Florida

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Governor Signs 'Historic' Gun Bill After Parkland

Meanwhile, Parkland 911 calls were released

(Newser) - Among the newly released recordings of 911 calls from the Parkland school shooting, the parents of a 17-year-old girl can be heard telling a dispatcher that their daughter is texting from a classroom where the door's glass was shot out. "Three shot in her room. Oh, my God....

Sunday Could Be Florida's Last Time Change

Lawmakers want to make Daylight Saving Time permanent

(Newser) - The clocks go forward once again on Sunday—and in Florida, they don't ever want to change them back again. The "Sunshine Protection Bill, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the state, passed the state Senate Tuesday with just two votes against it, CNN reports. It...

Officers Who Rushed to Parkland Shooting Were Punished

Their 'intentions were brave and heroic,' says union president

(Newser) - Two SWAT officers who dropped everything to respond to the Feb. 14 Parkland school shooting in Florida have been punished as a result. Miramar Police Department's SWAT team was placed on stand-by in the chaos of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in case it was needed...

Woman Found Injured in Park Dies, and Police Need the Public's Help

They're asking for tips in the death of Christie New

(Newser) - A city worker at St. Petersburg's Lake Maggiore Park heard moans around 11:30am March 1, ultimately following them to an injured and bloody woman lying at the base of a group of trees. Responding police found that she'd suffered "severe trauma," per investigators; she was...

Florida Passes Gun-Control Bill in Wake of Parkland Shooting

Legislation raises age to buy rifles but also allows arming of teachers

(Newser) - Three weeks after a school shooting in Parkland left 17 dead, Florida lawmakers passed the state's first gun-control legislation in over 20 years, USA Today reports. According to the AP , the bill passed Wednesday raises the legal age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and institutes a three-day...

Kayaker on Otter Attack: 'It Didn't Want to Come Off'

Sue Spector needed stitches after tussle in Florida

(Newser) - Sue Spector thought the sighting of an otter would cap off her "pristine" Sunday morning spent kayaking on Florida's Braden River. The guide leading her group had said to keep an eye out for the swimmers, per the Bradenton Herald . But when one came into view, its reaction...

Florida Teacher Pulled From Class After Podcast Surfaces

Dayanna Volitich says white nationalist views espoused in podcast were 'satire'

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Florida middle school teacher is in the news following a HuffPost report published Saturday that linked her to a podcast it alleged she hosted under the name "Tiana Dalichov" that espoused white nationalist views. The teacher in question, Dayanna Volitich, has been removed from her classroom at...

Retiree Accepts Proposal After Winning Conch Shell Contest

Mary Lou Smith, 70, and Rick Race, 73, were both competing on a stage in Key West

(Newser) - A Florida retiree has won the women's division in Key West's annual Conch Shell Blowing Contest—and accepted a marriage proposal from a fellow competitor. Seventy-year-old Mary Lou Smith impressed the judges Saturday with long blasts on the fluted, pink-lined shell. And when 73-year-old Rick Race proposed on...

Biologists Find Bloated Snake, Shocked by What Comes Out

'We were ... trying to process that an animal this size could get its head around ... a deer'

(Newser) - Researchers studying invasive Burmese pythons in Florida came upon something they'd never seen before: an 11-foot-long python had consumed an entire deer that weighed more than the snake itself. The AP reports the wildlife biologists tracking the slithery creatures stumbled upon the bloated snake in Collier Seminole State Park,...

He Guessed Shooting Victim Was Older Than 15. It Saved Her
He Guessed
Shooting Victim
Was Older Than
15. It Saved Her
in case you missed it
Mar 3, 2018 11:04 AM CST

He Guessed Shooting Victim Was Older Than 15. It Saved Her

Lt. Laz Ojeda made the call to take Parkland victim not to a children's hospital, but to a closer facility

(Newser) - Maddy Wilford was shot multiple times in the Parkland school massacre and was near death as first responders tended to her after the shooting. But an observant Coral Springs Fire Department lieutenant asked the teen an important question as they prepared to whisk her away, and it was one that...

Dad Accused CNN of 'Scripting' Town Hall; CNN Releases Emails

Parkland survivor's dad admits he left critical words out of exchange he sent to media outlets

(Newser) - An emotional CNN town hall last week after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School focused on gun control and school safety, but the network soon found itself in a tiff with the family of one of the survivors. Conservative outlets went after CNN for "scripting"...

Cops Say Deputies Waited Outside School During Shooting

Officers upset armed deputies didn't enter high school to confront Parkland shooter, sources say

(Newser) - The school resource officer said to have waited outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead may not have been alone. The Sun-Sentinel reports Coral Springs police officers say several deputies from the Broward County Sheriff's Office also waited outside the school...

Parkland Suspect to Police: 'I'm Dealing With a Bunch of Things'

Dozens of calls to FBI, 911 regarding Nikolas Cruz released, including 1 from suspect himself

(Newser) - “I know he’s—he’s going to explode," an unidentified caller told the FBI on Jan. 5, less than six weeks before authorities say Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at a school in Parkland, Florida. The Wall Street Journal obtained a transcript of the call, which...

Florida Governor Breaks With NRA on Guns

Rick Scott wants to bar anyone under 21 from buying one; does not want to arm teachers

(Newser) - Just over a week after the murder of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida Gov. Rick Scott unveiled a plan Friday to keep his state's students safer: a $500 million proposal to ban bump stocks, restrict people under age 21 from purchasing guns, and prohibit the...

Killer's Last Word Before Death: 'Murderers!'

Florida executes Eric Branch for 1993 murder

(Newser) - Eric Scott Branch was executed Thursday night for the 1993 rape and murder of a University of West Florida student—and he did not go peacefully. The 47-year-old inmate screamed, thrashed on a gurney, and shouted "Murderers! Murderers! Murderers!" as the lethal injection drugs were administered, the AP...

School Officer Waited Outside During Parkland Shooting: Sheriff

'He never went in'

(Newser) - “I am devastated,” the Miami Herald quotes Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel as saying. “Sick to my stomach. He never went in.” Israel suspended Scot Peterson—the school resource officer assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland—pending an investigation into his actions...

Florida Lawmakers' Decisions on Guns, Porn Draw Outrage

State reps decline to consider ban on assault rifles, declare pornography a health risk

(Newser) - Lawmakers in Florida are waking up to headlines like these: "Florida House refuses to debate guns, but declares porn dangerous" from the Washington Post . "Florida State House Declares Porn Is Health Risk, Assault Weapons Totally Fine Though" in Gizmodo . "Florida declares porn a health risk but blocks...

GOP Aide Fired for Calling Shooting Survivors 'Actors'

Conspiracy theories are spreading

(Newser) - An aide to a Republican lawmaker in Florida was fired Tuesday for spreading a bizarre conspiracy theory about survivors of the Parkland school shooting. Benjamin Kelly, a staffer to state Rep. Shawn Harrison, used a government email account to email the Tampa Bay Times , claiming that two students filmed speaking...

Teens Walk Out of School, March 10 Miles to Shooting Site

Florida students demand end to gun violence

(Newser) - Hundreds of students walked out of their Florida high school Tuesday and made their way to the site of a school shooting 10 miles away in a show of solidarity for bringing an end to gun violence, the AP reports. "It has to be tougher. People are blaming it...

US Army to Honor Heroic Shooting Victims

Official describes outpouring of 'generosity and compassion'

(Newser) - He might not get a full military funeral , but Parkland school shooting victim Peter Wang will get a nod from the US Army. The 15-year-old old Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps member who held doors open for students and staff fleeing bullets at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week...

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