Florida

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Paul Ryan Courts Cuban-Americans in Miami

'Policy of appeasement is not working'

(Newser) - Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is courting Cuban-American voters with promises to be tougher on the Castro government than President Obama. Ryan campaigned this morning in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, where he stopped at the popular Versailles Restaurant. "I learned ... just how brutal the Castro regime is,...

Floridians Urged to Stop Crashing Into Post Offices

USPS offers handy hints to Floridians

(Newser) - The US Postal Service has asked the people of Florida to please stop crashing their cars into its post offices. There have been eight such incidents so far this year in central Florida alone, and the USPS has released some tips to help drivers avoid crashing into postal facilities, reports...

Retiree Wrestles Gator, Saves His Dog

Mild-mannered Florida man dove in, and won

(Newser) - In some crazy alternate universe called "Florida," a mild-mannered retiree dived into a pond and fought a 7-foot gator that was making off with his terrier—and the retiree won. Seems 66-year-old Steve Gustafson was trimming an oak tree at his home in a retirement community when he...

Patron Tries to Buy Beer With Bartender&#39;s Stolen Card
Patron Tries to
Buy Beer With
Bartender's
Stolen Card 
in case you missed it

Patron Tries to Buy Beer With Bartender's Stolen Card

Surprised barkeep calls cops, gets arrest

(Newser) - A guy strolls into a bar and buys a beer with a credit card. He is then swiftly arrested. The guy, a 53-year-old homeless man in Miami Beach, purchased his brew from the exact wrong bartender ... because he happened to be using the bartender's stolen credit card, reports the...

Poll: Obama Leading in Key Swing States

Romney trailing in Florida, Ohio, Virginia

(Newser) - President Obama has a healthy lead in the three swing states most vital to victory, according to the latest Wall Street Journal /NBC/Marist poll. Mitt Romney is trailing by five points in Florida and Virginia and by seven points in Ohio, the poll found. Victory for Mitt Romney will be...

Cops: Woman Holds Up Man During Sex in Moving Car

Amanda Jean Linscott distracted driver in crash

(Newser) - A female robber pulled a gun on a man while they were having sex in a moving car driven by the victim, police say. The action, not surprisingly, triggered a crash. The slightly battered 26-year-old Florida woman, Amanda Jean Linscott, fled the scene after the car hit a palm tree...

Behind Disney Town's First Murder, a Dark Past

Matteo Patrick Giovanditto accused of a history of child sex abuse

(Newser) - Celebration, Florida—a subdivision created by Disney in the 1990s— saw its first murder over Thanksgiving 2010. In an extensive Daily Beast article, Barbara Spindel and Maria Elena Fernandez report on the victim, Matteo Patrick Giovanditto, and reveal troubling information about his past. David-Israel Zenon Murillo, the 30-year-old transient accused...

Officer in Obama Motorcade Killed in Florida Crash

He's struck by truck as he attempts to stop traffic

(Newser) - A motorcycle cop accompanying President Obama's motorcade in Florida was killed when he was struck by a pickup truck yesterday. The officer, whose identity hasn't been released, was killed as he prepared to shut a section of an interstate in Palm Beach County, reports AP . No charges have...

Couple Spends Honeymoon in Florida Jail

They allegedly left kids home alone while they got hitched

(Newser) - After a whirlwind wedding, a Florida couple was whisked away to a romantic honeymoon—behind bars. Kymberely Frederick, 30, and Daniel Richards, 34, were arrested Tuesday for alleged child neglect: They'd left their one-, two-, and three-year-old children at home alone while they were tying the knot, police say....

Crooks With Tats: Cops Can Track You So Easily

Unique tattoos make suspects easy to identify

(Newser) - Wearing a unique tattoo? May be better to avoid a career in crime, because police are tracking down suspects more often based on their tats, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Case in point: Police in St. Petersburg, Florida, were hunting for a bank robber with the forearm tattoo "Most...

Fla. Officials Save 5 Baby Whales as 22 Beach

Baby whales taken to nearby ocean institute, but outcome still in doubt

(Newser) - Rescuers are trying to keep alive five baby whales, from a pod of 22 pilot whales that beached early yesterday near Fort Pierce, Fla., reports the Sun-Sentinel . An animal-rescue team from SeaWorld Orlando transported the survivors to a nearby oceanographic institute, while officials test the deceased whales to see why...

Girl Gets Snaps as Quarterback for Florida High School

Erin DiMeglio might be a state first

(Newser) - Normally a third-string quarterback coming into a preseason game doesn't draw much attention. But it definitely did last Friday, when Erin DiMeglio got her first snap for the South Plantation High School. After all, DiMeglio may just be making Florida history, the Sun Sentinel reports. "I couldn't...

Storage Unit Find: Human Organs in Plastic Cups

Guy who bought contents at auction gets nasty surprise

(Newser) - A former medical examiner crudely preserved brains, hearts, and lungs from about 100 people in plastic food containers found inside a storage unit in Florida, authorities said yesterday. A man who bought the contents of the unit at auction last week in Pensacola made the discovery after being overpowered by...

Cuba VP&#39;s Daughter Defects
 Cuba VP's Daughter Defects 

Cuba VP's Daughter Defects

Dad Marino Murillo is known as a reformer

(Newser) - Glenda Murillo Diaz, the 24-year-old daughter of Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo, has defected to the United States, and is currently living in Tampa, the AFP reports, based on a story in the Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald . Murillo Diaz came to the US via Mexico, crossing the border in Texas.

Just One RNC Event Today: Start National Debt Clock

Clock will be unveiled at brief session

(Newser) - Hurricane Isaac has winnowed today's Republican National Convention events to just one: a short pro forma session in which RNC Chairman Reince Priebus will unveil a "national debt clock." The clock will start ticking at 2pm, bearing a figure somewhere north of $15.9 trillion, above the...

Isaac Dumps on GOP Parade
 Isaac Dumps on GOP Parade 

Isaac Dumps on GOP Parade

Republicans scramble to re-write convention

(Newser) - With Tropical Storm Isaac ripping close to the coast of Florida, forcing the GOP to cancel today's convention events , Mitt Romney and the Republican leaders are now scrambling to condense their four nights of carefully choreographed political theater into just three, reports the New York Times . Already wind speeds...

America&#39;s Stupidest Drug Laws

 America's Stupidest Drug Laws 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

America's Stupidest Drug Laws

'Reason' breaks down the most ridiculous laws the drug war has produced

(Newser) - What's more ridiculous than the war on drugs itself? The plethora of strange draconian laws that have cropped up to support it. Don't believe it? Well, Mike Riggs of the libertarian Reason Magazine has come up with a list of the five most ridiculous ones. Judge for yourself:...

Isaac Begins Pelting Fla. Keys

 Isaac Pelts Fla. Keys 
updated

Isaac Pelts Fla. Keys

Could hit anywhere from New Orleans to Panhandle

(Newser) - Florida is getting its first taste of Tropical Storm Isaac, with strong wind and rain pelting the Florida Keys beginning this morning as the vast 200-mile-wide storm picks up strength and moves in on the continental US. Isaac's path after the Keys is still uncertain: Forecasters warned he could...

Hurricane Probably Won&#39;t Hit Tampa, Convention

 Isaac Drenches Haiti 
UPDATED

Isaac Drenches Haiti

As of now, it's not on a path to directly hit Tampa

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Isaac swept across Haiti's southern peninsula early today, dousing a capital city prone to flooding and areas of the poor nation still trying to recover from the 2010 earthquake. The storm was heading toward eastern Cuba with sustained winds of 60mph and is expected to become a...

Probation Over, Casey Anthony Faces 'Vilified' Life: Lawyer

Former defendant aims to avoid 'public eye'

(Newser) - Casey Anthony finished her probation for check fraud today—but that doesn't mean she's truly free, says her lawyer. The woman acquitted in the killing of her 2-year-old daughter will "always be imprisoned by her reputation, deserved or not," Charles Greene tells Reuters . After pleading guilty...

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