Tim Scott rebukes Ron DeSantis over Florida Black history standards about slavery
ANKENY, Iowa — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, rebuked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday for new public school standards that teach that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills. “As a country founded upon freedom, the المزيد
Florida woman sentenced to 4 years in romance scam that stole Holocaust survivor’s savings
A Florida woman who swindled the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor in a “romance scam” was sentenced to over four years in prison Thursday, federal prosecutors said. Peaches Stergo, 36, stole over $2.8 million in the scam, which lasted years. She was arrested in January and pleaded guilty المزيد
Manatee dies of injuries from sexual encounter with brother at Florida aquarium
A manatee who died in a Florida aquarium earlier this year suffered fatal injuries caused by sex with the aquatic mammal’s brother, officials said. Hugh, 38, died unexpectedly on April 29 at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota. A necropsy performed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s المزيد
11-year-old Florida girl arrested after prank-texting 911 to say her friend was kidnapped as part of a YouTube challenge
An 11-year-old Florida girl was arrested after falsely texting authorities that her friend was kidnapped by an armed man. She later confessed the prank was part of a YouTube challenge. The girl texted 911 Wednesday morning to say her friend, 14, was abducted by “an armed male driving a white van المزيد
Rep. Byron Donalds calls on Florida to ‘correct’ Black history standards on slavery
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida on Wednesday called on the state Department of Education to “correct” its new standards for teaching Black history, after it suggested that slaves benefited from skills used during forced labor. “The new African-American standards in FL are good, robust, & accurate,” Donalds tweeted. “That being المزيد
Miami-Dade police chief offered resignation prior to suicide attempt on Florida highway
The Florida police chief who attempted suicide on a highway after an argument with his wife Sunday night offered his resignation before injuring himself, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced Wednesday. Levine Cava spoke on the phone with Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, she المزيد
Water temperatures off Florida soar over 100 degrees, stunning experts
On Monday, as much of the country stewed in bubbling heat, a boiling milestone was hit — a buoy in Florida registered a jaw-dropping 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit water temperature. This was on the heels of the same buoy in Manatee Bay registering 100.2 degrees on Sunday. For perspective, the average المزيد
Inside the Florida group pushing to slash food stamp rolls nationwide
“We’ve been hiding in plain sight all along,” Tarren Bragdon said of his 12-year-old nonprofit group, the Foundation for Government Accountability. The Naples, Florida-based think tank has been among the conservative groups publicly cheerleading GOP efforts to tighten work requirements for safety net programs long before debt ceiling negotiators in المزيد