Florida: Recent News About the Sunshine State - Page 179

Florida Police Hunt for Missing 5-Year-Old

Feb 11, 2009 3:42 PM CST

Florida Police Hunt for Missing 5-Year-Old

Girl was most likely taken from her bed, authorities say

(Newser) - A 5-year-old girl is missing in Florida, and police say she was most likely abducted from her trailer home in rural Florida, CNN reports. Her father's girlfriend reported Haleigh Cummings missing at 3 am yesterday, seven hours after reportedly putting her to bed. Police are treating everyone they interview—including...

Obama Rallies
Support in
Hard-Hit
Fort Myers

Feb 10, 2009 11:45 AM CST

Obama Rallies Support in Hard-Hit Fort Myers

'You have seen hardship,' Obama tells supporters

(Newser) - President Obama headed to Fort Myers, Fla., today to rally support for his economic stimulus plan, telling residents “when the town is burning, you don't check party labels. Everybody needs to grab a hose,” the Miami Herald reports. Obama picked Fort Myers because its county has the highest...

Obama Visit Shines Light on Florida's Gloomy Outlook

Feb 10, 2009 11:05 AM CST

Obama Visit Shines Light on Florida's Gloomy Outlook

Prez follows long tradition of bemoaning Florida's unsustainability

(Newser) - When President Obama chose Fort Myers, Fla., to plug his stimulus plan, he magnified an already intense media glare on the state’s disastrous real estate market, reports the Miami Herald. The scrutiny continues in a long article in the current New Yorker—titled “Ponzi State”—and a...

Police Slap Wayward Driver With 50 Tickets

Feb 6, 2009 7:32 PM CST

Police Slap Wayward Driver With 50 Tickets

Cops rack up violations after Fla. man leads dangerous chase

(Newser) - Florida police had already revoked or suspended his driver's license 34 times. Today Elvis Alonzo Barrett, 46, led cops in two cities on a chase through red lights and against freeway traffic before smashing his SUV, the South-Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Aside from driving and cocaine charges, Boynton Beach police...

Florida GOPer Resigns After Tasteless Katrina Joke

Feb 6, 2009 9:30 AM CST

Florida GOPer Resigns After Tasteless Katrina Joke

Resigns after email mocking trapped "blacks"

(Newser) - Carol Carter, a Florida Republican committeewoman, isn’t racist. It’s just that she likes Katrina jokes. So much that she emailed this one around last week: “How can 2,000,000 blacks get into Washington, DC in 1 day in sub zero temps when 200,000 couldn't get...

Caylee Memorial
Set for Next Week

Feb 5, 2009 3:24 PM CST

Caylee Memorial Set for Next Week

(Newser) - A public memorial for toddler Caylee Anthony, whose mother Casey is charged with her murder, will be held at a Florida church Tuesday, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The service will be open to the public, but the family is reserving the right to deny certain people entry. No cameras or...

Spend V-Day With LiLo and Sam

Feb 5, 2009 9:18 AM CST

Spend V-Day With LiLo and Sam

Couple to host party in Florida

(Newser) - No Valentine’s Day plans yet? Fear not: You can spend the most romantic night of the year with power couple Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson—assuming they don’t break up again first, Perez Hilton reports. LiLo is hosting a party at a Florida nightclub, “with music...

Fla. Gov Charlie Crist Eyes 2010 Senate Race

Feb 2, 2009 5:21 PM CST

Fla. Gov Charlie Crist Eyes 2010 Senate Race

(Newser) - Florida's GOP Gov. Charlie Crist is mulling a 2010 Senate run that would put him within range of the Oval Office in 2012, the Washington Post reports. But he faces a crowded field when one-term Sen. Mel Martinez steps down: A host of state lawmakers have tossed in their...

Anthony Defense Granted Access to Crime Scene

Jan 30, 2009 5:14 PM CST

Anthony Defense Granted Access to Crime Scene

Lawyer also says he'll seek new venue for trial of mom accused of murdering toddler

(Newser) - A judge ruled today that Casey Anthony’s defense team must have access to the scene where Caylee Anthony’s body was found, but denied a request for information from an unofficial search group, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Attorneys for the mother accused of murdering her young daughter had sought...

It's Feeding Time: 1,000 Sharks Invade Florida Coast

Jan 30, 2009 2:35 PM CST

It's Feeding Time: 1,000 Sharks Invade Florida Coast

Unwelcome visitors force beach closures

(Newser) - Cue the Jaws theme music: At least 1,000 sharks have invaded the shores of South Florida, reports Palm Beach’s WFLX-TV. Beaches have been closed to swimmers as the demons of the deep hunt schools of migrating fish along the Florida coastline. Officials say the risk is particularly...

Fla. Firm Cancels Caylee Doll

Jan 27, 2009 2:26 PM CST

Fla. Firm Cancels Caylee Doll

Toy plays You Are My Sunshine when belly button is pushed

(Newser) - A Florida company has thought better of its decision to sell a doll bearing the name of slain toddler Caylee Anthony, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The “Inspirational Caylee Sunshine Doll” was to go on sale today for $29.99; it plays the song You Are My Sunshine when its...

Denied Rate Hike, State Farm to Axe Fla. Home Insurance

Jan 27, 2009 1:34 PM CST

Denied Rate Hike, State Farm to Axe Fla. Home Insurance

Company holds 1.2M policies in state hit hard, and often, by nature

(Newser) - Citing a “weakened financial position,” State Farm’s Florida operation is planning to completely exit the home insurance business there within 2 years, the Miami Herald reports. Such a move would need regulatory approval, and require a 180-day heads-up to affected homeowners. The move comes after the insurer,...

Lehman CEO
Sells Mansion to
Wife—for $100

Jan 26, 2009 6:44 AM CST

Lehman CEO Sells Mansion to Wife—for $100

But Fuld's attempt to evade creditors may not work

(Newser) - The housing market is weak, but the $13 million mansion of fallen Lehman CEO Richard Fuld on the Florida coast fetched just $100 last November, reports Reuters. So who forked over the C-note for the seaside property? Fuld's wife Kathleen, famous for carrying her Hermès purchases in generic shopping...

Caylee Anthony Grandpa Ponders Suicide

Jan 23, 2009 10:22 AM CST

Caylee Anthony Grandpa Ponders Suicide

Accused Casey's dad hospitalized after holing up in motel, emailing

(Newser) - The grandfather of slain toddler Caylee Anthony was involuntarily hospitalized today after he was found in a search triggered by suicidal text messages to his family, MSNBC reports. George Anthony disappeared last night after sending text messages to his family indicating that he “wanted to end his life,”...

Actor Nearly Killed by Prop Gun

Jan 21, 2009 2:34 PM CST

Actor Nearly Killed by Prop Gun

Unexpectedly loaded revolver shakes up Of Mice and Men rehearsal

(Newser) - A Florida theater company’s production of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men got a little too real Monday when a prop gun almost killed an actor in rehearsal, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. A revolver used in the play’s final scene—in which the character Lennie is shot—turned...

Heart Sticker Adorned Duct Tape Covering Caylee's Mouth

Jan 21, 2009 2:08 PM CST

Heart Sticker Adorned Duct Tape Covering Caylee's Mouth

Pooh blanket was also with body, cops say

(Newser) - A heart-shaped sticker was placed on the duct tape covering 2-year-old Caylee Anthony's mouth, revealed Florida prosecutors in hundreds of legal pages released today. A Winnie the Pooh blanket accompanied the child's clothing inside the cloth laundry bag that held the toddler's remains, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Florida 'Mini-Madoff'
Missing With $350M

Jan 17, 2009 7:48 AM CST

Florida 'Mini-Madoff' Missing With $350M

Police searching for fund manager after clients complain of missing millions

(Newser) - A Florida hedge fund manager is missing along with hundreds of millions of dollars of his clients' money, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports. Art Nadel, 75, was reported missing Wednesday after his wife found a suicide note. Stunned investors have been told that Nadel's funds, thought to have totaled $350 million,...

Strong Candidates Give GOP Hope for Open Senate Seats

ANALYSIS

Jan 14, 2009 10:40 AM CST

Strong Candidates Give GOP Hope for Open Senate Seats

No dearth of Republican recruits for 2010 races in Fla., Mo., Ohio

(Newser) - Don’t let the stories about how grim 2010 looks for the Senate Republicans fool you. The spate of retirements in swing states is no boon, to be sure, but, Politico reports, the GOP will have no trouble coming up with good candidates in Florida, Ohio, and Missouri. A state-by-state...

Death Hoax Pilot Captured
After Apparent Suicide Try

Jan 13, 2009 11:27 PM CST

Death Hoax Pilot Captured After Apparent Suicide Try

Accused swindler found in Florida campground with wrist slit

(Newser) - A businessman believed to have faked his own death by jumping out of a plane has been captured in Florida, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports. Law enforcement sources say Marcus Schrenker was found at a campground, alive but with his wrists slit. The fugitive had emailed a friend Monday...

Florida County Seeks Ban on Beach Bums

Jan 13, 2009 3:34 AM CST