Florida

Read recent news stories and current events about Florida on Newser.com

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Army Vet After 48-Day Coma: 'I Want Taco Bell'

Who thought a bag of Crunchy Tacos could be this heartwarming?

(Newser) - An Army vet and father of two who, somewhat miraculously, woke from a 48-day coma last month in Florida had one thing on his mind: Taco Bell. USA Today reports 35-year-old Jake Booth slipped into a coma after his bronchitis turned into pneumonia and caused a heart attack. His family...

Busted on Facebook, Police Chief Gives Himself a Ticket

'It's the right thing to do'

(Newser) - If you've ever wondered who polices the police, the answer is, apparently, random Facebook users. The Orlando Sentinel reports that a Florida police chief issued himself a parking ticket after a photo circulated on Facebook showing his SUV blocking a sidewalk at City Hall. “Groveland Police Department is...

Hero Dog Saves 7-Year-Old Girl From Rattlesnake

He was bitten three times protecting the girl

(Newser) - When a venomous Eastern diamondback rattlesnake appeared in the backyard of a 7-year-old Florida girl, her German shepherd came to her rescue, refusing to back down despite multiple snakebites, the AP reports. Molly DeLuca was playing Wednesday with her 2-year-old shepherd, named Haus, when the snake showed up. Haus jumped...

Hammerhead Shark Likely Doomed by Woman's Need for Pics

'You definitely don't sit on top of it and take photos'

(Newser) - A Florida conservation group says a woman's desire to pose for photos with a hammerhead shark effectively sentenced the protected animal to death last Sunday. WFTX reports Lauren Dondero was on a Mother's Day fishing trip to Fort Myers Beach when she caught a hammerhead shark. After an...

Apple Can't Get Data From Missing Boater's iPhone

Mom of other missing teen wants to hand it over to other experts

(Newser) - Bad news for the parents of the two Florida teenage boys who disappeared while boating last summer : Apple can't get into the iPhone 6 belonging to one of the boys to retrieve the data it might hold inside, NBC reports. "Unfortunately, Austin's iPhone could not be restored...

In Just One Year, 53 Walmarts Called Police 16,800 Times

Fla. stores average 2 calls an hour instead of hiring guards

(Newser) - Walmart is letting taxpayers pick up the tab for securing its stores by relying on police instead of hiring its own guards, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis. In the four counties surrounding the bay, there were 16,800 calls to police from Walmart stores in 2014 alone. That...

Guy Takes 3 Days to Realize He Shot Himself

Medication for a back injury apparently masked the pain

(Newser) - Michael Blevins was cleaning his pistol at his home in Deltona, Fla., on Thursday when he accidentally shot himself in the arm, police say. It took him only three days to realize. The 37-year-old says he was holding his gun to his chest, away from his dog, when his back...

Case of Missing Florida Mom Is 'Mystifying' Police

Interview with ex-husband reveals little: cops

(Newser) - Police have now conducted a "long and detailed interview" with the ex-husband of missing Florida mom Tricia Todd , but they say they're no closer to figuring out her whereabouts. "Nothing in [Steven Williams'] lengthy interview … nor his polygraph exam indicated that he was involved or...

This Is Last Known Photo of Missing Florida Mom

Tricia Todd appeared to be 'in good spirits,' sheriff says

(Newser) - It's been nearly a week since Tricia Todd vanished in Florida , and police have now released the last known surveillance photo of her in the hope of jogging memories. In the photo taken in a Publix supermarket in Hobe Sound Tuesday night, the 30-year-old Air Force vet is smiling...

No Sign of Florida Mom for Nearly a Week

Ex-husband to be interviewed

(Newser) - The search for a missing Florida woman who was scheduled to pick up her 2-year-old daughter from her ex-husband's house is now approaching a full week. Tricia Todd, 30, was supposed to collect the girl Wednesday morning, but ex Steven Williams says she never showed up; he then brought...

Boys Lost at Sea Seen in Newly Released Video

Perry Cohen, Austin Stephanos seen departing in boat

(Newser) - An investigation into two teen boys lost at sea has turned up never-before-seen video of their departure, but an attorney for one of the boys' families fears investigators may be giving up, CBS News reports. "I think that the video was released because the Florida Wildlife Commission has decided...

Her Prison Job Terrified Her. What Was Scary Were the Guards

Employees kept quiet about abused inmates at Dade Correctional Institution

(Newser) - Harriet Krzykowski felt abandoned—and terrified. A new counselor at Dade Correctional Institution's mental-health ward in 2010, the then-30-year-old heard about guards taunting and starving inmates, so she told her superior. That's when guards began abandoning Krzykowski in areas packed with potentially dangerous prisoners. "It scared the...

Pilot: I Saw Missing Teen Floating on Makeshift Raft

'No doubt about it'

(Newser) - A pilot claims he spotted one of two missing Florida teens adrift at sea aboard a makeshift raft two days after the friends disappeared during a fishing trip last summer, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Bobby Smith was aiding in the search for Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos when his...

6 Best US Cities for Lazy People

Florida is the place to be

(Newser) - Too bad moving involves getting off the couch. Realtor.com has found the 10 best US cities "where lazy folks can thrive," based on several factors, including average sleep and work hours, the number of spas and hot tubs, access to services like dog walking and grocery delivery,...

Coast Guard to 'Bubble Man' Running on Ocean: Um, No

Coast Guard says safety first, stops ultrarunner after just 2 days

(Newser) - Ray "Reza" Baluchi set out to "show children that anything is possible if you want it." Unfortunately for him, the US Coast Guard set out to show him that safety comes first. Baluchi, a 44-year-old ultra marathoner, planned to run from Pompano Beach, Fla., across the Atlantic...

Three Girls Drowned. Did Deputies Watch It Happen?

Families suggest cops could have done more

(Newser) - The families of three Florida teens who drowned in a stolen car are suggesting sheriff's deputies could have done more to save them, the Miami Herald reports. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has forcefully rebutted those allegations in this Facebook post . The office released hours of dashboard footage...

Zoo on Mauled Zookeeper: It's Her Fault

Stacey Konwiser seemingly broke the rules

(Newser) - A zookeeper killed by a Malayan tiger at the Palm Beach Zoo met her end by entering an area she should have avoided, the zoo's top official says. Stacey Konwiser, 38, who was mauled on April 15, apparently broke zoo safety rules by going inside the cat's sleeping...

Boat of Florida Teens Lost at Sea Found off Bermuda

A Norwegian vessel spotted it

(Newser) - The boat carrying two Florida teens who were lost at sea during a fishing trip last July has been recovered 100 miles off the coast of Bermuda, the Palm Beach Post reports. The crew of a homeward-bound Norwegian vessel spotted the capsized 19-foot single-engine boat in March. "It was...

Happier Reunion for Judge Who Recognized Inmate as Classmate

Mindy Glazer showed up to cheer Arthur Booth on as he was released from jail

(Newser) - Last summer, an emotional video of a Florida burglary suspect appearing before a judge who turned out to be his middle school classmate went viral. Almost 10 months later, Arthur Booth was released from jail Tuesday—and Judge Mindy Glazer was there to wish him well and see him on...

Man Who Landed Gyrocopter on Capitol Lawn Gets 4 Months in Jail

The former mail carrier says it was a protest of money in politics

(Newser) - A Florida man who piloted a one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted US airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol last year, was sentenced Thursday to 120 days in jail, the AP reports. Douglas Hughes, 62, has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones...

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