Stories related to: Florida

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the wildfires scorching Florida, CNN reports. Brian Crowder, 31, was captured after being seen lighting a small fire in a field and running twice from police. "I am not saying that he is the individual connected to this arson … but I can tell you we have made an arrest," a local police chief says. More »

Fires that have raged across Florida over the last 2 days may have been deliberately set, Gov. Charlie Crist said today. Investigators have pointed to the fact that many of the blazes in different places sprang up at once as evidence of arson, CNN reports. Almost 100 homes have been damaged by the fires, which authorities say are now mostly contained. More »

A swimmer in Florida needed 20 stitches to her face after a pelican diving for a fish slammed into her. The big bird died in the collision near Tampa. "It was like I got punched in the face, super hard. Blood was gushing out," said the Ohio housecleaner who was on vacation. It was the first known case of such an encounter, officials said. Pelicans weigh as much as 30 pounds and dive from heights of 70 feet. More »

Much has been made of Barack Obama’s “Jewish problem,” but while it’s hurt him in the primaries—he’s done 10 points worse among Jewish voters—it will have little or no meaning in November, SV Date writes in the New Republic . The demographic is most politically meaningful in Florida, and 80% of Jews there dependably vote Democratic. More »

Registered Democrats will take a lead among a crucial demographic for the first time this week: Hispanic Floridians. The GOP has lost ground in its traditional stronghold for the last 2 years, and its slide might give the Democrats a shot at the critical state and its 27 electoral votes in November, Politico reports. National Dems had largely been ready to cede, but now, "They absolutely need to be in Florida," says the state chair. More »

Florida has been dumping sewage into the ocean for over 60 years, but is moving towards cleaning up its act, Reuters reports. Florida’s Senate recently passed a bill that would replace the system, which pumps 300 million gallons of partially treated waste into the Atlantic daily. Passage in the House is expected, but the state's EPA says it will take 16 years and $3 billion to close them all down. More »

A 69-year-old Florida woman called 911 after finding an 8-foot gator in her kitchen. The beast apparently crawled in through a porch screen door and an open sliding door, making its way through the living room and down a hall, reports the St. Petersburg Times . Authorities called a trapper, and the gator was caught without incident—except for being hurt slightly by a falling plate. More »

The director of a reality TV pilot has been arrested on kidnapping charges after allegedly trying to stop contestants from leaving the house where it was being filmed, ABC News reports. Four women fled the Pauper to Princess house and told neighbors to call the police. The women say they were held against their will and haven't been paid for the five weeks already spent filming. More »

Almost a year after opening, Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan’s made-to-order Catholic town is growing. Although the 1,000 residents of Ave Maria, Fla., are not exclusively Catholic, the town wears it identity on its sleeve: The only coffee shop plays Mass on TV 24/7, and the bookstores prominently display Vatican, a "papal election board game." The Telegraph pays a visit. More »

The eight Florida teens who videotaped a half-hour beating of a classmate will be tried as adults and could face life behind bars if convicted, CNN reports. The suspects face felony kidnapping charges, and three also face witness tampering raps. They seemed remorseless, a sheriff said. “They were joking: ‘I guess we won’t get to go to the beach during spring break,'" he said. More »

Florida lawmakers have passed a law that prohibits most businesses from banning employees keeping guns in their cars on company property, Reuters reports. Backers hail the measure as a victory for Second Amendment rights. Business groups, fearing an increase in workplace shootings, are urging the governor to veto the so-called "take your gun to work" bill. More »

Parents and educators are still puzzling over how a dispute among girls got so out of hand that it ended with six Florida cheerleaders giving a high school classmate a concussion in a vicious beating. Teen bullying is nothing new but the fact that the feud started on MySpace and ended up with a video posted on You Tube highlights new worries about cyberbullying, the Lakeland Ledger writes. More »

Six girls aged 14 to 17 lured another teen to a home, beat her and videotaped the ambush to put it on the Internet, Florida police say. The 16-year-old victim is recovering from a concussion and hasn't fully regained her vision. Her assailants, with whom she'd been feuding online, may be charged as adults with battery and false imprisonment, the Lakeland Ledger reports. More »

Florida and Michigan delegates will likely have to wait until June to see whether they can participate in the party’s convention, Howard Dean said on Face the Nation today. The DNC chairman said Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would rather focus on the final primaries, which will end on June 3, the AP reports. "But I think we can work it out, and I want to work it out," he said. More »

Polls in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida show Hillary Clinton faring better than Barack Obama in swing state head-to-heads with John McCain. Clinton beats the Republican by 8 points, 9 points, and 2 points, respectively, in those states while Obama wins by 4 points in the Keystone State and 1 point in the Buckeye State—and loses Florida by 9 points, McClatchy reports. More »

A flying spy drone may soon join the ranks of Miami's finest, pending FAA approval of the 14-pound bot. "Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes," says a department spokesman. The US military has been using spy drones for years, reports Reuters, and police departments around the country are interested in pressing them into service. More »

Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s controversial former pastor, has canceled scheduled appearances this week, citing security concerns. Wright was due to lead a Tampa, Fla., church's three-day revival beginning yesterday, and visit several Houston-area churches Sunday. "As much as I hate for him not to come I think it's probably prudent" to cancel, said one Texas pastor, adding that there had been threats on his life. More »

Part of a construction crane crashed into a building next to a Miami construction site this afternoon, killing two and injuring at least four, the Miami Herald reports. Workers on an unfinished 46-story luxury condo were raising an extension to connect it with the crane when the extension came loose and fell into a nearby house being used as a construction company office. More »

A Florida man died yesterday after Broward County deputies Tased him for being "naked and belligerent" in public, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Paramedics said James Garland, 41, was too violent to treat after being zapped, so deputies drove him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Family members say they may file suit against the sheriff's office. More »

Dead rats are stinking up a portion of Orlando International Airport, and the smell has workers crying foul. Construction crews renovating gates earlier this month scared the rodents into the airport, the Orlando Sentinel reports; exterminators followed, and after rats died in walls and ceilings the stench sent workers and passengers home sick and shut down a customs checkpoint. More »