Miami-Dade County, Florida

Alex Alvarado, a GOP operative implicated in Florida's 2020 "ghost candidate" scheme, is now sending text messages suggesting Democratic attorney general candidate Jose Javier Rodríguez won't "defend reproductive freedom." The texts, funded through a newly registered committee called Lower Our Costs Now, cite a 2015 abortion bill vote Rodríguez missed on the floor but later recorded a "no" vote on afterward. Rodríguez's campaign calls the ads misleading and notes his Planned Parenthood endorsement. Alvarado, an early donor to incumbent Attorney General James Uthmeier, was previously tied to 2020 efforts—some resulting in convictions—to siphon votes from Democrats using decoy independent candidates, including a scheme that helped defeat Rodríguez's state Senate bid.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, tied to the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes by Cuban MiGs that killed four exiles. The charge builds on a federal indictment issued earlier this year accusing Castro, then Cuba's defense minister, of ordering Wasp Network spies to infiltrate the exile group and authorizing the attack. An arrest warrant aims to restrict Castro's travel to nations with U.S. extradition agreements, though officials acknowledge he is unlikely to face a Miami courtroom. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has filed state charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, 95, building on a federal indictment issued earlier this year. The charges stem from the February 1996 downing of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue planes by Cuban MiGs over international waters, killing four Miami-based exiles. Prosecutors say Castro, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, authorized the attack after Cuban intelligence agents infiltrated the exile group. An arrest warrant will restrict Castro's travel, though officials concede he is unlikely to face a U.S. court. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel dismissed the case as political theater, linking it to broader U.S.-Cuba tensions amid Trump administration pressure on the island.

A Florida appeals court sharply criticized a Tallahassee grand jury's report on the Hope Florida charity, ordering it expunged and finding that jurors improperly accused individuals of criminal conduct while violating confidentiality rules. Gov. Ron DeSantis responded by calling for prosecutions of whoever leaked the report, while Democrats continue pressing for investigations into his administration. The ruling has elevated Hope Florida as a campaign issue ahead of next month's election, with gubernatorial candidates Byron Donalds (R) and David Jolly (D) both campaigning amid Hurricane Isaias recovery efforts that have left thousands without power.

Separately, Florida's attorney general race is drawing national attention after Democratic candidate José Javier Rodríguez received a $5 million injection from a national party group, the largest such donation to a statewide Florida candidate this cycle, aimed at unseating appointed Republican AG James Uthmeier. Uthmeier is also pushing for added restrictions on Meta after rejecting a multi-state settlement. Meanwhile, documents tied to a 2021 "ghost candidate" scandal are resurfacing in Florida Power & Light's merger talks with Dominion Energy.

Leroy Griffith, the Miami businessman known for decades as South Florida's "adult theater king," died peacefully at his Miami home on Oct. 3 at age 94, his family said. Born in 1932 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Griffith entered show business as a teenager selling candy at St. Louis burlesque shows and later managed theaters across the Midwest before settling in Miami in the early 1960s. He built a chain of burlesque and X-rated film venues across Florida and beyond, best known for Club Madonna in Miami Beach and the Pussycat Theater in Miami.

His career was marked by repeated clashes with regulators and police, including efforts to circumvent nudity and liquor ordinances, dozens of police raids, and a 2013 incident involving a trafficked minor performing at Club Madonna, for which Griffith was never charged. He famously bought back his own foreclosed theater at a courthouse auction. Griffith outlasted 17 Miami Beach mayors and 16 city managers during his decades-long run. He is survived by his wife, four children, and several grandchildren.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has withdrawn the death warrant for William Lee Thompson, 74, the first time he has reversed a signed execution order since taking office. Thompson had been scheduled to die Tuesday for the 1976 murder, kidnapping and sexual battery of Sally Ivester in Dade County. DeSantis gave no reason in his Thursday letter to the Florida State Prison warden, but the move follows reports from Thompson's attorneys that he suffers from dementia, heart failure and declining cognitive capacity, including not recognizing he had been sentenced to death. DeSantis had previously ordered a psychiatric panel to evaluate Thompson's sanity after counsel argued he could not understand his impending execution. The Florida Supreme Court had denied a stay hours before DeSantis acted. Thompson remains on death row and could receive a new warrant later.

A second execution scheduled for the same day, James Robertson, 63, convicted of killing his cellmate in 2008, is still set to proceed. The reversal comes amid heightened scrutiny of capital punishment nationally following Tennessee's botched execution attempt of Christa Pike.

Current and former employees of AGI Cargo at Miami International Airport have filed complaints with Miami-Dade County alleging roughly $13,200 in unpaid wages among three workers. The complaints, filed Oct. 3, allege the company requires some staff to remain on call between flights without pay and calculates overtime using a reduced rate. The workers' union, 32BJ SEIU, says AGI employs about 900 people at MIA handling cargo ranging from pharmaceuticals to seafood. AGI disputes the allegations, saying employees are paid for all hours worked and that overtime beyond 40 hours is paid at time-and-a-half; it attributes variable schedules to the unpredictability of cargo flights compared with passenger service.

The dispute coincided with a Monday rally where airport workers and officials, including Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, protested a Florida law barring local governments from setting airport contractor wages above the state's $15 minimum after September 2026. Miami-Dade currently mandates higher contractor pay rates tied to health benefits. MIA generates $212 billion in annual statewide business revenue and is the nation's busiest cargo airport.

Miami Herald readers are pushing back on proposed Florida property tax cuts, warning of steep funding losses for public health systems. Jackson Health System in Miami-Dade County stands to lose roughly $64 million in annual tax funding, jeopardizing services such as emergency care, behavioral health, organ transplants, and labor and delivery, much of it provided regardless of a patient's insurance status or ability to pay. Broward Health could lose more than $100 million over three years, while Palm Beach County's Health Care District could lose about $66.5 million.

Letter writers argue that lawmakers and voters should demand a concrete replacement funding plan before enacting cuts that could force hospitals to scale back programs and staffing, disproportionately affecting residents with the fewest healthcare alternatives. The debate reflects a broader tension in Florida politics between delivering property tax relief to homeowners and preserving funding for public services, with public hospital systems across South Florida identified as among the most exposed to near-term budget shortfalls if cuts move forward without offsetting revenue measures.