Florida

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

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Florida Getting Drenched by 'Wall of Water'

Storm expected to continue through Thursday

(Newser) - Florida is being absolutely deluged right now, and while the intense rain is not officially part of a tropical storm or depression, the National Hurricane Center says there's a 20% chance it could turn into one over the next week. As much as 7 inches of rain fell in...

School Board Bans Ban This Book
School Board Bans
Ban This Book
Jun 12, 2024 12:53 PM CDT

School Board Bans Ban This Book

Florida board members say it teaches 'rebellion of school board authority'

(Newser) - In a move that author Alan Gratz calls "incredibly ironic," a Florida school board has banned his book Ban This Book. The 2017 book is about a fictional fourth grader who starts a secret library of banned books in her locker after a librarian tells her that her...

Judge Strikes Down Florida Transgender Law

Ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional, federal judge says

(Newser) - The federal judge who blocked part of Florida's law on transgender care for minors last year struck the law down in a decision Tuesday, saying key parts of it are unconstitutional. "Gender identity is real," Judge Robert Hinkle of Federal District Court in Tallahassee said in his...

Buc-ee's Brings a World Record Home to Texas

Luling store officially recognized as world's largest convenience store

(Newser) - Sevierville, Tennessee, just lost its status as home of the world's largest convenience store. A larger Buc-ee's, with over 75,000 square feet of store space, 120 gas pumps, and "thousands of snack, meal and drink options," opened Monday in Luling, Texas, per a release . A...

$450K of Cocaine Washes Ashore in Alabama

Similar stashes have turned up in Florida recently

(Newser) - They're not your usual beachcomber discoveries: About $450,000 worth of cocaine washed ashore on an Alabama beach last week, after similar stashes turned up along the Florida coast:
  • Alabama: The Mobile County Sheriff's Office says 55 pounds of the drug wrapped in 25 individual bricks washed up
...

Teen Valedictorian Is the 4th in the Family

Florida's Ryleigh Rendina is last of her siblings to graduate first in her class

(Newser) - Ryleigh Rendina was recently featured in Florida Today's "Top Scholars" roundup , with goals to major in biomedical engineering and become an emergency veterinarian. The 18-year-old is also this year's valedictorian at Astronaut High in Titusville, and her parents are super proud—for the fourth time. Rendina has...

These States' Economies Are Pulling Their Weight

Washington tops WalletHub's rankings

(Newser) - How well the US economy is doing is dependent on how well the states themselves are doing, and WalletHub looked at all 50 states and the District of Columbia to see which ones boast the best economies. Three main categories are in play: economic activity (including startup activity, exports per...

Passenger Tracks Missing Bag to Airport Worker's House
Passenger Tracks Luggage
to Airport Worker's Home
in case you missed it
Jun 9, 2024 7:20 AM CDT

Passenger Tracks Luggage to Airport Worker's Home

Fired employee is now charged with theft

(Newser) - An airport employee in Florida has been charged with felony theft after a passenger tracked her stolen luggage to the employee's house. After her March 3 flight out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was canceled, university student Paola Garcia was told to pick up her checked bag on a...

Shark Attacks Hit Florida Coast, 4 Miles Apart

Walton County incidents injure 2 teens and a woman, who had part of her arm amputated

(Newser) - Three people in Walton County, Florida, were attacked by sharks Friday within a couple of hours of each other, including two teens. South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford tells ABC News that around 1:20pm local time, a 45-year-old woman was swimming near a sandbar with her husband off...

No, This Creature Wandering Florida Isn't a Gator

Florida woman's video of nearly 6-foot-long monitor lizard in Sarasota County goes viral

(Newser) - A mother-daughter car ride in Florida's Sarasota County led to quite a sighting last month. McClatchy News reports that Renee Aland was driving in the southwest city of North Port on May 20 when she did a "double take" at something she spotted along the side of the...

Report: Pro Golfer Died of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Cops still to confirm that detail but say Grayson Murray's body was found in his Florida home

(Newser) - More details are emerging on pro golfer Grayson Murray, who took his own life last week at the age of 30. Per the Palm Beach Post , Murray's body was found late Saturday morning at his residence in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with no signs of foul play and no...

Miami Heat Wave 'Completely Off the Charts'

This is May!?

(Newser) - There's still a week left in the month, and already it's the hottest May ever recorded in Miami as gauged by the heat index—leaving residents fearing the intense heat that surely awaits in summer. Late last week, the city's National Weather Service issued a heat advisory,...

DeSantis Law Gets On-Air Rebuke From a Torqued Meteorologist

NBC Miami's Steve McLaughlin goes off on Florida for scrubbing climate change efforts from state law

(Newser) - Not everyone is happy with Gov. Ron DeSantis' latest legislation minimizing efforts to fight climate change in the state of Florida—including, apparently, Steve McLaughlin, a meteorologist for NBC Miami. McLaughlin posted a minute-long video online on Saturday talking about the new law set to take effect in July, in...

'Trump Force One' Gets Into Fender Bender at Airport

The Boeing 757 clipped a VistaJet in West Palm Beach, Florida; not clear if Trump was on board

(Newser) - Donald Trump's private plane had a seemingly minor mishap in Florida over the weekend. WFLA reports that on Sunday, a Boeing 757 with the registration number N757AF clipped an empty private jet parked at West Palm Beach International Airport, with an FAA notice announcing the moving plane was taxiing...

DeSantis Moves Against Climate Change Battle

Governor signs legislation to 'keep windmills off our beaches,' alters wording in state law

(Newser) - Gov. Ron DeSantis can't eliminate climate change as an issue, but he acted Wednesday to take it out of Florida government. The Republican signed legislation removing most references to climate change in state law and barring its use as a priority in setting energy policy, the Washington Post reports....

Driver in Crash That Killed 8 Had Just Crashed Another Car

Bryan Maclean Howard reportedly told troopers he was 'driving very carefully'

(Newser) - The driver of a truck that crashed into a bus Tuesday morning, killing eight farmworkers and injuring 40 more, had been "in an auto accident at least three days prior to this accident," a Florida judge said on Wednesday. Bryan Maclean Howard, who faces eight counts of DUI-manslaughter,...

Florida Driver Faces 8 Counts of DUI-Manslaughter

Bryan Howard was driving pickup that sideswiped farmworker bus

(Newser) - The Florida Highway Patrol has arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a farmworker bus early Tuesday, killing eight, on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter. Bryan Maclean Howard, 41, faces eight counts of DUI-Manslaughter, the FHP said in a statement. No further details were released, including...

DeSantis Bans Lab-Grown Meat
Lab-Grown Meat Is
Now Banned in 2 States
UPDATED
May 14, 2024 1:39 PM CDT

Lab-Grown Meat Is Now Banned in 2 States

Alabama follows Florida's lead

(Newser) - Alabama has become the second state to ban the sale of a kind of meat that isn't being widely sold. Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a law banning, "the manufacture, sale, or distribution of food products made from cultured animal cells," aka lab-grown meat or "cultivated"...

Florida Bus Crash Leaves 8 Dead, Dozens Injured
Florida Bus Crash Leaves
8 Dead, Dozens Injured
UPDATED
May 14, 2024 12:08 PM CDT

Florida Bus Crash Leaves 8 Dead, Dozens Injured

Passengers were farm workers in Marion County

(Newser) - A bus crash in north-central Florida has left at least eight people dead and dozens more injured, reports CNN and the Ocala Star-Banner . The bus of farm workers overturned early Tuesday in Marion County, say authorities. CNN has the number of injured at 45, and the Ocala newspaper says eight...

Girl, 15, Killed in Boating Hit-and-Run

Ella Adler was celebrating a friend's birthday in Florida

(Newser) - It was supposed to be a fun day: Ella Adler was waterskiing to celebrate a friend's birthday Saturday afternoon not far from Miami, Florida, when the 15-year-old fell into the water while being towed. Another boat hit her and then sped away, and Ella ultimately died from her injuries,...

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