Le Journal

Miami Beach officials are condemning the actions of white nationalist influencers who were seen on video appearing to praise Adolf Hitler at a nightclub over the weekend. Some of the photos and videos that circulated on social media showed several of the controversial figures at Vendôme nightclub while the song Heil Hitler by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is playing in the background. Additional video appears to show the same group in the back of a car chanting the lyrics and performing a Nazi salute. Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said the actions of the influencers crossed a line, and that he is asking for a full investigation into how this happened in the city. pic.twitter.com/0r8ppUuqOR— Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner (@StevenMeiner) January 19, 2026 “These are sick, demented people where you can glorify someone who killed 6 million people,” Meiner said. “What I also found disturbing is I spoke to a lot of other club operators today, and they told me they know [these influencers] try to get into clubs. They ban them; they do not allow them in their club. How did they get in here and seemingly welcomed into the club?” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava also released a statement following the incident that read in part: “We stand against antisemitism and all hate, and expect swift accountability to keep our community safe and respectful for all.” Miami Beach Commissioner Joe Magazine also strongly condemned what he saw in the videos. “To sit here and try to make light of millions and millions of people being murdered… and to come to a place like Miami Beach, with such a proud, strong, Jewish community, and make light of that? It’s despicable,” Magazine said. “Maybe [Vendôme’s] ownership wasn’t aware of this, which their statement seems to imply… If they weren’t, put your money where your mouth is. If the manager was there, and was OK with this, fire him. If the DJ was there, playing something like this, fire them.” The nightclub Vendôme released a statement that said its ownership was aware of the videos they called “deeply offensive and unacceptable.” Their full statement reads: “We are aware of a video circulating online from one of our venues that includes content and imagery that are deeply offensive and unacceptable. We want to be unequivocally clear: Vendôme and our hospitality group do not condone antisemitism, hate speech, or prejudice of any kind. These values are fundamentally opposed to who we are and the environments we strive to create. We are currently conducting an internal review to understand the circumstances surrounding how this requested song came to be played during a bottle parade, and we will take immediate action to hold the responsible parties accountable. Our ownership and leadership reflect a diverse group of partners, backgrounds, and faiths including members of the Jewish community and we are deeply disturbed by the harm caused by this incident and the circulation of this footage. As our review proceeds, we are evaluating additional safeguards and procedures to ensure our venues are not used as platforms for offensive or harmful behavior. We take this matter seriously and will continue to act thoughtfully and responsibly as we complete our review.”

A new film starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon called “The Rip” is taking inspiration from a 2016 drug bust in Miami Lakes that became the largest money seizure in Miami-Dade history. According to the film’s synopsis, Affleck and Damon play Miami-Dade Police officers, now known as the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office,  “discovering millions in cash in a derelict stash house, trust among a team of Miami cops begins to fray.” The film is based on former officer Chris Casiano and his narcotics team’s investigation and raid of the Miami Lakes home. Like all films based on true events, “The Rip” takes liberties with the story. The 2016 Raid On June 28, 2016, authorities conducted a raid on the Miami Lakes home, located off Northwest 169th Terrace and 77th Path, that was owned by a suspected marijuana trafficker. At the home, authorities found money stuffed in dozens of five-gallon buckets that were bought at a Home Depot located in a hidden attic compartment Over $21 million was seized. Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez was taken into custody on several drug and firearms charges stemming from an investigation by the Miami-Dade police and the Drug Enforcement Administration. His sister, Salma Hernandez, 32, was also arrested. Luis Hernandez-Gonzalez Authorities said Hernandez-Gonzalez, who runs The Blossom Experience store in Miami-Dade, was involved in trafficking marijuana to Tennessee along with two other men. He had been the target of an investigation dating back to 2010, speaking with informants about the drug trade, according to police. The store’s website proclaims its expertise in indoor gardening needs and lists items, including lights and fans. The business was raided as part of the operation, with officers finding drugs and $180,000 in a safe. Hernandez-Gonzalez was recorded on various phone calls advising on how to care for the plants. After his arrest, Hernandez-Gonzalez allegedly admitted to helping customers grow the drug. Authorities said Salma Hernandez works at the shop with her brother. The Guilty Plea Deal Two years after the raid, on Feb. 7, 2018, Hernandez-Gonzalez pled guilty in a plea that allowed him to keep $4 million, his home, his hydroponics garden supplies store and five Rolex watches. He pleaded guilty in federal court to money laundering and structuring bank deposits to avoid the federal government’s reporting requirement, known as smurfing, his attorney said. His marijuana trafficking and other charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. At the time, Hernandez-Gonzalez’s sentencing was set for April 20, which coincidentally, is a celebratory day in cannabis culture Sentencing On April 25, 2018, Hernandez-Gonzalez was sentenced to 65 months in prison. “The Rip,” directed by Joe Carnahan, is currently playing on Netflix.

President Donald Trump warned Europe that he no longer feels “the obligation to think purely of peace,” linking his hostile campaign to seize Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Norway’s leader has said. The message was the latest move in the spiraling transatlantic tensions between the United States and Europe, which vowed Monday not to be blackmailed by Trump’s intensifying pressure to take over the Danish territory. As European powers scrambled to respond to Trump’s promise to implement tariffs on countries that stand in his way, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre went public with the president’s warning. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump said in the message, the text of which was first reported by PBS and confirmed as accurate in a statement by the Norwegian leader. The White House did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment from NBC News. European governments weighed a strong response to their postwar friend in Washington ahead of an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday. “Germany and France agree: We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed,” German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said. “Blackmail between allies of 250 years, blackmail between friends, is obviously unacceptable,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said at the same event. “We Europeans must make it clear: The limit has been reached,” Klingbeil said. In the short term, European governments are considering a range of options including their own tariffs. Another is the European Union’s “bazooka” — officially known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which has never been used before. This allows E.U. countries to take retaliatory action against any rivals seen as threatening the bloc, and could involve restricting American access to tenders or investment proposals. Some geopolitical and historical experts believe Trump’s pursuit of Greenland has now become the lowest ebb of transatlantic relations since the Suez Crisis of 1956, when the U.S. pressured Britain, France and Israel to withdraw from their invasion of Egypt. It was against this backdrop that Trump’s message to the Norwegian leader was made public. “I can confirm that this is a text message that I received yesterday afternoon from President Trump,” the Norwegian leader said. He said it came in response to an initial communication from himself and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in which they conveyed their “opposition to his announced tariff increases.” Støre also pointed out that — regardless of its merits — this backlash was misdirected, as the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and not the Norwegian government. Trump has made no secret of his desire to become a Nobel laureate, or of his displeasure when it was instead awarded to the Venezuelan opposition activist María Corina Machado last month. Machado presented Trump with the award last week, after he left her out of his plans for Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that the coveted prize cannot “even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed.” Trump says that he wants Greenland to counter what he calls a growing threat from Russia and China. The U.S. already has huge leeway to establish military bases on the Arctic island or strike deals to mine its vast mineral resources. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump’s moves, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the president was using “the economic might of the U.S. to avoid a hot war.” He said the goal was to avoid a future “national emergency.” Trump said late Sunday that “Denmark has been unable to do anything about”…

Find live updates of the latest breaking news across South Florida For a deeper dive, check out our home page or local collection.

A new market intelligence report suggests that Threads is now more popular than X on iPhone and Android, although X still has a strong overall lead when web usage is taken into account. Separately, the controversy over Grok generating non-consensual explicit images – including CSAM – has intensified, as xAI is now being sued by the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children … more…