agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — (AP) — Democrat Charlie Crist on Saturday tapped Miami-Dade County teachers union president Karla Hernandez-Mats as his running mate as he challenges Republican Gov. Crist, a congressman who served as the state's Republican governor a decade ago, announced United Teachers of Dade President Hernandez-Mats as his pick at a rally in Miami. Hernandez-Mats advocated delaying students’ return to school in the fall of 2020 and continuing mask mandates in 2021, in defiance of DeSantis’ administration. She is the daughter of two Honduran immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1970s and was the first Hispanic to be elected to lead the United Teachers of Dade in 2016. Crist secured the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday after defeating state agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried.

Two people close to his campaign say Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist is expected to announce that he has chosen the Miami-Dade County teachers union president as his running mate.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist is expected to announce that he has chosen the Miami-Dade County teachers union president to be his running mate as he challenges Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, two people close to the campaign said Friday. United Teachers of Dade President Karla Hernandez-Mats will be announced as Crist's running mate on Saturday, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hasn't been made yet. The pick will guarantee DeSantis' education policy is an issue in the campaign.

News 6 meteorologist Candace Campos shares her memories about Hurricane Andrew and how it helped shape who she is.

A man driving the wrong way on a busy South Florida highway crashed into another car, killing all five women in the other vehicle.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday at least 20 people across Florida were charged with voter fraud after an investigation conducted by the newly created Office of Election Crimes and Security.

Police in South Florida say a 29-year-old officer has died after being shot in the head during a confrontation with a robbery suspect in Miami.

Florida’s annual Python Challenge began Friday at 8 a.m.

Dozens of firefighters responded to a fire at the outdoor Tropicana Flea Market in Miami.

Dozens of South Florida pharmacies, community health centers, children’s hospitals and pediatricians received delivery this week of the first COVID-19 vaccines available for children as young as 6 months old — much earlier than anticipated after state officials missed a deadline for pre-ordering the shots.

A new company has acquired eighteen Spanish-language radio stations, serving ten of the largest Latinx-populated cities in the country.

First Lady Jill Biden will arrive at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Thursday afternoon as part of the administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, according to a news release.

Video making the rounds on social media shows a police officer’s comments to a man during a traffic stop.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced registration had begun for the upcoming 2022 Florida Python Challenge.

In 2020, Koehler’s DNA tied him to the infamous case of the Pillowcase Rapist, who authorities allege raped up to 45 women in the 1980s. “The investigation shows that Koehler carried out his attacks with diabolical precision,” Broward County Sheriff’s Office officials said. ‘He didn’t kill me … but he did kill me’One victim, identified only as Carolyn, spoke out in a video released by Broward County officials. “Despite intensive work by detectives at the time of the attacks, the trail of the Pillowcase Rapist went cold,” authorities said in a statement. In the Miami-Dade County case, Koehler is charged with sexual battery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and burglary.

Detectives said they dug through 500 boxes of evidence and thousands of sexual assault cases to link the cases to Robert Koehler.

Advanced DNA technology helped detectives link the cases of six women to a man accused of being the “pillowcase rapist” for a string of rapes back in the 1980s. Robert Koehler is currently jailed in neighboring Miami-Dade County, where he faces charges for assaulting a woman in the early '80s as well, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a Tuesday morning news conference. Authorities believe Koehler, 62, may have committed 40 to 45 rapes, terrifying victims by breaking into their homes at night, the sheriff said.

A Miami-Dade police officer fatally shot a man who called 911 and warned he was going to kill someone if officers didn't respond immediately to his location.

Weeks after Florida lawmakers passed a bill requiring older condominiums to undergo safety inspections to ensure the buildings’ structural integrity, Central Florida condominium association members have many questions about how the new requirements will impact owners.

Nino Pernetti, the owner of Caffe Abbracci in Coral Gables, died on Tuesday night, according to the mayor of Coral Gables.

Police snipers were called to the scene of a water rescue in Florida to protect divers from alligators.

If we stopped using prisons to warehouse psychiatric patients, we could heal people and save tax dollars.

A Florida judge has given gave initial approval to a settlement of more than $1 billion to families who lost loved ones in the collapse last year of a Florida beachfront condominium building in which 98 people died.

Miami-Dade County has agreed to pay a record $4 million for the care of a girl whose spinal cord was severed in a crash with a police cruiser.

A judge sentenced a former South Florida police lieutenant to life in prison for molesting two young girls who are now in their 20s.

The Ultra Music Festival will call Bayfront Park “home” every March for the next five years. Ultra signing a new deal to keep the festival where it is until 2027.

A small plane has crashed on a bridge near Miami, striking an SUV and bursting into flames.

Police have made another arrest over the balloon-popping incident in Biscayne Bay.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that eliminates special districts created before 1968, including Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed four bills between Leon and Miami-Dade counties.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County has declared a crisis in South Florida when it comes to housing affordability.

Taxes weren't collected on about 60% of all unemployment benefits issued in 2021. Recipients may owe money or get a smaller refund this tax season.

Gunfire on a Miami Beach street crowded with spring breakers has left three people wounded.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, who served as Florida’s Republican governor from 2007-11, has emerged as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary based on recent polls and campaign dollars raised.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Friday that Florida has passed the mark of 1 million registered recreational vessels.

The mayor of the South Florida town where 98 people died in a beachfront condominium collapse last summer has been voted out of office. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett came in third in Tuesday's election, according to uncertified results from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department. Business owner Shlomo Danzinger won the race with 499 votes, followed by Vice Mayor Tina Paul with 476 votes and Burkett with 466.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced $289 million for programs he said were meant to promote student achievement and to close learning gaps in Florida schools.

Residents of a small South Florida town where a beachfront condominium building collapsed last summer killing 98 people voted their mayor out of office on Tuesday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued a missing child alert for 10-year-old Jerman Octelus from Miami-Dade County.

Signatures of some voters in apartment buildings and high-rise towers in South Florida whose registration was changed to Republican appeared noticeably different than on paperwork...

The option to take a high-speed train from Orlando to Miami will soon become a reality.

An argument in the checkout line of a South Florida grocery store escalated into a fatal shooting.

Ten Cuban migrants in a sinking vessel were rescued off the Florida coast.

FacebookA Florida real estate agent with a soft spot for cryptocurrency has been formally charged with murder in the nighttime killings of two homeless men in Miami, the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office confirmed to The Daily Beast.Willy Suarez Maceo, 25, is suspected of fatally shooting 56-year-old Jerome Antonio Price five times on Dec. 21, 2021, as he slept on a sidewalk in Miami’s Wynwood district. Hours earlier, Maceo allegedly shot another homeless man sleeping in the area. The un

A Florida man has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for distributing Islamic terrorist propaganda videos online.

Commissioners in Florida's Miami-Dade County have given a nonprofit the green light to issue IDs for immigrants who are in the country illegally and others who don't have identification.

Commissioners in Florida's Miami-Dade County have given a nonprofit the green light to issue IDs for immigrants who are in the country illegally and others who don’t have identification. The plan proposed by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava passed by a 7-2 vote Tuesday. Supporters note that immigrants often struggle to gain access to their children’s schools or to coronavirus tests and vaccines.

Peacocks could soon be on the outs in some Miami-Dade neighborhoods after the county commission agreed to loosen a law protecting the birds.

Florida man accused of attacking victim with machete, biting his face Demetrick "Psych" Sanders, 45, is facing attempted murder and armed robbery charges in the incident, which occurred in the West Little River area of Miami-Dade County. (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation)MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida man is behind bars after authorities said he attacked another man with a broomstick and machete, bit his face and robbed him. After the victim said no, Sanders used a broomstick to attack him before slicing him with a machete, the affidavit said. The victim sought help at a 79th Street gas station and was treated at a nearby hospital, WPLG reported. One week later, the victim again spotted Sanders at the supermarket and alerted police, the news outlets reported.

Waste collection departments are experiencing higher than normal employee absences due to the COVID-19 surge.

Waste collection departments are experiencing higher than normal employee absences due to the COVID-19 surge.

The president of Florida International University has resigned after working at the South Florida school for about 45 years.

A Haitian-Chilean businessman considered a key suspect in the killing of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse has appeared in U.S. federal court and was accused of providing weapons to former Colombian soldiers charged with fatally shooting the country’s leader.

A Miami-Dade County police sergeant shot and critically wounded a 15-year-old early after the boy allegedly drew a gun on the officer during a chase.

Rapper killed: Rapper Wavy Navy Pooh, shown performing in Atlanta during a July 2021 concert in Atlanta, was killed Friday night. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)MIAMI — A Miami rapper was fatally shot Friday night while he was driving a vehicle, according to media outlets in South Florida. >> Read more trending newsWavy Navy Pooh was ambushed in the West Kendall area of Miami-Dade County, the Miami Herald reported, citing “multiple law-enforcement sources.” The 28-year-old rapper, whose real name is Shandler Beaubien, was gunned down near Zoo Miami, according to the newspaper. BREAKING: Miami rapper Wavy Navy Pooh shot to death while driving near Zoo Miami. Police believe the gunman was inside a gray, four-door Lexus that pulled up next to the Camry, the Herald reported.

An average of more than 550,000 Americans are testing positive every day, about 10% of them are in Florida

Districts that have opted for virtual learning this winter are firmly in the minority right now. Only about 100 of the nation's over 13,000 school districts are opting for virtual learning this winter despite surging case numbers.

Mask requirements are returning in some school districts that had dropped them.

MIAMI — (AP) — Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state. READ: Central Florida hospitals beginning to feel omicron surgeThe new CDC estimate raises the 7-day average in Florida to more than 36,400 new cases. WATCH: Here’s where you can find COVID-19 testing in Central FloridaGov. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department says Florida hospitals were treating about 4,000 COVID-19 patients on Thursday, compared to 3,400 the previous day. READ: Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect omicron variant accurately?

Florida is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron variant rages through the state.

The University of Miami will start the spring semester with remote-only classes amid surging cases of COVID-19 in South Florida.

Officials say a South Florida 46-year-old man walked into a police station and confessed to killing his wife.

As South Florida home prices spiked during the pandemic, some people decided to put their home shopping on pause in the hopes that prices might drop, a decision they are coming to regret.

Genomic surveillance data shows omicron has overtaken the delta variant in Miami-Dade County as the dominant strain of the coronavirus in just a matter of weeks.

Of the 33 law enforcement officers in South Florida who lost their lives in the line of duty over the past two years, three were killed by gunfire, one died in a car crash and another lost his life to a work-related injury.

With the omicron variant looming, the mayor of Miami-Dade County has reinstated an emergency order requiring hospitals to report the numbers of COVID-19 cases treated each day and the availability of hospital beds.

MIAMI — A former deputy clerk in South Florida is accused of stealing more than $109,000 in court filing fees over a two-year period, authorities said. Since 2007, Smith had worked as a deputy clerk in the section of Miami-Dade’s family court where people file new lawsuits and complaints, the Miami Herald reported. But in over 200 cases, investigators believe, that money actually wound up in the pockets of a longtime court clerk, authorities said Monday. https://t.co/5in6lUiAcq — Miami Herald (@MiamiHerald) December 13, 2021Smith resigned on June 4, 2018, after supervisors began auditing mission cash, according to WTVJ. According to an audit by the Miami-Dade Inspector General’s Office, Smith processed 201 cases where filing fees were never filed.

Arrested: Ricky Williams is accused of robbing a woman and striking her with a sock filled with "rocks or hard objects." (Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation)MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of striking a woman with a sock full of rocks to steal her purse Monday, authorities said. >> Read more trending newsRicky Williams, 28, was arrested early Tuesday and charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery, according to Miami-Dade County online booking records. The woman told police she was waiting for an Uber driver at about 4:45 p.m. EST, WPLG reported. With the help of surveillance video, police were able to identify Williams and arrested him Tuesday, WPLG reported.

Twenty-five years ago, a man feeding ducks with his nephew spotted a cardboard box wrapped in rope and duct tape floating down a Miami Lakes canal. Thinking it might be something valuable, they corralled the box, opened it and were immediately met with the smell of rotting flesh.

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was caught on camera saving a choking toddler on Interstate-95 in Miami-Dade County this month.

When Loretta Bruno got dropped off at the bus stop near her Florida City home in Tuesday morning darkness, the friend driving Bruno saw one of her children come out of the bushes behind the bus stop.

A John I. Smith K-8 Center teacher was charged with having an inappropriate relationship and sex with a 15-year-old former student of hers, police say — becoming the third teacher in Miami-Dade County arrested for similar charges this month.

Frank Pichel was arrested early Friday on a felony charge of impersonating a police officer after the 59-year-old mayoral candidate allegedly flashed a badge and claimed to be an active deputy in Key Largo, Fla., according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

They're specially trained to detect and alert officials of any potentially infected travelers before they board.

"It's a tremendous loss," said one education official of the death of a 30-year teacher.

We have seen a series of meltdowns at Florida airports in the past few months, but the latest at Miami International got physical. The confrontation happened Friday night at the American Airlines gate.

The Miami-Dade County school district on Wednesday joined Alachua and Broward counties in mandating students wear masks in schools, with exceptions only for medical reasons....

Miami mask mandate By a 7-1 vote, the Miami-Dade School Board approved a mandatory mask rule, which goes into effect when schools open on Monday. The decision comes days before Florida’s largest school district begins classes on Monday, WPLG reported. Before the vote, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told the State Board of Education that he was prepared to defy Gov. The State Board of Education ruled that the Broward district violated a state rule that gives parents the option of having their children opt out of masks, the newspaper reported. The mask rule in Miami-Dade applies to all indoor areas and school buses, according to the Herald.

The decision comes one day after education officials in the state voted to investigate and possibly punish two counties that have flouted the ban.

Anyone who is planning to get an antigen rapid test at a Miami-Dade County-run testing site will now also be required to get a PCR test, which is more accurate in detecting early COVID infections but takes slightly longer to process results.

"My grandfather just comes in the house screaming, 'We have to leave immediately," one resident said.

The following is a transcript of an interview with Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, that aired on Sunday, August 8, 2021, on "Face the Nation."

Masks will be required at all indoor county facilities in Miami-Dade County, and all of Orange County's 4,200 non-unionized county employees must be fully vaccinated by end September.

The final victim of the condo building collapse in Florida has been identified, a relative said Monday, more than a month after the middle-of-the-night catastrophe that ultimately claimed 98 lives.

Miami-Dade County has identified the final known victim of the Surfside condominium collapse, capping more than a month of recovering bodies and remains of the missing from the rubble of the Champlain Towers South complex.

The last victim of the June 24 condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., has been identified, a relative confirmed Monday to the Associated Press. The latest: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava confirmed at a press conference Monday afternoon that 98 people died in the condo collapse, and all have been identified.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free"All 97 persons for whom we had missing persons reports have been recovered,

The family of Estelle Hedaya say they have confirmation she is the 98th victim of the Surfside disaster.

Residents of a condo building in Coral Gables have been told they will no longer need to evacuate their homes after emergency measures were taken over the weekend to address fears of structural concerns in the underground parking garage.

The mural is almost done now.

If you asked Miami hoteliers in January what 2021 would have in store for the city’s hospitality industry, likely none would have predicted they’d be charging higher rates for rooms than ever before.

Miami-Dade County is escalating coronavirus prevention, opening five new mobile vaccine and testing sites as COVID-19 case numbers reach levels not seen since the height of the pandemic.

Florida Democrats can’t stop losing.