‘We’re left to pick up the pieces’: As search mission nears end, Surfside looks ahead

SURFSIDE, Fla. — Nearly a month after the Surfside Community Center was converted into an emergency operations hub in the aftermath of one of the worst building failures in U.S. history, the municipal building buzzed on Monday with the sound of children playing. Just weeks prior, the center was engulfed in sadness. Evacuated residents and distraught family members filled the oceanfront civic center after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South six blocks away. Authorities performed on-site DNA testing to help identify victims. A local restaurateur and team of volunteers set up a foo...