Moments earlier, a livestreamed Michelin ceremony had announced that his Miami restaurant, Mutra, had become the first kosher restaurant ever awarded a Michelin star, long regarded as the highest honor in the restaurant industry.
Miami, FL
Football: Messi returns from injury as Miami lose friendly to Kobe
Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi made a second-half cameo for U.S. Major League Soccer club Inter Miami in their 4-3 penalty shootout loss to J-League champions Vissel Kobe following a scoreless draw at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Wednesday.
The friendly was the final leg of a preseason tour for Miami that became mired in controversy after record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi was unable to play during an earlier stop in Hong Kong.
An adductor issue prevented the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain attacker from taking the field Sunday against a select team of Hong Kong players, prompting fans from the city and elsewhere in China to vent online about what they perceived to be disrespectful behavior by the visiting club.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi (C) takes a shot against Vissel Kobe during the second half of a preseason match at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Feb. 7, 2024. (Kyodo)
At a press conference on the eve of the match in Tokyo, Messi said he was unsure if he would be fit to play for Miami, who are part-owned by former England star David Beckham, and doubts remained after he was named on the bench by manager Gerardo Martino.
But the 36-year-old began warming up early in the second half and drew a roar from the crowd of 28,614, far below the stadium’s roughly 68,000 capacity, when he entered in the 60th minute.
He forced a save shortly after coming on and was cheered each time he touched the ball.
Adult tickets for the Tokyo match ranged from 10,000 yen ($68) to 200,000 yen, with “special experience” packages priced higher.
While Messi started on the bench, Miami’s starting lineup included former Barcelona stars Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba.
In a first half that produced few chances for either side, the loudest cheers were heard when the big screens at each end showed Messi sitting on the sideline.
Busquets exited the game midway through the opening period after his late challenge on Yuya Osako resulted in him being inadvertently kicked in the leg by the Kobe striker.
Messi was not among the penalty takers for Miami, who missed their last three spot kicks.
Alba, who previously visited Japan with Barcelona, said the match had been valuable preparation for the MLS season kicking off later this month.
“The hospitality from everyone in Japan has been fantastic,” he said. “Our opponents today were a really good team. This was an opportunity to prepare really well for the upcoming season.”
Kobe will be back at the National Stadium on Feb. 17 to face Emperor’s Cup winners Kawasaki Frontale in the traditional curtain-raiser to the Japanese domestic season, the Super Cup.
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Football: Japan’s well-traveled squad taste bitter pill at Asian Cup
Football: Iran eliminate Japan from Asian Cup last 8 on late penalty
As golden confetti rained down around him Thursday, Israeli chef Raz Shabtai broke down in tears and was embraced by his cheering staff.
“It’s a moment of joy, it’s a moment of pride, it’s a moment of relief, it’s a moment of confirmation,” Shabtai told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Friday. “It’s not just about Mustra getting that star, but it’s about the entire Jewish community getting that, and I felt a lot of responsibility.”
Shabtai, who has worked in kitchens across New York and Israel, opened Mutra in February 2025, naming the kosher eatery after his Jerusalem-born grandmother whose cooking he said heavily inspires its menu.
“I really like to call the restaurant Jerusalem cuisine versus Mediterranean and Middle Eastern or Israeli or stuff like that, because the flavors that I’m trying to bring to the table, it’s flavors that came from memories and visiting in the market with my grandma,” Shabtai said. “I have to be very loyal to what my grandma fed me.”
A breakthrough for kosher cuisine
A description of Mutra on the Michelin website praised the restaurant’s “show-stopping plate of beets in a pool of ajo blanco and topped with beetroot sorbet” and “signature lamb kebab with smoked aubergine cream and tomato oil.”
“Israeli Chef Raz Shabtai has brought his take on Middle Eastern cuisine to Miami,” the Michelin inspectors wrote. “Named for his grandmother, this is a place where snagging a seat at the chef’s counter is a must.”
The award places Mutra among the world’s most celebrated restaurants and marks a breakthrough for kosher cuisine, which operates under strict dietary rules. For Shabtai, who has kept kosher for more than a decade, the award proved that culinary excellence can thrive under those constraints.
“Kosher is a beautiful spiritual way of me to bond with God, and the limitation that he gave me, but yet to do amazing good food that everybody can eat,” Shabtai said.
The recognition arrived after months of suspense. Shabtai said that Michelin inspectors visited the restaurant several times before sending an email in February requesting information and photos about the establishment, a sign he said alerted them that they were under consideration.
Making history for the kosher world
For Noa Figari, Mutra’s director of operations, who joined the team after first working as Shabtai’s real estate agent to find the Miami location, the announcement on Thursday was a “release.”
“All the hard work that we put has been, you know, validated,” Figari said. “We carry a responsibility not only just for Raz’s cuisine, but for the whole entire Jewish community and kosher world we made history.”
Looking ahead, Shabtai said he hoped the achievement would inspire other kosher chefs.
“Be proud of where you’re coming from, get connected to those roots that you have,” Shabtai said. “Sometimes it’s not going to be a smooth sail. It’s okay, learn how to fix it, but believe in yourself. Don’t ever compromise, and don’t let other people compromise you.”
MIAMI — Two men have been arrested in connection with an armed home invasion robbery in Miami last month in which investigators say masked suspects entered a home, pointed a gun at a victim and repeatedly demanded money before searching the residence.
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Miami police identified the suspects as 25-year-old Earl Gerry Baldwin and 21-year-old Zakis Kawone James, both of Miami-Dade.
According to arrest reports, officers responded to the home on April 4 after the victim reported that two masked men had entered the residence and robbed him at gunpoint.
The report states that he victim told investigators he was in the kitchen when two men wearing ski masks entered through an unlocked front door.
Police said shortly after, one of the intruders allegedly pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded cash, repeatedly asking, “Where’s the money?” as the two men searched the home.
Investigators said the gunman took the victim’s iPhone 16 Pro Max while both suspects searched bedrooms for money. The victim told police the suspects also asked about his younger brother before continuing their search.
According to the reports, the gunman kept the victim at gunpoint while the other suspect ransacked rooms throughout the home. After failing to find any money, the men left the victim inside his mother’s bedroom, closed the door and fled, investigators said.
Authorities said the victim then ran to a neighbor’s home and called police.
Detectives said surveillance footage obtained from nearby locations showed a silver Chevrolet Trailblazer parked near the home before the robbery.
According to the reports, video showed two suspects exiting the SUV and walking toward the residence before entering the home. Minutes later, the pair were seen running from the property and getting back into the vehicle, which drove away.
Investigators said license plate reader data identified the SUV and showed it traveling through Miami shortly after the robbery. Historical reader data and GPS records linked the vehicle to a residence in the 700 block of Northwest 65th Street, according to the reports.
Detectives said additional surveillance footage later captured Baldwin inside the SUV while wearing clothing matching what was seen during the robbery.
Investigators said they also identified him during a separate contact on May 15 and later obtained cellphone records and location data that allegedly placed his phone in the area of the robbery and traveling with the SUV before and after the crime.
According to James’ arrest report, detectives identified him through surveillance footage, a resident database search and facial recognition software.
Investigators also obtained surveillance footage showing James making a purchase at a Walmart in Miami Gardens after the robbery using a debit card in his name, the report states.
Police said cellphone data associated with James’ phone also placed him at the robbery scene and traveling with the SUV throughout the day.
On Thursday, detectives executed a search warrant at the Northwest 65th Street residence and took both men into custody, according to the reports.
Baldwin was transported to the Miami Police Department’s robbery office, where he was advised of his Miranda rights and invoked them, according to his arrest report.
James waived his Miranda rights and provided a statement to detectives, according to his arrest report. Details of the statement were redacted from the publicly released report.
Jail records show both men are each facing one count of armed robbery with home invasion.
As of Friday, both were being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where their bonds were listed as “to be set.”
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Miami, FL
Ex-Miami Heat player Terry Rozier facing additional bribery charges in sports gambling sting
Federal prosecutors have indicted ex-Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier on additional charges in connection with a sports gambling sting, alleging he took a hefty bribe to exit a game early in March 2023.
Rozier, 32, was charged Thursday in a superseding indictment in Brooklyn federal court with bribery in sporting contests and honest services wire fraud conspiracy. Superseding indictments are used when prosecutors want to change or add new charges to an existing criminal case.
Rozier has denied participating in the gambling scheme, and has been fighting to have the case dismissed after pleading not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges in December. His attorneys argue in part that the government’s theory of the case — that he prevented sportsbooks from making informed decisions about accepting certain bets — runs afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the federal wire fraud statute.
The new indictment “just confirms that our motion to dismiss was righteous — new charges, new theories, but all just an effort to make something stick,” Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Rozier was arrested in October along with former NBA player Damon Jones, who pleaded guilty last month for his role in schemes to defraud major sportsbooks including DraftKings and FanDuel. Others charged in the case include sports bettor and influencer Marves Fairley, who pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy, bribery and other federal charges in connection with gambling schemes targeting basketball games in the U.S. and China.
Rozier remains free on $3 million bond. The case has kept him off the court this season.
The new indictment alleges that Rozier not only defrauded sportsbooks, but also the NBA and the team he was playing for at the time, the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier is accused of conspiring with gamblers to leave a game early, citing a lingering lower leg injury, so they could cash in on more than $250,000 in bets that his points, assists and other totals would be lower than what the sportsbooks had set as betting lines.
Not all of the bets were successful because Rozier collected four rebounds, which was more than the betting line, the superseding indictment said. As a result, after the game, Rozier and his co-conspirators negotiated a discount on his bribe, cutting it from $100,000 to about $70,000, the superseding indictment said.
The new indictment against Rozier was filed within hours of the guilty pleas by Fairley, who goes by the name “Vezino Locks” on Instagram. As part of his plea, Fairley admitted to prosecutors’ allegations that he used insider information to get an edge when betting on NBA, NCAA and Chinese Professional Basketball League games — including paying Rozier’s longtime friend $100,000 in exchange for a tip that Rozier was going to leave a game early.”
Fairley’s attorney Eric Siegle said his client “deeply regrets and is ashamed of his conduct.”
“By publicly acknowledging his guilt and conduct today, Marves is taking the first step toward atoning for his wrongful conduct and to starting his ‘second half’ on the right foot,” Siegle said. ____ Associated Press reporter Michael R. Sisak contributed from New York. Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.
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