Florida

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

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Family of Man Killed by Cop Balks at Sheriff's $314K Bill

They want info on officer who killed him; lawyer says records fee is 'offensive'

(Newser) - When pedestrian Blane Land was struck and killed by a police officer in Jacksonville, Fla., in May, his family immediately began digging into the officer's prior conduct. As it turned out, Officer Tim James had been investigated at least 11 times by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and would...

Boy May Have Died After Contacting Fentanyl at Pool

Officials say 10-year-old is among youngest victims of opioid crisis

(Newser) - Prosecutors in Florida believe a 10-year-old boy who died with the painkiller fentanyl in his system is among the state's youngest victims of the opioid crisis, the AP reports. Preliminary toxicology tests show Alton Banks had fentanyl in his system when he collapsed and died at his home on...

Man Survives After 7K-Pound Piece of Metal Crushes His Van

Authorities are saying it's basically a miracle

(Newser) - Jesus Armando Escobar, 36, was exiting a Florida interstate on Saturday morning at the same time Antonio Santiago Wharton, 33, was driving a Mack truck loaded with scrap metal on the overpass above him. Wharton lost control of the truck going around the curve and it overturned, dumping a 7,...

Falling Mystery Meat Confounds Florida Family

Family woken up by crash of 15 pounds of frozen sausage

(Newser) - The weather in Florida can be wild, but we're not sure it's ever rained frozen meat before. WPLG reports a Deerfield Beach family was woken up by a loud noise Saturday morning. Travis Adair says it sounded "like thunder." The actual cause was less meteorological: The...

Skydiver Told Wife He Wasn't Going to Pull Cord

Costansa Litellini was 'moments too late' to save her husband

(Newser) - Costansa Litellini ran into Florida's Skydive DeLand on Tuesday begging them not to let her husband go up in a plane, the Orlando Sentinel reports. But the plane, with 27-year-old Capotorto Vitantonio inside, had already taken off. Vitantonio's body was found face down in a field a short...

Sad End for Baby Delivered After Mom Hit by Lightning

Owen Davidson died this week in Florida

(Newser) - The baby delivered last month by a woman who had been struck by lightning died this week, WBBH reports. Meghan Davidson was nine months pregnant and walking with her mother June 29 in Florida when she was hit by lightning . Davidson suffered a collapsed lung and went into cardiac arrest....

Sinkhole Swallows 2 Homes, a Boat
Sinkhole Swallows
2 Homes, a Boat
Jul 14, 2017 4:32 PM CDT

Sinkhole Swallows 2 Homes, a Boat

Yikes

(Newser) - A sinkhole that started out the size of a small swimming pool and continued to grow in Florida swallowed a boat, destroyed two homes, and prompted officials to evacuate residents from 10 other homes on Friday, the AP reports. Dramatic video showed the home, north of Tampa in Pasco County,...

Family Puzzled After Missing Cremains Turn Up on Beach

And not even on a beach in the state where they went missing

(Newser) - Authorities and relatives are at a loss to explain how the cremated remains of a Georgia woman mysteriously washed up on a Florida beach, the AP reports. The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that a box containing the ashes of an Atlanta-area woman was found by a man...

Bullet Fired in 1958 Just Claimed a Homicide Victim

Victim dies of complications related to the wound in Florida

(Newser) - A Florida man died of a gunshot wound nearly 60 years after the bullet was fired, a medical examiner says. John Henry Barrett , 77, died in May of an infection and complications related to the gunshot wound, leading the Palm Beach County medical examiner to rule it a homicide, per...

Amazing Human Chain: 'These People Are Not Drowning Today'

Bystanders at Panama City Beach in Florida step up

(Newser) - It could have been the worst story of the day. Instead, it's one of the best. Dozens of strangers formed a human chain and saved a family from drowning at Panama City Beach in Florida, per the News Herald . The Washington Post reports that 10 people were rescued in...

Fatal Airbag Explosion Triggered by a Hammer

Man killed in Florida while working on Honda Accord

(Newser) - Another person has died as a result of an exploding Takata airbag, though in this case the car involved wasn't even in a crash. Honda says it recently learned about an incident on June 18, 2016, in which a man was using a hammer to make repairs on a...

These 10 Cities Better Hope They Avoid a Hurricane

The damage would be brutal: 24/7 Wall St.

(Newser) - Florida may be the place to go for sunshine, but it's the place to escape if a hurricane hits. The state is home to a number of the US cities that are "vulnerable to the greatest damage" at the hands of a hurricane, reports 24/7 Wall St , which...

Venus Williams Granted Emergency Order in Crash Suit

Judge temporarily blocked inspection of car involved in the crash

(Newser) - Venus Williams is set to take on Japan's Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon Friday, but she's already scored a tiny win in a different kind of court. A Palm Beach County judge on Wednesday granted an emergency request by Williams' attorney to temporarily block an inspection of a car...

Florida Siblings' Cupcake Fight Ends in Arrests

Police say Eddie Yaddow kicked his pregnant sister in the stomach

(Newser) - Sweets turned sour early last Saturday in Florida when a pregnant woman and her brother were arrested following a cupcake fight, Fox 5 reports. Police say 24-year-old Latanya Daugherty and 30-year-old Eddie Yaddow were arguing about who should punish her child when Daugherty threw cupcakes at her brother. Yaddow then...

Name Change Coming for Controversial Fla. Streets

Names of Confederate generals in African-American neighborhood are being nixed

(Newser) - City commissioners in Florida have agreed to begin the process of changing the names of streets named for Confederate generals in the heart of an African-American neighborhood. During a contentious three-hour meeting Monday, the Hollywood City Commission voted 5-2 to begin renaming Lee Street, named after Confederate Gen. Robert E....

Judge: Florida's Updated 'Stand Your Ground' Law Unconstitutional

Other courts can still follow new version of law

(Newser) - Florida lawmakers modified the state's "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law this year, and a Miami judge ruled Monday that the updated version of the law is unconstitutional, the Bradenton Herald reports. The new version of the law requires prosecutors to disprove a defendant's claim of self-defense at...

Woman Killed After Going From Homeless to Six Figures

Makeva Jenkins was shot by a home invader Thursday in Florida

(Newser) - “We overcame being homeless in 2013/2014 ... to now making multi six figures," Makeva Jenkins posted Wednesday night on Facebook . Less than three hours later, the Florida mother of three was dead, People reports. According to the Palm Beach Post , a masked man entered Jenkins' home early Thursday and...

Athletes (Dogs) Test Positive for Drugs (Cocaine) in Florida

The greyhounds' trainer has had his license suspended

(Newser) - At least 12 greyhound racing dogs in Florida have tested positive for cocaine, and their trainer has had his license suspended, the AP reports. It's at least the second instance this year of racing greyhounds testing positive for cocaine. The dogs raced at Bestbet Orange Park near Jacksonville. The...

Florida City Under Siege by 'Butt Graffiti'

'It's not very creative'

(Newser) - "It is clearly an image of a butt," a coffee shop employee tells Fox 13 regarding a piece of graffiti that recently appeared in their bathroom. But police have a different view. "What it looks like to us is vandalism," Assistant Police Chief Jim Previterra says....

Venus Williams Sued for Wrongful Death

Lawsuit accuses her of running red light, causing fatal car crash

(Newser) - Venus Williams is being sued for wrongful death over the fatal car crash she was involved in earlier this month. A police report states Williams was at fault when she entered a Florida intersection June 9 and was T-boned by another vehicle that had the right of way; the couple...

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