MIAMI – We are about a month away from the first official day of summer and the heat is already on.
So many of us will spend our time in the pool or at the beach. According to the American Red Cross drowning is still the leading cause of death for children one to four years old, besides birth defects, but swim lessons can be expensive. So we went to find out where to learn how to swim for free!
“I love to get in the water,” said seven-year-old Kaliyah Readon, who plans to spend her summer doing tricks in the pool. “I love to swim because every time I get in the pool I do front flips.”
Kaliyah’s comfort around the water is all thanks to Dr. Bridget McKinney, the principal at Miami Carol City Senior High School and the founder of P-SWAP in Opa-locka.
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“We teach kids to learn to swim to prevent unintentional injuries or death,” Dr. McKinney said.
Dr. McKinney teaches about 400 children how to swim each summer, at no charge, all with the help of the American Red Cross and The Children’s Trust.
“This gives me a platform to continue these efforts. Not just teach them to swim but to train them to be safe around bodies of water,” says Dr. McKinney.
Learning to swim is an important lesson that can save a child’s life
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For the last ten years, she has volunteered her time to make sure children in her community know what to do in a water emergency and the parents are grateful.
“Our Black and brown children have the highest death rates when it comes to drowning. As a parent knowing that my baby can swim and he will forever be able to take that skill,” said Opa-locka Commissioner Veronica Williams, whose son took the lessons.
The children really are learning the importance of these lessons.
“If I don’t know how to swim I could drown but if I do know how to swim I will not drown,” said Veronica’s son, Jaylen.
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Kayliah agrees.
“I have a teacher so I don’t drown,” she said.
In Miami Gardens, swim lessons are also free for all residents starting at just six months old.
“The earlier you can get them involved in it, teach them how not to fear water but how to respect water I think it will carry them for a long time in their lives,” said Miami Gardens Mayor Rodney Harris.
The mayor says offering life-saving skills for free is important in his community and all over South Florida.
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“We’re giving opportunities to our residents and our younger residents to be in a position to save their lives or somebody else’s lives,” said the mayor.
With water surrounding us, knowing what to do and how to do it can save lives.
“We have pools. People have pools in their backyards, we have canals that surround us so it’s important that we teach our kids how to swim,” said Harris.
“Our swim lessons are free. Completely free. So there is no excuse,” said Karla Smith, the Aquatic Facilities manager for Miami Gardens.
Miami Gardens residents can find more information about the program here.
Christmas Wonderland throws big ‘Noche Buena’ party in Miami-Dade
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — There is a park — that aims to please both adrenaline junkies and fans of colorful lights — open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Miami-Dade County.
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There is a special for four tickets for about $100 on the “Noche Buena Party” in Miami-Dade’s Westchester neighborhood.
Admission includes unlimited rides from 4 p.m. to midnight at Tropical Park, at 7900 SW 40 St.
The Local 10 News Weather Authority meteorologists don’t expect rain on Wednesday night in the area. The probability of rain on Thursday is low.
For more information and tickets, visit this page.
More on Christmas in Miami-Dade
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Local 10 News Afternoon Weather Edition: 12/24/25
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Magdala Louissaint
Magdala Louissaint joined WPLG in August 2025 and is thrilled to call South Florida home.
Andrea Torres
The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.
Doug Myers is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. A longtime journalist, Doug has worked for four newspapers in Texas and Louisiana and for three television stations in Texas. He has also spent time as a digital content manager for a national trade association and as communications director for a state agency.
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/ CBS Miami
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A London‑bound passenger was arrested Monday at Miami International Airport after federal officers found more than 130 pounds of vacuum‑sealed marijuana – 60 bundles in all – packed into two suitcases, authorities said.
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22, of London, is facing a first‑degree felony charge of trafficking in cannabis after she was taken into custody before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow Airport, according to an arrest affidavit. Mulazimoglu appeared before a judge on Tuesday.
Suitcases flagged during outbound check
Begum Mulazimoglu, 22.
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Miami-Dade Corrections
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer flagged two hardsided suitcases during an outbound inspection after detecting a strong odor of marijuana.
According to authorities, Mulazimoglu claimed ownership of the bags and had about $1,000 worth of U.S. and British currency – $330 in U.S. dollars and £530 in British pounds (about $713 USD) – in her possession.
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Affidavit details marijuana discovery
An arrest affidavit said Homeland Security Investigations notified the Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office after the passenger was detained with the two marijuana-stuffed suitcases at the airport.
An X‑ray scan revealed 60 bundles, 30 in each suitcase, weighing a combined 59.74 kilograms (131.7 pounds), along with two Apple AirTags hidden inside, the affidavit said. The bundles were sealed in black nylon vacuum‑packed bags.
Federal prosecution declined
An Assistant United States Attorney declined federal prosecution, according to the affidavit.
The Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office was notified, and Mulazimoglu was provided a meal before being taken into custody and transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The property was impounded at Miami‑Dade Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
Item 1 of 5 A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
[1/5]A resident stands in an apartment building damaged by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 23, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Broad Russian attack follows Miami peace talks
Ukraine says western regions hit hardest
At least three killed, including child, Kyiv says
Poland scrambles jets
KYIV, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least three Ukrainians including a child on Tuesday, triggering widespread emergency power cuts and prompting neighbouring Poland to scramble jets.
The attacks, days after another round of U.S.-led talks to end the nearly four-year-old war, hit energy facilities in western regions the hardest, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
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Poland, a NATO member bordering western Ukraine, said Polish and allied aircraft were deployed to protect Polish airspace after Russian strikes targeted areas near the border.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had targeted at least 13 regions as Ukrainians prepared to celebrate Christmas with their families in an attack that showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was not serious about peace talks.
“Putin still cannot accept that he must stop killing,” Zelenskiy wrote on X. “And that means that the world is not putting enough pressure on Russia. Now is the time to respond.”
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YOUNG CHILD KILLED
A four-year-old child was killed in the central Zhytomyr region, another person in Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine and a third person outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where local officials said at least five were also wounded.
Russia’s defence ministry said it had attacked Ukrainian energy and military facilities and captured two villages along the front line in Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv, which often disputes Russian reports of territorial gains.
Moscow has stepped up strikes on Ukrainian energy and logistics to boost pressure on Kyiv as it seeks to alter the terms of a U.S.-backed peace deal. Ukraine has targeted Russian energy exports.
A Ukrainian overnight drone attack sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol region, the region’s governor, Vladimir Vladimirov, said. Authorities also reported a fire at the fuel oil supply pipeline at the port of Taman in Krasnodar region, saying it had been put out.
The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched 635 drones and 38 missiles, most of which had been downed.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said all regions were experiencing emergency power outages, adding that nearly all consumers in the western Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions were without power early on Tuesday.
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Critical and energy infrastructure was damaged in the northern Chernihiv, western Lviv and southern Odesa regions, local authorities said. Private energy firm DTEK said one of its thermal power plants had suffered damage.
Weekend peace talks in Miami brought together U.S. officials with Ukrainian and European delegations, alongside separate contacts with Russian representatives, as Washington tested the scope for a settlement.
Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede its eastern Donbas region and significantly restrict its military capabilities before it stops fighting, terms which Zelenskiy has rejected.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Dan Peleschuk; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Michael Perry, Philippa Fletcher
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