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Hundreds of Caribbean flights canceled, leaving travelers stranded at Miami International Airport

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Hundreds of Caribbean flights canceled, leaving travelers stranded at Miami International Airport


Travel disruptions continued Sunday at Miami International Airport after hundreds of flights to and from the Caribbean were canceled, leaving passengers stranded, separated from their luggage, and scrambling to salvage vacation plans.

The Federal Aviation Administration closed airspace in and around Venezuela following the reported capture of Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, triggering a ripple effect across Caribbean travel routes.

By Sunday, long lines had formed inside MIA as travelers waited hours to track down luggage that had been sent ahead — even though their flights never took off.

“As you can see, there’s a lot of people, and apparently thousands and thousands of bags,” said Jennifer Heimann, who was traveling from Tampa.

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Heimann and her family were scheduled to sail on a catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. Their flight to St. Thomas was canceled, but their luggage still made the trip.

“They said, ‘Your bags are in St. Thomas,’ and I said, ‘Wait — our bags are there and we’re not?’” Heimann said. “We can’t even get a flight until Thursday, and they just sent the bags ahead.”

The family is now renting a car to drive back to Tampa and hoping their luggage eventually finds its way home.

Similar frustrations were echoed by other travelers across the terminal.

The Cookson family, traveling from Tyler, Texas, had their flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico canceled just before they were set to board a cruise.

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“They’re shipping our bags out to the Caribbean and not allowing us to retrieve them,” said Pamela Cookson. “We don’t know when we’re going to get our luggage.”

American Airlines says it added six additional flights out of Miami, bringing the total to roughly two dozen extra flights and nearly 5,000 additional seats to help impacted customers. Even so, many passengers told CBS News Miami the earliest rebooking available wasn’t until Thursday.

Susan Daniel, traveling from Little Rock, Arkansas to St. Croix, said the delays forced her family to make last-minute arrangements.

“We had to Uber, leave our bags, get an Airbnb, then come back today, take another Uber, and stand in this long line just to hopefully get our bags and our computers — everything we need,” Daniel said.

Some travelers reported waiting hours in one line, only to be directed into another long wait for their luggage. Others tried to make the best of the situation.

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“Guess we’re vacationing in Miami now for three days or something like that,” said Jake Boylin, who was traveling from St. Louis. “Then going back home and rescheduling the trip.”

The next unanswered question for many travelers: whether they’ll be reimbursed for canceled trips, hotels, and cruises.

Travel experts advise passengers to keep all receipts and documentation in case refunds or reimbursements become available.



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

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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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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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