South Florida Local News

A South Florida woman was arrested in Coral Springs last month after allegedly submitting nearly 100 fraudulent petitions in support of the marijuana constitutional amendment in 2023, state officials said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement first began investigating Jessica Sonia Humphreys, 24, of Miami, in January 2023 after the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office reported to agents what it believed were multiple fraudulent petitions submitted by Humphreys in support of the amendment to legalize marijuana, FDLE said in a news release Tuesday night.

Humphreys had worked as a paid petition gatherer for Smart & Safe Florida at the time in several counties in North Florida, an organization advocating for legal personal marijuana use. FDLE agents then contacted the Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections about any petitions Humphreys submitted and found more with fake names, according to the news release.

In total, FDLE said Humphreys allegedly submitted 72 petitions with fake names. She is facing a total of 144 charges. Two arrest warrants were issued in November 2023 for the petitions in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Jessica Sonia Humphreys, 24, is facing a total of 144 charges after allegedly submitting fraudulent petitions in support of the marijuana constitutional amendment in two Florida counties in 2023, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement/Courtesy)

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Humphreys first in January 2024 on the FDLE warrant for 34 counts of petition fraud and 34 counts of perjury, and she did not appear at her next scheduled court hearing after posting bail, FDLE said.

She was arrested on Aug. 15 in Coral Springs after a traffic stop on the charges from the alleged fake petitions in Escambia County, according to FDLE. She has since been transferred to the Escambia County jail.

This January, the Office of Election Crimes and Security published a 942-page annual report, in part detailing “illegal compensation scheme” related to petitions and “petition circulator fraud,” allegedly in some instances committed through “bulk identity theft,” according to the report.

The OECS was created in 2022, and FDLE has since made at least 17 arrests of people in Florida who worked as paid petition circulators, the report said. Hundreds of criminal investigations were open at the time of the report. At least six paid petition gatherers for Smart & Safe Florida and another organization Sensible Florida were arrested by FDLE for marijuana petitions.

Humphreys’s case is cited in the report, having “explained that she allowed other people to use her circulator number and was paid for the petitions they completed.”

“That same defendant submitted a number of petitions that were completed in the names of individuals who were not registered Florida voters and appeared to be fictious,” the OECS report said.

Authorities believe Humphreys’ “actual number of fraud victims is much higher.” She submitted nearly 4,000 petitions total across Florida, and 2,064 of them were invalid for having non-voters or mismatched signatures, the report said.

“Humphreys said she could not explain how people and addresses that did not exist ended up on the petitions that she admitted to signing,” the FDLE warrant for her arrest said.

In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new bill, HB 1205, that voting rights advocates say makes it much more difficult for people to participate in the ballot initiative process. The new law cites “evidence of fraud.”

What officially caused the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 98 people is closer to having an answer, as federal officials on Tuesday announced a tentative end to their investigation and that they’ve honed in on a singular failure in the building’s infrastructure that triggered the tragedy.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology said it plans to finish its technical work by the end of 2025 and begin drafting its reports. In the last four years, investigators initially had 12 hypotheses, which whittled down to three “higher-likelihood” scenarios.

Now evidence is reinforcing that the building’s pool deck was where the start of Champlain Towers South’s collapse occurred and not in the tower itself.

“The investigation has also identified indications of the building’s distress that were visible in the weeks before the partial collapse of the building in Surfside, Florida,” the institute said.

Go to Herald.com for the full report.

 

Welcome to the 2025 season edition of Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Chris Perkins answer questions from readers.

Q: Should the Dolphins fire (coach Mike) McDaniel AND (general manager Chris) Grier after the Buffalo loss in 10 days? Grier needs to be gone just as much as Mike. — @dannnymo_610 on X

The hot seat both McDaniel and Grier are on was, without question, the story for this season going in.

I did not imagine the conversation could be ratcheted up to this level this early, but after the unmitigated disaster that was the Dolphins’ season-opening loss to the Indianapolis Colts, this is where we’re at.

I’d honestly say we’ve entered a stage where this is within the realm of possibility. I wouldn’t nearly say it’s likely this is how the next 10 days go, but it’s not entirely out of the question.

Week 1 against a mediocre Colts team was never competitive. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa turned the ball over three times. That and the accompanying deficit, in turn, never let the run game get going. Defensively, the secondary couldn’t cover and, without much of a pass rush either, quarterback Daniel Jones looked like Peyton Manning at Lucas Oil Stadium. And, oh yeah, there was a critical special teams penalty.

Nothing went right. The Dolphins were uninspired, unprepared and did not execute. These are all indictments on McDaniel.

The key is how it goes in Sunday’s home opener against the New England Patriots. If the Dolphins drop that one, even looking half as awful as Week 1 in Indianapolis against a Patriots team that lost to the lowly Raiders in its opener and has to come into the September 1 p.m. heat and humidity of South Florida, all bets are off. Because these Dolphins are not going into Orchard Park on a short week and beating the Buffalo Bills.

If you’re owner Steve Ross, you can’t make any move merely off a loss to New England. But if the ensuing Thursday night, Sept. 18 at Buffalo, the Dolphins are blown out again to get to 0-3, Ross would be within reason going into the long weekend to blow the whole thing up with Grier and McDaniel.

What else are you waiting for at that point?

It would signify another season going down the drain during a first half where the Dolphins should be stacking wins ahead of a tough second half of the schedule.

In the scenario where something happens this year, some would say Grier might stay while McDaniel goes. I think they go down together. If we find McDaniel’s tenure failed, that’s in large part on Grier, who owns the longest active tenure as GM in the NFL without a playoff win.

The franchise would have to start fresh, with new direction from the GM on down and a new coach.

All this said, I have the Dolphins winning Sunday’s home opener against the Patriots. So you can put all that talk on hold.

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Q: Would you trade (wide receiver Tyreek) Hill knowing how bad we draft? — @FIN5_UP on X

While the team is still hopeful of winning this season, it shouldn’t trade Hill.

If the early portion of the season goes awry and it’s clear the whole thing is getting blown up, that’s when you pull the trigger on Hill and find a trade partner before the trade deadline.

A return to the Chiefs, where quarterback Patrick Mahomes could use help at receiver, and dealing Hill to the Steelers, who have a good working relationship with the Dolphins after the offseason trade involving cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, are possible destinations.

The draft pick may not matter as much, as the team would no longer be getting an elite selection back for Hill. It’s just about dumping him and starting brand new at that point. And if the Dolphins are shipping him off, see answer above, as they should have new management making the draft picks anyway.

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Q: How much will it cost to move on from Tua after this season? I have heard conflicting info. Thanks. — @David Litz on X

A Yahoo story Tuesday detailed a path similar to how the Denver Broncos got out from the Russell Wilson contract.

It revealed that it would cost the Dolphins $79.2 million over the next two seasons. The team could allot $62.4 million on the 2026 cap and the remaining $16.8 to 2027.

The Dolphins already have $33.6 million in dead cap space for 2026, with Ramsey and retired left tackle Terron Armstead together combining for more than $31 million of it. To move from Tagovailoa would require a cheap starting quarterback next season, possibly an avenue to find one as a top draft choice if the team is picking high in the draft and rebuilds next year.

By WILL WEISSERT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is having dinner Tuesday night at a seafood restaurant near the White House, promoting his deployment of the National Guard and federalizing the police force in an effort to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital.

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His motorcade speeding the short distance to Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab on 15th Street in the northwestern quadrant of the city follows weeks of the president boasting about mobilizing federal authorities and the military that he says have made Washington “a safe zone.”

Some restaurants have reported drops in reservations since Trump first announced the federal crackdown on Aug. 7, while there have been frequent street protests decrying his actions. Increased military and police presence also has occasionally sparked standoffs between residents and authorities in normally quiet neighborhoods.

Trump has nonetheless said repeatedly that he’s spoken to friends who tell him local restaurants are full and that people have noticed a drop in crime. He says he’s also heard that people appreciate crews working to remove homeless encampments as part of the crackdown.

The president had suggested previously that he might be heading out to dinner for a firsthand look.

“I think it’s something we could consider doing. Love to do it,” Trump told reporters last week in the Oval Office when asked about venturing out to dinner beyond the White House. “I love the White House food, but after a while, I could see going to a nice restaurant. It’s safe.”

Trump rarely dines away from the White House when he’s in Washington. And those outings have gotten even less common since he sold the hotel bearing his name a few blocks away, which was a key meeting point for administration officials and supporters during his first term.

The White House reported Tuesday that there had been nearly 2,200 arrests since Trump first announced the Washington crackdown on Aug. 7.

In addition to Washington, Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles in June and has threatened to send troops to other, largely Democratic cities, including Baltimore, New Orleans and Chicago — where state and local authorities already are bracing for operations to sharply increase immigration enforcement.

On Saturday, Trump posted a parody image from “Apocalypse Now” featuring a ball of flames as helicopters zoom over the lakefront and skyline of Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city.

“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote on his social media site. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

In the post, Trump offered no details beyond the label “Chipocalypse Now,” a play on the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian 1979 film set in the Vietnam War, in which a character says: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”

That post came after last week, when Trump signed an executive order seeking to rename the Defense Department as the Department of War — even after months of campaigning to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. The renaming requires congressional approval.

In his own post in response, Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called Trump a “wannabe dictator.” He has joined state and city officials — and many Chicago residents — in decrying the idea of a federal crackdown as unnecessary.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — More than 350 Greenlandic Indigenous women and girls, including some 12 years old and younger, reported that they were forcibly given contraception by Danish health authorities in cases that date back to the 1960s, according to an independent investigation’s findings released Tuesday.

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The Inuit victims, many of them teenagers at the time, were either fitted with intrauterine contraceptive devices, known as IUDs or coils, or given a hormonal birth control injection. They were not told details about the procedure, or did not give their consent.

The victims described traumatic experiences that left some with feelings of shame as well as physical side effects, ranging from pain and bleeding to serious infections.

The governments of Denmark and Greenland officially apologized in a statement last month for their roles in the historic mistreatment in an apparent attempt to get ahead of the highly anticipated report. An official apology event in Greenland’s capital is set for Sept. 24.

Nearly 150 Inuit women last year sued Denmark and filed compensation claims against its health ministry, saying Danish health authorities violated their human rights. That case remains ongoing.

While Tuesday’s report covers the experiences of more than 350 women who came forward to speak to the investigators, Danish authorities say more than 4,000 women and girls — reportedly half the fertile women in Greenland at the time — received IUDs between the 1960s and mid-1970s.

The alleged purpose was to limit population growth in Greenland by preventing pregnancies. The population on the Arctic island was rapidly increasing at the time because of better living conditions and better health care.

Greenland took over its own health care programs on Jan. 1, 1992.

Centuries of dehumanizing policies

The investigation’s conclusion comes as Greenland is in the headlines alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he seeks U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland. He has not ruled out a military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island.

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland say the island is not for sale. Denmark’s foreign minister recently summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country for talks after the main national broadcaster reported that at least three people with connections to Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.

Greenland, which remains part of the Danish realm, was a colony under Denmark’s crown until 1953, when it became a province in the Scandinavian country. In 1979, the island was granted home rule, and 30 years later Greenland became a self-governing entity.

The forced contraception of Indigenous women and girls was part of centuries of Danish policies that dehumanized Greenlanders and their families.

The policies included the removal of young Inuit children from their parents to be given to Danish foster families for reeducation and controversial parental competency tests that resulted in the forced separation of Greenlandic families.

The report’s findings

The investigators received reports from 354 Greenlandic women who were between 48 and 89 years old when they spoke to authorities for the independent investigation, which began June 1, 2023 following a media outcry.

Almost all victims were between 12 and 37 years old at the time. One girl was under 12, but her exact age was not made public in Tuesday’s report due to anonymity concerns. The vast majority of the procedures occurred in Greenland.

An attorney representing some of the victims could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY

Nepal’s crackdown on social media companies, which led to protests and police killing at least 19 people, is part of a yearslong decline of internet freedoms around the world as even democracies seek to curtail online speech.

The Himalayan country’s government said last week it was blocking several social media platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube because the companies failed to comply with a requirement that they register with the government. The ban was lifted Tuesday a day after the deadly protests.

What’s happening in Nepal mirrors “this broader pattern of controlling the narrative and controlling of stories emerging from the ground,” said Aditya Vashistha, an assistant professor of information science at Cornell University. “This has happened several times in the neighboring countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. So this is nothing new — in fact, I would say this is taken from the playbook, which is now very established, of trying to control social media narratives.”

Not just Nepal

Like neighboring countries, Nepal’s government have been asking the companies to appoint a liaison in the country. Officials are calling for laws to to monitor social media and ensure both the users and operators are responsible and accountable for what they share. But the move has been criticized as a tool for censorship and punishing opponents who voice their protests online.

“Governments absolutely have a valid interest in seeking to regulate social media platforms. This is such a daily part of our lives and in our business. And it is certainly reasonable for authorities to sit down and say we want to develop rules for the road,” said Kian Vesteinsson, senior research analyst for technology and democracy at the Washington-based nonprofit Freedom House.

“But what we see in Nepal is that wholesale blocks as a means of enforcing a set of rules for social media companies results in wildly disproportionate harms. These measures that were put in place in Nepal (cut) tens of millions of people off from platforms that they used to express themselves, to conduct daily business, to speak with their families, to go to school, to get healthcare information.”

It’s not just Nepal. Freedom House has found that global internet freedom has declined for the 14th consecutive year in 2024, as governments crack down on dissent and people face arrest for expressing political, social or religious views online. While China consistently tops the list as the “world’s worst environment” for internet freedom, last year Myanmar shared this designation as well. The organization did not track Nepal.

India passed a telecommunications law in 2023 that gave its government “broad powers to restrict online communications and intercept communications,” according to Freedom House. Three years earlier, a sweeping internet law put digital platforms like Facebook under direct government oversight. Officials say the rules are needed to quell misinformation and hate speech and to give users more power to flag objectionable content. But critics cautioned it would lead to censorship in a country where digital freedoms have already been shrinking.

In January, meanwhile, Pakistan’s lower house of parliament passed a bill that gives the government sweeping controls on social media, including sending users to prison for spreading disinformation.

Online freedom and democracy

Calling internet freedom a “pillar of modern democracy,” Freedom House said a healthy 21st-century democracy cannot function without a trustworthy online environment, where people can access information and express themselves freely.

Increasingly, though, governments are putting up roadblocks.

Often, regulations are in the name of child safety, cyber crime or fraud, Vesteinsson said, “but unfortunately, a lot of this regulation comes hand in hand with restrictive measures.”

In the Nepali law, for instance, “the same provision of this law, directs social media platforms to restrict content relating to child trafficking and human trafficking and labor, a really important issue,” he added. “Two bullet points above that, it orders platforms to restrict people from posting anonymously.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday that the protests “underscore the widespread concerns over Nepal’s ban on social media and the pressing need for the government to drop its order. Such a sweeping ban not only restricts freedom of expression, it also severely hinders journalists’ work and the public’s right to know.”

Can VPNs help?

The crackdown appears to have spurred a surge in use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, according to Proton, which provides encrypted services. Signups for Proton’s VPN service in Nepal have jumped by 8,000% since Sept. 3, according to data the company posted online. A VPN is a service that allows users to mask their location in order to circumvent censorship or geography-based online viewing restrictions.

But experts caution that VPNs are not an end-all solution to government internet blocks. They can be expensive and out of reach for many people, Vashistha noted, and they can be slow and lead to lower-quality experiences when people try to access blocked social platforms.

Google, Meta, X and TikTok (which registered and continues to operate) didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Vesteinsson said companies can take important steps to safeguard privacy of their users — particularly human rights defenders and activists who might be a specific target for government repression in their countries.

“It’s enormously important for social media platforms to be responsible to their users in that way,” he said.

AP Business Writer Kelvin Chan and AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien contributed to this report.

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A lightning-sparked wildfire in California’s Sierra National Forest burned Tuesday through a grove of giant sequoias and set some of the ancient towering trees on fire.

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Wildland firefighters with tree-climbing experience were being sent in to put out the fire burning in the canopies of the beloved trees, said Jay Tracy, a spokesperson for the Garnet Fire ablaze in Fresno County.

To protect the majestic trees, some estimated to be 3,000 years old, fire crews laid sprinkler lines to increase ground moisture, wrapped the trunks with fire-resistant foil blankets, raked flammable material away from trees and patrolled the area looking for hotspots, he said.

Sequoias grow naturally only in a 260-mile belt of forest on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. They have massive trunks and can grow over 300 feet tall.

The sequoia is the world’s largest tree by volume and closely related to the redwood, the world’s tallest.

“These trees are near and dear to the forest and to our community and we want to do our best to protect them,” Tracy said.

• The Garnet Fire burns in the McKinley Grove area of the Sierra National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
• A PG&E firefighter extinguishes a hot spot next to a giant sequoia as the Garnet Fire burns through the McKinley Grove of Big Trees in the Sierra National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
• The Garnet Fire burns in the McKinley Grove area of the Sierra National Forest, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
• The Garnet Fire burns in the McKinley Grove of Big Trees, home of giant sequoias, in the Sierra National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Show Caption1 of 4The Garnet Fire burns in the McKinley Grove area of the Sierra National Forest, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) Expand

The Garnet Fire, which started on Aug. 24, reached the southeast side of the 100-acre McKinley Grove sometime Sunday night or Monday morning, he said.

The giant trees rely on low-intensity fire to help open their cones to disperse seeds, and flames clear undergrowth so seedlings can take root and get sunlight. The Garnet Fire, however, is more intense, Tracy said.

The blaze has scorched 85 square miles of grass, chaparral and timber in a remote area known for camping and hiking about 60 miles east of Fresno. It was about 14% contained as of Tuesday.

By AAMER MADHANI and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was trying to walk a delicate line following Israel’s attack on Hamas officials in Qatar, distancing himself from the strike Tuesday but stopping short of condemning Israel for carrying out an audacious strike on the soil of another major U.S. ally.

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Trump said the unilateral action directed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “did not advance Israel or America’s goals.” He offered notably muted pushback, however, even suggesting “this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”

“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me,” Trump said on social media hours after the strikes.

Trump is seeking to soothe concerns of a Gulf ally that has played a key role in mediating between the U.S. and Iran and its proxies, including during talks with Tehran-backed Hamas as the war with Israel in Gaza grinds on. The U.S. also has about 10,000 troops stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, an installation that serves as the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command.

The president said he directed special envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar of the impending attack in the capital, Doha, after learning about it and that Witkoff was quick to call Qatari officials. But the U.S. alert was, “unfortunately, too late to stop the attack,” Trump said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari refuted in a post on X that the Qataris were given any warning from the U.S., saying it came just as “the explosions from the Israeli strikes were being heard.”

Qatar has sought closer ties with Trump

The Qataris have sought to deepen their relationship with Trump since his return to office. They have even gifted Trump a $400 million Boeing 747 jet that is to be retrofitted into a new Air Force One. Trump has said the plane will be donated to a future presidential library once his term ends and put on display as a museum piece.

“I view Qatar as a strong Ally and friend of the U.S., and feel very badly about the location of the attack,” Trump said on social media.

President Donald Trump speaks to the White House Religious Liberty Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

At the same time, Qatar, a wealthy nation with expansive natural gas and oil reserves, has faced scrutiny for its support of Hamas. Prior to the Israel-Hamas war, Doha for years sent millions of dollars per month to the Gaza Strip to prop up Hamas’ governing structure. Qatar has also hosted leaders of the Taliban and the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a carefully worded statement, Trump also made clear that “eliminating Hamas” was a “worthy goal.”

Trump’s effort to try to assuage Qatar without criticizing Israel comes as he struggles to find an endgame to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza and win the release of 48 hostages, about 20 who are believed to still be alive.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking at a briefing earlier Tuesday, did not say how long before the Israeli strikes that Qatar was warned.

She, like Trump, also did not address whether there was any concern that the Qataris could, in turn, have forewarned Hamas leaders that the Israeli strike was coming. Hamas says its top leaders survived the Israeli strike and that five lower-ranking members died.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Israeli warning to the US described as vague

The U.S. military was notified about the Israeli strike ahead of time through military channels, but a U.S. official described that notification as very vague.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive matters, said the notification included the fact that the Israeli military was going to attack Hamas but did not include specifics like a location, which made it insufficient to allow for any timely follow-on warnings to countries in the region.

Israel perfunctorily warning the U.S. ahead of operations has been an aggravation for much of the war, according to a former U.S. government official who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue. Frequently, the official said, Israeli notification “consisted of them calling someone at the embassy or at the Pentagon when planes were already in the air.”

Yet, with a strike this sensitive, the official said, it was difficult to believe Israel had not at least received tacit approval from the U.S. before moving forward with the operation.

White House and State Department officials did not respond to requests for comment about the timing or substance of Witkoff’s warning to Qatar.

Jonathan Schanzer, a former counterterrorism analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department, said the White House’s public comments may be in part an effort to help Qatar save face and keep its relations steady with the United States.

“It’s damage control,” said Schanzer, who is executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. But he added that the strike could affect the Qataris and their relationship with Hamas moving forward.

“There’s a lot of taking stock right now by all parties,” he said.

Trump talks with both sides

Trump spoke with Netanyahu and Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and other Qatari officials following the strikes.

“I assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil,” Trump said of his conversation with Qatari officials.

Leavitt demurred when asked if there would be any consequences for the Israelis or Netanyahu for the strike that she suggested was unexpected by U.S. officials.

Trump posted on social media Sunday a cryptic warning to Hamas hinting at a new American proposal to exchange all the remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners and end the war in Gaza.

“I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting,” Trump said. “This is my last warning, there will not be another one!”

Asked if Trump had been hinting at the Doha strike, Leavitt replied, “No, he was not.”