Miami, FL

ASK IRA: Does Patty Mills have an incumbent advantage with Heat in NBA free agency?

Published

2 years ago

June 19, 2024

ASK IRA: Does Patty Mills have an incumbent advantage with Heat in NBA free agency?

Q: Patty Mills is coming back to the Heat in his dreams. – Wolfgang.

A: What else would you expect a player to say as he heads into free agency from a destination franchise such as the Heat? So, yes, Patty Mills clearly wants to return to the Heat if all things are equal. But they’re not. The Heat have to start thinking about getting younger. They likely will have to make a choice between Patty or Delon Wright, and that’s if either returns. And they will have far more pressing issues to first address. It’s not as if Patty Mills did anything wrong during his brief Heat tenure. It’s just that the invitation basically was for a two-month run, with nothing guaranteed thereafter. Now, should Kevin Love not return, then it is possible Patty comes back in the Heat’s time-honored mentorship role previously held by the likes of Juwan Howard and Udonis Haslem.

Q: Hi, Ira. It’s not just about going out and getting talent (see James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant with the Nets), it’s about getting talent that’s a good fit schematically, and in terms of personalities and team chemistry. Boston did a masterful job of that. – Ray, Deerfield Beach.

A: But it’s also a matter of identifying talent that could become available while also having the assets to close deals. It’s not as if the Heat did not recognize that Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday could have helped them, as well (they could have and would have). It’s that Boston seized the moment and had the assets to close the deals. Sometimes it’s as much about the maneuvering as the personnel assessment.

Q: So, I read your piece on Ron Holland and I made mention prior to the NBA draft that Portland drafting Scoot Henderson to replace Damian Lillard was fool’s gold. I based that on the numerous players who look great in the G League and can’t cut it at the NBA level. – Rodney.

A: Except Ron Holland did not look great in the G League, based on his turnovers and shooting struggles. But what he did show was NBA-level defensive tenacity. And at No. 15 (if that’s where the Heat stick), getting a player with at least a single ready-for-the-moment skill is a net gain.

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Miami, FL

London woman arrested at Miami airport with 130 pounds of marijuana hidden in suitcases, authorities say

Published

3 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

London woman arrested at Miami airport with 130 pounds of marijuana hidden in suitcases, authorities say

Updated on: December 23, 2025 / 5:54 PM EST
/ CBS Miami

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.

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.

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.

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Miami, FL

Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and sparks sweeping outages

Published

15 hours ago

December 23, 2025

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Russian air attack on Ukraine kills three and sparks sweeping outages

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

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.

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.”

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.

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

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

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Miami, FL

Body camera footage shows fatal police shooting in Miami

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Body camera footage shows fatal police shooting in Miami

Published: December 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM

Authorities release body camera footage from fatal Miami police shooting

MIAMI — Newly released body camera footage from a 2024 deadly police shooting shows the moment officers pulled the trigger.

It happened on June 25 of last year in a home off Northeast 25th Street in Miami.

According to Miami police, a man called 911 to report his roommate, a woman identified as Mariel Rivera Samuel, was charging him with a kitchen knife.

The man says the two don’t know one another but were renting rooms through AirBnb at the home.

When officers spoke to Samuel, she said her roommate tampered with her drink, implying that he urinated in her apple juice, according to the footage.

Officers said they were going to take Samuel to a mental health facility for a Baker Act, but she came at them with a knife.

A State Attorney’s Office close out memo said, “Rivera-Samuel came within inches of stabbing or cutting Officer Burgos.”

Police say it was then they were forced to fire.

“According to that close out memo, the State Attorney’s Office determined the shooting was legally justified,” said Miami Police Chief Manny Morales.

The SAO said the case is officially closed.

Bridgette Matter

Bridgette Matter joined the Local 10 News team as a reporter in July 2021. Before moving to South Florida, she began her career in South Bend, Indiana and spent six years in Jacksonville as a reporter and weekend anchor.

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