Florida

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

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'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,' alter 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,...

'Very Troubling' Footage of Airman's Shooting Released

Florida deputy shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson before telling him to drop gun

(Newser) - A Florida deputy shot Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times before ordering him to drop his gun, body cam footage released by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office shows. The footage shows that after the 23-year-old opened the door with a lowered firearm in his hand, the deputy told him...

Florida Cops Allegedly Bust Into Wrong Home, Kill US Airman

Ben Crump, who is representing the family, wants bodycam video released

(Newser) - Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old US Air Force airman, was alone in his off-base apartment in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, around 4:30pm on Friday when someone knocked on his door. Shortly after, he was dead. A woman who was on a FaceTime call with Fortson at the time says he...

Florida Clamps Down on Balloon Releases

Bill, expected to be signed by Gov. DeSantis, would ban the practice to cut down on ocean plastic

(Newser) - The sight of a balloon sailing toward the heavens until it's little more than a speck could soon become a super rare one in Florida, where lawmakers have voted to ban the intentional release of balloons filled with any gas that's lighter than air. Under current Florida law,...

These Are the Best US States
These Are the
Best US States
May 7, 2024 4:28 PM CDT

These Are the Best US States

And, by extension, the bottom-feeders

(Newser) - Because there's nothing quite like saying na-na-na-na-boo-boo at your neighbor, US News & World Report is out with its annual rankings of the best states in the union. The survey took a look at 71 metrics in eight categories that included health care, education, natural environment, opportunity, economy, crime...

Florida's 6-Week Abortion Ban Will Be Widely Felt
Florida's 6-Week Abortion
Ban Will Be Widely Felt
the rundown
May 1, 2024 7:21 AM CDT

Florida's 6-Week Abortion Ban Will Be Widely Felt

The state had served those in other Southern states with strict abortion laws

(Newser) - As of Wednesday, a law banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant, took effect in Florida. As the Washington Post reports, the state went "from one with the fewest restrictions for the procedure in the South" to one where abortion is "...

Gaetz Says His Primary Challenger Is a 'DEI Instructor'

Florida congressman claims Kevin McCarthy recruited his challenger to run

(Newser) - Friday was Florida's qualifying deadline for federal candidates, and a primary challenger filed to run against Matt Gaetz just in the nick of time. Aaron Dimmock, a retired naval officer and aviator, is running as a Republican in the state's 1st Congressional District, which Gaetz currently represents in...

Trump Wants DeSantis to Help Close Fundraising Gap: Sources

And the sources say DeSantis agreed to help

(Newser) - Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis met in Miami on Sunday, marking the first time the two former rivals for the GOP presidential nomination have spoken since DeSantis ended his campaign in January. The meeting, first reported by the Washington Post , was confirmed by several sources who spoke anonymously to the...

One Victim in Florida Mass Shooting Is an NFL Player

Houston Texans' Tank Dell suffered 'minor wound'

(Newser) - A Houston Texans wide receiver was among 10 people shot at a Florida bar in the early hours of Sunday. Tank Dell received a "minor wound," the NFL team says in a statement, and has already been released from the hospital and is in "good spirits."...

'Toothy Airman' Found on Base's Runway

Florida base says 10-foot alligator was released in river

(Newser) - MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa says its "newest toothy Airman" has been relocated to a more suitable location than where they found it on Monday—on the runway, resting beside the landing gear of a KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft. In a Facebook post , the base shared video of...

Locals Attempt to Buy $14M Island by Chipping In $1K Each

Crowdfunding group wants to share local haunt nicknamed 'Beer Can Island'

(Newser) - A privately owned island off Tampa Bay is up for sale, and though the going price is $14 million, a group is trying to crowdfund joint ownership with a $1,000 buy-in price. According to News 6 , the nine-acre Pine Key on Paradise Island is a manmade island created by...

Podcast Subject Who Denies Killing Wife Granted Parole

Leo Schofield Jr. of the 'Bone Valley' podcast to be released into Florida halfway house April 30

(Newser) - The subject of a true-crime podcast who's maintained innocence in the killing of his wife while serving 35 years of a life sentence for the crime will soon walk free. Florida's Leo Schofield Jr., subject of the popular 2022-23 Bone Valley podcast , was granted parole on his fifth...

Florida Milkman Murder Solved After 56 Years
Florida Milkman Murder
Solved After 56 Years
in case you missed it
Apr 14, 2024 3:35 PM CDT

Florida Milkman Murder Solved After 56 Years

Killing of WWII veteran Hiram 'Ross' Grayam was county's oldest cold case

(Newser) - The Indian River County Sheriff's Office in southeast Florida says it has solved the oldest cold case in its history—the 1968 murder of WWII veteran Hiram "Ross" Grayam. The Purple Heart recipient "had faced the horrors of the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of...

Sheriff: 'Genius' Pre-Med Student Murdered His Mother

Emmanuel Espinoza allegedly confessed to the crime

(Newser) - A former high school valedictorian viciously stabbed his mother "in excess of 70 times" when she answered the door of her Florida home to greet him, law enforcement officials say. Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, allegedly killed Elvia Espinoza, a 46-year-old second-grade teacher, on Saturday afternoon in what Polk County Sheriff...

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