Florida

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Rare Crocodile Attack Takes Place in Florida

Man capsized his sailboat before the attack took place

(Newser) - A 68-year-old man fell off a sailboat at a marina in the Florida Everglades and was bitten by a crocodile as he tried to swim to shore, the AP reports. The rare crocodile bite occurred Sunday afternoon at the Flamingo Marina in Everglades National Park and left the man, who...

Fisherman Reportedly Loses Hand to Gator

Florida man was apparently trying to retrieve fish from pond

(Newser) - A Florida fisherman reportedly lost a hand in an alligator attack. "He took his hand off ... Hand is gone!" a witness who called 911 reported Sunday, per WOFL . A second 911 caller described a man "moaning and groaning constantly," per WKMG . The unnamed male was reeling...

Settlement Clears Up Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill

Teachers can talk about sexual orientation, gender identity, just not as part of instruction

(Newser) - Students and teachers can discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it's not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who'd challenged a state law that critics dubbed "Don't Say Gay." The settlement...

Beached Sperm Whale Off Florida Couldn't Be Saved

The 44-foot male appeared underweight

(Newser) - A sperm whale that became famous after beaching itself on a sandbar along Florida's Gulf Coast died Monday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement. As the AP reports, police and wildlife officials began trying to free the male whale from the shallow sandbar off...

After Meeting With Trump, Elon Musk Clarifies One Thing

X owner was spotted at weekend gathering with Trump, wealthy GOP donors in Florida

(Newser) - After a report surfaced that Donald Trump met with Elon Musk as a potential campaign donor over the weekend, Musk is shooting down the possibility. "Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President," he tweeted Wednesday.

Miami Beach Is So Over Spring Break

Officials are upping security measures, but it's not clear whether it will work

(Newser) - Miami Beach is trying to break up with spring break, but it's not yet clear whether spring break will take the hint. After three consecutive years of spring break violence, Miami Beach officials are implementing monthlong security measures aimed at curbing the chaos, including parking restrictions for non-residents and...

Court Dumps Florida's 'Positively Dystopian' 'Stop WOKE' Law

Administration 'reviewing all options' after court rejection

(Newser) - A court has ruled that one of the signature laws of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration is unlawful. A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act, also known as the Individual Freedom Act, "exceeds the bounds of the First Amendment....

University of Florida Drops All DEI Positions

DeSantis applauds the move he'd worked toward

(Newser) - The University of Florida has shut down its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, an administrative memo revealed on Friday, in response to new state restrictions on the use of funding. The memo says the school closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, "eliminated DEI positions and administrative appointments,...

See the Moment Deputies Find 5-Year-Old Lost in Swamp

Outcome could 'have been much different,' says Florida sheriff

(Newser) - Florida police helped deliver a happy ending to a terrifying situation that began Monday evening when a 5-year-old girl with autism walked away from her home near Tampa. "The panic starts to kick in," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister tells ABC News of the moment parents realized the...

Justices Bring Orwell Into Social Media Case

Florida, Texas cases could have major effect on online debates

(Newser) - Supreme Court justices sounded hesitant Monday to dismiss First Amendment concerns about state laws that would restrict social media companies' ability to moderate users' posts. The court spent four hours hearing oral arguments about laws passed in Florida and Texas that are blocked for now, the New York Times reports....

In Ring Footage, Father Confesses He Killed Son

Florida man says 'fighting was unbearable,' so he shot 22-year-old son

(Newser) - "He's not breathing. He's dead. The fighting on the way home was unbearable," David de Jesus Contreras says on video recorded on his home's Ring camera. The "he" in question is his 22-year-old son, Eric, and Contreras has confessed to fatally shooting him after a fight on...

Amid School Measles Outbreak, Florida Rejects CDC Guidance

State surgeon general tells parents they can send unvaccinated kids to school if they want

(Newser) - Florida's surgeon general has told parents of children at a school experiencing a measles outbreak that they can feel free to ignore Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. In a Feb. 20 letter, Joseph Ladapo told parents at Manatee Bay Elementary in south Florida that the state's...

Florida Passes Bill to Release Epstein Transcripts

Measure to unseal records from 2006 grand jury is headed to governor's desk

(Newser) - The transcripts of a 2006 grand jury that investigated Jeffrey Epstein 's sexual assaults of underage girls will be released to the public under a bill heading to Florida's governor after it was unanimously passed by the Legislature. The bill, which passed the Senate on Wednesday after earlier...

Digging in Sand on a Florida Beach Ends With Girl Dead

A young boy was also partially submerged in the sand in Tuesday tragedy

(Newser) - A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, the AP reports. Emergency crews responding around 3pm to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea found the boy, who is about 8 years old, buried...

At Florida School, a 'Preventable' Outbreak

So far, 5 measles cases identified at Manatee Bay Elementary in Broward County's Weston

(Newser) - Over the weekend, the Florida Department of Health warned that it was looking into "multiple cases of measles" at an elementary school in South Florida. On Monday, Broward County Public Schools official John Sullivan confirmed that five cases in total had been identified so far at Manatee Bay Elementary...

4 Men Vanish After Setting Off on Fishing Trip

Florida men were supposed to be out a day, never returned

(Newser) - Four men headed out from Venice, Florida, on what was supposed to be a daylong fishing trip off the Gulf Coast Saturday morning—and haven't been seen since. Family members alerted police after Angel Hernandez Munoz, 38, Ruben Mora Sr., 54, Julio Cesar Cordero Briones, 37, and Vargas Parra,...

After 'Big Wrong' Cleared by DNA, a Big Settlement

Robert DuBoise, freed in 2020 after 37 years behind bars, to be paid $14M by city of Tampa

(Newser) - A Florida man freed in 2020 from nearly four decades behind bars after DNA evidence cleared him of rape and murder will now receive monetary compensation for that time lost. The New York Times reports that on Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously OKed a $14 million settlement for Robert...

Cop Startled by Falling Acorn Opens Fire on Unarmed Man

Florida sheriff's deputy Jesse Hernandez, cited for unreasonable use of force, has resigned

(Newser) - A Florida sheriff's deputy was approaching a patrol vehicle, parked on a street under a large tree, when acorns fell, apparently hitting both him and the vehicle. What happened next led the deputy to quit as his department was embroiled in an embarrassing investigation. Believing he'd been shot...

10 Most Dangerous Counties for Cyclists
Florida Cyclists, Look Out
Feb 13, 2024 5:31 PM CST

Florida Cyclists, Look Out

State has 7 of the 10 most dangerous counties for cyclists in the nation

(Newser) - With spring on its way early if a certain giant prognosticating rodent is to be believed, cyclists can start getting back out on the roads. But some of those roads are more dangerous to those with pedals than others, and law firm Bader Scott crunched cyclist fatalities in the nation'...

On a Florida Highway: 'Unreal, Like a Movie'

Business jet crashes into vehicle on I-75 in Naples, killing 2

(Newser) - Two people have died after a business jet attempted to make an emergency landing on Interstate 75 in southwest Florida on Friday afternoon, colliding with a vehicle and bringing traffic to a halt as a massive plume of black smoke rose into the air. The crash landing happened near the...

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