Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Florida

Florida stories: 371 news summaries

1 - 20 of 371 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 19 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

UPDATED

Fla. Shooting Spree Suspect Arrested

'Lone gunman' Jason Rodriguez found at his mother's Orlando home

Nov 6, 09 1:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Jason Rodriguez, the suspect in today's shooting spree at an office complex in downtown Orlando, Fla., is in police custody. During a manhunt in the area surrounded area following the shooting, which left one dead and five injured, a SWAT team located the suspect at his mother’s house. Rodriguez,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Orlando • mass shootings • Jason Rodriguez • Orlando shooting • Jason Rodriguez Orlando FL

updated


 1 Dead, 5 Injured in 
 Orlando Shooting Spree 

Police still hunting for the gunman

Nov 6, 09 1:05 PM CST
(Newser) - One person is dead and another five people have been shot after a gunman opened fire in an office complex in downtown Orlando, Fla., reports the Sentinel . Police, who initially reported more victims, are still looking for the suspect, identified as 40-year-old Jason Rodriguez. He is a former employee of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Orlando • mass shootings • workplace safety • Jason Rodriguez • Orlando shooting • Jason Rodriguez Orlando FL

Missing Baby Found Alive Under Bed

Babysitter, parents to
be charged in Fla.
girl's disappearance

Nov 5, 09 4:06 AM CST
(Newser) - A 7-month old Florida baby reported missing 5 days ago has been found alive in a box under her babysitter's bed. Search teams spent days looking for Shannon Dedrick in the woodland around her family's trailer. Police plan to file charges against Dedrick's mother, her husband, and the babysitter, AP... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • baby • missing child • babysitter • Shannon Dedrick

 Wandering Manatee Safe in Fla. 

'Ilya' had gotten as far as CT, rescued near refinery in NJ

Oct 29, 09 1:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ilya, a 10-foot, 1,100-pound manatee spotted in Connecticut waters 2 weeks ago, is safely recuperating at a Florida aquarium before being released back into the wild. Ilya was rescued 2 days ago wallowing in the warm discharge of a New Jersey oil refinery, but neither that nor his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • New Jersey • Connecticut • oil refineries • animal rescue groups • marine mammals • Manatees • aquarium • Ilya the manatee

Democratic Rep. Wexler Will Resign Fla. Seat

48-year-old seeks private-sector paycheck with kids in college

Oct 13, 09 7:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Robert Wexler, a seven-term Democrat from Florida, is set to resign his house seat for a public-policy position. Though some Washington insiders speculate that Wexler, 48, will head the US Agency for International Development, others tell Politico that, with kids in college, Wexler needs an income bigger than a government... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • college tuition • House Democrats • US Agency for International Development • private sector • Robert Wexler • public policy • safe seat

3 Teens Set Another on Fire, Police Say

15-year-old victim
in Florida will be in hospital for 5 months

Oct 13, 09 5:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - Three Florida teens have been charged with the brutal crime of dousing another teenager with a flammable liquid and setting him on fire. The 15-year-old victim, who was sitting by a pool at the time of the attack, is in serious condition and is expected to remain hospitalized for 5... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • arson • juveniles • burn victim • juvenile crime • burned

 Manatee Poo Forces 
 Fla. Beach Closing 

'It was disgusting, but mystifying,' one resident says

Oct 9, 09 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Florida beach has reopened after a deluge of manatee poo forced it to close. Vero Beach city employees spent hours burying what may have been a mile-long stretch of dung. Environmental officials blamed the mess on unusual wind patterns. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and I’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Atlantic Ocean • beach • Manatees • poop • Vero Beach, Fla. • feces

Florida Mayor's Dad Threatens Her at Gunpoint

She'd endorsed his opponent in another mayoral race

Oct 8, 09 12:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Local politics took a bizarre turn in Florida’s Broward County Tuesday night, when Mayor Stacy Ritter’s father—an 84-year-old World War II veteran—showed up at her home with a gun and threatened her. After a brief struggle, Ritter convinced her dad, Edward Portner, to let her go... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • local politics • Broward County • gun safety

political hijinks

 Dem Won't Apologize 
 for 'Die Quickly' Gag 

Comments about 'Republican health care plan' light up YouTube

Sep 30, 09 11:20 AM CDT
(AP) - Florida Rep. Alan Grayson is refusing to apologize for his snarky statement on the House floor that Republicans want Americans to “die quickly.” Last night, Grayson took the floor and declared that he had, after much probing, determined that Republicans had a two part plan: Don’t get... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • House of Representatives • partisanship • apology • health care reform • House Democrats • Alan Grayson

Murdered Family's Dad Held in Haiti

Mesac Damas is a 'person of interest' in Fla. slayings of 6

Sep 21, 09 5:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Haitian National Police have apprehended a man believed to be the husband and father of the woman and five children found murdered Saturday in their Florida home, the Naples Daily News reports. Mesac Damas, who flew to Haiti Friday, is not officially a suspect in the case. He is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • murder • Haiti • homicide • Mesac Damas • Guerline Damas • Naples, Fla. • Haitian National Police

 Fla. Priest Is My 
 Babydaddy: Ex-Stripper 

Woman took payoff over 'inappropriate relationship' with same father 3 years ago

Sep 21, 09 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Vatican famously frowns on randy clergy, but Rome is surely burning over this one—former stripper Beatrice Hernandez tells CBS4 that a Florida priest fathered her baby, and she's seeking a restraining order after he attacked her for demanding a DNA test. Hernandez, who says her relationship with Father... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • pregnancy • priest • stripper • love child • Catholic priest • Alberto Cutié • David Dueppen • Beatrice Hernandez

travel

 Cool and Weird Places to Swim 


Sep 19, 09 5:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - If you love swimming but tire of the ordinary and the chlorine-scented, consider these "unusual or cool places" uncovered by WebUrbanist:
  • The Dead Sea: Lie back and read a good book in the world's saltiest body of water, which will likely keep you afloat while delivering "
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • travel • Zimbabwe • swimming • Black Sea • Puerto Rico • Gulf of Mexico • Dead Sea • jellyfish • underwater • Southeast Asia

 

 Harry Potter Park 
 Opens This Spring 

Visiting Muggles can buy wands, meet hippogriffs, drink butterbeer

Sep 15, 09 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Get your wands ready: the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens next spring, Universal Orlando announced. Muggles will enter through the village of Hogsmeade, where they’ll visit Hogsmeade station, Zonko’s joke shop, and the Three Broomsticks pub to sample some butterbeer. But the main event, called Harry Potter... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • entertainment • Harry Potter • Universal Studios • theme park • Wizarding World of Harry Potter

 Discovery Lands Safely in Calif. 

14-day mission ends on West Coast after poor weather scrubs Florida attempt again

Sep 11, 09 8:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - After bad weather kept it from heading to Florida for the second consecutive day, the space shuttle Discovery touched down safely in California moments ago, Space.com reports. The crew returns after a 14-day mission that including resupplying and repairing the International Space Station. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • California • space • space shuttle • International Space Station • Discovery space shuttle • Discovery • Edwards Air Force Base

 Bad Fla. Weather 
 Keeps Discovery in Orbit 

Today's attempts scrubbed; NASA aims for tomorrow afternoon, which looks little better

Sep 10, 09 6:56 PM CDT
(AP) - Bad weather has delayed space shuttle Discovery's homecoming for at least a day. NASA decided conditions were too poor to bring Discovery back to Florida tonight, skipping both landing windows and ordered the seven astronauts to keep circling the world for a 14th day. Their next chance at returning will... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • California • severe weather • delay • Discovery • Earth orbit

(Newser) - The shuttle Discovery detached from the International Space Station today and began its journey home to Earth, Space.com reports. The 13-day mission help resupply and repair the station; the seven crewmembers are scheduled to return to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:05pm Thursday. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • space shuttle • Earth • Kennedy Space Center • International Space Station • landing • Discovery space shuttle • Discovery • Earth orbit

OPINION

 
 Florida's a Dying 
 Ponzi Scheme, 
 But I Love It  

Tax base erodes as tourists, snowbirds dwindle

Sep 6, 09 3:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Florida resident Diane Roberts isn’t surprised—or even upset—that her state is collapsing. The Sunshine State's population is dwindling for the first time since World War II as tourists and snowbirds pull out, eroding the tax base that funded just about everything. "Our whole economy is more... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • Florida • recession • population • collapse • Ponzi scheme

Crazy Ants Swarm
Gulf Coast 

Tiny, frenetic munchers invade homes, snack on  electrical wiring

Sep 5, 09 5:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Billions of "crazy ants" are munching their way through Gulf Coast counties in Florida and Texas, the Wall Street Journal reports. The tiny insects, believed to have originated in the Caribbean, happily make their homes in human dwellings and are tough to dislodge once they move in. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Texas • ants • infestation • insects • exterminators

 Crist Names Aide to Senate 

LeMieux is the Florida governor's former chief of staff

Aug 28, 09 12:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist has appointed his former campaign manager and chief of staff to fill the Senate seat of Mel Martinez, MSNBC reports. George LeMieux will represent the state until next year's election, when Crist himself will vie for the GOP nod. “George is bright, capable, and an... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • Senate • Charlie Crist • Mel Martinez • governor • Election 2010 • political appointment • Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee • George LeMieux

glossies

Fla. Couple Murder Looks Like Contract Hit

Parents of 13 special needs kids 'hated'
by businessman

Aug 21, 09 3:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - The murder of Bud Billings and his wife Melanie is looking more like a contract hit than an In Cold Blood-style robbery gone wrong, Tim Padgett writes in Time. The tale centers on a boastful ex-Karate instructor in Pensacola, Fla., Leonard Gonzalez, who tells police he turned down the murder-for-hire... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Florida • murder • conspiracy • killings • loan • contract hit • Pensacola

1 - 20 of 371 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 ... 19 Next >>


from our news partners