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Undercover Miami-Dade detectives arrest 2 teens, 2 men during retail theft operation

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Undercover Miami-Dade detectives arrest 2 teens, 2 men during retail theft operation


MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 14-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy were among the four suspects arrested during a recent undercover operation in Miami-Dade County, according to deputies.

Surveillance video at a CVS on Tuesday in South Miami Heights shows the teenage girl had climbed over the pharmacy’s counter to search the shelves of prescription medications, according to deputies.

A detective later saw the two teens who are cousins arrive together at a Walgreens in West Perrine in a gray Dodge Durango that the boy was driving, according to the arrest reports in the case.

Records show detectives believe the teens were after promethazine with codeine, a prescription medication used to temporarily relieve upper respiratory symptoms that is also an ingredient of “purple drank,” a recreational drug also known as “Lean” or “Sizzurp.”

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According to Detective Luis Sierra, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office, the other two suspects arrested during the undercover operation were Yordan Pratspiloto and Jorge Hitchman-Alonso, a convicted felon.

Detectives caught Hitchman, 62, with a shopping cart carrying two electric pressure washer machines worth about $350 that he had not paid for after walking out of a Home Depot in South Miami Heights, according to the deputies’ arrest report.

Deputies also accused Pratspiloto, 42, of stealing about $84 in items from Burlington and over $405 from Ross in Cutler Bay; and about $150 in items from Burlington in Kendall, according to deputies.

In all, Pratspiloto’s alleged crime spree on Tuesday involved him hiding items worth more than $645 in the waistband of his shorts at the three stores, according to the deputies’ arrest report.

In 2023, Pratspiloto was among the trio who stole about $1,000 in women’s shoes from Burlington in Doral, records show.

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Miami, FL

SNAP uncertainty leaves South Florida seniors scrambling for food aid

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SNAP uncertainty leaves South Florida seniors scrambling for food aid


Many people are unsure whether their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be replenished on Saturday.

With so much uncertainty, local food organizations are preparing for an influx of need throughout communities.

Senior citizens face rising food insecurity

One of the most vulnerable groups — and a significant portion of SNAP recipients — is senior citizens.

The Pantry of Broward County and Meals on Wheels South Florida told CBS News Miami they are being inundated with calls from elderly people who are terrified of what’s to come.

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“We are hearing horror stories on a daily basis of folks just cannot make ends meet,” said Wendy Bourgault, executive director of Meals on Wheels South Florida.

Bourgault said that at the beginning of the week, her Broward County office was swamped with calls from people whose SNAP benefits would be ending.

She said one morning, they were hit with 20 calls looking for help with food.

“They have to choose, ‘Do I run electricity? Do I go to the doctor? Do I buy food?’” said Bourgault.

New relief program targets homebound seniors

After noticing a rise in the cry for help, Meals on Wheels South Florida established the Senior SNAP Relief Program.

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“Over 60, homebound, and in need who have lost their SNAP benefits, we will kick in immediately two weeks’ worth of food. Maybe by then it will be ended. If it isn’t, you’ll immediately get another two weeks,” said Bourgault.

Empty shelf after empty shelf is becoming a trend at the Pantry of Broward County.

Pantry prepares for disaster-level demand

With the ending of SNAP benefits, staff said they are preparing for a natural disaster, like it’s a hurricane.

“It’s all hands on deck for the staff. It’s trying to get as many volunteers in as possible,” said Warren Lubow, chief operating officer of the Pantry of Broward County.

Lubow said the phones have been nonstop with calls from seniors seeking help.

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Ninety percent of their clients receive SNAP.

“You take away those SNAP benefits — that’s less money in their pockets for rent, for food. For electric bills, water bills,” said Lubow.

Already serving 600 seniors across Broward County, the pantry is trying its hardest to serve everyone.

“We have been getting a lot more requests for new clients. We have a waitlist of over 150 people,” said Lubow.

Volunteers urgently needed to meet demand

Both organizations say there’s a great need for volunteers during this time.

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Inter Miami looks for 20th win of season, takes on Nashville

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Inter Miami looks for 20th win of season, takes on Nashville


Inter Miami CF (19-7-8, second in the Eastern Conference during the regular season) vs. Nashville SC (16-12-6, sixth in the Conference during the regular season)

Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Inter Miami CF +144, Nashville SC +153; over/under is 3.5 goals

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BOTTOM LINE: Inter Miami looks for its 20th win of the season when it faces Nashville.

Nashville is 11-3-3 at home. Nashville ranks fifth in the Western Conference with 58 goals led by Sam Surridge with 23.

Miami is 8-4-5 in road games. Miami has a 14-2-2 record in games it scores three or more goals.

The matchup Saturday is the fourth meeting this season between the two teams. Miami won the last game 3-1.

TOP PERFORMERS: Surridge has 23 goals and three assists for Nashville. Hany Mukhtar has six goals and four assists over the last 10 games.

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Lionel Messi has 31 goals and 16 assists for Miami. Tadeo Allende has scored five goals over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nashville: 2-7-1, averaging 1.7 goals, 5.0 shots on goal and 5.7 corner kicks per game while allowing 2.2 goals per game.

Miami: 7-2-1, averaging 3.0 goals, 7.2 shots on goal and 4.8 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.6 goals per game.

NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Nashville: Wyatt Meyer (injured), Matthew Corcoran (injured), Julian Gaines (injured), Jonathan Perez (injured), Ahmed Qasem (injured), Taylor Washington (injured).

Miami: David Ruiz (injured), Obando (injured).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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The Miami Heat without their headlining scorer on Tuesday night

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The Miami Heat without their headlining scorer on Tuesday night


The 3-1 Miami Heat have been absolutely rolling on the offensive end. They’re the tenth best offense in the NBA, which is pretty much as good as it’s going to get if your the Heat.

A big part of that success has been the speed of the team seeing a jump. A team that sat at 25th in pace and transition frequency just a year ago, now finds themself as the league’s fastest team through three games.

The other main reason for the scoring output has been their off-season shooter acquisition, Norman Powell. He’s been averaging 24 points a night on 48% shooting overall and 50% shooting from three.

Early Tuesday morning, Powell was added to the injury report due to groin soreness that would ultimately downgrade him to questionable for much of the day. After waiting to see how he felt after going through pregame warm-ups, the Heat downgraded him to out for tonight’s game against the Charlotte Hornets for precautionary reasons.

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So now the Heat seemingly have to lean into the fastbreak stuff even more than usual. Powell has been a sticking point of generating the Heat decent looks out of thin air, simply through his elite shooting ability.

At least the Heat’s other off-season shooting acquisition saw a positive bump on the injury report, as Simone Fontecchio was upgraded to available.

Powell gets replaced in the starting lineup for a night by the Heat’s second round pick last year, Pelle Larsson. This is how the Heat usually operate when it comes to their rotations, since they like to keep the others in their usual spots.

The Heat are going to need their bench to bring that same offensive punch that they’ve been bringing, since making up for Tyler Herro and Powell’s scoring numbers is no small task.

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