Florida

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

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Florida Reservoir Emergency Threatens '20-Foot Wall of Water'

And polluted water, at that

(Newser) - A wastewater reservoir in Manatee County, Fla., started leaking last week, and over the weekend, officials declared a state of emergency and warned that a "20-foot wall of water" could be unleashed. That's what would happen within minutes if walls around the retention pond are fully breached, the...

DeSantis Prohibits 'Vaccine Passports'

Florida governor wants legislation to make ban permanent

(Newser) - Beginning with an executive order while promising legislation soon, Gov. Ron Desantis moved Friday to block the use of "vaccine passports" in Florida. He said the order prohibits the use of such passports "or other standardized documentation for the purpose of certifying an individual's COVID-19 vaccination status...

Aide Quits, but Gaetz Says He&#39;s Staying
Matt Gaetz:
I Won't Resign
Apr 2, 2021 2:25 PM CDT

Matt Gaetz: I Won't Resign

Lawmaker's top communications aide quits

(Newser) - Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, under investigation by the Justice Department in a sex trafficking case, said rumors that he'll resign from the House are false. Gaetz called it "very safe" to say he has no plans to quit, the Hill reports. His communications director, on the other hand,...

Trump Crashes Wedding: 'Do You Miss Me Yet?'

Former president took the mic at Mar-a-Lago reception, railed against Biden, China, Iran

(Newser) - Think Wedding Crashers, except instead of being entertained by the antics of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, a 74-year-old regales the audience with complaints about China, Iran, and the guy who took his old job. That was the basic scenario at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday when Donald Trump showed up, decked...

After More Than 2 Years, Woman Charged in Dad's Death

Police say Shannon Gillespie beat and stabbed her father

(Newser) - Shannon Gillespie has acknowledged that she despised her father. Still, for the past two-and-a-half years she has denied having anything to do with his death, once telling a detective: “If it would have been me, it would have been a missing person report, not a homicide. That motherf---er would...

Cops: Mom in Boxing Glove Attacks Girl at School

Florida's Edith Riddle, 34, charged with child abuse after incident outside school's cafeteria

(Newser) - A 34-year-old Florida woman is facing child abuse charges after allegedly fighting a 12-year-old girl at her daughter's middle school while wearing a boxing glove. Edith Riddle—who initially told officials she was unable to remove the boxing glove because it was superglued to her left wrist, per First...

Boy's First Beach Trip Ends in 'Horror Film Gore'

Family says 9-year-old Jay Weiskopf was attacked by shark off Miami Beach

(Newser) - "A shark tried to eat me at the ocean." That's 9-year-old Jay Weiskopf's description of what happened over the weekend during a family vacation in South Florida. Fox News reports that Jay, who has autism, was swimming in shallow water on the Miami Beach shoreline when...

BASE Jump Off a Tourist High-Rise Ends in Tragedy

31-year-old Timothy Ackerman dies after leaping off condo complex in Panama City Beach

(Newser) - A Florida man who tried to BASE jump from a high-rise condo complex died over the weekend after his parachute apparently didn't open, and local authorities have now identified him. Per a release from the Panama City Beach Police Department cited by the Panama City News Herald , deputies found...

Cops: Spring Breakers Drugged, Raped a Woman Who Then Died

Incident comes as Miami continues to struggle with spring break chaos

(Newser) - Two spring breakers are accused of drugging and raping a woman who died soon after they left her unconscious in her hotel room bed. Police say Evoire Collier, 21, and Dorian Taylor, 24, of North Carolina, met the victim at a restaurant in Miami Beach last week and one of...

Miami Beach Grounds Spring Breakers for Weeks

Curfew, causeway closures will continue through April 12

(Newser) - Spring breakers were grounded by Miami Beach over the weekend, and on Sunday, that grounding was extended for more than three weeks. At an emergency meeting, the Miami Beach City Commission voted unanimously to extend the 8pm-6am curfew, business restrictions, and causeway closures on Thursdays through Sundays until April 12,...

After 66 Years, Couple Dies Together of COVID-19

Bill and Esther Ilnisky were in the same hospice room at the end

(Newser) - Bill and Esther Ilnisky spent nearly seven decades together as Christian ministers and missionaries, including stints in the Caribbean and Middle East before preaching for 40 years in Florida. They complemented each other—he the bookworm, she outgoing and charismatic. One without the other seemed unthinkable. So when they died...

Trump's Mar-a-Lago Hit With COVID Outbreak

Resort partially shut down after staffers test positive

(Newser) - In South Florida, a coronavirus closing is making headlines due to its most famous occupant. Sources tell WPBF that Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach has been partially shut down due to a COVID outbreak among its workers. In an email, the club's management says service in...

Cops: 2 Rodriguezes on Ballot Was Part of Confusion Plot

Former Florida state Sen. Frank Artiles has been charged with election-related felonies

(Newser) - A former state senator in Florida is facing felony charges for allegedly recruiting a "ghost candidate" to help a fellow Republican win last November. After Democratic state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez lost his seat by a razor-thin margin of 32 votes out of more than 215,000 cast, the...

Mastermind of Massive Twitter Hack Is Sentenced

Graham Ivan Clark, who was 17 at the time, gets 3 years, plus probation

(Newser) - A teenager who hacked the Twitter accounts of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Apple, and Uber as part of a Bitcoin scam last year has agreed to prison time. Graham Ivan Clark, 18, of Florida will serve three years in prison for the scam to...

Mosquito Species in Florida Raises Disease Worries

It's been known to carry yellow fever virus in Brazil, though there's no sign of it in US

(Newser) - A species of mosquito recently found in Florida is causing concern about the spread of disease, including yellow fever. Aedes scapularis has been present in Latin America and the Caribbean and has been discovered in Brazil to be infected with diseases including the yellow fever virus and Venezuelan equine encephalitis...

Mom, Teen Busted in Alleged Homecoming Queen Scheme

Laura Carroll, 17-year-old daughter in Pensacola, Fla., accused of rigging the vote

(Newser) - Some moms long for their daughters to be crowned homecoming queen; other moms really long for their daughters be crowned homecoming queen. Laura Rose Carroll seems to have fallen in the latter category, and now she's been arrested for it. Per CNN , the 50-year-old from Pensacola, Fla., and the...

Florida&#39;s COVID Response Wins &#39;Grudging Praise&#39;
Florida's Pandemic Response
May Have Been Vindicated
THE RUNDOWN
Mar 16, 2021 12:11 AM CDT

Florida's Pandemic Response May Have Been Vindicated

State was criticized for reopening early, but death rate isn't above national average

(Newser) - Florida was heavily criticized for reopening too early last year—especially after a surge in coronavirus cases followed. But a year into the pandemic, critics are starting to wonder whether Republic Gov. Ron DeSantis may have got it right after all. The pandemic has killed more than 32,000 people...

Behind Florida's Real Estate Pitch, a More Sobering Stat

Roughly the same number of people are moving out of the state as moving in

(Newser) - A splashy narrative has emerged in Florida amid the pandemic from politicians and real estate developers, writes Candace Taylor in the Wall Street Journal . It states that Florida is the place to be for tech workers and uber-rich hedge fund execs looking to flee Silicon Valley and New York. And...

Spring Breakers Descend on Miami Beach, Hurt Cops

100 have been arrested already

(Newser) - Spring breakers have descended upon Miami Beach despite the coronavirus pandemic, and two police officers in the Florida city were hurt Friday night as they worked to disperse large crowds. Both were released Saturday morning, NBC News reports. About 100 partyers were arrested over the weekend, CNN reports, one of...

Hate March's 'Spring Forward'? There's Some Promising News

15 states hope to make daylight saving time permanent

(Newser) - If you hate losing an hour of sleep each spring owing to daylight saving time, we have good and bad news. The bad news is that most Americans will still have to move clocks forward one hour at 2am Sunday. The good news is that "momentum for ending the...

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