Florida

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Cops: He Flew 1K Miles to Attack Gamer He Met Online

Edward Kang, 20, charged with attempted murder following hammer attack

(Newser) - A video gamer allegedly flew from New Jersey to Florida to smash an online opponent's head with a hammer. Authorities say the pair had never met in person before 20-year-old Edward Kang turned up at the victim's home in Fernandina Beach late Saturday or early Sunday wearing black...

Unusual Space Junk Mishap Results in Unusual Lawsuit

Florida family sues NASA over damaged home

(Newser) - When a small piece of space debris fell to Earth and damaged a home in Florida, it raised the interesting question of who should pay up. A new lawsuit filed by the family that owns the home thinks the answer is pretty simple: NASA. The unusual legal case stems from...

These Are the Best, Worst States for Summer Road Trips

Texas ranks No. 1, per WalletHub

(Newser) - Summertime, and the drivin' is easy—or at least it is in Texas, the No. 1 city on WalletHub's list of the best states for a summer road trip. The site looked at all 50 nifty to see which ones have the potential to draw out your inner Kerouac,...

Their Vacation Had Barely Begun When They Drowned

3 friends get caught in rip current shortly after arriving in Florida

(Newser) - Three Alabama men who went for an evening swim shortly after arriving at a Florida Panhandle beach were caught in a rip current and died, authorities say. It was the latest in a rash of recent deaths in Florida waters after a Pennsylvania couple drowned off the state's southeast...

Florida Rapper 'Ambushed,' Killed at Hotel

Julio Foolio was fatally shot during a weekend spent celebrating his birthday

(Newser) - A Florida rapper was fatally shot early Sunday while visiting Tampa to celebrate his 26th birthday. Julio Foolio, whom TMZ describes as an "up-and-coming" artist from Jacksonville that first made waves with his 2018 debut album 6toven and who Local 10 says was most well known for his 2019...

Plastic Surgeon Charged After Wife Dies During Procedure
Doctor Charged After Wife
Dies Amid Plastic Surgery
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Doctor Charged After Wife Dies Amid Plastic Surgery

Ben Brown of Florida accused of 'manslaughter by culpable negligence'

(Newser) - A plastic surgeon in Florida faces homicide charges after his wife died while he was performing cosmetic procedures on her. Benjamin Brown, 41, is charged with second-degree felony homicide: manslaughter by culpable negligence, according to a release from the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office. Brown was operating on his wife,...

These Disney Workers Moved Thousands of Miles. Now, a Suit

They relocated from California to Florida, only to be stranded after $1B office complex was nixed

(Newser) - In 2021, Disney announced that it would build a $1 billion office complex for theme park staff in the Lake Nona neighborhood of Orlando, and that 2,000 workers would either need to move from California to central Florida or quit their jobs. Two years later, the company scrapped plans...

Parents of Six Drown After Being Caught in Rip Current

Pennsylvania couple was swimming with their mostly teenage children in Florida

(Newser) - Six children who visited a Florida beach with their parents on Thursday left it as orphans. In a devastating case, Brian Warter and Erica Wishard of Pennsylvania drowned after getting caught in a rip current at Hutchinson Island's Stuart Beach. The parents and two teenagers were swimming when they...

Travis Scott After Arrest in Miami: 'Lol'

A 'rowdy' boat party ended in the 33-year-old rapper's arrest

(Newser) - Rapper Travis Scott was arrested early Thursday in Miami after what authorities say was a drunken disturbance on a charter boat. The 33-year-old was reportedly arrested at 1:44am local time at the Miami Beach Marina and booked three hours later into Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of disorderly intoxication...

Florida Keys Boaters Find $1M in Cocaine

Authorities say floating package was found 7 miles offshore

(Newser) - In the latest of a string of such finds, recreational boaters in the Florida Keys found cocaine with an estimated street value of $1 million. In a Facebook post , the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the mariners found a package containing individually wrapped kilograms of the drug floating around...

Florida Getting Drenched by 'Wall of Water'

Storm expected to continue through Thursday

(Newser) - Florida is being absolutely deluged right now, and while the intense rain is not officially part of a tropical storm or depression, the National Hurricane Center says there's a 20% chance it could turn into one over the next week. As much as 7 inches of rain fell in...

School Board Bans Ban This Book
School Board Bans
Ban This Book

School Board Bans Ban This Book

Florida board members say it teaches 'rebellion of school board authority'

(Newser) - In a move that author Alan Gratz calls "incredibly ironic," a Florida school board has banned his book Ban This Book. The 2017 book is about a fictional fourth grader who starts a secret library of banned books in her locker after a librarian tells her that her...

Judge Strikes Down Florida Transgender Law

Ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional, federal judge says

(Newser) - The federal judge who blocked part of Florida's law on transgender care for minors last year struck the law down in a decision Tuesday, saying key parts of it are unconstitutional. "Gender identity is real," Judge Robert Hinkle of Federal District Court in Tallahassee said in his...

Buc-ee's Brings a World Record Home to Texas

Luling store officially recognized as world's largest convenience store

(Newser) - Sevierville, Tennessee, just lost its status as home of the world's largest convenience store. A larger Buc-ee's, with over 75,000 square feet of store space, 120 gas pumps, and "thousands of snack, meal and drink options," opened Monday in Luling, Texas, per a release . A...

$450K of Cocaine Washes Ashore in Alabama

Similar stashes have turned up in Florida recently

(Newser) - They're not your usual beachcomber discoveries: About $450,000 worth of cocaine washed ashore on an Alabama beach last week, after similar stashes turned up along the Florida coast:
  • Alabama: The Mobile County Sheriff's Office says 55 pounds of the drug wrapped in 25 individual bricks washed up
...

Teen Valedictorian Is the 4th in the Family

Florida's Ryleigh Rendina is last of her siblings to graduate first in her class

(Newser) - Ryleigh Rendina was recently featured in Florida Today's "Top Scholars" roundup , with goals to major in biomedical engineering and become an emergency veterinarian. The 18-year-old is also this year's valedictorian at Astronaut High in Titusville, and her parents are super proud—for the fourth time. Rendina has...

These States' Economies Are Pulling Their Weight

Washington tops WalletHub's rankings

(Newser) - How well the US economy is doing is dependent on how well the states themselves are doing, and WalletHub looked at all 50 states and the District of Columbia to see which ones boast the best economies. Three main categories are in play: economic activity (including startup activity, exports per...

Passenger Tracks Missing Bag to Airport Worker's House
Passenger Tracks Luggage
to Airport Worker's Home
in case you missed it

Passenger Tracks Luggage to Airport Worker's Home

Fired employee is now charged with theft

(Newser) - An airport employee in Florida has been charged with felony theft after a passenger tracked her stolen luggage to the employee's house. After her March 3 flight out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was canceled, university student Paola Garcia was told to pick up her checked bag on a...

Shark Attacks Hit Florida Coast, 4 Miles Apart

Walton County incidents injure 2 teens and a woman, who had part of her arm amputated

(Newser) - Three people in Walton County, Florida, were attacked by sharks Friday within a couple of hours of each other, including two teens. South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford tells ABC News that around 1:20pm local time, a 45-year-old woman was swimming near a sandbar with her husband off...

No, This Creature Wandering Florida Isn't a Gator

Florida woman's video of nearly 6-foot-long monitor lizard in Sarasota County goes viral

(Newser) - A mother-daughter car ride in Florida's Sarasota County led to quite a sighting last month. McClatchy News reports that Renee Aland was driving in the southwest city of North Port on May 20 when she did a "double take" at something she spotted along the side of the...

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