Florida

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Florida Investigating Teacher for Showing Disney Film

She was reported to state department of education for showing 'Strange World'

(Newser) - A fifth-grade teacher in Florida is under investigation for showing students the Disney film Strange World, which features a gay character. Jenna Barbee, who released a TikTok video telling her side of the story over the weekend, says she showed the movie while part of her class finished state testing,...

Professor's Underwater Stay Sets Record

Joseph Dituri is teaching classes from Jules' Undersea Lodge

(Newser) - A university professor broke a record for the longest time living underwater without depressurization this weekend at a Florida Keys lodge for scuba divers. Joseph Dituri's 74th day residing in Jules' Undersea Lodge, situated at the bottom of a 30-foot-deep lagoon in Key Largo, wasn't much different than...

How Wife Allegedly Got Away With Killing This Man in 1961

'Corrupt influences' aided Frances DiMare, now blamed for first husband's 1961 murder

(Newser) - Many considered Frances DiMare a victim when she died in 2006 at age 82. Four decades earlier, she told police that she and her husband were kidnapped at gunpoint and Joseph DiMare was fatally shot in the head. Miami-Dade police now say her story was a lie. "Investigators met...

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?
Has Anyone
Seen Bruce?
May 13, 2023 10:45 AM CDT

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?

Liz Atkinson is 'completely desperate' to find stuffed elephant with late son's ashes, lost in Florida

(Newser) - "I am completely desperate and hoping this blows up and we find our elephant!" So begins a May 6 Facebook plea from Liz Atkinson, an ER nurse from Iowa who's doing all she can to find a stuffed animal that went missing during a family vacation in...

Mother of Teen's Killer Sentenced on Evidence Charge

Plea deal keeps Crystal Smith out of prison after her son killed a 13-year-old classmate

(Newser) - With her evidence-tampering trial scheduled to begin Monday, Crystal Smith accepted a plea deal Friday and was sentenced to five years' probation for trying to cover up her son's involvement in a teenager's slaying. She'll also have to serve 30 days in jail. Smith, who had faced...

Critics Slam DeSantis' New 'Medical Freedom' Law

Florida bill allows doctors, insurers to refuse services based on religious, moral, ethical beliefs

(Newser) - On Thursday, Ron DeSantis signed what his office is touting as "the strongest legislation in the nation for medical freedom," with four separate bills that the Republican governor says offer "expanded protections [that] will help ensure that medical authoritarianism does not take root in Florida." One...

Publix Wouldn't Write Pro-Trans Message on Cake

Grocery store reps have since apologized over incident at Orlando-area bakery

(Newser) - Having a message written on a cake at a Publix bakery doesn't typically make national headlines. Two representatives of a nonprofit advocacy group, however, say a day that should have been filled with joy was soured by a refusal to honor the wording they asked for at an Orlando-area...

Florida Is Ready to Pave Roads With Radioactive Substance

Critics of the bill worry toxic phosphogypsum could taint local waterways

(Newser) - Lawmakers in Florida have proposed legislation that could change the fabric of the state's infrastructure, reports NPR . The controversial proposal aims to use radioactive material, specifically a waste substance produced by the fertilizer industry called phosphogypsum, as a component in pavement on the state's roads. Bill advocates argue...

Florida Executes Man for 37-Year-Old Crime

56-year-old Darryl Barwick murdered woman in 1986, when he was 19 years old

(Newser) - A Florida man was executed Wednesday for breaking into a woman's home and stabbing her to death in 1986, a crime committed months after he was released from prison for a rape. Darryl B. Barwick, 56, was pronounced dead at 6:14pm Wednesday following a lethal injection at Florida...

Florida Killings Called 'Absolutely a Tragedy'

Suspect dies in police shooting after 4 bodies found in Lake Wales apartment

(Newser) - The discovery of four bodies inside a Florida apartment on Tuesday sparked a manhunt that ended early Wednesday when the suspect was killed in an officer-involved shooting, according to Lake Wales police. "It's absolutely a tragedy," Police Chief Chris Velasquez tells WFTS . Officers were called to an...

Underwater in National Park, an 'Intriguing Find'

1861 grave of Fort Jefferson laborer is discovered submerged within Dry Tortugas National Park

(Newser) - The graves of dozens of people—including US soldiers—who died at Florida's Fort Jefferson in the late 19th century are now believed to be underwater. In August 2022, divers identified a grave carrying the name John Greer and the year 1861 on a submerged island near Garden Key...

DeSantis Board Approves Countersuing Disney
DeSantis Board OKs Disney Suit
May 1, 2023 2:30 PM CDT

DeSantis Board OKs Disney Suit

Company is seeking to block Florida governor's takeover of district

(Newser) - Days after Disney sued Florida's governor in federal court for what it described as retaliation for opposing the state's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, members of Disney World's governing board—made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees—authorized a lawsuit Monday against the entertainment giant....

Killer Confesses to Old Murder. Another Remains Jailed for It

Leo Schofield, up for parole next month, was convicted of killing his wife, insists he's innocent

(Newser) - Next month, a parole board in Florida will decide whether 57-year-old Leo Schofield should be released from prison after more than three decades. Schofield was convicted of the 1987 murder of his 18-year-old wife, Michelle Saum Schofield, and as Richard Bockman writes in the Tampa Bay Times , he would surely...

DeSantis&#39; Disney Fight Worries Republicans


Did DeSantis
Miscalculate
Against
Disney?
the rundown
Apr 28, 2023 12:24 PM CDT

Did DeSantis Miscalculate Against Disney?

Even fellow Republicans are questioning his escalating fight against the company

(Newser) - Now that Disney has fired back in a big way at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a common theme in coverage has emerged, one that questions whether DeSantis has taken on too big of a fight ahead of his expected entry into the 2024 race. He may well prove the naysayers...

Cops: Florida Man Killed, Dismembered Uber Eats Driver

'This was demonic,' sheriff says

(Newser) - A Florida man is charged with murder and other offenses in the slaying and dismemberment of an Uber Eats driver who had brought food to the assailant's house, authorities said Tuesday. Oscar Solis Jr., 30, is charged with killing the driver during a delivery Wednesday, April 19, at a...

Disney-DeSantis Feud Hits Next Level: Disney Sues

Entertainment giant alleges 'targeted campaign of government retaliation'

(Newser) - The Disney-DeSantis feud just leveled up in a big way. The Walt Disney company filed a federal lawsuit against the Florida governor on Wednesday, alleging he waged a "targeted campaign of government retaliation" after the company opposed the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill last year, reports CNBC...

Woman Pleads Guilty in &#39;Killer Clown&#39; Murder
'Killer Clown' Pleads Guilty
Apr 25, 2023 5:06 PM CDT

'Killer Clown' Pleads Guilty

Sheila Keen-Warren could be out of prison in 10 months, lawyer says

(Newser) - Sheila Keen-Warren has admitted what authorities have suspected for more than 30 years: She was the person who, dressed as a clown and holding flowers and balloons, fatally shot a Florida woman on her doorstep in 1990. Keen-Warren pleaded guilty Tuesday to the second-degree murder of Marlene Warren and was...

Cops: Boy Found in Alligator's Jaws Was Drowned by Father

Taylen Mosley, 2, was thrown or placed in Florida lake, investigators say

(Newser) - A 2-year-old boy found dead in an alligator's jaws in Florida last month wasn't killed by the animal, police say. The St. Petersburg Police Department says Taylen Mosley was drowned by his father, NBC reports. The department says the cause of death was confirmed by the Pinellas County...

Ex-Disney Worker Could Get 5 Years for Alleged 'Guilty Pleasure'

Cops say Jorge Diaz Vega, 26, had 500 videos on phone that were recorded up women's skirts

(Newser) - Troubling news emerged out of Disney over the past few days, on both sides of the country. First, a 45-foot-tall animatronic dragon went up in flames over the weekend in California's Disneyland, though thankfully no one was hurt. Now, out of Florida, a disturbing development from Disney World. According...

Florida Apologizes for Errant Wake-Up Call

DeSantis promises 'swift accountability' after mistaken text alert

(Newser) - Many Floridians were not pleased at being awakened at 4:45am Thursday by an emergency text alert, especially when there was no emergency, and state officials have promised to do something about it. The text was a test—as it said—intended to appear on TV, not on cellphones, ABC...

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