BVI premier accused of cocaine trafficking granted bail in Miami

Judge rejects prosecutors’ claim that Andrew Fahie, arrested in DEA drug sting, could flee US if freed from prison

The premier of the British Virgin Islands, whom US prosecutors described in court as “corrupt to the core”, has been given a $500,000 bond that would allow him to be released from prison as he awaits trial on charges tied to a US narcotics sting.

Federal court judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes rejected prosecutors’ argument that Andrew Fahie would flee the US and possibly engage in criminal activity if he is freed.

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‘Head coach wants to play’: the US drug sting that led to BVI premier’s arrest

Andrew Fahie is due in court on drug charges in Miami after arrest following months-long undercover operation

In mid-October, as Sir Gary Hickinbottom’s commission of inquiry into the government of the British Virgin Islands, led by the premier, Andrew Fahie, was taking laborious public oral evidence for a 44th day, a US Drug Enforcement Administration informant was, according to court papers, meeting some self-proclaimed Lebanese Hezbollah operatives on the BVI island of Tortola to discuss how to shift cocaine through the territory en route to Puerto Rico, Miami and New York.

Hickinbottom was taking mind-numbingly dull evidence on how to apply for BVI citizenship, and whether the process was open to manipulation.

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Residents ordered to evacuate building near to site of Miami condo collapse

Second building ordered evacuated in North Miami Beach since collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people

Residents of a five-story apartment building in North Miami Beach were ordered to evacuate after officials deemed the building “structurally unsound” during its 50-year recertification process, officials said.

The residents of Bayview 60 Homes were ordered out on Monday by city officials. It was the second building ordered evacuated in the city since the collapse of Champlain Towers South last June in nearby Surfside, which killed 98 people.

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Miami rapper Baby Cino shot dead after leaving prison

Unidentified gunman kills 20-year-old vocalist minutes after he was released on bond following arrest in Opa-locka, Florida

Tributes have been paid to Baby Cino, an aspiring rapper from Miami, who was shot and killed in a daylight ambush minutes after leaving a city jail on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old vocalist, whose real name was Timothy Starks, was arrested by Miami-Dade officers at 2am in Opa-locka, Florida on Tuesday after they pulled him over for driving with an obscured number plate. On searching his car, police found a fully loaded Glock 32 pistol.

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Helicopter crashes into ocean at crowded Miami Beach, injuring two – video

A helicopter has crashed into the water off Miami Beach, just a few feet away from swimmers in a crowded stretch popular with tourists. A video shared by police captured the chopper descending over the ocean and crashing into the water as sunbathers packed the beach and others swam. Two of the three passengers onboard were taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, police said, adding that no one else appeared to be injured

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Stowaway survives flight from Guatemala to Miami hidden in plane’s landing gear

The Guatemalan man was taken to hospital by immigration officials after emerging from the plane on the tarmac

A stowaway hidden in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines jet survived a flight from his home country of Guatemala to Miami, where he was turned over to US immigration officials and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The US customs and border protection agency confirmed the incident in a statement initially cited by Miami-based television station WTVJ, which posted video taken of the man at Miami international airport shortly after the plane landed on Saturday.

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Death toll rises to 90 in Miami condo collapse as search for victims continues

  • Some 31 people remain listed as missing
  • Team of first responders from Israel departs

Authorities searching for victims of a deadly condo collapse in Florida said Sunday they hope to conclude their painstaking work in the coming weeks as a team of first responders from Israel departed the site.

The Miami-Dade county mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said 90 deaths have now been confirmed in last month’s collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, up from 86 a day before. Among them are 71 bodies that have been identified, and their families have been notified, she said. Some 31 people remain listed as missing.

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Miami condo collapse death toll hits 60 as rescue efforts end

Six victims were recovered Thursday morning, with 80 still unaccounted for as officials say no chance of life in rubble

Rescue efforts at the site of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, officially ended late on Wednesday night as officials have said there is no chance of life in the rubble.

Six victims were recovered on Thursday morning, bringing the death toll to 60 and the number of unaccounted to 80. Of those who were recovered, 35 have been identified.

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‘No chance of life’: search for survivors ends as Miami condo deaths hit 46

  • About 100 people remain unaccounted for in Surfside
  • ‘Our primary goal is to bring closure to the families’

Emergency workers have given up hope of finding survivors in a collapsed Florida condo building, telling distraught families that there was “no chance of life” in the rubble as crews shifted their efforts from rescue to recovery mode on Wednesday.

The announcement followed increasingly somber reports from officials, who have told relatives to brace for the worst.

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Miami condo collapse: death toll reaches 27 as demolition expands search area

More than 115 still unaccounted for after remaining structure is brought down

Three more victims were discovered in the rubble of the collapsed South Florida condo building on Monday after crews set off a string of explosives that brought down the last of the structure, allowing search efforts to resume.

Miami-Dade’s assistant fire chief, Raide Jadallah, told family members that the bodies of three more people had been found, raising the death toll to 27 people. More than 115 people remain unaccounted for.

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Partially collapsed Florida condo fully demolished in late-night controlled explosion – video

The partially collapsed Miami-area condo has been demolished. Demolition crews set off explosives to bring down the damaged remaining portion of a collapsed South Florida condo where no one has so far been found alive. The demolition Sunday night was key to resuming the search for victims of the 24 June collapse, with the approaching Hurricane Elsa storm adding urgency to the project.  So far, rescuers have recovered the remains of 24 people, with 121 still missing.

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Miami condo collapse: reports reveal board’s long debate over repairs

Documents obtained by media show concern and frustration after engineer warned of structural damage

New reports have detailed long debate among condo board members at Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, over extensive and costly repairs the building was expected to undergo before it collapsed on 24 June.

Related: Miami condo death toll rises to 24 amid plans to demolish remaining structure

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Miami firefighter’s daughter found dead in condo rubble as toll rises to 20

Two bodies recovered overnight, including the young girl, with 128 still unaccounted for

The seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter was found dead in the rubble of a collapsed condominium, officials said on Friday as they announced the official death toll in Miami had risen to 20 people.

The Miami-Dade county mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, said the rescue mission overnight was difficult as operations stretched into their ninth day.

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Search for Miami collapse survivors continues with 150 people still missing

Family and friends of the 150 people still missing after a Florida condominium collapsed last week faced a sixth wrenching day of waiting on Tuesday, as search and rescue crews continued to sift through the mangled remains of Champlain Towers South.

Related: Miami calls for inspections of older buildings over six stories after collapse

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Obama says Trump violated ‘core tenet’ of democracy with election ‘hooey’ – as it happened

– Maanvi Singh and Vivian Ho

As the United States has become more diverse, it has also become more racially segregated, according to a new nationwide analysis from researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

More than 80% of America’s large metropolitan areas were more racially segregated in 2019 than they were in 1990, the researchers found, even though explicit racial discrimination in housing has been outlawed for half a century. The levels of residential segregation appeared highest not in the American south, but in parts of the north-east and midwest: the most segregated metropolitan area in the US according to the study is New York City, followed by Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit.

Related: ‘Where you live determines everything’: why segregation is growing in the US

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Miami condo collapse: death toll rises to 11 as rescue teams continue search

  • More than 150 unaccounted for as officials urge people to hope
  • White House says Biden wants federal inquiry into collapse

The death toll from a building collapse in the Miami suburb of Surfside rose to 11 on Monday, as rescue operations continued into a fifth day.

Officials urged people to maintain hope survivors might be found in the wreckage of the collapsed condo building. A further 150 people who may have been in the building remained unaccounted for, the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, said on Monday evening.

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Miami condo collapse: death toll rises to nine as crews search pile for survivors

Crews make progress against flames while questions asked about 2018 report on structural damage

Officials in Florida insisted on Sunday there was still hope of finding survivors in the rubble of a collapsed oceanfront condominium building, as firefighters finally controlled a large blaze inside the wreckage that hampered three days of rescue efforts.

Related: Engineer reportedly warned in 2018 of ‘major damage’ at Miami condo complex

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Aerial footage shows destruction after Miami building collapse – video

Aerial footage of the Surfside community near Miami, Florida, shows the extent of damage after a 12-storey oceanfront residential building partly collapsed in the early hours of Thursday. Officials announced on Friday that the death toll had reached four, and said it was likely to climb far higher as rescuers continued to sift through the debris

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Video shows collapse of Miami-area condo building

A film shows the moment an apartment block in Miami-Dade in Florida suddenly caved in. Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for after the partial collapse of the beachside building, and four people have already been confirmed dead.

Miami-Dade's mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, noted on Friday that rescue officials were still searching for survivors more than 24 hours after the building collapsed early on Thursday

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‘I’m not losing hope’: loved ones await news of people missing in Miami building collapse – video

Family and friends of the more than 100 people still missing after a building collapsed in Miami said they were not 'losing hope' of hearing from their loved ones who remained unaccounted for. Four people are known to have been killed and 11 injuries were reported following the collapse of much of the 12-storey Champlain Towers South building in Miami, on the south Florida coast.

The residential structure pancaked into a pile of concrete and metal more than 30ft high for reasons still unknown

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