Florida

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

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Lead Cop Wanted Zimmerman Arrested

State attorney decided there wasn't enough evidence: sources

(Newser) - Another twist in the Trayvon Martin case: The chief homicide investigator probing the teenager's shooting wanted to charge George Zimmerman with manslaughter, but was overruled, sources tell ABC . Investigator Chris Serino filed an affidavit on the night of the shooting saying he was not convinced by Zimmerman's claims...

Trayvon's Mom Trademarks Teen's Name, Slogans

She wants money to assist other families

(Newser) - Trayvon Martin's mother has moved to prevent other people from cashing in on her son's death. She has filed trademark applications for the slain teenager's name and the phrases "Justice for Trayvon" and "I Am Trayvon," which have been appearing on T-shirts at protests...

Witness: Zimmerman Straddled Trayvon

...with hands pressed on his back: neighbors

(Newser) - Another day, another completely conflicting witness in the Trayvon Martin killing. This time, a neighbor is rebutting George Zimmerman's claims of self-defense and trying to help Martin after the shooting. Mary Cutcher and her roommate say they went outside after hearing shots fired and spotted Zimmerman on top of...

24 States Have 'Stand Your Ground' Laws

Trayvon Martin shooting brings them renewed attention

(Newser) - The shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has brought renewed scrutiny to Florida's "stand your ground" law on self-defense. In many states, a person who feels threatened in a public place is legally obligated to attempt to flee before deadly force can be used. Not so in Florida or,...

Zimmerman's Lawyer: He's Not a Racist

He also thinks 'stand your ground' doesn't apply in Trayvon Martin case

(Newser) - The man who shot Trayvon Martin in what he says was a case of self-defense is keeping out of the public eye, but George Zimmerman's lawyer went on CNN last night to rebut the notion that his client is racist. Zimmerman and his wife mentored two black teens, even...

Florida Students Walk Out in Trayvon Protests

Hundreds take part in rallies

(Newser) - Protests over the shooting of Trayvon Martin continued today as hundreds of students walked out of class at several South Florida high schools. At one, students formed the initials T and M on an athletic field, reports MSNBC . (Click the link to see video.) "For the most part...

Sharpton Leads Trayvon Rally
 Sharpton Leads Trayvon Rally 
Mar 22, 2012 11:29 PM CDT

Sharpton Leads Trayvon Rally

Fla. state attorney quits investigation

(Newser) - Civil rights leader Al Sharpton led thousands of people in a rally yesterday in the Florida town where Trayvon Martin was shot. "We cannot allow a precedent when a man can just kill one of us and then walk out with the murder weapon," Sharpton said, flanked by...

Fla. Judge: Chasing, Killing Suspect Was Self-Defense
Fla. Judge: Chasing, Killing Suspect Was Self-Defense
'STAND YOUR GROUND' REDUX
Mar 22, 2012 12:55 PM CDT

Fla. Judge: Chasing, Killing Suspect Was Self-Defense

Charges against Greyston Garcia over stabbing death of Pedro Roteta thrown out

(Newser) - As Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law finds itself in the spotlight after the shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin , another controversial case: A judge yesterday threw out the murder charge against Greyston Garcia, who chased down a would-be burglar and stabbed him to death, because she determined...

Trayvon Martin Shooting to Get 2nd Look by DOJ, FBI

Family, critics say shooter George Zimmerman is being protected

(Newser) - Almost a month after the killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and Florida's Department of Law Enforcement have agreed to get involved, the Miami Herald reports. The agencies will probe the case amid accusations from the teen's family and...

Atheists 'Scrub Away' Blessing on Highway

Florida non-believers wash road blessed by Polk Under Prayer

(Newser) - Atheists in central Florida scrubbed a major highway this weekend to symbolically wash away holy water left behind by Christians, Bay News 9 reports. Armed with mops, brooms, and hoses, they washed down a road on the Pasco-Polk county line that had been anointed last year by a group called...

Florida Teen's Killing Erupts Into National Story

Trayvon Martin's family wants shooter George Zimmerman prosecuted

(Newser) - An unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, and Zimmerman has yet to be charged; now Reuters reports that the FBI is monitoring the controversial Sanford, Florida, case, which has garnered nationwide attention. Trayvon Martin, 17, was walking through a gated...

2nd 'Underground Railroad' Ran South for 100 Years

Slaves fled southern states for Spanish-owned Florida

(Newser) - Turns out there was another Underground Railroad that helped Southern slaves escape their masters before the Civil War—only it ran the other way and relied partly on help from American Indians. Reporting on an upcoming conference in St. Augustine, Fla., the AP describes a lesser-known railroad that once shuttled...

Plenty of Schools Still Rely on Spanking

Paddling is especially popular in northern Florida

(Newser) - Think spanking in school is extinct? Think again. Nineteen states legally permit teachers and principals in public schools to spank a child, reports NPR . In Florida, for instance, more than 3,600 kids were spanked in 2010, usually with a wooden or fiberglass paddle, and usually in a rural district...

Vets Rip Flag With Obama&#39;s Face
 Vets Rip Flag With Obama's Face 
Mar 16, 2012 1:26 AM CDT

Vets Rip Flag With Obama's Face

Removed flag available for purchase online

(Newser) - O say can you see ... Barack Obama? A local Florida Democratic Party office has removed an American flag that replaced Old Glory's stars with President Obama's face after a handful of angry veterans turned up to call it disrespectful. “What really upsets me is that the flag...

Cops: Nameplate Thief Posts Facebook Photo

Steven Mulhall accused of taking it ... from a judge

(Newser) - If you're going to steal the nameplate of a judge off his door, fine, have fun. But don't have a photo snapped of yourself holding the nameplate and then post it on Facebook, as Steven Mulhall, 21, of Coral Springs, Florida, is accused of doing, reports the Sun ...

Students Joked Fired Teacher Might Snap

Shane Schumerth had to be escorted out of class, students say

(Newser) - Shane Schumerth was an "awkward man" who didn't seem to fit in, Episcopal High School students say, and when he was fired yesterday morning and escorted off the Jacksonville campus, some of the students joked that he would return to campus and do something. And he did: Police...

Fired Fla. Teacher Kills Principal, Self

Spanish teacher ranted about politics weeks before murder-suicide

(Newser) - A teacher fired from a private Florida high school returned several hours later with an assault rifle hidden in a guitar case and killed the school's headmistress before taking his own life. Students say the Spanish teacher, 28-year-old Shane Schumert, had been ignoring the subject this semester, and was...

23 States Considering Welfare Drug Tests

Lawmakers follow lead of Florida

(Newser) - Lawmakers in 22 states think Florida had the right idea with its law requiring welfare recipients to pass a drug test . States like Wyoming, Illinois, Maryland, and Colorado are all considering similar laws that would make a clean drug test a prerequisite for food stamps, welfare, and other forms of...

Woman Vanishes From Cruise Ship
Woman Vanishes
From Cruise Ship
Mar 1, 2012 1:04 AM CST

Woman Vanishes From Cruise Ship

Coast Guard searching area between Bahamas and Florida coast

(Newser) - Yet more bad publicity for the cruise industry: Coast Guard crews are searching a 900-square-mile area of sea for a woman who vanished from a cruise ship somewhere between Grand Bahama and the coast of Florida, ABC reports. The Canadian woman's boyfriend says he last saw her after midnight,...

Woman Torched Ancient Cypress to Better See Drugs

Sara Barnes charged with setting fire that destroyed 3,500-year-old tree

(Newser) - When we last visited the sad tale of "the Senator," arson had been ruled out as the source of the fire that felled the famously ancient cypress tree. Now, a pathetic and unfortunate cause emerges: Sara Barnes, 26, was charged yesterday with setting the fire that burned the...

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