Florida

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2 Kids Killed in Miami Sailing Camp Accident

Authorities believe barge hit sailboat

(Newser) - Two kids were killed and two more are in critical condition after a barge appears to have struck their boat during a sailing camp in Miami on Monday, authorities said. All six people on the sailing boat were pulled from the water by responders, and four kids were rushed to...

Florida Family Faces Horrifying Child Abuse Allegations

Victims describe physical and sexual assault, being 'caged' at night

(Newser) - Four adults in Florida are facing charges of aggravated child abuse after authorities allege they mistreated nine children in their care—five biological and four adopted, ranging in age from 7 to 16. An investigation by the Department of Children and Families began after an adopted child reportedly brought a...

Horse Once Owned by Burt Reynolds Breaks a Record

Mokie, a therapy horse who spent his final years in Florida, was world's oldest horse, dying at age 40

(Newser) - Guinness World Records has announced that Mokie, a Florida-based Arabian horse who just earned the distinction of being the world's oldest living horse, has died at age 40, per the Guardian . Mokie's journey began on the ranch of actor Burt Reynolds in 1985, where he was bred...

TSA to Offer 'Tokens of Gratitude' to Service Members

Special lanes to ease travel to debut for military, families with young kids

(Newser) - Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is introducing changes aimed at easing airport security lines for families and military personnel. Speaking at Tennessee's Nashville International Airport on Thursday, Noem announced the launch of "Families on the Fly," a new program that sets up dedicated TSA security lanes...

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Is Proving Deadly in Florida This Year

Swimming with open cuts or consuming raw seafood pose risks

(Newser) - Four Floridians have died this year after contracting a flesh-eating bacteria in the state's coastal waters, highlighting a rare but deadly risk for beachgoers and seafood lovers.
  • The culprit, Vibrio vulnificus, is a marine microbe that typically thrives in warm, brackish seawater, reports Fox News . It can enter
...

Backstreet Boy Sues Over People Using His Beach

Brian Littrell says Florida sheriff's office isn't doing anything about trespassers

(Newser) - Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell says a local Florida sheriff's office isn't doing enough to protect his multimillion-dollar beachfront property from trespassers and is asking a judge for an order commanding deputies to do so, the AP reports. The petition filed last month by Littrell's company in...

Fla. Lawmaker Faces Eviction for Alleged $85K in Unpaid Rent

Landlord claims GOP Rep. Cory Mills missed payments for months at luxury apartment in DC

(Newser) - A Republican congressman from Florida is facing a legal battle with his DC landlord over a sizable amount of unpaid rent. According to a lawsuit filed by Bozzuto Management Company, Rep. Cory Mills skipped out on $85,009 in rent between March and July for a luxury apartment in...

Florida Executes Man Who Killed 2 in Mistaken Revenge

This year is already tied with 2024 for executions

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting two people outside a Florida bar in 1993 as part of an attempted revenge killing was executed Tuesday evening, the 26th person put to death in the US this year. Michael Bernard Bell, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:25pm after receiving a lethal...

Residents Rush to the Rescue After Florida Plane Crash

They 'put their dinner forks down to get out there,' mayor says

(Newser) - A small plane's crash in a Miami suburb Sunday night prompted a swift response from nearby residents. The Cessna T337G, inbound from Turks and Caicos and attempting to land at North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines, clipped a tree and crashed just short of its destination, WPLG reports....

The 'Tomato Tax' Is Here
The 'Tomato Tax' Is Here
Jul 15, 2025 3:01 AM CDT

The 'Tomato Tax' Is Here

New tariff expected to raise prices and limit tomato choices nationwide

(Newser) - American shoppers may soon find their favorite tomatoes pricier and harder to find as a new 17% tariff on Mexican imports shakes up the produce aisle and reignites a decades-old trade battle, the New York Times reports. The Trump administration imposed the tariff, effective immediately, on most Mexican tomato...

Here's How Girl, 5, Went Overboard on Disney Cruise

Disney Dream passengers took in dramatic ocean rescue at conclusion of their Bahamas trip

(Newser) - The 5-year-old girl who went overboard on a Disney cruise last month was sitting on a railing on the ship's fourth deck when she lost her balance and fell "backward through a porthole" and into the water, per the Broward Sheriff's Office. The child's mother alerted...

Elderly Man Dies Trying to Rescue a Turtle

Vermont's Frank Quinn struck and killed Sunday on Florida's I-95

(Newser) - An act of compassion on a busy Florida highway turned tragic when an elderly Vermont man was fatally struck by a vehicle while trying to rescue a turtle from traffic. Frank J. Quinn, variously described as 77 or 87, died on Florida's I-95 near Indian River County on...

Shark Bites Florida Surfer
Shark Bites Florida Surfer
Jul 8, 2025 3:00 AM CDT

Shark Bites Florida Surfer

Man is expected to recover, and his mom says he will surf again

(Newser) - A shark bit the arm of a 40-year-old man as he surfed at Florida's New Smyrna Beach Sunday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. Matt Bender of Winter Park, who WFTV says is "well-known" in the local surfing community, underwent surgery and was expected to recover—and surf again...

Family Hit by Lightning on Florida Beach

17-year-old girl hospitalized after strike at St. Pete Beach

(Newser) - Three members of a family were struck by lightning Friday while sheltering under an umbrella at St. Pete Beach in Florida's Pinellas County, officials say. St. Pete Beach Fire Rescue and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office personnel responded to the scene around 12:19pm. Two adults were treated...

Trump Visits 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Trump Visits 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Jul 1, 2025 3:57 PM CDT

Trump Visits 'Alligator Alcatraz'

He says he would like to see similar detention centers in 'many states'

(Newser) - President Trump, joined by officials including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, toured the newly built "Alligator Alcatraz" migrant detention facility in Florida on Tuesday—and suggested it could end up as part of a network of similar facilities. "Well, I think we would...

DeSantis on 'Alligator Alcatraz': 'Good Luck Getting to Civilization'

Fla. governor says President Trump is 'very excited' to visit the new migrant detention site on Tuesday

(Newser) - Looks like "Alligator Alcatraz" is ready to open, and President Trump will be there this week to check out the revamped facility in the Florida Everglades. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday that Trump will be stopping by Tuesday at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a new immigration...

Unknown Buyer Scooping Up Property in Palm Beach

Wall Street Journal reports somebody has paid $250M for 4 adjacent properties so far

(Newser) - A very rich person is apparently planning to build a very big home in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida. The Wall Street Journal reports that a mystery buyer has so far paid about $250 million for four adjacent properties by the beach and is thus "assembling one of the most...

Florida Executes Thomas Gudinas
Florida Executes
Thomas Gudinas
Jun 24, 2025 5:54 PM CDT

Florida Executes Thomas Gudinas

Man who raped, killed woman near bar in 1994 is 7th inmate the state has executed this year

(Newser) - A man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening. Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:13pm after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, said Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis. Gudinas was...

Toddler Dies in Hot Car in Case That 'Shocks the Conscience'

Dad has been charged after allegedly leaving son in truck for hours during Florida heat wave

(Newser) - A Florida man has been charged after allegedly leaving his 18-month-old son in a hot truck for hours, resulting in the toddler's death, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. Authorities say Scott Allen Gardner, 33, was arrested Thursday and faces charges of aggravated manslaughter of a...

Work Is Underway on Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Old airfield to become an immigration detention center

(Newser) - Work has begun to transform an old airfield in the Florida Everglades into an immigration detention center, nicknamed "Alligator Alcatraz." A rep for Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, an ally of President Trump who first proposed the idea , said work at the site began on Monday morning, per...

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