Florida

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

Stories 2701 - 2720 | << Prev   Next >>

Outside Sex Predators' Homes in Florida: Red Signs

18 signs now peppered throughout Bradford County

(Newser) - Police in Bradford County, Florida, have taken a highly visible step in making sure no sexual predator goes unnoticed: Officials there last week erected bold red signs in front of the homes of 18 registered sexual predators. GTN News reports that the signs are permitted under a Florida statute that...

Fired 'Trayvon Target' Cop Blames Conspiracy

Targets were a 'no-shoot training aid,' Ron King says

(Newser) - The Florida police sergeant sacked for bringing Trayvon Martin-themed targets to a firearms training session says the targets were a "no-shoot training aid" and his firing was politically motivated. In a video posted on YouTube, Sgt. Ron King apologizes to the slain teenager's family and suggests others are...

Cop Axed Over Trayvon Shooting Targets

Martin family decries 'reprehensible' behavior

(Newser) - A Florida cop is out of a job following the less-than-brilliant decision to bring targets with Trayvon Martin's image to on-duty shooting practice. As CNN reports, Sgt. Ron King of the Port Canaveral Police Department brought a couple of the targets—which he apparently purchased online—to an April...

Dad Sought in Own Sons' Kidnapping: Yep, I'm in Cuba

Officials uncertain how to get them home

(Newser) - A man on a boat in a Cuban marina tells CNN that he is Josh Hakken, the father being sought by Florida authorities who say he and his wife, Sharyn, kidnapped their own two sons from the boys' grandparents' house. Now, the AP reports, it's not certain whether authorities...

Parents of Trayvon Martin Settle With Homeowners

Likely more than $1M: Orlando Sentinel

(Newser) - Trayvon Martin's parents have settled their wrongful-death claim with the Florida homeowners association where their son was shot to death last year, reports the Orlando Sentinel . Neither side is divulging the amount, but the newspaper thinks it's more than $1 million because the parents rejected an earlier offer...

Video Reveals Depths of Florida Sinkhole

Seffner sinkhole killed Jeffrey Bush

(Newser) - The first good look into the Florida sinkhole that claimed Jeffrey Bush's life has been released. A video obtained by Bay News 9 shows the 60-foot-deep chasm, from which authorities weren't able to recover Bush's body. It was taken through the bedroom window before the home was...

Dad Shoots Family Dog to Retrieve Boy's Finger

Florida man disembowels animal in frantic search

(Newser) - A father in Florida shot and disemboweled one of the family dogs yesterday in an effort to retrieve his son's finger, the Bradenton Herald reports. Luis Brignoni, 41, pulled the finger out and rushed his 11-year-old to a hospital in St. Petersburg—but doctors said the nerve damage was...

Court to Mogul: Girlfriend Can't Be Your Daughter, Too

Judge calls adoption a 'fraud' against court

(Newser) - News flash: No, you cannot adopt your girlfriend . Especially not as part of an alleged bid to safeguard tens of millions of dollars. A Florida appeals court judge yesterday ruled that John Goodman's 2011 adoption of his lover "constituted a fraud on the court," reports the Sun ...

Powerball Winners Give Cut to Colleague Who Didn't Play

Jennifer Maldonado had only been at the company 2 weeks

(Newser) - Jennifer Maldonado hadn't yet gotten her first paycheck from the realty company she had been at two weeks when her colleagues asked her to kick in to its Powerball pool ahead of Saturday's $338 million drawing. "I was watching my pennies" and declined, she tells the Miami ...

Florida Town Plagued by 4th Sinkhole?

Seffner just can't catch a break

(Newser) - If you were considering moving to Seffner, Florida, we'd advise you to look elsewhere. Yet another sinkhole may have struck in the town; it's still unconfirmed, but the possibility forced two families to evacuate last night. Seffner's first sinkhole killed a 37-year-old man ; its second appeared just...

Camera May Hold Clues in Skydivers' Deaths

Icelandic instructor, student die in Florida jump

(Newser) - Authorities probing the deaths of two men in a skydiving accident in Florida on Saturday hope a helmet camera worn by one of them will provide some clues, Tampa Bay Online reports. The instructor and student, both from Iceland, were found dead in a wooded area about a mile from...

Florida Manatees Dying in Scary Numbers

Deaths near Cape Canaveral remain a mystery

(Newser) - Already an endangered species, manatees are dying by the dozen off both coasts of Florida, Wired reports. Biologists say a red tide—an algal bloom that can be fatal to manatees, fish, and people—has killed 200 manatees in the Gulf of Mexico this year. But manatee deaths on the...

Clinton Easily Tops Republicans in Florida Poll

GOP analysts fear facing Clinton 'will be impossible'

(Newser) - With the 2016 elections right around the corner (well, a three-year corner), Hillary Clinton boasts 11-point leads over her closest Republican rivals in the swing state of Florida, according to a new Quinnipiac poll . Clinton leads former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 51%-40%, and Sen. Marco Rubio 52%-41%. She also holds...

UCF Suicide Case Planned Wider Attack

'Anti-social' ex-student had assault weapon, explosives

(Newser) - The man who killed himself at the University of Central Florida today was a former student who had planned to open fire in his school dorm, the Orlando Sentinel reports. UCF Police Chief Richard Beary identified him as James Seevakumaran, 30, and said writings in his room laid out "...

Florida Town Lifts Ban on Non-US Flags Ahead of St. Patrick's

Irish pub can put Ireland's flag back up

(Newser) - Just days ahead of St. Patrick's Day, a northeast Florida Irish pub has won the right to fly the Irish flag again. On February 20, Culhane's Irish Pub was told it had 24 hours to "cease display of flags other than American flag." The rule was...

Sinkhole a Big Headache for Florida Church

Church says it can't use building, but State Farm says there's 'no problem'

(Newser) - Florida has been hit with yet another suspected sinkhole —this one preventing a North Naples congregation from using a beloved church. "The floor in the main auditorium has sunk about four-and-a-half inches in one area," says the pastor at Faith Community Church. A landscaper has already tumbled...

Giant Mosquitoes May Strike Florida

'Gallinippers' are mean and bite hard, experts say

(Newser) - As if deadly sinkholes and Burmese pythons weren't enough, now Florida may find itself contending with another summer of giant mosquitoes that pack a ferocious bite, LiveScience reports. Dubbed gallinippers, the quarter-sized mosquitoes hatch after a flood or rainstorm, and saw a bumper crop after Tropical Storm Debby struck...

Sharks Put Scare Into Spring Break Beaches

Thousands spotted near shore in later-than-normal migration

(Newser) - Thousands of visitors are swarming to beaches in South Florida, but not the kind welcomed by the chamber of commerce: sharks. Their annual migration up the East Coast is taking place later than usual this year, coinciding with the start of spring break season, reports ABC News . Several beaches had...

Florida Woman Pulls Gun at Walmart Over $1 Coupon

Mary Frances Alday in jail on multiple charges

(Newser) - Take Florida, add in Walmart, and you have a recipe for a bizarre crime story: This time around, a woman was arrested after pulling a gun on Walmart employees ... because they wouldn't take her coupon. The kicker: The coupon was only for $1 off. Mary Frances Alday reportedly got...

2nd Florida Sinkhole Opens Near First

Initial site now considered missing man's grave

(Newser) - The residents of Seffner, Fla., are on edge after a fresh sinkhole appeared just three miles from where a sinkhole swallowed a man last week . The new sinkhole, which is about 10 feet deep, appeared between two homes yesterday afternoon, ABC reports. Authorities say the hole is not geologically connected...

Stories 2701 - 2720 | << Prev   Next >>