Florida

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4 Different Cities, 4 Different Cop Shootings in One Day

Sunday saw officer killed, 3 wounded, with 3 of the shootings apparently targeted

(Newser) - It was a tough Sunday for law enforcement across the country, with four separate shootings leaving one police officer dead and three wounded, CBS News reports. And three of the attacks appear to have targeted their victims, authorities say: Detective Benjamin Marconi in San Antonio, Texas, was killed while writing...

Oldest Remaining Tuskegee Airman Dies

Willie Rogers 'lived by the greatest commandment—to love one another'

(Newser) - The oldest remaining member of the Tuskegee Airmen has died. Willie Rogers of St. Petersburg, Fla., died Friday from complications of a stroke. He was 101. Rogers served in logistics and administration as part of the US Armed Forces' first all-black aviation squadron during World War II, but only revealed...

Girl Could Face Charges for Using Toddler Knife at Lunch

She brought it to school to cut a peach, share with a friend

(Newser) - An 11-year-old honor student has been suspended for six days for bringing a knife to her Florida middle school—a child's butter knife, which she used at lunchtime to cut a peach, Local 10 reports. "This is a set of a spoon, fork, and knife for toddlers—one...

3 Alarming Stats From Florida Under 'Stand Your Ground'

Homicides have spiked, including those of African-Americans

(Newser) - For years, people have claimed "Stand Your Ground" laws have led to an increase in violence . A new JAMA study suggests their observations were right, at least in Florida. It finds homicides in the state spiked 24% from 82 per month from 1999 to October 2005, when Florida's...

Zimmerman Had Quite the Night Wednesday

He claimed he was assaulted, used racial slur at bar: cops

(Newser) - George Zimmerman claims a black man hit him at a bar near Sanford, Fla., on Wednesday, but that's not the same story police are telling. The Seminole County Sheriff's Office says Zimmerman became belligerent and used a racial slur at the Corona Cigar Company after officers were called...

'No Way Everyone Is Dead in There': Pulse Footage Released

Videos show tense scenes inside, outside club

(Newser) - The Orlando Sentinel and ABC News have obtained police body camera footage that shows tense scenes inside and outside the Pulse nightclub during the June 12 mass shooting that killed 49 people. In the two dozen videos released under a public records request, officers can be seen arriving at the...

For 60 Years, This Bedbug Fell Off the Fla. Map. Now It's Back

Tropical bedbug has potential to wreak more havoc than regular variety

(Newser) - The last time a tropical bedbug was confirmed in Florida, the average price of a new home was less than $10,000 , and Perry Como topped the charts. But USA Today reports this jacked-up cousin of the regular bedbug has now apparently made a reappearance in the Sunshine State, after...

Orlando to Buy Pulse Nightclub, Turn It Into Memorial

City pays $2.25M for the massacre site

(Newser) - The city of Orlando, Florida, has announced plans to purchase the Pulse nightclub and eventually convert the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history into a memorial, the AP reports. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday that the city has reached a deal...

Potential Trouble for GOP: Huge Clinton Lead in Florida Latinos

Politico: She's up 30 points, which one pollster sees as 'terrifying' for Republicans

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton might have a problem among black voters in Florida , but she certainly does not among Latinos, a bipartisan poll suggests. It shows Clinton with a 30-point lead over Donald Trump, 60% to 30%, among 800 likely Hispanic voters in the Sunshine State. Trump leads among Cuban-Americans, who historically...

Mom Who Gave Birth in Car Must Pay $7K Delivery Room Fee

'That's a little outrageous,' says Paula D'Amore

(Newser) - There was no ambulance, no epidural, and no hours of labor in a delivery room—yet a Florida woman who gave birth this year says she still faced a hefty hospital bill that included a $7,431 delivery room charge. "I think that's a little outrageous," says...

Hillary Clinton Might Have a Black Voter Problem

African-Americans aren't turning out for early voting like they were in 2012

(Newser) - No one really expected Hillary Clinton to be able to match the historic levels of black voter turnout seen by President Obama in 2008 and 2012, but that doesn't mean it's going to be less of a problem for her in some important states, the New York Times...

Pulse Orlando Gunman's Wife: 'He Had No Remorse'

Noor Salman gives first interview since June attack

(Newser) - "I was unaware of everything," says Noor Salman in her first interview since her husband killed 49 people at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. As the FBI considers pressing charges against her, including lying to authorities, Salman tells the dark tale of her marriage to Omar Mateen. Six months...

Face-Biting Attacker Said He 'Ate Something Bad'

'Shoot me now, I deserve to die,' he told cops

(Newser) - The Florida college student accused of killing a couple and chewing on the dead man's face told deputies, "Help me, I ate something bad" and then admitted it was "humans" as he spit out a piece of flesh, court documents show. Austin Harrouff, 19, also begged deputies...

You Know Him as 'Florida Man,' But Who Is He Voting For?

Tampa paper tracks down memorable crime arrestees in the state

(Newser) - Florida will be one of the most important states in play in next week's election, and the Tampa Bay Times has provided a strange, if entertaining, exploration of what a certain type of voter there might do. This voter is known as Florida Man. You know him—he pops...

Autopsy: Marlins Pitcher Had Cocaine, Alcohol in His System

Jose Fernandez died in a boat crash last month in Florida

(Newser) - Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez had cocaine and alcohol in his system when his boat crashed into a Miami Beach jetty, according to toxicology reports released Saturday. The AP reports it's not clear whether Fernandez was driving when the boat crashed Sept. 25, killing the 24-year-old baseball star and...

Rapper Gets 6 Months for Kicking Female Fan at Concert

Kevin Gates says he was just trying to defend himself

(Newser) - A Louisiana rapper was sentenced to six months in jail Wednesday for kicking a female fan during a concert last year in Florida, WFLA reports. A video of the incident went viral. Kevin Gates admitted he kicked the woman—19-year-old Miranda Dixon—but claimed she left him no choice. Gates,...

Trump Gets Some Sunny News in Florida

New poll shows him with slight edge in Florida

(Newser) - A new Bloomberg survey of 953 likely voters from Friday to Monday suggests Donald Trump has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in Florida, with Trump at a 2-point lead over Clinton—45% to 43%—in a four-candidate race. But Republicans shouldn't count on those 29 electoral votes just yet,...

Trump Rips ObamaCare, Raises Questions on Himself in Process

Seems to imply at Miami campaign event he doesn't offer health care coverage to his own workers

(Newser) - The news that ObamaCare premiums are going to significantly rise next year didn't put many people in the best of moods Tuesday, and Donald Trump was no exception. First he said "it's over" for the administration's health care plan at a rally in Tampa, Fla., Monday...

Cops in Maine Arrest a Talking Tree
Cops in Maine
Arrest a Talking Tree

Cops in Maine Arrest a Talking Tree

Asher Woodworth accused of impersonating an evergreen

(Newser) - If Florida has its own special sauce of crime , then Maine might, too. Police in Portland arrested a man dressed as a tree on Monday, reports WMTW . More specifically, cops say Asher Woodworth, 30, covered himself in evergreen branches, walked into an intersection, and proceeded to block traffic. Responding officers...

Babysitter Was Serving Life for a Child's 2006 Death. Then, a New Finding

New evidence suggests Amara Ou died from undiagnosed juvenile diabetes

(Newser) - In October 2006, Amara Ou's father dropped the 2-year-old off at her babysitter's Florida home. A few hours later, after the girl wouldn't wake up from a nap, babysitter Syna Lim, now 48, tried for two hours to reach Amara's parents before getting hold of the...

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