Florida

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

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Florida Likely to Hold January Primary: Report

Move throws Republican calendar into disarray

(Newser) - Florida officials have all but decided to hold their presidential primary at the end of January, essentially shredding the carefully orchestrated Republican nominating calendar, Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon tells CNN . "We are expecting to meet on Friday, and I expect that they will pick January 31 as Florida'...

Firm Demands Its Drug Not Be Used in Florida Execution

Against everything the Danish company stands for, says boss

(Newser) - A Danish drug firm is demanding Florida not use its anesthetic in the planned execution tomorrow of a Cuban national for the murder of a police officer. If Florida goes ahead with the pentobarbital, manufactured by the Lundbeck company under the trademark Nembutal, it would be the first time the...

Actually, Straw Poll Taught Us Nothing
 Actually, 
 Straw Poll 
 Taught Us 
 Nothing 
counterpoint
Sep 25, 2011 7:25 AM CDT

Actually, Straw Poll Taught Us Nothing

Florida straw poll too unrepresentative to be useful

(Newser) - The Florida straw poll yesterday that saw Herman Cain trounce the competition means ... well, nothing, writes Ben Adler in the Nation . Cain received 37% of the vote, compared to 15% for Rick Perry and 14% for Mitt Romney. "In the usual manner of these inane expectations’ games, the loss...

Nyad, 62, Attempts Marathon Swim Again

She sets out from Cuba for Florida

(Newser) - 62-year-old Diana Nyad is once again trying to swim from Cuba to Florida. She set out yesterday, a month after she had to abandon her previous attempt in part because of a severe asthma attack, reports AP . This time around, the jelly fish are out to get her. "Diana...

Suspected Wife Killer Killed Previous Wife

But Jeremiah Fogle only got 10 years' probation

(Newser) - The Florida man who allegedly killed his wife and shot two pastors yesterday had been on probation for killing a previous wife, the AP reports. Jeremiah Fogle, 57, was sentenced to 10 years' probation in 1987 for fatally shooting wife-of-five-months Diane Fogle at home with a rifle. Prosecutors at the...

Right to Bear Arms Secure, Gun Lobby Goes to Extremes

It's pushing for unnecessarily dangerous measures: Adam Cohen

(Newser) - Bravo to the federal court that blocked a Florida law restricting a doctor’s right to ask patients whether they own guns, writes Adam Cohen in Time . The court’s move wasn't just a free-speech victory: It was a "rare setback" for gun-rights advocates who, these days, "...

Miami Battles Giant Snail Invasion

'I had never seen anything like it,' resident says

(Newser) - Miami authorities are struggling to wipe out an invasion of Giant African Snails that are munching on plants and proliferating wildly, the Miami Herald reports. Last week, a pair of sisters tipped off officials to the slimy creatures, which can grow up to 10 inches long by 4 inches wide,...

Kid, 17, Dupes Fla. Hospital, Snags ER Job

Police say Matthew Scheidt wore lab coat, examined patients, gave CPR

(Newser) - A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on charges of impersonating a physician's assistant and working in a Florida hospital's emergency room for a week, reports the Orlando Sentinel . Police say Matthew Scheidt dressed in a lab coats and surgical scrubs, conducted physical exams, and reportedly even gave CPR...

In Florida, Living in Sin Is Also Breaking the Law

But a lawmaker is looking to change that

(Newser) - You may not know it, but if you’re an unmarried Florida couple currently living together, you’re breaking the law. Such cohabitation is a second-degree misdemeanor, and it could cost you up to $500 or 60 days in jail. The law, which dates back to the 1800s, is in...

Copper Thieves Ransack Light Poles in Florida

Drivers on I-95 taking dark rides

(Newser) - Drivers on stretches of I-95 in Florida may have been wondering whether their headlights were fading, but it turns out that copper thieves are to blame for some dark rides of late. Somebody's been stealing the wiring from highway light poles, presumably to sell for scrap, reports CBS Miami....

Bachmann Won't Rule Out Dropping the Minimum Wage

She also advocates reducing corporate taxes

(Newser) - Michele Bachmann says everything would be on the table in her administration when it came to trying to boost employment—including dropping the federal minimum wage. Asked yesterday if she would consider changing the minimum wage to make US labor costs more competitive with overseas costs, she replied, "I'...

Only 2% Failed Florida Welfare Drug Tests

But that might still be enough for the program to break even

(Newser) - Florida’s controversial new program to drug test welfare recipients isn’t exactly catching droves of addicts. So far only 2% of those tests have come up positive, the Tampa Tribune reports, with 96% testing clean and 2% declining to complete the application process. That rate of failure may still...

Couple Gets 12 Years After Pet Python Crushes Toddler

Lawyer blames sentence on Casey Anthony

(Newser) - A Florida couple whose pet Burmese python crushed the woman's 2-year-old daughter to death have been sentenced to 12 years in prison each on manslaughter and child neglect charges. Experts testified that the 8-foot-long snake was severely underweight and had tried to eat the child whole, reports the New ...

Mom Jessica Marie Beers Arrested After Trying to Sell 5-Year-Old Son for $2,000
 Mom Tries to Sell Son for $2K 
Aug 22, 2011 12:27 PM CDT

Mom Tries to Sell Son for $2K

Needless to say, Jessica Marie Beers has been arrested

(Newser) - A 29-year-old Florida woman is in custody after offering to sell her 5-year-old son to another couple for $2,000. James Gardner and his wife befriended Jessica Marie Beers in church, and since she was struggling with money, they started covering some expenses and food for Beers and her son....

It's Official: Irene First Hurricane of Season

Expected to affect Florida, could hit Georgia, Carolinas

(Newser) - The first hurricane of the Atlantic season has officially developed. Irene is currently moving over Puerto Rico; it could eventually rattle Florida and skim Georgia and the Carolinas later this week. First, though, it’s headed toward Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm has...

Feds: 'Psychic' Family Scammed $40M

Claimed they spoke to God, made a fortune

(Newser) - If only they were real psychics, maybe they would have seen this coming. A Florida family has been indicted for running a psychic advice business that scammed clients out of $40 million over two decades, reports the Miami Herald . In "Operation Crystal Ball," federal prosecutors charged 10 people...

Tampa Police: We Stopped School Massacre

Teen Jared Cano accused of plotting to bomb school next week

(Newser) - Authorities in Tampa say they busted up a teen's Columbine-level plot to attack his former high school, reports the St. Petersburg Times . Police arrested a 17-year-old expelled student who had a cache of bomb-making materials at his home and a journal detailing his plans to bomb Freedom High School...

8 Report Injuries After Lightning Strikes SeaWorld

All have since been released, are fine

(Newser) - Three guests and two employees were sent to the hospital yesterday after lightning struck at SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove water park in Orlando. Firefighters were called to the park just after 5pm, as a storm that meteorologists had warned would produce “excessive” lightning passed through, the Orlando Sentinel reports....

Dead Megachurch Pastor Found With Suspected Drugs

Police awaiting test results on white powder

(Newser) - The Florida megachurch pastor discovered dead in a Times Square hotel room was found with a white powdery substance believed to be narcotics, police sources have told several newspapers. Zachery Tims, founder of Orlando's 8,000-member New Destiny Christian Center, was discovered by hotel workmen lying on his back...

Casey Anthony Must Return to Florida for Probation

Also: She's the most hated person in America in new poll

(Newser) - Casey Anthony is still a free woman, just not quite as free as she used to be. A Florida judge ruled today that she must return to Orange County before the end of the month to serve one year of probation, reports the Orlando Sentinel . Because she is the most...

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