Florida

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Ex-Warden: Florida's Rapid Executions Risk Failure, Cruelty

Ron McAndrew highlights allegations of drug mishandling at Florida State Prison

(Newser) - Florida's death chamber isn't just busy —it's being pushed to a pace a former prison warden says the system can't safely handle. Ron McAndrew, who once ran Florida State Prison and oversaw three executions, is sounding that alarm in light of the lawsuit filed by...

No Christmas Pause in Migrant Arrests, Says White House

Trump team's reply to Florida Catholic bishops' request: President is keeping his deportation vows

(Newser) - Florida's Catholic bishops appealed to President Trump on Monday to pause immigration enforcement activities during the Christmas holidays. The White House, in response, said it would be business as usual. The appeal was issued by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, and signed by seven other members of the Florida Conference...

Search Is Over for Florida Fishermen Who Went Overboard

Their empty boat was found running 70 miles off Fort Myers coast early Sunday

(Newser) - Two Florida men left for a day of fishing and never came back. Randall Spivey, 57, and his nephew, 33-year-old Brandon Billmaier, both of whom are attorneys, headed out from Fort Myers before sunrise on Friday in a 42-foot Freeman fishing boat and were expected to return that afternoon, relatives...

Florida Woman Charged After 2 Exes Are Killed on Same Day

Deputies say killings were premeditated; additional murder charges expected

(Newser) - A homicide case in Florida has taken an unusual turn, with investigators alleging that a woman killed two former husbands in separate shootings on the same day, USA Today reports. Authorities say Susan Erica Avalon was arrested Dec. 18 and charged with second-degree homicide in connection with the death of...

Report: Trump Used Primary Mortgages for Rentals

Records show Trump claimed 2 Palm Beach rentals as primary residences, per ProPublica

(Newser) - The Trump administration has aggressively gone after political rivals over alleged mortgage games. Newly unearthed paperwork, however, suggests he once played a similar game himself. ProPublica reports that Trump signed two mortgages in Palm Beach in late 1993 and early 1994, each time listing the property as his main home....

Woman Abducted at 3 Reunites With Dad 42 Years Later
Woman, 46, Had No Idea She'd
Been Abducted at Age 3
in case you missed it
Dec 21, 2025 6:40 AM CST

Woman, 46, Had No Idea She'd Been Abducted at Age 3

Tip leads deputies to woman missing from Kentucky since 1983; mother arrested

(Newser) - For more than 40 years, Michelle Newton lived an ordinary life under a different name, unaware police still considered her a missing child. The woman, now 46, was reported missing in April 1983, when she was 3. Authorities say her mother, Debra Newton, moved Michelle from Louisville, Kentucky, to Georgia...

Florida Executes Killer of 2
Florida Executes Killer of 2
Dec 18, 2025 5:45 PM CST

Florida Executes Killer of 2

Frank Athen Walls shot a man and a woman during a home invasion robbery

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally shooting a man and his girlfriend during a home invasion robbery was put to death Thursday evening in a record 19th execution in Florida this year. Frank Athen Walls, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:11pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison near...

After 37 Years on Death Row, Serial Killer's Execution Set

Frank Athen Walls to receive lethal injection in Florida's record 19th execution this year

(Newser) - Florida is preparing to put to death a man authorities say terrorized its Panhandle in the 1980s with a string of killings that became known as "the Tuesday murders." Frank Athen Walls is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday, more than 40 years after he...

It's Fiancee No. 3 for Donald Trump Jr.

President's oldest son is engaged to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr. is heading to the altar again, this time with Bettina Anderson, a Palm Beach social figure whose relationship with him has long been the subject of rumors. Per the New York Times , President Trump revealed the engagement on Monday night during a White House holiday party, and...

Florida Chef Saves Life of Missing Regular

He went to check on man who usually came in for gumbo twice a day

(Newser) - A regular at the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola, Florida, might not be alive today if it wasn't for his love of gumbo. Twice a day, every day, for 10 years, as regular as clockwork, 78-year-old Charlie Hicks walked into the the restaurant and ordered the same thing: gumbo, light...

Plane Crash-Lands— Right on Woman's Car
Plane Crash-Lands—
on Top of Moving Car
VIDEO
Dec 10, 2025 7:03 AM CST

Plane Crash-Lands— on Top of Moving Car

Woman suffered only minor injuries; the pilot and his passenger escaped unscathed in Florida crash

(Newser) - A Florida woman remarkably escaped without serious injury after a small plane crash-landed on top of her car on Interstate 95. A driver's dash-cam captured Monday's incident around 5:45pm just south of State Road 520 near Cocoa. The plane, a Beechcraft 55, drops from the sky before...

Florida Executes 18th Inmate of the Year
Florida Executes
Killer Handyman
Dec 9, 2025 6:06 PM CST

Florida Executes Killer Handyman

Victim's body was found by her 8-year-old son

(Newser) - A man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman during a home invasion decades ago was executed Tuesday evening in Florida. Mark Allen Geralds, 58, was pronounced dead at 6:15pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison for the February 1989 murder of Tressa Pettibone, the AP reports. The...

Florida Man Charged in Long Island Cold Case Murder

Victim's remains found near Gilgo Beach in 2011

(Newser) - A Florida man has been charged with murder in a case once thought to be tied to the infamous Gilgo Beach serial killings, the New York Times reports. Andrew Dykes, 66, was indicted in Nassau County, New York, this week for the killing of Tanya Denise Jackson , whose remains were...

DeSantis Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group a Terrorist Org

Florida move follows similar one by Texas last month

(Newser) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the US a "foreign terrorist organization," following a similar step by Texas last month, the AP reports. The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order...

Cosmic Ray From Distant Star Suspected in Jet Emergency

Airbus grounded A320s after JetBlue incident in Tampa in October

(Newser) - A JetBlue flight's sudden plunge over Florida earlier this fall may have been caused by a cosmic ray from a distant supernova, according to a space weather expert. The Oct. 30 incident involved an Airbus A320 flying from Cancun, Mexico, to New Jersey's Newark, with the plane abruptly...

'This Matter Does Not and Has Never Involved a Duck'

SeaWorld seeks to have lawsuit from roller coaster rider dismissed

(Newser) - SeaWorld Orlando is pushing back against a lawsuit from a woman who says she was hit in the face by a duck while riding a roller coaster. In a court filing, SeaWorld says the woman was in fact hit by a snowy egret, a type of small, white heron, WFTV...

Arrests After Employees Treat 'Firehouse Like Frat House'

Victim was reportedly pinned down and waterboarded with a bottle

(Newser) - Officials say a hazing incident at a Florida fire station escalated so violently that four Marion County Fire and Rescue employees lost their jobs and now find themselves arrested. Authorities say the alleged assault unfolded at Fire Station 21 in Ocala on Nov. 16, when the group—Edward Kenny III,...

Man Accused of Killing His 2 Brothers on NY Hunting Trip

Police say Florida resident Scot Thompson shot both men at remote cabin

(Newser) - A hunting trip in upstate New York turned deadly over the weekend, ending with a Florida man accused of shooting his two brothers at a remote cabin. State police say Scot Thompson, 65, got into a physical altercation with his brothers at the cabin in Allen, New York, on Sunday...

Florida Man Executed in 1988 Death of Former Boss

Richard Barry Randolph was trying to get into the safe at a convenience store

(Newser) - A man convicted of raping and fatal beating his manager at a Florida convenience store in 1988 was put to death Thursday evening in the state's record 17th execution this year. Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was pronounced dead at 6:12pm following a three-drug injection at Florida State Prison...

Trump Plans New Oil Drilling Off Florida, California Coasts

Oil industry has been pushing for access to new offshore areas

(Newser) - The Trump administration announced on Thursday new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems, as President Trump seeks to expand US oil production. The oil industry has been seeking access to...

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