Florida

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

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Florida Bridge Collapse May Lead to Criminal Charges

Death toll is confirmed at 6, expected to rise

(Newser) - “It’s obviously an accident," the Miami Herald quotes Juan Perez as saying of Thursday's deadly pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University. "We have to look to see if somebody contributed to that accident.” The Miami-Dade police chief says criminal charges are possible...

Cables Were Being Tightened Before Bridge's Deadly Collapse

Brand-new FIU bridge flattened cars

(Newser) - It was supposed to be a "signature project" that people would identify with Florida International University. Instead, it's the scene of a still unexplained tragedy that left at least six people dead. At least nine injured people were pulled from the rubble Thursday after a pedestrian bridge collapsed...

Bridge Collapses 5 Days After Installation; Multiple Fatalities

Pedestrian bridge was installed near Florida International University on Saturday

(Newser) - Officials say several people are dead after a new pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a road near the Florida International University campus Thursday in Miami, CBS Miami reports. According to the Miami Herald , the 950-ton bridge was installed Saturday to provide pedestrian access between FIU's main campus and an area...

Man Linked to Holloway Case Dies After Ambushing Woman

John Christopher Ludwick got stabbed when she fought back

(Newser) - A man who said he helped to dispose of Natalee Holloway's remains is dead after he tried to kidnap a Florida woman. John Christopher Ludwick, 32, attempted to kidnap her as she got out of her car in her North Port driveway Tuesday; she fought back, and in the...

NRA Immediately Sued Florida Over New Gun-Control Law

It's upset legislation raises age to buy rifles

(Newser) - The NRA has filed a federal lawsuit over gun control legislation Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed Friday , saying it violates the Second Amendment by raising the age to buy guns from 18 to 21, the AP reports. The lawsuit came just hours after Scott, a Republican, signed the compromise bill....

Governor Signs 'Historic' Gun Bill After Parkland

Meanwhile, Parkland 911 calls were released

(Newser) - Among the newly released recordings of 911 calls from the Parkland school shooting, the parents of a 17-year-old girl can be heard telling a dispatcher that their daughter is texting from a classroom where the door's glass was shot out. "Three shot in her room. Oh, my God....

Sunday Could Be Florida's Last Time Change

Lawmakers want to make Daylight Saving Time permanent

(Newser) - The clocks go forward once again on Sunday—and in Florida, they don't ever want to change them back again. The "Sunshine Protection Bill, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the state, passed the state Senate Tuesday with just two votes against it, CNN reports. It...

Officers Who Rushed to Parkland Shooting Were Punished

Their 'intentions were brave and heroic,' says union president

(Newser) - Two SWAT officers who dropped everything to respond to the Feb. 14 Parkland school shooting in Florida have been punished as a result. Miramar Police Department's SWAT team was placed on stand-by in the chaos of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in case it was needed...

Woman Found Injured in Park Dies, and Police Need the Public's Help

They're asking for tips in the death of Christie New

(Newser) - A city worker at St. Petersburg's Lake Maggiore Park heard moans around 11:30am March 1, ultimately following them to an injured and bloody woman lying at the base of a group of trees. Responding police found that she'd suffered "severe trauma," per investigators; she was...

Florida Passes Gun-Control Bill in Wake of Parkland Shooting

Legislation raises age to buy rifles but also allows arming of teachers

(Newser) - Three weeks after a school shooting in Parkland left 17 dead, Florida lawmakers passed the state's first gun-control legislation in over 20 years, USA Today reports. According to the AP , the bill passed Wednesday raises the legal age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and institutes a three-day...

Kayaker on Otter Attack: 'It Didn't Want to Come Off'

Sue Spector needed stitches after tussle in Florida

(Newser) - Sue Spector thought the sighting of an otter would cap off her "pristine" Sunday morning spent kayaking on Florida's Braden River. The guide leading her group had said to keep an eye out for the swimmers, per the Bradenton Herald . But when one came into view, its reaction...

Florida Teacher Pulled From Class After Podcast Surfaces

Dayanna Volitich says white nationalist views espoused in podcast were 'satire'

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Florida middle school teacher is in the news following a HuffPost report published Saturday that linked her to a podcast it alleged she hosted under the name "Tiana Dalichov" that espoused white nationalist views. The teacher in question, Dayanna Volitich, has been removed from her classroom at...

Retiree Accepts Proposal After Winning Conch Shell Contest

Mary Lou Smith, 70, and Rick Race, 73, were both competing on a stage in Key West

(Newser) - A Florida retiree has won the women's division in Key West's annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest—and accepted a marriage proposal from a fellow competitor. Seventy-year-old Mary Lou Smith impressed the judges Saturday with long blasts on the fluted, pink-lined shell. And when 73-year-old Rick Race proposed on...

Biologists Find Bloated Snake, Shocked by What Comes Out

'We were ... trying to process that an animal this size could get its head around ... a deer'

(Newser) - Researchers studying invasive Burmese pythons in Florida came upon something they'd never seen before: an 11-foot-long python had consumed an entire deer that weighed more than the snake itself. The AP reports the wildlife biologists tracking the slithery creatures stumbled upon the bloated snake in Collier Seminole State Park,...

He Guessed Shooting Victim Was Older Than 15. It Saved Her
He Guessed
Shooting Victim
Was Older Than
15. It Saved Her
in case you missed it
Mar 3, 2018 11:04 AM CST

He Guessed Shooting Victim Was Older Than 15. It Saved Her

Lt. Laz Ojeda made the call to take Parkland victim not to a children's hospital, but to a closer facility

(Newser) - Maddy Wilford was shot multiple times in the Parkland school massacre and was near death as first responders tended to her after the shooting. But an observant Coral Springs Fire Department lieutenant asked the teen an important question as they prepared to whisk her away, and it was one that...

Dad Accused CNN of 'Scripting' Town Hall; CNN Releases Emails

Parkland survivor's dad admits he left critical words out of exchange he sent to media outlets

(Newser) - An emotional CNN town hall last week after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School focused on gun control and school safety, but the network soon found itself in a tiff with the family of one of the survivors. Conservative outlets went after CNN for "scripting"...

Cops Say Deputies Waited Outside School During Shooting

Officers upset armed deputies didn't enter high school to confront Parkland shooter, sources say

(Newser) - The school resource officer said to have waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead may not have been alone. The Sun-Sentinel reports Coral Springs police officers say several deputies from the Broward County Sheriff's Office also waited outside the school...

Parkland Suspect to Police: 'I'm Dealing With a Bunch of Things'

Dozens of calls to FBI, 911 regarding Nikolas Cruz released, including 1 from suspect himself

(Newser) - “I know he’s—he’s going to explode," an unidentified caller told the FBI on Jan. 5, less than six weeks before authorities say Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at a school in Parkland, Florida. The Wall Street Journal obtained a transcript of the call, which...

Florida Governor Breaks With NRA on Guns

Rick Scott wants to bar anyone under 21 from buying one; does not want to arm teachers

(Newser) - Just over a week after the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a plan Friday to keep his state's students safer: a $500 million proposal to ban bump stocks, restrict people under age 21 from purchasing guns, and prohibit the...

Killer's Last Word Before Death: 'Murderers!'

Florida executes Eric Branch for 1993 murder

(Newser) - Eric Scott Branch was executed Thursday night for the 1993 rape and murder of a University of West Florida student—and he did not go peacefully. The 47-year-old inmate screamed, thrashed on a gurney, and shouted "Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!" as the lethal injection drugs were administered, the AP...

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