Florida

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3 Teens Set Another on Fire, Police Say

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

(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...

Manatee Poo Forces Fla. Beach Closing

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

(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’...

Florida Mayor's Dad Threatens Her at Gunpoint

She'd endorsed his opponent in another mayoral race

(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...

Dem Won't Apologize for 'Die Quickly' Gag
 Dem Won't Apologize 
 for 'Die Quickly' Gag 
political hijinks

Dem Won't Apologize for 'Die Quickly' Gag

Comments about 'Republican health care plan' light up YouTube

(Newser) - 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...

Murdered Family's Dad Held in Haiti
Murdered Family's Dad Held in Haiti

Murdered Family's Dad Held in Haiti

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

(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...

Fla. Priest Is My Babydaddy: Ex-Stripper

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

(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...

Cool and Weird Places to Swim
 Cool and Weird Places to Swim 
travel

Cool and Weird Places to Swim

(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 "an
...

Harry Potter Park Opens This Spring

Visiting Muggles can buy wands, meet hippogriffs, drink butterbeer

(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...

Discovery Lands Safely in Calif.

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

(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.

Bad Fla. Weather Keeps Discovery in Orbit

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

(Newser) - 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...

Discovery Leaves Space Station, Heads for Home

(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.

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

Tax base erodes as tourists, snowbirds dwindle

(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...

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast
Crazy Ants Swarm
Gulf Coast 

Crazy Ants Swarm Gulf Coast

Tiny, frenetic munchers invade homes, snack on electrical wiring

(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...

Crist Names Aide to Senate
 Crist Names Aide to Senate 

Crist Names Aide to Senate

LeMieux is the Florida governor's former chief of staff

(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...

Fla. Couple Murder Looks Like Contract Hit
Fla. Couple Murder Looks Like Contract Hit
glossies

Fla. Couple Murder Looks Like Contract Hit

Parents of 13 special needs kids 'hated' by businessman

(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...

Claudette Hits Fla. as Hurricane Bill Forms

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Claudette made landfall on the Florida Panhandle near Fort Walton Beach early this morning after dumping heavy rains on the area. The storm has been weakening as it moves farther inland, with winds at around 40mph, and forecasters said it would probably become a tropical depression later in...

Tropical Storm Claudette Soaks Fla. Panhandle

(Newser) - Tropical Storm Claudette lashed the Florida Panhandle with heavy rain today and is expected to make landfall by midnight, the Pensacola News Journal reports. Moving northwest at 14 mph with maximum winds near 50 mph, the storm will likely land between Panama City and Destin. Authorities have put the area...

Tropical Storms Ana, Bill Aim for US Shores

Ana is the season's first named system; Bill could morph into a hurricane

(Newser) - Ana and Bill are on the move, but meteorologists aren't worried just yet, the Miami Herald reports. Both tropical storms formed in the Atlantic today and are moving westward, but a possible US landing is 5 or more days away. The National Hurricane Center says they could strike anywhere from...

Fla. Man Nabbed for Child Porn: My Cat Did It

(Newser) - A Florida man has been arrested on charges of possessing child pornography, but he claims the cat did it, reports WPBF-TV. Keith Griffin told police that his feline companion would habitually mash the keys on his keyboard while he was away from his computer, causing strange things to appear. More...

No Blood Found in Casey Anthony's Trunk

Officials release video, documents in capital murder case

(Newser) - Prosecutors in the Casey Anthony case released a flurry of documents today, including a three-dimensional animated movie of the area where her daughter’s body was found, crime scene photos, and a 1,100-page report by investigators, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Among the revelations: No blood was found in the...

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