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Jimmy Butler’s Heat free throws are way down as NBA blurs the line on foul calls

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Jimmy Butler’s Heat free throws are way down as NBA blurs the line on foul calls


DETROIT — It might have stood as the starkest statistic for the Miami Heat from Wednesday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center had it also not happened a week earlier:

Jimmy Butler attempted only two free throws.

Granted, Butler had missed practice the day earlier with what the team listed as an illness, but it’s not as if total aggression was sapped. Still, when Thomas Bryant takes twice as many foul shots, something seemingly is off.

Or has changed.

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In the wake of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver being asked during the mid-February All-Star break about the league’s runaway scoring this season, points, and particularly free throws have been down across the board.

There may be no more stark example than that of Butler, who consistently has averaged at least eight free-throw attempts per game in his five seasons with the Heat.

During the four-game losing streak the Heat carry into the four-game trip that opens with Friday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, Butler has attempted, in order, two free throws last Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks, six against the Oklahoma City Thunder the following night, six Sunday against the Washington Wizards and then the two in Wednesday night’s 110-88 loss to the Nuggets.

As a matter of perspective, Butler attempted at least 11 free throws in six of his 10 appearances during the Heat’s run of 11 victories in 14 games that preceded this losing streak.

“I don’t know,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the drop-off in Butler’s trips to the line. “I think that’s an adjustment from the league. The staff has been talking about that. I didn’t receive a memo about it. But it’s clear that they’re calling it a little more like that.”

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Spoelstra said the next step is to attack the parameters.

“So, hey, we have to make the adjustment,” Spoelstra said. “And I think that’s a good adjustment. Go to score, not necessarily to draw fouls. Now, Jimmy’s got a rugged game, he’s not (playing to) draw fouls. He’s going to wherever the contact may be.”

Silver, during his comments at All-Star Saturday, indicated such change could be forthcoming.

“I actually am pleased with the state of the game,” he said last month. “Having said that, I know there are some coaches who feel that we’ve hampered in some ways defensive players’ ability to play defense, at least the way it used to be played in this league. In part, that’s been very intentional. There was a period of time in this league when people thought the game had become too physical and we’d taken away some of the aesthetic beauty from the game. I was one of those people that felt that way in the ’90s.

“Whether or not there needs to be any adjustments now is something we listen to our coaches, we listen to our players, and the competition committee will continue to consider.”

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But nothing formal has been forwarded to teams or voiced by the league’s officiating executives.

Still, Spoelstra said it is clear a proactive approach may be necessary.

“And, yeah, from my vantage point, it looks like some of those are fouls,” Spoelstra said of Butler’s contact-creating style. “Certainly in the last three or four games, those were typically fouls.

“But that’s not why we’re losing games. He’ll make the adjustment, whether he just has to go into shot-making mode That might have to be the adjustment.”

Butler declined comment after Wednesday night’s loss to the Nuggets in the rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.

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But Spoelstra said the onus is on the coaching staff to adapt.

“I have to do a better job getting our guys into their strength zones, where we can still be aggressive and attack, but a different part of  the menu,” he said. “And we’ll get to work on that.

“Yes, it’s frustrating but all we’re going to focus on is what we can do to get better and have a great road trip.”



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Miami, FL

U.S. attorney in Miami targeting Cuban Communist leaders with new initiative, sources say

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U.S. attorney in Miami targeting Cuban Communist leaders with new initiative, sources say


The top federal prosecutor in Miami is spearheading a new initiative targeting Cuban leaders for prosecution, sources familiar with the plan tell CBS News.

Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, is working with officials from federal and local law enforcement agencies and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, to establish a new Cuban prosecution working group, the sources said. OFAC is the office responsible for imposing sanctions.

The group plans to focus on prosecutions involving economic crimes, drugs, violent crimes and immigration-related violations, with a focus on targeting those in the Communist Party leadership, the sources added.

A Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News: “Federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”

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A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not be immediately reached for comment. The plans for the new working group were reported earlier by the Washington Post.

President Trump has indicated he’s been eyeing Cuba’s leaders, after the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolàs Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug charges in January, and recently launched a joint war with Israel against Iran last week that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The president told CNN in an interview on Friday that Cuba’s communist government was likely to be toppled next.

“Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon,” Mr. Trump said, according to CNN.

Quiñones and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Yara Klukas are the same prosecutors who are separately leading an investigation into former Obama-era intelligence officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, over an intelligence assessment that determined that Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to help benefit Mr. Trump.

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Late last year, Quiñones’ office sent subpoenas to former government officials requesting a broad swath of records, including paper or digital documents, text messages and emails associated with the preparation of the intelligence community’s January 2017 assessment.

In recent weeks, updated subpoenas that expanded the date range for the documents were issued in the matter.

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Miami, FL

Firefight at NW Miami-Dade warehouse enters 2nd day: ‘It burned it all up’

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Firefight at NW Miami-Dade warehouse enters 2nd day: ‘It burned it all up’


Video shows bright orange flames still burning at a warehouse in Northwest Miami-Dade on Friday, almost 24 hours after crews first responded.

The flames broke out before 11 a.m. Thursday, sending towers of thick black smoke into the sky, and crews have been attempting to put the fire out since.

Officials said the structure located just east of Red Road and south of Florida’s Turnpike Extension is more than twice the size of a Costco warehouse and contains hazardous materials inside.

More than 200 firefighters from both Broward and Miami-Dade counties have been fighting the blaze, which officials say could burn for days.

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The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Lives spared, livelihoods lost

Miami-Dade Deputy Fire Chief Danny Cardeso said no injuries were reported.

The driver of an 18-wheeler told NBC6 he was at the warehouse, which stores inventory for shipments, when the fire alarm went off.

He said everyone immediately evacuated, no one was hurt, and everyone inside was accounted for. Still, some workers and business owners fear they lost their livelihoods.

Benny Monción, who owns DBenny Sazón, one of the food trucks parked at the facility, was in tears when she spoke to NBC6 at the scene.

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She said a friend of hers who also owns a food truck called to tell her how he fared.

“He called me just now, we were watching the news, and my truck was still intact, but his, the fire got it,” she said, her voice breaking as she put her head in her hand. “It burned it all up.”

She said she wasn’t sure what had happened to her truck, which normally operates on 50 North University Drive in Pembroke Pines, as the fire raged.

“I ask God that mine at least can be OK, but I feel so bad [that his didn’t make it], because these are hardworking people, looking to earn their daily living that in this country is too hard,” Monción said. “It’s so many things.”

Air quality concerns

A public safety alert was issued at one point Thursday due to the heavy smoke. The alert recommended those with respiratory problems and medical conditions to shelter in place if possible.

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Dr. Donny Perez, a medical director at Memorial Regional Hospital South, said fires like this can send fine particles into the air that can irritate the lungs and cause coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, sore throat, chest pain and palpitations.

“Even their eyes can get irritated, the sore throat. So the best thing is to stay indoors with the windows closed, avoid outdoor exercise. Wear an N-95 mask if you must go outside. Use your rescue inhalers as prescribed if you do have lung disease,” he said.

Resident Gloria Downey said the smoke was concerning, especially with the uncertainty about what materials could be burning.

“I mean I don’t know what’s in that building, but I have lived here since before that building was built off and on, and God knows what’s in there,” she said. “We have the house completely sealed. We have air filters running in both rooms. The air condition is off. It’s a little hot in Miami, but we’ll be all right.”

Drought and wind may hinder firefight

Winds on Friday are blowing consistently at 10-20 mph toward the northwest, pushing the smoke over a nearby landfill and out over the Everglades.

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“Just a couple of spotty little showers here, not enough to really help with the fire,” NBC6’s meteorologist Adam Berg said. “But the winds certainly don’t help.”

Traffic impacts

Officials asked people to avoid the area while they worked to put out the fire. Northwest 47th Avenue is closed between Honey Hill Drive (Northwest 199th Street) to Northwest 207th Drive.

Take Northwest 57th Avenue as an alternate route.



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Miami Gardens mother gets probation after her 2-year-old shot himself

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Miami Gardens mother gets probation after her 2-year-old shot himself


A mother in Miami Gardens has been sentenced to five years of probation after her 2-year-old son accidentally shot himself with a gun he found in her purse.

According to police, the incident happened last summer at an apartment complex in Miami Gardens. Authorities say the toddler grabbed his mother’s firearm from her purse and accidentally pulled the trigger, shooting himself in the leg.

Video captured at the scene showed the child being rushed to the hospital on a stretcher. The boy survived and has since fully recovered.

The child’s mother, 35-year-old Christina Monique Doyle, was arrested and charged with child neglect and culpable negligence for allowing easy access to the weapon. Prosecutors said those charges carried a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

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During a court hearing, the presiding judge, Alberto Milian, emphasized the responsibility that comes with gun ownership.

“I am a very pro-gun person, but along with the right and the privilege of having a gun comes responsibilities,” Milian said.

Doyle ultimately accepted a plea deal where she pleaded no contest, allowing her to avoid jail time. Instead, she was sentenced to five years of probation.

Her attorney, Dustin Tischler, said Doyle has no prior criminal record and described the incident as a mistake.

“She’s 35 years old, never been in trouble whatsoever in her life,” Tischler said. “She’s a very good mother, a very caring mother to several children. This has been a nightmare, and she’s happy to get it behind her.”

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Tischler also said the case should serve as a warning to gun owners about keeping firearms secure around children.

“Even though she had it in her purse and thought it was secure, the child was able to get to it when she was distracted,” he said. “If you have a firearm, it’s important to keep it locked away.”

Tischler said Doyle has completed a parenting program through the Florida Department of Children and Families and how she is allowed to have contact with her children, including her son who is now doing well after recovering from the injury.

NBC6 reached out to DCF about the case but we haven’t heard back yet.

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